Dubai is an amazing place. It should be on everyone's must visit places along with NYC, London, Vancouver, Paris, Mumbai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shangai.
FINALLY, the voice of REASON... If you don't like the laws, just don't come. There's a BBC Radio 1 DJ in jail here, long-term.. You know why? The idiot brought two joints and p*rnography with him to Dubai. WHY? For a 2-day event??? He signed a letter saying he knows the laws regarding drugs and will abide by them. Then the idiot's statement was that "back home this would never happen for two joints". Jeez. So just like Deckard, this may not be the place for you. If that's the case, you're more than welcome to voice your opinion, just like I can embarass you if your opinion is based on stupidity and misquoted facts. But don't come here and then complain about the laws. Oh, and just FYI, Dubai's economy is only 5% oil-based. The photos will look EXACTLY the same on your camera phone. Oh, and you will not have to dive to go to Hydropolis.
Dubai has over 250,000 foreign laborers, many of whom live in conditions described by Human Rights Watch as being "less than human" [49] [50]. [51][52] NPR reports that workers "typically live eight to a room, sending home a portion of their salary to their families, whom they don't see for years at a time." The BBC has reported that "local newspapers often carry stories of construction workers allegedly not being paid for months on end. They are not allowed to move jobs and if they leave the country to go home they will almost certainly lose the money they say they are owed.[53] In September 2005, the Minister of Labour ordered one company to pay unpaid salaries within 24 hours after workers protested, and published the name of the offending company.[54] In December 2005, the Indian consulate in Dubai submitted a report to the Government of India detailing labor problems faced by Indian expatriates in the emirate. The report highlighted delayed payment of wages, substitution of employment contracts, premature termination of services and excessive working hours as being some of the challenges faced by Indian workers in the city. On 21 March 2006, workers at the construction site of Burj Dubai, upset over bus timings and working conditions, rioted: damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction tools.[55][56][57] The city's discriminatory legal system and unequal treatment of foreigners has been brought to light by its alleged attempts to cover up information on the rape of Alexandre Robert, a 15 year old French-Swiss national, by three locals, one of whom HIV status was hidden by the authorities for several months [58] and by the recent mass imprisonment of migrant laborers, most of whom were from India, on account of their protests against poor wages and living conditions.[59] Prostitution, though illegal by law, is conspicuously present in the emirate because of an economy that is largely based on tourism and trade. Research conducted by the American Center for International Policy Studies (AMCIPS) found that Russian and Ethiopian women are the most common prostitutes, as well as women from some African countries, while Indian prostitutes are part of a well organized trans-Oceanic prostitution network.[60] A 2007 PBS documentary entitled Dubai: Night Secrets reported that prostitution in clubs is tolerated by authorities and many foreign women work there without being coerced, attracted by the money.[61]
Launched by Sheikh Mohammed, Dubai Cares raised more than $1 billion to help educate children in poor countries. The campaign is Dubai's contribution to the UN Millennium Development Goal of providing primary education to every child by 2015.
I have no interest in visiting Dubai. It's a big city. Full of rich people. With goofy attractions. woooo.
They probably won't have to worry about that. There is so much money pouring into Dubai from the outside world, that they will probably end up with a much more diverse economy than they have now. That's been the plan all along. Their leaders are smart, visionary people, and they're going about it the right way. They are purposely doing all this to avoid the pitfalls of an oil-dependent economy, and building a modern one. So far, they're succeeding at an alarming rate...
Singapore has some 'draconian' laws as well, but that hasn't stopped its citizens from being the 'happiest' in the world. Take off your Western-colored glasses, some of you sound like a bunch of snotty teenagers, "oh yeah?! Well their laws suck!" Get over yourselves. Sheesh...this thread is about an underwater hotel, not polygamy in Dubai.
First, the hotel is freakin' cool. I don't know if I'd be willing to do it, probably just for one night. And that's after it's been open for a few years (I'll let someone else be the guinea pig). The first sign that the toilet overflows I'm gone like a bat out of hell. As for Dubai itself, it seems like a cool place to visit. I'm sure it's not w/out many of it's problems and differences. Likewise, I may not agree w/ everything the Chinese government does, but I'd be missing out on a lot of culture, the people, and experiences there...and I hope to visit there in the near future. Just like some people cherry pick a single case to depict Dubai here, I'm sure many people around the world could make the exact same depiction of the U.S., and they would be dead wrong.
Yep, but instead of human capital, they have oil fueling their growth. I wonder how long Dubai's oil will last and how long they can continue on with all these outlandish projects?
Dubai looks amazing, however, can you even drink there? Is there a casino? If the answer is no to both, then screw that place
What attract people to middle east ? Oil right? Can Duibai survive as is with only tourist dollars? They are certainly not trying to grow an educated work force like Singapore right?
I believe it has been reiterated several times throughout the thread that Dubai's finances are not that dependent upon oil.
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone. I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Dubai. It wasn't impossible to build this underwater hotel here, it was impossible to build it anywhere else!
I think two or three people have stated that oil makes up about 5% of their economy and that their main industry is banking. regardless of the laws (which I disagree with strongly), it has to be one of the coolest looking places on the planet
