Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)

Dubai shows you that you can buy just about everything if you have the money. Money, however, cannot buy a replacement for this city's history, culture, and heritage. The ruler should spend even more money on developing these truly unique and irreplaceable treasures.

In itself, Dubai as a city does not impress me. Who can be impressed with mega malls marbled from top to bottom, uncontrolled urban sprawl, out of control real estate development, and artificial everything!? The entire city seems to be teetering upon unsustainable resources from imported water to workers. What happens when Dubai can no longer afford to continue hiring from abroad and engage in outrageous spending on yet another building?

The bigger picture, however, reveals a resourceful government converting sand and nothing into incredible wealth and garnering world attention. Even license plates are for sale! Apparently the lower the license plate number, the more expensive the license plate number becomes. Thus, a license plate with the numbers 5678 could fetch nearly $80,000 USD! If Dubai can sell license plate numbers and sand in the desert, then they can sell anything! I also had no real interaction with any local Dubai residents except for the very unfriendly customs officials. Every other person in Dubai is probably an exploited workers imported abroad from every possible country in the world. Driving in a fortified 4 wheel drive SUV on a desert safari was the most memorable experience here! I loved it! We were able to drive up the walls for tall sand dunes. I also enjoyed walking in the red sand barefoot, watching the desert sunset, camel ride, belly dancing, and Arabian desert bbq. I am sure these are 110% tourist activities, but so unique so as not to miss them!

7-star scam. The Burb Al-Arab is a 7-star scam. First, no hotel in the world is 7 stars except for this self-proclaimed wonder of the modern world. We were lucky enough to visit our friend’s $2500 a night room and experience the overall lack of service. We spent $150 per person at a dinner buffet much to our chagrin. Service was flat and the food sucked. Emirates is also a 5-star airline scam. Rated as 1 out of 5 of the world’s five star airline, the only good thing about Emirates is its star constellation lighting system and comfortable cabin temperature. The service is hot and cold with none of the flight attendants truly anticipating the customer’s unconscious expectations. Thai, Singapore, and even China Airlines still rule in this department. The food service seems disorganized and rushed with the flight attendants shouting at each other and running up and down the aisles. The food falls flat, beverage selection limited, seats uncomfortable, and the 4 flights I took were all delayed by at least 1 to 2 hours. The Emirates terminal at Dubai International Airport, moreover, is a crowded mess. Every single men’s bathroom I visited had a line out the door. I ended up checking out the upper floor restaurants, health club, and hotel to use their empty bathrooms.

Visit the Dubai Museum, take a boat ride on a water taxi in Dubai Creek, visit old Dubai in Bustakiya, Burj Al Arab if not just to form your own opinion on this 7-star scam, and the Dubai souqs. Also check out the Bellagio copy-cat water fountain show at the base of the tallest building in the world, the Emirates and Dubai Malls, the largest indoor ski slope, and the mega mall aquarium.

In Abu Dhabi, drive by the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi Heritage Village, and the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque.

In Sharjah, visit the Sharjah cultural museum.