Before visiting last month, my friends painted a picture of a city hot, filled with malls and expensive stores, restaurants, lots of expats, and a bit soulless. “It’s artificial and fake like Vegas and doesn’t demand more than a day or two,” they told me. But when people tell me to zig, I always love to zag, so I decided to spend five days there, determined to find something redeeming about the city. (I picked an excellent time to visit too: an English friend had just moved to the city, so I had a place to stay and a tour guide!) Dubai: The Las Vegas of the Middle East? It’s…

Before visiting last month, my friends painted a picture of a city hot, filled with malls and expensive stores, restaurants, lots of expats, and a bit soulless. “It’s artificial and fake like Vegas and doesn’t demand more than a day or two,” they told me. But when people tell me to zig, I always love to zag, so I decided to spend five days there, determined to find something redeeming about the city. (I picked an excellent time to visit too: an English friend had just moved to the city, so I had a place to stay and a tour guide!) Dubai: The Las Vegas of the Middle East? It’s…

Before visiting last month, my friends painted a picture of a city hot, filled with malls and expensive stores, restaurants, lots of expats, and a bit soulless. “It’s artificial and fake like Vegas and doesn’t demand more than a day or two,” they told me. But when people tell me to zig, I always love to zag, so I decided to spend five days there, determined to find something redeeming about the city. (I picked an excellent time to visit too: an English friend had just moved to the city, so I had a place to stay and a tour guide!) Dubai: The Las Vegas of the Middle East? It’s…