Assuming, say, you've spent 8 hours of the 24 in a hotel room, and four either in or travelling to and from the airport, you've made your mind up about a country and the people who visit it in 12 hours?
Probably best to stick to Spain.
(Incidentally, Spain is one of the last places on earth I'd go on holiday, but I speak from experience rather than blind prejudice.)
Last edited by Tony; 10th July 2018 at 03:54.
Don't go in July if you enjoy being able to breathe
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Just got back yesterday after 10 days at Hilton Al Hamara, it’s hot out there 40+ at 09.00 in the morning. I’ve been to Dubai a few times and the heat doesn’t normally bother me but this time it was too much. Fine if you want to sit in the shade on the beach or chill in the pool but if you want to go sight seeing then forget it. Only trip we did was Dubai Mall and I was surprised it wasn’t to expensive to eat in there.
A trip to a shopping mall.. Well each to their own I guess.
Sounds like hell on earth, relentless heat, flaky human rights and only the empty tedium of shopping as a diversion.
Last edited by Passenger; 21st July 2018 at 11:04.
A more recent review of Dubai. I first visited there in the early 1980s when the centre was around the Sheraton and Intercon hotels. The World Trade Centre towered alone in the desert on the other side of the creek. Now look at it!
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/07/0...in-the-desert/
I don't like heat above 30 degrees so wouldn't recommend it. If you want to go to that part of the world, there are much better places like Muscat and Abu Dhabi.
I would much sooner go to Muscat in Oman than Dubai but wouldn't contemplate either in July or August. Totally unbearable.
I just it's an unfair judgement but maybe the article is before my time, it sounds like an article from Vice Magazine. I've lived in the Middle East for about 5 years now and travelling here around 10, I've never heard of anyone having to live in their car. Not even in urban legends.
The company that I work for circa 1600 people has a senior management team of 12, 6 of which are Indian / Arabic. I work in construction so I know that most of the contractors have had to really ensure that the accommodation for their employees are reviewed bi-annually / quarterly. I think a lot of the time when you consider the working environment of where a lot of the construction workers came from that you'd be surprised, not that it makes it right.
I guess living in Dubai is a lot different to a holiday and I can understand why it's not peoples cup of tea. It's all a bit new but it's not hugely different to Singapore / Hong Kong etc. The laws are nowhere near as bad as what's made in the UK papers and is a bit of a joke to Expats here.
Here's an interesting one.
Woman held in Dubai with daughter after drinking wine on flight
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...y_to_clipboard
Scares the crap out of me...... a colleague and I went on a emirates flight to Dubai last year and rather stupidly got drunk on the flight (they were doing wine tasting in business class). Nothing happened and we were totally well behaved but my colleague was a bit worse for wear. Could have ended really badly.......
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Watched an interview with a women/girl who in the Sun for ‘sex in a taxi’ out there, she claims it didn’t happen and they proved it hadn’t but she still ended up spending 4 months in jail out there. The sentence was 3 months but they lost the paperwork.
It’s very different from Singapore. Being able to go outside for one! It’s very green and the only thing you have to remind yourself not to do is eat/drink on the metro or on the streets.but it's not hugely different to Singapore
Having just got back from working there it's not a huge leap of the imagination to see oneself living there and more importantly having a social life*and not being dictated to by the weather as the monsoon rains are quite predictable.
*not one based on shopping malls or drinking in hotel bars with expats.
Agreed, Singapore is way different. They have their rules but they are clear and reasonable. I spend a fair amount of time there and the place and people are lovely. Got a friend who’s been there for 5 years and loves it and wouldn’t come back.
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Although mostly you don’t start arguing with immigration/security/the police. It is easy to forget you are no longer in the UK or Sweden.
The “glass of wine” makes for a very easy arrest however.
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