Welcome to Dubai

When I think about Dubai it is kind of a weird place. Its Arab meets West with a touch of Vegas containing a thriving ex-pat community and a tourist hub that glues it all together. There’s no place quite like it.

You come here to party, shop, beach and eat.

You have a clash of Arabic and Western culture, where the consumption of alcohol is illegal except when you hold a liquor license. Either that, or you hop into a club or a hotel that has one. As a woman, you should dress modestly but when you are out in the clubs, all rules are out. Oh and let’s not forget the beaches where you can wear bikinis in full view of the public. Contradict much?

And you don’t want to get yourself too drunk. Arrests can occur for unruly public behaviour. I met this lady on my flight to London years ago whilst stretching my legs. Her husband was a Doctor in Dubai and she told me of a patient that her husband had come across.

This gentleman was incredibly drunk one night. He was doing nothing to hide it and was arrested. He was taken to prison that was located in the middle of nowhere , out in the desert. He was left there in the blistering prison cell with no water. He was extremely dehydrated and began violently convulsing. Prison guards didn’t know what to do with him, so left him. The situation didn’t improve so they decided to take him to the hospital, which was a few hours drive back into Dubai. By the time they got to the hospital it was too late. They treated him and now he is paralysed because they couldn’t get to him in time.

True story.

And the thing about Dubai is, it is very easy to forget where you are. That you are in a Muslim country. Myself included. I just got away with it. Girls that we met one night told us that they potentially got arrested because they had a couple of guys head back to their hotel to kick on for drinks. Clubs close at 3pm and they didn’t want the night to end. So they went back to the hotel room to get stuck into their duty free alcohol, (the only place you can purchase alcohol in Dubai) only to have reception call them and demand for their passport, lecturing them that they are not allowed visitors into the hotel and that this is a Muslim country. That this is not the custom nor the right way. Their visitors were personally escorted out by security.

Also, a true story.

But I can perfectly understand why these things happen. When the lines are blurred and filled with shades of grey, you are bound to get tourists falling outside the social decorous expected of them.

And I've been told, you can do whatever you want in Dubai, just don't get caught doing it. Doing what? Right? :)

Dubai is like one big party and everybody threw up. 

And those are always the best parties.

Welcome to Dubai.