What's going on???

I seem to recall I said the next posts would be a series of rants about trying to get business done in Dubai, but they managed to get the air conditioning working in the server room last night, so I'm a little more chilled out now. Don't know how long that'll last, so I'll take the opportunity to post some pictures of Dubai, or part of it, at least ...

So far this trip, I've stayed in JLT, so haven't had time to get photos of the rest of Dubai (watch this space). Given that, these are local:

As I said, I'm staying in the Bonnington



This shot is taken from the Almas Tower side, and shows what's proving to be the bane of my life - although the buildings are next door, they haven't finished the Bonnington surroundings yet - that corrugated iron in the foreground would be the direct route through - might not sound much, and in truth it isn't very far, but when the temperature is in the mid 40s (C), having to walk all the way round the block can feel like a lifetime. The area where the wall appears to be cut away is the swimming pool, which is in the open air, and probably the most sensible place to be.

The Bonnington is part of an Irish chain - the next picture shows the base of the Almas Tower, but to the left you can see the Cavendish Restaurant, and Healey's Irish bar. The Almas is the building in the centre of the picture, with the angled glazed podium, and disappearing our of view at the top of the shot.



Actually, though I've said getting things done here can be like pulling teeth (have I actually said that? If not, take it as read!) sometimes things can be turned round remarkably quickly. I was here a couple of months ago for a week. The next photo is from almost the same place - the garden element appeared within a couple of days...



... so some things can take place fairly quickly. Getting back to the Almas Tower, I rarely get far enough away to get it all in one shot, so having seen the base, the upper part looks like this:



It's the tallest building in JLT - in fact I think the second tallest in Dubai, after the Burj Khalifa, which of course is the tallest in the world (this is Dubai, after all.) The area is still very much under development - the lakes of course are artificial, and this one - in the distance - has only just been filled in:



The one on the other side is still being tanked, but you can see the idea ...



Of course, Dubai is in the throes of completing their Metro - it's largely open now, though typically, the most useful stop for me - JLT - isn't open yet. Not just for transport - it has the only footbridge to cross the Sheikh's Highway, which certainly isn't something to risk on foot - the M25 would be easier. The stations are very stylized - the best bit is they're fully air conditioned - but I can't help thinking they remind me of the sand worms from Dune:



By way of a parting shot, I mentioned that the swimming pool in the Bonnington was part of the way up the building- on the 11th floor, as it happens. Some developers obviously thought that was a half measure - with apologies for the very grainy shot (how do you clean the windows on a 60 story building?), this is just one of a number of buildings that found somewhere else to put it:



Oh - by the way -if you didn't know or hadn't gathered, if you click on the photos, they will download and open in higher resolution. Anyway - so much for the picture fest - I'll get back to reporting the trials and tribulations of doing business here later!