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Tracks left by the many 4WDs
Gold Souq
Dancing at Malecon - Dubai
Inside Western SteakhouseJust my overview...
If you see with one eye closed ; ))
The Folks :
Who are the local? You practically don’t see much of them. Generally, 70% of the Dubaian folks here consist of outsiders. Dubai & Abu Dhabi especially is sort of like a land of possibility some years back. Due to that many has come here to seek a piece of the cake. Along with that, quite a number of them have been residing here for years, thus considering themselves ‘local’ here.
Generally Dubai has is a mixed bag of folks here. You just don’t see one cultural here but you get to see a number of them. All mixed up & confusing at least for me.
As you lived by you will noticed Dubai is quite populated with folks from the American, Indian, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Philippines, Britian and a small fraction from China.
What is interesting here is how well these folks here ‘behaved’. Being here for a couple months, I don’t seem to hear any serious problem relating to ‘people differences’ among the folks here.
But then, here is the thing, I personally encounter a tiny small fraction of the locals (which is quite a common thing, anywhere in the world you go if you are a foreigner) being ridiculous & silly. I have seen road rage, queue cutting, discriminating other folks openly, throwing money at people face, etc etc. Interesting right?
Not sure if it is a cultural thingy, the dudes from Indian & Pakistan are not easy to deal with. One must have high tolerance when dealing or even trying to make friends with them. Their ‘ego’ which is the thing you must deal with and it sometimes drive you up the walls ; ))
Amusing scenes :
Take 1 – You see dudes hanging out, lying, sitting or even sleeping in the grass/grassy area around Dubai sidewalk/landscape. Weird but true. Perhaps that’s what we call ‘a change of scenery’
Take 2 – I noticed some men over here hold hands among men as they stroll along the street. Seriously they look really closed as in ‘close friend’. I guess they must have just arrived to Dubai and being labeled ‘fresh meat’.
Take 3 – You see a red Mustang on the road. Cruising along the famous Shiekh Zayed road (one of the main highway) and when you see the driver…a guy dress up with a traditional turban/ghitra. Now, how cool is that? ; ))
Take 4 - It actually rains in the desert ! It rained quite a bit in December, then a bit in January & then it pours for a week in end Feb/early March. And when it rains, even just for 10 minutes, most places are flooded with water. And you will be suprised, shopping centre roof leaks teribbly especially at the highest floor. I guess Dubai never expected/not prepared for climate changed in years to come. Just when you need water, they are everywhere ; ))
The local folks/ Emiraties personalities are generally not too far from folks from Indian & Pakistan. Even some women here are clouded with their silly ego ; ))
But beware, this behavior grows on you. Like some said, ‘give them authority (or money) and you get to judge their personality’. How true…
The Women :
Seriously. 8 out of 10 are really good looking. And they really, really, really, smell great. Even a mile away you can smell them. I am not really sure where they are from, but by speculation, they could be from Lebanon, Russia, Egypt or even Turkey. Wherever they are from, they look cool.
The local women costume (called Dara’a, abbaya, thobe or whatever) combine modesty, elegance and layer after layer of silk smooth cloth, for most of them I witness here. I call them ‘for you eyes only’. They are basically all covered up from tip to toe. So what’s attractive for them? Their crystal blue or desert brown eyes and ‘gucci’ looking abbaya are so mesmerizing at times.
The Food :
Not sure if there is a ‘local food’ in Dubai. Most food I have come across is Western food i.e. burgers & burgers & burgers. But it is seriously delicious comparing back home in M’ysia.
The Pakistan, Indian & Lebanese food is not too bad either. If you are lucky, you get ones that are really tasty and good in quality.
The Life :
It’s a material world here. Every dude & dudette dressed the best, drive the best, eat & drink the best. Or perhaps are they being ‘built’ to live life like this.
They got the tallest building, the longest mall, the biggest ‘china’ mall. The tag line gotta be biggest or longest or something great. Not sure why the recognition is important to them.
And as we speak, another tallest tower is in the pipeline. I just wonder how's the developer strategy to seek rental for such high density building. And then there is plan for Olympic size indoor Ski sports centre around the mountains of Al Ain (2 hours drive from Dubai) which I gather will complete in 5 years time. Think about it, snow skiing in the desert!
So Dubai has the tallest & the longest. But is sustainability being thought when building these awesome building or structures? I reckon not.
With all these amazing buildings & attraction, I still get bored with all that in a couple of months and so what’s next? A bigger & long lasting ‘life’? I doubt it.
Then again, I hope to stay on a little longer to actually witness what Dubai turn out in next 2-3 years from now. I would think it would be interesting once all is done.
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