Dubai is probably one of the most interesting places in the world to people watch. Of course there is a plethora of expats dressed in their very best at the entrance at any of the hottest clubs (which I have frequented many a time). While trying to figure out who is a prostitute at a club is engaging, people watching Arabs and Emirati’s to be even more intriguing. Interactions with Emiratis (the locals of the UAE with make up around 5% of the population) are quite limited, unless you happen to work with them or have a random chance meeting with them.
And the women, whenever you see a flash of their shoes or clothing underneath the burqa, it is always something fascinating. The eye makeup they wear is captivating, even I get lost in their gaze. The Lebanese woman at MAC in Beirut even gave me some tips on how to create the intense “Arab eyes” look. In the malls, I have seen the tightest burqa’s, maybe they were spandex..making me wonder what the point of wearing it was in the first place.
Castello’s, known to be the best hookah lounge in Dubai is my favorite place to people watch. I watch the Emirati men and women smoke sheesha and play on their gadgets. Here I noticed the “man-scaping” that is a distinct feature of the Arab men. Never have I seen such fine layering of beards, mustaches, and gotis. They give the 5 o’clock shadow a whole new meaning.
As we sit at Castello’s, I feel a nice buzz and a general numbness from the sheesha and in a trance from the sounds of the live Arab musician. Perhaps numbing my feelings on being in this country, and the reality of my experiences here relative to my expectations. Somehow the conversation takes an unpromising turn to recent nightmares of getting arrested in Dubai for seemingly trivial actions, camel racing and stoning (look it up should you be curious).
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