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I feel like I'm in Monarch's playground.

 

So as I'm sure most of us know, Dubai is a fantasy land much like Las Vegas (if Vegas had a juice-binging older brother, but didn't have a gambling problem). The last time I was here the Burj Khalifa was a hole in the ground, the Palm's land was under construction, and there seemed to be more of the actual locals wondering around the only two malls at the time.

 

Now, it is over-flooded with ex-pats/immigrants, and the locals get lost in the crowd. The Metro is decent and Air-conditioned, and even some of the bus stops are climate controlled. Houston, get your notepads out. Maybe I was jet lagged but I found myself more than once in the aft part of the trains, which has pink signs stating the cabin is for women and children only. I am also 100% sober and have wandered into the women's bathroom 3 times now. The signs look similar and are not always obvious. Whoops! 

 

I like the hours the stores have, 10-11 usually, but I hate that people eat dinner after 10pm. Speaking of food, I've had everything from mall food court Indian to fine dining and have yet to have a bad meal. The Indian food is to die for. Although Chicken sausage seems to be popular here and I'm not too keen on that. Also, I have seen bacon, which I would have thought was a big no-no. Another enlightening experience is the Christmas music, decorations, and trees adorning Hotel lobby's and shopping malls. I was told that recently they have allowed this.

 

Most of the people who live here don't have boundary issues and will cut you in line without a second thought. I'm a pretty big guy, so getting past me would seem like an obstacle. Nope. They will push you out of the way, to cut you! LOL! Oh well, what can you do. Besides that, everyone has been so incredibly nice and helpful. It's strange also to see men holding hands and walking arm & arm. Based on pure stereotype of their clothing and voice octaves I assume most of them are in fact gay. But the way people dress in other parts of the world outside of the US could be considered "gay". On top of that, I recall a educational video about Indian men who are affectionate before they are married to women. So there is that possibility, but most of them were European or Arab.

 

The Burj Khalifa is head-spinningly tall. I did the touristy thing and went up to the observation floor. I guess all cities really change in a decade, but last time there was 1/4th the amount of buildings. Even a tall skyline has emerged on the other side of the Creek!

 

The locals have told me that crime virtually does not exist. Petty-theft is extremely rare. I see people leave their phones and wallet out on the tables and walk away without a second thought. Meanwhile I've kept the "do not disturb" sign on my hotel door for paranoia of missing something when I get back.

 

I have asked about any local or regional clothing brands that one cannot get in the States but have come up dry. I was hoping to find some cool stuff. I guess that time has long gone as the world becomes smaller & smaller. 

 

Anyways sorry for the long ramble. Dining to the Burj Al Arab this evening for one last hoorah before I make the butt-numbing 15 hour flight back to Houston. I'll post some pictures when I get back. The A380 is really cool! Emirates is an awesome airline, the food was amazing and what a cosmopolitan staff. The women were striking. I guess that's what you get when you don't have the hiring standards/equality laws of the west :P. Someone told me that you can ask for specific nationality, sex, and looks when filling a position. I was also explained the hierarchy of races/nationality. In that sense Dubai has come a long way, but still further to go.

 

I would probably never want to live here though. The summers are brutal and the whole gay thing.

 

 

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Top photo is Al Muntaha at Burj Al Arab, right?  I've been to Dubai many times, but it's been nearly 2 years...  They were still working on that tram through the Dubai Marina and traffic was a total cluster - I'm sure it still is through that part of town.  We were working in Abu Dhabi and tried to spend whatever weekends we could in Dubai given the nightlife was so much better.  Abu Dhabi is (or at last was) really booming as well, though

 

I know the weather at this time of year is nice, but you are right in that the summers are brutal.  And it's not always a "dry heat" as it can get somewhat humid in both cities

 

My wife was actually open to the idea of moving there, but she went in February (never experienced the heat) and it's just too far from our families here in the U.S.  Definitely one of my favorite places to visit, though

 

The one thing that gets me, though, is that once you get away from the flashy stuff in both cities there are definitely some poorer areas.  I always wondered how much the workers in the hotels, the cab drivers, etc., get paid - in any case, it must be much better than where they came from.  The construction workers on all of the big buildings get bused in every day and live on these out of sight compounds

 

 

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Top photo is Al Muntaha at Burj Al Arab, right? I've been to Dubai many times, but it's been nearly 2 years... They were still working on that tram through the Dubai Marina and traffic was a total cluster - I'm sure it still is through that part of town. We were working in Abu Dhabi and tried to spend whatever weekends we could in Dubai given the nightlife was so much better. Abu Dhabi is (or at last was) really booming as well, though

I know the weather at this time of year is nice, but you are right in that the summers are brutal. And it's not always a "dry heat" as it can get somewhat humid in both cities

My wife was actually open to the idea of moving there, but she went in February (never experienced the heat) and it's just too far from our families here in the U.S. Definitely one of my favorite places to visit, though

The one thing that gets me, though, is that once you get away from the flashy stuff in both cities there are definitely some poorer areas. I always wondered how much the workers in the hotels, the cab drivers, etc., get paid - in any case, it must be much better than where they came from. The construction workers on all of the big buildings get bused in every day and live on these out of sight compounds

The constructions workers get paid next to nothing. I was informed that there is a hierarchy with the local Emirates on top, followed by the Europeans & Americans, then all the way at the bottom were the Pakistani's & Indians. They are usually over-qualified for the jobs they perform and always underpaid compared to their "upper class" counterparts.

The Europeans, Americans, Emirates, and other upper social classes live in Dubai in $4,000 a month luxury highrises, most of the time paid for by the companies that relocate there to "out source" the lower class Indians who live in the next Emirates over and commute into Dubai via Metro or car (45minutes to 1 1/2 hours).

Now I don't how to accurate this is as it was word of mouth, so take that into consideration.

Edit: the top photo is the sky bar technically, Al Muntaha faces the other direction but it's practically all in the same space ;).

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