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Dubai

Training It

by Keith on March 1, 2011 · 2 comments

We took a variety of transportation options while traveling, but one of my favorites was the multitude of trains. The picture above is me on a steam locomotive at the Modern Transportation Museum in Osaka.  We took intercity trains in Egypt, Vietnam, China and of course Japan.  We also took many intracity trains and subways in numerous countries from,

Duabi’s automated subway system to,

Kuala Lumpor’s private system run by 2 companies that never seemed to connect in a convenient way.

The differences did not stop there.  Train stations varied widely across the different countries with the station in Aswan, Egypt ranking up there as the most uncomfortable and maybe even a little scary,

to the station in Kyoto, Japan as the most spacious and airy.

I would rather be at either of them when I miss my transfer in Trenton, New Jersey on my current work commute from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to New Brunswick, New Jersey.  The station in Trenton, while it does have a Dunkin Donuts, does not have free wifi, sushi or the spotless bathrooms of Japanese stations.

The one serious advantage the train systems have here in the United States is the automated ticket machines in multiple languages. Buying my 10 pack of tickets for NJ Transit while waiting on the platform in New Brunswick for the 4:23 to Trenton is quite easy.

And having an English language ticket machine when we were in China would have saved Amy and I the pleasure of the 15 hour ride in Hard Sleeper Class, which we explore in more detail in this post.

I was inspired to write this post in part because my current commute has me on trains much more than I have ever been in the past. And having seen many different train systems from around the world, I think the system here in the Northeast U.S., is quite impressive. However, I do not think that this means we can stop investing in the amazing infrastructure that moves millions of people everyday. Septa alone moves 400,000 riders every weekday, and transports 70% of Center City Philadelphia’s work force into the city.  This is a hugely sustainable option for these workers.  Imagine if we lived with this density of population, and lack of interstates without this great infrastructure.  The Schuylkill (I-76) would be even more clogged, which I am not sure is even possible.

If you are interested in the strategic development of rail within the US, I recommend looking through Amtrak’s vision for High Speed rail in the Northeast, which you can find here.

I will be following up this post with a detailed analysis on the rational behind our decision to remain car-free since our return.  As you might have guessed, there was an excel sheet involved and much like the cost comparison of the Beast we looked at all the angles.  In the meantime let me know what you think about trains.  Should we as a country invest in more rail infrastructure?  Do you rely on trains to get where you need to?

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A Detour Through New Jersey? Nope, it’s Just Dubai

by Amy on December 14, 2009 · 5 comments

Purple Ceiling Shopping MallDubai. Mall.  The words are almost interchangeable.  Megamalls abound in Dubai, and while many criticize the abundance of shopping malls as emblematic of the materiality and excess of Dubai, or say that a visit to Dubai is no more interesting than a trip to any American shopping center, Keith and I actually found the mall experience fascinating and enjoyable.

What?  Are we crazy?  Maybe, but I don’t think so.  In such an inhospitable environment, where the sun is blaring and temperatures soar to unimaginable heights, the shopping mall in Dubai serves the role of town square.  Yes, there is every store and fast food chain you ever heard of.  Yes, you can spend a ton of money and load yourself down with shopping bags filled with stuff (and yes, we did do some shopping ourselves).  But the mall is also a great place to observe life in the Emirates.

We spent many hours watching the international mix of Dubai’s residents interact, from wealthy Emirati families decked out in jewels spending the holiday with their families, to groups of single men from India enjoying a meal on their day off from work, to expat bankers grabbing their morning coffee while glued to their blackberries.

And it’s not the just the people that are interesting to observe – there’s the architecture and the way a space shapes the activities within, that is very different from a shopping mall at home.  The malls we saw in Dubai were lofty, with natural lighting and high ceilings.  Some were even designed like traditional Arab souks, with stores selling the same kinds of goods located in the same area.  These might seem like small things, but I think they provide insight into what life is like in Dubai.

Dancing MallWe also got to experience some culture while in the malls of Dubai.  We saw several dance performances, including a Bedouin dance performance in celebration of UAE’s National Day, and even enjoyed a concert by a classically trained violinist while eating an affordable dinner.

Hot ChocolateWe also went snowboarding (well, Keith snowboarded, I lodged, hot chocolate and all), saw a Hollywood movie, and watched scuba divers swim in the aquarium’s shark tank.  Our three days in Dubai weren’t cheap, but they were packed with activities.

So is the Dubai shopping mall the reason why people quit their jobs to travel the world?  No, probably not.  But to be honest, it was fascinating to be in such a clean, modern, international city and a nice change of pace from the ancient ruins and historical sights we’d been seeing in the weeks before.

So what do you think?  Is this just a case of taking the girl out of Jersey, but not the Jersey out of the girl?

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Negative Perceptions leading to Positive Change

by Keith on December 5, 2009 · 3 comments

Anti-BushMost people want others to like them, or at least not think too poorly of them. The difference in traveling abroad as an American now that Barak Obama is President vs. George W. Bush is a totally different experience.  You are much more likely to hear pro-American statements and I have yet to see anything like this anti-Bush graffiti we saw in Argentina in 2005.

It has become clear to me that the fear of a negative perception by tourists can help initiate environmentally sustainable government policies.   One great example is the recent announcement that India has secured $1B from the World Bank to clean up the notoriously polluted Ganges River.  This ensures it will remain a natural resource as well as an Indian and international tourist destination.

I would consider many of the efforts we saw this week in Dubai, a city full of contradictions, part of their effort to mitigate a perception as an oil rich city that is totally unaware and uncaring towards serious environmental issues.  Some of the more visible efforts were solar powered parking meters, recycling bins – the first we have seen in the Middle East, and advertisements for the brand new 100% electric – zero carbon Metro system.

Sustainable

All of these are of course right next to lush green landscaping which is irrigated with power-intensive desalinated seawater, a building boom (much of which is not green) that is nearly unrivaled in human history and the creation of massive man-made island resorts which are visible from space and are being developed by Nakheel (a division of World Dubai) through the dredging of the sea bottom.

UnSustainable

However, with a goal of 10MM tourists per year, even Dubai needs to manage the image it portrays to visitors.  And while many of these efforts are small in comparison to the less-environmentally sensitive mega-projects, it proves to me that at some level there is at least awareness of sustainability issues.  With the recent recession and financial troubles of World Dubai, this might be the pause that is needed to allow a significant shift to more environmentally sustainable development and policies.  In the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy’s 2008 Environmental Performance Index, the UAE ranked 118 of 149 countries*, driven largely by its excessive use of water and emissions of greenhouse gases.  Hopefully a country like the UAE with its tremendous resources can be a leader for the rest of the globe to emulate.  To that end Amy and I will be meeting with Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Associate Director of Sustainability at Masdar City on Sunday, December 6th.  Masdar is the zero-carbon city currently under development in Abu Dhabi.  It is a powerful statement by the UAE, and specifically oil rich Abu Dhabi, that they are willing to invest significant resources, $22B to be exact, to develop cutting edge solutions to help transition to a low carbon economy.

The timing of our meeting is appropriate, as many world leaders will be arriving in Copenhagen the next day for the Climate Change Summit.  It is expected that a major discussion point will be how to protect the environment without stifling economic growth.  Prior to Copenhagen, both India and China announced targets to limit carbon intensity by 20 and 40% respectively, but are not willing to commit to binding emission reduction targets. I believe that tourism should play a critical role in the conversation in Copenhagen as a way to spur economic growth rooted in protecting and preserving the natural environment.  Because while a poor ranking on an Environmental Performance Index can be embarrassing, it is often the potential impact to the tourism industry that finally drives action within the government.  No government official wants to hurt the tourism industry in counties like the UAE where it is an essential part of the future non-oil economy.  Much as the Chinese government took drastic measures during the 2008 Olympics to control air pollution in Beijing when the world’s TV cameras were there, the fear of being labeled as a “dirty” or polluted place by tourists can drive the positive action that is needed.

What do you think?  Does the environmental reputation of a destination impact your decision on where to travel and spend your precious dollars?

*The US was ranked 39th, South Africa ranked 97th, China ranked 105th, India ranked 120th

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