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I thought long and hard whether to write this or not. I've had quite a few trips to the Middle East in recent times, and in the main I've enjoyed them. The UAE, or rather Abu Dhabi, I have huge affection for and remember the place well and enjoy visiting it.
For once I was given the opportunity to go to Dubai - notionally the second city, but likely to be the one people of heard of in the UAE. For the first time, also, I flew with Emirates. If you ever plan to go to the UAE, do not fly with BA, go with Emirates; the service is a world of difference from BA, the seats are more comfortable, the in flight entertainment does entertain, and the food actually tastes of something and fills you up. And all this in "Cattle Class". You won't regret it!
The hotel I stayed in was the Arabian Courtyard in Bur Dubai, near the Dubai Museum. A rather charming hotel, modern enough to have all the facilities you expect, but with enough character to be not another soulless corporate chain. OK, it's a fair distance from the Jumeirah Beach and the like, but... Do you really want to spend all your time in the Blackpool of the Middle East? The biggest surprise to me was that unlike Abu Dhabi the city just didn't look finished. In Abu Dhabi there was a lot of building going on, but it was dispersed over the city in patches; here in Dubai the city was just one huge building site. On the road from Dubai past Jumeirah and off to Internet City and beyond, it was mile upon mile of partly finished tower blocks, yet to reveal their beauty and hideously ugly with their raw concrete and steel skeletons exposed. I took many pictures of these over the days I was there. The city, to me, just felt like it was trying to be a western city it became almost a pastiche of one. The restaurants, the fast food joints, the bars hardly hidden (unlike Abu Dhabi), the public beaches with near nudity, everything screamed "Blackpool". OK, the weather was better, but... Regarding the weather, it was hot. Very hot. At many points of the week it was 47C upwards, and 79% humidity upwards. At night it dropped to the mid 30s. All I can say is air conditioning is a god send in Dubai, though the 20C - 30C difference between outside and inside is a huge shock to the system! The temperature never officially is over 50C in Dubai; if it was, the law says that everyone is entitled to a free holiday. I don't think I could ever live in the UAE - something I've said before - but my feelings were even more solidified when reading the Kaleij Times again during this visit. Two people committed adultery. The man has been sentanced to death by stoning; the woman has been given a long jail sentance (life, IIRC) because she wasn't married, therefore she didn't commit adultery, she only aided and abetted it. I know that people shouldn't cheat on their partners, but that is a matter (at least in my mind) for the house, |
