The 'Spill

I took this snap of the Burj Dubai - 'the tallest building in the world to be' - from a nearby hotel rooftop swimming pool. The streaking is a dirty window. The buildings at the foot are normal high rise office blocks. The main building is already over 600 metres tall, not counting the cranes on the top. They say they are a) keeping the height a secret and b) designing the top to be 'add-onable' to foil any challengers - the Chinese for example - who are also in pursuit of 'the tallest building' title. This shot makes the whole thing look like a massive space craft ready for blast -off.

On the right is the 7 star Burj Al Arab taken from Madinat Jumeirah holiday resort and shopping mall. The waterway is man-made. The word Burj means tower. You can get afternoon tea here for a cool 35 quid a throw. I was once able to get a guided tour for some guests and we were shown the 'standard' rooms. All the standard rooms in the hotels are 'duplexes' - 2 floored suites. Each floor has its own check in. The rooms have gold fittings. Every bedroom has a ceiling mirror. This is covered for Chineses guests as it is considered bad luck.

Dubai is an amazing city, but at the moment it is more like an enormous building site. On the backs of cheap Asian labour, they are constructing a space-age city. It could be a case of building on shifting sands. If I choose to visit the top of the Burj Arab,I'll do it as soon as possible.