OK, three weeks in now and basically settled into a rhythm of sorts. It's still a comfortable place to be, no question about it, and the work is going well: we have a decent repertoire assembled and the group dynamic is coming together nicely. I have figured out where most things are, how to get what I need and not ruffle any feathers doing so.
And I have passed the initial phase where everything is so new and interesting that you have to try it – meaning, to put it plainly, that I am not eating as much. I've realized that most things are in a kind of rotation and you don't have to put a little of everything on your plate, because if you don't try it this time it will come around again.
Additionally, and also hopefully of use in resisting unfettered weight gain, I have managed to make friends with the treadmill. I've never really liked them, I much prefer running outside, preferably in the forest, but with no real option (running outside in the Dubai summer heat would likely be quite dangerous) I am finding it's not so bad. Actually I bought a new pair of runners today, mainly because they were so absurdly cheap compared to Germany.
It's a day off and Lars (our bassist) and I went to the Ibn Battuta Mall, which is by far my favourite of those I've managed to visit so far (malls are kind of the centre of all life in Dubai, and there are a lot of them). It's actually kind of six malls all connected, each done in the architectural style of one of the countries – all Muslim at the time – which the 14th century traveler the mall is named after, visited and wrote about.
So you have the China court, the India court, the Persia court, the Egypt court... and I suppose two others, but that's all I managed to get through today. Since Dubai is such a new city, only half-born as it were, there is little 'real' architecture here, and to get the flavour of the city you have to see what's being built now – much of which is pretty outrageous.
Of course, a great deal of it is also quite bland – clusters of tall glass towers with little to distinguish them from one another. There is an enormous herd of these being thrown up nearby at what is called the Dubai Marina, though it has very little to do with marine services from what I can tell. Something like a hundred huge skyscrapers, business hotels and condominiums, all being built at once, and already apparently over 90% sold. Business, at least the construction business, is booming in Dubai.
However, there are also some architectural gems here and there (besides the malls... with or without indoor ski hills), one of which is right next door to us here, the Madinat Jumeirah complex. Jumeirah is the company that owns and runs the Burj Al'Arab, and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel across the street, and a host of other hotels and developments besides. It's a big company, and being a big employer with close ties to the Royal Family, quite powerful as well. As usual, I find it very strange working for large companies, but perhaps it's imprudent to go into too much detail on that...
In any case, Jumeirah have turned away in recent years from the ultra-modern eye-popping style that the Burj represents, and towards a more traditionally-inspired idiom. The result is the Madinat complex, incorporating two large hotels, the Mina A'Salaam and the Al Qasar. The latter is another gated, ultra-luxury project like the Burj and I have not been inside, but the Mina A'Salaam is open and it is, to me, really much more beautiful and tasteful than the over-the-top opulence here (supposedly the Al Qasar is even better;
they also have a desert oasis resort, out in the middle of nowhere, called Bab Al Shams, which I'm told is worth a visit too). There is also a theatre, some private luxury villas, and a 'souk', which means marketplace but it's really more like a low-rise mall with a bit of a traditional Arabic cast to the architecture. It's a tourist trap in some ways, and the deals are not the best in town, but actually it's kind of a nice place to wander through. And it gets me out of the hotel.
The whole compound is arranged around 3 km of artificial lagoon, beautifully manicured, with island villas and sculptured gardens and traditional boats called Abras putting slowly around taking guests from place to place.
As with so many things here, none of it is 'real' at all, but it's really quite pleasant all things considered. For a bit of a splash but still well below what a stay in the Burj will run you, it would probably be rather nice. Not that I'm advertising.
Well, as I say, I have more or less adjusted to this rather surreal lifestyle. It really is not too unpleasant.
Besides rehearsing, performing, eating and sleeping, I have spent a fair bit of time watching World Cup matches with Lars and Vadim, the Russian pianist from the lobby band. Still have not found the rhythm to get the creative process kick-started, but hopefully once the World Cup is over that will happen of its own accord. I did finally manage to get to the beach, although it was the middle of the night. I will leave you with this picture of the hotel in its evening dress...
