Looks like I may ge heading out there in a couple of weeks time. What are the must do's and see's? I'll be travelling alone on business so will only have the evenings free.

Go up to the top of the worlds tallest tower

Don't have sex on the beach or eat bread rolls with poppy seeds on before you go.

HTH

Not since 1986

It seems to have grown a bit since.
I'd be heading to see the world tallest building too if I was going.

People in Dubai don't like the Flintstones, apparently.
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But those in Abu Dhabi do.

Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates is a must
Old town and gold markets

The Gold Souk, The Burj, The Emirates Mall and finally Ski Dubai.

I worked there for 2 years.

This guy has..

go karting at the race track is immense! go to the noodle house at some point also

I approach a blonde 17-year-old Dutch girl wandering around in hotpants, oblivious to the swarms of men gaping at her. "I love it here!" she says. "The heat, the malls, the beach!" Does it ever bother you that it's a slave society? She puts her head down, just as Sohinal did. "I try not to see," she says. Even at 17, she has learned not to look, and not to ask; that, she senses, is a transgression too far.

Just remember, try not to see, eh?

Levitine Lebanese resturant , in the hotel out at the end of the Palm – surprizingly the fixed price menu is reasonable and the belly dancing is good. Also you get to see the world's biggest fish tank.

If you get the chance drive up to ABbu Dhabi to see the Mosque ( not as good as the blue mosque) but still very beautiful

Pretty sure you have to book to go up that big tower.
I couldnt stand it, & we were only there for a few hours en route to Oz.

company i work for is based there. it's vile disneyland in the desert, built and maintained by slavery, $25b in debt, just vacuous heap of tasteless, tacky, morally corrupt, oppressive, vulgar shite – IMO.

and lots of professionals I speak to are leaving

not to put a dampener on your trip……….

^ +1 – couldn't have put it better myself…

Take your MTB and lights and go night riding in the rocky desert with these guys.

Cheers, Rich

it's vile disneyland in the desert, built and maintained by slavery, $25b in debt, just vacuous heap of tasteless, tacky, morally corrupt, oppressive, vulgar shite

Couldn't have put it better myself. I've been with work a few times, and most recently spent all of august there, so i've only just got back. I really don't like the place.

It's ok if you want to go shopping, just bear in mind that everything is hugely expensive. Alcohol is allowed in select hotel bars and restaurants, but you'll pay through the nose for it – expect to pay 40AED for a glass of house wine (just over 7 quid).

You'll be well avdised to steer clear of the Asian women. The place is crawling with whores from Thiland/Malaysia/Cambodia/Vietnam/etc.

But otherwise, i hope you enjoy your trip! 🙂 And i wouldn't bother taking your bike – it'll be a bit warm for that. When i was there it was getting to 57 degrees during the day. It'll be a bit cooler by the time you get there, but still too hot for riding.

I went last year to visit family out there.

My list would include the Burj, a desert safari type thing: 4×4 in the dunes which is epically good fun, amazing what they can get up and down. My GF gets horribly car sick but even she loved it. Then you have a massive meal in a little compound in the desert. Watching the sun set over the dunes is amazing, will never forget that.

If you can then take a trip to the quad bike establishments in the desert aswell, if you sweet talk (read: bribe) they might let you go up on to the Big Red dune (largest sand dune in Dubai, ~300 meters high). That is also good fun, insanely hot though and fairly tiring.

I'd also say the Dubai Mall just to see the sheer size of it.

Definately the Gold Souk and fabric and spice ones if you have time.

If you're into waterparks then the one on the Jumeirah Palm is good, Aquaventure.

Also if you have time then order this discount book. Will save you a massive amount of money, we used my uncles daily when we went.

We flew Emirates for £250 return in a sale on flights, plane was plush and very comfortable, free drinks etc. Definately recommended if you're booking the flights.

Yes, it is a city built on slave labour, its massively corrupt, and quite oppresive, however the sheer scale of it all is nuts, theres and awful lot to see and if you're going then why not enjoy the experience.

Oh and take plenty of sun cream and possibly wellies, it doesn't rain over there, it feels like the heavens open and the entire Gulf Sea empties on you.

It's a really odd place, I only spent a long weekend there at the start of last December.

It's best to go with your eyes open and make your own decisions about it.

I'm not sure there really are any 'must do's' especially not the ski centre, that place looked like a busy Alps resort squashed down into a bit of a shopping centre – weird to look at through the window though.

The desert at sunset is probably the standout moment for me too:

Lovely spot 🙁

Yes, I have been every year for the past 12 years on business. Go to the Fairmont hotel Friday lunchtime buffet (only if you like a drink though). Its very popular so sometimes need to book weeks in advance BTW.
Burj Al khalifa (tallest building is worth a look too) Gold and Spice souk is worth a go as well.
Rattlesnake nightclub is an eye opener too ! But that could divide opinion 🙂

I was reading through the responses wondering quite how to articulate my view of what it's like. Then I got to this:

it's vile disneyland in the desert, built and maintained by slavery, $25b in debt, just vacuous heap of tasteless, tacky, morally corrupt, oppressive, vulgar shite – IMO.

Job done.

I've lived here for nearly 5 years.

Personally, I'm really enjoying my time here.. There are some nuggets mentioned above and a lots of nonsense…

Sure, Dubai's not perfect, but neither is the UK. I'd still rather live here than in the UK or Canada at the moment.

I completely understand the sacrifices i need to make to live here and accept the rules of the country (e.g. no shagging on the beach).. and i firmly believe the benefits outweigh the sacrifices..

So to the OP.. it's a shame you only have evenings free.. i would recommend getting out into the desert.. it's amazing.. also the short trip to Oman is also excellent.. you could book a Desert Safari for a evening if you get out of work early enough.

Here's a list of things to do:

1) indoor skydiving (iFly) at Deira Mall
2) The Atlantis waterpark or Wild Wadi waterpark
3) The aquarium in Dubai Mall
4) ice-skating in Dubai Mall
5) The Seawings flight over dubai
6) Sundowners at the One and Only rooftop bar
7) Captain Jack's Dhow trip
8) Big Bus tour
9) Big Red
10) Spice/Gold Souk in Deira
11) drinks in the skyview bar in the burj al arab
12) drinks at Neo's on the 63rd Floor of the Address in Old Town

http://www.timeoutdubai.com/aroundtown/features/15782-50-to-try-dubai-secrets

I've lived here for nearly 5 years

Will be coming again shortly for work, as I do every year, wouldnt mind picking your brains for some good eating spots etc if thats ok. Like I mentioned in an earlier post we come to Dubai every year for the past 12 – 13 years for trade conventions, so have pretty much eaten in most places, but always looking for somewhere new to try, and some local info would be good. We ate at Ravi's (on the street) last year which came as a recommendation, I beleive its pretty well known, and that was quite an experience. Also the Gordon Ramsay restaraunt Glass-house at the Hilton Creek was great partiucularly on the 1 Dhm a drink night.

We always enjoyed the Friday Buffet at the Fairmont, but it is getting hellish expensive.
And yes I was only joking about the "Rattlesnake" although I have been dragged there a couple or 5 times 😆

also the short trip to Oman is also excellent..

So, high on the list of things to do in Dubai is… go somewhere else… there's something we can agree on then 😉

And yes I was only joking about the "Rattlesnake" although I have been dragged there a couple or 5 times

haha… yeah good ole snakeys!! best bar band in town though!! Never heard of Ravi's.. I'll check it out.

My favourite places to eat at the moment are..

a) the Grand Grill in the Habtoor Grand in the marina… best steaks ever!..
b) Pad Thai in the Al Qasr.. awesome thai food.
c) BBQ & beers on the beach watching the sunset

-m- – Member
also the short trip to Oman is also excellent..
So, high on the list of things to do in Dubai is… go somewhere else… there's something we can agree on then

Haha.. agreed.. Oman is better.. stunning people and stunning scenery.

Haha.. agreed.. Oman is better.. stunning people and stunning scenery.

Definitely. I've only been to Oman once, but based on that experience would agree completely.

Dubai seems to polarise people, suggesting you really have to experience it make your own decision.

I completely understand the sacrifices i need to make to live here

what about the sacrifices other people make so that you can live there?

what about the sacrifices other people make so that you can live there?

Not sure exactly what you're getting at.. but I chose to come here in the same way that indians, bangladeshi, pakistani..etc labourers chose to come here. Yes, they live difficult lives, but on the whole, they are here for the same reason i am, to earn a better living.

I have employed live-in maids, but i don't see anything wrong with that.. i have always paid well and treated them well.. and to be honest, i am 100% convinced that most of these hard working people are better off in dubai as they earn significantly more here than they ever could in their home countries.

I am very conscious that i have had the good grace of being born with a western (canadian) passport.. but I'm not going to feel guilty about it. I've seen many dick-head expats abusing the so-called lower classes and i find it sickening.. i choose to treat people with respect and dignity.

Living here does not make me complicit with human trafficking, slavery or exploitation.

Living here does not make me complicit with human trafficking, slavery or exploitation.

From what I read in the papers, most of their economy is built on exploitation. If you live in a flat, it was most likely built by heavily exploited workers etc. The whole country is built on the back of exploitation. By being there, you help their economy, giving them a reward for doing it.

"To get you here, they tell you Dubai is heaven. Then you get here and realise it is hell," he says. Four years ago, an employment agent arrived in Sahinal's village in Southern Bangladesh. He told the men of the village that there was a place where they could earn 40,000 takka a month (£400) just for working nine-to-five on construction projects. It was a place where they would be given great accommodation, great food, and treated well. All they had to do was pay an up-front fee of 220,000 takka (£2,300) for the work visa – a fee they'd pay off in the first six months, easy. So Sahinal sold his family land, and took out a loan from the local lender, to head to this paradise.

As soon as he arrived at Dubai airport, his passport was taken from him by his construction company. He has not seen it since. He was told brusquely that from now on he would be working 14-hour days in the desert heat – where western tourists are advised not to stay outside for even five minutes in summer, when it hits 55 degrees – for 500 dirhams a month (£90), less than a quarter of the wage he was promised. If you don't like it, the company told him, go home. "But how can I go home? You have my passport, and I have no money for the ticket," he said. "Well, then you'd better get to work," they replied. "

la la la not listening………..

but I chose to come here in the same way that indians, bangladeshi, pakistani..etc labourers chose to come here. Yes, they live difficult lives, but on the whole, they are here for the same reason i am, to earn a better living.

But you do. They don't.

By coincidence I received this today …
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/dubai-united-arab-emirates/

I'm not going to feel guilty about it.

An why should you, when all that lovely money is flowing into your bank account each month?

Living here does not make me complicit with human trafficking, slavery or exploitation.

Course not, no.

They do choose to come here.. but i completely agree they are exploited.. but like i said.. choosing to live here does not mean i agree with their exploitation.

If you're so worried about exploitation of the working class.. then stop buying Chinese goods (incl. many mtb components)..

Get off your high horse.. if you're so morally outraged by it.. then do something about it. It's a sad and regrettable fact of life. Anyone who's bought an Ipod is as responsible as i am for their exploitation..

Any way bollocks to ALL you lot who moan about EVERTHING on here, I reckon this forum has the most of the H+S executives/Council Workers/Jobsworth and general busy bodies in the UK and further afield. Wake up keyboard warriors, its the real world, WE are in a resession, its tough and its a survival of the fitest.

People take risks in life and sometimes they dont work out, brush your self down and start again. So may people live wrapped up in cotton wool these days, they dont know they are born.

Well done for people like can-uk for chasing a career away from his homeland and making a "go" of it. Chapeau.

All you moaning buggers give up your easy, dull life in the UK and put your money where your mouth is and **** off to Pakistan and help all the poor homeless people devistated by the floods or go to the UAE and help the Pakistan and Indian people get home…. Oh you wont its not really my problem

Im off to Dubai in November so if any one wants to meet up for a chat about bikes over a beer in a fabulous hotel PM me. I will pay as I have worked my nuts off in this recession over the last 18 months in sales and have a bit of spare cash.

**** you very much.

It's one thing to be aware of a situation, but strive not to make it worse, but another to actively and knowingly add to it and be part of that cycle of exploitation.

Get off your high horse.. if you're so morally outraged by it.. then do something about it.

You sound almost guilty, if you don't mind me saying so…

I think trying to enlighten others as to the reality of the place is doing something about it, albeit a very tiny and impotent gesture. It's up to individuals to search their own conscience, and choose not to take that lucrative job there. If everyone did this, then Dubai would soon crumble back into the desert whence it came. As it is, it looks like it already is.

So in response to such vehement defensive statements;

I don't make it any worse, but you do.

If you can't take the criticism, don't take the salary.

To spend your money in somewhere like Dubai and pretend there's no moral element to it is just kidding yourself.

There are few places still using these methods of slavery / indentured labour. It's not at all difficult to avoid them.

Put it this way – if we organised a pressure group to get this sorted out, it would be a drop in the ocean. People like Amnesty and HRW will already be all over this, and struggling to make anything happen. Go out there and try and do something about it in person, and you'd be banged up pretty quickly.

However, if we decided to stop spending money there, they'd sort it out double quick. Money talks.

All you moaning buggers give up your easy, dull life in the UK and put your money where your mouth is and **** off to Pakistan and help all the poor homeless people devistated by the floods or go to the UAE and help the Pakistan and Indian people get home…. Oh you wont its not really my problem

Just the other week i was flying aid to Pakistan, thank you very much. It's been all over BBC news, if you care to read about it. Enjoy your fabulous hotel, fellow "keyboard warrior".

if you're so morally outraged by it.. then do something about it.

Just did, thanks.

Calmer than you are, calmer than you are. 8)