![\"Dubai](\"http:\/\/www.zulfiqarblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_0975.jpg\")
<\/a>Dubai skyline at sunset – Burj Khalifa towering above other buildings<\/p><\/div>\n
The grand immigration hall is precisely that, grand.\u00a0 Three story ceilings, meticulously cleaned surfaces, immigration officers in their spotless white flowing robes.\u00a0 Interesting tidbit \u2013 Retina scanners are mounted behind the immigration officers, but woe be to those with small eyes, as the scanners will keep trying till an accurate scan is obtained, however long that may take.\u00a0 On US passports, a 30 day visa is granted upon arrival.<\/p>\n
Every public service is targeted to make the traveler comfortable.\u00a0 The taxi drivers are polite, with clean nice taxis.\u00a0 The Dubai government has made the desert green, which could be impressive, except that this is the same outfit that created the humongous Palm Island, as well as the \u2018world\u2019 islands by dredging up the ocean.\u00a0 The Palm Island is \u2013 no mystery here \u2013 in the shape of a palm tree, with its trunk connected to the rest of Dubai.\u00a0 The trunk is wide enough for two multi-lane highways, adorned by houses and mansions on the outside edges, close to the ocean.\u00a0 Residences also dot the palm fronds.\u00a0 The World Islands are replicas of all the continents.\u00a0\u00a0 The things you can do when money is truly no object!\u00a0 You can fulfill your fantasy of owning North America or Africa here, if they are still available.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Feeding fish in the Dubai Mall Aquarium<\/p><\/div>\n
What can you do in Dubai?\u00a0 Short answer.\u00a0 Anything you want, as long as you have the money.\u00a0 Dubai is part of the UAE, but it is a thriving center of commerce and finance, where foreigners are 70 percent of the population.\u00a0 You can find Americans, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese \u2013 people from all parts of the world, but the largest portion hails from India and Pakistan.\u00a0 They are human fodder in the engine of growth and expansion that is Dubai.<\/p>\n
<\/a>T-Rex at the entrance of the Dubai Mall<\/p><\/div>\n
You like to shop?\u00a0 Welcome to paradise!\u00a0 Whether it is the relatively subdued Wafi Mall, the long established Mall of the Emirates, or the over-the-top, opulent, extravagant Dubai Mall, you will be able to find anything and everything, from pretty much any famous store from around the globe.\u00a0 If you have just enough time to visit one of them, the clear choice is the Dubai Mall, but it is very likely you will simply not have enough time to visit all of it.\u00a0 At the entrance you are greeted by a life size T-Rex skeleton.\u00a0 You can go through store after store, till your legs are ready to give out, but the Mall will not end.\u00a0 If your children are with you, wait till you tell them that most of the third floor is dedicated to children\u2019s clothes \u2013 designer brands that you may not be even aware carried infant and toddler clothing.<\/p>\n
You say you don\u2019t want to shop?\u00a0 Well, the 11 million gallon, 11 meters (33 feet) deep Dubai Aquarium resides inside the mall.\u00a0 The sharks, hammerheads, manta rays, and dizzying arrayof fishes \u2013 over 85 species, will keep you occupied not only from the outside, but you can also pay to slip into a wetsuit, and slide into the aquarium to feed the fish or be surrounded by sharks inside a steel cage.\u00a0 If that is too much, you can take a very short glass-bottom boat tour.\u00a0 As if the aquarium was not enough, you can also spend a couple of hours walking through the sea-zoo, the reptile exhibit, and the insect exhibit.\u00a0 Exhausted yet?<\/p>\n