Musings: This is Dubai. Anything is possible here.

I am walking down the street when I see a familiar face. It’s Eve, I think, involuntarily. How could that be, she’s in California! A closer look reveals that it is someone else.

I am driving through the Sharjah University campus and see someone familiar clicking photographs. Looks like Olivia. Turns out be someone else.

At the Jumeirah Beach Park an ethereal figure in a red bikini emerges from the sea. No it’s not Ursula Andress! It looks like Ana! But alas, Ana is in Poland.

As I drive past the creek I see the smiling figure of Sabia smiling and waving at me. Am I hallucinating? I ask myself. I must be. She is in Italy!

That evening, as I moodily reflect on the appearance of all these apparitions, the truth slowly dawns.

"Dubai Discussions" has suddenly become more than a discussion group. It has become a personal arena where we wince when Ana’s ribs ache; where we are moved to tears when somebody’s relationship fails; where we critically examine one’s boyfriend and conclude that the pet Chihuahua looks better! J (Adnan, forgive me this one!)

Well done, gang! Let’s keep the camaraderie up! We will all benefit.

Ok, now on to other Dubaiesque things.

Imagine you are in the middle of summer. The heat is a sweltering 45 degrees Centigrade. Your mouth and lips are parched. You pine for a cold Coke. The heat hits you with a blast as you get out of your car. You hurry into the dome shaped building. Ah! It’s a cool minus15 degrees Celcius within. You change in the locker room. You put on your skis and off you go. You are now on the longest ski track in the world inside the world’s largest free standing dome. You idly wonder how many other skiers are there and idly start counting. You stop when you reach one thousand. The attendant later confirms that there were1200 skiers also skiing.

The Snow Dome - an indoor Alpine ski Resort – will shortly come up in Dubai.

Inside, one will see snow capped mountains, arctic zoos, live penguin rookeries, ice-skating canals, bob sleds, etc.

The dome will house a giant snow deck measuring 175 meters in diameter that curves its way upwards around a 300 meter slope as it rotates. The down hill run varies in length from 380 meters to 20 kilometers. 20 Kilometers? Yes, 20 kilometers and more! This is achieved by spinning the deck at speeds between 5 kmph and 25 kmph.

That evening, as you chat with a friend in a far away land you tell, in response to her query as to how you are, that you have a touch of frostbite. Frostbite? she asks unbelievingly. Yes, frostbite, you confirm with a smiley.

This is Dubai. Anything is possible here.

Article copyright Prakash Subbarao (info@datadubai.com)