2008 Woodie Awards
Romance of Dubai, Part 3
Xerxes N. Marduk
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: Opinion
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I got back to my hostel at 3 a.m., and after catching a few hours of sleep I took a taxi to the Dubai city museum. I learned that the United Arab Emirates has two things in abundance, sand and oil. Fortunately for them, one of those things just happens to be the world's most precious resource. The discovery of oil here a few decades ago turned these Bedouin nomads into some of richest people in the world. It would be like if you discovered a vein of gold in your backyard. All of your neighbors would say, "Holy shit, they're lucky." That's the same way I feel about UAE.
I ran into Noelia and her roommate Emma just as they were leaving their apartment on their way to go shopping. They were all aflutter with excitement, dashing in and out of closets and into the bathroom to do their makeup so quickly one would think they had some place more important to go to than the mall. I wondered, as I stood there, if getting dressed up to go shopping was the domain of all women or merely flight attendants.
We caught a bus on the busy street outside their apartment, the first I had taken in Dubai. Finding a seat next to a man who didn't look Middle Eastern, I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Mumbai in India. There are two types of people in this world: Those who have been to India and those who haven't, and being born there certainly qualifies. He seemed to sense this truth as well, for we struck up the liveliest conversation on the bus, and talked about his home and my travels in India. There is nothing like the shared misery of India to bring complete strangers closer together.
When we arrived at the Karma shopping center it was like stepping back into the streets of Old Delhi or Bangkok for me, albeit with an air of Arab organization. Black market goods were the order of the day here, and fierce haggling was essential. A bit of travelers wisdom I had gleaned from my travels in South East Asia and India was that most scams in places such as this, but not all, required the use of verbal communication. Therefore most scams, but not all, could be bypassed by refusing to participate in verbal communication. Just keep your mouth shut, and your hands close to your wallet, and you should be fine.
I ran into Noelia and her roommate Emma just as they were leaving their apartment on their way to go shopping. They were all aflutter with excitement, dashing in and out of closets and into the bathroom to do their makeup so quickly one would think they had some place more important to go to than the mall. I wondered, as I stood there, if getting dressed up to go shopping was the domain of all women or merely flight attendants.
We caught a bus on the busy street outside their apartment, the first I had taken in Dubai. Finding a seat next to a man who didn't look Middle Eastern, I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Mumbai in India. There are two types of people in this world: Those who have been to India and those who haven't, and being born there certainly qualifies. He seemed to sense this truth as well, for we struck up the liveliest conversation on the bus, and talked about his home and my travels in India. There is nothing like the shared misery of India to bring complete strangers closer together.
When we arrived at the Karma shopping center it was like stepping back into the streets of Old Delhi or Bangkok for me, albeit with an air of Arab organization. Black market goods were the order of the day here, and fierce haggling was essential. A bit of travelers wisdom I had gleaned from my travels in South East Asia and India was that most scams in places such as this, but not all, required the use of verbal communication. Therefore most scams, but not all, could be bypassed by refusing to participate in verbal communication. Just keep your mouth shut, and your hands close to your wallet, and you should be fine.
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