Sometime back I heard some outrageous stories about Dubai, of The United Arab Emirates, that it was an oasis of Western debauchery nestled in the heartland of Islamic Arabia. I had heard that you can buy anything in Dubai--ANYTHING, and Vegas style sin flowed as if from a fountain mirage. I probably obtained this notion from a saying that goes, "Allah looks the other way on Dubai."
The first true thing I learned about Dubai is never try to hail a cab from your hotel entrance. Asking the doorman, the valet, or the concierge to hail you a cab, will never result in a cab arriving for you. Instead they will insist that you buy a bus tour, on which they receive hefty commissions. Or they will insist on driving you themselves, at three times the price of a cab. Ask until you are blue in the face, and they will do anything to ensure you do not get a cab, and they will never inform you of the taxi stand that is around the corner from the hotel entrance.
Why I thought there are casinos in Dubai I can't recall, but there simply aren't any.
Vegas produces scores of musical shows every night. So I imagined in Dubai lavish live stage shows with music, dancing, and topless show girls--a staple of Vegas shows. But on my visit to Dubai, I discovered the number of musical stage productions rather sparse. Between my two night's visit, only one musical stage production showed throughout all of Dubai. When a show does play, it is quite tame. The most risque they get in Dubai is with belly dancers, and by the way, their breasts are always covered.
