yeah my girlfriend's mom went there for a wedding. the place is ridiculous, but it pisses me off because they have TOO MUCH MONEY. why build the world's tallest skyscraper and then have the ability to keep making it taller so it can never be beat? why build man made island systems in the shape of a palm tree and a map of the world? why not give it to the poverty stricken areas immediately surrounding the rich and beautiful city? seriously, there are serious poor areas directly surrounding one of the richest cities in the world, and they don't do shit for them. all they do is flaunt it with all of their architectural wonders, including hundreds of ridiculous hotels. but here's the thing, no one goes there. according to my girlfriend's mom, the hotel she stayed at was massive, but nearly empty.
i don't know it just bothers me what they do with their money. still a beautiful city. the "seven star hotel" (the one designed to look like a sail) is a customer of a company my dad used to work for. i always wanted to see if we could get to stay there.
and one more thing, it's amazing how quickly that place blew up to how it is now. i read a natgeo article on it, and they compared pictures of the same main strip of road down the middle of the city, and about 10 years ago it was a gas station and a toyota dealership, that's it. now look at it, fucking crazy.