thinking of Dubai
Jul 20, 2005 | 9:56 pm
#31
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: 10007.
Posts: 656
Originally Posted by graraps
This is a bit over the top. Had no problems getting a room at the five-star Moevenpick for AED 500. That may not be a tiny amount of money, but it's no more than what a regular three-star hotel in London or Rome would charge.
Jul 20, 2005 | 11:10 pm
#32
Join Date: Feb 2004
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Originally Posted by Jimmy67
Stimpy:
No , just very little numbers of english or french tourists in Lebanon. Most tourists are arabs, including from the emirates. And of course i compare whole lebanon to dubai, in beirut no place is farer than 1.5 h.
Smart51: Well i made much different experiences with the men and women in Beirut. maybe your looks and/or wallet and/or ethnicity didn't fit lebanese taste.. LOL
And taxi driving? never had prob lems with it.... maybe because they love us germans 
Whatever, if we all had the same taste our supermarkets would be much much smaller
No , just very little numbers of english or french tourists in Lebanon. Most tourists are arabs, including from the emirates. And of course i compare whole lebanon to dubai, in beirut no place is farer than 1.5 h.
Smart51: Well i made much different experiences with the men and women in Beirut. maybe your looks and/or wallet and/or ethnicity didn't fit lebanese taste.. LOL
And taxi driving? never had prob lems with it.... maybe because they love us germans
Whatever, if we all had the same taste our supermarkets would be much much smaller
As for my ethnic backround well my mother is Lebanese(enough said) spend almost half my youth in Beirut,As for my look i have no problems there either and for the wallet well the last time i paid for (it) was at the age of 18
Jul 21, 2005 | 2:03 am
#33
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Programs: ME, TK, IC
Posts: 2,423
Originally Posted by SMART51
...Been to Bey a lot of times the men are show-offs the women are arrogant they only speak French even if you talk to them in Arabic the shops are rip-offs and i did not mention the taxis...
. Really sorry about that 
. Next time you are here (sounds like "Never again" to me though ), please let me know. I would love to take you around and show you the side of Beirut you need to see 
.
Jul 21, 2005 | 2:21 am
#34
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: UK
Programs: reformed ex basic Member
Posts: 3,148
I am in Beirut today, and stick to my earlier comment, this is a different part of the world than the Gulf. The social/legal/economic/geographic factors are totally different, they are incomparable.
Jul 21, 2005 | 2:46 am
#35
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Location: SE1, London & White River, South Africa
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I've been to Dubai 6 or 7 times. It's fine for a couple of days (shopping, a desert trip, the souk and an abra ride) - or if you just want to sit by the pool in the sun as increasing numbers of Brits are doing. If you have not visited the Gulf before it is an easy introduction...but it is fundamentally quite dull and really reminds me of an upmarket Spanish costa. Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are not much more exciting either.
Oman is the only country in the region I have visited that really delivers a cultural and historical punch. Saudi does too, but in a different way!
And GK is quite right - the Levant and North African countries are a world away from the Gulf.
Oman is the only country in the region I have visited that really delivers a cultural and historical punch. Saudi does too, but in a different way!
And GK is quite right - the Levant and North African countries are a world away from the Gulf.
Jul 21, 2005 | 3:33 am
#36
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: FRA
Programs: LH SEN, ME Cedar Miles Prestige
Posts: 405
Sure they are totally different. Agreed!
However the initial question of the thread initiator was: "My first trip to the Middle east - Dubai"...any tips...
And well, i would recommend for the first ME experience Beirut/Lebanon. However it depends what everybody EXPECTS and/or wants to EXPERIENCE.
If you want to enjoy a convenient touristic life with shopping, fantastic hotels and desert trips, Dubai should be your choice.
If heavy meeting the locals and learning about all the contradiction of "middle eastern" and "western" including a rich history and fantastic nightlife.. Beirut should be one's choice.
Wanna taste? check here:
http://bn.energyradio.fm/i/bn/video1.swf
http://beirutnights.com/lebanon.asx
However the initial question of the thread initiator was: "My first trip to the Middle east - Dubai"...any tips...
And well, i would recommend for the first ME experience Beirut/Lebanon. However it depends what everybody EXPECTS and/or wants to EXPERIENCE.
If you want to enjoy a convenient touristic life with shopping, fantastic hotels and desert trips, Dubai should be your choice.
If heavy meeting the locals and learning about all the contradiction of "middle eastern" and "western" including a rich history and fantastic nightlife.. Beirut should be one's choice.
Wanna taste? check here:
http://bn.energyradio.fm/i/bn/video1.swf
http://beirutnights.com/lebanon.asx
Originally Posted by GK
I am in Beirut today, and stick to my earlier comment, this is a different part of the world than the Gulf. The social/legal/economic/geographic factors are totally different, they are incomparable.
Jul 21, 2005 | 3:58 am
#38
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Originally Posted by Jimmy67
If heavy meeting the locals and learning about all the contradiction of "middle eastern" and "western" including a rich history and fantastic nightlife.. Beirut should be one's choice.
But as others have said, the two places are very different so I'll repeat my suggestion to visit both.
Jul 21, 2005 | 4:17 am
#39
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 3,081
Originally Posted by graraps
This is a bit over the top. Had no problems getting a room at the five-star Moevenpick for AED 500. That may not be a tiny amount of money, but it's no more than what a regular three-star hotel in London or Rome would charge.
And Sixt were happy to rent me (as a 23 year old) a full-spec C180 for AED 280 (BTW these prices were final after all charges). You'd be lucky to get a full-spec Corolla for this kind of money in Europe.
And Sixt were happy to rent me (as a 23 year old) a full-spec C180 for AED 280 (BTW these prices were final after all charges). You'd be lucky to get a full-spec Corolla for this kind of money in Europe.
You drove while there ? You've got bigger balls than me Garaps
Got a deluxe plus room at Hilton Jumeirah for 350 Aed in July
Jul 21, 2005 | 4:22 am
#40
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Hotel rates in the incredibly hot summer are always cheap. Rates in January can be tougher, but there are so many hotels now I always find a deal somewhere.
As for driving, its easy in Dubai! I have always rented a car, even my first time. It's so spread out you really need a car to be free to see what you want to see.
As for driving, its easy in Dubai! I have always rented a car, even my first time. It's so spread out you really need a car to be free to see what you want to see.
Jul 21, 2005 | 4:40 am
#41
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Join Date: May 2004
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Originally Posted by beergut
You drove while there ? You've got bigger balls than me Garaps
Jul 21, 2005 | 6:31 am
#42
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Driving is more of an adventure in Beirut than in Dubai. Remember all the craters and cars packed in ways that cars should not be packed in a road?
Both are great places to visit ... and quite different from one another.
There was a time when everyone with money in the vicinity of the Arabian peninsula (and immediately neighboring countries) would try to get over to Beirut (or elsewhere in Lebanon) for some part of the year or another (the R. Karami years come to mind). Now, that same traffic is generally more toward Dubai than toward Beirut -- with the exception of people of Syrian-Lebanese origin.
Both are great places to visit ... and quite different from one another.
There was a time when everyone with money in the vicinity of the Arabian peninsula (and immediately neighboring countries) would try to get over to Beirut (or elsewhere in Lebanon) for some part of the year or another (the R. Karami years come to mind). Now, that same traffic is generally more toward Dubai than toward Beirut -- with the exception of people of Syrian-Lebanese origin.
Jul 21, 2005 | 6:57 am
#43
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 18
Presently the Best Value Hotel deal [Low Season]is the 5 Star Sheraton on Jumierah Beach, The quieter part, for UED500 or around $140 a night thats for a De-luxe Sea View. ^
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sherat...D=1326&back=-1
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sherat...D=1326&back=-1
Last edited by Former Member; Jul 21, 2005 at 12:06 pm
Jul 21, 2005 | 7:02 am
#44
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: VIENNA VA
Programs: BA emerald, AF rouge ,UA premier executive, SQ,ANA, HYATT,, AMENITI
Posts: 839
Originally Posted by BEYFlyer
Has Beirut really been THAT bad towards you SMART51 . Really sorry about that . Next time you are here (sounds like "Never again" to me though ), please let me know. I would love to take you around and show you the side of Beirut you need to see .
. Really sorry about that . Next time you are here (sounds like "Never again" to me though ), please let me know. I would love to take you around and show you the side of Beirut you need to see . Should be in the area in August