So the Atlantis hotel was nice, but the main attraction was really the Palm Jumeirah itself - a man made island so large it is visible from satellite.
The truth is, on the island, you barely notice its palm shape, or that it is an island. What you are acutely aware of is how the developer had filled it with tons of million dollar condos at the base of the stem.
Where at the leaves, they were rows after rows of individual houses, with a fair amount of privacy (all water front properties front and back!)
The houses are nice, and expensive. Even football (soccer) sensation David Backham is rumored to have snatched one up too.
I didn't really wake up in a seven star hotel; I would have, if I had passed out from the extravagance of the gold laiden interior of the world famous and tallest hotel: the Burj Al Arab hotel in the rapidly rising city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Modeled after a billowing sail, the iconic structure sits on a man made island off shore. Entrance is guarded and hotel guests only. But we avoided the multi-thousand dollar room bill by becoming breakfast "guests" of one of their resturants, a very expensive resturant.
It's all about the show of wealth, once stepped out of our humble transportation, we are met with the official vehicles for their real guests - Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Bimmers, etc.
...uh ah, no, these are reserved for only their regular guests. The VIPs arrive in style, from above, at the halipad...
The sparkling, blindingly golden interrior attract much criticism - too much of a display of the country's new found opulence.
Nonetheless, it is the world tallest hotel and has the tallest atrium...
... and managed to cleverly incorporate islamic design in its decor.
Afterall, it did not get its stars from being beautifully decorated. The all suite hotel features an army of butlers - one for each room - to provide personalized services. I mean, they better, for that kind of room rate.
We travelled up to the 18th floor for a view of the Persian Gulf, hoping for a peek of The World islands, but it was too foggy that day. Instead we found the lost city of Atlantis... (to be continued)
The main attraction in Doha would have been, you guessed it, the headquarters of the Al Jazeera TV network.
Sorry, no visitors.
They won't even let you stop and take pictures. What a turn off. For a news network, that's not very promising, what happened to freedom of the press??
Doha, capital of the oil rich Gulf country of Qatar put herself on the map by hosting the 2006 Asian Games. Those black gold gushing out from the ground afforded this nation of a ridiculously small population brand new stadiums and other facilities to host the event.
The stadium that held the 2006 games
The very tall cauldron
The outskirt of the city was shockingly arid (well, yeah, it's a desert) and undeveloped, but the downtown skyline surely shows you they are very busy building a new city!
