Fancy a room with a view? The world's tallest hotel opened this week. That's right: it was in Dubai. The first paying guests arrived at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on Wednesday.
To find out for yourself what all the fuss is about and discern the truth from the clichés. For starters, Dubai is nothing like Las Vegas. There are no colossal neon-lit signs, no impersonator shows, no showgirls, and certainly no casinos. In fact, gambling is illegal, even at the world’s richest horse race, the Dubai World Cup.
Dubai is much more like
Shanghai, with its audacious architecture, spectacular skylines,
obsession with fashion and style, and flourishing contemporary art
scene. Contrary to rumours, Dubai does have a rich culture, though most
of it is intangible, rooted in Bedouin heritage and traditions of
storytelling, poetry, song, dance, and falconry, but there are plenty of
opportunities to experience it.
For
all Dubai’s futuristic appeal and abundance of western entertainments – a
sleek metro that zips through the sky like something out of Blade
Runner, sumptuous shopping malls, an indoor ski park, and countless bars
– there is just as much fun to be had in the simple pleasures of “the
Orient”: haggling for gold and frankincense in the bustling souqs,
savouring the sunset from the back of a camel, inhaling from a fragrant
sheesha pipe on the fairly-lit deck of an old wooden dhow. Perhaps there
is, after all, some truth to be found in the clichés…
When to go
Dubai is steamy and sweltering most of the year. Best time to visit is November-March, when temperatures are moderate – though in the past few years, January, once considered the optimum month to visit, has been overcast and rainy.If you’re heading here for sun, sea and sand, spring and autumn are ideal, when you can bronze your body by day and cool down after dark in the air-conditioned restaurants, bars and shopping malls. Summer should be avoided by all except those on the tightest of budgets – it’s the cheapest time to visit, but from June to September the average daily temperature is well over a scorching 40 degrees Celsiu
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