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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don’t get Dubai.  I went to Doha, Qatar for work once.  Prior to the trip, I was really excited- new country, new culture, first time in Middle East…etc.  While the trip was fine and I had down time to do touristy stuff, there actually wasn’t a ton to do.  It wasn’t terrible, but I couldn’t see flying 14 hours to vacation there.  Same with Dubai, which I imagine is similar to Doha.  One place I would love to visit in the Middle East, is Oman.  Know people who’ve been and it looks amazing.[/quote]

I've been to all the places you mentioned (Dubai, Doha, Muscat in Oman) as well as other large ciites in the region. Dubai and Doha share a lot of similarities in that foreigners make up more than 80% of the population so locals are in the minority. In Oman, the share of expats is less than half of that, so it feels a lot more like the "real" Middle East. Dubai has more focus on both tourism and being the financial hub for the region, and they are doing well in that regard.

As for the treatment of low-skilled labor in Dubai, it is an issue. One telling part about the attitude towards this is that if you live in Dubai, you have an Emirates ID card and it's printed directly on the card the name of your employer that gives you the right to stay in Dubai. It emphasizes clearly that you're a guest in UAE, and your ability to keep a job is important as that's your ability to stay living there.

If you go to the working class parts of Dubai, like Deira, you'll see how they live. There aren't many five-star hotels there, of course, but you can get really good and cheap Indian food, since Indians make up more than 1/4 of Dubai's population. If you're coming from a village in India, the salary offered in Dubai seems like a fortune, and it's enough to live in a shared apartment with a few other men and have enough to send money home to family.

Since almost everything in Dubai was built in the last 30 years, even places where low-skilled workers live isn't too bad. For an example, look up "S. Rana Restaurant Dubai" in Google Maps and it should pull up 34b street in Deira, then switch to street view. You'll see clean roads, and basic but perfectly fine accommodation on that street.

My take: we do a better job with worker's rights in the US (with plenty of room for improvement) compared to Dubai, but also Dubai isn't as bad as some say it is.. and they are improving too.[/quote]

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