6. The Distinct Lack Of Nature
Given that the majority of people who live in Dubai tend to live high up in apartment blocks, the night time view out of the window can be spectacular indeed, with miles of coolly-lit buildings receding into the distance. On ground level, however, and the picture isn't always so pretty. Since Dubai really shouldn't exist in the first place - insofar as the desert terrain on which it is built is pretty much uninhabitable were it not for advances in engineering - the fact that it's home to a couple of million people is certainly impressive. But since it is a desert there's no escaping the fact that things are a little bit, well, sandy. The municiple planners have done a pretty good job of adding plenty of palm trees to brighten things up a bit, but for the expat used to the rolling lush green countryside of Britain, the lack of nature can get a little depressing.