Dubai

Selfie from the Burj Kahlifa observation deck.

There I am, at the Customs Office of the Jebel Ali Free Zone gate 7. If there is any place you experience that class determines privilege in Dubai, it's here. Strictly regulated by the UAE Customs Authority, officially nothing is permitted. No smoking, no stopping, you're just allowed to queue up for registration. The moment the hotel driver stops his Lexus at a "no stop" sign, an official approaches, only to discover there's somebody in the back seat and turn a blind eye. I wouldn't even be surprised if my skin colour played a role in this decision...
Outside the Custom's office are guys who are less fortunate. They usually come from Bangladesh, India or Pakistan to do the manual labour in the many heavy-industry workshops located here. They're the ones that wait in line for 'day passes', they're the ones that have to go in on foot and work in open air on steel structures, process equipment or one of the many building sites. Judging from the transport they arrive in, at a very meagre salary. Today it's a mild 34°C, so everybody is seems happy...
As a privileged customer, I'm transferred from my Lexus into the suppliers private car and transported into Jebel Ali without hassle at all. To do the required inspections and return to my ridiculously oversized hotel suite; thanks to my employer's travel policies, I have a bathroom for every night I stay in this city.

The good thing about the Middle East flights to Europe is, that they depart around midnight. Which leaves time to visit Dubai's newest landmark, the Burj Khalifa. Today, the largest and highest man-made structure in the world; a staggering 830 meters high. Just before the official opening in 2010 it was named after the Abu Dhabi ruler Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, having everything to do with a $10 billion loan from Abu Dhabi to Dubai after the 2009 economic crisis hit the latter hard.

It's cheap to go to the Burj Khalifa observation deck, unless you arrive last moment, in which case you have to buy a "Fast Track" ticket costing 400 Dirhams. For those roughly eighty Euro's you can finally look down on everyone...

Even if they hide in other high-rise buildings, from Burj Khalifa, you look donw on them.