Two nights and one day were more than enough to satisfy my curiosity in regard to this city of gold, city of wonders and to conclude exactly this: that you do not need more time than that.
As my Pakistani taxi driver summed it up very well: ‘everything here , ma’am , it’ s a duplicate’.
Dubai prides itself with its safety, which seems to be a real promise, unless you end up in a tragic situation similar to the famous case of rape of a Norwegian woman this year, where she became the accused instead of the victim.
The benevolent ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum(even I remembered his long name after being drummed a hundred times into my ears during my 3 hours bus tour ) and his family have taken the money from oil and built a modern infrastructure: roads, metro , shops for the people. But the famous Arabic hospitality is non-existent as more than 90 % of the services are delivered by Filipino women and Indian/Pakistani men. And although yes , it does create thousands of jobs that ‘feed many mouths back home’ (in the words of my taxi driver) for the immigrants , one can not escape the feel of modern exploitation , of building a brand new city on the broken backs of poor immigrants .
This modern form of indentation was also confirmed to me by other reliable close sources, formerly residing in Dubai, with references to: withheld passports, no such concept of equal pay, holidays given as it suits the employer and ‘ownership’ of the employee by the employer who paid the visa or the travel expenses.
The whole of Dubai is an artificial heaven , build in the dessert, with million of gallons of desalinated water, having even man-made islands, oases and gardens. A large part of that expensive desalinated water is used though to maintain some private rich golf courses . Everything is aimed at being bigger, better, grander than…It s like a race against some world famous buildings and landmarks. Burj Khalifa , the tallest in Dubai and possible in UAE is described as almost double in size than Empire States Building, Burj Al Arab was the 1st 7 stars hotel in the world , the Dubai Marina is a challenge to the Hong Kong’s skyline, while Dubailand wants to be a bigger version of Disnayland Orlando.
A couple of picture of the famous towers, a ramble through a traditional suq and a water taxi ride or Dowa cruise down Dubai Creek would form the points of real interest of a visit around the city.
The rest , left right and centre, you’ re presented ad nauseam with one luxury hotel after another, with its awarded gym , panoramic view and gourmet restaurants , one mall after another, all with ‘reasonably priced designer label’ (direct quote from the tour bus guiding tape). In spite of being an alleged tax-free haven this place is not the much advertised shopping spree paradise but rather a snobbish pastime for Emirati and some expats or tourists with large pockets.
Some traveling tips:
If you d like to visit Dubai do not take the sightseeing bus at would be cheaper or the same to go with a taxi from one landmark to another. Taxi is indeed an affordable luxury.
Although there is not specific warning or information about hotel stays on the official UAE related tourism sites most hotels will retain your passport on arrival for police checks, for the first night.
I am not sure it is actually legal.
Also you might have problems if you have an Israeli visa in your passport. If you plan to go to Israel better ask the authorities to give you a separate stamped paper , they will understand.
Don’t overdo it with the covering, you do not need to appear there like a monastery nun.
KMPastor 