It’s hard not to admire Dubai for its indefatigable verve, ambition and ability to dream up and realise projects that elsewhere would never get off the drawing board. This is a superlative-craving society that has birthed audaciously high buildings and palm-shaped islands. Sci-fi concepts such as flying taxis, a lightning-fast Hyperloop train and an army of robocops are all reflections of a mindset that fearlessly embraces the future.

Dubai is a top retail haunt that hosts not one but two huge annual shopping festivals. Shopping is a leisure activity here, and malls are much more than just mere collections of stores.