45+ Pictures Revealing The Unconventional Side Of Dubai

There is something for everyone in the city of gold. Whether your interests lie in luxury cars or modern architecture or even mind numbing nightlife, Dubai knows how to make you feel at home. But this global business hub isn’t always the picture perfect paradise. There is another side to this city, the bizarre side. In a place where people have more money on their hands than they can spend in 100 years, it is expected to see some crazy ideas. Here the Arabs know how to live in luxury but they are also pro at living on the edge!

Stepping On 7th Heaven

We’ve all had that dream where we stepped into our terrace and fluffy clouds glided in to surround us. But the moment you tried to touch them, poof and you wake up from your slumber! But that’s not the case with the Richie Richs or Dubai. Finding the 50th floor in building elevators isn’t a strange sight here. Some of the buildings are so tall, they pretty much jut out of the sky and give the owners of gorgeous penthouses the most beautiful mornings full of fresh clouds.

A Call Of Luxury

People in Dubai can buy a Nokia mobile phone with a 6 digit price tag. But why would someone pay so much for a phone? This phone goes perfectly well with the luxury of sports cars and scenic penthouses! These shining Nokia mobiles are studded with diamonds and gold. Finding an expensive version of a common thing is how Dubai typically rolls! We are just curious if it is safe to carry them around and more importantly, pick up a call on the streets during the day with diamonds sparkling in the sun!

Up For Paddle Boarding

Persian Gulf is one of the most beautiful places anyone can think of paddle boarding at. Clear waves hitting the amazing sandy beach is the ideal backdrop for this sport but realistically, it’s too hot during the day to do it. You need guts to go paddle boarding wearing the Abaya when the sun is shining so bright. Are these two men beyond such human sensations? Let’s pray for whoever will be washing their sweat stained cloaks!

Adventure On Freeway

Dubai is forever ready to get your adrenaline gushing with its numerous options in adventure sports. But some people don’t want to go that route and end up on the roads like this man. His idea of thrill is probably riding an SUV like it was a surfboat doing acrobatic wheelies on the freeway. We wonder how other people took his love for ‘extreme sports’ in the middle of the road!

Typical Thursday Traffic

Dubai offers a whole different level of richness with “luxurious” scenarios everywhere. From tall skyscrapers to expensive cars on the road, all the elements of a lavish lifestyle are fulfilled here. But can we imagine a traffic jam that exudes luxury? A lot of people in Dubai are gifted a lifestyle that starts from Ferraris and ends with Jaguars. When these people fire up their engines everyday, the traffic jams they cause look like this but more than an inconvenience, it is simply an opportunity to show off extreme wealth!

Medical Emergencies Be Like

Dubai knows that life is priceless and they don’t overlook it in their attempt to stock on the luxuries of life. Medical emergencies can happen anytime and anywhere, regardless of how rich someone is. Do people wait for an old rickety ambulance in their time of need? Nope! There’s nothing better than a Porsche ambulance that can make its way through the traffic to the hospital with great speed! Dubai has an abundance of luxury cars and it has put them to good use. Next time you spot a yellow Hummer or a Porsche whizzing past, you know where they are headed!

Towering Turtles

Dubai is not new to the love for exotic animals. In fact, the crazy cash flow in the city leaves people with a lot of money in their hand to spend on exotic pets. Turtles top the list for sure but this man may have taken it too far. He has not one, not two but eight of endangered turtles with him. And when you have so many hard-shelled creatures what do you do with them? Of course you make them into a tower!

Heights Of Tennis

What are the weirdest places you have played tennis at? If you can’t think of any, then shift your focus on this photo. This tennis court is on the top of Burj Al Ara, a grand opulent hotel in Dubai. Just being at this height is in itself an experience of a lifetime, imagine playing tennis there!

If you ever feel like having a tennis game at 1,000 feet above the ground, then make plans of visiting Dubai and you will be close to having your wish granted.

Free Food Shelves

Having great money brings with it great responsibility as well. The people of Dubai are rich but they are not oblivious to poverty. Even though they spend money on huge penthouses and exorbitant cars but this photo describes the kinder side of Dubai. There are people who are in need of food and other essentials of day-to-day life and providing free food to them is the kindest thing one can do. So, special racks can be seen in supermarkets that offer free food to people who can’t afford to buy it.

Pinterest Worthy Public Toilet

Public washrooms are not the place one wants to spend more time than necessary. No matter how clean they look, we are never truly convinced of their hygiene. But you wouldn’t get that feeling in Dubai. Public toilets in Dubai beat the most luxurious ones we’ve seen in high end resorts. Our minds are blown by the fact that there is a Jacuzzi in there! We could dedicate an entire Pinterest board to public washrooms of Dubai and never get bored of looking at the pictures.

Gold From ATM

In the “city of gold”, ATMs not just offer you cold hard cash, they may have a twist. Apart from money, these automated teller machines contain various forms of gold including coins and jewelry. Where else would you be able to get your hands full of gold in just a few clicks! People from other parts of the world may think that they machines are more decorative than functional but that’s not how Dubai works. These god bar ATMs are so popular that they are filled twice a week!

Lions Are Partners In Sailing

The world is already accustomed to seeing people obsess over their cats and dogs. Sometimes this love is so over the top that they want their pets to accompany them everywhere they go, even on their yachts. But how many of us have seen people bring their pet lion on their sailing trips? For the rest of the world this is strange but not for Dubai. This lion is living its best life looking down at the ocean from a luxury yacht. Another proof that Dubai is a different world altogether!

A Bugatti Ride To Work

People around the world rely on Uber to get to the office on Monday mornings since their hungover selves can’t be trusted to drive. Nobody usually remembers much about these rides but that would change if you call an Uber in Dubai. People here have turned everyday chores and tasks into a luxury affair and don’t even bat an eye. So don’t be shocked if a Bugatti arrives at your doorstep to take you to your destination!

Luxurious Stables

While you are still thinking of planning a vacation and staying in a lavish hotel for 2 nights, these horses are already experiencing all that without paying a cent. The ground beneath their feet is gleaming marble and the ceiling is better than any home’s you’ve ever visited. We wonder who came up with the idea of building such a deluxe stable for the horses. Such luxury for these animals can only be seen in Dubai and we wish we could trade lives with these fast runners!

Cheetah On The Streets

Dubai seems to have a special connection with exotic cats. These majestic animals are not restricted to the wild in this city but rather are given a throne in the civilized world. You need to have extremely deep pockets to have a Cheetah in your home but that isn’t a problem with the residents of Dubai. The car in the backdrop itself is proof of the owner’s wealth. This cheetah is surely living the high life and we are envious!

Cupcakes Of Gold

What do you do when you are craving a cupcake? You order yourself a chocolate cupcake and finish it in one go, right? But what if your chocolate cupcake is made of gold and burns a hole in your pocket? You might want to rethink about the craving you had.

This $1,000 cupcake is called “Golden Phoenix” and the ingredients that make it so special are Ugandan vanilla beans, exceptional quality Italian cocoa and not to forget the addition of 23-carat gold in the recipe. It holds the record for being the most expensive cupcake in the world!

Police In Ferrari

Dubai runs on luxurious fast cars and it only makes sense that the police uses them too. If the criminals are driving super-fast sports cars, how else with the police catch them? Dubai takes crime very seriously and their official vehicles have a major role to play in their success. So it comes as no surprise that this city’s police department’s official police vehicles are Ferraris! Let’s see which other place can beat that!

When In Dubai, Don’t Miss The Camel Race

You know you’ll find camels in Dubai and even go on a camel ride when got a chance but now there is more to those camel rides than that. All thanks to technology! There are camel races being organized and they are not just another race you’ll witness like those of horses, there are additions and yes, they are tech-based.

The camel riders are robots in most cases and before you go on thinking deep, they are designed lightweight and aerodynamic keeping in mind all the aspects. How advanced is that!

Underwater Adventure In Mall

How can we miss the huge Dubai Mall when talking about the city! It is the world’s biggest shopping mall with more than 1,200 stores. Apart from the stores, the mall is also visited for the enormous aquarium, The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo where you can see as many as 300 ocean species, ray fish and sharks. The vastness of this mall is clearly incomparable and once you enter there, you will be amazed by the number of services it provides and how there are so many amenities under one roof.

Car Driving Now Has A Better Place Than Roads

Experimentation is really great and when those experiments involve some posh cars, they can turn out to be really expensive. But leave that to Dubai and they can execute a “high-priced” experiment smoothly. Just as they did here!

Water cars are a thing just in case you didn’t know (it’s alright, this is news for many!). This car you see in the picture that’s making its way through sea water is the property of a Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheik Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum. He just doesn’t own one, he has a total of six such water cars!

Family Beaches

People from all over the world visit Dubai for relaxation and beaches are one key feature in that itinerary. But men can’t just roll up their towels and head to the beach in their swimming trunks like that. Some beaches in Dubai proudly display the sign “Family Beach”. What this means is that single men aren’t allowed there! Men can only visit these beaches when they are accompanied by their wives and children. That’s how you “family zone” a tourist spot!

Going Broke On Birthday

That’s one hell of a party! The bill is in Dirham, the official currency of the Emirates and rounds up to around $100,000. Looking at that bill would have caused a heart attack to anyone on their birthday! If you are planning to spend your birthday in Dubai, you may want to ensure you have enough money on your credit card. Or else you might end up washing dishes at a Dubai club for the rest of your life!

Fishy Business

Metros do have some important guidelines for providing a safe and comfortable travel experience for people and depend on sign boards to maintain them. But this sign at a metro in Dubai is definitely unconventional. This non-fish friendly metro might have experienced something “fishy” in the past that made the authorities put up this signboard. Fish is notorious for smelling awful so this sign is for the sanity of every commuter!

Airlift To Beat Traffic

Dubai is a strange place, that’s already established. Where the rest of the world just tries to make peace with rush hour, Dubai goes the extra mile to fix this minor inconvenience. When people don’t want to stay stuck in the traffic, they can simple rent or even buy a helicopter to airlift their luxury car from point A to point B. Where else on this earth can one possibly even dream of this luxury?

When Beach Looks Like This…

You can visit the beach for a variety of reasons. Either you were bored and wanted some sun or you wanted to enjoy a camel ride on the sand. Whatever your reason is, no one can deny you entry at the beach. So, such scenes are normal to witness on your beach day. 

We hope the camel does not feel left out while roaming there while people sit under the sun or enjoy the sea waves. We feel the camel is definitely living a good life by being able to have beach time of its own.

Horse-Riding Experience In Biking!

When one has enough money even after spending a lot on the expensive stuff, then it comes to the part where you get your “luxury items” customized in a way that pleases you. This guy did exactly that here! He must be really fond of Lipizzaner horse and decided to get his bike converted in a way that resembles the horse.

This is definitely not easy to afford and that’s why this picture exists here. He seems really satisfied as reflected by his outfit. You can never go wrong with white (we guess so)!

A Pure Gold Ride

Dubai is the city of luxury and cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris are in abundance on the roads. So how does someone driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee stand out from the crowd? Of course by covering it in 24-carat gold! This jeep was clicked running on the roads of Dubai with even the windows painted golden. Surely the owner knows how to grab attention for his ride or perhaps they are simply obsessed with gold, just like the rest of Dubai!

Jumping From Skyscrapers

Sky-high buildings form an integral part of Dubai and if you are someone who loves watching views from high above the ground, this is the city to be in. Find a tall building, make your way to the top of it and be ready with your camera. Daredevils love the skyscrapers in the city for its thrill. There are many adventure sports in Dubai and jumping off skyscrapers is one of them. It isn’t for faint hearted people so perform this stunt at your own risk, or else just take in the sky-line from the edge!

Enough Space For Every Member

There are quite a few cars available now which are spacious enough for a family of 5-7 members. But what if the number of family members exceeds 7? In that case, you need to reveal your innovative side and create something that fits in everyone. Something like this jeep, maybe!

If you are wondering about the technical details of this jeep, then you should know it has been designed in a proper manner with 6 wheels, an addition of two in the middle for maintaining balance. Let’s not go into the details of how it makes its way through the traffic.

A Walk Of Gold

When there is an abundance of gold, you can never run out of ideas to make use of that gold. Gold jewelry is mainstream but gold heels are trendy. You can find them in Dubai (obviously!) and yes, they are very stylish.

Imagine wearing them to your friend’s party and getting all the attention. We don’t know how to feel about this but it is definitely worth a try only if we can get our hands on this pair of heels. Are you also thinking about walking on the block of gold under your feet?

Parking Lots For Gold

When so many people in Dubai own expensive cars, the parking spaces can look a lot like this. With Mercedes Jeep, Ferrari, and Porsche making a regular appearance at parking lots, they may need more security for the cars! It is impossible to forget how these people are obsessed with gold since their luxury cars are taken a notch higher with gold plating. This car trio is giving us life and for good reason but for Dubai, this is just another day!

Lion Pet Demands Attention!

When you have pets, it goes without saying that they will want your attention at all times. It is not difficult to take care of them and shower them with some love but it can get a little out of hand when they are bigger and stronger than us.

Lions are not usual pets but people do have them and this picture is a perfect description of the life of a lion owner. The lion wants to cuddle and no matter what the man wants, he has to surrender to this wish!

Sip Your “Lavish” Coffee

It is common for us to sit in a crowded nearby cafe with our friends and have a cup of coffee. But if our coffee place looks like this, our coffee would never taste the same again! The picture you see is absolutely real and yes it is Starbucks, a grand version of that which can be spotted at Ibn Batuta Mall in Dubai. 

It looks like we need to be decently dressed to grab our coffee from this lavish coffee shop. We would definitely want to visit here once and we will dress nicely for sure! 

Shine Bright On The Roads

Who doesn’t like a little bit of sparkle on their vehicle? By sparkle, we mean diamonds and by vehicle, we mean a Mercedes. Now the combination of these two will look exactly like this photo and how stunning is this! You just need a few million dollars for being a “shining star” on the roads. 

There are people who can afford this and are gracing the roads with their diamond-studded cars. Rich people have a choice between diamonds and gold, so if you spot gold or a diamond car in Dubai, don’t be surprised!

How Good Are Lion Rides?

If you have only seen lions in a zoo or in an animal safari, then it can be a little hard for you to wrap your head around this picture. It was for us as well! But this part is what makes it special. This person would surely have received some serious stares while he was riding his pet lion. 

When driving cars gets boring then opt for a lion ride which is only possible if you have a pet lion. What are the chances of that? We all know the answer to that! So, till then enjoy this picture and keep hoping for better days.

How Fancy Is Fancy Enough?

When booking hotel rooms, we look for a fairly nice place to rest, good-quality food and if possible, a pretty view from our window. This all needs to fit into our budget and we all have learned to compromise at one point or another. 

Burj Al Arab is a seven-star hotel in Dubai and the experience it provides is worth every penny one spends on a stay there. The rooms are magnificently equipped with all the facilities and luxuries. You will have to pay $24,000 to step into the world of opulence for one night. Go ahead if you can!

Bus Stops Or Comfort Stops?

Summer brings the scorching sun with it, leading to really uncomfortable times outside the house especially when waiting for the bus to arrive at the stop. We are all ready for work in the morning and the heat outside ruins our look and our day in just a few minutes.

But Dubai has a perfect solution for that as well. The bus stops are fully air-conditioned making it easier to wait for your bus in that killing heat. That’s really thoughtful and we appreciate this concept of building bus stops that are convenient for all.

Gold In The Restroom

This picture is surprising for everyone because none of us is used to a gold-plated toilet! We have that same expression as the man in the picture. The places where we couldn’t even imagine gold to be are completely covered in it. This image has “Dubai” written all over it. 

The first instinct when we encounter something this unique is to click a photo to show it to your friends and then carry on with your business. But a washroom made of gold is something we can only take a picture of, the next thing is a little difficult!

Dubai Food Delivery Sets Another Level.

How often do you order your favorite burger and get it delivered in a Jaguar or a Ferrari? Clearly, never! But Dubai knows how to raise the standards when it comes to food delivery services. If a luxury car can be an Uber, then why not a food delivery vehicle? It definitely makes sense.

So, along with your favorite burger, you also get a Ferrari in your driveway for a few minutes in Dubai. That’s great actually! It is kind of a pleasant surprise to anyone who orders and doesn’t know this happens around there.

A Day Out For Tiger!

Dubai is not in favor of going in the conventional direction. So, every corner of the city displays something different and unusual. You won’t find as many cat or dog owners in Dubai as tiger owners. So, it is quite obvious that the scenes like you see in this picture are a common sight there. 

We guess the tiger is amused taking in the fresh air through the car window. Who wouldn’t enjoy this! The only question is whether the passersby are entertained by this view or not? It can be a little shocking at first!

Contrasting Perspectives On A Beach!

Beaches are loved by one and all. The soothing sound of the waves is music to the ears and being under the sun is absolutely comforting. There is no particular dress code that needs to be followed to enjoy the elements of the beach and this picture says it all.

The woman in burqa is equally comfortable on the seaside as the woman in the bikini right next to her. The definition of comfort is different for every person and respecting those perspectives is crucial. So, quit worrying about your outfit and start having some fun!

Breathtaking Island Views

The coast of Dubai has three artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah, Deira Island, and Palm Jebel Ali, collectively known as Palm Islands as they form a beautiful palm tree surrounded by a crescent. There is a presence of such amazing features at every corner of Dubai. 

But with beauty comes a little danger as well. These islands being man-made are under a threat of vanishing but seems like people don’t want to leave yet. They are mesmerized by the views and we don’t blame them! We all live for some stunning views.

How To Pamper Your Kids?

The joy of becoming a parent knows no bounds. Parents tend to pamper their kids by giving them whatever they want, whether it is a toy or something to eat. But sometimes certain things they demand are out of the budget of the parents but that rarely happens in Dubai!

There is so much gold in the city that even the pacifiers for newborn babies are made of gold. Parents do buy them and that’s where the pampering beings! The fact that these pacifiers are super cute is undeniable but “cute” comes with a price, a big price, in fact.

Blooming Flowers In Desert!

Desert can also have flowers and even over 50 million of them if you are in the Dubai Miracle Garden. Flowers need love and care to bloom and this garden is proof of that. The pretty colors and designs attract every person who visits. The floral view is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

This beautiful garden features 250 million plants apart from the flowers. The Dubai Miracle Garden was inaugurated in 2013 on Valentine's Day and since then it is “blossoming”! Add colors to your Dubai visit by taking a stroll in this garden.

Plane Overbooked By Falcons

Hold your reaction on this picture as this has a valid explanation! The national symbol of UAE is the falcon and hence, falcons deserve good treatment. They have seats reserved for them on the plane and they can be your fellow passengers any day.

We wonder if the falcons get a little uncomfortable when humans get on the flight. They might want to have some personal discussions in the plane and human interruptions are undesirable! We just hope they had a safe flight and enjoyed their journey.

Boxing Ring On The Roof

A spectacular view of the sky while having a boxing match is only possible in Dubai and we all know why! The tall buildings make it possible to have a rooftop boxing ring and it definitely is special. All the boxing champions would love to have a match amidst the sky.

If not boxing, then witnessing a match being held there would be an incredible experience. Such rooftops are exclusive to Dubai and one cannot skip being there when visiting the city. When up there, look down at your own risk!

Playful Cheetah Needs Cuddles

Pets love roaming around in the house and play with their owners. They can do this all day long and that implies they do get tired. When tired, they need attention and what’s better than cuddling with their owners. 

People can have cheetah as a pet in Dubai and the rules of having a pet are the same irrespective of the animal you have at home. How adorable does this cheetah look having a good time being pampered by the owner! This view is not very common anywhere else in the world.