Post: #76

Tokyo and Dubai are two places everyone should visit at least once in their life.

Post: #77

I've just finished 4 days in Dubai. Spent two days at the Grovesnor, which is a true five star property directly fronting Dubai Marina. Its filled with high class travelers from around the world. Houses Buddha Bar (currently under construction), Siddhartha, Embassy and Toro Toro.

I then spent a few nights at the Westin Mina Seyahi. Not my cup of tea, its a beach resort, with all that entails, good and bad. Nice enough pool, pleasant beach, but overrun by British and other families on holiday with a ton of rugrats. If you're traveling with family, ok, fair enough, but for a what I consider to be four rather than five star property, its also very expensive (about 40 percent more per night vs. the Grovesnor). I think there are other choices for families that want to stay on a beach and swim in the pool and eat a buffet (like not in Dubai, for example) in Dubai that would be a better value. The Westin does have a wine bar but its chief nightlife attraction is its proximity to Barasti Beach Club.

Toro Toro is an expensive but cool tapas place - mostly expat crowd, definitely some eye candy. Bar scene looked OK, pricey drinks for sure (this is Dubai and this place is in a first-class property). Getting a table isn't super easy, so if you need on on Thursday or Friday night (Saturday is for all purposes like a Sunday elsewhere in Dubai), call and reserve.

Siddartha is a sleek outdoor lounge with nice beach/city views. Good place to post up and pre-party, but not much for pick-up I'd think. VIP section was accessible when I told them I was a guest of the hotel.

Embassy is on the top floor of tower two (Grovesnor is split in two towers) and is basically a square club missing the middle (thats where the elevators are). As a result, its not overwhelmingly conducive for scoping things out. It does have some comfy looking sofas and could be a good change of venue isolation place. Dance floor was less than filled with bad dancing Euro-pats and the IRTS who stalk them when I was there, can't say if it might have been an off night but not much talent.

Buddha Bar is going through a remodel and I understand will reopen Nov 2015.

Barasti Beach Club, next to the Meridien and Westin properties, is a complete of bars from a tented and air-conditioned Octoberfest looking space with a small bar in the center, and which was packed to the gils on Friday night, which connects to a sports pub, and then a few outdoor bars fronting the beach on the lower level. Flipflop wearing, rugby shirts, and white girls with less than sterling manners tend to abound, but if you stay at or around the Westin/Media city, you'll probably end up there at some point. My perception of Friday night was that many of the people there had been drinking since afternoon (I arrived after 10 PM) and it was appropriately, a shit show.

Decent beer on tap, and if you're keen to hit on British women on holiday, this is your spot. Some other expats mixed in as well. Cab out of there was a nightmare line, best off walking back to the main strip and hailing one or popping on Uber.

I hit Trader Vics as well, in Souk Madinat, and it was a true sausage fest filled with arab and indian guys jammed up by the bar. Hard to even walk through. Again, its one night, but based on that, I'd probably pass next time.

Overall I'd recommend Dubai (other than for business) at most as a two day stopover trip on the way to Europe or Asia. Expect to spend money on a good hotel, and on drinks (I paid up to 14 dollars for a beer while there).

Post: #78

Just wanted to pass on a bit of intel about Dubai for those on more of a budget and also want to try their hand at shoring. Staying in the likes of the Grosvenor, Marriott, or Le Meridien is just too expensive for me. Still, Dubai is a fabulous city that everyone should visit once. Here is another way to take in the city other than see another fcuking mall...

Nearby the Al-Fahidi metro station, there are two hotels: York International and the Regal Plaza. There are bars in each of these hotels that are packed with P4P girls. I went to the one in the York only, but stayed the night in the Regal Plaza. It must have been 5-to-1 ratio of women to men, and the bar room was huge and packed with people, around 100 x 30 meters. All different flavors of women are there: Chinese, Ethiopian, Lebanese, Russian, Kyrgyz, Thai, Filipino, truly a smorgasbord. I didn't have any luck shoring at this bar in the York, but felt up several girls for just buying a couple drinks before calling it a night.

Because of the outstanding ratios of women to men, shoring could work out for those cats more skillful and patient than me. I got the feeling it would not be worth the time required to shore; the girls seemed rather hardcore.

These haunts are well known to the guys working in combat zones that drop in for a few nights then take their onward flights home. These are some thirsty dudes with fat wallets too.

Anyone else have recent experiences here?

Post: #79

I just read a short article titled "7 Surprising Things You Can Get for Free at Tourism Offices" and some interesting items are listed for Dubai:

"Transportation

You can get one free ride with Uber in Dubai using code DTCMtourist through Dubai Tourism. Free trip to the airport anyone?"


"Discounts

While not free, almost every tourism board offers discounts at hotels, restaurants, attractions, and transportation that are worth checking out before your trip. Many tourism websites have a separate "Deals" section, and update these offers frequently.

Some of the best offers we've seen are two-for-one deals from Dubai Tourism"


http://www.businessinsider.com/free-thin...m=referral