Just returned from a fantastic two weeks staying with family in Dubai. Our hosts could not have been more hospitable, two weeks is a long time to have family hanging around and I'm sure it was stressful at times.
I had a lot of pre conceived ideas about Dubai and wasn't sure if it was my kind of place, but I must admit I was seduced. It's such a busy,frantic,vibrant city. The lifestyle ex pats enjoy out there is slightly tainted by the exploitation of Indian,Sri Lankan and Filipino workers, a live in maid who will cook, clean and be a general skivvy costs no more than 150 quid a month. The huge construction industry is fuelled by workers with no unions who live in labour camps, but I am told that this is improving and conditions are not as bad as many make out.
This was the only negative I could find about the place, big positives for me were tax free living and filling a petrol tank of an X5 for 16 quid. Maybe because of cheap fuel and labour costs, the cost of living is a fraction of what it is here. To give a brief idea, a scan of a receipt shows a tray of 24 cans of pepsi at just over 2 quid.
The guy next door to where we were staying was a senior software engineer in a big company in Dubai Internet City. His tax free salary got him a hell of a lot more than you could hope in a similar position here, things like a live in maid, two big jeeps, kids at public school and business class travel backwards and forwards to his home in South Africa. It was an eye opener.
Three car loads of us went in to the desert near the UAE/Oman border for a spot of what they call dune bashing. I have never seen cars pushed to their limits before and had no idea they could be pushed so hard. I still have whiplash.
I can't say I was entirely comfortable when the engine over heated, and the car thermometer in my brother in law's jeep read 48 degrees, especially when the eejits are navigating by GPS and the nearest road is 6 kms away and there is no mobile reception.
Anyway here are a few photos, the first one is me partaking in the perfectly legal pursuit of smoking mint shisha. A very relaxing pastime. I'm sure the Arabs were in stitches at the state of me, but I looked like Don Corleone in my head.