Espresso Boarding: Dubai, UAE
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Dubai, UAE:
Gold, Sand, and Scandals
Dubai is both exotic and extremely safe, making it a perfect destination vacation. Let’s soak up that Bedouin hospitality.
- Cris
WHAT TO SEE
Palm Trees In The Sand
Palm Jumeirah
To set the mood for today’s exploration, cue up the David Lee Roth song “California Girls” and sing about “palm trees in the sand.” Now you’re ready to party in Dubai. Our first experience is the Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest artificial (man made) collection of islands in the worlds. What do you do with 7 million tons of rock and 120 million cubic meters of sand from the bottom of the Persian Gulf? You shape them into 35 miles of land that form a perfect palm tree configuration (of course).
Why didn’t they use desert sand, considering the area surrounding Dubai is, well, very sandy. “Desert sand liquifies once in the water,” Ali Mansour, who worked on the project, explained to CNN Travel. Considering the plans to house thousands of residents and several hotels on the islands, non-liquefying sand was the more preferable of the two. Good point!
Were you hoping to pick up a little 5-bedroom house on one of the palm fronds? At the time of this visit, Espace Real Estate has this cozy little 4-bedroom villa available for the bargain price of just over $19 million US dollars. It’s a bargain! The good news is that most of the villas and condos on these islands are often empty because they are the 4th, 5th, or 12th home owned by the wealthy. It’s nice and quiet:-)
Traffic, however, is not typically light in Dubai. Traffic is actually quite congested because the “little people” drive cars, clogging up the roads. What do the wealthy do? Some of them use helicopters to travel between the tall apartment buildings in Dubai. You can look out your window and see people helicopter from one building to the next to meet with friends, have a coffee, or attend a private gathering. It’s literally my dream to fly over traffic in a helicopter. They live this life.
Uh oh, did your spouse take the helicopter out to get coffee? If’s ok. You can “slum it” and use an air taxi service. It will have the gaudy corporate branding that screams “this passenger does not own this helicopter” but at least you won’t be late for your appointment.
THE SPIRE AND THE SECRETS: INSIDE THE BURJ KHALIFA
It’s the needle that touches the sky - the Burj Khalifa, standing at a vertigo-inducing 828 meters (2,717 feet), is the tallest building on Earth. But while millions flock here to take selfies on the 148th floor, few know the strange truths and whispered rumors swirling around its shimmering glass panels.
Sure, it’s iconic. The Burj has redefined what’s possible with architecture. Designed by Adrian Smith of SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill), the same firm behind One World Trade Center, the tower is more than just a pretty face. It was engineered to "sway with the wind," with a triple-lobed footprint inspired by the Spider Lily flower and aerodynamic shaping to prevent vortex shedding (basically, nature's way of trying to rip a building apart).
Inside? It's its own universe. Armani designed an entire hotel in the lower floors. The residences above are owned by celebrities, billionaires, and the occasional ultra-discreet royal. It’s said the top floors are never fully occupied—not because of price, but because of privacy, politics, or perhaps… paranoia.
Now for the good stuff:
Let’s talk about what you won’t find in the brochures.
source: Be The Ignite
1. The Mysterious Spire
That jaw-dropping height? Around 29% of it is a spire—an architectural loophole, some argue, designed to steal the title of "tallest." What’s stranger? The spire reportedly contains no usable space. Conspiracy forums (and at least one former contractor) claim the spire houses advanced surveillance equipment—not just for local authorities, but for international eyes. Theories range from facial recognition arrays to experimental weather tech. Wild? Sure. But remember: this is Dubai, where sci-fi becomes city planning.
Tom Cruise sat on top of the Burj Khalifa during the shooting of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in 2010. Where are his shoes?
2. The Secret Billionaire Panic Room
Whispers persist of an ultra-secure panic room on a classified floor equipped with biometric locks, oxygen supply, and enough security to survive a cyberattack or even a drone strike. It’s supposedly used by high-profile guests during moments of geopolitical tension. While there’s no official floor number tied to it, several elevators have strange restrictions—buttons that don’t light up, access cards that don’t belong to any known resident, and motion-detected access logs that... mysteriously disappear.
3. The Ghost Floors
Locals love to gossip about "phantom floors"—levels in the building that don’t appear on official floor lists. Elevator technicians say there are entire service floors between levels 139 and 154, hidden for “engineering purposes,” but some ex-security staff say those floors are accessed more often than they should be... by people who don’t live there.
The juiciest claim? That one of the ghost floors is a vault of luxury confiscated items—hypercars, watches, and even artwork—from powerful individuals who fell out of favor. Think Fort Knox, but shinier. I guess you need to store these items somewhere, right?
4. The Biggest Scandal in Dubai
The biggest scandal in Dubai is sitting right out in the open, selling tickets to explore it, sleep in it, and dine in it. The Burj Khalifa is a Roman Catholic symbol - a Cross! Let me explain. Most photos of the Burj Khalifa are taken from the front.
The angle of viewing is important because anyone living in Dubai, or visiting Dubai, views the Burj Khalfa from the back. Notice something interesting when viewed as a person living in Dubai? Is that a cross? The government of Dubai vehemently denies the rumors that the architect, British Christian Tom Wright, had a dream of introducing a symbol of Christianity into a Muslim country. The fact that Tom Wright openly tells the story (after getting paid) makes it hard to quash this as a rumor.
Compounding matters for the government is that the Burj became such a symbol of national pride that license plates were created in honor of the monument. In the year 2001, Dubai introduced the 4th series number plate. It has the Burj al Arab symbol, due to conspiracy theories and controversies surrounding Burj Al Arab’s resemblance to the Christian cross, the Burj Al Arab symbol was removed without any explanation in the year 2004.
After that apparently any cars registered in Dubai, that have one of the older license plates which have an image of the Burj Al Arab on them, aren’t allowed to drive into Saudi Arabia.
Coming Soon
Coming soon
Gold Souk in Deira
First Impressions: Like Stepping Into a Treasure Chest
In a dream state, you walk through the slightly chaotic, fragrant, spice-filled maze of Old Dubai, and suddenly - bam! You’re hit with a warm glow. No, it’s not the desert sun - it’s the literal walls of gold. Everywhere. Necklaces the size of dinner plates hang like window curtains. Rings sparkle so bright they could guide ships home. You half expect a genie to pop out of a 24-karat teapot. Pause for a minute to take it all in because there are few places on the planet where so much gold just sits there for all to see.
The Gold Souk is located in Deira, the more historic part of the city. It’s a covered market (bless, because Dubai heat is no joke), with dozens—maybe hundreds—of jewelry shops packed side by side like a golden game of Tetris. Whether you're into delicate minimalist chains or full-on “Queen of the Nile” regalia, you’ll find your flavor here.
Spice up any black dress with an overlay of a gold
What to Buy (Besides That One Ring to Rule Them All)
Let’s get down to business - shopping. You’ll find gold in all its forms: 18k, 21k, 22k, and the holy grail - 24k. The higher the karat, the more pure (and soft) the gold. So, if you’re planning to wear that bracelet during your weekly boxing class - maybe stick to 18k.
What else?
Gold chains – Classic, chunky, thin, twisted—get creative.
Statement necklaces – Perfect for weddings, or, you know, brunch.
Custom name necklaces – In Arabic calligraphy? Chef’s kiss.
Gold coins and bars – For your pirate cosplay or real-life investing.
Diamonds and gemstones – If you’re feeling extra extra.
Also, don’t sleep on white gold and rose gold - plenty of shops have modern, envy-generating pieces too.
How to Haggle Like a Pro (Without Looking Like a Tourist on Day One)
Here’s the thing: haggling is expected. If you walk into a shop and accept the first price they offer, the jewelry might actually shed a tear. Here’s how to play the game:
Know the daily gold rate: This is public info and changes daily. It’s usually displayed in shops or you can Google it faster than you can say “shiny.”
Understand what you’re paying for: The price = gold weight x market rate + making charges (that’s the labor/craftsmanship fee). You can negotiate that second part.
Start low, stay polite: Offer around 60-70% of the initial price. They’ll laugh. You’ll laugh. It’s all part of the dance.
Don’t show too much love too fast: If your eyes widen like a cartoon character, they know you’re hooked. Keep it cool. Channel your inner art critic: “Hmm, interesting piece…”
Be ready to walk away: This is the ultimate move. Say thanks and start to leave—if they’re keen, they’ll call you back with a better price. If they don’t… well, there are 99 more shops waiting.
Go The Road Less Travelled
After 2 hours in the Dubai heat, I was cooked. At some point, I lost all interest in gold (it was everywhere!) and began to crave water, ice cream, and air conditioning. Using the GPS, I began to walk two blocks to a place that promised all three glorious things. And there - I made the biggest discovery of all.
It’s reasonable to negotiate 30-40% discounts on prices at the Gold Souk. This is one of the top bucket list places in the world, so their only competition are the 300 other gold vendors around them. But! If you walks two blocks, you can shop for more variety in air conditioning. This is where the real bargains are located. I walked into a shop, the guy behind the counter took one look at my red face that was drenched in sweat and turned on the air conditioning and brought me a glass of ice water without asking. I knew this was the place where I would buy things.
Their inventory had plenty of gold but also hand made pearl necklaces, delicate pieces, and more modern styles. I asked how much that piece was. Ok, please set it aside. He looked confused (because I didn’t negotiate) and assumed it was only a passing thought. The next piece, same ritual. Now I had his attention. The next piece, he paused and diplomatically said “it’s normally <whatever> but I can offer it at a 20% discount. The water finally entered my brain and I realized I was doing this all wrong. I shrugged, clearly not caring very much, and said “ok, add it to the pile.”
Game On
Now that I was refreshed, I was able to take the business of shopping more seriously. “Please remind me, how much was each piece?” The prices quoted were slightly lower but I pretended not to notice. “How much if I buy all of them?” Cue the wide eyes from the shopkeeper, who realized I was a serious shopper after all. In the end, I walked out with several pieces at 70% off, two pieces for free, and a persistent request for marriage which took a few months to fade away:-) The key to the entire negotiation was that I really didn’t care if I bought the pieces or not and he knew it. Every time I shrugged or tilted my head to the side in clear “meh”, the price dropped. These are some of my favorite pieces of jewelry and will definitely shop around the outside of the gold souk on my next visit.
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