Hi
I was just in Dubai and as most I was mesmerized by the amazing skyscrapers, the huge malls, the fancy cars, all the gold in the old souk etc. But it seems like there is a dark side to all of this and I found this interesting article about it: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html . It is a very long article but it is very interesting and it looks into the work conditions in Dubai for e.g. construction workers, polluted water in the tourist hotel areas etc.
Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures
The dark side of Dubai
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Thank you for that web site, Gard. I was told by an Indonesian UN worker about the egregious treatment of the "house maids" who are imported from SE Asia. When these young girls are 8 1/2 months pregnant (by their employers), they are put on a flight back to their their home country. Many give birth on the flight home and other deliver at the airports upon arrival. I guess they are lucky that they are NOT just made to disapear from the face of the earth!
Take the on and off tour bus around the city and you will see "the dark side" of the poor immigrant workers and their lifestyles.Very sad!
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Hi dutyfree
Could you please provide some more information on the hop on and off tour bus in Dubai. I can't seem to find any info on it.
Regards
The on/off bus is around $45/50 USD and there are two routes-blue and red. One goes to the old area with the souks and an included "dow cruise" and the other goes out to the Palm Islands and the Burg,Jemeriah (sp?) mosque,etc.There was a booth located in the lower level of the mall connected to my hotel,Sofitel and they had the flyers. The buses start at 9am and usually have last pickups around 5-6 pm. If you start more mid-morning you can use the ticket for two days as it is a 24 hour clock. They give you headphones and there are various language plugs you can plug into.
I enjoyed it and saw quite alot that I normally won't have been able to see. I will try and find one of my flyers. In the meantime,see if there is something about them on their website.
Okay here is the website:
www.bigbustours.com/eng/dubai/tours.aspx
I picked the bus up at the City Center Shopping Mall. There are two maps that you can download to see where you could pick it up and where each tour goes. I really think that the price is well worth it as you can get the sun or A/C as you travel around-the traffic is horrible in Dubai on any given day.
Have a great trip!