Visiting Dubai? Educate yourself first!!!

[Awesome]

Public displays of affection: No kissing, hugging, or groping -- you can be arrested. Even holding of hands in public by foreigners is tolerated, but frowned upon. In fact, sexual relationships outside of marriage are illegal in Dubai and homosexuality is a criminal offense, so you really need to watch your step.

I am ok with everything else, except this one. This is a bit over the fence. Holding hand is offensive :O Cant really believe, which part of world is it. I have traveled via Dubai numerous times, but never ventured into the city.

The letter of the law is rarely ever followed.

Yes if you start a full 1 hour long make out session on the street, making orgasmic noises, somebody or the other will call the cops and officially register the case against you. Otherwise a peck on the lips and holding hands are very common here.

The people themselves are quite liberal around here. So the run in with the law doesn't ever happen.

 

[KillBill]

The letter of the law is rarely ever followed.

Yes if you start a full 1 hour long make out session on the street, making orgasmic noises, somebody or the other will call the cops and officially register the case against you. Otherwise a peck on the lips and holding hands are very common here.

The people themselves are quite liberal around here. So the run in with the law doesn't ever happen.

Well then its fine, as per the org article, holding hands are also looked down upon.

For that sense, Germany is cool You can make out in public places and no one cares

 

[Spitfighter]

Its all for show otherwise everything goes on. The British couple incident only occurred since they were doin it in front of someone of authority who HAS to take action and probably the situation did not merit that he/she could look away.

As person who has grown up in Dubai, I know everything happens in the open. They want to keep the illusion of minimum conservatism, so don't make them lose face on that and you'd be fine.

I grew up in Dubai too and I don't know if you've been to the states or not, but compared to here, Dubai really does seem oppressive. I understand the point you're trying to make though, it isn't as strict as the article is making it out to be but from a western perspective Dubai is just a step ahead of Saudi Arabia, given how you technically could get into trouble for what's considered pretty normal around here.

 

[Desert Fox]

I grew up in Dubai too and I don't know if you've been to the states or not, but compared to here, Dubai really does seem oppressive. I understand the point you're trying to make though, it isn't as strict as the article is making it out to be but from a western perspective Dubai is just a step ahead of Saudi Arabia, given how you technically could get into trouble for what's considered pretty normal around here.

everything in the west is considered normal! Having a threesome and group sex is normal (no wonder why there's soo many STD's), having sex with next door neighbor is also normal, heck even having sex with animals is normal.

 

[FreekiN]

The laws are perfectly reasonable, but the punishments... :/

 

[dbc]

The letter of the law is rarely ever followed.

Yes if you start a full 1 hour long make out session on the street, making orgasmic noises, somebody or the other will call the cops and officially register the case against you. Otherwise a peck on the lips and holding hands are very common here.

The people themselves are quite liberal around here. So the run in with the law doesn't ever happen.

Reminds me of a funny incident, I was fourteen and playing in the swimming pool with some girl friends at my home in Dubai when the wind knocked our ball over the wall and into the street.
Without a thought my friends and I went chasing after the ball through the streets giggling excitedly like little children in our bikinis. I lived in a quite neighborhood and did not expect to get in trouble. Unfortunately a Police car patrolling the neighborhood spotted us, but the officers saw us for what we were - a bunch of kids chasing after a ball! They were kind enough to retrieve the ball and let us go with a stern warning. No lectures on culture and Islamic values but it was more for our own safety, I recall the officer saying that there are "bad men" everywhere and we need to be more sensible.

I have very fond memories of Dubai, my parents and teachers warned us to dress conservatively in public but I have a feeling the locals were unaffected by us since they had largely written us off as godless white trash..

 

[Creder]

Why is it that all members here who fully supported the US descion to have every visiting muslim foreigner strip down infront of the scanners, whose argument was that their country their law, they have a right to do what they want, are now so indignantly protesting the laws of a another country that is exercising "their right" to enforce "their" laws in "their" country.

 

[Spitfighter]

Why is it that all members here who fully supported the US descion to have every visiting muslim foreigner strip down infront of the scanners,

do you expect Muslims to be given special treatment?

Its every visitor, not just Muslims. There are no victims here.

whose argument was that their country their law, they have a right to do what they want, are now so indignantly protesting the laws of a another country that is exercising "their right" to enforce "their" laws in "their" country.

I'm not really 'protesting', I've lived in Dubai for the better part of my life and I have fond memories of the place. However, after having lived in the states for close to a decade, Dubai indeed does seem a tad bit oppressive.

I agree with Asim in that the place really isn't as strict as this article is making it out to be and normal individuals usually don't deal with such situations, but it certainly is a world away from the kind of atmosphere one finds in the states or the west in general.

I simply don't agree with that kind of lifestyle, religion should be one's personal business. I think the relationship between 'church' and the state has profound effect not just on the politics of a country but the society as whole. I don't want to get into the depth of it, simply put Dubai isn't a bad place to visit, I just wouldn't want to settle there.

 

[Creder]

do you expect Muslims to be given special treatment?

Its every visitor, not just Muslims. There are no victims here.

No i dont i expect them to recieve the same treatment as you give to the rest of the world, which includes not singling out a guy just because he looks brown and not putting 14 'muslim' countries on extra screening list where the perpetrator infact was coming from a european country

I'm not really 'protesting', I've lived in Dubai for the better part of my life and I have fond memories of the place. However, after having lived in the states for close to a decade, Dubai indeed does seem a tad bit oppressive.

I agree with Asim in that the place really isn't as strict as this article is making it out to be and normal individuals usually don't deal with such situations, but it certainly is a world away from the kind of atmosphere one finds in the states or the west in general.

I simply don't agree with that kind of lifestyle, religion should be one's personal business. I think the relationship between 'church' and the state has profound effect not just on the politics of a country but the society as whole. I don't want to get into the depth of it, simply put Dubai isn't a bad place to visit, I just wouldn't want to settle there.

Again its their laws, thats everybody's argument right ? so in this case why is it anybody's buisness as to how lenient or how strict/opressive their laws are. Its their country, laws made by their government of their people.

 

[Awesome]

Reminds me of a funny incident, I was fourteen and playing in the swimming pool with some girl friends at my home in Dubai when the wind knocked our ball over the wall and into the street.
Without a thought my friends and I went chasing after the ball through the streets giggling excitedly like little children in our bikinis. I lived in a quite neighborhood and did not expect to get in trouble. Unfortunately a Police car patrolling the neighborhood spotted us, but the officers saw us for what we were - a bunch of kids chasing after a ball! They were kind enough to retrieve the ball and let us go with a stern warning. No lectures on culture and Islamic values but it was more for our own safety, I recall the officer saying that there are "bad men" everywhere and we need to be more sensible.

I have very fond memories of Dubai, my parents and teachers warned us to dress conservatively in public but I have a feeling the locals were unaffected by us since they had largely written us off as godless white trash..

We don't use harsh terms like white trash. Haha, the term going about these days is Jumeirah Jane.

Was there ever an incident where you did get into trouble with the cops? I'm interested to know since a lot of my Pakistani American friends whenever they are pulled over by the cops let it slide that they are from America and the cops suddenly change their tones and 99% of the time let them go.

 

[ejaz007]

I have an off topic question related to Dubai. How can some one find job in Dubai? There are a number of web sites posting hundreds of jobs but one does not know if these are real or not. And what are the prerequisites one should keep in mind while accepting a job offer.

Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[dbc]

We don't use harsh terms like white trash. Haha, the term going about these days is Jumeirah Jane.

Was there ever an incident where you did get into trouble with the cops? I'm interested to know since a lot of my Pakistani American friends whenever they are pulled over by the cops let it slide that they are from America and the cops suddenly change their tones and 99% of the time let them go.

Jumeirah Jane - I thought you had to be English and blonde to qualify for that moniker

I got in trouble once when my drunk Qatari girlfriend crashed her Mercedes on Sh Zayed Road near Wafi. I was surprised when she begged me to take the wheel before the police arrived on the scene.
Surprised because my friend was from a wealthy and extremely influential middle eastern family. I was unsure but I trusted her, when the police arrived I admitted to being the driver - fortunately the police did not press charges or investigate the Mercedes insignia the steering wheel left on my companion's forehead

Yes, they did haul her a$$ to the police station when they realized she had been drinking but they had no qualms about letting this somewhat inebriated J. Jane go home and sleep it off...

 

[Nima]

oh please lmao
I've been to dubai twice and one time I was practically naked in the beach!
no hugging?! lool

I saw everything there short of public sex
this is all bs.
dubai is as Islamic as the US. They let 99 percent of the **** go and just arrest the unlucky fools who do it in front of a police or an Emarati.

 

[Crypto]

everything in the west is considered normal! Having a threesome and group sex is normal (no wonder why there's soo many STD's), having sex with next door neighbor is also normal, heck even having sex with animals is normal.

hahhahaha LMAO
you made my day

 

[Awesome]

Jumeirah Jane - I thought you had to be English and blonde to qualify for that moniker

I got in trouble once when my drunk Qatari girlfriend crashed her Mercedes on Sh Zayed Road near Wafi. I was surprised when she begged me to take the wheel before the police arrived on the scene.
Surprised because my friend was from a wealthy and extremely influential middle eastern family. I was unsure but I trusted her, when the police arrived I admitted to being the driver - fortunately the police did not press charges or investigate the Mercedes insignia the steering wheel left on my companion's forehead

Yes, they did haul her a$$ to the police station when they realized she had been drinking but they had no qualms about letting this somewhat inebriated J. Jane go home and sleep it off...

If you're white and well off thats good enough. In Dubai there is not a single poor white person. I'm seriously yet to see some white guy struggling to make ends meet. Goto Jumeira beach at any time of the work week and you'll see westerners sun bathing and chilling and having a great time.

Seriously you don't know how envious we pseudo-locals - the south Asian expats who have lived here all our lives - get of westerners. The locals already worship white people, the pseudo locals get all their brunt.

Never knew that you had been a Dubaian before. You don't fit the snobbish stereotype profile we have of white Dubai girls I guess we're all prisoners of perceptions. Then again you left