With A Thong In Their Art
Sun Herald
Sunday August 31, 2008
Gavin Haines accidentally leaves his mark in Dubai, a city growing by the minute.
It was like a scene out of a comedy sketch show, although no one was laughing. The group of labourers who watched on in horror certainly didn't find it funny and, at the time, neither did I. Unfortunately the only indication that I shouldn't be walking on this pavement came too late - as my feet sank into it. To make matters worse I had managed to lose my thongs in the soggy sidewalk, so as well as being ankle-deep in freshly laid concrete, I was plunging my hand into the stuff feeling for my footwear. Meanwhile, the angry labourers shouted in a foreign tongue and frantically waved their arms as I ruined their morning's work. Having found my footwear I waded through the pavement to the somewhat firmer grass verge and apologised to the workers. I half expected them to throw me back into the sloppy mess in frustration, but they simply walked back to their lunches, shoulders down and feet dragging.I felt sorry for them. Moments before they had been enjoying their lunch break in the shade of a tree. Some had been sprawled out on the ground, exhausted from a morning of labouring, while others used the tree trunk as a backrest and tucked into their food. It was too hot for these labourers to be digging roads and laying concrete - let alone having to do it twice. They must have been wishing they'd been scheduled to work the cooler and less calamity-prone night shift instead. Construction work goes on 24 hours a day in Dubai - the city seems afraid to sleep for fear that the world won't wait. As a result, the flicker of a welder's torch and the sound of a bricklayer scraping his trowel are not uncommon here in the small hours. This intensive approach to building means that Dubai is expanding upwards and outwards by the day and, away from the trimmed hedgerows, tree-lined streets and contemporary Middle Eastern architecture of the city centre, Dubai is essentially a giant building site. Not even the sea has escaped development, as earlier this year the finishing touches were made to the World - a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of a world map. As I sat in the surf at Jumeirah beach washing the concrete off my feet I tried to spot the development on the horizon, but to no avail. Only the rich and famous will really get to see these islands. Indeed, David Beckham is rumoured to have bought one of them. However, if he is going to move to Dubai he might want to forget about his trademark golden boots and pack a pair of the steel-capped variety instead - he will probably find them more useful.
© 2008 Sun Herald
Share This