Dubai

Dubai, of the United Arab Emirates, is quickly becoming the city of the future. The architecture and design of the city is just amazing.

First of all, they have the only seven-star hotel in the world (left). It's designed to look like a sail blowing in the wind. Just as an example of the ridiculousness of the hotel offerings, they have a menu with 13 different pillows/quilts to choose from, in each of the 202 two-floor suites. They have a list of 300 international newspapers to choose from. There are helicopter transfers if you prefer to travel in the air over the arsenal of chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce's.

Have you ever heard of a man-made island? Well the concept was taken to the extreme when plans went underway to construct a series of man-made islands that resemble the entire planet (see right). Apparently, "The World" was completed about a month ago. They will all be private islands, most of which I believe will be for hotels/resorts, but some of them may be for private/commercial use (Dibs on the U.S.!)

So it makes sense that a hot climate with a thriving economy would produce something like "The World." But you can also go skiing in Dubai! That building (on the left) is a freakin' ski resort! Ski Dubai is one of the world's largest indoor ski resorts in the world, the size of about 3 football fields, and it's covered in snow year-round...in the Middle East...where it's probably about 80 degrees right now. Only a madman would pitch that idea...but now he's a madman rolling in the dough.

So anyways, you might be wondering why I sound like a travel agent desperate for people to book a trip to Dubai. Well, the city has undergone plans for something new: the world's largest arch-bridge, spanning a mile long and 670 feet tall...at a mere cost of $817 million. Check out the illustration of what it will look like:

Now I remember seeing a Dirty Jobs episode where Mike Rowe works on a bridge and has to be one of those crazy guys who walks up to the top of the bridge (no thanks). Whatever they pay the people that are going to be doing that on this bridge (when it's done in 2012), it's not enough.