Dubai 4 U - antics of the more privelged
Dubai: A woman falls flat on her back, unable to keep her balance even while seated. The man next to her laughs so hard, he falls over too. Drinks are spilled, food falls over. The music's so loud the woman's screams are barely heard.
A couple at the adjacent table helps her up and piles her with what won't be her last drink of the day. Diners all around laugh, drink, misbehave, dance, eat, drink some more. Husbands flirt with women who would never be their wives. Children watch helplessly as their parents continue to embarrass them.
No, this isn't a Thursday night gone wrong. It's early on a Friday afternoon at one of Dubai's notorious brunches; the type of lunch that's not only re-invented the wheel but created a brand new phenomenon where expats get together early in the day, head down to their favourite Friday restaurant and indulge in an all-you-can-eat and, more importantly, all-you-can-drink session.
Take for example the city's most famous bubbly brunch at an Australian restaurant in a popular Dubai hotel. Held on the grass lawns, the champagne brunch is an expat favourite. The brunch offers diners an all-you-can-drink experience unlike any other bar in Dubai. This rowdy brunch often has women dancing atop the tables, flutes in hand, while the DJ takes revellers to new heights with his music.
"An hour or two into a brunch, most people will have given up on eating, focusing all the limelight on the star of the afternoon: the branded beverages. Inhibitions are shed, table-top dancing abounds and all sorts of revelry, normally never permissible in Dubai, takes place," says a brunch regular.
A three-star hotel in Bur Dubai claims to have found the middle ground. "Yes, we want them slightly inebriated but not so drunk that they ruin our reputation.
"It's no longer a mix of breakfast and lunch. No, Dubai's brunches are about getting drunk over lunch. It's a drunch. It's an institution." says Rob K., a British expat.
With a reputation that's spread far and wide, the UAE's brunches have become an international topic of conversation. . "While all the tourist books told us that Friday was the holiest day of the week, the party guides all had lists of where to get drunk as an expat, while the citizens adhere to their religious customs. True to form, as soon as we heard the sound of the prayers, the hotels opened their doors for brunch. What we saw was insane. Even back home, the brunches aren't so lavish or excessive! Sober-looking diners soon disintegrated into a mob of uncontrollable drunkards barely able to stand any longer."
Read it all and more on the below link
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/wild-fridays-drunch-dubai-styl...
but I rememebr you commenting that one of the main issue being raised against a sports events like WC here is about drinking area (you mentioned that in one of the old post). It seems you are suggesting that a big sporting event could not be hosted by a country or region where there is strict regulation about alcohol consumption (definitely not in a public place here) but you would prefer of course a place where you can drink anywhere publicly and can do whatever you want (all for the sake of watching an worldwide sports event).
Drinking in a pub or privately is FINE. You know that it is not the subject of our discussion.
Anyway, sorry for the deviation, OP, we're still talking about hypocrisy of matters surrounding alcohol consumption in this region particularly Dubai as posted!
Flor controlling drunk crowds is the security and police issue....its NOT right and I don't agree with people who drink to excess and create problems for others, alcohol sales need to be controlled and monitored for sure (just as Land Cruisers need to watch their speed, OK that was tongue in cheek)
hahahaha oh my goodness your posts are funny....lacking any perspective or reality.....show me a major sports event in the western world where you can't grab a beer pre-game, all EPL games in the UK you can't drink inside the stands but most have bars outside or in the concourse area where you can drink.....your mind straight away thinks alcohol (drunkiness, nudity etc), tell me Flor whats wrong with people wanting a few drinks, sports event or no sports event, its called personal choice. You might not drink which is fine thats your choice, but I like a few beers with mates and that is my choice, I don't cause problems for people when I drink so whats the problem.
we are talking of drinking here and getting drunk uncotrollably. Not bashing any country!
The mellee that happens in Canada (I think) after a world sports event (I'm not sure if Stanley Cup). empahsize on the trouble that erupted was due to uncontrollable drunk crowds. And who can control a druck person who don't want to be controlled?
for you, WC will not be WC if there is no drinking. I really don't know which is becoming the reason, was it WC to drink or drink to WC.
Anyway, I just hope that the SPORTS activities remain alcohol-free as it is the ultimate lesson about "drug-free" athletes. It's just a reality that BIG money come-out as sponsorship of this alcohol companies that made them be equated to such big sports events.
And I know it's the biggest reason (aside from heat temperature) why any world sports events to be held anywhere in the ME are looked as a failure because of "alcohol" issue (of course aside form "nudity")
I think this is the exception rather than the rule, I've been to numerous brunches in Dubai over the past 3 1/2 years and haven't seen this carry on, for sure you get people who can't handle their alcohol and play up a bit, but most people who drink responsibly know when they have had enough and call it quits. Flor what has the WC got to do with this? You keep blaming me for raising this topic yet here you are raising the WC, pot calling kettle!!!
Bit strong flor. What I am objecting to is that these establishments are happy to take your money one minute for drinks and moan about the effects,that is what I have an issue with
thee should be a limit in drinking? But they say drinking or being drunk is what make WC excitng? REALLY?
Was there anything GOOD that resulted from alcohol? Even among friends, is there anything good out of being drunk? Everyone just pretend that everything is ok when reality is very clear!
flor - of course. This type of comment is particularly to the alcohol industry. I always advocate personal responsibility first and foremost but in this case there is a little more to it than that. These establishments have a resposibility to stop serving their over priced drinks to people who are clearly far too inebriated. This is certainly the law in the UK. A landlord of a pub by law is not allowed to serve someone whom he thinks has had too much to drink. you cannot trust a drunk person to make that judgement call
I thought they were making the hotel more famous and of course attracts more customers and of course more money!
BE - but the difference is that Toyota does not start criticising their customers for driving fast.
'Yes, we want them slightly inebriated but not so drunk that they ruin our reputation.'
In other words, please spend your money in our hotel but do not disgrace us... me whiffs a bit of hypocracy here.
That's like blaming Toyota for building Land Cruisers that can go fast :o)
People are responsible for their own actions .. Aren't they ?
whilst i do deplore people who get themselves into such a state and quite frankly at the least make embarrassing fools of themselves, I don't have a lot of sympathy here. If you decide to serve alcohol (at vast profit) then you reap your own rewards.
Dubai authorities surely do know all about it..if this has become a tourist attraction, they probably won't take any action to close down this bar as it brings them revenue.
I have seen such a bar on the Ajman beach where expats start drinking just after the friday prayers.
However, any complaint lodged with the police against acts of PDA or any brawl between the drunkards would surely attract the police's attention.
And....
:)
I like the idea of an orgy! They seem to be quite harmless and a fun thing to do! The Roman orgies in Asterix are very similar!