Why would anyone in their right mind want to vacation in Dubai?

It is a place that is full of rich heritage and culture. I would love to visit.

No, I wouldn’t care for the garb women are required to wear on the streets or on the beach. I personally wouldn’t care for the little tolerance of public affection, but every hear of the saying ‘when in Rome…’?

I don’t fear their culture or their rules. I may not understand some, may not agree with some, but it would still be interesting to visit and to learn about. Just because their culture is different, doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad either.

yeah, rich “heritage and culture” in the form of massive tourist marketing.

@rahm_sahriy

You mention fascist sexism in a culture, then you say that it’s just different—not necessarily bad, in the same message. Seriously? Where was your head when you typed that up? Was it because @Kraigmo compared their culture to Klingons? Did that inspire you, spok ears? lol. . . Just because a lot of people practice something, doesn’t make it okay. Easy Reference: Nazism

Not that Dubai wouldn’t be interesting to visit, but so would just about any other fucked up place on this wonderful planet. Always new things to cringe at. And, of course, there’s always good things in any culture. It’s just a little sad they’re being packaged and sold to tourists who can afford it, while the lowerclass citizens who are actually a part of the culture starve or are otherwise oppressed.

Any culture that causes or allows for pointless suffering, is bad to the degree it causes or allows for such.

I realize that there is a rich history in the U.A.E. and surrounding Arab and other lands. But that’s no excuse for Shariah law and authoritarian insanity.

I am fascinated by the United Arab Emirates and I am a sucker for travel, so of course I want to go there. Not because it’s the greatest place in the world, but because it seems so interesting and the more of the world I see, the better.

Of course, what I really love doing is traveling with my boyfriend. I doubt the U.A.E. would be too happy about that…although it’d be a step up from Iran’s public execution policy…

Not me. As a woman, I abhor what that country and others like it represent.

Dubai strikes me as the Arab answer to Las Vegas. Lots of excess and little common sense. I’d love to see the architecture of the Arabic world and visit some of the places that I’ve seen on Nat Geo and the History Channel. I think I’d even be willing to don the local dress codes but at this point I’d be afraid that my mouth or even rolling my eyes might land me in more trouble than I’d be able to get myself out of. I’d want to do some serious research and hire a reliable guide for the entire trip to keep me out of trouble as well as getting me to see places of interest.
Right now, Kashmir is still high on my list, as is Nepal. Just as soon as I can swing it.

There’s nothing wrong with taking a vacation in Dubai. You just have to remember their judicial system is based on pure evil.

My husband has been there on several trips. It’s a strange place. All the service people are from somewhere else. There were clubs and bars, but they had aggressive prostitutes in them, so he didn’t hang around much. He asked to see some historical sites and the man (an Indian man) at the counter laughed and said.. ‘If it is old, Sir, they tear it down and build one new.’ The beach was too hot to walk on (though I hear there is one with refrigeration units under it to cool the sand). He was there during the ‘off season’. He was very impressed with the building shaped like a sail… But he’s been to other places that we have vowed to go back to as a family on holiday… Like Tunisia. Tunisia is VERY tourist friendly and they consider themselves more European than Arabic.

@Trillian Last friend that went to Kashmir came home in a body bag. We miss Hans. Please, don’t go to Kashmir.

No thanks, I’m not big on slave-based economies.

@cazzie What? Why? Can you tell me what happened to him? I heard that it wasn’t safe for westerners, but I was hoping that it would pass before I did. Is it the Tibet thing? Or a Muslim hate thing? What?

. . . am i to understand that you don’t care for the Klingons?

I absolutely LOVED Dubai and I would go back in a heartbeat if I had the chance. It’s a different culture and I think traveler’s need to respect that. We saw women from other countries walking around in skimpy clothes all over the place. People (including us) stared at them. Sure, it’s your vacation, but if you walk around wearing next to nothing in a place where bodies aren’t flaunted, then expect to be stared at. It’s ridiculous to think you won’t be noticed.
The article reads, ”Cosmopolitan Dubai has the most relaxed social codes in the conservative Gulf, but authorities enforce strict decency laws and regularly crack down on people accused of pushing the limits, which can include everything from wearing a mini skirt to losing one’s temper in traffic.” Decency LAWS. If a person was visiting here and breaking the law, I’m sure they’d be reprimanded as well.
If you’re traveling to another country, no matter where it is, don’t you think you should know the rules of that country? And follow them? I think so. We went in the middle of summer and were fine walking around in shorts and t-shirts. If we went to a mosque or something, we covered up…. wore light slacks and a linen shirt.
There’s nothing wrong with the country. Maybe traveler’s should have a little more respect and be better informed.

@cazzie “the building shaped like a sail” is the Burj al Arab

@OP : The hyper-rich go there because they can go to the places where they don’t have to mingle with the non jet-set undesirables to a place where money speaks louder than everything.

I do not think it is the perfect destination for travels on a budget but I have heard the elite (Millionaires/Billionaires) love it as the debauchery occurs indoors !!!

@Trillian—- Answered privately.

@Allie I know what it’s called, but if I had said ‘Burj al Arab’ they wouldn’t have known what I was talking about, but everyone has seen pictures of the ‘pretty building shaped like a sail’. I agree that travellers should better inform themselves on their destination. It cuts down on disappointment.

I think it’s the same people who like Singapore.

After reading this what @cazzie wrote, it made me even more set in my notion. I mean: here’s a place where you could get your hands chopped off, or 20 years in prison, or some other horrible penance for a social sin, and yet they have aggressive prostitutes.

Seems like some evil Alice-in-Wonderland universe, where all sorts of baubles and indulgences are thrown your way, but if you actually take any such indulgences, you risk losing your freedom.

I’ve read of people who landed there with a joint in their pocket, only to end up in prison for 20 years.

Yes I know, it’s their country, their laws, so don’t fly there ready to violate such laws; but realistically: what if every country on earth had such laws? Would that make it wrong to violate the laws everywhere on earth then?

It really does sound like a twisted version of Las Vegas, but unlike Las Vegas, you gamble on your very freedom to be there.

It reminds me of the original Battlestar Galactica movie from 1978. Where there was this luxurious resort/casino with all sorts of sin-laden customers pouring in and having fun, meanwhile, if they happen to go in the wrong elevator, watch out… the whole purpose of the casino resort was to be a honeypot that attracted humans to it for the purposes of then taking their lives and bodies away and turning them into food and energy.

And what kind of evil culture would jail a person 20 years for a joint?
Alabama of the 1980s and the United Arab Emirates of the 2000s

@Kraigmo Ah, the Ovions…