Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Beginning

We flew out from Christchurch on the 1st, a long week ago now. I only have little parcels of memories. The coral sea studded with atolls, a vast swampy promontory on the south coast of PNG and as we caught up to darkness, forestry or maybe mining camps on the “birds head" of Indonesia's Papua province.

Our first stop was Hong Kong but only briefly. Great views of the lit city flying in, but no memories of the airport experience. Next though was Dubai, the city in the desert. The city of cranes. The skyscrapers stretch linearly along the coast or perhaps the metro. They are vast constructions, ground floors given to malls and parking, towers to living, the contorted spires and shapes to the gods of aesthetics, or perhaps construction.

The largest of them all is the Burj Khalifa. A beautiful tower stretching into the dust cloud. A symbol of Emirati wealth, a spire to their aspirations. And I don't blame them for their quest to turn Dubai into the centre of the globalised world, the West has thrived for so long on the vast profits of oil.

1 comment:

Bob McKerrow - Wayfarer said...

A joy to read your view of the world with young and fresh eyes. I wish you safe and adventurous travels.