For Gold, It’s ‘Do Buy’

If language is destiny, then it is no coincidence that the emirate of Dubai is pronounced “do buy.” Shopping, particularly for gold, seems to be the No. 1 pastime.

“Basically, I have about $150,000 worth of jewelry reserved around town,” an American woman told me. As we chatted, she was putting on hold an enormous diamond ring. She probably will never buy it. The shopkeeper knew that. He also knew that when she came back to bargain further, she would have some other bauble newly on hold in another shop. And there were 350 of those shops in the mile-long gold souk, or bazaar, where all that glitters is gold.

However, duty-free jewelry, Oriental carpets and high-tech consumer goods are not the only things drawing Westerners to this trading and banking center on the Arabian (or Persian) Gulf. There is money to be made here, big money, and venues for spending it lavishly.

For centuries a modest port for goods crossing between the Indian subcontinent and Europe, Dubai is one of the seven tribal states that formed the United Arab Emirates when the British withdrew from the region in 1971. While the other emirates remain primarily oil producers, Dubai has used its relatively limited oil reserves to establish itself and build the necessary infrastructure as an international business hub. By the late 1970s it had blossomed into a modern city of about 550,000 people, 70% of whom are foreign businessmen and their employees.

With the oil expected to be played out in 10 years, “the locals,” as the minority native Arab population is called, have spent the last few years reinventing Dubai as a vacation paradise. The city is thick with hotels, from high-end self-contained resorts to budget complexes that cater to planeloads of Europeans on package holidays.

In the nine months of tolerable weather, October till June, the attractions extend beyond beach and pool activities to tennis, golf and racing.

Dubai is a major stop on the professional golf circuit, and its top three clubs are so serious about the sport that visitors have to demonstrate their handicap--28 maximum for men, 36 for women--to play there.

The Arabs’ love of horses is in their blood, and Dubai is home to several major international racing and polo events that draw titled Europeans and TV celebrities and horse enthusiasts of all nationalities.

All of this is to explain that Dubai is an anomaly in a region marked by conservatism. I grew up as an American in the Middle East, and I sensed the difference the minute I got off the plane in Dubai’s airport and entered the unofficial classification system: Americans and Europeans--quite a few of the men wearing shorts and T- shirts--were shuffled to the right; Gulf Arabs in their robes and black veils to the left; other Arabs, in an eclectic and colorful mixture of styles, to the center, and, off to the side, Indians, who are the majority work force, from middle management on down.

I looked around in wonder as an official perused my visa. I was here to visit a childhood friend from the days when our fathers worked in the nearby Gulf state of Qatar, where foreigners kept a low profile and certainly didn’t go around in shorts. My friend, Giselle, a Canadian who manages Dubai’s largest amusement park, had been urging me for years to come visit. Last November, I finally was able to tack five days in Dubai onto a trip to Jordan.

As soon as we were out of the airport, Giselle announced that our first stop had to be the souk because the price of gold had gone down that morning. Gold jewelry does not fit my lifestyle in Los Angeles, so I proposed we do something else, something cultural. OK, she said, aiming her Toyota for the skyscraper-lined avenues of downtown and the broad creek, or inlet, that divides the city. At the water’s edge we admired an old stone building with windows romantically lighted from within against the gathering dusk. And we watched a traditional Arabian dhow navigate the water. On board were several tourists madly snapping their cameras. “This is all that is left of old Dubai,” Giselle said. “Except, of course, for the gold souk.” I looked at her in exasperation. “OK, and the spice souk,” she conceded.

The spice souk is a pleasant assault on the nose and hard on the ears. It was never quite clear what language the spice sellers were speaking. “Try your Arabic, try your English, try your Russian, try your luck,” one called to me in rough English.

The real language here is money. The government keeps the dirham stabilized against the dollar, 3.68 to $1, a plus for shoppers who at least don’t have to factor competing exchange rates into their bargaining.

The spice seller had turned to argue, in what I recognized as broken Arabic, with a man who wanted half a kilo of saffron. The shopkeeper demanded $300; the customer offered $250. At the equivalent of $17 an ounce, the price was a bargain; an Indian spice store in Los Angeles was charging $27 an ounce last week.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to sample much of the local spices. Like most visitors, I ate in hotels and restaurants that express the tastes of their foreign chefs. At the Ritz-Carlton, even Thanksgiving dinner was complicated and French--the turkey was sauced, in puff pastry.

Dubai is known far and wide as having the best night life in the Gulf, with many dance clubs and often visiting rock bands. It’s also known for prostitution, thanks to Russians who were so numerous before the ruble fell that many street signs in Dubai are in Russian as well as Arabic and English. That’s not to say prostitution is legal. This is an Islamic country, after all. But customs reprehensible to Muslims are tolerated if they are not flaunted. Pork is sold in the supermarkets, but it’s not on the menu at restaurants. Alcohol is served legally only in the hotels, which are also home to most of the nightclubs and many of the tourist-oriented restaurants.

While I preferred to save my energy for sports and shopping, I did endure one night of disco fever at Staying Alive, the latest hot spot for Europeans and Asians. There also were local men hitting the dance floor, but local women were noticeably absent.

Dubai women keep to themselves, rarely mixing with foreigners socially. However, they are far less sheltered than their Saudi neighbors. Some wear the ankle-length black shawl and head scarf, but very few cover their faces. They all drive, and most of them work, at least until they have children.

After a couple of days, I wanted to burn off some of the rich Indian food I’d been eating. So off we went to the Hilton Beach Club to StairMaster with the international crowd, and then to reward ourselves at the big lunch buffet. Between the pool, the bar and the umbrella-shaded patio, we checked out the resident snobs. Often foreigners come here to visit friends and end up finding the proverbial--and literal--pot o’ gold. Some take lucrative jobs worth ever so much more in a land without a national income tax. And some make a fortune.

Dubai is a major trade center, known worldwide for its free port zone, supposedly visible from space--no doubt for its neon.

Dubai bears other resemblances to Las Vegas, challenging its desert locale with water parks, ice rinks and sports greens, along with Planet Hollywood, the Hard Rock Cafe and the Pyramids, a shopping center and day spa built in the image of the Luxor--not the one in Egypt, but the fabulous resort on the Strip. The only thing missing is the gambling, which is forbidden in Islam (unless you consider bargain shopping gambling).

After resting up from our overindulgence in the lunch buffet, we plunged into waves that carried us off in the heavenly Persian Gulf waters, cool but not cold, even in the winter. The white sand beaches were almost empty, and the water was surprisingly clean. I regretted not knowing how to scuba dive because so many people told me I was missing out on some amazing underwater views.

What intrigued me was a desert sport I’d never encountered before: sand skiing. It’s done with water-skiing slalom boards and looks more like surfing the sand than skiing a dune. I hope to try it the next time I go.

Another friend, who has lived on and off in Gulf countries since she was a child and now works as a tour operator, said that everyone wants to ride a camel, and the most requested day trip takes sightseers to the desert dunes in four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The one absolute must is a visit to the gold souk. I even made a purchase, a small ring, which I consider my trophy in the Dubai bargaining challenge.

The jewelry sellers all speak English and would be truly shocked if even the most naive tourist didn’t bargain. The key is knowing how to bargain.

First, check that day’s gold prices, then decide on what kind of pieces you want to buy. Most of the jewelry here is designed in 18-, 22- and 24-karat gold, softer than the 14-karat preferred in the West and more suitable to the filigree and hammered designs preferred by the women of Asia and the Middle East.

I wanted a 24-karat piece because it was a novelty. After the jeweler weighed the ring I’d chosen, he brought out his calculator and multiplied the weight by the day’s price per gram. Then he factored in how much artistry and craftsmanship went into making it. I offered him 50% of what he asked for. He laughed, I laughed harder, and we kept on arguing until I could tell he really wasn’t going to budge anymore. We agreed on a price about 30% less than his first quote. I put the ring on hold and moved on to other shops before coming back to seal the deal.

Did I get a bargain? It is impossible to compare prices because we simply do not have that quality of gold and craftsmanship in this country. However, if you were to compare it to European and Asian markets, my ring was a steal at $95.

On my last night in Dubai, we grabbed a late snack at a Lebanese sidewalk cafe. The air was crisp and cool, the people relaxed. As I sipped my yogurt and fruit drink, I counted how many different national dresses walked by. Maybe 10. Almost no crime. No taxes. Desert and sea breezes. Polo clubs and really great shrimp. For the price of gold, Dubai isn’t bad at all.

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GUIDEBOOK

Doing Dubai

Getting there: Flying from L.A. to Dubai on British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa or Swissair involves changing planes in various European cities. Round-trip fares start at $1,192.

Where to stay: Some U.S. hotel chains have luxury properties in Dubai priced for the wheeler-dealer set. For example, the all-suite Hilton International Beach Club, telephone 011-9714-445-333, offers weekend discount rates of $999 per night, about half the weekday rate (plus 25% tax and service). But there are less costly options, even for the budget set; see tourism office below.

A package tour offers good value. For instance, MasterCard is promoting four-day shopping trips to Dubai between March 18 and April 14; accommodations are at the Sheraton Deira. Cost: $2,590 per couple, including air fare from New York. Information: African Travel, Inc.; tel. (800) 421-8907; e-mail ati@africantravelinc.com.

For more information: Government of Dubai Tourism and Commerce, 901 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401; tel. (310) 752-4488, fax (310) 752-4444. Internet https://www.dubaitourism.com.