5 Reasons why Dubai sucks

Dubai Sucks.

Earlier this year, I took an international flight that had me weirdly layover’d in Dubai on my way to Morocco for over 24 hours. I was secretly excited because I’ve never been to Dubai and I had only ever heard about it in passing. I knew it was in the Middle East (maybe?) and it was sort of considered the Las Vegas of the Arab nations(?) Either way, I was super excited. I immediately called up Emirates Airlines and extended my 24-hour layover into an entire week. I was excited to see what Dubai was all about, learn more about what Dubai had to offer, and actually say I’ve been to the Middle East. Turns out, Dubai sucks. Here’s why.

Reason Dubai Sucks #1: There’s no culture

My main motivation for travel is to see other cultures, experience other ways of living, try different kinds of food and otherwise enjoy foreign cultures. Why would I want to travel 5000 miles just to eat the same food, see the same things, experience the culture I just left behind?

I noticed pretty quickly that the main thing to do in Dubai is to… go to the mall. Or, once you’re tired of that mall, you can go to another mall. Really, there is no shortage of malls you can visit within Dubai.

Don’t get me wrong, they are very big malls. Some of them are insanely big, the biggest in the world. But, I don’t travel to see malls. Plus, the stores are more expensive than the United States by quite a significant margin, so it seems like the point is to just travel to spend more money.

Added to this was the fact that I legitimately did not meet a single person who was actually from the United Arab Emirates. I met a lot of people from Pakistan, Ukraine, Russia, India, and other places around the world. It’s a very international hub, which is absolutely fantastic! I really enjoyed speaking with pretty much everybody I met, and the people were very nice. But in my mind, it just contributed to the fact that there was no distinct culture. Everybody I met was there to work, and for no other reason.

Reason Dubai Sucks #2: It was kinda like Disney, but not in a good way

Dubai is a land of superlatives. The biggest malls, the biggest towers, the most this, the most expensive that. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very cool things to see. They have managed to erect massive structures and fascinating displays within the middle of nowhere. But after you see it, you’re like “oh wow, big building… now what?”

My favorite attraction was probably the Miracle Garden because it was just so freaking weird.

The point seems to be, “look, we planted flowers into weird structures in the middle of the desert. That’s expensive, right?”

Reason Dubai Sucks #3: It’s all about money, money, money

Everywhere you turn, it looks like somebody said, “let’s hand a metric shit ton of money to the tackiest architects we can find, but no city planners!” Everything worth seeing is very spread out, and there seems to be a lot of industry but not a lot of soul. Like I mentioned earlier, all the people that live in Dubai are pretty much from outside of Dubai, only there for the money in for a short period of time.

This is absolutely no criticism of the people that used to work there and save money, I’ve heard that divides an absolutely fantastic place to make some money for a few years before moving back to somewhere more interesting. But it does not particularly make for an interesting place to visit.

Reason Dubai Sucks #4: The old town is creepy and deserted

In search of authenticity, I took a long taxi ride to the old town area in Dubai. Did the streets feel completely deserted, it didn’t necessarily feel safe. I’ve heard that Dubai is probably one of the safest places in the world, because it has such an intense police presence. But I did not feel particularly safe in the old town.

This feeling of unease only increased when I went into the market. I live in Morocco, I’m no stranger to aggressive sales people, but this is next level. Each seller was very targeted in their pressure. At one point, a salesman grabbed my wrist and started dragging me into a store. He only stopped when I started screaming and making a scene. Which was insanely uncomfortable.

I’m not saying all salespeople in Dubai are this shitty and aggressive. But this one was, and I’m almost positive I was the only tourist in the vicinity. I understand the need to be pushy as a salesperson, but it didn’t make that less of a terrible experience. I ended up leaving the market almost immediately and heading back out to the deserted streets.


I’m not saying all salespeople in Dubai are this shitty and aggressive. But this one was, and I’m almost positive I was the only tourist in the vicinity. I understand the need to be pushy as a salesperson, but it didn’t make that less of a terrible experience. I ended up leaving the market almost immediately and heading back out to the deserted streets.

Reason Dubai Sucks #5: If there’s local cuisine, I couldn’t find it

While in Dubai, I could not for the life of me find local Emirati food. And I looked! But mostly I found chain restaurants. If you’re craving The Cheesecake Factory at the base of a fake mountain made for skiing complete with real penguins for some reason, you can certainly find that. But actual, authentic Emirate food is much harder to find.

And I tried! I went to several local, authentic-looking restaurants. But sadly, all I found were generic fried foods that you could find in any US diner. And maybe shwarma.

Conclusion

I’m sure there are many people that love Dubai. I was not one of them. Plus I’ve heard so many horror stories about people coming to Dubai seeking work to make money for their families, only to get their passports stolen and basically become modern-day slaves. I do not recommend it and I will not go back.