Our first foray into the Islamic world was the jewel of The UAE, Dubai.

Once considered just a transit point between hemispheres, Dubai has become an undeniable destination in its own right, and we wanted to experience it from top to bottom. 

It was obvious, circling the glittering city from the air, that Dubai is an opulent oasis set on the aqua shores of the Persian Gulf. The skyscrapers rise from the dunes like sharp metal teeth, and modern engineering marvels such as The Palm, and Burj Kalifa, are hard to comprehend unless you see them with your own eyes. Only the grand monuments of the ancient world can be of any comparison to the benchmark set by this Arabian utopia.

Dubai is big, flashy, and clean. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Maserati’s roar down the long raceway-like boulevards and populate the valet parking of the Dubai Mall and luxury hotels. Dubai is luxury on steroids. 6-star hotels, private beaches, exclusive clubs, world-class restaurants and extreme sports. Dubai is a playground for the Uberwealthy.

This is modern Arabia, with a progressive edge, built for a new generation of tourism. With all the horrors of Syria and Iraq just a stone’s throw away, Dubai seems on another planet entirely. Shiek Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, has made it clear that Dubai is open to the world, through his language and deeds, but also illustrated by the utterly spectacular light-shows pulsing off the facade of the Burj Khalifa, where they often display national flags from around the world and promote foreign artists. There is a sense, however, that the authenticity of Dubai is a little offbeat. It can feel like Dubai’s aesthetic is built to a foreign ideal of what a futuristic Arabian city should look like. It doesn’t really ever feel like true Arabia and that may be due to the enormous Indian population, said to be at least eight million strong in the UAE. Indians make up the majority of the workforce in Dubai and while many of these souls work incredibly hard at building and maintaining Dubai, speaking with a local who has risen from nothing to everything, says that life in Dubai is immeasurably better than in India and most who take the journey far from home have the opportunity to make something of themselves. But be under no illusions, it is a very hard life for these workers.

As foreign guests, we always felt welcome and immersed, but the cultural aspect was a bit harder to pin down until you head outside the city and into the dunes. Even then, the safaris and entertainment compounds under the stars are highly commercialized and an authentic experience was hard to come by. In the mall, as you shop, they broadcast the call to prayer which can also be heard from your hotel room or walking the streets. The sound is haunting at first, but quickly, the chanting across the city becomes an oddly soothing melody that was always beautiful. There are places you can go that more truly reflect the people in the region, like the mountain region of Jebel Hafeet, but of course, those areas are less affluent and more orthodox in their views. Unfortunately, tourists are not allowed into many of the gorgeous mosques that dot the city. If you do want to see one inside and out, the Shiekh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi was perhaps the most stunningly beautiful religious structure I’ve ever seen and it is open for tourists. *Women and men are required to cover up inside the mosque. They provide Abaya’s for women, and robes for men.*

When you go safari, you’ll see just how barren it is outside the city limits, the dunes go on for hundreds of kilometres. Once inside the city, you wouldn’t know you’re in the midst of the Arabian desert save the sandy haze between skyscrapers. Now, I love Tesla so when I heard that Dubai has a small fleet of them reserved for Uber…well, see ya!

I’ve seen reviews on TripAdvisor/lonely planet that say Dubai isn’t expensive and I cannot relate to this at all. I’m sure there are parts of the city where you can get cheap eats like the Sharjah area (15min drive), “little India”, but if you’re staying near the main areas of Dubai then you’re going to spend a lot of money on food in my experience, and the touristy activities all cost $$$.

The Arabian peninsula is the beating heart of Sunni Islam and home to Mecca, the holiest of religious sites in Saudi Arabia. As modern and progressive as Dubai is, Islam is king in these lands and it must be respected. I went to Dubai with a certain image in my mind of what Islamic culture might look like and I’ll admit, traveling to the UAE with a beautiful non-muslim woman filled me with an element of apprehension, after all, what was acceptable and what isn’t? Could we hold hands? Kiss in public? Share the same room if we weren’t married?

We had Bobby Bossman who knew the lay of the land but I was concerned that some habits that we might not give a second thought could cause unintended offense.

Some include:

Does a western woman need to cover her shoulders at all times? No, but pack a scarf anyway.

Are western men forbidden to wear shorts? No. Although, they might reconsider if they saw my chicken legs. It may restrict you from entering government buildings or places of worship.

Can we show public displays of affection? In the main areas we held hands when we saw others doing it, but I wouldn’t kiss, or intimately embrace my partner in public. We did get asked at theme parks by photographers if we were married, we always said yes and when we did, they encouraged us to kiss each other and hug for photos. We’ve heard that hotels can ask to see a marriage certificate if you hire a room together so keep that in mind. Generally, the rules seemed to go out the window for married couples and for foreigners but it is good to avoid cultural faux-pas if you can help it.

Can we wear western swimwear (bikinis and boardies) at the public beaches? Sure. In fact, it seemed totally normal. We swam at both private and public beaches and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was Europe. There are plenty of amazing public beaches inside Dubai, but outside the city, I’m not so sure if it’s still so acceptable. In any case be respectful and cover up after leaving the sand. Also, there are plenty of signposts telling you what is permitted so don’t stress.

Finally, and broadly, just don’t be an a-hole. Violence and anti-social behaviour can see you fined or in prison. Dubai is one of the safest cities on the planet and its probably because of the strict law and order.

Dubai is alcohol-free, except some select restaurants, hotels, and bars/clubs. You really do need to go out of your way to find booze, but in the main hotels, it’s no problem, just expensive. If you’re hitting the bottle, it’s a given that you should exercise awareness as obnoxious behavior is simply not tolerated.

Like anywhere, we made sure to research the local customs, and always erred on the conservative side.

An interesting point of note is that Dubai’s liberal attitudes, especially on dress code, have accelerated in recent years. It is now in-fashion for Emirati men in white robes to wear baseball caps instead of the headpiece. I saw many local women wearing Abaya’s but also many without, some wore beautiful dresses and plenty have their shoulders uncovered. Seeing women in Burqas and Emirati men in long robes just became the norm. You will see too, the other side of the spectrum – women from Serbia and Russia dolled up and ready to party. They pretty much do whatever they want and the wealthy Arabs behind the scenes love it.

Dubai is far more moderate than I had imagined but there are also districts that adhere strictly to Sharia Law. The Indian population outnumbers the native Emirati’s by nearly 3-1 and are overwhelmingly Hindu, so there is a fascinating semblance of tolerance and compromise between Muslims and Hindu’s that share the city which seems largely homogenous.

Dubai now makes more money from tourism than it does oil and it is continuing to look for clever ways to attract more visitors, all the while making sure they out-do their neighbours in Saudi Arabia, cost be damned. Soon, Dubai will have autonomous flying taxis, drones that literally pick people up and drop them off. No thanks! There are insane plans to build a tower even taller than the Burj Khalifa, and for the World Expo in 2020, Sheikh Mohammed, is building a whole new Dubai alongside the current one for the influx of tourism…Incredible.

If you want to get the most out of Dubai, I’d recommend avoiding the hottest periods of the year and also Ramadan (mid to late May each year). For Muslims, Ramadan is a significant time, fasting every day for an entire month, eating only once before dawn. Of course, this doesn’t apply to tourists, yet, inadvertently it does…all restaurants, cafes, and any shops that sell food or water will be boarded up during the day, and if you eat or drink you must hide it away from the locals, I kid you not.

Dubai won’t be for everyone, but it is a fascinating place. The audacity and vision is something out of science fiction where innovation and limitless wealth seem to gravitate. I found ten days a bit too long, but for an experience, Dubai is hard to fault.

More to come.

Signing off.