The next day we headed to the Dubai Frame via Sheikh Zayed Road (E11), the main North-South artery in Dubai. This road connects many iconic buildings and structures in Dubai and is lined with modern skyscrapers, offering impressive views of the infrastructure on both sides. Dubai Frame is yet another example of a man made structure which has risen from what was the desert some years ago and therefore very little of a historic background.

The 150 meter tall structure was built in 2008 and is situated within the Zabeel park.The park is the largest in Dubai and offers many modern sporting facilities which we found deserted when we went there. Possibly because of the mid day heat. After paying an entry fee of 52.50 AED at the gate and a short walk in the blistering sun you enter the Dubai frame complex. As you head towards the high speed elevators you are treated to an exhibition showing the evolution of Dubai from fishing village to the modern day. In 45 secs you are transported to the top of the frame. The two towers at the top are connected through a opaque glass way which turns transparent with movement. Looking down 48 floors even through glass is quite a eerie feeling and both Malati and took quite a while before we braved the crossing! The view from the top is breathtaking – one the one side you have the modern Dubai and the other side the old. As with any other tourist spots there are paid photo ops, souvenir shops and restaurants in the complex.

We got back onto the Sheikh Zayed Road and headed to the Museum of the Future – The most recent of the iconic structures of Dubai – opened on “two’s” day in 2022 . Shaped like a Torus it brought back memories of my engineering mathematics which I studied nearly 50 years ago . “A simple definition of a Torus is ” a surface or solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line which lies in the same plane but does not intersect it (e.g. like a ring doughnut).” Source Oxford dictionary.

The structure was very imposing and even more fascinating as the the fact that the calligraphy was composed by none other than His Highness the Sheikh of Dubai. Sadly the tickets to the Museum priced at 149 AED were sold out for the next few days and we had to be content with spending time in the lobby. The theme of the museum, the structure and perhaps the denial of admission fired my imagination and I later read up more about the museum, concept,design and execution, structure and so on – Fascinating indeed and will definitely see this place on my next trip to Dubai .

As we headed back to our hotel on the Marina once again along the Sheikh Zayed road, the Indian taxi driver explained that perfect road discipline in Dubai was maintained through an elaborate system of tele monitoring and exceptionally heavy fines where even a minor misdemeanor could cost the driver many months wages with fines going up to as much as 50000 AED! If only such a system could be implemented back home in India it might even make a dent on our GDP !