Dubai gallery, DJ's galère

Tacky or smart? A fifty dirham (£7) taxi journey from Dubai Creek, this elaborate wintry scene has been created in the the vast Emirates Mall. Pop inside for an pseudo-Alpine experience. Just the thing for when Mad Dogs and Englishmen finally wish to escape from the searing Arabian sun, midday or not........


We wanted a museum, but the cabbie who picked us up after a boat trip on the creek seemed perplexed by the request and took us to yet another shopping centre instead........


A visit to the old town is something of a must-do when you go to Dubai, even if you have no desire to acquire anything in the garish yellow gold many of these shops sell.......



On the quayside, tons and tons of goods bound for Iran can be seen piled high in crates prior to loading. We saw cloves of garlic, cardboard boxes full of bedding and packages containing various household goods, though none of those electronic circuit boards that come in so handy for bomb making........



Wandering the streets in search of food led to this opportunity for alfresco lunching. It may look unpromising. But it still served up tasty kebabs, washed down with Diet Cokes, for just under £1 apiece........




This waterfront scene seems unthreatening enough. But between those palm trees is the Dubai court building. Westerners planning so much as a transit stop in the Emirates on their way to or from more liberal jurisdictions, or coming here on holiday or to work, should be aware that if they end up there for possessing drugs, they face a minumum four-year jail term......



There was already little excuse for not knowing of the country's strict laws on illegal substances (guilt can be established by no more than traces of cannabis in the system the day after a joint was smoked in London, or indeed the discovery of certain medicinal drugs that are perfectly lawful elsewhere). After this week's imprisonment of the BBC disc jockey Raymond Bingham - Grooverider - even the dimmest traveller will surely now take heed.