Sure it's beautiful (the above picture is what it should look like by the end of 2009), and sure there are some technological marvels there (the tallest building in the world), but Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, and that means a mentality that seems more appropriate to the Middle Ages than it does to a city that is trying to become the world's largest tourist destination of twenty-first century.
The UAE has mandatory 4 year minimum sentences for any sort of convicted drug arrest.
"So what?" you say. You never touch drugs?
Did I mention "drugs" can include your legally prescribed medications, a stray poppy seed from an old sandwich, melatonin from the health food store, or even a microscopic piece of marijuana stuck to the bottom of your shoe? Yes, travelers to (and through) Dubai have been sentenced to years in jail for all these things:
http://www.medindia.net/news/Tourists-Oblivious-of-Prevailing-Drug-Laws-in-UAE-End-Up-in-Jail-32698-1.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=512815&in_page_id=1811
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4200952.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/27/dubai.austin/index.html
Oh, and guess what? It's not just drugs you have to worry about.
If you are a woman without your head covered, expect to be stared at constantly, everywhere you go. (Everyone assumes you are a prostitute.)
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=59356
You are a man and don't care about that? Well, how about getting anal-raped and then being prosecuted as a homosexual? (Did I already mention it's like the Middle Ages in Dubai? Oh yeah, I did!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/world/middleeast/01dubai.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
In case all these news stories weren't enough, here you can get the straight dirt on Dubai directly from the U.S. Consolate webpage:
http://dubai.usconsulate.gov/dubai/Arrest/Criminal_Penalties.html
If they find you "suspicious" at the airport for any reason, they can (and do) take you aside and go over everything have with a microscope. Why they try so hard to find miniscule deposits of illegal substances is beyond me. It's just so counterintuitive to how you should treat people coming to your country to spend money. In contrast, when visiting Jordan, they just confiscate any contraband and let you go along your merry way. At least that is civilized.
Think you will have a high-tech prison cell in Dubai and be afforded civilized amenities? Here's a quote from a friend of someone still locked up there: "Bugs are crawling out of his mattress when he's sleeping. His family are frantic with worry and can't call him."
A few other crappy things I've learned too:
There are no clear and usable street names.
Everything is under constant construction day and night. (15%-20% of the world's cranes are currently in Dubai).
Dubai's workforce is 97% imported from other countries. (Most of them are stripped of their Visa's when they get a job leaving them essentially as helpless serfs.)
Can you believe we were considering traveling there? Don't let beautiful Dubai pictures fool you! Research first!
In all fairness though, Dubai has built up a sprawling metropolis from almost scratch since 1990. This includes only 5 years to build the world's tallest building (by far!). But in seven years, we, the United States, haven't even come close to completing a new World Trade Center--seven years later, folks. How pathetic is that?
Dubai, 1990:
Dubai, 2007:
The Freedom Tower, 2008:
But don't feel bad. The United States, as the world's largest consumer of oil (especially the The US Department of Defense), can take pride that we made the new and improved Dubai possible!
This has been a public service announcement from:
Izabael DaJinn
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