We wish! But that hedonistic desert capital has definitely done us all a favor by banning filming of selected scenes from the totally unnecessary Sex and the City sequel. This delays the film's eventual roll-out. Citing an uneasy tingling in their stomachs, the strict Muslim government of the United Arab Emirates (that's where Dubai is, folks!) says they can't allow a film with the word "sex" to film in their otherwise holy and not-at-all-sin-laden main tourist draw. Such an arbitrarily enforced rule has benefits and drawbacks.

They say it’s hard for anything to grow out of the desert, and in Dubai, it’s often as much true of the culture as it is of any flora or fauna. However, rock 'n' roll can be a pretty unstoppable force in itself, and in this part of the world, one band in particular is hell-bent on rising above the drought. When Time Out Dubai described Beat Antenna as "one of the best bands operating in Dubai," it was clear the British indie group was defying the odds -- not so much stamping their mark on the city’s music scene, but rather creating it.

These are getaways for lovers -- or lusters -- only, without the family, just-good-friends, kids, laptops (lap dancing and clothing optional) or other encumbrances. Either you want to see and be seen, or you don’t. Whether you’re after an in-room Jacuzzi, couples massages, meals, or just a fireplace and a view, read on.

Pan Deï Palais (Côte d'Azur) - A princess’ historic palace turned boutique hotel in the heart of St. Tropez. With only 12 guestrooms, the palace is exclusively reserved for hotel guests -- so unless the people you’re trying to avoid are staying there, you’re safe. Valmont treatment fit for a princess are available in guestrooms and spa.
Also rans: Château de la Chèvre d’Or, L’Hôtel Du Cap – Eden Roc, La Réserve Ramatuelle.

Want to go to Africa? Now might be the time to book that trip to Cape Town, Casablanca, or Johannesburg, because Emirates is having a two-day sale on airfare to all 16 of their African destinations: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Durban (beginning October 1), Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Luanda (beginning October 25), Nairobi, Tripoli, or Tunis. Emirates currently flies out of New York, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. FYI, all the flights are nonstop to Dubai, where you'll change planes to head to Africa. Total flight time from JFK: 22 hours, 35 minutes, from LAX: 25 hours, 45 minutes.

Remember folks: nudity of any kind, including t-shirts depicting near-nudity by a famous designer, is illegal in Dubai. Last week, Lebanese tourist Raffi Nernekian was visiting the emirate and went for a little stroll down the street sporting the Victoria Beckham version of the naked celebrity t-shirt campaign "Protect the Skin You're In." Designed by Marc Jacobs and featuring several different celebs, the t-shirt in question featured a nude Victoria with lettering strategically placed to cover up anything really indecent. The shirts were part of a 2008 cancer awareness campaign with proceeds benefitting the NYU School of Medicine Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group.

Media alert! World-famous heiress-socialite-pop star-former jailbird Paris Hilton may soon be seeking a best friend down in Dubai. Which seems a bit jumping-the-gun, as Paris starts auditioning aspiring sycophants tonight on season two of the American friend hunt, having failed to find a BFF who can do little else but snack on fish and chips over in Britannia.

"Let me tell you a story," says Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman of Dubai Tourism during our roundtable conversation. "A French journalist, I think he was from Nice, came to Dubai with his family. But he forgot to renew his passport. At the Dubai airport, they told him, we're sorry but your passport has expired, you cannot come in. His family is here, they're on holiday, they're waiting, he calls us in the tourism department, and we make it OK for him to come in to Dubai. He is so happy, so grateful, he calls us and says he's going to tell all his friends back in Europe, 'Come to Dubai, and they will teach you about human rights!'"

While I finish out the third post in a series from Dubai (see one and two), here's a little eye candy -- a video looking up at the Burj Dubai, world's tallest building, from the nearby Address hotel. Still photos don't really do it justice, especially since it's hard to appreciate the scale. For a better perspective on that latter issue, see a second clip after the jump, which was shot from the top of the Address and pans around to nearby skyscrapers first. Oooh, aahhh, etc.

The main inescapable problem of a press tour is that a press tour is inescapable. No matter your feelings on quid pro quo journalism – even if you declare outright that you will not cover activity X, still you may well be materially expected to participate in activity X to satisfy the entirely illusory expectations of the publicity client. Such is the case with my press tour in Dubai, where I must slog along to places I’ve already been in order to get to places I actually want to be. That's not to say it's all bad, and in the main, it's good to be back to see how much has changed (or not changed) since I was here in 2006 at the height of the boom.

Despite the world's financial troubles, the press trip is alive and well in Dubai. So that's where I am -- on a voyage bankrolled by Emirates Airlines and Dubai Tourism. After the hullabaloo surrounding horrific tales like this, the miraculous desert city could use some good press, no doubt. So myself and a few other journalists are bundled aboard Emirates business class -- they're the only airline with direct New York to Dubai flights -- and landed half a day later at Emirates' mind-blowingly colossal but eerily empty Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport.