Jul 6th, 2011 at 11:00AM: The tallest building in the world does not appear made for this earth. By day it looks photoshopped into its downtown Dubai surroundings, and by night, the hulking spire looks like a rocket bound for the furthest reaches of our galaxy. And like a giant middle finger to its predecessors in the tallest building club, the structure is a testament to the audacity of Dubai - an idea that, what they ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
dubai posts
Exploring the world's tallest structure - the Burj Khalifa
Jul 6th, 2011 at 11:00AM: The tallest building in the world does not appear made for this earth. By day it looks photoshopped into its downtown Dubai surroundings, and by night, the hulking spire looks like a rocket bound for the furthest reaches of our galaxy. And like a giant middle finger to its predecessors in the tallest building club, the structure is a testament to the audacity of Dubai - an idea that, what they ...Seven courses at the highest restaurant in the world - At.mosphere in Dubai
Jun 28th, 2011 at 10:30AM:
Dubai is a city of realized hyperbole. It has the tallest building in the world, man-made islands shaped like the world's continents, and a restaurant high high above the towering skyscrapers below. At.mosphere, a restaurant in Dubai's towering Burj Khalifa, provides a dining experience with a view reminiscent of glancing out the window of a plane. It is preposterously thrilling to savor a ...Dubai's iconic Burj Al Arab - the world's most glamorous hotel
Jun 21st, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Long before Dubai began showing up at the bottom of fashion advertisements along with Paris, New York, and Tokyo, it was all sand and ambition. It was once simply desert and an idea. An "if you build it, they will come" on the most massive scale. Build it, they did.
As the years piled on, Dubai transformed. The skyscrapers grew like weeds in an untended lawn. Any doubt that the city was ...Fashion TV network to open branded hotel in Dubai
May 20th, 2011 at 10:00AM: Armani helped design his namesake hotel in the Dubai's Burj Khalifa. Diane Von Furstenberg has her own designed suites at Claridge's in London. Missoni opened two hotels - Edinburgh and Kuwait - to help promote the line's home decor. The Verscace legend lives in on at his mansion, now the Villa by Barton G, in Miami Beach. So it was only a matter of time before fashion took over the hospitality ...Gallery: More travel sketches from BBC's Tim Baynes
May 18th, 2011 at 3:00PM:
We wrote yesterday about Tim Baynes' delightful travel sketches from around the world on BBC and liked them so much we came back for more. You can (and should!) get lost for hours looking at his drawings on Flickr with fun anecdotes and scribbles bringing depth and humor to his slice-of-life artwork.
Check out some of our favorites in the gallery below, from a look inside the BBC Starbucks to ...Illegal animal smuggler busted in Thai airport
May 14th, 2011 at 8:00AM: A man identified only as a citizen of the United Arab Emirates was arrested in the international airport in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday for the illegal smuggling of animals. At the time of his arrest, he had several suitcases which contained two baby leopards, two panthers, two macaque monkeys, and an Asiatic black bear.
According to this story from our friends at AOL Travel, the 36-year old ...Pop-up restaurants: dining for a new decade
Apr 28th, 2011 at 1:30PM: First, it was underground supper clubs. Now, everything's coming up pop-ups. As with food trucks, this form of guerrilla cheffing borne of economic need has become a global phenomenon. Equal parts dinner party and dinner theater, a pop-up refers to a dining establishment that is open anywhere from one to several nights, usually in an existing restaurant or other commercial food establishment.
...25 newly-discovered travel destinations from Wanderfly.com
Apr 1st, 2011 at 12:30PM: If you've checked out Wanderfly, the new travel planning and booking service that suggests destinations and activities based on your interests, you know they've come up with some unique and untouristy destinations. Now they've gone beyond the beaten tourist track with 25 newly-discovered travel destinations. Why just see the Great Wall of China when you could see a whole city full of kittens in ...Dubai tour company offers pirate hunting cruises off horn of Africa
Apr 1st, 2011 at 10:30AM:
After years of murders, kidnappings, and heists, the lawless sea near the horn of Africa seems to be getting worse. A Dubai firm is capitalizing on these pirate infested waters with a strange new form of pirate tourism. The tour company, Dubai based Seahunters LLC, sells both 7 and 14 day cruises embarking from Salalah, Oman and Abu Dhabi, UAE. Unlike the quintessential cruise, the cruisers ...What are the top five cities for business travel?
Mar 21st, 2011 at 2:00PM: Some cities are better for doing business than others, it seems. Of course, business travelers (well, professionals in general) all have their preferences. Having done my time in Omaha, Winnipeg and London (Ontario), I can tell you that some places are better than others. So, I was pretty excited to see think tank Z/Yen put out its Global Financial Centres Index (PDF), which shows the top five ...Retail therapy: Istanbul ShoppingFest begins March 18
Mar 16th, 2011 at 3:30PM: Every year, many people visit Istanbul to shop in the historic Grand Bazaar to haggle over carpets, Turkish tea glasses, and souvenir t-shirts. But most locals do their shopping in Istanbul's many malls, markets, high streets like Istiklal near Taksim Square and Bağdat on the Asian side, and neighborhoods such as posh Nişantaşı and funky Çukurcuma. This year, from March 18 to April 26, ...Travel to Sri Lanka grows, along with obstacles for tourism
Feb 1st, 2011 at 11:00AM: Since the end of the Tamil Tiger confilct in May 2009, travel to Sri Lanka has been increasing, with the country celebrating their 600,000th foreign tourist last month. This year, 700,000 are expected with tourism growing to 2.5 million a year within 5 years, reports the BBC. "The nature has blessed us with beautiful beaches, waterfalls, exotic wildlife and historic places. We as a nation have a ...World's highest restaurant opens in Dubai
Jan 26th, 2011 at 9:30AM: Want to get high? It won't be illegal if you do it at Burj Khalifa's At.mosphere, which surpasses Toronto's 360 Restaurant as the world's highest restaurant. The downtown Dubai restaurant strands at 1,350 feet high (that's level 123, for those who care).
The restaurant seats 210 guests and offers both a dining and bar area. Both emphasize fresh products and healthy, simple cooking - all food is ...Daily Pampering: Dubai Shopping Festival hotel packages
Jan 11th, 2011 at 4:00PM: You read the title right, fashionistas: There's an entire festival devoted to shopping that takes place in Dubai, and Emirates Airlines has partnered with hotels and luxury retailers to offer travelers a few good discounts and a place to drop their bags after a long day of shopping.
The 15th annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) begins on Jan. 20 and runs until Feb. 20 in the glamorous city of ...Ritz-Carlton ready to open first new hotel of 2011: Dubai International Financial Centre
Jan 4th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
The Ritz-Carlton hotel group is gearing up for an exciting 2011. Amid the flurry of anticipation for the opening of the tallest hotel in the world in Hong Kong, the hotel group is also preparing for its first opening of the year, The Ritz -Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), slated to welcome guests on Jan. 12, 2011.
The 341-room hotel, with 124 executive residences, will ...Abu Dhabi police find snakes on a plane ... and squirrels and parrots
Dec 7th, 2010 at 2:30PM: You know that the United Arab Emirates is not to be outdone, right? So, when an 89-year-old lady's dog gets loose on an American flight, the Middle East has to find a way to trump it. And, you know it was better than a dog and a cat or an angry monkey.
On a flight from Indonesia to the United Arab Emirates, a passenger was reported to have "four snakes, two parrots and a squirrel inside a box" ...Grantourismo blogger on guidebooks and travel writing
Nov 30th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Last week I posted a Q & A with blogger Lara Dunston and her husband and partner Terence Carter about their travel project and blog Grantourismo. In addition to good advice about renting a vacation apartment and getting "under the skin" of a place when traveling, they had a lot of interesting things to say about guidebooks, both from their experiences writing them and how they see travelers ...Q & A with Grantourismo round-the-world slow travel bloggers
Nov 24th, 2010 at 2:00PM:
With all the holiday travel madness just beginning, sometimes it's nice to take a breath and think about taking travel more slowly. I recently had a chance to meet up with blogger Lara Dunston and her photographer-writer husband, Terence Carter, of the round-the-world travel project and blog, Grantourismo while they were traveling through Istanbul. Lara and Terence hosted me at their fabulous ...Five ways to get to Kabul, Afghanistan
Nov 2nd, 2010 at 8:00AM: Does your definition of "adventure travel" involve a safety briefing and equipment to keep you safe? If so, there's a hard-core version of the concept that you've been missing. Chase the ultimate thrill in Afghanistan, and your world will never be the same. In case you haven't heard, there's a war going on, not to mention plenty of corruption. You will have an adventure to talk about when if you ...Photo of the Day (8.17.10)
Aug 17th, 2010 at 5:45PM:
Anyone know how to order a half-caf venti soy no foam latte in Arabic?
As I'm sure you've guessed, today's Photo of the Day comes from the city of immense scale, renowned elegance, & other worldly air conditioning bills; Dubai. Flickr user JonRawlinson snapped the shot in Dubai's Ibn Battuta Mall, where the iconic coffee kiosk has become somewhat of an attraction in and of itself.
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