Who here has visited Dubai as a tourist?

In My Humble Opinion
1

My husband mentioned last night that he’d like us to go for a vacation in Dubai. While it makes sense financially with the way the Canadian dollar converts to their currency and it would be really interesting to see a different culture and apparently the shopping is stellar there, the thought absolutely terrifies me.

My husband and I are quite affectionate with each other in public. Not in a overt-PDA way, but for instance it’s an automatic thing to hold hands while walking or I’ll lean in and he’ll give me a kiss on the forehead or something. I know that public displays of affection - even between married spouses - is illegal there.

While I’m a Christian and have been christened as such, my husband is agnostic/atheist and to my knowledge has never been baptized into any religion. I read that apostasy (not believing in any religion at all) is illegal there and punishable by death. (WTF!) It’s not like we wear t-shirts proclaiming our religion or lack of religion, but what if it’s somehow found out?

I’m just wondering if Dubai is really as uptight about tourists adhering to their laws as what I’ve read. I personally have no desire to go there, but would I be missing out on an interesting life experience because I’m panicked at the thought of being thrown into a foreign prison for gapping out and kissing my husband on the cheek out of habit?

2

Well, they say a little knowledge can be dangerous. Nothing against your views, Soylent Juicy, I know the media can distort the truth and repeat or extrapolate those distortions until they become a ‘fact’.

Apostasy is when you convert from one religion to another (or none), and as Dubai is mostly (amongst the locals) Muslim it would only be of concern if either of you had relinquished Islam. Now some of the more conservative locals would prefer you be Christian than atheist but it really is none of their business and you’re well within your rights to say so (if they asked, which is highly unlikely). Or you can say Buddhist which many of my colleagues out here, in Saudi, do. Our IDs say either ‘Muslim’ or ‘Not Muslim’, and that’s just because the Muslims are expected to follow the local laws more closely than non Muslims.

As long as you’re married holding hands isn’t an issue, at all, kissing him on the cheek is not encouraged, but a small peck is likely to go completely unnoticed because you’d be just one of tens of thousands of western couples in Dubai. You often see local men holding hands and kissing each other on the cheeks - it’d be a bit hypocritical if… never mind.

Open displays of affection are unusual between couples but the most you’re likely to encounter is no reaction at all. You may get the stink eye from a local (doubtful, unless you’re passionately kissing each other on the lips), but Dubai is lot more tolerant than most other countries in the region.

The shopping and gastronomy make Dubai a good place to visit although I wouldn’t limit my visit to just Dubai if I had the time to do so. I’m not a big fan of the place although I did enjoy a weekend there. Maybe three days in Dubai, which would be enough for most of the shopping and eating experiences, and a few days in Beirut (my favourite place in this region) and/or Muscat (the museums close at the weekend so make that a mid-week break), would give you more of an authentic experience.

Back to the social mores; just observe what you see others do and follow their lead, some areas of some cities are more conservative than others, some restaurants, bars and nightclubs will only allow/attract foreigners, some places will only have locals attend. There are millions of expats (and locals) in the region and it’s unlikely (actually, its impossible) every single one believes in a religion, never breaks the laws or follows the customs to the letter. The chances of you being arrested for kissing your hubby are much, much lower than being involved in a traffic accident - I’d be more concerned with that.

3

I’ve been a few times. It’s not my favourite place to go, it always feels a little soulless - like a generic “big city” just popped down there on the Persian Gulf. However, if you’ve never been and like mid-range shopping, it is worth seeing and may be exciting to you.

As to you other questions - Dubai gets millions of foreign tourists a year. They want and need tourism. If there were hundreds, or dozens, or even a few couples from Western countries being thrown in jail for kissing on the cheek, we’d hear about it. As **JustinC **said, if you’re standing on the street passionately slurping on each other’s tongues, people may give you nasty looks. But you’d get that almost anywhere in the world. (I’m assuming you’re a heterosexual couple?)

Things get a bit trickier around Ramadan though, when it comes to eating and drinking in public… easiest to just not go during Ramadan.

And finally, I’d agree with **JustinC **(again) - being an apostate is not the same as being an atheist, and again, if Western tourists were being executed in Dubai for this, you’d have heard about it. I think “Don’t be going on and on about your religion or lack of” is a good rule when you’re holidaying, just as it’s a good rule when you’re not holidaying.

I’d be more worried about the traffic (my God it can be terrifying! no more than Rome though) and making sure you dress sensibly and respectfully.

4

My husband and I spent a few days there recently, to break up a long haul flight.

I agree with bethewave that it’s a pretty soulless city. I was originally quite excited to go because I thought I’d be seeing a really different & exotic culture, but in reality it just felt like a weird kind of new city with no heart. If you like shopping, you’ll love it because there are enormous malls, but it’s the same stores you see everywhere else.

The malls have reminders about suitable clothing on the doors, but I saw many westerners wearing “inappropriate clothing” and no one seemed to be taking any notice. We did take care not to be publicly affectionate.

Oh, and if you do go, prepare for terrifying taxi rides. Yowsa.

5

Its Manhattan by the Persian Gulf. Without all the quirks, culture and history. Endless shopping malls. Plastic people and a plastic city.

The desert safari is one of the few bright spots.

As for the PDA nd having a different religion, well I suppose you can be forgiven for having those views considering the pretty consistant anti-muslim propaganda you have been exposed to, but suffice to say nothing of what you fear is likely to be a problem.

6

The climate is horrific. Construction workers dying on the job from the heat is apparently not a rare occurrence.

There was an incident a few years ago (IIRC) where a foreign woman was raped, couldn’t prove it, and ended up doing time for having premarital sex, so apparently they do impose some of these mores on foreigners, at least on occasion. (Not sure if it was Dubai, it may have been Abu Dhabi, same country though).

I think there are probably better Middle Eastern countries to take a visit to.

7

This is, not surprisingly, a rather incorrect recollection of that event.
Details are here:

It’s hardly a well-handled case, but equally unlikely to be something the OP should worry about, based on the holiday she’s planning.

8

I read this piece two days ago. I’ve editorialized the title quite a bit:

Dubai sucks compared to NYC and here’s why

9

We stopped there three times during the '98 deployment. Loved the place, but wouldn’t want to go back now.

10

I go through for business a lot, I find it boring and sterile; to me it feels like a giant hotel lobby.

11

I live in Doha, and have been to Dubai a couple of times. I went a couple of years ago with my daughter and had fun–went up in the tallest building in the world, spent the day at a great water park, went to the mall with the giant indoor aquarium. I’m an atheist, and really nobody gives a damn.

It is fun, but the only reason we went is because it is nearby, and it is interesting compared to Doha. (We lived in Beirut for 6 years, and never dreamed of going to Dubai–why would you when so many other interesting places are so close by?)

So, frankly, if you are in Canada (as your profile says), I think it would be nuts to go to Dubai, when for the same expenditure of money and time, there are literally hundreds of vastly more interesting places you can go. Go to Bucharest, rent a car, drive to Dracula’s castle. Go to Venice, buy some glass at Murano. Go to the Redwood Forest. Go to Sri Lanka, rent a cabana on the beach down in Galle or Tangalle; visit the tea plantations in the north, when the beach gets boring.

12

I went during Ramadan and had the time of my life!

13

Since 15 years I have traveled to Dubai once or twice a year for the conferences and similar. Yes there is endless shopping. A different culture? Only if you call the very strange 99% expatriate passing-thru melange a culture. You will not see actual culture of the region in Dubai.

Illegal? I do not think so.
In any case if it is, it is not enforced in any real way. And most certainly not trivial things you mention.

This is unfounded, and no one in Dubai cares.

The idea that hundreds of thousands of the Russian tourists (who do not know how to behave other than Russian like anywhere) go to Dubai (which is the case) and such ideas and laws are enforced on them is without foundation.

it does tell you the sources you read are the usual phobic sorts.

Dubai the Ramadan is barely noticeable. Since all the tourism workers are not local and few are Muslim (and mostly not of arab background), there is barely any pause.

Exactly.

yes agreed, unless you like mostly to shop.

if there is any interest in culture, and the region, then the Morocco or the Turkey are better to think of. Or any of the other suggestions. Going to Dubai just for vacation seems very strange - not because of any of your concerns, but it is as madmonk says, very sterile and very fake, like a hotel lobby.

14

I’d go to Muscat over Dubai. Dubai is crowded and endless traffic.

15

I used to live in Dubai. If you go, I would strongly encourage you to visit Northern Oman too. Dubai is sort of the Las Vegas of the Gulf but Oman is still more traditional and doesn’t have the modernity of Dubai. You’ll find a much more authentic and real image of the Mid East in Oman. It is safe, welcoming to Westerners and has great scenery.

16

Yep this

17

In other words, stay out of fucking Muscat.

(ok, the Portuguese fort, Al Jalali) is worth a visit.

18

Been there, done that, and I’m wearing the necklace that I bought in Murano as I write this. :smiley:

Thank you very much everyone for your replies. I feel much better about the idea now and will definitely take the advice offered.

19

I was there in 1991 right after the Gulf War, and boy, it sounds like it’s changed a lot since then. I don’t remember it being particularly sterile except for a few fancy hotels, and the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab weren’t built yet. I don’t recall going into any big retail stores, just a big open air souk, and street shwarma. And there were a lot of Hardee’s for some reason.

So if several ships worth of Marines can survive shore leave there without being thrown in jail en masse, I’d say you have little to worry about.

Here’s what it looked like then.

And here’s what Abu Dhabi looked like in 1991. Dubai looked much the same.

20

Is it true that Saudis go to Dubai on the weekends to party and drink alcohol and raise hell that they simply couldn’t do at home? Sort of, “what happens in Dubai, stays in Dubai?”