OT: Cape Town/Dubai
I will be traveling over there at the beginning of next year. Looking to get some recommendations of things to see, place to eat, etc. Figured the best place for me to ask would be the board since i don't know anyone who has traveled to either place personally.
What's a good bar in Dubai to watch UM football? /s
Dubai is ok just to say you've been there, but so many better places in the world that cost 1/20th of everything.
One of those better places is Capetown. Rent a car or hire a driver and go to the actual cape. Stunning views and a penguin! Colony along the way. If you like wine go on a wine tour. As good if not better than Napa/Sonoma
While I like Cape Town, skip it and fly to Johannesburg instead. Spend your time at Kruger National Park. You'll be glad you did...
Johannesburg is a violent city.
So??? I didn’t say to spend it in Johannesburg. You have to watch what areas you travel in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. Besides, Johannesburg isn't that bad.
Cape Town has tons to do. Hike up table mountain. Go to Robben island and visit district 6
A friend of mine moved to Dubai (Abu Dhabi? pretty much the same) and had one of those "10 ways you'll never see things the same again after living in Dubai" and it definitely did not make me want to live there even after I was very skeptical it'd be interesting. Life there seems to revolve mostly around malls.
Granted, I've only seen photos of those malls, but they do appear to be rather nice malls. This is coming from someone who lives about 4 miles from Southland Mall in Taylor, so there are box stores nicer than my local mall....
Dubai is the place to be if you want to see sheikhs enjoying fine liquor and Russian hookers.
....where would you go for Russian liquor and fine hookers???
Same place as the sheikhs duh
I know of an accommodation...
Hook me up!
Underrated response. You snuck it past a couple of em.
I didn't know Craig James lived in Dubai now
Try /travel on Reddit.
Been to Dubai for fun. Interesting place to say the least. It’s like they secretly want to be like a full blown western city, but disguise it by holding onto traditional Arab/Muslim traditions in a lot of areas.
With that, aside from old Dubai, everything is new, big and opulent.
A couple recommendations:
1. Take a tour into the desert and have a feast. Lots of tours do this and a very tourist thing to do, but whatever.
2. Rent a car and drive to Abu Dabi to see the grand mosque there.
3. Check out the Burj.
4. All western style fun is more or less relegated to the major hotels. Clubs, bars, nice restaurants etc
5. Check out the souks in old Dubai. About the only “old school” thing they have.
6. If you are near a mosque, be prepared to be woken early for prayer.
Lived in Abu Dhabi for 2 years. Pretty much what Windy City Blue stated if you're there for only a few days. There are other things to check out in terms of the more opulent stuff - Ferrari World, Atlantis/Palm.
Def do the desert dune things, that's a blast, there are even tours that extend overnight.
As for watching Michigan games, the Middle East Alumni group has a Facebook page, they usually have gatherings for games that either someone will host or one of the bars/restaurants I want to say its called Original Rings and Wings but def check the group as things might change.
Did a three day layover when travelling from London to Singapore. Stayed at the Burj al Arab hotel which was totally over the top. For me the hotel version of drinking Pappy Van Winkle. A one-time only thing. I strongly agree about visiting the souks. They are the only authentic thing about the place. Otherwise Dubai is the living embodiment of conspicuous consumption.
As for the Russian hookers someone else mentioned, they are everywhere. Dubai is truly Gemorrah.
What Islamic/Muslim disguise? It's a fucking sham. All those Instagram "models" you see. Where do you think they got all that money and luxury stuff from? Rich ass sheikhs paying them to be hookers for a month at Dubai. That's why any chick you see chilling in Dubai, you stay far as fuck away from her since she probably got golden showered all over for that. No thanks.
This goes without mentioning the essential slavery disguised as indentured servants and thousands of hookers/sex slaves already there.
Thank you Cube! i was reading through to see if ANYONE would mention the slavery regarding either city and it took many posts before it happened!
I get what you are saying. I mean they should just admit and go all in and say it “we are loud and proud western city”. But they do try to still to some Muslim/Islamic standards. I have lots of examples, but here are a few:
1. Wearing a bikini on Jameira Beach. My wife got pulled aside and asked to change. It’s ok to wear at the hotel pool though.
2. Eating pork. Not easy anywhere outside the hotel area. In fact in the hotel (the W on Jameira), they put pork products in a separate room and I had to serve myself.
3. Don’t even try to do any drugs even in the hotels.
I would echo some of the existing comments on Dubai here and say that it is cool, although maybe not worth making a special trip for. If you are flying Emirates and can do a layover of a couple days I would recommend it, but otherwise I would probably spend more time in SA (never been, but it seems cooler). Dubai to me is a lot like Vegas in that you don't really need more than a few days there. I didn't have enough time to do one of the desert tours myself, but people I know that have been for longer like them. Going to the Burj is worth it, although I would go to the observation deck on the 125th floor rather than the one in the 140s as it is cheaper and you're still up pretty high. Boozy brunch at the palm tree island is cool to say you did it. Overall it's just a lot of things that are fun to say you did them. I probably wouldn't go back unless I was flying Emirates somewhere far and wanted to break the trip up.
Wikitravel and Wikivoyage are great resources for traveling.
My company does digital interactivity for location based entertainment and there is a ton of cool stuff in Dubai if you're into theme parks, VR, Arcades, etc. I haven't been, but whenever I see something mind blowing in an industry publication it is almost always in Dubai.
There are an estimated 30k hookers in Dubai, and a large (technically illegal) brothel known as the United Nations of Prostitution.
Do with that information what you will.
Shit, having a good idea how most of those girls ended up in that situation (against their will most likely) all it does is make me want to go on a Liam Neeson rescue rampage.
As far as that goes, no one should visit Dubai at all. They treat all foreign workers basically like slaves. Something like 1200-1400 workers have died building their World Cup facilities.
So make sure you rescue them too.
I believe you're thinking of Qatar, where the 2022 FIFA World Cup is being played. But the point still applies for Dubai (or any of these GCC countries, for that matter).
Keeping actual slaves is still a thing there as well, and they aren't the only ones in the region.
For Dubai: Gold souk/Deira is worth a stroll.
Would go to the Burj Khalifa (tallest building) during the day. Really can't see all that much at night. We ate dinner at Atmosphere.
Played with penguins at Ski Dubai, was fun.
A mall is a mall is a mall. Like flying Emirates so we will do 24-48 hour layovers, but wouldn't go out of my way to go.
I swear - the second I actually get to travel somewhere interesting, I am going to just drop the pretense of asking an earnest question about "places to eat" or "where to watch the game" and simply taunt everyone else from the board about how stupid and boring their lives are.
This is a message board for a college sports fanbase, not fucking TripAdvisor. I don't post all the cool shit that happens to me in the form of a Jeopardy question. "What is - guess what bitches, I am going to Iran on a top secret diplomacy mission... do you think they'll let me stream a college baseball game while I am meeting at an undisclosed location in Tehran???"
I find it weird that some people have an unyielding desire to impress a bunch of random people on a sports fan message board. That or there are people that simply don't know the internet exists outside of a sports fan message board, and that there are far better places to gather this type of information. Not sure which is sadder.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go figure out who pissed in my Cheerios this morning...
Go for a walk. Just as good as traveling and you’ll save a few bucks.
I am going for a walk through the Lawton neighborhood in Ann Arbor. I figure this is the best place to ask questions about that neightborhood. What are the best places to see? Should I urinate off the $400k foot bridge that I helped pay for? Thanks in advance.
But seriously, I actually like reading these threads. Both for the content, and the ridiculous "1 percenter" feel it gives the mgoblog community.
I wish i was one of them. Wouldn't mind some additional funds and vacation.
I apologize for using the blog as another research tool. It won't happen again.
I view this as a community in which people look out for each, with error corrections, grammatical suggestions, and more.
Ask away, and safe travels. The Westernized end of Dubai has some fun spots along the water, and there are MANY westerners (NA and European) stationed there. Enjoy the opulence.
I have lived in Ann Arbor for 40 years, but have never been to Ypsilanti. I've been planning my first trip there for over two months. I plan to go by bus, so which is the best bus line to take? Does it offer free drinks? What is the best hotel to stay in, as I will probably want a layover so I won't have to take the long ride back on the same day.
I hear there is a giant phallus there, which everyone says is a must see. What are the other main attractions in Ypsi? I've been told that they have a very good Mc Donald's and KFC there. Are there any other good restaurants in Ypsi?
Finally, where is the best place to find Russian hookers in Ypsi?
A good place to have Cheerios is Stellenbach which is about 30 miles from Capetown.
It is a Dutch university town that has great vineyards and a rich heritage for food and wine.
I always find it amusing when people who do not like a certain thread /topic and have no interest still wind up commenting on how much they hate the thread AND write 3 rant filled paragraphs on why they hate it.
If you must, down vote the OP and go back to pornhub.
Reminds me of something I read once. To quote a complete hypocrite:
"If you must, down vote the (poster) and go back to pornhub."
Instead, you wound up commenting on how much you hate the post and wrote two paragraphs and a gif to illustrate why you hate it. Good work. When you have a chance, can you leave some advice for us on self-awareness?
I was just in Cape Town for 4 days.
The city is very nice and modern feeling. Many good museums. African art museum is contemporary and very good, or so we were told. We went to Robben Island instead where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years. Good tour, but burns a good 4-5 hours given the ferry ride is about an hour each way.
Of course, you have to go up Table Mountain for the incredible views of the area.
We visited the botanical gardens to the north and even though it’s now winter, lots of plants were blooming.
V&A Waterfront has many good restaurants and shopping...if you have a need for that.
Wine country is north and east of town. We did a half day tour and visited two wineries. One of them, Marianne, was really good.
Go down to Cape Point to see the views and the Cape of Good Hope. Go to Simmons Town to see the South African penguins that bray like donkeys. We stopped at a nearby town for lunch at The Food Barn. Great lunch if you want something good, not quick.
We had a good Italian meal at Keerom 95. I’m pretty sure that was the name. Had really good fish at Baia at the V&A Waterfront area. Lots of fish on the menu in Cape Town.
I've been to Dubai three times in the last 15 months...hope you like malls! The Dubai Mall and Burj are worth doing once...go to Al Jumeirah Beach for a day, too. Buy tickets ahead of time (during the day) for the Burj to avoid the long lines. Try to go for a 4 wheeling desert trip, too...those are fun. The only cheap thing in Dubai is Uber.
Excellent Japanese food at Tomo in the Raffles hotel with great views. Of course, lots of great Syrian, Lebanese and Yemeni restaurants, too.
Be careful about drinking (if you drink) and being intoxicated in public...alcohol is technically still illegal as is being intoxicated.
I think I'm going to Oshkosh Wi.in a year or 4. Any suggestions ?
Bang a fatty
No MGOBLOGGERS wife is going on this trip with me.
Have a 3way with a fatty and the wife..
I'll take the fatty. Your wife....no.