Kings of Dubia | Pros and Cons visiting the United Arab Emirates

A trip to #Dubai is overwhelming. High-rises, Yachts, and fancy cars for as far as the eye could see. The #UAE went overboard with everything and they are still building at a fever's pitch! This must be the biggest, most beautiful city on earth. And for a city slicker such as myself to say that, it must be true. All the food has been great, it's super clean, the people are friendly and they have Uber. The ride there took just under 14 hours but again it seemed so much shorter.

Their work week is from Sunday to Thursday, I meant to pick up some liquor from duty free at the airport but forgot about it while searching for the exit, missing the liquor store was a big mistake. 

Unfortunately, you can't but liquor from a typical liquor store because it is illegal to sell bottles of liquor to tourist. Residents have a red card that lets them buy liquor and tourist are stuck to hotel lobbies and bars. That was a major bummer for me but once we found and we drank at a bar on the Marina called Pier 7, I got over it. I met some black people from New York who said they live out there. They were down to earth and said they did not regret moving there one bit. You will see hijabs and guhtras all over the place. as well as things you would not expect to see in a city that recognizes religion so much that religious songs are sang from loud speakers across the city at certain times. Some of the Tourist were dressed scantily clad, women of the night were selling their goods in front of some stores, there was a 24 hour super market, fast food joints like McDonalds and KFC were prevalent, the stores had sliced HAM on the shelves and most surprisingly, I saw a black gay couple holding hands walking down the street. In American, I would have thought nothing of those things, but on the same street where many people are wearing their holy outfits and obviously very religious to the Muslim faith, it was quite a shock. Even cooler was while I was there I witnessed and lived through a sandstorm, which is an experience I don’t think I will ever experience anywhere else.... And thank goodness I looked at "Mission impossible: Rouge Nation" because I don’t think I would have known what the hell was going on.

Dubai’s extraordinary presence in the world is very new in terms of history. In the 20th century the Maktoum family made Dubai into a successful port for import and exports. The Market on the Deira side of the creek was the largest on the coast with 350 shops and a steady visitors and businessmen. By the 1930s Dubai's population was nearly 20,000, a quarter of whom were expatriates.

In the 1950s everything just grew potentially bigger. The late Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, decided to have the waterway dredged. It was an ambitious, costly, and visionary project. The move resulted in increased volumes of cargo handling in Dubai. I guess it strengthened Dubai's position as a major trading and re-export hub and I think it launched the ideas that they could build anything they wanted and the lavish ideas of the city began to take form. Many of the people I talked to say they remember when Dubai was nothing but desert. The last 15 years for them, was like watching a science fiction movie. And with all the cranes steadily going to this day, there seems to be no sign of it stopping.

Then When oil was discovered in 1966, Sheikh Rashid utilized the oil revenues to spur infrastructure development in Dubai. Schools, hospitals, roads, a modern telecommunications network … the pace of development was frenetic. A new port and terminal building were built at Dubai International Airport. A runway extension that could accommodate any type of aircraft was implemented. A free zone was created around the port. Dubai quickly became a business and tourism hub for a region that stretches from Egypt to the Indian sub-continent and from South Africa to what are now called the CIS countries. in the early 1970s Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and 5 other cities in the area joined to create the United Arab Emirates. And it became one of the richest countries in the world. But to make it better, in the early 90s Dubai started to emerge as a major international-quality tourism destination. Dubai's beaches are Jumeirah Beach: which runs alongside Corniche Street and is close to Burj Al Arab Hotel, Al Mamzar Beach: Which resembles the water of a closed a peaceful lake., Jebel Ali Beach: As it is adjacent to Dubai free zones, it is known for its prestigious golf clubs, luxury hotels and resorts, as well as being adjacent to the Palms with its luxury residential complexes.

Dubai is now a city that has unmatchable hotels, remarkable architecture and world-class entertainment and sporting events. The beautiful Burj Al Arab hotel which is shaped like a Boat Sail is the only hotel in the world with a seven-star rating. Dubai wants to say they are the biggest and best of everything. The Burj Khalifa (which used to be called the Burj Dubai) is the tallest building in the world. The tallest block has the tallest residential apartments and they are competing to this day by adding floors to outdo one another. They have a Metro-train system that is driverless, People regularly sail along the marina on yachts eating lunch or dinner, skydive over the marina, Jetpacking like you’re iron man, eat in restaurants that suspends you in midair. Then there are 2 Palm islands which are a manmade island for exclusive condos, The Palm Jumeirah ends at the mouth of the Atlantis Dubai hotel which has rooms underwater where your windows look out into the ocean and the Palm Jebel Ali and these spectacles are so big that they can be seen from space. All ubers are super fancy with a rule that the car model must be a Lexus or more luxurious car like BMWs and Mercedes. The architecture of some of the buildings seem to defy gravity and all are skyscraping masterpieces, the Mall is said to take 8 hours to walk through and they have unmatched amusement parks. We took a 45-minute drive that ended off with a dune bashing experience, to meet and ride camels. And that’s not even half of what it has to offer. You really need to be here for about a month to experience everything.

Dubai is a city unlike anything I've laid my eyes on in my past travels. It is a city of pomp and circumstances. There are many reasons why people travel and Dubai fulfills all of those needs then takes it even further. whether you are looking to have a destination wedding on the beach or even in the desert, or if you are looking for the perfect location for a bachelor/bachelorette party, on your own private yacht, maybe seclusion for yourself, a religious getaway, shopping, adrenaline junkies or fine dining

You should get to Dubai as soon as you can. The Government of Dubai considers tourism as one of the pillars of the economy and seeks to attract foreign investments. Some will say that it's not an authentic experience of the Muslim and middle-eastern world because of its tolerance of secular cultures but if you are looking for the best in world of all things travel Dubai has it. Dubai, United Emirates |What to Pack for your trip? |w. Drone Footage

When I’m abroad, I put a lot of pictures up on Instagram at Passport Kings. When you see those pictures, please feel free to ask me any questions about the location I’m in. Hopefully, I will be able to answer those questions in the video I make about that destination. Subscribe now for future travel videos, and thanks for watching.