I am supposed to be going later in the year but it just seems like a backward country whereby if I try and tie my shoe laces outside a bakery I will be breaking a law. This has been compounded by the news a British dentist and her 4 year old daughter..yes, 4 year old daughter were thrown in jail because she had a glass of wine, served by the airline on the flight. I just think, what’s the point?

Should I just cancel?

Regards

King James

I went twice with my girlfriend at the time in the early 2000s. It was just before the massive infrastructure projects really took off; Palm Jumeirah, The World, and the Burj Khalifa.

We stayed with my girlfriend's Dad, who lived out there, so I had a very good idea of what to do and what not to do. Despite that, I was only in my early 20s and straight out of uni, so absolutely caned it for a fortnight on both occasions. There were a couple of times when I think back that I/we could have got into serious bother.

If you take note of the rules, and more importantly, respect them, you'll be fine. It's one of the safest cities in the world.

Firstly, she's not British, she's Swedish and appears to deal less in dentistry than botox.

She was detained because after being questioned about her visa she got arsey with the immigration staff and started filming them, an offence in Dubai (try doing that at most airports and you won't be going anywhere fast). Admitting having a drink on the flight hasn't helped but it's more a case of the authorities teaching her a lesson than a law that is regularly enforced. Thousands would be detained each day if that were the case.

But in general I find Dubai a pretty awful place. Hollow glitz, glamour and money barely masking an underworld of widespread corruption. and a culture of slavery and intimidation and a class system unrivalled in its extremes.

You don't need to look too hard to discover what's going on behind the facade.

Exactly this - it's full of monied expats shopping and posing, whilst studiously ignoring the things that Cronus has highlighted; a horrible place, that I wouldn't waste my money on again.

Agree with what Cronus and Bren said. Its OK for a short visit - like an even gaudier, shallower version of the USA. Built on modern day slavery. Its an expensive place but they ship in workers (especially building workers) from India etc and pay them what they'd get at home. You can imagine how little that is in Dubai terms. Its a morally vile place.

So long as you don't do anything stupid in public - like get drunk, show affection, etc you should be ok. the ex pats all go for Friday brunch in smart hotels whee they can eat and drink as much as they want for a fixed price. So drinking is OK as long as done discreetly.

Don't take any bacon with you.

There's so much culture & beauty out in the world. Why someone would choose to go to somewhere like Dubai is beyond me.

Much like the rest of the modern world, it's style over substance and like reality TV "we" cant get enough of it.
I'm with you though, far better and less oppressive places to visit

No, just buy it from the Waitrose in Dubai Mall.