This exotic place is one of those cities that just never fails to impress its location. The riches, the traditions, and Dubai’s vibrant culture are just a few reasons why so many people are drawn to this dynamic city. It’s to be seen to be believed and from a Lambo driving police force to a coffee house that looks like an Arabian palace.
It’s a multimillion dollar industry owners can spend a fortune for the fastest breeds, robots who ride camels to playing tennis in the sky. It’s all here, and it’s unlike anything else in the world. Prepare to be amazed. 15 Unusual Things You’ll Only Experience In Dubai.
15 Police Lamborghini
Dubai has long been a haven for motoring enthusiasts looking to show off the world’s most expensive cars. Even a local police force is aiming themselves with Lamborghinis to stay ahead of the pack and that’s not all Bugattis and Ferraris too but the latest addition to the force’s fleet is a head turning Lamborghini Aventador, finished in green and white, the colors of the Dubai police force.
In a written statement, the force said the car, which bears a customized license plate, would be a step towards confirming the stature of Dubai as a city of luxury in all its facilities. They weren’t kidding.
According to recent figures, 15% of traffic lines issued in Dubai are for driving at speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour. The car reported to be worth around $500,000, has a maximum speed of 217 miles per hour and can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds In Dubai.
The police force has just been presented with a certificate by Guinness World Records for having the world’s fastest police car and service. A super fast fleet of luxury super cars may sound outlandish, but it fits in perfectly with Dubai and police are not the first force to use Lamborghinis on the roads.
The luxury sports vehicles are also used by forces in Italy and Qatar. You want to know a little secret? You’ll have superpowers for the rest of your life.
14 Seven Star Hotel
Seven star hotel officially, the Burj al Arab is classified as a five star hotel, which is the highest ranking of the official classifications. The distinction of a seven star hotel nickname derives from the fact that critics have repeatedly described that five stars are few. For such a luxurious hotel, the Burj al Arab provides you with two types of transportation. If you choose a ride, you’ll be met at the airport with a white Rolls Royce, complete with a personal chauffeur. Otherwise, you can opt for the private helicopter that will deliver you to the special helipad located on the hotel’s roof.
The floor and walls of the hotel are made of special marble, the same type of marble that Michelangelo used to create his statue of David. Everything inside is either made of 24 carat gold or encrusted with its burj Al Arab has a total of 202 duplex suite rooms, each with two floors and some providing a panoramic view of the island and the sea.
The smallest suite in the size of a four bedroom house, while the huge royal suite covers the entire floor and is serviced by its own elevators. Some suites even offer you private cinemas, two bars and huge libraries. After you’re done with your check in, it’ll provide you with an exclusive butler. There’s also a pet butler that will take care of your furry friend as well.
13 RoboCop
When the United Arab Emirates government launched a new security strategy, the first of its type in the region, the goal was to promote government productivity and innovation. So the Dubai police approved its own artificial intelligence, aiming to develop AI techniques and tools designed to make Dubai the world’s most secure major city served by innovative smart services.
So authorities have revealed their first robot officer, giving it the task of patrolling the city’s malls and tourist attractions. People will be able to use it to report crimes, pay fines, and get information by tapping a touchscreen on its chest. Data collected by the robot will also be shared with the transport and traffic authorities. The government said the aim was for 25% of the force to be robotic by 2030, but they would not replace humans. Most people visit police stations or customer service, but with this tool, they can reach the public 24 hours, seven days a week. It can protect people from crime because it can broadcast what’s happening right away to the command and control center. At present, it can communicate only in Arabic and English, but there are plans to add Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish to its repertoire.
12 Palm Island
The Palm Islands are a major tourist destination within Dubai. The most famous Palm Jumeirah is the site of numerous private residences and hotels. From the air, the archipelago resembles a stylized palm tree within a circle. The 1380 acre island is so massive that developers used satellite guided technology to help build the fran shaped island. More than 7 million tons of rocks were mined from the northern Hajjar Mountains. All the rock and sand used to build the island could form a two meter high wall that would circle the globe three times. These rocks make up the crescent shaped fivemile breakwater that protects the island. For the first 20 years of the Palm’s existence, the only way for visitors to see the entire colossal structure was from a helicopter tour or to jump out of a plane. Now the unique island is home to some of Dubai’s top luxury resorts. There are fantastic fine dining options, lounges and other attractions. And people live there, too.
11 Robot Camel Jockeys
Camels were once a prized possession of Arabs. Citizens took pride in the number of camels they owned. Camels were expensive and served as a source of wool, food, transportation and entertainment. So it was only a matter of time before camel racing became a thing. In the old days, camel races took place as part of weddings and other ceremonies but the last century witnessed the technology booms in the Emirates, in the neighboring regions.
Today, the camel race is among the richest races in the world. So why not throw a robotic wrench into the great tradition? Now a robot jockey is commonly used. Developed in 2004, initial problems faced by the design team included the fact that the camels were conditioned to the use of human jockeys. Early designs confused or frightened the camels. The designs were modified to include more human-like features, including a mannequin-like face, sunglasses, hats, racing silks, and even traditional perfumes used by human jockeys.
The robots have built in voice controls, which allow the owners to deliver commands to the camels during the race and, of course, a full on appropriate jockey outfit. The robot also comes with some handy features, like GPS, which helps track the speed and location of the camel, and a heart rate sensor to monitor the health.
10 Superbus
This is the world’s first superbus, crafted with State of the art materials, which seat 23 passengers and had a top speed of 155 miles per hour. It was tested for the first time on ordinary roads around Abu Dhabi airport, its batteries fired up by solar power.
The wealthy owner of the super bus plans to travel on normal roads and at normal speeds in the region while it picks up passengers in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Made of lightweight materials including aluminum, carbon fiber, fiberglass and polycarbonate, it drives just like a car. Thanks to two sets of maneuverable rear wheels which help it around corners.
If the superbus went into service, there will be no set routes or schedules. Commuters would book online or with their mobile phone, and one of a fleet of buses would pick them up and drop them wherever they wanted. Passengers will be able to enjoy comfort equal to that of a luxury limousine or private jet. The super bus has eight goal wing style doors on each side to allow for a swift exit. The high tech bus means he’ll be able to complete the 75 miles commute from Dubai to neighboring Abu Dhabi in under 30 minutes. Electrically powered vehicles like this would not only alleviate traffic congestion, but reduce air pollution.
9 Microchip Manicure Technology
Microchip manicure technology is embedded in our daily lives now, facilitating tasks in the most innovative ways. More and more and so, a beauty salon in Dubai is giving new meaning to the phrase chip nails. They’re offering a tiny microchip for customers’ fingernails. The chips can have information embedded that allows them to be used as a digital business card or to pass on information such as an instagram handle. They use near field communication technology to connect with mobile devices.
They install the information that you want, like your name, your mobile number, and your social accounts, and your website. The only challenge was how to make it small enough to fit in a fingernail. But they did it. The chip is small enough to fit on the nail before being set in place for the protective coating and then hidden by the coat of nail polish. Once done, you can’t even see it. The chip can accommodate only a minimal amount of data for now, but the nail salon has completed more than 500 microchip manicures and hopes that nail microchips will have other uses in the future. From digital restaurant menus for waiters to contact list payments, smart nails could benefit the environment, also due to a reduction in paper waste from business cards.
8 Edible Bride
Weddings are about love togetherness and the joining of two families but they’re also a great opportunity to show off a little. So what about the cake? That better be pretty special too. In Dubai, a celebrity baker recently unveiled a truly over the top cake worth $1 million. It comes in the form of an Airbnb bride, as you can see with diamonds, edible pearls and thousands of iced flowers.
It’s a six foot tall wedding cake weighing a massive £265. The history of wedding cakes begins in Ancient Rome when a wheat or barley cake was broken over the bride’s head to encourage luck and fertility, the newlyweds would eat the crumbs together to unify themselves as a married couple.
Now look at how far the tradition has come. According to reports, the cake and the shape of a bride, complete with a hijab engagement ring, lace and floral detail on the dress was pre baked. It was made using 1000 eggs, £45 of chocolate and £110 of lace textured icing. Not just diamonds, it was also decorated with 10 pearls and 50 hand cut flowers. The cake was also decked with five flawless three carat white diamonds, each valued at $250,000. Along with smaller stones on the headdress, the cake is a life sized masterpiece and was unveiled at a Bridal exhibition.
7 Coin Car Tourists
Coin Car tourists are drawn to Dubai and it was nominated number eight in 2007. On the list of most popular and visited places on earth, you’ll find the finest luxuries and people who are rich enough to afford them. You won’t stand out in the crowd if you’re carrying an expensive mobile phone or a sports car, so it provides with business owners to explore their creativity. So a Dubai based car tuning company came up with the original idea of providing luxury vehicles with a new, unique and shiny look. It’s known as the coin car. It took 3000 hours, 330 coins and over £20 of glue to decorate a commemorative car pride of the Emirates to mark the 40th UAE National day.
That’s almost $6,000 in coins, and it’s probably more than the value of the 1998 model Chevrolet Camaro that’s been completely plastered over with them. Making the UAE map on the roof, the graphics and writing the names of all the Emirates in Arabic and English on the car were a challenge. Every moment of coin embedding was recorded from start to finish. The creator wanted to decorate a car in a unique way, which has never been attempted before, and other types of vehicles have been covered in coins too.
6 Mall Penguins
There is a brand new penguin exhibit in the Dubai Aquarium, and it’s now home to 16 Antarctic gen two penguins. The species is native to Antarctica and visitors to the aquarium will now be able to learn more about the fascinating birds. The penguins have come to Dubai for a facility in America and will now be at home in the purpose built, temperature controlled penguin cove. It simulates their natural habitat with the perfect air and water temperatures they love.
There’s also a special lighting system to mimic their annual lighting cycle in the Southern Hemisphere. The mall where the penguin cove is located. Its ground level is home to the Dubai Aquarium, which houses the world’s largest acrylic panel.
The panel is 108 ft wide, 27ft high and 29.5 inches thick, and weighs £486. The acrylic panel even made it to the Guinness Book of World Records. The aquarium is also the world’s largest indoor aquarium. This is one of 18 known species of penguin in the world. They can grow to 2 ft tall and they can dive to depths of over 650ft plus remain underwater for up to seven minutes. There are more than half a million of these penguins living in the wild, and these penguins should be very happy here.
5 Abandoned Sports Cars
Under specific laws that are observed across the Middle East, nonpayment of debt is a criminal offense. As the UAE has no bankruptcy laws, there’s no protection for those slipping into debt, even accidentally. Recent reports have highlighted high end sports cars gathering dust in Dubai from panicked expats fleeing the country to avoid prison sentences for money owed and today, limited edition Ferrari, Enzo, Porsches and Bentleys are just some of the several thousand luxury supercars left to right every year.
They’re simply discarded and left by their owners to gather dust in the searing desert heat and footage of the cars has sparked rage on social media, with many assuming that it’s the super wealthy so rich. They are numb to the value of things that simply leave their car when they’re done with it. However, one of the primary reasons that so many expensive luxury cars end up abandoned is due to Dubai’s struggle in the face of the effects of the global financial crisis, along with plunging oil prices. So even rich folks are struggling to pay their bills. Most large cities have to tackle problems like unemployment, crime and housing issues. But Dubai’s surplus of abandoned luxury cars has become a whole new type of problem.
4 Tennis In The Sky
To promote tennis in Dubai, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi, two all star tennis wizards, played tennis, but this wasn’t just any game. These two champions were involved in an exhibition tennis match at the Burj al Arab on the Helipad on top of this hotel, one of the greatest buildings in this fantastic city. For one day only, the Helipad, on what may be the most recognizable and luxurious hotel in the world, was covered in grass and made into a tennis court.
Over 1000 ft in the Air veteran revealed that the idea to capture the images from a helicopter was actually his and of course, they had to arrange a top class photographer and videographer for the helicopter shots. This was an absolutely amazing experience, Agassi told the press at the time. So on February 22, 2005, ahead of and to promote the Dubai Duty Free Championships, they played tennis on the Helipad on top of the hotel. However, there was no trophy at stake. No ranking points either. There wasn’t even a score kept. Well, not an official one. But it has to be the ultimate location for a tennis match.
3 Frame skyscraper
The world’s largest frame, their suspended structure serves as a massive metaphorical bridge that connects Dubai’s past with its opulent present. Look north and you’ll see the city’s more historical neighborhoods framed within the great shiny structure.
Look south and you’ll see the modern glitzy buildings and flashy skyscrapers for which the city is so famous. This iconic structure literally frames impressive views of old and new Dubai, rising 275 ft above the park, encrusted with swirling golden motifs that glisten in the desert sunshine.
The Dubai frame has finally opened almost a decade after it was first designed. Its paired black rectangular form makes it difficult to discern its scale. From some angles, it looks like an empty roadside billboard, stripped of its advertisement from others like a gargantuan triumphal arch.
Still, it’s already become a popular backdrop for selfies, providing a glitzy border to countless people’s poses. The glass, aluminum, steel and reinforced concrete structure also doubles as an observation tower that boasts fantastic panoramic vistas. The landmark celebrates Dubai’s history from its humble beginnings to its current glamor and prestige.
2 Starbucks Palace
People take their caffeine fix pretty seriously. They go for coffee religiously at their favorite Java spot daily, just to get their coffee made properly, just the way they like it, but nothing, and we do mean nothing, matches the Starbucks in Dubai, the most beautiful coffee shop in the world. It may look like a Persian palace, but it’s actually inside the world’s largest thermal mall, called Ibn Bhutara on the southern side of Dubai. It’s not just gorgeous, but it’s grand and magnificent. For the most part. When you visit a Starbucks, you know exactly what to expect, but that isn’t the case here.
This Starbucks is unlike anything you’ve seen before. The high ceiling dome filled with Persian inspired art is tantalizing. The arches are respondently, monumental that you feel so small when you’re under them. This international coffee and coffee house chain based in Seattle, Washington, opened as a single small store in 1971 and became a coffee giant at the end of the millennium. Starbucks has led a coffee revolution in the United States and beyond. Now look at it. As the premier vendor of the finest coffee, Starbucks is focused on delivering the best experience to every customer at each location around the world.
1 Luxury Cupcakes – The Golden Phoenix
It’s beyond any doubt that this is the most expensive edible cupcake ever made. The Golden Phoenix cupcake is worth over $1,000, not including tip, and it comes with a gold plated tea trolley only in Dubai.
It’s unlike other cakes baked so far, containing diamonds that are fully digestible. The finest Italian chocolate and Ugandan vanilla pods. Smothered in edible gold flakes, it’s served with a golden spoon to match its value and style and deliciously topped with chocolate icing and strawberries dipped in edible gold as well.
While cake itself in some form or another has been around since ancient times, cupcakes first came about in America in the 1700s. By the turn of the 20th century, muffin tins had been invented and cupcakes as we know them became increasingly popular thanks to their quick baking time and minimal ingredients required.
In 1919, Hostess unveiled the first commercial cupcake, their signature chocolate cake with white icing called, surprisingly, the cupcake. This extraordinarily exquisite cupcake was cooked as a celebration to launch the Bloomsbury flagship at the Dubai mall. The Golden Phoenix was unveiled on the 24 carat gold plated tea trolley and presented on a 24 carat gold painted cake stand. To eager pastry enthusiasts, what did we tell you? Dubai is outrageous and if you can’t stand the desert heat, good thing there are posts like these to keep us from breaking a sweat. We make it easy for you.