Mini-Lyon to be built in Dubai. Sigh.

by Abha Malpani on

The fact that I left Dubai and continually seem to be ranting about the city here might make you think I hate it. Truth is, I don’t. I’ve just had enough of it, and would never want to live there again. The city does have its own charm, something I will write about when I’m inspired to. However, the idea of building a mini-Lyon in Dubai isn’t part of it.

You would think that a city that is hardly 40-years old and has no money issues, would put in some effort to nurture and display to the world a culture it can call its own. But it always takes pride in doing the exact opposite.

Dubai is a strange, though fascinating, concoction of everything it isn’t but wants to be. This is why people like me who have spent a significant amount of time there often perceive its new ventures to keep the city in the world’s limelight as superficial ludicrousness.

The project to build a mini-Lyon in Dubai that will copy the city and even reconstruct the cafes, cinemas and schools, will be a €500 million project due to finish in 2012.
Why do you want a mini-Lyon in Dubai? It’s going to be “a small city with the accent on the best of French culture, and particularly Lyon culture.” Lyon is the 3rd largest metropolitan in France with a history that goes back to the 1st Century BC. This is impossible to imitate to any level of significance in 4 years.

Why doesn’t Dubai understand that copying cities and building “only-possible-in-Dubai” structures and islands, creates nothing but a confusion over the very word ‘culture’. I suppose in Dubai they would call it “redefining culture”.

When Dubai plans things like this, I think it just reinforces the cultural crisis it is in, but will never admit. It probably won’t affect its tourism industry, so I guess it doesn’t matter. Sigh.

Hanoi’s own version of Nessie — except with more sightings

by Martha Edwards on

When I first flew into Vietnam, I landed in Hanoi. After travelling through Laos, Vietnam was a bit of a shock — it’s more frantic and dirty than any city I’ve ever been to, even crazier than London, Paris, Bangkok and New York all put together. Crossing the street is a matter of life and death, people yell at you in foreign dialects for no apparent reason and you better not let the crowds push you off the sidewalk — the gutter is full of sewage.

But amidst all the indescribable hustle and bustle, there’s an oasis smack dab in the middle of the city — a beautiful lake surrounded by a equally stunning park is a welcome refuge for a weary traveler. And there’s a little castle right in the center on it’s own little island. It’s pretty surreal.

Here’s something I didn’t know about this little lake — there’s a well-known giant turtle in those waters who calls the lake his home.
The Great Grand Turtle, also known as Professor Turtle or Rafetus Leloi, has been emerging from the waters a record number of times this year — 78 to be exact, compared with around 50 last year — and it’s hoped he will pop up more often. In fact, scientists are trying to clean up pollution around the lake to guarantee it. Appearances are a delight to school children and tourists in Hanoi, because it’s believed the turtle was instrumental in the magic that fought off Ming invaders from China in the 15th century.

No wonder they call him the Great Grand Turtle — he’s 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) long and 1.1 meters (3ft 7 in) wide, and he weights 200 kg (440 lb)!

The Sweatiest Cities in America

by Justin Glow on

“If you ever need to fill a swimming pool with sweat, and you need to do it in a hurry,” reads this article by Live Science, “you might enlist the entire population of Phoenix, Ariz., home to the sweatiest people in the nation.” Mmm … a swimming pool filled with sweat: how refreshing!

For the second year in a row, Phoenix is ranked the number 1 sweatiest city in America, producing “26 ounces of sweat per hour while walking outdoors.” With a population of 1.5 million, that’s 39 million ounces of sweat in one city, or almost 2 million 20-ounce bottles worth per hour. Wow! Here are the 10 sweatiest cities in America (or where not to travel to this summer):

  1. Phoenix
  2. Las Vegas
  3. Tucson, Ariz.
  4. Dallas
  5. Corpus Christi, Texas
  6. San Antonio, Texas
  7. Austin, Texas
  8. Shreveport, La.
  9. Houston
  10. Waco, Texas

Related:

Photo of the Day (4/17/06)

by Karen Walrond on


I’ve mentioned before my love of European
cities at night — and this photograph of the canals of Amsterdam, taken by Fred Hsu, illustrates my point beautifully.  I love how the
stillness of the water reflects the lights of the buildings above — the bridge from which the photo was taken looks
like a very romantic place, indeed.

If you’d like one of your travel photos to be featured in our Image of
the Day, be sure to visit our Flickr Pool, and upload your best
shots there.  Every day we’ll pick one to be featured here on Gadling.  Thanks!