Are You a Jumeirah Jane or GI Jane?

ABU DHABI, March 26, 2008 &#0151 -- If you have shopped until you have dropped while in Dubai and would rather experience the life of Jumeirah Jane, as the nonworking wives of the healthy expat CEOs here are known, you might indulge in one of the many decadent spas found here.

There is a surplus of luxury hotels that strive to outdo each other and five stars no longer suffice. Many countries focus their attention on tourism attractions, museums and theaters, but here, it is the top-notch hotels that allure the foreigners.

But if you are no Jumeirah Jane (named after Dubai's Jumeirah Palm Island) and more of GI Jane or Action Man, you can get your fix in an array of adrenaline junkie sports: kite surfing and wake boarding, sand boarding or the ubiquitous dune bashing.

I sampled the latter, which is a roller coaster ride through the dunes, which I have to mention is actually not much different from the city taxi driver death rides. They all seem to be convinced they are Romans driving round the Coliseum.

Our sand-dune driver Fouad from Arabian Adventures, who had gained experience from transporting oil workers in the desert, deflated his 4x4 tires to get better traction in the sand.

He tore up and down the vertiginous dunes at incredible speeds and seemed to barely maintain control of the vehicle, but the descent was always remarkably smooth.

We were also taken to a camel farm where we could see the exotic creatures up close and personal. I was mesmerized by their eyes and beautiful long lashes and I discovered the hump is not to store water but is a fatty tissue reserve for energy.

My next visit, I vowed I would go see camel racing; they are now ridden by remote-control robot jockeys after the government banned child jockeys because of criticism.

Our next stop was to witness the most wonderful sunset to rival the famous Santorini sunset or any Grecian island for that matter. Meanwhile we also saw some boys and to my surprise, girls who were sand-dune buggying in full dress.

I am of course reminded that the United Arab Emirates is a forward-thinking Muslim country and that the worldwide conception of Islamic nations is often in stark contrast to the reality.

It was even remarked upon by President Bush in his January visit to the UAE that women's rights and their freedom are a central focus here.