Excuse my ignorance, but is there a lot to see in Dubai that would merit a Trafalgar tour? Does it have a lot of ancient history?

Chris: That raises an interesting question. Do you not think that there are other things, besides history, to be curious about in younger countries? Would you find nothing of interest in Australia, for instance? Our Italian TD commented a couple of weeks ago that when she came to the States, there was nothing to do but visit shopping malls.

Of course there are other reasons to visit a country - scenery being the primary one. I don't know very much about Australia, I'm afraid, but the US has some fascinating history, ranging from the aboriginal cultures of the SW right up to the civil war.

I know next to nothing about Dubai, however, so I don't know if there is any interesting scenery - is it not basically a rather small patch of desert and a lot of skyscrapers? I could be completely wrong - that's just the impression I get from what little I've seen about the place on travel shows, whuch can, of course, be highly misleading.

I wouldn't personally go somewhere just for the shopping - not my scene at all.

I don't know - I'm just speculating about what makes a vacation satisfying. I am not one who can lie about on a beach soaking up the sun. I want to learn something. I love history and archaeology and language and food and combining all of these makes for a good vacation for me, but there are other things to learn, too. Australia's natural history is fascinating.

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I want to learn something. I love history and archaeology and language and food and combining all of these makes for a good vacation for me

We share a common love of that, to be sure!

Chris you are quite right in one respect with travel shows showing Dubai as a mecca for shoppers with large malls and hundreds of high rise buildings/hotels. The construction that is going on 24 hours a day on these huge buildings is fascinating to see when you are not used to it but there are small areas of lovely green. We went for a bus ride and came across a huge green grassed round about area in the middle of the city. They werer making huge 7 lane highways when we were ther last June.

We did a short day tour and we went around the old city and the new, saw there museum....fascinating how they created airconditioning for their homes. Just a hole in the roof and some sacking.....Saw a model of the newer city they are planning. Took a lovely trip on the creek and ate some traditional foods.

It was good to see how different their culture is there. Also the difference between the ages of people and how each age group lives their lives and dress differently than the previous generation in some cases. Women are very well dressed and in more western attire than I thought although maybe outside the city things are a little different.

The shopping was very nice too. Haggling over the price you will pay for gold and diamonds was fun once you knew what you were doing. The gold market (souk) was fascinating at night...nothing but gold merchants all touting for business. They do have huge malls on a scale I have not seen and probably will not see here in NZ.....Who's shopping mall has a ski slope within its walls.

We decided on Dubai as a stopover entroute to London because it is different to what our culture is here. We can zip up to Hong Kong or Singapore any time so going through Dubai was literally a change of direction for NZ travellers going to Europe.

I liked it there....lovely clean white sand beaches with lovely warm gulf water, friendly people,etc. I hope to go back again in 3 or 4 yoears to see how much it jas changed.

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Who's shopping mall has a ski slope within its walls.

Since you ask...

Not "within its walls", but there's a huge "out of town" shopping centre near Manchester in England called the "Trafford Centre", and that does indeed have an artificial ski slope on the site, along with hotels, cinemas, and goodness knows what else, too .

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Originally posted by Chris Marriott:
Of course there are other reasons to visit a country - scenery being the primary one. I don't know very much about Australia, I'm afraid, but the US has some fascinating history, ranging from the aboriginal cultures of the SW right up to the civil war...

Simply can't let this pass, Chris! Google Australia tour information, and see what scenery grabs your imagination.

We might be relatively young, and our internal conflicts have been sorted out without 2 armies being involved (zat right, fellow Australians?) but...well, I don't know where to start. With Warrington, I guess. Look how much history has been made in Warrington since WW2. Perhaps it depends on one's definition of 'history'. I find the post Civil War history of the US just as rich and amazing as developments before then. In fact, one of the main probs with US history is that there's just so much of it - so many movments and changes - that it's hard to take it in. It's such an enormous country...no, as I said, i don't know where to start. (Aren't you lucky!)

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Originally posted by Chris Marriott:
Of course there are other reasons to visit a country - scenery being the primary one.

As you say there are lots of reasons to visit a country. We have a TT booked to the U.S. I have seen wonderful photos of the areas we will visit (thank you Colleen) & they took my breath away. The scenery alone makes me so looking forward to our trip.

Dubai or not to Dubai, that is the question.

Translation: To buy or not to buy, that is the question.

Some day we will visit Dubai, not to shop, but to see the inside ski ramp, etc. This may not be a decent reason to visit the place.

Q: Is is it worth visiting if one does not shop?

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Q: Is is it worth visiting if one does not shop?

Having worked there on two occasions I have just turned down an offer of a third assignment, even though they were prepared to pay the proverbial "arm and leg".

I find it soulless and uninteresting.

However, there are those who love it.

NZ Nurse, that high tea looks absolutely splendid! That's it, I'm definitely having afternoon tea at the Burj! Yum!!!!!!!!!

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Originally posted by Cat's Inheritance:


Q: Is is it worth visiting if one does not shop?

In my personal opinion, yes - for a couple of days max - just to see what it has become (from the small town fishing village) to what it is now. There will also be a lot of arts/culture activities going on all the time. There are also desert tours that you can do - overnight camps which are interesting. However, I would wait a couple of years before doing so - let them finish the metro system, finish off a few major projects, etc - it will be a much easier place to visit them and it is currently very messy with all of the construction going on now.

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Originally posted by Tangata:

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Q: Is is it worth visiting if one does not shop?

Having worked there on two occasions I have just turned down an offer of a third assignment, even though they were prepared to pay the proverbial "arm and leg".

I find it soulless and uninteresting.

However, there are those who love it.

I can see your point Tangata and having lived here for 3 years, we are beginning to find it harder to live here and hence we are leaving this summer. That being said, it has been an interesting experience living in a different place from what we are used to and we have enjoyed our time here. Would we do it again? Yes as I have been involved in an amazing project here and would never in my wildest dreams have imagined that I would be part of something like this.

Then there is the desert safaries where you are out in the beautiful desert either dune bashing, camel riding or having an evening under the crystal clear skies at a Bedouin encampment enjoying a lovely meal and entertainment.....Yep, i'll be going back again soon I hope