Hello and first of all thank you for reading my blog post. I was in Dubai for four days, but this time not in one of the great hotels that all the bloggers report about, no, I went to the city where the life of Dubai takes place and not that of the tourists. It was about gaining new experiences, experiencing the people who work there and life.
So we landed at the old International Airport and then took the bus and metro to the city. These days we all use Google Maps to find routes and connections, but I don't today. So it was time to find people and ask for help. But as I immediately discovered, it's not difficult in Dubai either. The first person I spoke to went with me to a ticket machine and showed me everything, even though he actually did everything for me. And so I now had my Dubai card for bus and metro with 25 UAE (approx. 6 euros) credit, which I could top up again and again as I wished. How far I can get with that, in Germany not even from Düsseldorf to Duisburg.
When I arrived at my Airbnb accommodation, I first had to go out for something to eat. I found a lot of restaurants with Asian food in the immediate vicinity. I took a quick look at where a lot of people were sitting and eating and chose a place there. To sum it up, very good selection and for just 16 UAE (approx. 4 euros) a good meal with a cola. By the way, I also ate there the other days; after all, I also wanted to support small entrepreneurs there.
What else did I experience? Of course I also took photos of the typically well-known buildings, you can find a few pictures of them here.
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But be careful, there are also rip-offs in Dubai?
The people in Dubai are definitely very friendly towards others. So many different cultures live together here and it feels like people work 24 hours a day.
But the most blatant thing for me was the attempt at a rip-off, no not from poor beggars or something like that, but in an upscale style. I'm asked on the beach if I would like to take part in a Hilton Hotel promotion. With a tour of the hotel, free food and drink and a voucher for a safari desert tour. Everything is free of charge and the point behind it is that people can see the experiences in a positive way. So it sounded understandable.
So just said yes. A taxi quickly arrived and took me to the hotel, the costs were covered by a nice lady at the hotel. Then we went to the 39th floor of the hotel, the reception area there was impressive and I wasn't the only person there. I was quickly looked after, offered drinks and told that someone would come to me shortly.
A short time later a very friendly man came and sat down next to me, we quickly started talking and I would say we had good chemistry. However, I quickly noticed that it wasn't about the Hilton Hotel but about Vacationowners, an online platform that offers 5 star hotels worldwide and far below the normal price. To be precise, a week in a 5 star hotel in Dubai should cost just $259 for up to 4 people. It was already clear to me that something like that would hardly be possible in a hotel where a night in a double room costs $250.
So I immediately asked for the rental member price? The nice man got up briefly to get something and came back with his manager. He briefly introduced himself and, in just a few seconds, managed to freeze the friendly and warm atmosphere that his collaboration had created. This manager, with a thick gold chain and a thick watch on his arm, came across as so pretentious in his demeanor and arguments that it didn't take me long to tell him that I didn't like him and wouldn't buy anything. Of course he was offended and said goodbye very quickly.
Do you want to know what the great offer was? You had to pay $7,500 for the membership, which would then last for 33 years and you could use the benefits as often as you wanted, and even better, you could also book these offers for friends, that's great right?
Well, definitely not for me, especially since I don't normally stay in hotels like this. I want to spend my money on experiences and not on status things, I've been doing that for far too long. But I still have a few impressions of the hotel for you.
What surprises me, however, is whether the management of the hotel knows what's going on there. My impression is that this company had rented the entire floor and I've also seen a few people who have taken out such a membership. These can also very well be fake customers in order to attract other participants who don't want to look stupid.
What else is there to say about Dubai? What was really amazing to me was how cheap it is to use public transport in Dubai. My 25 UAE lasted 2 days and I felt like I traveled from Duisburg to Cologne 4 times for just 6 euros. Hello Germany, it's time to wake up, if the government wants people to use public transport more, make it so cheap that a trip by car isn't worth it.
The people who live away from the expensive hotels are very friendly and open to holidaymakers, although they obviously do little business with tourists. They live a normal working life, like in any other country, there are parts of the city where luxury vacationers don't want to go, and yes, there are people who live on the streets here too. While the employees in the luxury shopping centers are not even allowed to accept tips, there are people sitting on the street who are happy about your change.
So that's it from Dubai and I'm moving on to Mumbai. What I was able to experience there is sometimes very emotional and frightening at the same time and I don't know if I can convey this experience in a blog the way I experienced it myself. But you can give me your feedback in the next blog. If you like this blog, please share it with your friends and leave me your feedback here, I would be happy to hear any suggestions from you.
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