Counting Dirhams in Dubai

It’s the end of the first day of my travels, and I am sat in Dubai International Airport awaiting my connection on to Bangkok...at midnight/3 in the morning/I don’t know. Airports and departure lounges have a certain artificiality to them that makes it very difficult to work out what time of day it is. This is probably deliberate so they can sell you overpriced breakfasts at 1am (like someone just tried to do to me).

Apart from how lovely and clean Dubai Airport is, what is most striking is how expensive everything is here. Now, I’ve been to my fair share of airports in the world, and thought that my experience last year at Oslo Gardemoen would be very difficult to beat. I mean, where else could you find apples that cost £3.50, and not be able to buy bottled water for under £3??? But I put up with those prices, as Norway does have a higher standard of living than the UK, and more taxes, so I could see how they got to those prices. Also, they had a Yo! Sushi so I was paying no matter what the price!

However, Dubai would give even Oslo a challenge in the ‘overpriced nasty food’ category. Let’s go for a brand that is recognisable in the UK; Giraffe. There was no main course on the menu under about 80AED, which is around £14.50. Then I had a wander past some ‘Picnic’ snack food stall, and looked at the sandwiches: some nasty egg and cress sandwich was being proclaimed as only 25AED (£4.54). I’d just come from Birmingham where they had sandwich meal deals for £3.79!

What annoyed me most was the cost of drinks: having swiftly decided that food was too expensive a proposition for this budgeting-and-already-over-budget-for-the-day traveller, I decided to get a cup of tea and demolish the Milk Chocolate Hobnobs I’d tucked in my bag (because once they got to Bangkok, they’d melt and be ruined, so they ‘needed’ to be eaten). The cheapest option was Costa, which was convenient as I’d also bought tea from Costa in Birmingham, enabling a more accurate comparison.

Dubai tea = £2.72 (15AED)

Birmingham tea = £1.75

Over 50% more expensive than the UK!! Why??? UEA has far lower taxes than we do, and whilst it is a relatively wealthy country, the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the native Emirati, whilst the immigrant population (a large minority if not majority) earn far, far less a day than British workers. So where is the justification for depriving a budgeting, travelling, English man of his tea eh???

On a lighter note, I rather enjoyed being asked by the barista in Costa whether I wear lenses.Took me a minute to realise that he ment coloured contact lenses, and another to realise that when he said my eyes were nice, it was a genuine compliment and not a preclude to selling me a T-Shirt or some such. I had forgotten the guilty pleasure of travelling in the parts of the world where the Western standards of beauty are held as desirable, and where I get more compliments and attention as a result. I’m not saying I at all condone these after-effects of nineteenth century imperialism, and twentieth century neo-colonialism, but I as an individual am not responsible for this, nor can I do anything, so I have decided to enjoy the attention when at home I am distinctive average and usually only get compliments from 40 year old desperate men, or my mother (both of which, for very different reasons, do not count!)

Only an hour left before my flight, I had better brave a quick shower before my gate is called.

DSP

The exorbitant Costa - I don't even like Costa!

PS: Shower was great, having to put a soggy towel back into my bag for a six hour flight, less good…

PPS: Having to hang up said smelly and soggy towel is even less good...