Dubai -- Dazzling Desert Destination

K: It was like Las Vegas on steroids with a little bit of NYC mixed in. All in all, Dubai is a strange but interesting place. It was only in the 1970's when the ruling Sheikh decided to diversify Dubai's economy away from oil and into tourism, and he embarked on a massive infrastructure expenditure program. Today, only 5% of GDP is derived from oil.

It seems like everything has to be the biggest and/or the best in Dubai: the world's tallest building, a self-proclaimed 7-star hotel shaped like a sail (we did not stay there due to the $2,000 a night price tag), the world's largest man-made island complex forming a palm tree that is so large that it can be seen from outerspace, the world's largest shopping mall that includes indoor ski slopes, the world's largest airport, the world's largest artificial harbour and man-made port. The city is clean, shiny, neatly organized and everything seems very well-maintained.

But the oddity is that no one is really from Dubai, and there are no authentic characteristics of Dubai. Over 85% of the population are expats or laborers from other parts of the world. In the souks, products are sold from all over the world -- India, Morocco, Kashmir, etc. So if you are looking for a cultural experience, it is not the place for you. On the other hand, it is a wonderful place to enjoy beautiful hotels, world-class restaurants and bars, shopping and extreme sports, sort of one big adult playground. It was a great stopover between our journey to India and return to the US.

V: Desert activities to the east of Dubai were a blast: 4-wheeling through the desert, quad biking some decent dunes, duneboarding, and a nice little camel ride.

Other highlights of this little stopover spot included the sheesha bar, quite the thing to do, either pre- or post-dinner, as we joined several Arabs and many Westerners sampling some of the flavored tobaccos in the hookah pipes.

Kind of fun it was to be sitting right next to a few young ladies all adorned in proper Muslim attire. (Karen had to 'sneak' that photo.)

Fine dining in a Lebanese restaurant was nicely augmented by a very talented belly dancer. Yeah, baby!

The vibe is truly Vegas-like, with glitzy hotels, waterfalls in malls with artsy sculptures, a watershow outside of the Dubai Mall complete with a synchronized soundtrack, and the 'feel' of the desert setting is very akin to Nevada. The high-rise buildings, all gleaming silver in the overhead sun, create a shining oasis in the midst of--literally--nothing but sand dunes.

We took a little devilish delight in breaking some actual laws, customary traditions, and social taboos in Dubai. We, as an unmarried couple, were not allowed to cohabit a hotel room. We did. Holding hands in public was frowned upon, but we did. We also smooched in public--horrors! Drinking alcohol was only allowed in restaurants and bars that are attached to hotels, which we did, but the second we stepped outside, with the slightest trace of alcohol in our system, we were breaking the law. We made it out Dubai safely, despite our taboo-busting, custom-corroding, lawbreaking ways!