Destination: United Arab Emirates
What if the Burj Dubai was in Manhattan?
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 4:26 PM ET
Kottke posts an altered version of the Midtown skyline. Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour
by Eva Holland | 09.16.09 | 12:02 PM ET
Writer Jason Rezaian has spent time in five different Muslim-majority countries—Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iran and Turkey—during the annual month of fasting, and in a short essay he reflects on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in the ways each one celebrates their shared holy month.
Dubai in the Downturn
by Michael Yessis | 08.10.09 | 10:10 AM ET
“It’s all a bit scary,” one expat tells the Washington Post’s Andrew Higgins. He’s not the only one cowering and fleeing. Many expats believe there’s a hunt on for “foreign culprits to blame for the sheikdom’s sliding economic fortunes.”
In Dubai’s defense, its Media Affairs Office told Higgins that it “prides itself on a well-established system of law and order and judicial fairness,” but it didn’t “respond to repeated and detailed questions.”
‘You’re American? I Should Kill You!’
by Cory Eldridge | 07.01.09 | 10:01 AM ET
To most of his roommates at his United Arab Emirates apartment, Cory Eldridge was an exotic American. To one of them, the Iraqi who'd been held at Abu Ghraib prison, he was "President Bush."
Non-Places and the End of Travel
by Frank Bures | 06.23.09 | 10:14 AM ET
Frank Bures on airports, Dubai and Marc Augé's "Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity"
Welcome, JetAmerica and flydubai
by Rob Verger | 06.03.09 | 10:07 AM ET
The list of lost-cost carriers now has two new names: JetAmerica and flydubai.
JetAmerica, a charter company with a home base in Toledo, Ohio, will fly to five cities. They are advertising $9 fares, with a “convenience fee” of $5, thus selling some seats (before taxes and fees) for $14.
Over at The Cranky Flier, Brett Snyder isn’t optimistic. “I honestly couldn’t make this sound any worse if I tried,” Snyder writes. “The CEO is John Weikle, one of the original founders of Skybus.”
Meanwhile, in the U.A.E., flydubai has been born, with initial routes beginning this week between Dubai and Beirut and Amman. They plan to expand from there. “You’ll soon be able to flydubai to other cities in the Middle East, GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] and India,” their website states. “And eventually, the network will extend to Iran, Eastern Europe and North & East Africa.”
Eight Photos to Inspire Wanderlust
by World Hum | 05.01.09 | 8:12 AM ET
Indulge your armchair traveler. We've gathered eight wanderlust-inspiring travel photos from around the world.
See the full photo slideshow »
Hello? Is it Greece You’re Looking For?
by Eva Holland | 03.16.09 | 11:05 AM ET
With a new album on the way, Lionel Richie is making the media rounds—and he’s landed in the pages of the Telegraph travel section, dishing on his best and worst travel memories.
Turns out, the R&B/easy listening legend is itching to get to Greece, he dreads being spotted mid-meal at a restaurant (“all I need is if the pianist starts playing ‘Three Times a Lady’”) and his favorite hotel is Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace. (“Now I know why I couldn’t get the marble for my house—they have it all. I couldn’t find the bougainvillea I wanted—they have it. Everything I needed for my house in California, they have it.”) The average traveler may not be able to relate to his experiences or advice—remember: “don’t let your entourage pack for you”—but they still make for an entertaining read.
I’m Dreaming of a Green Dubai (or at Least Some Clean Beaches)
by Joanna Kakissis | 03.02.09 | 11:16 AM ET
It’s been a rough few months of sewage-on-the-beach damage control for the city of excess and $25,000-a-night hotel suites on artificial islands shaped like palm trees. After raw sewage, chemical waste and toilet paper washed up on opulent, luxury hotel-lined Jumeirah Beach and made international headlines, an environmental group is trying to clean up the beach and others along the United Arab Emirates coastline. The Emirates Wildlife Association will encourage managers of the beaches to apply for a Blue Flag designation and meet international standards for water quality and cleanliness.
Morning Links: JetBlue Fare Refunds, America’s Emptiest Cities and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.18.09 | 8:31 AM ET
- It happened again: Another cruise ship ran aground in Antarctica.
- Las Vegas and Detroit finished 1-2 in a Forbes list of America’s emptiest cities.
- Inside the hardened, restless lives of business-travel nomads.
- Here’s a scathing takedown of the idea of Dubai. (via Kottke)
- Here’s another dancing guy. He doesn’t go around the world, though. Just to hallways and stairwells and such.
- Teresa Watanabe looks at African Americans who are being “called back to Africa by DNA.”
- JetBlue promises fare refunds if you lose your job—with some fine print.
- “Afghan Model” is coming to Emrooz TV.
- The Yankees are building a new vacation stadium in the Hamptons, complete with on-deck gazebos and yacht parking for the players. The Onion has exclusive video.
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Morning Links: God and Jerry Springer in Italy, a Tourist in Falluja and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.09.09 | 8:33 AM ET
- Tom Miller examines how the way of life on the U.S.-Mexico border is “under siege.”
- An Italian man went to Falluja and declared, “I am a tourist.”
- The fires in Australia continue to rage. Here’s a map.
- Joe Leahy looks at Mumbai’s “experimental” music scene.
- Rick Moody looks at why Sonoran Arizona has produced its share of interesting and rather strange bands. (Via The Morning News)
- Here’s a list of the world’s most stylish hotel design details.
- Expat workers in Dubai have been abandoning their luxury cars at the airport and heading home.
- Lost your job? Tim Leffel suggests going abroad and teaching English.
- God and Jerry Springer vacation in Italy.
- Two Americans have been charged with barbecuing iguana in the Bahamas. They were busted after posting photos of their ‘cue on Facebook.
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Morning Links: Skycar, Disney Shanghai and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.15.09 | 9:07 AM ET
- Disney and Shanghai have reportedly agreed on plans for a new Disney theme park in China.
- Google has added a transit layer to its maps in 50 world cities.
- The Skycar—a flying car—departed from London to Timbuktu with Neil Laughton behind the wheel.
- CNN offers video profiles of Dubai’s Emirates terminal and the airport of the year, Hong Kong International Airport.
- What about the world’s worst airports?
- Hu Jintao warns of potential travel problems in China for Chinese New Year.
- Men’s Fitness names Salt Lake City the fittest city in the U.S. The fattest? Miami.
- Slideshow: Paragliding over Africa.
- A Japanese website maps smells around the world. Apparently, there’s a “toasty odor of cow dung” somewhere out there.
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Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Travelers Sentenced to Three Months in Jail
by Michael Yessis | 10.16.08 | 5:30 PM ET
The British couple was fined $272 each for the now-infamous transgression. The attorney representing the duo said he will appeal the case, citing a medical report that the “sex on beach” couple didn’t actually have sex.
Related on World Hum:
* Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain
* British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai
The QE2’s Final Hurrah
by Valerie Conners | 10.07.08 | 10:37 AM ET
Before she is remade into a floating hotel in Dubai, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is taking a farewell journey. She recently pulled into the port from which she launched 41 years ago. The Daily Mail reports on the trip, and features a series of photos of the ship as it sailed home one final time.
Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain
by Michael Yessis | 09.02.08 | 12:23 PM ET
The judge denied the request, setting another hearing for next week. Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors are on trial for, as we previously noted, allegedly having sex on the beach in Dubai. Palmer says she and Acors hugged and kissed, but didn’t have sex, according to the AP. Still, as Barbara Surk writes, “Public display of affection, such as touching, kissing or hugging, is illegal in Dubai and couples—particularly if not married—can be detained by police for indecency.”
Related on World Hum:
* Brits Go on Holiday, Europe Cowers in Fear
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