If Gurgaon could dream, Dubai would be its vision every time.

Concrete towers so fresh they look like they rose up from the earth about a month ago, cars the only vehicles on the road, busy professionals, unbearable heat outside the air-conditioned cocoons of the office and the car – all with a pervasive hint of artificiality – Dubai at first sight uncannily reminded me of Gurgaon. But while Ambience Mall might aspire to be among the largest in Asia, it is simply too conservatively built compared to the Dubai Mall or Mall of the Emirates. Conservative because Dubai is constructed king-size; the extravagance might well be unmatched by anything else in the world. In terms of sheer excess of luxury, even Singapore pales in comparison to Dubai.

Indeed, any visitor to Dubai (and ultimately nearly everyone in Dubai is a visitor – there are very few people who “belong” to Dubai the way people think they belong to India or Mumbai) is sure to go “wow!” at the grandeur and ambition that turned the desert into a city and built a collection of islands in a replica of the world to be sold to private owners. And it’s called ‘The World’! Check out this link to help yourself be wowed again. If the global economic crisis had not dampened the ebullient state of affairs, we might have been witness to ‘The Universe’ next.

Here are my observations on Dubai – some of them could be disputable, but that makes them no less interesting.

All buildings are beige villas or grey high-rises. Colours such as blue, green, red, yellow, purple and others on the spectrum are absent perhaps because they don’t match the sand, though the sand per se is rather difficult to spot unless you are right on the beach.

The sand is white and the sea is blue, with no pieces of trash lying around for you to either complain about or justify conveniently throwing a piece of your own.

Traffic rules are followed; walk on a pedestrian crossing with your eyes closed and you will still reach the other side unhurt. (This has not been verified by experience.)

If the radio in the taxi is playing Hindi music, that’s nothing to be surprised about. Just be glad that, Mumbai ho ya Dubai, the taxi-wallah speaks Hindi.

Petrol is more readily available than water, perhaps even cheaper. (Now this could be an exaggeration, but you sure get the drift.)

If you are vegetarian and you don’t eat cheese either, your weight loss plans will come to fruition in far less time than you bargained for.

If you are standing really close to the Burj Khalifa, you are well-advised to do some neck exercises before you attempt to look at the topmost point of the tower. Blaming the world’s tallest building after you sprain your neck is no fun.

<Personal opinion disclaimer applies.>

P.S.: To set at rest the question that might be lurking in your mind, Dubai on a short visit doesn’t feel like the Mallu home-away-from-home that “the Gulf” is sometimes termed as.