Arab Excesses- Gold Dispensing ATM Machine Debuts In Abu Dhabi

People love to talk about the excesses of the western world and western society, but for true, over-the-top excess all you have to do is look no further than some of the Gulf states in the Middle East to witness what that truly means. From the garish, opulent five star hotels in the United Arab Emirates to the car show in Dubai that debuted a gold-leaved Lexus SUV in December 2009, we now have the latest toy for the uber-wealthy Arab oil sheiks and other rich and famous- the gold dispensing machine.

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Yes, that's right Abu Dhabi can now claim they are the first to have a gold dispensing machine, just like those ATM machines for the rest of us plebeians who make do with $50.00, if we're lucky. Located in the lobby of the Emirates Palace Hotel, which also claims to be the most luxurious hotel in the UAE, all you have to do is pop in your cash (or credit card, I assume) and you have an endless choice of golden lovelies to choose from.

The exterior of the machine is coated with a thin layer of gold and offers customers 320 items to choose from, ranging from gold bars that can weigh up to 10 grams, to customised gold coins.

Th only mode of payment, for now, is local dirham, which makes sense since all those oil sheiks walk around with wads of cash; of course that might have to do with the fact that credit and interest are not allowed in Islam. Although they say credit might be an option some day.

And this is one smart machine, it even has its own computer, inside its innards, with access to an on-line Internet gold dealer that updates the price of gold every 10 minutes.

Although the gold machine is making its debut in the UAE, it was actually invented by a German man, Thomas Geissler, who felt that Abu Dhabi would be the best location to start off with. Apparently Arabs love their gold.

"On the first night we had a lot of demand," he said. "One customer even bought one item of every product we have."

"All the gold is imported from Germany, and soon we will have a customised gold bar with a print of the Emirates Palace logo, which will be a nice souvenir for guests to take home," he said.

Gold is currently the highest it has been, at $1,236.00 per ounce. 10 grams at $1,236.00 an ounce. You do the math.

So the next time I hear someone say the west is over indulgent and wasteful, take a look at the UAE.