Monday
Nov192007
My Take On Dubai
Monday, November 19, 2007 at 03:35PM
The story I researched for WIRED Magazine while I was in Dubai was pulled. My editor didn't feel that it had the right angle for WIRED and to be honest, I have to agree with him. I had a hard time writing about Dubai. It is really such an odd place. Before I traveled there, I found an album on Flickr where a woman had called Dubai the loneliest place on earth. When I was there, I had an eerie feeling of agreement.
I am so grateful for the chance to visit the UAE but I don't think a woman such as myself can really articulate what it is like to work in the noir business world of Dubai. Maybe a woman can but just not this woman. Nevertheless, I wrote the story so I figured I would self-publish since it will never appear in WIRED.
Shukran!
Business And Pleasure In Dubai: A Perspective
Dubai is like Las Vegas in that every one is treated like a high roller. Travel there for business and you will be surprised at how comfortable the city can be, despite the triple-digit heat.
If you take a chauffeured car, the driver will have cold towels and water bottles for you. If you take a cab, it is guaranteed to be immaculate and new. Walk into a hotel and doors are opened for you. If you speak to a local, they will address you as “sir” (or “madam” in the unlikely event that you are a woman traveling to Dubai). This is a city that wants business travelers to come, indulge, enjoy, and most importantly, do big money business.
Dubai is a relatively new place, and getting newer by the day. The rate at which the city is being built up is astonishing. It is estimated that 65 percent of the world’s cranes are currently at work in Dubai.
With all of this rapid growth, it is not surprising then that so many American technology companies have set up shop in Dubai. Microsoft, Oracle, VMware, Cisco, Sun, AT&T, and Hewlett Packard are just a few.
Why Dubai? The answer is the city’s amalgam of culture, economics, and geography.
Culturally, Dubai is one of the most liberal cities in the Middle East. Women do not have to cover in burkas and are allowed to travel alone with men with whom they are not married. The same cannot be said of other Emirates within the UAE where an unmarried couple might be subject to local law enforcement if they are caught driving alone together. In Dubai, men and women are free to hold hands in public and non-Muslims are free to eat during the daylight hours of Ramadan without judgment.
Economically, Dubai is a commercial marvel. Taxes are extremely low and in some cases nonexistent. In fact, if a company settles in any one of the free trade zones in the city, it can operate without restrictions. This means the company is exempt from paying government tax and allowed 100 percent ownership of the business, a luxury that is not allowed outside of free economic zones in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Dubai is also easily accessible. It is in the heart of the Middle East, yet just a short plane ride away from Africa, Asia, and Europ. A stroll through the lobby of Jumeirah Emirates Towers, one of the most popular business hotels in the Middle East, is proof that businessmen from the world over work around the clock making deals over tea and dates. At any given time, there are Japanese businessmen in suits doing business with Muslims in sheik’s robes, Englishmen in shirts and ties, and Americans in polo shirts and khaki pants.
“The vision of Dubai is unique,” says Floor Bleeker, group director of information technology for Jumeirah Group, which runs nearly a dozen hotels in Dubai, including the Emirates Towers and the famous Burj Al Arab. “The leadership of Dubai really tackles every industry with as much seriousness as the other. You have all kinds of rules and regulations where you don’t pay as much tax as everywhere else and the hotels are the best in the world. In our industry, it’s the best place to be.”
That doesn’t mean that expats living in Dubai and working in technology won’t face some degree of culture shock. For starters, there is no VoIP allowed in the UAE at all. Period. Bleeker says that this is one of the largest complaints he receives from international travelers, that they want their Skype.
“The Internet providers don’t allow it but like everything in Dubai, they are rapidly developing,” he says.
Until recently, telecommunications in Dubai was a monopoly run by Etisalat. The lack of competition drove broadband prices sky high so hotels like the Emirates Towers were not able to provide free broadband in all of their rooms.
“We can only offer a limited bandwidth to our customers,” Bleeker said. “In our [new] New York hotel, we offer a 45-megabit connection to our customers and our monthly bill is about $5,000. Here you pay that for a 2-megabit line. With the new competition, it is purely a supply and demand question so I’m quite confident that those prices will drop.”
Currently, guests at the Emirates Towers are charged 150 dirhams per day for an Ethernet connection, which amounts to approximately $40, while guests at the Burj Al Arab have free Wi-Fi throughout the property. The Jumeirah Group is working to have free Wi-Fi on all properties within the next few years but that involves re-wiring all of the existing rooms, which means taking the rooms out of commission one by one.
Another challenge Westerners face is accessing popular networks and Web sites to which they are accustomed. For example, Flickr and iTunes are not allowed in the UAE. There have been reports of Facebook not working but the site is not formally banned. If a resident finds that a site that they want has been blocked, Dubai policy allows him/her to petition the government to lift the ban. But that does not guarantee that it will be lifted. Flickr, has remained banned despite several requests because it is considered to have graphic adult content, even though it is the company’s policy not to host such content.
The gender division in Dubai might be another thing that Westerners find shocking. It is a great place for businessmen, but seldom do you see a woman doing big-money deals in the lobby of the Emirates Towers. Dubai is for the boys, while the wives who stay behind to shop in the city’s many massive malls are stereotyped as Jumeirah Janes. The government is working to promote more female professionals in the workplace but they are still few and far between. It is more likely to see women working as receptionists and waitresses than in any high-powered roles.
The division of class and labor in Dubai is also painfully transparent. Immigrant workers from Pakistan and India work 24 hours a day building the city’s high rises and metro system. Many of them leave families behind to work in Dubai because the wages, although shockingly low by Western standards, are higher than what they stand to earn in their home country.
“These workers, they get around 700 dirhams per month, which is about $200,” said one cab driver as he drove passed the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, which is currently under construction 24 hours a day. “It is also dangerous work because they are working with cranes 150 floors in the air at night. There are a lot of workers’ deaths that the government doesn’t want us to hear about.”
Because labor is so cheap, the city can afford to build and invest at an alarming rate. Recently, Dubai stepped into the international spotlight when the government-controlled Borse Dubai stock exchange bid to purchase 20 percent of the NASDAQ. If the deal goes through, which seems likely, it will be the final proclamation of Dubai’s intent to be the next major world economic hub. The NASDAQ trades companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, and Dell. No doubt, a move like this would turn far more eyes from the Silicon Valley towards Dubai.
But all of this doesn’t necessarily mean Dubai will be the next Silicon Valley. It is hard to tell exactly what Dubai will be other than rich, advanced, and new. It is an extremely impersonal place and the people that live there seem a little too scripted in their enthusiasm about it. It almost feels like being in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner where a man’s voice broadcasts the advertisement: “A new life awaits you in the off-world colony: the chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.”
Despite the grandeur, Dubai is the quintessential postmodern city. Think Las Vegas without the drunks, New York without the pollution, and San Francisco without the high cost of living. It may sound ideal but it will not be until the city finds a soul of its own.
Photos taken by Emile Baizel, a talented photographer and a great travel partner.
I am so grateful for the chance to visit the UAE but I don't think a woman such as myself can really articulate what it is like to work in the noir business world of Dubai. Maybe a woman can but just not this woman. Nevertheless, I wrote the story so I figured I would self-publish since it will never appear in WIRED.
Shukran!
Business And Pleasure In Dubai: A Perspective
Dubai is like Las Vegas in that every one is treated like a high roller. Travel there for business and you will be surprised at how comfortable the city can be, despite the triple-digit heat.
If you take a chauffeured car, the driver will have cold towels and water bottles for you. If you take a cab, it is guaranteed to be immaculate and new. Walk into a hotel and doors are opened for you. If you speak to a local, they will address you as “sir” (or “madam” in the unlikely event that you are a woman traveling to Dubai). This is a city that wants business travelers to come, indulge, enjoy, and most importantly, do big money business.
Dubai is a relatively new place, and getting newer by the day. The rate at which the city is being built up is astonishing. It is estimated that 65 percent of the world’s cranes are currently at work in Dubai.
With all of this rapid growth, it is not surprising then that so many American technology companies have set up shop in Dubai. Microsoft, Oracle, VMware, Cisco, Sun, AT&T, and Hewlett Packard are just a few.
Why Dubai? The answer is the city’s amalgam of culture, economics, and geography.
Culturally, Dubai is one of the most liberal cities in the Middle East. Women do not have to cover in burkas and are allowed to travel alone with men with whom they are not married. The same cannot be said of other Emirates within the UAE where an unmarried couple might be subject to local law enforcement if they are caught driving alone together. In Dubai, men and women are free to hold hands in public and non-Muslims are free to eat during the daylight hours of Ramadan without judgment.
Economically, Dubai is a commercial marvel. Taxes are extremely low and in some cases nonexistent. In fact, if a company settles in any one of the free trade zones in the city, it can operate without restrictions. This means the company is exempt from paying government tax and allowed 100 percent ownership of the business, a luxury that is not allowed outside of free economic zones in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Dubai is also easily accessible. It is in the heart of the Middle East, yet just a short plane ride away from Africa, Asia, and Europ. A stroll through the lobby of Jumeirah Emirates Towers, one of the most popular business hotels in the Middle East, is proof that businessmen from the world over work around the clock making deals over tea and dates. At any given time, there are Japanese businessmen in suits doing business with Muslims in sheik’s robes, Englishmen in shirts and ties, and Americans in polo shirts and khaki pants.
“The vision of Dubai is unique,” says Floor Bleeker, group director of information technology for Jumeirah Group, which runs nearly a dozen hotels in Dubai, including the Emirates Towers and the famous Burj Al Arab. “The leadership of Dubai really tackles every industry with as much seriousness as the other. You have all kinds of rules and regulations where you don’t pay as much tax as everywhere else and the hotels are the best in the world. In our industry, it’s the best place to be.”
That doesn’t mean that expats living in Dubai and working in technology won’t face some degree of culture shock. For starters, there is no VoIP allowed in the UAE at all. Period. Bleeker says that this is one of the largest complaints he receives from international travelers, that they want their Skype.
“The Internet providers don’t allow it but like everything in Dubai, they are rapidly developing,” he says.
Until recently, telecommunications in Dubai was a monopoly run by Etisalat. The lack of competition drove broadband prices sky high so hotels like the Emirates Towers were not able to provide free broadband in all of their rooms.
“We can only offer a limited bandwidth to our customers,” Bleeker said. “In our [new] New York hotel, we offer a 45-megabit connection to our customers and our monthly bill is about $5,000. Here you pay that for a 2-megabit line. With the new competition, it is purely a supply and demand question so I’m quite confident that those prices will drop.”
Currently, guests at the Emirates Towers are charged 150 dirhams per day for an Ethernet connection, which amounts to approximately $40, while guests at the Burj Al Arab have free Wi-Fi throughout the property. The Jumeirah Group is working to have free Wi-Fi on all properties within the next few years but that involves re-wiring all of the existing rooms, which means taking the rooms out of commission one by one.
Another challenge Westerners face is accessing popular networks and Web sites to which they are accustomed. For example, Flickr and iTunes are not allowed in the UAE. There have been reports of Facebook not working but the site is not formally banned. If a resident finds that a site that they want has been blocked, Dubai policy allows him/her to petition the government to lift the ban. But that does not guarantee that it will be lifted. Flickr, has remained banned despite several requests because it is considered to have graphic adult content, even though it is the company’s policy not to host such content.
The gender division in Dubai might be another thing that Westerners find shocking. It is a great place for businessmen, but seldom do you see a woman doing big-money deals in the lobby of the Emirates Towers. Dubai is for the boys, while the wives who stay behind to shop in the city’s many massive malls are stereotyped as Jumeirah Janes. The government is working to promote more female professionals in the workplace but they are still few and far between. It is more likely to see women working as receptionists and waitresses than in any high-powered roles.
The division of class and labor in Dubai is also painfully transparent. Immigrant workers from Pakistan and India work 24 hours a day building the city’s high rises and metro system. Many of them leave families behind to work in Dubai because the wages, although shockingly low by Western standards, are higher than what they stand to earn in their home country.
“These workers, they get around 700 dirhams per month, which is about $200,” said one cab driver as he drove passed the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, which is currently under construction 24 hours a day. “It is also dangerous work because they are working with cranes 150 floors in the air at night. There are a lot of workers’ deaths that the government doesn’t want us to hear about.”
Because labor is so cheap, the city can afford to build and invest at an alarming rate. Recently, Dubai stepped into the international spotlight when the government-controlled Borse Dubai stock exchange bid to purchase 20 percent of the NASDAQ. If the deal goes through, which seems likely, it will be the final proclamation of Dubai’s intent to be the next major world economic hub. The NASDAQ trades companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, and Dell. No doubt, a move like this would turn far more eyes from the Silicon Valley towards Dubai.
But all of this doesn’t necessarily mean Dubai will be the next Silicon Valley. It is hard to tell exactly what Dubai will be other than rich, advanced, and new. It is an extremely impersonal place and the people that live there seem a little too scripted in their enthusiasm about it. It almost feels like being in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner where a man’s voice broadcasts the advertisement: “A new life awaits you in the off-world colony: the chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.”
Despite the grandeur, Dubai is the quintessential postmodern city. Think Las Vegas without the drunks, New York without the pollution, and San Francisco without the high cost of living. It may sound ideal but it will not be until the city finds a soul of its own.
Photos taken by Emile Baizel, a talented photographer and a great travel partner.
