Something got looked over in the midst of Dubai’s amazingly rapid growth—street signs! Instead of having a standard address system, residents of Dubai draw maps on their letters or write specific instructions such as: “After the white mosque, first street to the left, gold door.”
When visitors come to Dubai from the airport they are strongly advised to carry a map around so that they point out where they are going to drivers. Otherwise, they won’t have any way of communicating where they are going!
The Hotel's Gold Could Completely Cover 46,265 Mona Lisa Paintings
Astoundingly, the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel is covered with a massive amount of gold leaf. The interior is decorated with 1,790 square meters of 24-carat gold leaf—that’s enough to cover 46,265 Mona-Lisa-sized paintings! Talk about a gold-plated existence!
The hotel Burj Al Arab is the fourth-tallest hotel in the world and is considered a “7-Star Hotel.” Interestingly, about 39% of the hotel is not habitable; it just exists to add to the impressive statue of the hotel. Make sure you have extra cash to spend if you’re planning on spending a night here—the Royal Suite costs $20,000 per night and an average room costs around $1,500!
Safe Family Locations
Dubai is conscious of the public spaces it provides for people and their feelings of comfort and safety. There are beaches that only permit women and families to enter their grounds. This means you won’t find any single men roaming these sandy shores. Furthermore, people who choose to visit these safe beaches are required to dress modestly.
The dress code at this beach is specifically targeted towards women—they are required to be fully covered when entering the beach grounds. Locals, due to the dress code aligning with their religious practices, have particularly appreciated the beach. This space allows for a more reserved, less Westernized environment to flourish. Bikinis are not allowed, which helps those who have modest dress codes to feel more comfortable. One local woman commented that these family-only beaches are wonderful because they do not allow loud music, smoking, and large boisterous groups to make locals feel uncomfortable while they enjoy beach time.
License Plates are a Symbol of Social Status in Dubai
It might be funny to think of, but license plates are bought and sold for over $14 million in Dubai. 1-digit-numbers are the most desired, followed by 2-digits, and so on. Who knew something that we take for granted could be such a prized commodity?
Most of us could care less about what our license plate says, but in Dubai, they mean a lot more. License plates symbolize status, power, and prestige. People spend millions to get number plates that mean something to them. However, the more numbers they use, the cheaper the plate is and the less social prowess they can boast from it.
Wild Pets
In 2015, Dubai’s GDP was greater than $105 billion. The city’s wealth is visible in numerous ways from its luxury squad cars to its massive buildings. One perhaps more surprising display of wealth, though is the rather popular practice of owning exotic animals. People in Dubai own animals such as monkeys, baboons, and lions—oh my!
It seems the wilder the animal the more it is desired to be a pet. It is often inferred that the more exotic the pet, the more wealthy the owner of the said pet is. The social status that comes with this practice seems to be the biggest incentive for it, which can be a bit of an issue. In 2017, the government banned the practice of owning and keeping exotic pets. However, people still break the law. Not without consequence, though. Owning a lion or a tiger can get you 6 months in jail and a $136,000 fine. Now that’s a wild risk!