Dubai2 English Edition

petak, 03.02.2006.

Kuala Lumpur - Night walk through the centre

The rain shower stopped and the life came back to streets of Kuala Lumpur...

...so I left my shelter in restaurant and continued with sightseeing. The shortest way to town centre was Gombak street. Flashing banners and New Year decorations, and their reflection on surface of wet road turned the street into festival of shine and light...

...and if you wanted to hide your look from that shine, you will enter one of numerous silk shops, that Gombak street is known of.

The Sun disappeared (sorry about the pics, but I am not controlling day and night) and in the nearby I could see towers of "Golden Triangle".

First heated on 35 degrees, and then flush with heavy rain, city was boiling. Steam was comming out from every single drop of the water, and city was full of small lakes which remain after the rain that washed Kuala Lumpur just an hour ago. Creeks of Kuala Lumpur produced so many humidity that the tops od the highest buildings were wrapped with fog.

When you approach the main square, the first interesing object is Dewan Bandaraya (City Hall). It was built in 1887 and since then the function of the building is not changed.

Just behing the city hall is the huge space that was previously part of Royal Selangor Club. (Padang Kelab Selangor).

English colonists were playing cricket for years on this meadow. On August 31st 1957 British flag was replaced with Malaysia flag as the independence is declared. In January 1990 prime minister Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Mahatir Mohamed decided to rearrange the area on the way that suits the place where modern Malaysia was born by turning the meadow into beautiful park with underground parking lots and service area and next to the square 100 meter flagpole with malaysian flag was erected. New redesigned square was renamed into Freedom Square (Dataran Merdeka)
Right on the picture you can see (with difficulties, sorry) Anglican church, that was build in 1887 in Bukit Aman, and than relocated here.
On the eastern side of the square is Sultan Abdul Samad Building, built in 1894 in crypto-moorish style as British Federal Secretariat, today it is home of Supreme Court and High Court of Malaysia.

Central clock tower is 40 meters high and it have a lot of similarities with Big Ben. Southern side of the square is occupied by National Historical Museum and Kuala Lumpur Memorial Library...

...and little bit lower is Main Post Office (Pejabat Pos Besar).

After the post I entered in some kind of forrest. I the downtown. Tomorrow you can read what was on the other side...

- 12:33 - Comment post (0) - Print - #

četvrtak, 02.02.2006.

Kuala Lumpur - Ibiza in Wall Street

Just few minutes after the job was done, I was running down to city's "Golden Triangle", business centre of Kuala Lumpur, just few steps northern than old Victorian city core. When se saw that I am confused with level of urbanity, as I expected business centre, not small jungle, taxi driver explained that we are in area full of "beach-bars".

Beach bars in downtown??? Aren't we supposed to go to super-modern urban downtown, just under Petronas Towers, the highest twin building worldwide?

Then I found the answer. Although in the heart of the city, everything that isn't skyscraper is jungle, and to cultivate area and to protect urban lifestyle, space between this high buildings is full of casual bars.

Like someone moved Ibiza to Wall Street. Every building have its own corresponding forest with small pleasure oasis.

As I hit the closed doors of Petronas Towers (closed after 5pm and Mondays) I took a walk around the "Golden Triangle". Area is nice and quiet and no one would say that we are in business centre of Malaysia.

In fact, it was so quiet that I decided to walk toward old downtown of Kuala Lumpur. Main street with outstanding decorations due to Chinese New Year show me the way to old town centre.

I thought that as a tourist I can see more if I walk and that I don't need their efficient flying metro...

...and twenty munutes later I was hidden in bus depot as monsoon shower turn road into rivers. Suddenly, metro becomes attractive to me, but also inaccessible...

- 23:16 - Comment post (0) - Print - #

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Dubai again?

HRVATSKI

This is new chapter in story about magnificent multinational metropolis in Middle East. Story started last autumn, but it was suddenly stopped when author of blog dubai.blog.hr decided to leave this interesting city. As we stay here, we will try to make Dubai closer to you.
If you have to ask something that is not appropriate for post comments please mail it to blogdubai2@gmail.com

What is in fact Dubai?

If you look at the encyclopedia of Croatian Lexicographic Section, you will have totally wrong picture of Dubai: even the frequently published maps of local publisher can not follow the incredible fast city development. Almost one skyscraper per day beat all the records and tributes we paid to Croatian high-way builders.
Dubai doubles number of living units within 5 years, and in year 2010 10 out of 20 higher world buildings will be in one street only in Dubai.
So, Dubai was small town that can thank for it establishing to long narrow bay called Khor (Creek) due to its river-shape that goes 15 km in the desert (or sometimes desert as area around creek is now inhabited). Owner of this part of the desert, sheik from family Maktoum of Bani Yas near to Abu Dhabi, built house on entrance to this strategic important bay in order to collect money for ship entrance. Soon the trade post and market place were developed, and discovery of oil, that participate in Dubai budget with just 8%, just accelerate the idea of sheikh successor, Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum, of turning a small trade town into regional center. Six out of ten independent emirates made union that we call UAE in December 1972, later followed by 7th emirate of Ras al Khaimah, while Bahrain and Qatar decided to become sovereign states. More than 7/8 of UAE area belongs to emirate of Abu Dhabi, formal capital of federation. Although it is consisted of emirates, small monarchies, UAE are federation lead by chosen President, so they are not monarchy. However, members of the Union are independent monarchies having common defense, foreign and monetary affairs, while all other aspects such as education, health system, police and social affairs are separated.
As Abu Dhabi emirate is the biggest and it have more than 90% of oil reserves, president of Federation was Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, noble and generous man with vision. From his ancestors he get small oasis of Al Ain, in 1940’s, having just few camels and Bedouins. Al Ain is today big and developed quarter-million people city.
Vice president of UAE and prime minister was Sheikh Rashid Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, and other sheiks shared ministry functions, leading the country toward fulfillment of right to decent life for local population, social and health protection, high education and global prosperity of the nation.
Today their ideal in continued in work of their successor, mostly in great achievements of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 3rd son of Sheikh Rashid, that have a vision of turning Dubai into city of future. Besides first seven-star hotel, Burj-Al-Arab, and incredible conventional development Dubai builds several project that can be compared with world biggest building achievements. Miles of islands in shape of palms, islad archipelago in shape of world map, underwater hotels, new Disneyland and residential compounds with highest constructions on the world makes Dubai one of the most interested and exciting world destinations.
Although the visitor can not see this in his first look to the city, because it is just a little bit larger than Munich, longitudinally stretched through the coast of the Gulf, with the same traffic jams like Munich due to disproportion in city growth and infrastructure reshaping.
Dubai has approx. 1.4 million of inhabitants, of which just 16% are “locals”. Others are immigrated “working power” mostly from India and Pakistan what decrease the level of services provided in Dubai. Details will be (or were) published in posts on blog. From the other side, Dubai has other interesting characteristics: It is one of the safest cities on the world. It is not point of interest of two sides involved in conflict between Islamic fundamentalists and some western countries. Crime rate is extraordinary low, and the city is open only to rich tourists and immigrant with secured job, both after comprehensive checking and documenting.
Dubai is tax free zone.
Dubai is shopping center for both rich local and western tourists (including extremely rich Russians) and low class societies from southern Asia.
Dubai is in the desert, but it has thousands of square meters under grass that is regularly watered. Dubai consumes large quantities of water, artificially produced in desalinization process. Although each water drop must be produced, in Dubai the water bill is not accompanied with additional taxes and additional costs like in Europe, and there is not VAT, so the water bill is comparable to European.
In Dubai one liter of petrol is approx. 0.30 euro. The difference between this low price and normal European petrol portion in family budget is covered with high consimprion: distances are huge, and everyone drives 4x4 cars…
In any case, it is all very interesting, but also very unnatural and artificial (except the surrounding environment), and the opinion about Dubai is left to your personal impression.

users visited english version of this blog since November 12th 2005.

users visited croatian version of this blog since May 1st 2005.