Ask Me About Dubai

[SinisterKid]

My current job entails living/working in Afghanistan nine months a year. I spend about 90 days in the war-torn country, then have about 30 and change off to spend however I like. On my way in and out of Afghanistan each rotation, I travel through and spend a few days in Dubai. For example, I just returned to Afghanistan on Thursday, and spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Dubai. I'm scheduled to return to the United States May 15th, and will chill in Dubai for 2-3 days before catching a flight back home. I haven't spent any prolonged amount of time in Dubai but usually get out and try and see and experience the city each time I'm there, so I've picked up on some of the local customs and courtesies. I think an obvious question might be "Why don't you do an Afghanistan AMA?" The answer to that would be that I live on a NATO airfield, and have never been "outside the wire" to experience what life might be like. Plus you could just read the news.

[DJ FC]

How easy is it to meet women in Dubai?

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by DJ FC

How easy is it to meet women in Dubai?

For me, apparently not that easy, as I've had no success the three times I've passed through. I have yet to stay there on a weekend, and this week was the Prophet's birthday, so nightlife - and daily life for that matter - was rather subdued.

However, I think objectively it should be easy because of the amount of tourists that travel there and the amount of expats that live there. Hot women can be seen pretty much everywhere. The hotel I stay at is always full of tourists from Russia and various European countries. I was looking for a bar on Wednesday at 10am and asked several women, all of whom ended up being Australian, hot, and residents of Dubai, where I could find an open bar at that time of day. There are none, btw, based on what these chicks said.

There are also a ton of whores in Dubai. I say this not from first hand knowledge, but from what my coworkers who have significantly more experience there have said. Most notable is a club called the Red Square - Russian of course - that is supposed to have legitimately hot Russian servers/hookers.

[DJ FC]

How do you get around in Dubai? Are the taxis nice?

[Ugly Bastard]

Woah... hold up. So you spend 90 out of 120 days in Afghanistan and like 2/120 in Dubai and think to start a thread where people can ask you about Dubai?!

[heurisdick]

Is it easy to meet women in Afghanistan?

[heurisdick]

Originally Posted by Ugly Bastard

Woah... hold up. So you spend 90 out of 120 days in Afghanistan and like 2/120 in Dubai and think to start a thread where people can ask you about Dubai?!

I was gonna follow your lead on this one, but just realized somebody else requested the Dubai thread. Not his idea.

SinisterKid, as an American who's never left the states, what would be the biggest differences that would stick out when I first show up to Dubai?

[Ugly Bastard]

Originally Posted by heurisdick

I was gonna follow your lead on this one, but just realized somebody else requested the Dubai thread. Not his idea.

Ahh... okay, fair enough.

A question then (even though you've kind of hinted at the answer already): is there any way to get your hands on a drink there? What about some weed? I just want to know if it's like a "no, there is just no fuckin way you can do it" (see: trying to take a huge CO2 cartridge onto a flight) type of thing or a "yea, just need to know the right guy which isn't hard to figure out" (see: scoring weed in the U.S.) type of thing.

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by Ugly Bastard

Woah... hold up. So you spend 90 out of 120 days in Afghanistan and like 2/120 in Dubai and think to start a thread where people can ask you about Dubai?!

I thought I addressed that. If I were to speak to what I know about Afghanistan it would be that of being on a military base, not in Kabul, Kandahar, etc. Also, Afghanistan isn't a top destination for most people, so why the fuck would I want to answer questions about what you can already read on Huffington Post?

How do you get around in Dubai? Are the taxis nice?

Taxis, and they're all Toyota Camrys or Toyota vans. Pretty decent.

SinisterKid, as an American who's never left the states, what would be the biggest differences that would stick out when I first show up to Dubai?

If I know you like I think I know you, this question isn't a real question.

A question then (even though you've kind of hinted at the answer already): is there any way to get your hands on a drink there? What about some weed? I just want to know if it's like a "no, there is just no fuckin way you can do it" (see: trying to take a huge CO2 cartridge onto a flight) type of thing or a "yea, just need to know the right guy which isn't hard to figure out" (see: scoring weed in the U.S.) type of thing.

Yes I should clarify, there are a ton of bars in Dubai and the nightlife was ranked by lonelyplanet as one of the best in the world, although I kind of find that hard to believe. However, while I was there this week I tried, like a normal American, to grab drinks around 10am, and found that no bars are open that early, and no restaurants - that I could find - serve alcohol that early. I also discovered that there are limitations on foreigners buying liquor in stores. The concierge at a hotel that has a pretty sick beach bar was beside himself when we rolled up at 10am ready to drink. As Western as they want to be, they're not quite there yet. Either way, you can get your hands on drinks at bars/restaurants any time after noon, but its pricey. Beers are like 10USD. As for weed, I have no idea, I don't smoke and even if I did I'd be too scared of spending time in prison in a Muslim country. You get arrested for shit like PDA even. With all the tourists/expats though, I'm sure just asking a normal looking white dude where to find it would get you pointed in the right direction.

[DJ FC]

Are there any normal families that live there? I always get the impression that Dubai is full of people who all came from somewhere else - and they're all single.

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

What is the cost of living there? Average night out at a club cost? How strict are they on the PDA thing, particularly in nightclubs?

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by DJ FC

Are there any normal families that live there? I always get the impression that Dubai is full of people who all came from somewhere else - and they're all single.

Everyone that works in Dubai is a transplant. Cab drivers, doormen, bartenders, servers, etc., are all from India, other parts of the Middle East/Arab region, and Asia. There are also tons of white collar workers from the U.S., Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia. Dubai offers significant tax advantages to foreign investors; I passed by an office park where every building had an American tech firm's name on it. Actual Emiratis are wealthy and privileged and that can be said for even the lower-middle class. UAE born men receive an annual stipend - I've read as much as $90k USD a year - and Emirati families all have live-in servants. FC, I had a group project back in Bloomington in 2004, and a kid in my group was born and raised in Dubai. He said the first time he had done laundry or made himself food was when he arrived at IU, and that his parents didn't even know how to do those things either. He had grown up with their live-in servant.

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by SittinOnDubsWGW

What is the cost of living there? Average night out at a club cost? How strict are they on the PDA thing, particularly in nightclubs?

Cost of living is high, and a night out is expensive. A day out is expensive. A coworker and I spent over 500USD combined on Wednesday for taxis, beers, a small lunch, and dinner. I'm not sure how strict they are about PDA in nightclubs. I can't imagine you'd get arrested for grinding on some chick, but then again I haven't been to a night club there yet. I know that a foreign couple was arrested for making out at the beach recently though.

[DJ FC]

How hot is Dubai really? Do you have to avoid being outside?

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by DJ FC

How hot is Dubai really? Do you have to avoid being outside?

Right now its perfect. Daytime temp this past week when I was there was 70-75, maybe 50s at night. The heat during the summer is unbearable though.

[DJ FC]

What's the ratio of white person to brown person in Dubai?

[angry pancake]

Do you plan on spending more than six days per year there?

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by DJ FC

What's the ratio of white person to brown person in Dubai?

A little:A lot

[SinisterKid]

Originally Posted by angry pancake

Do you plan on spending more than six days per year there?

Ideally yes. My employer pays for my two day stints, so if I decided to stay any longer, I'd be paying for it. Not a huge deal and I'll most likely do that at some point in time.

[DJ FC]

What's the food like in Dubai?

[SinisterKid]

http://www.timeoutdubai.com/

[SinisterKid]

Dubai on Empty | Culture | Vanity Fair