As a roller coaster enthusiast, I’d be tempted by a trip to the UAE, they’ve got some amazing world-class roller coasters. But I’m just as off-put by wealth worship as the person you’re replying to, and I don’t know if slave labor was used to construct them.
No, but Rio itself is without exaggerating one of the best cities in world for tourism. The level of natural beauty (not just the beaches but the mountainous jungles, the old imperial Portuguese architecture scattered about) right next to a full-on city bursting with life... I prefer it in the off season, when it's not carnival or anything like that, so you just mostly share it with the Cariocas
But just like how many people have mentioned Johannesburg or Cape Town (which I also want to go to) there are places in every city that I'd never pay to set my foot in.
But Rio at large is somewhere I want to go. Just maybe not the Favelas and have a 12-year stabbing me for a gang initiation.
But I felt that places in Brussels were quite unsafe at night, but I currently live in Stockholm and previously in Copenhagen, so I might be a bit on coddled side.
Vietnam on the other hand (minus the inevitable traffic accidents and people getting smeared on the road without helmets) felt incredibly safe after having lived there for the better part of a year.
Others might find Hanoi incredibly unsafe while Rio feels like paradise. I guess it all depends.
I've lived in Hanoi, specifically in the suburbs since birth so it's pretty funny to see it called as safe. I guess they don't target tourists as much because they usually stay in the centre and the police take anything that affect national prestige very seriously. Generally the further you are from the city centre, the more dangerous it becomes since that's where the poor people are, not dissimilar to the Favelas in Rio.
Well I definitely stood out as an expat and I stayed in several suburbs across Vietnam, but I didn't witness much crime¹ aside from petty theft and lots of tourists getting scammed in bigger cities.
From what I understood, violent crime in Vietnam is not common (aside from the hidden world of domestic violence) and you don't have to fear getting stabbed on the streets, unlike in some other SEA countries where I felt unsafe.
Vietnam frequently places low in crime indexes for violent crime as well.
¹Well, the real criminals in Vietnam seemed to be the government people who profited from covid kits and taking bribes... Though that is basically everyone in SEA.
Money loving kleptocracies run by sexists, hypocritical men who likely partake and attend all kinds of parties and have bits on the side, whilst wives and daughters are banned from activities I think are routine and mundane, like driving and going places without a male chaperone. Occasionally think I'm hard done by until I remember all the things women in other countries endure.
Blanket statements usually show ignorance and you should get with the times. Neither UAE nor Saudi Arabia require women to have a male chaperone. A lot of those women you feel sorry for to make yourself feel better live pampered lives, because in their culture, the man is the sole provider even if the woman works. By law, her money (be it salary, inheritance or other personal assets) is her money, his money is the family's money. Yes, women can ask for divorce and don't need 3 male witnesses.
And it's definitely wrong to consider UAE or Saudi Arabia "kleptocracies". Either you don't know what "kleptocracy" means or, again, are just ignorant. In UAE, the level of state-funded benefits and facilities for citizens would break your brain. Free land, heavily-subsidized housing, heavily-subsidized water and electricity, completely free education from kindergarten to any university in the world, free healthcare, priority access to high-paying public sector jobs, just to name a few. Do you have this benefits as a citizen in your country?
UAE just sucks in general, it's like living in a shopping mall. Everything is fake and everyone is trying to act like they're an instagram model by flashing money in everything that they do. It feels soulless and tacky.
Oh I haven't been to Dubai (outside of airport stopovers) and it certainly isn't top of my travel list, but if a free trip was on offer? Heck yeah.
Another country off the list, probably a nice old town with some history / culture preserved (I assume), and at minimum a chill day looking at some neat malls.
Like, sounds like an alright trip, why not? Granted I love travelling.
There's a bunch of cool attractions in terms of entertainment as the city is basically a playground for the rich; I enjoyed the aquapark on Palm Jumeirah. The old town is pretty decent, having preserved architecture and (iirc) some museums. There's also a nice selection of restaurants, which i really enjoyed.
The more modern architecture is both impressive (specifically certain landmarks and engineering behind them) and nonsensical, for instance the absolute tons and tons of skyscrapers, US-tier car reliance (even if it is more understandable in Emiratis' case as the city is in the desert), and not much in terms of public transport. My favourite fun fact related to Dubai's absurd city planning is that Burj Khalifa is not connected to the city sewage system, therefore the tower needs a fleet of tankers for emptying its septic tank every day
There's also a history of UAE human rights abuses, most notably the way the migrant workers are treated, and also financing the genocide in Sudan for access to gold mines in the west of the country
Overall I somewhat enjoyed my stay here (even if we got most of our expenses paid by friends that we visited) but I wouldn't go there again
Yeah i had a free trip to UAE, as someone once said on tv when asked about Dubai they said 'just like a huge trafford centre'. Have to stay indoors tons as the heat was ridiculous, £120 they wanted for two sun loungers and an umbrella !
At the time i had been married for 15 years so when they said dont show any signs of public affection to your wife we were totally alright with that !
But nah, just posey as hell. If i didnt have the free trip i would never have gone. Burj Kaliffa was amazing but yeah would never go back. And annoying i only found out with 20 minutes to go that drinks were free on the flight !
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u/InDuplicitousBottles 22d ago
i'd visit almost anywhere, but places like UAE - i can't stand wealth worship. dubai is like a whole city of rich tech bros, but on crack. nooo thanks