Dubai First Day 3 of 5

The Palm Jumeirah complex is the world's largest artificial island. It spans an area of 3.2 km by 3.2 km and can be seen from space. From the Monorail windows we looked down, out and over the fanned palm-frond-designed island communities below. Each of the Islamic designed 'Lego like" mansions had its own beachfront and yacht marina. From this area we also could look back to Dubai city, along a private beach line and across the water at a backdrop of high rise buildings. After about 10 minutes we arrived at the Palm Jumeirah island complex which is huge. This impressive engineering creation has been achieved by using thousands of foreign labourers who have flooded Dubai in search of work so that they can support their families back home. Labour is cheap , conditions are often unsafe but hundreds of third world people are desperate to rise above the poverty line and the risks they take working in the extreme heat of Dubai seems worth taking for them. Already thousands of workers are employed on yet a second Palm Island shaped development, an even higher tower than the Burj Khalifa, another extension of Dubai Mall and the latest creation- a new man-made complex of islands whose pattern formation represents the continents and islands of the world- absolutely mind boggling. Takes me back to Babylon, in the Bible. When man sought to build bigger and better palatial and exotic buildings, – man denying himself nothing but ignoring his Creator and those around him who were poor and desperate and needy. My how that mighty nation and others have fallen!

Greeting us at the exit monorail station is a huge water playground park, named Atlantis Aqua Adventure Park. We recognised it by a huge ziggurat-type construction in the centre of the park. This adventure playground was used as the set for "Race around the World", a TV show we'd seen a few years ago. Many families were enjoying the waterslides, boat rides, swimming pools and other activities which the park provides.

We hadn't come prepared to swim so we head out towards the outer rim of the circular causeway that surrounds the ocean complex. We watched families enjoying the cool ocean breeze, the water craft burling past the huge manmade rock platform retaining wall and a passing parade of expensive cars heading for the Atlantis Hotel Complex which is built along the shoreline of manmade beach out in the ocean.