Well I guess it’s time that I start to share some of the things about a place that is increasingly on people’s list of places to visit and has for the last 4 and a bit years been my home – Dubai.

Dubai, a fast paced city with a uniquely Middle Eastern flavour, is the ultimate travel conundrum, as it is:

• An open and accepting place welcoming tourists from around the world that is also a devoutly Muslim country governed by Sharia Law.
• A land where vast tracts of desert sit within 20 minutes of some of the largest, smartest and most extravagant shopping malls on the planet.
• A land of sand and desert that is home to the most northerly permanent flock of flamingoes in the world in its wetlands.
• A place that has less than 15cm of rain a year (compared to 120cm per year in Brisbane and 60cm in London) but has some of the best municipal plantings I’ve seen around the world.
• A progressive city looking for ways to maximise its “green credentials” but relies on oil and aviation for the bulk of its economy,
• Known to be one of the most expensive cities in the world and yet you can go out for and a fabulous lunch for the same price as a cup of coffee in cities like London, Sydney and New York.
• Home to the world’s busiest long haul airport and yet only has a population of about 2.5 million

I will try to give my view of this amazing place and hopefully inspire a number of you to visit.