November 2014

Rich, shiny, clean, futuristic.

These are the words one thinks of when looking at photos of the United Arab Emirates. It's all true. Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the UAE, are technologically advanced cities. Public transport is quite good, seemingly everything is digital, and many of the best and the brightest end up moving here.

Dubai especially is a place every traveller should visit. Less exciting, but certainly quieter, is Abu Dhabi. I spent a month in the UAE, mostly in Dubai, during a break on my Global Cycling Tour. I ended up Couchsurfing, sleeping on the balcony in a $3,000 USD/month high-rise luxury suite. For free. Not too bad.