Impressions from a trip to the UAE
I was in the UAE, in Ajman, in December 2019. Before that, I was in the UAE 10 years ago. Then there was a complete delight, now - a disappointment. The hotels are wonderful, the Persian Gulf too. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah - the centers are just as beautiful. Many new skyscrapers, buildings, malls have appeared. There were no cons at all. Excursions are full, interesting. For a very long time I was going to get one more time in the UAE. Got it. Now - the impressions have changed diametrically. For the worse. Everyone makes money on tourism in the UAE: the country itself, tour operators, travel agents, air carriers. There were huge downsides. In the UAE, tourism is ranked 1st in terms of income for the Emirates (so the tour guides say).
Mnus next:
Huge traffic jams (many hired workers from Pakistan, India and other countries, many do not live in dormitories, but in cheap rented housing, which has been built up on free areas). Ajman is dirty, Sharjah is half dirty, Abu Dhabi is a little better, but tourism is less developed there. I cannot understand why such a rich country does not build roads on overpasses for tourist and sightseeing use.
Due to traffic jams, excursions start at 13.00 or 13.30, before they left at 10-11 am. The tour program has been shortened. I saw on the same excursions 2-3 times less than on the first trip. From Sharjah to Dubai then it took 20 minutes, now 1.5-2 hours. If it rains (December, January), the country stands still, storm drains do not work or they do not exist.
Hotel guides, selling excursions, lie (we had Anex), they only voice the program of excursions. Shopping in the UAE is good. The Persian Gulf is beautiful, but no better than the Adriatic, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, etc.
On the way back, on the way to the airport, I started talking to a woman. She was there with her son's family. We went on the program Favorite. They were in a 3 * hotel, far from the sea, with breakfast. The package cost $300. We didn’t see the country, we once visited the Dubai Mall ourselves, listened to the singing fountains, saw an aquarium inside (the glass of which had clouded over 10 years), looked at the Burj Khalifa from the ground and were very pleased with the rest.
You can have a good rest in the UAE. But only in hotels in Dubai, on the 1st line by the sea, because of traffic jams. Now it's expensive. It is possible that the situation with roads will improve, and roads will be built on flyovers.