When will you folks learn to get travel insurance if you are going to book the cheaper non-cancellable rates?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't have any sympathy for non-diplomatic families, non-relatives, who go to Dubai or anywhere else in that region. These are autocratic countries, built on current, not former, slave immigrant labor, with a piss-poor record for treating women of their own nations like secondary citizens.

Slave immigrant labor? Who do you think washes your dishes, slaughters the chickens you eat, picks your avocados, and rakes your leaves? Get a grip lady. What a hypocrite!

You sound so uneducated. Dubai is true slave labor not US capitalism that takes advantage of the poor. It is well known that passports are seized once workers get to Dubai and workers are routinely beaten. Strawman arguments are for the intellectually weak.

Ah, so it’s not slave labor because it’s happening in your country. Got it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

In the same way that Mexico City, Chicago, and Montreal are all similar, right? Because they're all in North America.

You're an idiot who probably also always rambles on about "Europe" because London, Berlin, and Athens are similar in the way that Singapore, Seoul and Beijing are.

I’m the “idiot?” Ok, whatever you say. Name calling on an anonymous message board because someone says something you disagree with 🙄. I’m not listing the similarities…I’ve got better things to do. Why don’t you list how different they are? After that, you may want to step away from the keyboard/phone and go for a walk, get some fresh air.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of the Dubai defenders are maga or maga adjacent. Trump loves Dubai because it’s how he thinks the U.S. should be — glitzy and clean, where th rich can do whatever they want, and all undergirded by people who no rights who don’t really get paid. That’s his dream world.

Pretty much. I've never understood people who want to vacation there, but I guess I don't have as much money as they do.

👍

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of the Dubai defenders are maga or maga adjacent. Trump loves Dubai because it’s how he thinks the U.S. should be — glitzy and clean, where th rich can do whatever they want, and all undergirded by people who no rights who don’t really get paid. That’s his dream world.

Pretty much. I've never understood people who want to vacation there, but I guess I don't have as much money as they do.

Anonymous wrote:Non-refundable with no insurance was perhaps a bold choice.

Does your credit card not offer any protection?

Anonymous wrote:It's fine. Dubai is super safe. We lived there during Arab Spring and everything was fine. Dubai will protect tourists 100%

How do you protect tourists from missiles?

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of the Dubai defenders are maga or maga adjacent. Trump loves Dubai because it’s how he thinks the U.S. should be — glitzy and clean, where th rich can do whatever they want, and all undergirded by people who no rights who don’t really get paid. That’s his dream world.

Do you hear yourself? You’re a Dubai hater, and yet you’re using the President of your own country to… make your point?

Unbelievably stupid take.

Anonymous wrote:By the end of March it is quite likely it will all be back to business as usual. Since it’s all non refundable, it could well work out.

Back to business of slavery and oppression?

By the end of March it is quite likely it will all be back to business as usual. Since it’s all non refundable, it could well work out.

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of the Dubai defenders are maga or maga adjacent. Trump loves Dubai because it’s how he thinks the U.S. should be — glitzy and clean, where th rich can do whatever they want, and all undergirded by people who no rights who don’t really get paid. That’s his dream world.

I know plenty of libs who love Dubai. Most MAGA supporters aren’t going to travel that far.

Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

I suspect most of the Dubai defenders are maga or maga adjacent. Trump loves Dubai because it’s how he thinks the U.S. should be — glitzy and clean, where th rich can do whatever they want, and all undergirded by people who no rights who don’t really get paid. That’s his dream world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

In the same way that Mexico City, Chicago, and Montreal are all similar, right? Because they're all in North America.

You're an idiot who probably also always rambles on about "Europe" because London, Berlin, and Athens are similar in the way that Singapore, Seoul and Beijing are.

Mexico City and Montreal are 3,000 miles from each other. Dubai and Doha are about 400 miles apart. Being only 400 miles from each other, means it’s not that far-fetched to say they are similar. Especially, when it’s a fact that they actually share similarities in geography, culture, religion, economics and more.

Like New York City and Albany?

Exactly 👍

Hundreds of people are dead, but the real tragedy is your non-refundable trip.