Dubai Metro

Fast facts:

• “In full operation, Dubai Metro is projected to carry approximately 1.2 million passengers on an average day, and 355 million passengers per year”
• “Trains will be WiFi enabled”
• “The 32.5 mile Red Line [which will open in September] will have 29 stations, four of which will be underground”
• “Rolling stock is being supplied by Kinki Sharyo under a $456.2m contract for 385 cars”
• “All stations will have platform doors to increase safety and allow a more comfortable, climate controlled environment”
• “The driverless, fully automated trains are fully air-conditioned”
• “The trains will offer standard ‘Silver’ class, a women and children only section plus a first class ‘Gold’ section for VIPs”
• The “Gold” car will be located at front of each train and will be just for men (specifically, non-poor men). The “Silver” cars for the ladies and the rugrats and the downtrodden will follow behind.
• Gold cars will feature wide leather seats, an explansive view through the train’s front window, and an “exclusive lighting design.”

This is a group of manmade islands shaped like the world. And I think to myself, ‘Self, is this real or a Photoshop creation?’ So I do some investigating. Turns out it’s real, and snuggled just off the coast of Dubai. And it’s spectacular.

This leads me to further investigation, as the only thing I really know about Dubai is that it’s in the UAE, is home to the world’s largest indoor snow park (in the desert. Who thunk that one up?), and there was some hullabaloo about ports a few months ago. Not a lot of info. So I dig around a little bit, and what do I find?

Living in Dubai is not wonderful and glamorous, as many would have you believe. Forget about what you’ve read, seen, and heard; those shiny buildings and manmade islands are all just smoke and mirrors. There are so many things wrong with this place that I have decided to compile a list, a must read if you are considering a potential move to Dubai.