Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, sits 87 miles southwest of Dubai. Today we would be guided by another Tours by Locals guide, Ute, who has lived in the UAE for 25 years but holds a German passport. On our drive, Ute shared much about how Dubai has changed since her arrival here. We passed a massive desalination plant and she told us all water consumed in Dubai is from that plant. We passed the massive “workers hostels” which is housing for unskilled laborers from mostly India and Bangladesh. Largely construction workers, they have no expenses as they are given housing, all meals, transportation, and a ticket home every two years to visit family. They are paid the equivalent of $250/month. They work 12-hour shifts, 6 days a week. Doesn’t seem very fair but we were told $250 is a lot of money where they come from and many are supporting families back home.

The UAE has been busy over the last dozen years, creating and building many habitable islands. In fact, they have expanded their coastline by 250 miles, with the addition of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and now a new island, Saadiyat Island, that hosts a Louvre Museum, a still-under-construction Guggenheim Museum, the Abrahamic Family worship center spotlighting Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and several others. We visited the Emirates Cultural Village and saw photos of how people were living as recently as the 1960s; we’re talking simple straw huts. Talk about culture shock in just one generation! We also visited a yummy date market.

Next, we headed for our lunch spot; the beautiful Emirates Palace Hotel, where all visiting heads-of-state stay when visiting the presidential palace. The hotel and the presidential palace are right next to each other…very convenient, and a little bit intimidating, as the palace is ginormous. This has to be one of the most impressive head-of-state residence…yet, no one lives here. It’s just used for official state visits and to hold special meetings. Finished in 2017, it took 7 years to build Qasr Al Watan at a cost of a mere $490M. Maybe because the labor was so cheap?

We’re not going to lie; the interior was stunning. From the simple yet so attractive wall designs, to the unique stained glass, to the Swarovski chandeliers, each space was as jaw dropping as the next. This is refined opulence at its best.