A major one is that the pressure is off to rush around doing as much, seeing as much, as possible, taking notes and photos, and thinking of story lines. Been there, done that means that I can relax, like a real tourist, and mooch and rest and shop if I want to. Which I've done, today!
But also, as I'm in the company of a Dubai virgin, we've done the Big Bus tour which, as usual, has its pluses and minuses - the latter that it's SO HOT here that even when the bus is buzzing along it's still pretty stifling up there on top; also that it's so often stuck in traffic that there is no buzzing happening at all; and that the generally interesting commentary is accompanied by a jangling Arabian music background that really does get jangling, nerve-wise, after a couple of hours. But it is a good way to see a city, get its layout sorted, get good views, and expend little energy in doing so.
Back on the bus, with time to think about such things, it seems that Dubai is like Las Vegas, for real - with just as much desert, except with less in the way of casinos and alcohol, naturally (we filled in some bus-waiting time at a local café where we drank a can of Bavaria 0.0% - proudly labelled "non alcoholic malt drink" - which was actually pretty decent). Vegas is all about pretending, for fun - but here, though there are a few mock-Chrysler buildings and a Big Ben lookalike, most of the buildings are as crazy and bizarre as in Vegas but they're real buildings full of offices and hotels. Scarcely a straight line or right angle to be seen. These ones, seen from the relaxing dhow-cruise part of the Big Bus tour, aren't particularly striking (poor choice of word) but guess what? They're called the Twin Towers. Creepy.
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