Do Buy in Dubai

  After a solid 7 hour sleep I was up and ready to see this great place.  First adventure after a wild buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport was riding the Metro. There is a massive mass transit system here and I love riding the rails so I did.
The metro stop is a short walk from the hotel and a day pass is 22 Dirhams ($4.99) which worked great.
first stop Dubai Mall right next door to Birj Khalifa - the tallest building on earth and ground zero for the largest fireworks display on earth in a few hours.

 The giant mall was packed with every store imaginable and people of every racial,social, economic designation buying stuff. Retail therapy is a reference I heard many times today.
But I'm not a Dubai buyer - I like the experience.
So I found a tour bus at the mall. Over 1.5 million folks will be watching fireworks tonite downtown so tours all ramp down after 2 PM -as traffic will likely block most streets.  Mine started at 1:15 - almost the last one out.
   What an incredible city!  Modern, stylish, a blend of ancient tradition and futuristic vision. Oil money buys a lot here. .. and adds a lot to the accounts of the few at the top.  But it is booming.  Construction cranes everywhere and buildings in various states of completion from dirt holes to structures awaiting the ribbon cutting.
 ...And mosques.

Over 3000 of them in the city and more under construction - you can never have to many...
   Dubai invests it's oil money heavily in schools and infrastructure. The long term vision is to be all set up for when the oil runs out. Wow - they are doing a great job developing a hugely diverse economy and the investment is paying off....bigtime.
  After a couple hours touring I hopped off the bus at Emirates mall....the largest mall in the world...bigger than Dubai mall and piles more folks engaged in retail therapy. Emirates will soon open a new wing which is a mini city encased in mall. Streets, housing and all the fixins to ramp retail therapy to the next level. Emirates is so big it has indoor ski mountain.

Yep - let's go to the mall kids and go sking, or roll down the hill in a giant snow ball, or go pet the penguins -- 28 degree indoor environment open year round - u can rent ur parkas, gloves, skis and boots -  You can buy anything in Dubai!!!
More vapor trails - enroute....

Happy new year folks - my new year time starts at 2 PM your time.