Kirk's Trip to Dubai and Paris

I (Kirk) had to make a trip to Europe for work to visit several of our facilities in Germany and France. The direct flights to Europe were very expensive, but I was able to find a cheap flight that connected through Dubai. I was able to take this flight and spend a day touring Dubai.

Flying into the city all you could see was desert until you came to the city. We flew over the city then came back to land at the airport. In the distance you could see the man made "World Island and "Palm" developments.

I was lucky to find a tour bus called the Big Bus Company that allowed me to see most of Dubai very quickly. The Bus would stop at all of the major tourist stops and allow me to get off for as long as I wanted I could get on the next bus which came every 30 minutes. The city was pretty amazing to see. There is construction everywhere in the city. I was able to see the Burj Al Arab Hotel, The Jemeirah Palm Island, Ski Dubai Indoor Ski Slope, the Burj Dubai (tallest buiding in the world - 800m+), and the old part of town. There are definitely many things to do in the city and would be a great place to come back and visit on a vacation.

Dubai is one of the 7 Emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The majority of revenues in Dubai come from Tourism, Trade, Real Estate and Financial Services. Only 6% of the revenues comes from Oil & Natural Gas. The global financial crisis is taking its toll on Dubai and many of the new building projects have been halted.

After my overnight stay in Dubai I travelled to Germany for work for the next week then drove back to Paris for the weekend. I got to hang out with Mike Powrozek (a co-worker of mine). We toured the city on Saturday and then found a Canadian Bar that was showing the Michigan State Quarter Final Game (which they won). It was tough rooting for the Spartys.