"Recovering in Dubai"

If you ever have been in Las Vegas - forget about it, Dubai is 10x crazier and getting bigger everyday! What a place - the Tourist Bus only stops at shopping malls and most of them are the biggest in the world! Currently the tallest building is being built (900m - when finished!), over 8'000 construction sites currently worked on, Dubai holds 70% of all cranes in the world! Of the 1.4 million people living here 80% are expats from over 129 countries. The rulers are making Dubai the 'greatest place' in the world by 2015. Currently an airport the combined size of London Heathrow and O'Hara Chicago is being finished (more plane traffice between 1 and 3 am the Sydney during one day; a 'Dubai Land' 3x the size of Disneyland including a hotel with 6'500 rooms (!!) is being built plus the worlds first underwater hotel (ocupancy is 92% for all hotels here - so everyone makes $$'s). Artifical islands symbolising the worldmap for 10 - 20 milllion $ a 'country' (island) and the famous Palms are all being under construction....
I tried to avoid the shopping devil but after 3 days I lost the battle and I am glad Uli is not with me because an additional visit to the Gold Souq would have blown out the Credit Cards! It is a cheap place to shop currently and with expected 15 million visitors a year by 2010 it will certainly stay a shoping paradise!
So, after 4 days 'recovering' and putting back all my lost kg I will be on my way to Sydney tomorrow.....and then start thinking about training for a next adventure (just don't tell Uli yet)
See you soon
Markus