To not get why people hate Dubai so much?

[Cutitup]

What is there to hate?

I think it's a great place to have a holiday. Great restaurants, great service, fab shopping and spa treatments.

I do understand the problems of domestic and construction staff being exploited but this is not a problem unique to Dubai. I just don't get the vitriol, the 'it has no culture' etc.. I say get out of the bitter farm and play with the hay!

[nowahousewife]

I've been there, but when DH and DS went there for a few days earlier this year, DD and I decided not to go with them so took ourselves off to New York. Now there's a place I can never tire of!

[topicsactiveimon]

I have never, ever taken a package holiday either. I have never sat in a resort anywhere for 2 weeks. Again, not my thing.

[Terrortree]

Lived in Jordan. Lived in Dubai. Jordan was (maybe still is) the fourth biggest recipient of world-wide aid. Dubai receives no aid. Please don't compare.

Jordan has the highest number of refugees in the world to support. Your average Jordanian is not wealthy. The support they provide for the region is unqualified. Most migrant workers are Egyptian - a country nearly as poor as Jordan. It is also a neighbour. Desperate times, desperate measures.

Petra is beautiful. Doesn't make the country rich though. It is wholly run and managed by one tribe. Jordan has many tribes, few are wealthy.

Your holidaying in a place does not mean you know the first thing about it.

But ignorance is a defence, right?

[Cutitup]

Terrortree, I love your impassioned feelings about Jordan. When I last visited, it was before they received so many refugees from Iraq and Syria.

I apologise for the comparison.

Thanks for all the other contributions.

[Esker]

m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22781377

Great article from BBC Own Correspondent. 'An Awkward Brush with the Dubai Expat Vodka Set'

Sorry not sure how to convert link on phone, but its an interesting read.

[topicsactiveimon]

Terrortree who's slating Jordan? I loved it. (I should get a job with the Jordanian tourist board....)

[demi43]

There are just so many places in the world that would be higher up my list of places I want to see They're also probably a lot cheaper Just come across a raffle where prize is trip to Dubai and first thought was that surely most people would prefer travel vouchers so you could choose somewhere more interesting

[Morloth]

I don't hate any of the Middle East.

As a woman with a choice, I will not go to any of those countries.

They can conduct themselves as they like, it is not my business and I am sure they don't give a fuck whether I go or not.

But I will not risk it.

I won't cover my head/body and I won't keep my mouth shut.

[BadLad]

Also what about the v young boys that get used as camel jockeys, what do you think happens to them once they are too big to ride camels?

Are you sure this still happens? Certainly it used to, but all the racing camels I have seen in the last decade have used little robot jockeys after the outcry against forcing the children to do it.

Anyway, some of the criticisms of Dubai are valid, but I don't understand why it gets such bad press compared to the rest of the Middle East.

[SmallTorch]

I hate shopping. I hate heat. I don't like people touching me at spas.

Without thinking about the politics, it clearly isn't the place for me.

[GilmoursPillow]

Lived in the Middle East for years, still in the UAE (not particularly by choice).

. The kids and I get 30kg baggage allowance each so this year we returned to the UK for summer (because the UAE is un-fucking-bearable in the summer) with a total of 24kg. This was on purpose because our plan was to shop in the UK where most things, especially clothes, are CHEAPER (except booze, I buy that cheaper here).

As for oil, we all need it. If your country doesn't have it, you'll need to buy it from someone who does, but don't blame the oil countries for your high prices. We pay around 30p a litre for petrol. The reason UK etc petrol is so much more expensive is mainly due to tax.

There is some culture and history in Dubai but it's not what drives the tourist trade.

Yes, the labourer trade is sickening and I hate it, so I do what I can to try and help including spending a fair amount of time volunteering for welfare causes.

Racing camels have been ridden by robots for years.

[OnlyThePurpleOnes]

The 'fucking whale shark' was rescued after it swam into shallow waters and couldn't get out. The government asked the aquarium to help, which it did. It was rehabilitated, and released about a year ago. Just FYI.

[Driz]

Was this your first time out of the UK OP?

[Mimishimi]

I didn't hate it and by the standards of some of it's neighbours, it's an okay place for women.

[HidingUnderMyDuvet]

OP did you venture off the beaten track whilst in Dubai? I mean within the city itself.

I went when FIL was working there. He took us to all the usual sights, but DH and I being used to backpacking at the time were quickly bored with all the labels and shopping (not to mention couldn't afford any of it!).

One morning we insisted he drop us off in the middle if the old town on the way to work. He thought we were nuts, but wandering around there really opened our eyes.

I do not like that place. It is wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to start!

[Lazyjaney]

Dubai seems to attract the tourists I try to avoid.

[nulgirl]

Agee with lazyjaney- it seems to attract the kind of tourists that I would pay to avoid. The thought of going on a shopping spa holiday in the middle of the desert to a place where women/ migrant workers are so badly treated is my personal idea of hell. Why would I spend my money propping up/ condoning such a horrible system?

[ZillionChocolate]

It's not for me. I wouldn't want to change flights there either due to their unreasonable drugs laws.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7234786.stm

[valiumredhead]

I'm still laughing at the idea that the poor OP can't afford spa treatments in the UK but can afford the flight to Dubai

[Bearbehind]

I don't get why Dubai is singled out like this either OP.

The migrant workers chose to go there to improve their lives and the lives of their families. They don't live in luxury by any measure we would go by, but it is better than they would have in their home country.

Not having sick pay is not exclusive to Dubai, many countries do not have sick pay, maternity pay or unemployment benefit, including many western countries like the US.

As for their strict laws on sex outside marriage, drink and drugs- they are made very clear so if you don't agree with them or cannot comply with them then don't go there.

I can totally see why it wouldn't be some people's choice of destination but it would be a boring world if we all liked the same thing.

[Londonderrysue]

I hated it. We'd come from India and I just wanted to get the first plane out of Dubai. It seemed to be full of Brits on package holidays, like Spain but long haul. We stayed on the creek side, went round the old town, went to the water park, trip out into the desert. I wouldn't go back again.

[FreudiansSlipper]

migrant workers are there as it is a means to survive and support their families, it is not like us going to work in another country because we want the experience/can earn more so we live a certain lifestyle

english people working in dubai are not living in such terrible conditions, are not treated so appallingly so why are migrant workers from asia - because they can because they are poor because they have little choice

[mrsjay]

I hate the fact that people can't see beyond 'but it's a good place to shop'...


that I don't go on holiday to shop I would never go anyway it is too far away but

[Bearbehind]

That argument doesn't make sense freudian.

British expats in Dubai would very likely be wealthy in the UK as they are generally professionals and expert in a particular field, which is why they are sought after in Dubai.

The world is made up of people from all points on the wealth/ poverty spectrum.

Do you propose there should be equality for all?

And why single Dubai out? In places like Bangkok women work as prostitutes- why is that better than Dubai?