Falling down
One man in a white Merc, that's all it took to finally make me SNAP! It's a regular part of driving in Dubai that people are constantly cutting you off, or changing lanes without indicating (and doing it just inches from your front or rear bumper) but today there was one incident too many.
It started as a regular, for Dubai relatively event-free, drive to work: First I was monstered by a large workers' bus on Al Khail Road that thought it would just move over into my lane despite the fact that several other cars were already in the lane, then a Pajero tried to muscle his way into the queue in front of me on Za'abeel Road. These guys cruise down the queue of waiting cars looking for a driver they think will be intimidated and will let them in.
The guy in the Pajero came up beside me, looked in, saw I was a woman, thought "easy meat" and moved the nose of his car close to front bumper to show he was cutting in. Wrong choice mate! This female in the V8 was annoyed already, so I moved fractionally forward to show that he wasn't going to force his stupid Pajero in front of me. He gave up on me and moved up the queue, eventually frightening a lady in a little Nissan and cutting into the queue in front of her.
Then, coming along the road outside the Novotel, a moron in a white Merc cut me off, missing me by a millimeters, it was so damn dangerous and I was furious, and it happened. My brain fused.
http://carolynn-dubailife.blogspot.com/
White collar crime
The UAE is making a big push on corruption, with several high profile real estate company executives in trouble with ministers being charged and even an Abu Dhabi policeman too.
It's true that so far, everything points to individuals abusing their positions to fill their boots. Wherever there's a river of cash, someone will always try to divert a bit here and there.
http://muscatconfidential.blogspot.com/2008/08/uae-hit-by-white-collar-crime.html
Endless construction
Put it down again, dig it up again. That's the Dubai way. And that's why the construction will never be finished. Along with it we get the added confusion, extra pollution and wasted money.
They're at it again in Dubai Marina. At long, long last the paving of footpaths and roundabouts is being done.
As always, resources are being thrown at the job. Dozens of workers everywhere, piles of pavers, machinery etc.
http://dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/
UAE is number one
The United Arab Emirates has been given the silver medal in the contest to be the best place to live for expatriates, according to a study conducted by HSBC Bank International, a Jersey-based subsidiary of the world's biggest company.
The rankings are based on a study by HSBC Bank International, which surveyed 2,155 expats around the world. The responses were used to determine each country's ranking according to several criteria, including the duration the respondents stayed; their ability to command high earnings and save; having a more luxurious life than back home; and, of course, decent accommodation that didn't eat up all their earnings.
http://experiencingtheemirates.blogspot.com/
Dodgy duplicates
When you see some of the ludicrous prices charged for designer goods, it's small wonder that poor-quality copies get knocked off in some sweatshop and offloaded on to the public at a fraction of the price. Dubai is full of them. I defy anyone, especially a Westerner, to wander around the shops in Karama and not be constantly pestered by gentlemen offering "Copy Rolex. Gucci ..." At least they're not being peddled as the real thing. No-one would believe a genuine Louis Vuitton bag for Dh50 anyway.
Now most fakes are dead easy to spot. Mutant spellings on the Goach handbags, for example. The small print on the sleeve of a dodgy DVD can be downright hilarious. And if you compare a real Rolex against a dodgy one the difference in quality is often glaringly obvious. So I'm told. I own neither a real nor a fake Rolex. It's like getting behind the wheel of a Bentley after driving a Fiat Panda. Counterfeit goods are par for the course in downtown Karama. Shop there only with a dose of caveat emptor (catering size).
Regrettably it's also par for the course in the Gold Souk. Here, dozens of blingmongers peddle high-value goods of precious metals and rare gems. 18, or even 22 karat gold is commonplace. And it's all real. So, unfortunately, is the "copy watches" brigade.
http://grumpygoat.blogspot.com/
Qatar VS Dubai
After spending about six hours in Doha, I realised that Qatar is not even close to where Dubai is today. Dubai is a decade ahead of Qatar. If you go to Qatar after living in Dubai for a while you will notice the difference immediately after landing at Doha airport. But if you have never been to Dubai and visit Qatar from the sub-continent then you might like the place. The only thing worth noticing was the skyline which looked pretty good from a distance.
I was wrong when I said that Qatar rivals Dubai. It doesn't even come close.
http://umarsiddiqi.com/blog/
