What do you do when you were given a desert for a country? You love green but don’t have water? You love animals but they cannot live in the simmering heat? And there is scarcity of land? What do you do?
Well, you recreate your landscape. That is what the United Arab Emirates has done over four decades and the results are amazing.
Since the 1920s, the Emirates were more known as a trading hub connecting traders from around the world. Perched in the centre of mass producing economies like China and India not to forget Indonesia and Malaysia and the many other countries that make up the Asian tigers, the Emirates are a perfect central linkage point to needy Africa, rich Europe and the United States.
Being a Muslim country, the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates exploited the Islamic conservatism of its neighbours, particularly Yemen and Saudi Arabia to offer a high degree of freedom to those willing to set up businesses in their country.
This could have come on the realization that booming economies in Asia in the 1980s through the 1990s needed markets elsewhere. On one hand was the industrial shift from Europe and the United States where big multinationals were facing high wage demands yet with lower consumption compared to Asia which was enjoying both an economic boom and a population explosion.
This meant that lower production costs in Asia coupled with a high consumer demand was good for business. But Asia alone was not enough to take in all goods produced in the western –owned industries.  
There was Africa and Europe and the United States. But it was difficult to ferry goods direct from Asian Markets to Europe, the US and Africa. As such someone had to play the middle part and the Emirates exploited this opportunity.
It is now a norm to see huge companies opening regional offices taking care of Africa, the Arab world and part of Asia.
A key factor in the western world was their love for freedom and lifestyle. Would the Emirates grant them the secular way of life they were used to? This was solved almost as it arose.
In the Emirates, you can have your alcohol (with a licence) and you could buy and consume your pork freely as long as you are in an exclusive area that does not infringe on the rights of Muslims or other people.
Throughout the Emirates, western lifestyle prevails partly because the authorities chose a secular way of administration and this has brought with it rich benefits.
While many Arab economies are dependent on oil, the UAE has moved away from oil dependency syndrome to becoming a business and tourist hub.
The hotel industry is flourishing and with an airline that boasts of the latest Airbus A380 aircrafts, it can only mean that more and more visitors fly in delivering dollars and taking away goods.
Emirates Airlines now competes alongside world powers like British Airways, American Airlines and Air France among others.
Almost every world brand finds it necessary to have a presence in this flourishing part of the world. With land getting scarce and demand growing, the authorities thought fast and extended into the ocean.
Not only did they create more space for hotels and offices but also some of the most amazing designs the world had ever seen.
In Dubai alone, it is no longer enough to put up a 50-plus skyscraper. The design must be appealing. On a visit to the UAE in mid April to attend the Panasonic Media convention, I and several journalist from Mid east, Pakistan and Africa were privileged to be hosted at the prestigious  Atlantis, the Palm Hotel, a man made Island part of the world famous Palm Island.
It is on this island that football star David Beckham bought a villa for his in-laws. And this was just one of the many other islands that have been created. There is the popular Burj el Arab, the World Island and many others. And these come in shapes and sizes that make Dubai a capital of designs.
If someone said Dubai is beautiful, he was a big fat liar, the place is elegant.
The Sheikh or call him Emir – your version of president - has gone to great lengths to ensure that his country remains attractive and modern to compete with world powers with or without oil.
You wouldn’t for example expect animals, green grass or fresh water in the UAE. Well there are wild animals, green grass and fresh water all around the emirates.
Just to ensure the country is not left out in the sporting calendar, beautiful green lawns and  man-made mini lakes have been created and world sports figures make rounds in Dubai. There is steady supply of food and fruits from Asia and mostly from India, fresh water from underground and animals must have been bought from either wild Asia or Africa.
According to the United Arab Emirates Demographic profile 2011, the indigenous population is estimated at 5,148,664. This excludes the millions of migrant workers and expatriates who are living in Dubai.
A taxi driver who picked us up from the airport told us there were 12 million Pakistanis, and 10 million Indians and millions of Sri Lankans, Nepalese, Philipinos, Africans and many Europeans. The strategy of the UAE seems to be that whereas each person seeks some dime to take home, each one will consume a product everyday and the government coffers will never be empty.
One factor that has kept the UAE ahead of other Arab States is that in Islam taxation is limited and therefore the country has the cheapest commodities one can shop. Whereas they earn little from taxation, the economies of scale bring huge revenues. Someone will need a warehouse, accommodation, hospitality, transport facilities and Insurance.  It is these that bring in a lot of money to the country.
Rentals from offices and hotels bring in significant income and this is felt directly by the Dubaibs or Dubains whichever name you want to call them.
The city has very good wide roads, an effective metro system and numerous taxis to get you around in good time.
Make no mistake to think that a secular system has corrupted the Muslim values so much cherished in the Arab world. You will walk along tight trouser wearing Asians, Americans, Europeans, Africans or even Arabs. But you will also find Hijab wearing girls and men dressed in tunics not necessarily going for prayers but in keeping up with the Muslim tradition.
In Dubai you will not find Religious Police to check your dressing or container (alcohol) you are carrying. The Dubains are polite and sometimes it becomes very difficult to distinguish between nationals and immigrants. They all seem to get along very well.
So developed is the tourism industry that many cultural events have been included on the world calendar. From fashion shows to food fairs, Dubai seems to bring together the best of oriental and Arab cuisine.
Most impressive is the shopping especially for some of us who love electronics. A gadget that you could pick for $1000 would go for $300, meaning with discounts you are bound to come out 10 times more sophiscated than you would in your East African setting.
I was not surprised that the uprising that has engulfed many countries in the Arab world, cannot find any ground in the UAE. The authorities have examined the past and built a future with a strong presence that is the envy of many countries especially in the Middle East.
The Emirates- a word that is a brand in itself – is true testimony as to how far man can go to turn the world into what he or she wants to live in. They have re-created a new Eden, greened the terraces and freed their people from the oil enslavement for which many of their neighbours are paying the price.
Such is the Emirates and such is Dubai that one would hardly find enough words to describe this wonder in the desert.
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It  hisses and roars as if possessed, rumbles and crashes like thunder.
The local Kololo tribes people call it Mosi-Oa-Tunya meaning the Smoke that Thunders. In more modern terms, it is described as 'the greatest known curtain of falling water.
With clouds of spray rising high into the sky, Victoria Falls is certainly an intriguing destination on the Zambezi River, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Spewing and billowing from a distance as it rises above the landscape in torrents of mist, the mighty Victoria Falls may be seen like a cloud across a bush, throwing rainbows hundreds of feet into the air.

On the forested banks of the great Zambezi River, upstream of the mighty waterfall where it thunders into the Batoka Gorge, is The Royal Livingstone Hotel, the pride of Zambian hospitality.
It was here that my colleagues, mainly journalists from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, and I checked in.   
In its cool lounges and shaded verandahs, you will encounter the sophistication and comfort of an earlier, more courteous age.
Being a protected tourist attraction area, non residents have to part with $20 (100,000 Kwachas) , while residents pay $2 (10,000 Kwachas)  to get a better view of the falls.
Whistling and chatting with my Zambian friend Calvin Kakoma Kaleyi, a Consultant Editor with Zambia National Farmers Union and two other colleagues from Ethiopia, we set off for the falls.
A sculpture of the Scottish explorer, Dr David Livingstone, was the first white man to see the falls welcomes you as you walk down the trails in the rainy forests to the waterfalls.
"This is beautiful and wonderful, "a Swiss couple, Mathias and Karin could be heard saying as they took photos of the falls.
 Victoria Falls is indeed beautiful. The incredible size of the Falls, and the awesome power of the water as it carves into the deep zig zagging gorges for eight kilometers is magnificent.  
It is only when you take the foot path and foot bridge trail that follows alongside the falls, and hear the pounding water and rising vapour that you quickly understand the name, "smoke that thunders."
 Close to the edge of the cliff, sprays shoot upward like inverted rain, especially at Zambia's Knife-Edge Bridge. The bridge, about 50 metres, connects Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  "If you want to get the real feel of the falls, and tell a story back home, then you need to cross the bridge and get blessed with the rainy waters from the falls," said Chris Kakunta, another Zambian friend as he encouraged us to cross the bridge.
With only our boxer pants, my colleague Thomas from Malawi and I set off for the mighty bridge crossed by few people for fear of the deep scary gorges below and heavy torrential rain from the falls that engulf you.
The breathtaking sight of this magnificent natural phenomena, seen in all its glory, is unforgettable.
The intense spray provides welcome relief from the heat, but don't carry anything you don't want to get wet!
 Overlooking the falls is Livingstone Island, the place where David Livingstone had his first glimpse of the Falls. It is one of the most glorious views in the area.
As the COMESA farmers wound business during the first stakeholders regional farmers meeting on April 14, in Livingstone, the falls kept thundering like an avenging ghost, swirling through the thick rainy forests.
Livingstone, Victoria Fall's historic colonial city and tourist centre lies 10km south on the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the falls.   
Livingstone is a small, easy, but happening town. Being a tourist hub, many hotels dot the one street town.  
Its lifestyle changes as the sun sets on it. With happening places all situated on the main Livingstone Street, you can easily locate somebody you are looking for.
At Limpos, one of the happening spots, you can grab roasted goat meat served with tomatoe, cabbage and onion salad at a user friendly rate.
You can down your goat meat with either a cold or warm Mosi (local beer) or a castle lager.
A 350ml bottle goes for 5,000 Kwachas (about $1). In other joints it goes for 8,000 Kwachas. If you are a proponent of value addition, then surely you know where to set base.
Livingstone is a happening town. When night falls, the street gets busier. Most drinking joints turn out to be discotheques where you find ladies and men gyrating to the sounds of assorted Zambian and western pop music. You would think there is no tomorrow in Livingstone.
The forex exchange market here is still dominated by individuals.
Apart from some financial institutions, and one or two forex bureaus, street money changers do brisk business.
Depending on what you have, for one US dollar you get between 4,600 to close to 4,700 Kwachas.
But unless you are conversant with the changers, you can easily be duped to buy fakes. Even most bureaus give your change in old dollar notes, which do not sell in Uganda for example.      
As the sun set on the Zambia's tourist town of Livingstone, it was now time to go.
"No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England.
 It had never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight"  were  David Livingstone's words in 1857 when he wrote about the falls surrounding area.
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