One of my friends wants me to come with him to visit Saudi Arabia & Dubai this june. Are they worth visiting?
>>2648197>June It will be too hot
do you like plastic extravagance and overindulgence?
>>2648197It's always worth it when you are visiting a country where you already know someone. June will be hot but they've known how to handle hot weather for thousands of years, so you will be fine. Just don't disrespect any Muslim stuff. Arabs are very generous too.
>>2648197If you have money to spend on luxury items, yes it's worth it.Perhaps is the best luxury consumer experience you can have (on par with some asian countries) because there's no security issue (unlike in Paris, London, NYC). If you don't have cash to spend, no.
>>2648198muthafucka it's always hot there
>>2648249For people living in cold countries it is always got. Nov-Feb is still pleasant. June is peak summers, and the
>>2648197Skip Dubai and go to Oman instead
Does anyone have experience pretending to be Muslim or sham converting to get into Mecca and Medina? How did that go? Is it worth it?
>>2648307I don't, but you can go to Medina now without being a Muslim, I think they dropped the restriction last year, you just can't go in the Prophet's Mosque
>>2648240My friend doesn't live there, he's going and he wants me to come with
>>2648363Tell him to reconsider Dubai and consider going to Oman instead, it's a much more authentic place than Dubai or the UAE in general honestly
>>2648363Are you rich or poor? It will make a huge difference.
>>2648381We both work middle class jobs with no expenses (live at home w/ parents)But we are absolutely banking on staying in cheap-ass hotels and getting the cheapest flight
>>2648197Dubai plasticky and soulless but it's actually worth a short visit in a disaster tourism kind of way. Rest of UAE has some stuff that's not as gauche but overall you can miss it. Saudi has little to recommend for non muslims although they're trying to build resorts etc to change that >>2648307people do it. if you have the will you can be an enthusiastic and naive recent convert and you'll be left alone as long as you play along with what everyone else is doing. I don't know why you'd want to participate in a long ritual without being a believer but there you go. don't do anything openly disrespectful or admit to being an unbeliever if you go through with it
>>2648392Is there anything at all in Saudi for non-Muslims?
>>2648393It's really not a tourist destination for one, especially for infidels.
>>2648393The area around Abha was kinda cool before the whole Houthi thing started. Red Sea and Persian gulf are excellent for water activities (if you’re male). Plus someone will give you a job (if you’re western). But really. Go elsewhere. They are seething at all the tourism bux Dubai gets and they’re planning on beating them. I can’t imagine what petrodollar fuelled triple distilled barrel aged globohomo would look like but we’ll know before long
>>2648383Dude Saudi Arabia isn't for the poor backpacker are you trying to die
>>2648197Yeah, June is a rough time to be in that part of the world. Ask if you can come in the autumn.>>2648232If not, don't visit the extravagant overindulgence bits.
>>2648520
>>2648522
>>2648523
>>2648362>but you can go to Medina now without being a Muslim, I think they dropped the restriction last yearConfirmed, flew in there to visit the country briefly last year.Pic is Al Qarah mountain, Al Ahsa, Saudi.
It depends on if they're a Emirati or Saudi. If yes, they're by default based and wealthy. If no, they're a foreign worker and depending on where they're from either worthless scum (e.g. India, SEA, etc.) or of some moderate value (1st world countries) hired as an entertainment monkey for the pleasure of the locals who do not wagecuck and only have a civic duty to serve in government.
>>2648365>Oman insteadOman is absolutely incredible. It's like Disneyland Arabia - the Arabia from fairytales you thought could not be true.I bought a tent and rented a land cruiser there for $40 and wild camped all over for 3 weeks. Incredible
>>2648482We're not going to camp, just stay in cheap hotels and rent a car
>>2648736Long as you drive everywhere like the locals do, the heat won't be an issue. August is the worst month on the coast for heat & humidity, but even June is hotter than Southeast Asia. Let's see what passes for a cheap hotel in a city like Jeddah...$41 including taxes & fees for a 50 sq m suite with two beds near the airport. $34 for a private apartment with two beds in Dammam. Not too bad. Don't expect to be walking around much. Dawn hikes should be doable, temps are typically 80-90 F at that time in June.>>2648307Anon had a thread going on this topic a while back. He never got back to us.
Scuba diving in Saudi was by far something completely out of this world. Highly recommend, I basically went dune buggying on the red sea shore with my gear alone.Rich Saudis are honestly gross nasty people you being Muslim or not making no differenceI have honestly considered converting as fully pious Muslim since a family I knew when I worked there offered to arrange a marriage with a women I knew who was semi-westernized and Mia Kalifa harem levels of hot. The issue isn't religion for me but the crazy dowry culture they have.
>>2648767Tell us more about your time there? How did the situation occur where they ask you to marry their daughter? I think I remember you writing about your time there last year and how absolutely miserable you were. This is what I fully expect of working there.>t. Longterm expat
Is Bahrain or Qatar any better?
>>2648870They're boring, not worth visiting unless you're there for a while and want to tick a few countries off, same goes for Kuwait.
>>2648575intriguing. can you say more about what made oman so good?it sounds gay but I was obsessed with the arabian nights stories as a kid so I have always wanted to get as close to that experience as possible
>>2648956I'm not him, but it's true, if you look at the rest of the GCC countries they're mostly soulless tacky places, more similar to economic zones than actual nations. Oman has kept a lot of the traditional architecture and the country is largely unspoilt land, it's also not overly catered towards tourists in the way Dubai is and you get the feeling they've managed to preserve their culture, unlike their neighbours where it feels like they've sold themselves out.
>>2648956Oman is what you get when you mix the safety, security, and wealth of the UAE & Saudi with the tradition, lax & culture of Iraq/Syria/Iran.Skyscrapers are illegal in Oman.
>>2649474What this guy says, I maintain that Iraq and Syria are the most interesting places in the Middle East, but if you don't want to go there then go to Oman, it's an amazing place
>>2649482>I maintain that Iraq and Syria are the most interesting places in the Middle EastCurious how Iran doesn't make that list?
>>2649487I'm curious why I didn't include it either, don't know how I missed Iran off of all places
>>2649505it must have... ran off your mindbadumpushhhhh
>>2649507You should consider a career in comedy
Seems like a less fun version of Vegas where you can be imprisioned and tortured for having too much fun. Why would anyone from the western world want to visit this region
>>2652921Maybe if you're a mouth breathing moron who can't have fun without drugs, booze, and sex.
>>2652921>for having too much funIf you want to snort cocaine and fuck prostitutes you can stay in the US.
