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scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Dubai is a great place to learn Urdu. Or Hindi. Or Hindustani. Incidentally this used to be one language until Mountbatten did his magic. 60 years ago this week.

Cleopatra · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:36 pm Post subject:

007 · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:57 pm Post subject:

Cleopatra · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 1:03 pm Post subject:

No idea. Ask one of your male colleagues.

As I've said before, the Khaleej statelets interest me only in so far as their airports can provide good transfers.

ootii · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 1:06 pm Post subject:

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

Nobody is saying the UAE is good. We're comparing it with Saudi as a place to live and work. All things being roughly equal (namely: money), most people are going to opt for the UAE. For all it's faults, at least you're going to enjoy a degree of freedom and normalcy there. Comparatively speaking.

What would be the pay threshold for you to choose Saudi above the UAE: 10% or 20% or 30% more pay? For me it would be about 10-20%.

Cleopatra · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:38 pm Post subject:

Van Norden · Joined: 23 Oct 2004 Posts: 409

trapezius · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:47 pm Post subject:

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

If the UAE is normal I prefer the looney bin any day ! Have you SEEN that resort they have built in the shape of a Palm Tree ?

trapezius · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:02 pm Post subject:

It is more than just a resort... it is a whole town!!!

And there is 3 of them Palm Islands. Then there is The World. And then there is the Dubai Waterfront, which actually encloses like a cupped hand one of the Palm islands!

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Is there ?

Bebsi · Joined: 07 Feb 2005 Posts: 958

I've always seen KSA as a place to make some fast money, and Dubai as a place to spend it!!

It's really all a matter of personal preference. I myself would much prefer KSA as a place to live and work in. Why, (apart from the money of course)?

This may sound strange, but partly because I like the more authentic atmosphere of the desert towns with their old-style souks after dark and the smell of char-grilled lamb; I love driving across the wide-open virgin desert, I love the rock formations of the Hejjaz, the blue skies and green oases. Would you believe I love the history? There is actually a lot of history there, still mostly untouched. One of my favourite memories is of driving across the open desert between Artawiyah and Rafha one November night, with some of my favourite jazz playing, and stopping to get out under the clearest sky and most dazzling display of stars I have ever seen.

Dubai also has its appeal: the bars, the clubs, the beaches, the shopping. However, it is a place to visit, in my opinion, to chill out (or heat up?) for a few days. Then again, Bahrain does the trick as well, and the hotels are a lot cheaper there. Mind you, the booze is more expensive in Bahrain Sad

I was watching a documentary the other night, about the Bourj Al Arab. Its decor struck me as amazingly kitsch, naff and tacky, the last place where I would choose to spend a couple of grand for a night's kip even if I could afford to.

Each to his own!!

Cleopatra · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 4:42 am Post subject:

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

Cleo, you have come close to giving me Stockholm Syndrome! If I don't watch myself I might actually take a softer view of the dear Kingdom of Delights. Or at least re-evaluate some of my past memories of the place. But have you had much interaction with Saudi men? My Saudi managers at IPA-Jeddah were really nice, but they were the only Saudi men I liked, and they happened to have U.S. MBAs (which also meant they were FAR better managers than the usual ESL supervisors). And, well, despite being married, it does mean a lot to me to be able to freely walk and talk with women. They are half the human race, after all.