United Arab Emirates-Cultural Tidibts

Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are fairly modern and extremely clean. Most folks are dressed in western clothes. However, you will catch glimpses of men and women dressed in traditional garb. We never heard any calls of prayer, although they supposedly occur five times a day. We tried a variety of food from Indian, Middle Eastern to Mexican. Tea and coffee is consumed frequently along with desserts. Many American franchises are scattered throughout the city ranging from Starbucks to PF Changs. There is quite a bit of racism against everyone non-Emrati, a lot of labor from the Philippines, India and Pakistan, which are treated poorly. Many ex-pat professionals that live a posh life with maids, cooks and drivers. The weather was wonderful, 80s during the day and 70s in the evening. The nightlife in Dubai is crazy. The beaches are gorgeous with sand imported from Algeria. There is construction going on everywhere. The sheiks own 50% of every business and are very wealthy. The sheiks' wives are not seen, covered head to toe, but wil be found shopping in the designer shops accompanied by their servants to carry their handbags and purchases. The laws are strict, but very rarely will you see cops. An interesting cross-roads of culture and tradition.  

Dubai

Burj Khalifa-the world's tallest building. The elevator skyrocketed to the 100th floor in 60 seconds. The view atop was amazing. From the skydeck we saw the man made islands in the shape of the palm tree and the world as well as the sail shaped hotel. On the first floor was the first ever Armani hotel. The area surrounding the building was Vegas like, canals and a bridge similar to the Venetian with gondola rides and fountains like the Bellagio and inside the mall was a waterfall similar to that in the Wynn. Then we went skiing, there were blue and black diamond slopes. As well as an area to go sledding and a lodge where we sipped hot coco since it was frigid even though it was a simulated environment.

Abu Dhabi

A city built on a dessert with stunning architecture. The design of the buildings are like no other in the world, slanted, circular, shaped like a corkscrew, etc. Some buildings are replicas from other parts of the world such as the Empire State building. A lot of glitz and glamour with the largest shopping malls with designer shops. A Formula 1 racetrack. Ferrari world with the fastest roller coaster at 31 seconds. We visited a mosque that resembled the Taj Mahal. White marble exterior with semiprecious stones from around the world. The largest piece of carpet lies in the main hall. The sand safari was the highlight, riding a jeep through the sand dunes. The drivers are amazing at maintaining control of the vehicle while criss-crossing across the slopes. I tried sand boarding, but the sand got stuck in my shoes and sclaing the dunes to slide down in 3 seconds got tiring in the heat. Aftewards we were taken to this campsite with a bonfire and served traditional cusine while entertained by a belly dancer. Follwed by tea and sheesha uder the stars.