Word: dubai
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There are plenty of things you can do in a desert that have nothing to do with sand or sun: skiing, water-skiing, canoeing, trekking, scuba diving, golf, safari, horse racing ... Well, not in every desert, perhaps. But you can do all that in Dubai, which, as more than half a million Asians a year are discovering, is the world's new adventure sports Mecca...
Since the sheiks struck oil in 1966, they have driven Dubai toward the future with a high-octane fury somehow appropriate in a country sitting on one of the world's fuel tanks. In just over a generation, the area has grown from barren desert to lurid long-haul stopover to modern metropolis. Dubai used to be famous only for funneling bleary-eyed passengers through endless duty-free malls, a drab modern-day souk experience only slightly enlivened by some sensational bargains. But now, offering beaches with year-round sunshine, million-dollar horse races (see Detour) and the world...
...Awir desert, 40 km from downtown Dubai, I'm hanging on Chris Perera's every word. "The secret to good dune-bashing is to jump onto the dune, not off it," he yells into my helmet as I swing on the padded roller bars into the buggy. "Build up your speed slowly, then accelerate up the dune, taking your foot off the gas at the top, then accelerate back down the dune." He gives me a thumbs-up, and backs away. Until today, sitting in the desert heat, feeling the soar and stutter of engine revs rattle through my spine...
...adventures? Take time to stroll down the city's central Creek, still its main trade artery. Wooden dhows in a rainbow of colors line the banks, waiting to transport goods across Arabia, India and East Africa as they have done for centuries. Or simply relax on Jumeira Beach. (In Dubai's relaxed Islamic code, bikinis are not a problem if wearers confine themselves to the shoreline...
...Last autumn the FBI said it would pay the Yemenis $1 million for a bargeful of mud from beneath the explosion site. After some resistance and suspicion, the Yemenis smiled, pocketed the $1 million and let the dredging begin. The FBI shipped the mud off to Dubai, and agents sifted through it for forensic evidence--pieces of the boat and the two bombers that could provide important clues. Now there are no longer any American agents left in Aden. And the U.S. search for Osama bin Laden is still stuck...