Dubai

Two Spaniards in Georgia who work in Dubai warned me: 'In Dubai, it's currently 40 degrees, which feels like 50 degrees due to the humidity!' I was surprised because I naively thought that the humidity must be low due to the desert climate. When I landed at Dubai airport on August 4th at noon, I immediately took the metro to my accommodation, which is about 20 km south of the city center. In one of the most expensive cities in the world, this journey of almost 40 kilometers cost me just 10 dirhams, which is equivalent to 2.50€! I decided to walk the 1.5 km from the metro station to the hostel. When I got off the metro with my luggage, I felt the unbearable heat for the first time and arrived at the hostel sweating. After a cold shower, I rested there and then went to the beach, hoping to cool off in the water! Unfortunately, that was not the case, as the water had bathtub temperature of 33/34 degrees. The next day, I visited the Dubai Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world. The path from the metro station to the mall is through an air-conditioned tunnel. Due to poor visibility that day, I skipped the very expensive ride to the adjacent Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world at 830 meters. The Dubai Mall houses a large dinosaur skeleton and the Dubai Aquarium. I decided not to visit it due to the ticket price of approximately 75€. You can also see a small part of the aquarium without a ticket. Overall, there are more than 1200 stores in the Dubai Mall, including very expensive luxury boutiques. Afterwards, I ventured outside to see the scant remains of historic Dubai. Much of it has not survived the building boom of the past 30 years. On August 6th, I first went to the Mall of the Emirates, which has a ski slope! You can go skiing and sledding there at an outside temperature of 40 degrees! Is that really necessary? A little further away is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, with the adjoining huge luxury hotel, the Burj Al Arab. Unfortunately, it is not even possible to approach the Burj Al Arab on foot from the outside. Everything is private property or fenced off. The alternative would have been a tour for the bargain price of 60€! On August 7th, before my departure, I had time for a short trip to Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island completely built with luxury.

Conclusion: Although I am glad to have been here once and seen this madness with my own eyes, Dubai will certainly never be my preferred travel destination. Will I come back again? Definitely not as part of my own trip and certainly not in the summer! For people who have plenty of money and like to spend it in luxury boutiques and hotels, there will hardly be a better travel destination!