We were pretty tired when we arrived in Dubai; this was after flying from Hong Kong through Bangkok and racing through the airport to successfully make a short connection. The immigration officers in the USA are well known for their usually unfriendly faces, but that is probably because you have never visited Dubai. Let’s say welcoming faces were very unwelcoming. Still we were granted access with no issues. It was our first-hand experience of what we already expected: ‘my way or no way’. Considering it is their country, I would just add Europe could learn a thing or two from this…
Speaking of cultural differences our impression is that there are at least 3 layers in the society: the local Muslims, the ‘Westerners’ and finally the rest where you find a very large percentage of Indians and Pakistanis. And then a special category for women… I have never felt like such a piece of meat in my entire life and I believe this applies to all women who wore normal western clothes. Oh well, travelling the world is knowing the good and bad aspects of cultures and you can easily guess where I will file this one. Continue reading
World in 120 days 