London Restaurant Hotshots to Try Dubai

by Josh Lew on

Formula One, the world’s tallest building, the most luxurious hotel on the globe, a housing development that is built to resemble a miniature world. Dubai has made a name for itself with its larger than life constructions, impressive spectacles, and over-the-top luxury offerings.

It seems only natural, then, that the major players in other urban areas would want to try their hand in Dubai. London super-cool eatery The Ivy, a fave of movie stars and other paparazzi targets, is going international by opening a location in the glamorous gulf city.

The competition will be quite stiff, however. Because of its status as both a business and leisure destination, numerous restaurateurs have joined the fray, making Dubai one of top culinary destinations in the world.

Celeb chef Gordan Ramsey, when he isn’t cussing at would-be chefs on reality TV, is overseeing a restaurant at Dubai’s Hilton. And there are many others, more than a few who have earned the coveted Michelin star given to fine dining’s finest.

Any newcomers are going to find the competition top notch.

Will Dubai’s restaurant scene ever reach its limits? Perhaps, but The Ivy and its peers are sprinting to make into into the world’s new capital of fine dining before that happens.

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Emirates’ A380 is on the way!

by Grant Martin on

It’s not very often that we Americans are privy to a taste of the Airbus A380, the new supermega jumbo jet that took to the skies last year.

Singapore Airlines was the first customer of the aircraft and though they took a quick zip around the United States, as our friend Mr. Cranky talked about last year, most folks have barely seen or heard much about the aircraft — after all, none of Singapore’s A380 flights regularly touch American soil.

Emirates, Dubai‘s glorious national carrier, however, has more appeasing plans. Starting later this summer, the airline is opening flights on the A380 between New York‘s JFK and Dubai, while routes from Los Angeles and San Francisco are planned for later in the year.

The airline plans to kick off its festivities with an inaugural flight reception at JFK on August 1st, where the media will be treated to inbound airport goodies from tarmac access to interviews with Emirates’ staff and general merriment. Then, the aircraft flies cross country to California where two “acquaintance” flights are scheduled for the media and other interested parties. Too bad that’s on the wrong coast for me.

If you’ve got any friends in the media world, now might be a good time to cash in your chips for a ride on the A380 — otherwise you’re going to have to wait to fly revenue. Last time I checked, those flights were going for about two grand.

Stay tuned for pictures and coverage from the Emirates reception.

Having sex on a beach can get you jail time

by Jamie Rhein on

World travel is a wonderful thing–or can have dire consequences when cultures clash. Having sex in a public place isn’t exactly celebrated in western culture, but it’s not uncommon–particularly under the cover of night when the stretch of a beach seems private.

In some cultures having “safe sex” is more than using a condom.

In Dubai, if you get caught having sex in public, you will get arrested and face years in jail–six in fact. Such is the possible fate of Michelle Palmer, a British woman who has worked in Dubai for three years. She and her male companion were caught having sex. If all goes well, she might only be in jail for three months–the minimum sentence.

The story is not complicated. Palmer, a manager of ITP Publishing was at a champagne brunch where the bubbly stuff flowed. Eventually, smashed and feeling frisky, she and a man headed to the beach for some adult fun and letting off steam.

Unfortunately, the police came along. Having sex in public in Dubai is not the only big no-no. So is having sex if you are unmarried. So is being drunk. Three strikes, you’re out. Or in–as in jail.

This article in MailOnline gives the scoop. As I’m reading between the lines, I see a traveler’s tale that is not so uncommon of others I’ve heard. When living in a culture that is different from ones own, it’s difficult to stay vigilant–to not slide into comfort and think that you’re safe when you are being yourself.

These women SHOULD have gotten jail time, no?


Yes, people who live overseas know that if you live in another culture, and the laws are strict, you need to abide by them. In the beginning, that’s not so hard. You’re caught up in a new culture, new experiences and you’re a well-behaved guest. Then, guest status wanes, and you get bored–or complacent– or horny. Mix in alcohol and there’s a recipe for a world of trouble. Sometimes the trouble is so silly, it’s hard to believe.

A friend of mine was at the end of three years of living in Saudi Arabia. He was at a party, had a bit to drink, and decided that the Canadian nurse who needed a ride ought to be able to get in the front seat of his car. They were arrested, tossed into prison, and he had no idea what was to become of him, particularly when his head was shaved and he was transported to a jail away from the city. In Saudi Arabia, an unmarried man and woman should not be out in public together. The woman is also not supposed to be in the front seat of a car, no matter who is driving. They were not dating. He was just giving her a ride.

Luckily for my friend, his company got involved. His boss was friends with a Saudi prince. My friend was sprung after two weeks. The Canadian nurse was released also, but “prostitute” was stamped in her passport. My friend can’t go back to Saudi Arabia.

In Palmer’s case, her company has dumped her since the company’s aim is to maintain a good standing in Dubai. That also is not uncommon. If you have troubles overseas, don’t expect help. People and companies will usually cut their losses to protect themselves.

Palmer, of course, wants this nightmare to be over and has stated that she’s a good person. Of course she is, and I mean this sincerely. The problem is that all beaches are not the same and when you’re traveling, keep that in mind.

If you have an urge to have sex, be very, very careful. Sure you have the condom, but that’s not all that’s needed to have safe sex in all circumstances–particularly if you’re female. Notice that so far only Palmer has had her situation flaunted. Only the Canadian nurse was called a prostitute. My friend just lost his hair and that grew back.

The guy has only been mentioned in Palmer’s story. All that’s known is his name is Vince and he may have made Palmer an honest woman by marrying her.

I hope people get behind Palmer and help her get out of this mess. Since three months is the minimum sentence, I’m hoping she gets lucky.

UPDATE: The man is also being jailed.

Please keep your comments relevant to the topic. All abusive comments will be deleted. — Ed.

Dubai plans “Tower in Motion”

by Abha Malpani on

Nothing phases me in Dubai anymore. Anything and everything is possible in this city, so when I read news like this: “Dubai plans self-powered skyscraper with individually rotating floors,” I’m quite numb.

Opening para: “A $350 million tower to be known as the Dynamic Architecture building is to be constructed in Dubai. The 68-story tower will feature floors that can be individually rotated via voice commands.”

So each floor of this building will rotate individually to create a building that constantly changes shape. (I’ve stopped asking “why” when it comes to such projects.) Also, it will use wind-turbines to generate electricity for itself and another 5 buildings its size — that’s actually pretty neat, not to mention green.

Construction will start this month and word is that a similar project is in plan for Moscow as well.

Dubai: Riskiest place in the world for the unaware traveler

by Abha Malpani on

We wrote here on Gadling about Dubai arresting people for having a spec of marijuana on their shoes while transiting through the airport, and then sentencing them to 4-years in Dubai Central Prison.

I’m currently in Dubai and in the 3 days that I’ve been here I’ve heard of 4 stories of acquaintances in jail for having 0.02 grams of hash on them — all that happened at the airport on “Bush Day“.

I don’t know how they manage to sniff out people with 0.02 grams of hash on them. They say that the customs have some high-tech sensors that pick up on it, but there is no security check of consequence on the way out; your hand bag does get screened, but that’s after passport control and there isn’t any walk-through detector.

There’s a lead story in today’s Guardian that talks about the same and how Dubai has the longest list of banned substances, possession of which leads to imprisonment. The list includes: codeine, poppy seeds and many well-known anti-depressants.
Actually, in theory, people traveling through Dubai who have consumed drugs in another city if stopped and questioned can be asked to give a urine sample for a drug test. If the test is positive, the person can still go to jail. This happened to a close friend of mine who went to Goa on holiday and got stoned every night. They picked him up on a random advertising agency drug raid a few years ago, and he was sentenced to 4 years.

I flew here on a resident visa and because of these nonsensical laws, I was paranoid that in the blood test I have to do to validate my resident visa, they might see traces of marijuana that I might’ve inhaled passively in some of Madrid’s bars. However, looks like they don’t test for drugs in this case.

I understand that Dubai wants to be 100% drug-free but some of the arrests they are making are just ridiculous. I could have been walking in Amsterdam before I got onto my flight to Dubai, and a spec of some illegal substance could have remained on my shoe — that would give me 4 years of jail in Dubai. Come on! Besides, you can’t do anything with a spec of any drug!

By implementing such strict laws, the Dubai authorities have definitely scared tourists and residents alike, but I think they need to be more realistic and reasonable about the arrests they make and the subsequent sentences.