The United Arab Emirates may be a tiny nation, but its economic influence now spans the globe. It has become too rich to ignore.
Modern city skylines.
Impeccably maintained roads. Eight-lane highways packed with luxury cars. Cranes and construction sites dotting the landscape. A seven-star hotel. This wasn't the scene I expected to see as my wife and I drove through the United Arab Emirates, a Persian Gulf nation that sits on the arid Arabian Peninsula.