Holiday to Dubai

Souleh · 10 Apr 2017 at 09:42

wez130 said:
Not at about £9 a glass lol. You can't just walk into a bar in Dubai, you need to know where they are, you don't just 'pass' then on your travels. They are hidden at the top of buildings, or in cellars at the back of hotels etc. Our hotel didn't even have a bar (millenium plaza). We ended up at the top of Sheraton four point, which had amazing views over the city to be fair!

I think you were going to the wrong places

95% of all hotels have atleast one bar and theres many out in public, on the beaches (barasti and zero mavity super popular every day of the week) and all around. The sky lounge on that sheraton is a nice spot of SZR but a bit dear.

Ofcourse the price is higher but friday brunch is excellent value for money where youll spend £40 for a 6 hour open bar and unlimited good food! Also the vast majority have happy hour deals for a few hours a day every day (bar the weekend) which is then half price! Entertainer vouchers also makes most things buy one get one free on meals so give it a google.

Also dont forget the weekend is Friday/Saturday here

Can affect flight prices

Mahonyy · 10 Apr 2017 at 09:46

I totally refuse to go to a Wahhabist country

Souleh · 10 Apr 2017 at 10:59

Then dont goto Saudi? :rolleyes:

Scam · 10 Apr 2017 at 12:53

[FnG]magnolia said:
Drink in public and have sex on a beach with a stranger.

In all seriousness what are the rules around sex with a partner if you're not married? :confused:

I've never understood the idea of going to Dubai on holiday. It's a city built and maintained by modern slavery, ruled by people with too much money and absolutely zero class. On top of that it's too hot to do anything :confused:

Avenged7Fold · 10 Apr 2017 at 13:07

Mahonyy said:
I totally refuse to go to a Wahhabist country

Anything else you want get off your chest?

Maybe stop by some of the car model thread and tell them you dont own that car. If you are still bored, make sure you check out the GPU forum and post that you dont own that GPU in the threads where people ask about specific GPU models

this guy

SPG · 10 Apr 2017 at 13:07

Its a good place to go if you are on expenses otherwise Skegness is better when its sunny.

izzop · 10 Apr 2017 at 13:30

Spent 8 months there late 1990 to mid 91, boy has it changed since then. Don't think I'd like to holiday there, seeing what it's become, it just seems very fake. Each to their own.

A great achievement by them for the turn around since then with getting the investment back and developing it into what it is today, but no thanks.

Mahonyy · 10 Apr 2017 at 14:05

Avenged7Fold said:
Anything else you want get off your chest?

Maybe stop by some of the car model thread and tell them you dont own that car. If you are still bored, make sure you check out the GPU forum and post that you dont own that GPU in the threads where people ask about specific GPU models

this guy

You love Dubai? it's fine, no need to get butthurt. I'd rather spend money on a place where human rights are respected.

Bunka · 10 Apr 2017 at 15:13

Mahonyy said:
You love Dubai? it's fine, no need to get butthurt. I'd rather spend money on a place where human rights are respected.

Then why are you posting in a thread about tips for what to do in Dubai?!! :rolleyes:

Avenged7Fold · 10 Apr 2017 at 15:17

Lol precisely my point.

Its not we love Dubai but you hate it enough to post irrelevant posts in threads asking about it. I care little for Dubai. Certainly dont care enough to announce my boycotting of Dubai on threads asking if electronics are cheaper or what there is to do there.

It is like going on a spec me thread for a GPU and going 'Nawww, i play on mah xbox, it's king'

Reminds me of one of those meat is murder types that feel the need to convert you.

wez130 · 10 Apr 2017 at 17:21

Souleh said:
I think you were going to the wrong places 95% of all hotels have atleast one bar and theres many out in public, on the beaches (barasti and zero mavity super popular every day of the week) and all around. The sky lounge on that sheraton is a nice spot of SZR but a bit dear.

Ofcourse the price is higher but friday brunch is excellent value for money where youll spend £40 for a 6 hour open bar and unlimited good food! Also the vast majority have happy hour deals for a few hours a day every day (bar the weekend) which is then half price! Entertainer vouchers also makes most things buy one get one free on meals so give it a google.

Also dont forget the weekend is Friday/Saturday here Can affect flight prices

To be fair, i never went near the marina, we went to the palm, where there were plenty of bars and estrella damm on tap

We have booked a couple of nights at the Marina for this November again though on our way through to Thailand and New Zealand so we can explore the marina area, ski dubai and mall of the emirates this time.

dowie · 10 Apr 2017 at 18:07

Scam said:
In all seriousness what are the rules around sex with a partner if you're not married?

you can be thrown in jail for it:

granted they'd need to catch you/have a reason to find out - such as this example of an unmarried woman falling pregnant by mistake and ending up getting arrested for it:

http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/08/expat-couple-face-jail-in-uae-for-sex-outside-marriage-6497610/

metro article said:
Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, were holidaying in the United Arab Emirates when Nohai experienced stomach cramps.

The South African man and his Ukraine fiancee went to a hospital for a check up.

But a doctor allegedly alerted the police after discovering Nohai was pregnant.

The pair were arrested for sex outside marriage, which is illegal in the UAE.

I've never understood the idea of going to Dubai on holiday. It's a city built and maintained by modern slavery, ruled by people with too much money and absolutely zero class. On top of that it's too hot to do anything

indeed

dowie · 10 Apr 2017 at 18:18

tek81 said:
Respect the local laws and customs, but don't be so worried about things that it spoils your trip. It's not as backward as some people make out. Take a trip up the road to Ras al khaimah if you want a change of pace. Oh, and avoid The York hotel...seriously.

it pretty much is though

granted plenty of people will be fine living or working there - there is mostly 1st world infrastructure (they take shortcuts with some of the buildings not really adhering to fire safety standards we'd have here but still) but the legal system and culture is very much backwards in pretty much all gulf states

modern slavery is abundant there, human rights are very dubious, employment rights are dodgy, people can be sent to jail for getting into debt, people can be barred from leaving the country by their employers.... people can end up getting into debt as a result of being sacked by their employers and barred form leaving... thus ending up in jail for being sacked - this leads to a funny phenomenon of super cars being abandoned as western expats aim to flee the country rather than face jail if/when their careers, business goes wrong:

essentially not always a great place for gay people, black people, single women and pretty much anyone there as a migrant worker (domestic, construction etc..) rather than expats in white collar roles

granted - I know plenty of people who love it, I've got former colleagues who work there, I've got one Arab friend in London from a prominent family over there (albeit he is pretty liberal), I've spent quite a bit of time in the Gulf - if you're careful then you're unlikely to have much trouble, but if you're unlucky and do have trouble (even through little fault of your own) then that can lead to some very nasty situations.

Tek81 · 10 Apr 2017 at 19:07

dowie said:
it pretty much is though

granted plenty of people will be fine living or working there - there is mostly 1st world infrastructure (they take shortcuts with some of the buildings not really adhering to fire safety standards we'd have here but still) but the legal system and culture is very much backwards in pretty much all gulf states

modern slavery is abundant there, human rights are very dubious, employment rights are dodgy, people can be sent to jail for getting into debt, people can be barred from leaving the country by their employers.... people can end up getting into debt as a result of being sacked by their employers and barred form leaving... thus ending up in jail for being sacked - this leads to a funny phenomenon of super cars being abandoned as western expats aim to flee the country rather than face jail if/when their careers, business goes wrong:

essentially not always a great place for gay people, black people, single women and pretty much anyone there as a migrant worker (domestic, construction etc..) rather than expats in white collar roles

granted - I know plenty of people who love it, I've got former colleagues who work there, I've got one Arab friend in London from a prominent family over there (albeit he is pretty liberal), I've spent quite a bit of time in the Gulf - if you're careful then you're unlikely to have much trouble, but if you're unlucky and do have trouble (even through little fault of your own) then that can lead to some very nasty situations.

Still makes for a great holiday though

As do many of the other countries that have systems that run contrary to what we are used to in the west. Take China for example. Superb place to visit. Do I agree with their human rights polices? No. Would it stop me from going there on holiday? No. I have friends who lived in the UAE for over a decade. I used to stay with them quite often and always enjoyed my time there. I agree that it could be declared, for want of a better word, dodgy, when you consider the things you mentioned, but it shouldn't affect the average tourist, other than on a moral level if they are that way inclined.

Scam · 11 Apr 2017 at 12:24

dowie said:
if you're careful then you're unlikely to have much trouble, but if you're unlucky and do have trouble (even through little fault of your own) then that can lead to some very nasty situations.

This is what it boils down to for me. It's not that I have zero interest in going, I'd love to travel everywhere and experience other cultures etc. But the very small risk of something going wrong, having a misunderstanding maybe.. that leading to potentially life changing consequences just isn't worth the risk. There's a million places on my list of countries/places I want to go where there just isn't that risk, therefore Dubai, UAE etc. are bumped right down to the bottom of that list.

Mr.Shabz · 11 Apr 2017 at 12:39

Wild Wadi Waterpark, this was good fun & we didn't even have any kids at the time

wez130 · 11 Apr 2017 at 15:13

Scam said:
This is what it boils down to for me. It's not that I have zero interest in going, I'd love to travel everywhere and experience other cultures etc. But the very small risk of something going wrong, having a misunderstanding maybe.. that leading to potentially life changing consequences just isn't worth the risk. There's a million places on my list of countries/places I want to go where there just isn't that risk, therefore Dubai, UAE etc. are bumped right down to the bottom of that list.

Dubai is not as bad as you're making it out to be. It's a great place to visit, i for one was not worried about being there, i certainly can't wait to return either.

The thing is, Dubai knows that the oil is running out, that's why they are concentrating on building the biggest and best etc to ensure they have a future of tourism. To ensure they have a future of tourism, they have realised that they have to turn a blind eye to some of the Western way of life otherwise, people, exactly like you, will be too afraid to go for the fear of being arrested for the slightest little things. When we were there, we always respected their way of life, my wife covered her shoulders etc, but there were tons of ladies in skimpy clothes in Dubai mall, even their own people! As long as you respect their religion, Dubai is a very tolerant country now.

There was even a drunk couple on our flight into Dubai ****** and jeffing at each other in Dubai airport, nothing was done about it.

dowie · 11 Apr 2017 at 16:00

wez130 said:
Dubai is not as bad as you're making it out to be. It's a great place to visit, i for one was not worried about being there, i certainly can't wait to return either.

Yes it is!

Both I and the other poster are simply talking about the small risk of something going wrong but the very serious consequences if that does occur - your argument simply doesn't stack up, scroll up a bit an take a look at the linked article - a woman was arrested on holiday for sex outside marriage because a Dr discovered she was pregnant. That article was in March so pretty current.

If you're claiming "Dubai is not as bad as you're making it out to be." then you'd have to be claiming that those things weren't happening, as evidence has been posted showing that they are then your comment is simply wrong.

Again the POV being stated is that a tourist will probably be fine and there is a very small chance of something going wrong but if it does then you can end up in a lot of trouble as it is a very backwards country with very backwards laws.

TS7 · 11 Apr 2017 at 16:29

dowie said:
Yes it is!

Both I and the other poster are simply talking about the small risk of something going wrong but the very serious consequences if that does occur - your argument simply doesn't stack up, scroll up a bit an take a look at the linked article - a woman was arrested on holiday for sex outside marriage because a Dr discovered she was pregnant. That article was in March so pretty current.

If you're claiming "Dubai is not as bad as you're making it out to be." then you'd have to be claiming that those things weren't happening, as evidence has been posted showing that they are then your comment is simply wrong.

Again the POV being stated is that a tourist will probably be fine and there is a very small chance of something going wrong but if it does then you can end up in a lot of trouble as it is a very backwards country with very backwards laws.

If you're that risk averse you probably don't leave the UK? I mean even USA is off the cards cus, there's a small chance a cop will shoot you for no good reason; who subsequently won't be brought to justice.

dowie · 11 Apr 2017 at 16:36

TS7 said:
If you're that risk averse you probably don't leave the UK? I mean even USA is off the cards cus, there's a small chance a cop will shoot you for no good reason; who subsequently won't be brought to justice.

I'm not though, please try to read posts properly. I've spent plenty of time in the Middle East I've simply stated there are issues there and it is a backwards place. What is so hard to understand about that?