This timelapse video of Dubai is unreal

Dubai is a fantastical metropolis built from oil riches where people drive around with pet lions, pay millions of dollars for status-elevating license plates, and order pizzas by pushing a refrigerator magnet button. 

It's never looked more fantastical than it does in this timelapse video.

The mind-blowing spectacle masks a darker side of life in the Persian Gulf megacity. In 2009, for example, VICE found that the city is being constructed using coerced and practically unpaid labor. In June 2013, when a Norwegian woman reported to Dubai police that she had been raped, they arrested her and sentenced her to 16 months in prison for having sex outside of marriage. (The UAE vice president pardoned her after international outrage). And it's a dangerous place to be a journalist, blogger, or otherwise champion of free speech and access to information.

So enjoy this video, but don't enjoy it too much.