Dubai/UAE - where did you think you were?

[WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing]

I’ll preface this by saying I wish the best for anyone out there, working or holidaying. I hope you are and remain safe.

but do people go there with next to no concern for where in the world it’s located? Do they pay no attention to news or the general geopolitical situation, it’s hnot exactly a secret.

are we really that dense that most people don’t look past the bling, the weather, the tax perks, the bloody influencers?

I think that point has been extensively covered

Same

Greenland is nowhere near Scandinavia. They have the Atlantic Ocean between them.

Yes but Denmark is and any attempt by America to take Greenland by force would de facto be war with Denmark

I mean not necessarily, Denmark might just say take it. But the aggression isn't great.

It would be de facto war with the whole of NATO. Including, bizarrely, the US itself would be duty bound to attack itself. Greenland and Denmark are still geographically remote from each other so bombs launched against Greenland wouldn’t immediately affect Denmark.

It's not the only option. We holiday in lots of places.

But affordability wise, I can have a week in Egypt or Dubai for less than half the price of a week somewhere comparable in Spain in the summer holidays. I can jump in a taxi in Dubai, or indeed on public transport, and feel entirely safe. I've done city breaks to Europe where I absolutely couldn't say the same thing. Rome, Paris & Copenhagen being the cities I felt least safe travelling alone with my children.

Ultimately, I like to spend my one week abroad enjoying beach holidays...in the sun. I spend all year in the UK. I don't want to holiday here. And I don't have any desire whatsoever to visit Germany or Lithuania for a beach holiday. And given Lithuania has a border with Russia, I'm not sure it makes any more logical sense in the context of avoiding potential conflict zones.

Glad someone pointed this out. They jump on the bandwagon of benefit bashing and have no idea what it entails because they are privileged enough to have a stable job or be healthy enough to work and hold down a job... as soon as they need the benefits (when everyone starts losing their jobs to AI or because companies dont have the liquidity to stay afloat)their tone will change.

You do you. It's cheap because of the acceptance of modern day slavery. I wouldn't give up my moral stance for a cheap week in the sun.

Not at the minute it’s not.

That’s a really odd logic @MyLuckyHelper

People keep talking about safety being an advantage of holidaying in Dubai but they don’t at all consider how this safety is achieved or who it applies to. It’s just bizarre.

Of course a state where there are no juries, no lawyers during depositions, where death penalty and flagellation are common punishments, are going to be generally safer - but what if you do something wrong accidentally ?

It simply can’t be that so many people feel unsafe elsewhere and that’s why they holiday in dubai. Why can’t people be honest and say I get more bang for my buck, I like ostentatious luxury and I don’t care about how all of this is achieved. Just be honest.

as someone who lived there over a decade ago (hated it, was in hospitality, they took my passport and locked it away until I could buy myself out of my contract) and accidentally took the wrong bus and ended up at one of the forts/camps where they are ‘housed’…at least many of the workers are housed remotely and bussed in so probably out of the way of any bombing

also the North Sea and part of the Arctic ocean

It's not bizarre. My safety concerns are obviously for my family.

I presume you use a phone of some sort? Many smartphones rely on cobalt and other minerals mined in the DRC, where parts of the mining sector have been linked to dangerous and exploitative conditions.

If you don't then wonderful, please accept my apologies. Point stands that modern comforts - whether they be smartphones or affordable holidays often depend on global systems that have human costs. If you have the resources to live a completely ethical life - amazing.

Also - I quite literally said "I can holiday there for half the price of Spain" - so I was being honest. Absolutely nothing disingenuous about my post. My reasons were the safety of MY family and the price. Is that something you consider acceptable, no? But those are my reasons.

That's wonderful for you. I hope you enjoy whatever you do choose.

I hope you have the financial resources to live a sustainable & entirely ethical life. No smartphones, no fast fashion, no palm oil etc. Something for me to aspire to should my financial situation improve.

I'm personally surprised that a week in Spain is twice the price of a week in Dubai

I don't see why this has to be the argument. If you don't go on holiday to Dubai or criticise it you must live a one hundred per cent ethical life if you criticise oppression in Dubai or you're a hypocrite ? I know that some charity shops aren't that cheap these days but for me, clothes I buy in charity shops save me money. I personally do avoid palm oil and have done for years. I don't spend any more money avoiding it than I would if I bought products with it in

I had the same conversation with a vegan who buys fast fashion and wears perfume tested on animals. She was laughing at me because I buy second hand clothes.

I find the "you're not ethical either argument a bit odd"

The reason I have to have a smartphone is because I'm on UC and it's expected that you have one incase the dwp needs to be able to contact you.

Pretty sure it's possible to buy second hand phones anyway

There's a company called Fairphone that seems pretty ethical

This is interesting. Lithuania is a beautiful place imo but I accept it's not for everyone. I take your point re safety but I don't think Putin's likely to invade this year, given he's still unable to currently beat Ukraine. I was wrong to recommend those 2 for a beach holiday now anyway as they wouldn't be warm enough, I forgot we were talking about February/March.

Interesting comment about Paris, Rome and Copenhagen. I had no idea they were so unsafe, I thought they were all fairly safe destinations usually. Certainly I'd thought Denmark in general had a fairly low crime rate. Could you maybe elaborate a bit more on how they felt unsafe?

Can I also ask why you perceive Egypt as safe? The Foreign Office warns of a high risk of terrorist attacks, including ones targeted at tourists. And Egypt certainly is also know for sexual harassment of women : the infamous group harassment 'taharrush gamea' which made headlines after the Cologne mass assaults.

Agree about Lithuania being an unlikely target, but I think most people wouldn't have imagined Dubai being a target either.

I'm sure they are beautiful - genuinely not being snarky. I'm just a bit simple when it comes to chilling out for a week - I want a scorching hot, sandy beach and clear water. I don't claim to be sophisticated 😂

Copenhagen was actually the worst of the three for us. I took my daughter (12) for her birthday. And we were followed a fair way from a restaurant to the train station by a man. There was no doubt he was following us and I actually had to go and wait in a small supermarket type shop inside the train station, to make sure he didn't follow us onto the train. It was a very scary experience and perhaps not representative of the place as a whole, but it has definitely clouded my judgement.

While I'm still travelling alone with the girls, I need (for my own sanity) to stick to places I feel confident and safe. When they are older and I'm not so guarded, I may well want to expand my horizons.

Edited and started a new thread as I’ve duplicated /over posted on here :)