The-Accountant-July-Aug-2018

TRAVEL
The Tryp by Wyndham
Hotel at Barsha Heights
Air conditioned bus stop
and sold at prices that were unbelievably
cheap. Ships docked in the Dubai Creek
at Deira, cargo was off-loaded onto the
quay, and waiting buyers snapped up the
bargains, often loading them straight
onto smaller vessels like coastal dhows
to be carried straight out of the country
to destinations through the Gulf, the
Middle East, and the ports of coast of
Africa.
Over the past quarter of a century,
the Deira operation has expanded
exponentially, and grown in sophistication,
but it has maintained its reputation for
unbeatable bargains on almost every
imaginable type of merchandise. It was
the free port that first brought in large
numbers of visitors, mainly international
traders looking for goods to take to their
home countries. But soon more hotels
were needed to accommodate the traders,
warehouses were needed to stock, repackage,
and re-ship merchandise, and
offices were built and fitted out to house
trading operations, shipping, insurance
and legal services, banking and currency
trading establishments. The professionals
manning these operations began to
demand leisure facilities, luxury residential
accommodation, health services, and
world-class educational facilities. Even
though the population is only 3 million,
Emiratis are outnumbered about five to
one by expatriates, who come from 200
different countries around the world.
This cultural diversity is reflected
in the many different religions that are
represented in the Emirates because
although Islam is the official religion,
with the state licensing and paying
all the imams in the public mosques,
other religions are allowed to worship
freely, so long as they do not engage in
proselytising. Emiratis are passionately
attached to their faith and culture,
and public modesty is the norm, with
infringements likely to cause offence and
attract penalties that can sometimes seem
harsh to visitors from less conservative
countries.
As the economy has grown, Dubai
has developed hundreds of hotels,
luxury waterside developments, beach
resorts, superbly equipped hospitals,
international schools, universities, and
palatial residential neighbourhoods and
shopping malls, all linked by immaculate
broad highways and a state-of-the-art,
air-conditioned, elevated metro railway.
And in the process, Dubai became a
destination in itself, with visitors coming
to shop in pristine malls stocked with
every known luxury brand. To handle
the massive influx of business visitors
and tourists, the international airport
has grown into a massive city in its own
right, with a metro railway station just
a few steps away from the arrivals hall
with frequent trains that can connect
visitors to all the attractions of the city.
All the world’s major hotel chains have
properties dotted around the city, and the
visitor is spoiled for choice.
The cosmopolitan staff of all of the
hotels and malls leads to a great working
atmosphere and provides the guest with
a really friendly, welcoming, experience.
The Tryp by Wyndham Hotel at Barsha
Heights is just one example of the
professional friendly service to be found
throughout the city. The food can be a little
bland, with almost all of the ingredients
being imported, but it is fresh, creatively
prepared, and served in generous portions.
The name Barsha Heights is something
of a misnomer, since the locality is sited
on the flat coastal plain, with nary a hill
62 JULY - AUGUST 2018