KEY POINTS:
From the water, the contrast is stark.
Modern Dubai - all gleaming surfaces, sleek outlines and darkened glass panels - towers over the ancient town sitting ochre and squat on the water's edge.
This is Dubai, mind, where plenty of vacant land, vast pots of money
and cheap labour has allowed for a real estate project like no other.
This is a place where even some of the "historic" buildings are under construction, as quite a few signs along the city's picturesque Creek area proudly attest.
From the water, this intermingling of old and new is clear.
One dirham (35c) buys you passage across the Creek on an abra, a single-engine wooden boat that seats about two dozen.
Tourists clutching their cameras and bags of haggled souvenirs sit shoulder to shoulder with office workers and labourers, the kaleidoscope of inhabitants of this multicultural metropolis coming together for a brief journey across the water.
Dhows, those brightly hued traditional sailing vessels of the Middle East, float by like clouds.
Some still ply their ancient trade routes, taking goods to and from places such as India and East Africa; their cargo of spices now joined by tractor tyres and car batteries.
First-time visitors could do worse than start at the Creek.
Redevelopment has transformed the older parts of the city on the Creek's banks.
On one side, a broad, paved promenade stretches from a purpose-built dhow terminal all the way to the mouth of the Creek where it meets the Arabian Gulf.
Souks on either side entice the tourist to help support the local economy.
These traditional markets are where you can buy gold by the kilogram, spices by the bag and an assortment of largely Chinese-made Arabian lamps and teapots.
The more sartorially minded could opt for pashminas, which appear to be in the throes of a global oversupply judging by the opening gambits of many a trader.
Haggling is, of course, customary.
But we were above souvenir shopping - at least on the first day - and in pursuit of culture, so we trotted off in search of it at one of the area's numerous historic sites.
We didn't have to wander far. First stop was the Heritage House, a five-minute walk east of the gold souk.
Dating back to 1890, the 935sq m building is an appealing example of a traditional Emirati home, with its expansive central courtyard bordered by various living and working quarters.
Restoration work has rescued much of the intricate detailing on the building, as with the Al-Ahmadiya School next door.
The school, one of the earliest semi-formal institutions in the Emirates, has long gone, but the building is maintained for its historic value and elaborate Islamic-influenced touches.
Across the water lies the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, a listed national monument.
Dating back to 1896, this imposing building was once the seat of local government and the official residence of the grandfather of the present ruler, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The house is a tribute to late 19th century Arabian architecture. Vaulted high-beam ceilings, arched doorways, sculpted window overhangs and exquisitely detailed trellis screens characterise the two-storey building.
The facade is dominated by what is perhaps the world's earliest form of air-conditioning, four wind towers that act as vents for heat to escape from during the summer.
Thankfully there was modern air-conditioning too - the stiflingly hot desert sun which sees temperatures soar upwards of 30C meant the air-conditioning vents quickly became my favourite exhibit.
Historical buildings are all very nice, but what Dubai does exceedingly well is shopping.
If shopping were a religion, its temples would be the mall - and what temples they are in Dubai.
None exemplifies this passion better than the Mall of the Emirates, current titleholder of the biggest mall in the Middle East.
Within its expansive faux mud exterior lie 450 shops, a two-level family-style arcade, a 14-screen cinema, art gallery, theatre, two adjoining luxury hotels, and just what every mall needs - a 400m long, 85m high ski slope.
Like shopping malls everywhere, there is an air of the familiar - the food courts with their American fast food outlets, the couture wing where excess money can find a home, and the interior furnishing stores that could just as easily pass for a Briscoes, only with more tassels.
But Dubai doesn't do familiar in a homely-teatime-at-grandma's kind of way.
They do it with glitz and glamour, or failing that, buckets of gold paint.
Nothing epitomises this approach better than the Burj al-Arab, a hotel built on an artificial island 280m out from the shore.
The 321m hotel's gleaming white and blue sail-shaped structure makes for a regal landmark.
But inside, it offers a slice of Las Vegas in Arabia - opulent in its own way, if faux gold surfaces and red velvet are your idea of the height of luxury.
Already this mind-boggling feat of architecture is being surpassed in complexity and scale.
Dubai, after all, remains very much a city under construction.
Locals say the skyline is constantly changing, as new feats of real estate development are brought to the streets.
On the way is the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai, which is 550m tall and rising.
It has already surpassed the KVLY television mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, which at 628.8m was previously the world's tallest mast and technically the world's tallest structure. The final height by the time it's finished late next year is officially secret, but is reckoned to be around 818m.
Out in the gulf, they're constructing The World, a man-made archipelago of 300 artificial islands built in the shape of a world map.
It is quintessentially Dubai - a city of an ancient culture forged from dreams and money.
Somewhere between the grandeur of the new and the rustic charm of the old is the beating heart of this city, a place where the exotic meets the familiar.
GETTING THERE
Emirates flies three times daily from Auckland (and once daily from Christchurch) to Dubai, via Australia. The economy class online fare is from $3105, including ticket taxes. See www.emirates.co.nz.
MORE INFORMATION
For information about what to do and where to stay, try www.dubaitourism.ae, www.dubai.com or dubaicityguide.com.
Errol Kiong travelled to Dubai as a guest of Fonterra.
