Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Dubai - A Firsthand Account

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson in Dubai
A friend of JSG's recently returned from a trip to Dubai. His report: It's not exactly a booming tourist destination. Our friend's exact words: I hate it. I despise it. I love to hate it.

All right-y then. In addition to being humid, our friend says the city is a pit (75 percent of the world's cranes are in Dubai). Because of the strict Muslim laws, there are no bars at street level -- most are hidden inside the hotels -- which means there's zero street life. Women aren't allowed at the beaches, so if you do go, be prepared to stay at your hotel's pool.

The one thing that did impress our friend: the Atlantis, whose opening attracted the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson and many, many more A-Listers. He said it's spectacular and nearly identical to the one in the Bahamas. On that note, JSG will save our travel time and dollars and head down to the The Cove at Atlantis when we have a desire to walk through a tunnel of fish or dive down a monster water slide.

3 comments:

Jamilla Camel said...

Dear Ladies,

Au contraire, Dubai IS a booming tourist destination, but maybe not during the hottest times of the year. I was there this summer when it hit 52 degrees.

Women ARE definitely allowed out on beaches, take it from me! Just don't wear a thong, that's all.

For a proper view of Dubai, please talk to someone who lives in Europe.

XX Jamilla Camel, who is buying a house in Muscat Oman

The Jet Set Girls said...

While it’s true that private beaches and some public beaches are open to both men and women (thanks for pointing that out Jamilla Camel), Dubai is not very woman friendly.

For example, here’s a direct quote from the government’s website regarding dress: Cotton trousers are popular with expatriate wives for casual wear and, although revealing sun dresses and tops are acceptable for home wear, they should be avoided in the city.

First off, do they think the only women who would go to Dubai are wives of businessmen? Secondly, we’re not going anywhere we can’t wear our “revealing” clothes in public.

Jamilla Camel said...

It's not that bad...just don't let any bits hang out and you're fine!

Cheers,

JC

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