IE India: Pre-Trip to Dubai

So, while I was on that side of the Earth I figured that I would make a stop through Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Boy was I in for a surprise! First and foremost, Dubai is HUGE from a land perspective. It is a sprawling city that only has about 5 million people. Also, there is a ton of construction throughout the city; you can see that when the economic crisis hit building virtually stopped. However, the infrastructure is growing steadily and the buildings are absolutely beautiful in the city. I had the opportunity to stay with a good friend of mine and his high rise is right next to a marina and the beach, absolutely gorgeous. When I looked out his window I told him “I did not realize that you live in the financial district, look at all of these huge buildings.” He told me that all of the buildings in sight were high rise apartments and condos; the inventory in that city must be pretty high at present. I really enjoyed my time in Dubai. The food was magnificent, and the night life is very nice as well. Most importantly the people are extremely pleasant, customer service is off the charts and I had a chance to learn a lot more about life in the Middle East and about Arabic culture. And although I am not that well versed now, I am at least more culturally sensitive because I had the opportunity to see people in the UAE live and I see first-hand that they are very similar to other people in the world: they are just trying to take care of their responsibilities, feed their families and enjoy life along the way. I also enjoyed seeing the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, it is an amazing structure. One thing I really respect is that the law in Dubai is not based on common law or statutory law; it is based on Shariah (the moral code and religious law of Islam). The city is extremely safe, as things such as public intoxication and fist fights will land an individual in jail quickly let alone violent crimes.