It may have neat architecture and man-made islands, but playboy paradise Dubai comes coupled with a legal code not built for vacationers: A British woman is facing six years in prison after being caught in flagrante on Jumeirah Beach--twice!
The first time, publishing manager 30-year-old Michelle Palmer was caught in a compromising position after a business brunch (!) at Le Meridien Hotel. The policeman on duty let her and her paramour, known to the press as "Vince," off with a warning. When he caught Palmer and "Vince" again, she allegedly got a little rough with the cop.
Now the pair are facing charges not only of indecent exposure, public drunkenness and assault of a police officer, but also of having sex outside of marriage--an act prohibited under Dubai law. (Also a crime in Dubai: Being gay or cohabitating.) Though they're exempt from the sharia court system, Palmer and "Vince" aren't in great shape.
British paper the Daily Mail was particularly unsympathetic to the lovers' plight, writing that the first Brits in Dubai behaved "badly, lewdly, crudely, as British expats do everywhere" but were decent enough to do it behind closed doors. Once again, we implore you: Be suspicious when you strip!
So that's why you haven't been able to upload your photos at the Internet cafe in Jodhpur. Two big underwater communications cables under the Mediterranean got damaged yesterday, hampering web access from Egypt to India. The slow-down scared more than just photo-happy tourists: Passengers on Emirates Airlines, with its headquarters in Dubai, feared their flights would be grounded.
Still, airline reps say there aren't problems with scheduled flights out of the region. But that isn't what Dubai International Airport workers are saying; they've reported problems on the ground since the cables were cut.
Not everyone in the Middle East is without YouTube, though. Israel is on a different undersea cable, and folks in Lebanon and Iraq are both able to get online. Lucky: You'll still be able to research your Euphrates River shark fishing expedition.
Update:
According to Jaunted tipsters and commenters, Tommy Lee isn't buying in. He didn't get an invite.
The World, whose sales are by invitation only, is now 92 per cent reclaimed, according to Nakheel (via Emirates Today).
Nothing says "I love you and I want you back" like a man-made island, so Tommy Lee bought Pamela Anderson one off the coast of Dubai. Need further proof that Dubai is desperately trying to become the world's Las Vegas? While there are still plenty of cultural issues to sort out before Dubai is christened Sin City Middle East, having America's first couple of sex tapes purchase an island in one of the biggest vacation developments ever constructed isn't a bad start.
The World, where Tommy Lee reportedly purchased the man made island of Greece, consists of 300 man-made islands positioned to form the shape of the world map, lying 4km off the coast of Dubai. Measuring approximately 9 km in width by 7 km in length, the development covers over 9,340,000 million square feet and is visible to the naked eye from space--just like Vegas! The World will include a collection of homes, apartments, resorts, restaurants and retail amidst beaches, and boating. Heh, Tommy and Pam on a boat, isn't that how all this began?
Earlier this week Halliburton announced it was moving corporate headquarters to Dubai. Who knows what, if any, tax or political implications the move might entail. However, what we do know is Houston, Halliburton's current headquarters, is world's away from Dubai in every way imaginable.
Dubai is hot, and hardly because of Halliburton. Emirates, the countries premiere airline recently placed an order for Airbus A380s, yet another sign of the coming Dubai tourism dominance.
Below we have put together a list of the five top tourist attractions for Haliburton employees and executives--to help them feel at home in the Middle East.
Dubai's popularity only seems to be growing; the city hosted its annual (ok, it only started in 2004, but still...) Film Festival all of last week, and raked in the celeb guest appearances. Oliver Stone and Richard Gere teamed up at a press conference on Sunday at the festival to discuss violence in the media and artistic responsibility, and Stone screened his World Trade Center.
Diane Kruger (of Troy) also made the rounds dragging around boyfriend Joshua Jackson (yes, Pacey of Dawson's Creek). The two reportedly even had time to hit up the Mall of the Emirates for some post-festival indoor skiing.
Home base for the fest was the Madinat Jumeirah Resort (that's a tiny slice of it pictured above). The resort is a gigantic, Vegas-like development that's supposedly ridiculous, but gorgeous nonetheless. Though all of its three hotel subsections are expensive and celeb-worthy, we're guessing the biggest stars in attendance opted for the secluded Dar Al Masyaf rooms.
Are you READY, screams the Dubai Marathon website, not needing a question mark, it seems. Anyway, since we did mention it before, you should be, but if it's slipped your mind, don't worry. Online registration for the January 12 race doesn't close until New Year's Eve, so there's still time.
You can choose between a 3km, 10km and full marathon entry, and with entry fees ranging from $10 to $50, the best value for your buck definitely comes with the marathon. All the races start and finish next to the Dubai World Trade Center. Unsurprisingly for this middle-of-the-desert-feeling location, the courses are pretty runner-friendly, with "excellent road surfaces and many long straight sections." But if the Dubai Marathon isn't challenging enough for you, consider joining along with crazy (but socially conscious) Austrian ultra-marathoner Manfred Michlits who'll already be twelve days into his run around the world by that stage. All of these possibilities...or you could just stay home.
If you're flying with children soon, this is important information for you. Because you've really got to watch toddlers these days. When you're least expecting it, they'll turn out to be wanted criminals trying to stow away on a flight to Turkey. At least, that's what officials in the UAE thought recently, when a two-year-old's name came up on their wanted list.
Poor little Suhail Saleh's Ma and Pa were trundling his pram onto a flight from Dubai, heading for a relaxing holiday in Turkey, when immigration officers came to officially take him from the flight. Somehow Suhail's personal details--including his birthdate--had been added to a list of people posing a security risk. It took a bit of convincing, plus reassurance that he was traveling with his parents and not alone, before the officials finally let him fly. If only they'd arrest toddlers on planes for true acts of terrorism...like screaming.
Planning on taking a weekend break to Dubai? Apart from the fact that for most it's a little too far for a two-day getaway, there's another problem: When exactly is the weekend in Dubai?
Traditionally, Thursday and Friday made up the weekend in the UAE. But that's not too useful for employees who need to call up customers, suppliers or colleagues in other countries, and it's pretty confusing for tourists, too. So the government decided to change the weekend. Simple as that. The new weekend is Friday and Saturday, both fitting in better with other parts of the world and tourists, and retaining the holy day Friday free. So if you're reading today from Dubai, we can wish you a good weekend right now. The rest of you have to wait another day.
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by egw
