Instead of flight duty days I should have said flight duty periods. A night flight covering a part of two calendar days is still one duty period.

The travel options from Dubai are pretty good. Lots of places to see that wouldn't be easy from the US because of time zone changes and connecting flights. Lots of families head over to Sri Lanka, Thialand, Maldivies, Seychelles, and nearby parts of Africa. At times it can feel isolated here, but Europe is also within 5-8 hours depending on destination.