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.