Today’s topic might seem odd to most readers considering the recent occurrences in the country, starting from the indictment of an ex-chief of the army, all the way down to Pakistan losing miserably in the T-20 cricket tournament. However, it has always been the objective of this column to go against the crowd and deliberate on matters perceived as trivial but, in reality, crucial enough to merit debate. In any case, there are enough analysts commenting upon the indictment although it appears that at some level perhaps the implications have not been thought through. Already headlines of a competing daily pointed out that the National Assembly was told that the army was running petrol pumps and shopping centres (not sure why that was important), and that the courts were angry with a three-star for non-attendance. I wonder what the future will hold!Whilst this is my first ever such attempt, logically, a travelogue should start at the beginning rather than from the flight back home. And, no, the earlier identified objective of being different is not the reason behind the topsy-turvy approach, nor is a scorched ego the culprit; in essence, the reason is more patriotic. Having consciously reduced international travel over the last three years, there was no yardstick to compare PIA’s much criticised performance with any other airline, especially for countering the popular hype about excellent services on competing foreign airlines — consumer choice is king. All that changed on the flight back from Dubai on a very popular foreign airline. First, the plane took off more than half an hour late. True, half an hour pales in comparison with the delays on PIA generally flashed as breaking news on electronic media, but the difference in ticket price was quite hefty as well. While PIA might not have a business class, the difference in the top tickets is around a whopping Rs 100,000. With that kind of money a half an hour delay is an eternity. In order to avoid born critics confusing the issue, definitely personal comfort, mostly because of flight timings, was the reason behind not travelling on the national airline, and since the cost was not personal, hence business class.At take off, the business class seemed more like a town square than an exclusive compartment. Again, the comparison might not be exact since PIA does not apparently have a business class. However, the ambience was definitely not what is expected in business class and the seating was nothing to write home about; arguably it was the most uncomfortable seat one has ever sat on in a plane. While travelling in economy class, cramped seating is obviously expected, but becoming a hunchback should not be the side effect in business class. Landing at Islamabad International Airport was nothing different from PIA. The same herding of passengers irrespective and delay in priority luggage was the norm. Admittedly, there can be no comparison between the two airports, and note that airports are the domain of civil aviation rather than the airline, but getting through immigration in Dubai is not ‘one-two-three’ either, especially for brotherly citizens from Pakistan. On the other hand, it was amusing to note certain influential Pakistanis standing in line at the immigration and check-in counters as non-VIP citizens, without even a squeak; I wonder why that is impossible in Pakistan. Someone once said that the secret of Singapore’s success is their government’s unrelenting focus on traffic and general public discipline — food for thought?Nonetheless, next time while criticising the national airline, remember that the grass always appears greener across the fence. Window-shopping in Dubai’s malls is indeed amazing, shopping is not. The biggest surprise was that all the items on the shopping list were expensive in comparison to the going retail prices in Pakistan; thanks to a smart phone and social media software, prices could be compared in real time. Whilst in the case of fragrances, short of a chemical analysis, the propaganda that the local collection is mostly fakes cannot be credibly challenged, it is unimaginable how local industry can copy international brands with such perfection. Play Station Four (PS4) games are, however, another story. Based on limited technological knowledge, apparently pirating PS4 games is beyond the capacity of the local industry, so the fact that they sell cheaper in Pakistan is rather bewildering. However, all is not lost — admittedly the taste buds can vouch for the fact that the chocolates in Dubai duty free definitely taste better although, once again, they are not necessarily cheaper. Earning in Pakistan and spending in Dubai is definitely not a recipe for achieving financial bliss. Even with an appreciated rupee, luxury spending in the latter is only for the stupid or the filthy rich. Paying the taxi fare from the airport to the hotel one almost thought that the cabby was selling shares for the taxi. Dubai might not have its own oil fields but fuel cannot be more expensive than in Pakistan. And let us not even talk about hotel rates. For those who have not travelled lately, the government has introduced a new tax for every night’s stay in a hotel, and sleeping in the park to avoid the tax is not an option. Dubai might not have direct taxes, but the Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan can clearly learn a lot about indirect taxes from their counterparts in Dubai; they tax everything!The biggest mystery is Dubai’s economy. A nation of roughly two million people with 80 percent expatriates, the Emirate’s production of tangible goods is effectively nada; they produce nothing. It would be amusing to read the pundits’ analysis of how the economy functions. On the face of it, foreigners, including Pakistanis, invest in colossal infrastructure, mostly hotels and apartments, and live in these very living quarters to build more, all the time spending heavily on luxurious items, while the government collects taxes every time money changes hands; nothing short of brilliant. By the way, it also helps to operate a highly protected national airline to bring aliens from across the globe and to have them spend more money. The age old question remains: can Gwadar be the next Dubai? Seriously, how difficult is it to imitate a model based on nothing but spending? Another thing that comes to mind is why can Pakistan’s government not run PIA on similar lines? What exactly are the factors that have contributed to the apparent differences in profitability? After all, there are probably more Pakistani’s travelling by air than the entire population of Dubai. In conclusion, while the trip was a learning experience, quite frankly, being a first class citizen at home is better than being a third class citizen anywhere else in the world. As they say, there is no place like home. The writer is a chartered accountant based in Islamabad. He can be reached at syed.bakhtiyarkazmi@gmail.com and on twitter @leaccountant