There are no two ways about it, Dubai is an expensive place to visit and an even more expensive place to pass the time. Possibly this is because they have to recoup some losses from the massive amount of brand new construction they have created,…Read More

There are no two ways about it, Dubai is an expensive place to visit and an even more expensive place to pass the time. Possibly this is because they have to recoup some losses from the massive amount of brand new construction they have created, or possibly it's to keep up appearances as being a sort of exclusive place to visit. I don't know why it is, but it is. All is not lost though, because there are some things you can do for free, or almost free, and they are pretty good things too.

**The Fountains**

Burj Khalifa is Dubai's main tourist attraction and it is the tallest tower in the world, but it definitely isn't free to visit. What is free is the spectacular Dubai Fountain show which takes place hourly after dark and twice during the day in the massive man-made lake at the foot of the tower. It has been designed by the same people that created the show at The Bellagio in Las Vegas and, in true arrogant Dubai style, it is bigger and better than the Las Vegas one. If you can only visit during the day, that is fine but you should really try to catch one of the night shows where the fountains come alive to music and an impressive light show. it really is spectacular.

There are lots of places around the lake to view the show from, but it does get exceptionally crowded. If you are planning on eating downtown, I'd grab a table in one of the restaurants on the higher floors of the adjacent Dubai Mall where they have balconies that give a simply fantastic, unobstructed view of the fountains from above.

**The Palm**

The Palm is one of the most famous things in Dubai. It is a totally man made outlet into the sea that is shaped like a palm. Seen from above it is pretty impressive, but from land level it is hard to appreciate the shape. No matter, a visit here is a must and is cheap. There is a monorail that runs through the centre of the palm to the end where the world famous Atlantis hotel is.

The Atlantis is worth a visit because of it's sheer size and range of things to do. Walk round to the edge of the palm first where you can get lovely views of the Gulf and a cracking picture of the hotel. Then walk around the side to the beach. It is a free to use public beach that has a cocktail bar and some pretty comfortable loungers. The views back to the shoreline are impressive and you can even spot turtles and fish from the jetty.

When you've had enough sunbathing, walk through Atlantis and have a look at the giant aquarium. You have to pay to go in, but there is a massive fish tank you can see without paying, full of sharks and giant fish and it is pretty mesmerising.

**Window Shopping**

If Dubai is famous for nothing else, it is famous for it's absolutely giant malls. There are quite a few of them to choose from as well. We visited the Mall of The Emirates, which has something like 2000 shops and concessions within it. It is also home to Ski Dubai, The UAE's only indoor ski slopes. Every type of shop imaginable can be found here.

If that one isn't big enough, Dubai Mall, at the base of the Burj Khalifa, is absolutely phenomenal in size. This one has a massive food hall and a huge selection of shops from cheap Poundland style ones to the high end boutiques of Louis Vitton, Armani and Jimmy Choo. Wandering around the high end shops is actually quite fascinating and the staff are surprisingly nice and welcoming, even if they can tell you are only there to gawk at the price tags!

So a visit to Dubai doesn't have to break the bank, there are fun things to do and spectacular things to see, even if you have spent all you money getting there and have none left to spend whilst you are there!   Close

We drove to Dubai from Ras Al Khaimah and picked up the guide and the people from Dubai by about 10.40 outside the Hyatt Hotel. They had been brought there in a mini bus to join us. Unfortunately at the end of the trip our…Read More

We drove to Dubai from Ras Al Khaimah and picked up the guide and the people from Dubai by about 10.40 outside the Hyatt Hotel. They had been brought there in a mini bus to join us. Unfortunately at the end of the trip our large bus was going to have to go around dropping them the end we had a very short hour at the Dubai Mall and we lost our booking for the Burj Khalifa and our friend had to get back home before we got there.

Our first stop on the city tour was the Gold Souk in Dubai which is not really that exciting unless you want to buy some jewellery. In reality it is an area of shops all selling jewellery and we had 20 minutes here. We had a very quick look but spent most of the time trying to rearrange our meeting with our friend as the guide had said we would get to the Dubai Mall by 2 o’ clock. One shop in the souk had a huge gold ring that is in the Guinness book of records as it weighs something like 80kg.

From the Gold Souk we walked to the Spice Souk which was much more interesting and affordable. The shop owners were so friendly inviting you in to try stuff and we ended up buying just a couple of items at reasonable prices but there really was no pressure to buy and no nasty looks when you didn’t buy which made it pleasant to look. We had 10 minutes here.

We then took a water taxi called an ‘abra ‘ across Dubai Creek which was a highlight of the trip as we sat on small wooden boats and chugged up the creek looking at the other boats and dhows on the river. The crossing took about 10 minutes at the most but it was good fun and gave us a chance to see Dubai from a different view point. I am not sure how much the river taxi was but I suspect it was pretty cheap as it wasn’t a long ride but this was included in the price of the tour.

We then walked through the textile souk at speed unable to stop at all and made our way to the Dubai Museum. The entrance fee was AED 3 which is 50p which was included in our tour price. The museum was originally a fort and was a baked mud looking building. The exhibits were well set out and the labels clearly explained in English and Arabic what the exhibit showed.

In the courtyard there was a traditional house made of mud bricks and palm matting. Inside was a very clever fan system made of sacking under a tall chimney which was open at the top but shaded with a cover above the opening. Somehow the air was drawn down the chimney and come through the sacking. If it was very hot and dry then they would wet the sacking and this made the area cool. Other exhibits in this outside area were different wooden boats. As Dubai was originally a fishing village their history is very much based on the sea and boats.

Inside the museum which was down underground so quite cool and actually rather too dark in my view, The first exhibit was a slide show taking you through Dubai from the 1800s to today. Dubai really has a very recent history because oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in the 1950s and then in Dubai in the late 50s or even early 60s and prior to that the place was still a very small fishing town. Dubai as it is seen toady has grown since the 1960s with most of the growth and huge building bonanza taking place in the last 25 years really.

The museum has real life figures in exhibits showing traditional crafts, dress, and the way of life of the Arab people before the vast changes. It was well presented and interesting but in my view would have been better with a little more light as it was really hard to see where you were going and people were bumping in to each other.

The toilets were okay but there were only three ladies cubicles and as they are catering for large numbers of visitors at times I do feel that this was a trifle inadequate and so the 20 minutes we had in the museum was actually half an hour and most people spent at least 5 minutes of that queuing in the toilet,

Once we had gathered everyone together we made our way back to the bus and drove to Jumeirah Beach Road and drove past the mosque too quickly to get any photo at all and then on past the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and the Burj al Arab to the Souk Medinat from where you can take a lovely photo of the Burj al Arab. This souk is a modern recreation of a traditional souk. It has been nicely done and has some interesting shops but things are that bit more expensive here as it is next to the most expensive hotels in Dubai. We had 20 minutes here and our guide suggested we had a cup of coffee but we would have had to be very speedy so we grabbed a couple of ice cream cones instead. It was now about 1.30 and we were beginning to realize that we were not going to be at the Dubai Mall as promised for 2pm as our guide had said but rather nearer 3pm so we had to phone our friend to change arrangements yet again. My mobile phone bill will be interesting this month!

Back on the bus we were finally given our very small bottles of water and we made our way to the Palm resort and the famous Atlantis hotel. We drove up the palm frond centre and then under the sea through a tunnel onto the crescent island where the Atlantis hotel sits looking out over the Indian Ocean.

The Atlantis hotel is enormous and has over 1000 rooms. It is an amazing looking place in a dull pink hue. We were only able to ogle from outside so I have no idea what treasures lay behind the pink walls. So back on the bus and we were on our way to the Dubai Mall. By this time our friend had given up on us and gone home and we had lost our booked tickets for the Burj Khalifa. We actually arrived at the mall at about 3pm but we only had an hour there. We just managed to get in the queue to book more tickets for the day we are back in Dubai after our cruise and then grab a bite to eat before our hour was up and we were back on the bus again.

We then drove back to Jumeirah to drop the people who were staying in Dubai at their hotels and as the traffic was really busy we had a good look at Dubai getting busier in the evening. We finally arrived back at our hotel at 7.10 so we had spent over three hours at the end of the trip on the bus instead of enjoying time in the Dubai mall looking around which is what we thought we would be doing.

Would I recommend the tour? Well if you are staying out in Ras Al Khaimah and you want to see something of the city then you don’t have a lot of options really so yes you do get a very quick look at Dubai for a reasonable price. You have to be prepared for spending a lot of time sitting wasted on the coach and there is also a fair bit of walking which I heard some of the more elderly folk complaining about. I suppose you can’t please everybody as we enjoyed the walking and could have spent longer in the souks. However we did get to see a lot of the city very briefly and we have a good idea of where things are. We know what we want to do when we come back at the end of the cruise and have booked our tickets ready for the Burj Khalifa and also afternoon tea at the Burj al Arab and I think we might just use taxis for getting there!
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We travelled through Asia on the way to Australia and New Zealand in 2010, and our first and only experience of Asia was a short stopover in Dubai: but I have to tell you, this was enough to make me feel that we shouldn't skip…Read More

We travelled through Asia on the way to Australia and New Zealand in 2010, and our first and only experience of Asia was a short stopover in Dubai: but I have to tell you, this was enough to make me feel that we shouldn't skip this vast continent, full of cultures, landscapes, peoples and climates, languages and cuisines to go – where? - to Australia??? A parochial Little Britain on the Indian Ocean? What were we thinking about!

We arrived in the middle of the night, dazed after a long flight from Glasgow, and the Dubai airport was ablaze: white, possibly marble columns covered with what appeared like glitter, and (this time for sure) marble on the floors, everywhere.

Airport officials and security are all male, all dressed in long, white thobe (Arab robes), with heads covered with ghutrah (the rectangular scarf kept in place by a black rope, similar to Palestinian keffiyeh). The guy that stamps our passports speaks English, but it's serious, sombre even and I feel a whiff of the police-state feeling that I remember from my childhood in Poland. After that it's the minibus to the hotel and a normal – even too normal, for our expectation of the exotic – hotel.

It's hot, hot, hot, though. At two o'clock in the morning it's close to forty degrees, and even just walking between the (air-conditioned) airport and (air-conditioned) hotel mini-bus and then the mini-bus and the (air-conditioned) hotel is actually quite difficult to cope with.
Our room is comfortable and spotless, and the staff in the hotel (which, as pretty much everything in this emirate) is adorned with a photographic portrait of its Sheik are polite, competent and emphatically non-Emirati. As anybody who seems to do any visible work here, they are Indian or Filipino.

The next day we go for a drive (in an air-conditioned car). Our driver is a Pashtun from Pakistan, and in addition to Pashto, Urdu and Arabic he speaks a little bit of English.
Over the course of the day we are taken around the city, which is still very much a building site (although not as much as a few years ago, when 20% of world's building cranes were estimated to be located in Dubai). The prosperity of this place is not from oil as much as from transport, trade and retail. Shopping is everywhere, and our driver can't understand we don't want to shop. But as we refuse numerous offers to be taken to one or another shopping mall, we get a tour of Dubai instead.

It's hot, hotter than one would think possible outside a sauna or a steam room, so hot that the air vibrates in front of our eyes, and in combination with the smoggy mist (or misty smog) enveloping the skyscrapers of Dubai, the heat gives it all a slightly sinister feel. The children get excited by a sight of a beach at Jumeirah, but the beach is empty – it's too hot to come out (unless you are one of the Indian labourers, and even they sit on their heels under the date trees and rest in this midday sun). After ten minutes outside the kids are red-faced and tired and we can't think of anything but going back to the air-conditioned) car.

The city is empty (apart from the labourers), the beach-side promenade and the public parks deserted. We see many mosques in all the areas we drive through and I even go into one, as the smaller child needs a loo and it's apparently a place to go – not sure of the etiquette, I scuttle through the male section to the women's part at the back, assuming that as in all cultures, small boys belong with mothers rather than grown men.
The residential buildings are very similar to what is known from the Mediterranean countries – pastel pale, square, with shuttered windows and awnings, all designed to keep the heat out.

We drive out onto the Palm Jumeirah, and on the way get a glimpse (and a photo-op) of the iconic sail-like landmark of Burj Arab, the famous seven-star Dubai hotel, out in the sea. The Palm (and artificial island) doesn't look any different from the ground level, apart from a rather eerie emptiness of every road and pavement around us. The massive arch of the Atlantis hotel, and the pseudo-traditional architecture of the residential blocks don't really appeal. We get out in a lay-bay, and look on the greyish-blue waters of the Gulf, the shipping channel buoys bobbing on the choppy surface.

From Jumeirah, we go back (around interminable motorways, surrounded by interminable skyscrapers in various phases of being built) to Dubai Creek – to have a look at Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (we don't go up, as we didn't book in advance and it's much too expensive to do it on the day) which is – surprisingly – rather beautiful as it raises above the city and disappeared up in the sky over 800 meters above us. It also has a worrying (or maybe it's entirely accidental?) similarity to the Tower of Babel as depicted in the classic European iconography.

We are getting tired and hungry, so it's now just a quick run through the Chinese Dragon Mall (a shopping centre, where we buy nothing, but marvel at the locals buying) and then we eat – the driver takes us to the truckers' restaurant, where I am the only woman (unless you count the older child) but where everybody treats us politely and without undue attention. The food is cheap and edible, and after that it's back to the hotel, where the children can – at last – do what they wanted to do all day: swim in the pool on the roof, with the lights of Dubai spread in front of us as far as we can see.
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Emirates is a Dubai-based airline which is a major player in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Oceania while connecting Europe and the Americas to Asia and environs via their massive hub in Dubai. We used Emirates as our long-haul carrier during our six-month family…Read More

Emirates is a Dubai-based airline which is a major player in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Oceania while connecting Europe and the Americas to Asia and environs via their massive hub in Dubai.

We used Emirates as our long-haul carrier during our six-month family trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2010. The traveling party included two adults and two children aged four and nine, all with quite a lot of previous experience of flying, but with relatively little long-haul experience apart from a ThomasCook flight to Canada from the UK. This meant our comparison was mostly with European short-haul scheduled and budget airlines.

We flew from Glasgow to Brisbane via Dubai (with a refueling stop in Singapore), then from Sydney to Christchurch and then from Christchurch to Glasgow (with refuelling stops in Sydney and Bangkok and a change of planes in Dubai). Our longest individual flight was nine hours (Sydney to Bangkok), the longest journey took circa 30 hours (of which 27 were in the air).

We chose Emirates purely and simply on price: we were going for a long enough period to not too worry to much about other aspects: whatever horrors we undertook while getting there, they would have been long forgotten by the time we were due to come back.

The price was good, and possibly the best we could find. We flew out in June (which is, obviously, the low season in Australia) and we came back in September. The total cost of the initial flights, with all the stopovers, taxes and charges, for the family of four, was around 3,200 GBP. We rebooked our return flights and this cost us (using the terms of our cheapest fare class) 75 GBP per person, so the total cost was 3,500 GBP which is pretty good for a what was initially to be an six-leg journey. One of the advantages of buying with Emirates for families is that they don't technically have fuel surcharges, this is added to the ticket prices and thus any child discounts apply to that as much as to the main portion of the fare.

We booked our flights on-line as to do it over the phone would have been 200 GBP more expensive. The Emirates website is reasonably (though by no means fantastically) usable and the process was doable while you got the hang of it. You cannot, however, change your reservation online – you have to phone the Emirates call centre. I did it several times while we were researching the trip and prior to final rebooking of the return tickets and the staff members I spoke to every time were unfailingly polite, but they varied extremely as to their competence. Some didn't know what they were doing, literally, and gave me wrong price information; some knew the system and understood my needs better than I did. The call centre numbers I phoned every time were in English-speaking countries, but the people on the phone were not always native speakers – and occasionally it showed – though the most competent person I spoke to was a non-native speaker, so it's a question of training and experience rather than nationality.

All flights we took were on time, and there was no problems with check-in, seats or lost luggage. Emirates allow 30kg luggage in economy class, but as we didn't need anywhere near that much, it wasn't an issue for us. The cabin luggage (as to size and weight) restrictions didn't seem to be enforced very strictly and for somebody used to being told that you are allowed only one bag (and it has to fit in the basket) by Ryanair and the like, the amount of stuff people take on board Emirates seemed mind-boggling.
It's the on-board experience that matters most when flying long-haul, and assuming most reputable airlines are much of a muchness as far as safety and the like goes, the choice (if you are not going simply on price) should be made based on that.

And the Emirates experience is, to say fairly, mixed.

The planes were all large 777s, with the 3+4+3 set-up in the economy class. The seats were cloth covered, recliner, with an adjustable head rest. It was possible to raise the arm rest between the seats, and it didn't extend all the way to the seat surface (in some seats the arm rest is fixed, though). This feature is a good thing for people travelling together, but obviously a very bad thing if you end up seating next to an extremely fat person who "spills" into your seat. While on the subject, the width of the Emirates' seat in the B 777-300s, in the economy class is pretty appalling 17 inches – the lowest it goes among the airlines. By comparison, Singapore Airlines offer a 3+3+3 configuration in the same type of plane and the result is seats with as much as 19 inches of width. Bear in mind that 17 inches is not just uncomfortable for a big-bottomed travellers like yours truly. My husband who is pretty normal in bum-width department also found the seats cramped. The only saving grace is the arm-rest you can raise, but if you are a fat (or even normal sized) person travelling on your own, it's worth thinking about it. The seats in the side rows (by the wall) seemed a bit better.

The legroom was better, but not outstanding. Most women will find the legroom in the Emirates B 777-300s sufficient, and most men would probably feel they could do with more.

The recline of the seats is 105 degrees, which is also on a mean side (Qantas have even less, but their seats are bigger).

All in all, on the space available for an economy class traveler, Emirates are not great. It's sufficient – just about – for a flight of up to about 10 hours, but for the true long-haul you would want, if possible, more (unless you are short and thin).

In addition to all the above woes, the seats in Emirates 777-300s have no footrests, which is not a huge deal as you can make one of a bag or a pair of boots, but it's worth mentioning, especially for shorter people.

What was very good on our Emirates flights was the state-of-the-art entertainment system. Called ICE for information, communication, entertainment, it is totally user-controlled and offers touch-of-the button and individually customisable access to hundreds if not thousands of films,including hundred or so recent releases including some that were still in cinemas when we arrived, what seems like a whole back catalogue of Disney and a selection of Arabic, Chinese, Philippine and other Asian films too. European offerings were limited to two (!) French productions, but otherwise the choice was staggering. The music range was excellent to, from opera and jazz to play lists of iconic artists, UK number 1s for the last 50 years and much more. I believe there was also a massive selection of TV programmes and quite a few video games available. Nose and belly mounted cameras provided live view of the outside and the flight info was accurate and up to date too. All in all, excellent entertainment system and if you have teenagers or children to travel with for a very long time, a huge advantage. Incidentally, the printed entertainment was surprisingly bad, the in-flight mag way below standards of European airlines be it Ryanair or BA.

The food was good (as far as airline food goes), especially the adult dishes and especially the rice & pasta ones, but obviously it was still the air-plane food.
The cabin staff were polite and willing to help, although neither particularly friendly nor going out of their way to help. The ground staff we met were much better on this score.
Each child got a special pack (and on each leg of the flight, so we came back with a collection of cuddly-toy glove puppets from five continents and a selection of little backpacks and toiletries cases, Dr Seuss books and similar stuff). This, particularly the puppets, were actually rather good quality and made great gifts for lesser friends & relatives on return.

Would I fly with Emirates again? I would if the price was right, and especially if flying medium-haul (up to 10 hours' journey), going away for longer and travelling with children. For the very long haul flights (i.e. going UK-Australia or UK-New Zealand) I would seriously contemplate other options though, as the amount of space and recline of the seats (and the way passengers are packed ten in a row) makes for a bit claustrophobic journey.    Close

Shopping center or suq – in Dubai they are both an experience. One modern, one old, one cool, one sweltering hot, both are extreme. At the time of…Read More

Shopping center or suq – in Dubai they are both an experience. One modern, one old, one cool, one sweltering hot, both are extreme.

At the time of my visit, Dubai had completed fifty shopping centers, with many more in the planning or semi-completion stages. Older shopping centers were nothing special, just like any shopping center in the West. But the newer ones were really special. Built around themes like water parks, zoo, ski slope, race track and marina, they tried to outdo each other in glamour and attraction. Egypt was well represented with the spynx guarding its entrance. The latest shopping centers were attached to fabulous apartment buildings, each more grandiose than the next. One building turned on its axis twice a day to allow residents sea view and land view, sunrise and sunset. Another had rotating individual floors. The owner could turn his residence as desired to admire the water or to the land. At the fabulous marina, people lived in intelligent apartments where they controlled washer, dryer, air conditioning, stove, or lights from anywhere in the world via computer. They could check the contents of their refrigerators and order foods from the ground-level store housed in a shopping center.

All provided fabulous play areas for children, with ice skating rinks, or splashing pools, buggy racing rinks, kiddie trains, computer games, climbing areas, and great places for mothers to socialize. Each shopping center housed at least two mosques, one for men and one for women, and the larger provided two mosques at each end.

I loved strolling along the display windows, and admired the merchandise from all over the world, restaurants from many different countries, and was fascinated by the local fashion. Muslim women are as fashion conscious about their abaias, the long black gowns worn outside the home, as Western women are about the latest styles. Abaias décor and design seem to change every year. They are always long, and always black, but the sleeves may be cut differently, the decorations may change from embroidery to sequence to stones. Materials differ. Some are very fine, rich texture, and probably very expensive. Under the abaias, the ladies may wear the latest fashions or simply jeans.

I wanted to buy an abaia, veil, and headscarf, but could not afford the prices in the shopping centers. Later, in the suq, I bargained for an older model in which I greeted my friends "back home."

In the ladies’ rooms, each toilet was equipped with a hand-held water sprayer, something like a portable bidet. What a great idea in such a hot climate. In the common area women removed their veils and headscarves to brush their hair. Beautiful hair, shining, and great shapes. I became aware of the beauty shops in the malls. Unlike in the United States where the customer sits in front with dripping hair and running mascara, to be seen by everyone passing by, the women are groomed in back rooms where no one can see them. The window fronts of the beauty shops show play areas for children, some even equipped with child-sized beauticians’ chairs.

I spent an entire day at the Ski Dubai shopping center. The ski slope area is attached to the shopping center and from the outside of the building looks like a big fat thumb sticking up in the air. Floor to ceiling glass walls offered a look onto the activities on the slopes. I settled down for lunch in a Lebanese restaurant with a perfect view. Winter in Dubai! Two ski slopes, an obstacle course, play areas. Local women in abaias covered in long black winter robes coasted down special slides on inner tubes alongside their children. In another area women pulled their children on sleds, helped them build snow men, and a few children enjoyed snowball fights. People rented skis, shoes, toboggans, winter clothing and coats at a booth next to where tickets were purchased. The ambience was complete with a roaring fire in a giant stone fireplace.

To visit Dubai’s suqs I hopped on the tourist bus. They are located in the old part of town. Narrow streets and alleys, and off them again smaller alleys, they are picturesque and mysterious. The first destination was the gold suq. Canopies or glass and steel provided much needed shade and a bit of coolness. Shops with fabulous displays of gold and precious stones were lined up next to each other. They looked exotic. Ladies in abaias, headscarves and veils floated from store to store. Gold, gold, gold, everything 18 k gold. Rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, all shapes and sizes, glittering with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. I admired the shop windows, and the people inside.

Eventually I selected a store where a number of local women were in lively conversation with salesmen. The displays inside were even more fabulous and seduced me into wanting to buy something. After much "should I or shouldn’t I", I selected a pair of diamond earrings and a diamond ring. Some quite intense bargaining followed, and they were mine. When I returned to the U.S. I learned that I had purchased well. My prize would have cost twice as much.

"Authentic fake watches" and "authentic fake hand bags" were hawked by street vendors who shot out of narrow side alleys and tried their best to lure prospective buyers into their shops and stalls. I wasn’t in the market for an authentic fake watch or bag, but I wanted to find a T-shirt for my husband.

After my selection, the vendor tried to sell me a second one. He thought my comment "But I only have one husband," was a great joke.

The guide led us to the spice suq. The smells were overwhelming like nothing I ever experienced before. Strong, sweet, pungent, wonderful. It was impossible to identify individual spices, they had melded together into one overwhelming sensation. Nostrils wide open I kept breathing deeply to fully
indulge in the pleasurable mix of aromas. Here, as in the gold suq, many shops were lined up next to each other, all offering the same or similar merchandise. During my Dubai visit I had learned to like cardamom sugar for my coffee, so I purchased a glass of cardamom spice.

There were so many streets and alleys, that without the guide always somewhere in sight, I would probably have been lost. Since I wanted to buy an abaia, headscarf, and veil, he directed me to an area with many such shops. I admired the fashionable stones and embroidery. The materials were not as beautiful and rich as in the shopping centers. After trying on at least five, and looking in the floor length mirror at my very strange apparition, the haggling began. In the end I paid twenty dollars and was happy.

Suq or shopping center. This is Dubai, and everything is extreme. From ultra modern to the old, and old means about sixty years. Before then there were sand dunes and Bedouins.

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A visit to Dubai must include a date with the Burj al Arab, that fabulous sail-shaped hotel, the icon of Dubai and brain child of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Raschid Al Maktoum. It is so exclusive…Read More

A visit to Dubai must include a date with the Burj al Arab, that fabulous sail-shaped hotel, the icon of Dubai and brain child of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Raschid Al Maktoum. It is so exclusive that no one is allowed to enter the gates leading to the hotel without a reservation. This meant that everyone, in tour groups or alone, was required to consume something. Just sightseeing was not permitted. Venues and Menus were online, and I.had an eight o’clock reservation for hors d’oevres and two drinks at the Skyview Bar on the 28th Floor - for a price of $180. Sounds expensive? The tour lunch at the bottom level cost more.

The limousine dropped me off at the grand entrance past the Ellipse fountain that looked like bursts of fire. Next to it, four fireballs, eight feet in diameter, appeared to be floating on air. The façade of the hotel, covered with a Teflon-coated woven glass fiber screen, displayed spectacular pastel lights, a fabulous mirage.
From the entrance level elevators and escalators flew up and down an interior that resembled a collage of shells, with lighted waterfalls cascading through the center and in intervals bursting close to one hundred fifty feet into the air. I was standing in the world’s tallest atrium, nearly six hundred feet high. It’s glass wall on the right displayed a multi-storied aquarium with fabulous fish of all sizes.

An army of liveried men was standing and talking with guests near and behind grandiose desks and invited everyone to look and walk around. So much gold everywhere, over five thousand feet of 24k gold leaf embellishes the interior.
There are no rooms at the Burj, just suites, and all 202 of them are double-storied. Each is equipped with the latest technology, and each has its own crew of butlers and servants. Children play in their own club on the 18th floor, and guest arrival can be arranged by limousine or helicopter.

The escalator brought me up to the lounge level where a string quartet was playing classical music. From there, an elevator lifted me to the Skyview Bar. I was lead through lights, crystal, glass, mirrors, and flowers to a round terraced room where small tables on numerous levels presented a spectacular view. Since I was alone, I stayed at the bar where I could watch the bartender mix exotic drinks like "Devine Dates" consisting of dried dates, spiced rum, cointreau, and fresh pineapple juice, "Monkey Freeze," a mix of Oreo cookies, banana, vodka, and coffee liqueur, and "Burj Royal," a concoction of vanilla vodka, ripe blackberries and raspberries, topped with champagne. I chose the "Devine Dates" and the "Burj Royal" for the two drinks of my reservation. Luxury seemed like an understatement when I discovered that I could splash myself with Hermes Elixir des Merveilles in the ladies’ room.

The Burj al Arab was reputed as the most luxurious hotel in the world, though the newer Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi I visited the next day seemed much more grandiose and luxurious.
Visiting dignitaries with government business stay at the Emirates Palace, a sprawling extreme of more than half a mile from wing to wing. There are nearly four hundred rooms and suites, forty meeting and conference rooms, a ballroom that can accommodate 2400 people, and an auditorium for 1100. For an open air concert, there’s room for 20,000.

Chefs from around the world cook in 128 kitchens and use 11 pounds of edible gold to decorate deserts. Everything is just extreme. 114 domes, 1002 chandeliers. The Emirates Palace offers the world’s most expensive tailor-made holiday for a mere one million dollars.

Walking through this palace was almost intimidating. Everything was hushed. The hotel’s lobbies and halls were as large as stadiums, exquisitely decorated with statues and Persian carpets, furniture of the most expensive and beautiful materials possible, much red and much gold. Arabic men and women in candoras and abaias seemed to float noiselessly, as many people in Western dress walked and sat quietly, or spoke in whispering voices.

I discovered a sign for "Picasso Abu Dhabi." The gallery, its entrance flanked by liveried men, advertised rotating exhibits. It was just as enormous as everything else in the hotel, with hall after hall of Picasso’s work. Men, women, and families were assigned different visiting days. This, fortunately, was the women’s day.

It had been accidental that we, a small group, could even enter the Emirates Palace. It was not meant to be a tour destination. Someone coming from Dubai was dropped off at the hotel, and our guide took the opportunity to show us what real wealth looked like. And it looked – incredible.
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The crew that was escorting me was foreign-born. No local would perform this kind of work, locals hardly work at all. One of the guides came from Morocco, the other from India, and the third from Egypt.…Read More

The crew that was escorting me was foreign-born. No local would perform this kind of work, locals hardly work at all. One of the guides came from Morocco, the other from India, and the third from Egypt. All were well educated and multi-lingual to entertain the international tourists visiting the United Arab Emirates during high season. June was low season, and hot. Everyone who could had already escaped the desert heat, and tourists stayed away until November, when the cool weather returned. I had two tour guides and a driver chauffeuring me around, and I loved it.

"What is so great about working in Dubai?" I asked. "People are usually paid ten times the amount of the average wage in their home country," was the reply. "A construction worker who earns $40 a month at home, if he works at all, makes $400 here."

"All workers, no matter what level or type of work, must be hired from outside the UAE," the Moroccan continued. "Construction workers are recruited by scouts traveling third world countries, mostly India. Office workers, marketing and banking professionals are either transferred by their companies with subsidiaries here, or find employment over the internet. They are always looking for teachers. Teaching and trades jobs happen mostly via the internet."

"So I couldn’t find myself a teaching job now while I’m here?" I asked.

"That’s right," was the reply, "And that way we have no unemployment, and hardly any crime, and Sheikh Mohammed wants to keep it this way," referring to Dubai’s ruler.

"There are five conditions for companies that employ foreign workers. Health insurance must be paid, the worker receives a one month vacation with pay to his home country every year and that includes the air fare, he gets one month salary annually toward retirement, free room and board for construction workers and domestics, and no taxes," said the driver.

"You hear so much bad publicity lately," added one of the guides, "It is not true. The poorer workers may live in what may be unacceptable conditions to some Westerners, but they still live better than in their own countries, and after three years they have enough money saved to build a house at home." The Moroccan guide had already built two houses in his home country in the ten years he had been working in Dubai. All three shared that they made a very comfortable living and liked living in the UAE.

"You said there was no crime," I said. "I see police everywhere, what is their job?" All three of them laughed. "The locals like being police. Many work at something, or they would die of boredom, and the money is good, really good. Easy job, hardly any crime, and that for five thousand or so a month. And then they can retire after fifteen years and earn eighty percent of their income."

"But there are some crimes," added the man from India, "People may not pay their debts. We have debtors’ prisons. Foreigners will go to jail if they don’t pay their debts, they also go to jail if they behave badly, like sex that is seen by the public, and no consulate can help them. It is a crime for a man and woman to live together without being married. If someone is caught dealing drugs, he goes to prison for fifteen years, for stealing they have an eight to ten year sentence. Murder and child prostitution result in death. Only foreigners commit these crimes. After they have served their sentence, and depending on the crime, they are branded between the eyes before they are deported to make sure they never return."

"Locals also have government jobs, and some work at the airport," added the Egyptian. "But they make a lot of money with sponsorships."

"What is that?" I asked.
"All foreign businesses must have local sponsors," he continued. "For a two thousand dollar registration fee a year a business can operate, no matter how large or small it is. Any local can be a sponsor. It is his job to make sure that all licenses are current and the books that required by the state, are correct. This takes him about six hours per year."

"Is it easy to open a business in Dubai?" was my question.
"Yes, it seems to be," replied the Moroccan. "You just have to find the sponsor. Many of the locals are really stretched thin. Look at how many foreign businesses we have here, and the few locals. And if they don’t do a good job with the papers, you can lose your license to operate."

We visited a museum and heritage site where women in local dress, long black abaias, veils, and head scarves, demonstrated weaving and crafts. It seemed so strange, realizing that these "locals" were foreign workers.

"We also have prostitution here," shared the driver later. "It is illegal, but with so many men here without families, the government knows they have to do something. So they recruit the prostitutes as hotel workers."

"But these women know that they are recruited to service men," added the Indian. "Everyone who comes to this country knows what they’re here for, there are no secrets. No one is lured under false pretenses, no one is lied to. Women from certain countries are known for their prostitution trade, and they are happy to come here. They get the five benefits too, and are checked by doctors on a regular basis."

I started to ask people at hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, and buses where they came from. It was amazing. Not a country seemed to be left out, from near or from far. The British were highest in numbers, then other European countries. Most of the construction workers were from India. Many Africans were in hotels. Everyone who dealt with the public spoke English.
The UAE is experiencing the recession just as the rest of the world. Many foreigners have left, many companies have closed down. They all have hope for the future. Dubai has the only stock exchange in the Middle East, it is a great financial center, and by all accounts, it will return bigger and better than before.

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After the glitter of Dubai and the imposing structures of Abu Dhabi’s government buildings, the Sheik Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the pinnacle of everything the United Arab Emirates has to offer. Located…Read More

After the glitter of Dubai and the imposing structures of Abu Dhabi’s government buildings, the Sheik Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the pinnacle of everything the United Arab Emirates has to offer. Located on a hill, it rises into the sky in majestic splendor. Four 351 foot high minarets and 82 domes of white Italian marble glisten in the summer heat. Looking up at the imposing white apparition against the blue sky, I felt humbled before I even neared the steps to the colonnade leading to the main entrance. What grander splendor would follow such an awe-inspiring exterior?

It is the only mosque that encourages visitors of all religions to visit. Initiated by the United Arab Emirates’ first ruler, it was not completed until after his death. In 2009, all the fountains, reflecting pools, and tiled areas were finished. The Grand Mosque, as locals call it, is the third largest mosque after Mecca and Medina.
The mosque covers an area of 237,000 feet. The floor of the exterior hall and courtyard is paved with beautiful floral tiles from Turkey. 1096 slim columns made of white marble and decorated with inlaid vines and flowers, each a replica of the other, lead to the interior. The splendid sameness of the columns enveloped the senses. People were walking quietly, respectfully, in local or Western dress. I had entered another, more beautiful world.

At the entrance to the prayer hall a group of women in black abaias, veils, and headscarves asked visitors to deposit their shoes in lockers that no one locked. They handed us abaias and head scarves to wear. Suddenly our little group of seven was transformed into something ephemeral. The feeling was strange in the unfamiliar environment, the long cool robes caressing us gently. Barefoot we continued.

A gasp emanated from seven throats. Our breath just seemed to stop. Nowhere, ever, not even in the grandest cathedrals of Europe, had I seen such incredible splendor. 96 large columns inlaid with blue designs and thousands of rare and semi-precious stones support the domes, the tallest rising 246 feet into the air. 42 karat gold is used lavishly. The qiblah wall that directs the faithful towards Mecca, 75 feet high and 165 feet wide, is decorated with the 99 names or qualities of Allah and back-illuminated with fiber-optic lighting. Suspended from the central dome is the world’s largest chandelier. Made in Germany, it is almost 33 feet tall and equally as wide, and weighs nine tons. In reds, greens and clear crystal it looks like a giant flower just opening up.

We were standing on the largest Persian carpet in the world. Sized at over 65 thousand square feet it had been weaved by 1200 Iranian women over two years to. Very soft, very lush, in greens, browns and reddish hues it covers the large expanse of the prayer hall. Forty thousand people can pray at the same time. Standing there I felt incredibly overpowered.

We walked around, awestruck. Suddenly, from the minaret came the call to prayer. We were asked to leave.
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After the crazy traffic of the city, the skyscrapers, construction noise, shopping centers, suqs, shouting vendors, honking horns and boat motors, the stillness of the desert covered us like a calming blanket. The incredibly quiet expanse with…Read More

After the crazy traffic of the city, the skyscrapers, construction noise, shopping centers, suqs, shouting vendors, honking horns and boat motors, the stillness of the desert covered us like a calming blanket. The incredibly quiet expanse with its hues of brown seemed less real than the electricity of the all man-made Dubai.

Drivers, dressed in long white candoras and white gutrahs, chauffeured groups of tourists and ex-pats in four wheel drive vehicles into the sunset. We paused and wondered about the daytime heat in the desert. After four, it had cooled off comfortably and a breeze was refreshing. The soft sand felt delicious between the toes. We stopped at several camel farms and admired the majestic animals. Camels are bread for steaks, stew, briefcases, handbags, and jackets, not some exalting purpose like taking people through the desert or racing. They were always chewing and moving their jaws in circular motion, and close-up their teeth were huge and their eyelashes incredibly long. Camels can run fast, but these farm animals moved slowly, their large bellies swaying from side to side.

The calm ride didn’t prepare us for the "bashing." I was one of six passengers in one car. The vehicle stopped somewhere off the road in the sand, and while we drank water, the drivers let some air out of the tires. "Better in the dunes," went the explanation. The "all aboard," was the beginning of the wildest ride I have ever taken. The dunes we entered weren’t nice and easy slopes. These ravines, often twenty-five feet or deeper angled at forty-five degrees. We raced up and slid down head first, sideways, backwards, waiting just long enough for the vehicle in front to get out of the way. We squealed, laughed, caught our breath, occasionally in flight, often at the brink of tipping, but always regaining balance. "I’m a daredevil," explained our driver, "I have never had an accident." He was laughing, the joy of giving us a wild experience sparkling in his eyes. I have no idea how long the dune bashing lasted, the exhilaration made me forget time and space. Sitting in the front next to the driver, I tried to film. The result was a movie as wild as the ride itself.

Our destination was a Bedouin campsite located in a fairly deep depression. Camels with muzzles kneeled down to receive riders for a short walk. From there we meandered down a slope to enter the camp through a great gate that resembled the ranch entrances of the Old West. With much time on our hands, we admired the eagle perched on the bedouin’s wrist, and explored the interlocking huts and tents containing sales stalls, kitchens, henna tattoo stall, and an Arabic dress shop.

We donned Arabic garb for photo shoots. The women looked smashing in their long black abaias. It was amazing how comfortable and cool they felt. The headscarf and veil were one piece of material with a slit through the middle and a band on either side. Covering nose and eyes it is tied in the back of the head. Half is drawn up and back to cover the hair, the other half pulled down just below the eyes. Men shrouded themselves in long, white candoras and tried a variety of gutrahs on their heads. The transformation to a different culture took seconds.

In the center of the compound, round tables and large cushions encircled a carpeted stage. Comfortably seated, we were served a menu of barbequed lamb and chicken with vegetables, stew, several rice dishes, a number of salads, Arabic breads, and non-alcoholic as well as alcoholic beverages. We wondered if the stew contained camel, but no one would tell us. All of the food tasted surprisingly good for a tour destination.

I could have lived without the interactive belly-dancing performance. The dancer moved gracefully to the discordant tunes of the local music, but when she pulled people from the audience to follow her gyrations, the exotic ambience was gone.

Millions of stars twinkled in the night sky. "Nowhere can you see as many stars as in the desert," sighed our driver on the way back.
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While there seems to be a limited number of truly interesting and worthwhile cultural and artistic tourist attractions, there are a number of activities aimed to appeal to the tourist family or the more adventurous outdoor tourist. Some of the more interesting desert activities include…Read More

While there seems to be a limited number of truly interesting and worthwhile cultural and artistic tourist attractions, there are a number of activities aimed to appeal to the tourist family or the more adventurous outdoor tourist.

Some of the more interesting desert activities include safaris, dune driving and exploring wadis in four-wheel-drive vehicles; sand-skiing, hot air ballooning and moonlit Arabian desert barbecues, complete with traditional entertainment. Closer to town there is camel racing and horse racing with no betting, of course. You can also cruise in a traditional wooden dhow on Dubai Creek or into the Gulf with or without a meal. I recommend “without.”

The UAE also has swimming, sailing, fishing, windsurfing, water-skiing, jet-skiing, scuba-diving and snorkeling. There are five grass golf courses. If you are really sports and activity oriented you can play squash and tennis or go horse back riding, trekking, paragliding, cycling, ice-skating, shooting, and bowling.

If all you want to do is watch, there’s The Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament in early February, two US$1,000,000 International tennis tournaments in late February, one for women and one for men and an IRB Rugby Sevens tournament in December.

For families with children, there are lots of beaches and parks with playgrounds. Creekside Park is especially nice. It has an interactive Children’s City with areas dedicated to anatomy, science and space. Families can also ride a gondola that provides great views of the city.

The zoo on Jumeirah Beach Road is small and disappointing according to our host family but further down is Jumeirah Beach Park. It’s a huge facility with children’s play areas, barbecue sites, food kiosks, volleyball areas, and a beach with lifeguards. It’s on Jumeirah Beach Road next to the Hilton Beach Club.

The Jumeirah Beach Corniche is a little further down and has 800 meters of beach frontage, with shaded picnic tables, play areas, showers and a sheltered swimming area. It’s located just off the Beach Road, next to the Marine Beach Club.

There are also commercial sites that cater to families like the Wild Wadi Water Park and Ski Dubai next to the Mall of the Emirates for indoor skiing, sledding, snowball fights and Santa Claus at Christmas-time.

We had a fun afternoon renting ATVs at one of the locations you can't miss on the Dubai-Hatta Highway. There are also enclosed tracks for small children to experience driving an ATV on the sand.

One of the more interesting sites is Heritage Village near the Shindaga Tunnel. The site attempts to recreate the Bedouin way of life, with people dressed in traditional clothing, displays of traditional handicrafts, and traditional song and dance performances. It also has a Diving Village featuring artifacts from Dubai’s pearl diving past. It’s a wee bit tacky but maybe kids won’t notice. We didn’t see it but there is evidently a tiny section for children, with activities intended to keep youngsters occupied while the adults take coffee break at a nearby cafe.

To summarize, there’s lots to do for adventurers and families. Use the internet and Google to locate your choices and plan ahead to avoid the disappointment of closed facilities or fully booked activities.    Close