Abu Dhabi & Dubai_June 2012

Here are some of the pics from my recent trip to the UAE, where I visited 2 out of the 7 Emirates; Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Just a little background before we start.....

The UAE stands for The United Arab Emirates. All 7 of the emirates are governed by 1 person - the Emir or 1 president. The emirates are:  Abu Dhabi , Ajman , Dubai , Fujairah , Ras al-Khaimah , Sharjah , and Umm al-Quwain . The Capital being Abu Dhabi.

The current President and Emir of Abu Dhabi is: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Couple items worth mentioning:

1) There is no tax in the UAE.  If something is 315 AED(dirhams) then that is what it is, no tax.

2) No interest is charged on borrowed monies, since that is against Islamic law

3) 82% of the population are expates made up of: pakistanis, indians, phillipinos, libyans, tunisians, british, american, canadian and anyone else from around the world.

4) Less than 20% of the population are Emirates.  The government promotes marriages between emirates by giving them a house and around 70,000 AED as a wedding gift.

5) if your children are born in the Emirates, the government also gives money for that child to be educated post secondary anywhere in the world. Im sure there is a caveat in their somewhere..

6) Gas is .30cents a litre...yes .30cents a litre. Everyone drives a new car.

7) MOST IMPORTANT: its completely safe.

1CAD = 3.65 AED

My thoughts about the UAE:

We stayed in an area called Al Karama. Our hotel was The Hotel Regeant Palace owned and operated by Indians. The staff was made up of Egyptians, Indians, Pakistanis and Phillipinos. We were situated right across Burjuman Mall, one of the famous malls in Dubai.  Down the strip was access to the Metro, cafes, several eating places; chinese, indian, thai, continental dishes and Shisha or otherwise known as 'hookah'. 

The temperature rose to about a high of 49 and a low of 42. Some days it felt like 50c.

The people in Dubai are fantastic. They are uber friendly and definitely happy with their current ruler. The same thoughts were echoed from person to person "WE LOVE THIS RULER, HE CARES ABOUT THE PEOPLE. HE CARES ABOUT US. HE LISTENS TO US"

After touring Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I found the Emirates to be none other than a modern day British Company, bringing cheap labour from all over the East so that they didnt have to lift a finger to do hard work.  When I asked several ppl what was the average wage, they were confused. The reality is there is no standard wage. There is no minimum wage in the Emirates. Which means that companies that are invested in the Emirates to build etc...can bring their labourers from any part of the world and pay them the wage they set for them.  The local government has nothing to do with it. I found that to be a bit strange. But then again, from the Emirates perspective, why argue with cheap labour? The British did it, the Canadians and the Americans are using it...

A woman does not have to wear a burkah or niqab or hijab here. You are completely free. They Emirates only ask that you dress with modesty which means that no stringy tank tops or over the knee short shorts and skirts.  Which I did see girls where without issue. 

The area is spotless. You can drop rice on the concrete and pick it up and eat it if you so wish. Also I did not see one homeless person. Maybe there are some, but I sure as heck didnt see it.

In the public washrooms, as soon as your finished from a stall, a lady comes in to; mop, whip, spray and clean the stall.  She is not an Emirate but a Phillipino.

now on to some pics. Hope you enjoy.

Our journey began from Toronto to Abu Dhabi - we flew with Etihad Airlines.

Etihad only lands in Abu Dhabi. Upon arrival, we then took a Coach bus to Dubai

Welcome to Abu Dhabi airport - 10pm

my breakfast - Masala Dosa

Burjuman Mall - opposite our hotel

this is 930am in the morning. nothings opens before 10am
.

Condos going up right behind the mall. This place is never ending when it comes to construction

Your not allowed to cross the street just anywhere, only where the pedestrian signs are marked.  If caught, your ass is going to jail

our Tour bus that morning for our Dubai City Tour

we start off with Dubai Marina