Time has flown! I�ve been in the Gulf for almost two months now (at the time of writing), and life has been very busy. From the day I arrived, I�ve been busy filling in forms, looking for accommodation, working fairly long hours, and contacting numerous agencies � all while trying to get out to explore the city, find and buy necessary items, put this website together, keep up with emails, and get into the gym.
So what do I think about this new place? To make reading easier I�ve divided this section into categories below.
My Apartment
Because Dubai is developing so quickly, there�s a high demand for building materials and laborers � making accommodation very expensive. After making numerous phone calls, reading the classifieds section, and visiting several apartments, I eventually got a one-year lease for a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment for 67,000 Dirhams - the equivalent of about $23,000 CDN. It�s very expensive by Canadian standards, but is a typical price in Dubai. Interestingly, there are no homeless people in this city.
As mentioned in the �About my Apartment� page, it has a gym, roof-top swimming pool, and various other amenities which save me time and money commuting around the city, including a grocery store on the ground floor. It comes with everything you could need, minus just a few things which I bought: CD player, coffee maker, and an alarm clock. That�s it. It�s even got a hide-a-bed � so come on over any time for a visit. I can even give you a spare key so you can come and go as you please!
A typical work day for me involves waking up at 7, hitting the snooze alarm a few times, having a quick shower, cooking a nice big bowl of oatmeal or an omelet while sipping a cup of Arabian coffee and catching the headlines on BBC World or CNN International. I then head outside just after 8 o�clock (where it�s already 35 degrees) to flag down a vacant taxi from a busy six lane road, and head into work 30 minutes fashionably late. After work, I come home, hit the apartment�s gym (where there is a very informative personal trainer from Africa), followed by laps in the roof-top pool, then over to the hot tub (yes, a hot tub) to chat with other tenants from countries like Britain, South Africa, France, India, Germany, and the United States. I then head downstairs to my room, cook dinner, and try to get to bed for 11. There are photos of my apartment in the �Photo Gallery� page.
The City
The city itself is very nice. There is a pleasant mix of western and eastern culture and architecture, with �old� (30 years max.) and new buildings. The city is nicely landscaped with palm trees and flowers lining the streets. I live in a central location, with access to major roads with taxis and buses.
What really takes away from the city, is the heat and the traffic. Depending who you talk to, people say that Dubai is the world�s fastest-growing city. Someone told me that 16% of all the world�s cranes are in Dubai, but I find that very hard to believe. But you get the point. Development is absolutely ridiculously absurd here. Everywhere you look on the skyline are cranes and new buildings.
The city is designed so that nobody should have to walk (or drive! - HA!) more than 500 meters to a mosque. Amidst all the glamour and westernization of this town, hearing the call to prayer five times a day reminds you that you�re in the Middle East.
With the exception of the city centre, Dubai is very fast-car-oriented, yet difficult to get around even by car. There are a lot of right-in / right-out only roads, meaning if the road you want to take is on the left, you have to drive to the next junction in order to first make a u-turn, then double back to the previous junction to turn right.
What is really frustrating, is that there is no official addressing system (e.g. 3940 Ashford Road). Rather, everyone has a P.O. Box address. To find an office or store, people will give you directions using land marks. They are only just getting around to labeling the minor road names. People will often tell you something like "drive to the roundabout by the big flag, turn left, and drive along past the grocery store, then turn right at the street by the pink building. Drive along that street. My house is the one with the big iron gate" and a cactus at the end of the driveway." (or something like that).
Food & Drink
In Dubai you can find any food or beverage you can imagine � and at any price you can imagine. People from all over the world come to live and work in Dubai, and generally offer their traditional cuisines for very reasonable prices. That said, it depends where you go. You can buy enough street food (Indian) to fill you up for the equivalent of $1 CDN, or spend hundreds at some of the city�s numerous 5 and 6 star hotels.
Generally however, food and drink is much cheaper than you would pay at a similar venue in Canada or the UK � be it at a grocery store, nice restaurant, fast food, or street food. The exceptions are alcohol and coffee. Whereas in Canada you would pay about $5 for a pint of beer and $1.25 for a regular coffee, in Dubai you pay about $9 for a pint of beer and $3.50 for a regular coffee.
Money
The local currency in the United Arab Emirates is the Dirham, which is exchanged at a rate of approximately $1 CDN for 3 Dirhams. While debit and credit cards are widely accepted, cash is the best way to go. Bills come in 5�s, 10�s, 20�s, 50�s, 100�s, 500�s, and 1000�s. I�ve never had anything greater than a 1,000 Dirham bill, but I�m sure they have higher denominations. Whereas in Canada, there are 100 cents in a dollar, in the UAE there are 100 Fils in a Dirham�.however they don�t have pennies over here. They only have 25 Fils, 50 Fils, and 1 Dirham coins � so they often just round up when charging you for something, and round down when giving you change!
By western standards, accommodation is the only really expensive thing in this city. Everything else, such as clothing, food, gas, electronics, and vehicles are relatively cheap. To give you an idea, in Canadian dollars, a pair of brand name jeans can go for as little as $10, a meal at Subway for $3.50, a meal at a mediocre restaurant for $7, enough street food to fill you up for $1, a bottle of water for 35 cents, filling up a tank of gas in a mid-sized car for $10, taxis for $1 to start then 30 cents per kilometer, buses for 50 cents, internet cafes for $1 per hour, a 3-disc CD player with 800w speakers for $150, a coffee maker for $20, and so on.
Additionally, everything in the United Arab Emirates is tax free, including salaries!! There are a lot of rich people in this city. You see it in people�s cars, their clothing, their appearance, and unfortunately, in the way some of them treat others �below� them. Amidst the wealth in the Gulf, there are also a lot of poor people. Most of the taxi drivers I chat with have wives and children back in Indian, Pakistan, or Afghanistan, and are here to make money for their families, then go home for a 2 month holiday every two years. The laborers who are working around the clock on the construction sites generally live in crowded labour camps on the urban fringe, sharing rooms with over a dozen people, and make just $300 CDN a month. It is fairly common knowledge that many of them are slaves, whose passports have been taken by their employer. I read an article in the paper the other day suggesting that about 800 construction workers die every year in the UAE - due to falls, accidents with equipment, or from diseases caught in the labour camps. You�d think that with the fortunes some companies are making from development, they could at least give their laborers their own private space. The love of money�
The People
Dubai is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. 80% of the people who live here were born outside of the UAE. Arabic is the official language and is widely spoken by Emirate-born locals, as well as the expatriate population from countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
However, almost everyone here speaks English, at least as a second language. All the signs are bilingual (Arabic/English), and all people in the service and professional sectors are fluent, while others (such as taxi drivers) speak broken English.
The largest ethnic group by far is Indian � who bring with them not only the Hindi language, but about a dozen other dialects spoken throughout India. A large number are from Pakistan - who speak Urdu, which is spoken identically to Hindi, but written differently. There is also a significant Asian population from the Philippines and China, as well as a European population from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, and the United Kingdom, with slightly fewer Canadians, Americans, Australians, and South Africans. I've been learning the basics (please / thank you / how are you?, hello, etc) in Arabic, Tagalog, Malayalam, and Hindi / Urdu - they really seem to appreciate that.
People here wear every kind of garment, speak every kind of language, follow every kind of belief, and eat every kind of food you can imagine. Some Muslim women are covered from head to toe in their traditional black veil and "abaya" (cloak), while other women walk around the shopping malls wearing pieces of string - pretty much. When I was reading about Dubai in all the guide books and websites, I originally got the impression that while it was a liberal city (especially for the Middle East), there would be certain things you wouldn�t do, like wear shorts in a restaurant, point with a finger, show the soles of your shoes, shake a women�s hand unless they offered first, or even speak with a women in public after dark! However, people here do whatever they feel like (within reason) and everyone and everything is accepted and tolerated.
As a white person, you do get a lot of noticeable glances while in certain neighbourhoods � for example when ordering Indian or Arabic food from a street-side window in old Downtown Dubai or Deira, or riding the Abra (old wooden motor boat) across Dubai Creek, or even waiting for the public bus! Many of the westerners live in the wealthy, low-density district of Jumierah, sometimes referred to as the Beverly Hills of the Middle East. I live right in the �transition� zone between Downtown Dubai (mainly Indians and Pakistanis) and the glamorous villas and compounds of Jumierah, so I get the best of both worlds.
Generally, the Indian, Pakistani, and Arab people are very friendly and polite, and are quick to give you a smile or wave. At just 1%, the crime late is among the lowest in the world, and on two occasions Dubai was named the world�s safest tourist destination. However, there are inevitably racial and sexist stereotypes which you hear people express daily.
As for the western expatriate population, there are a lot of nice people, but there also seems to be a lot of very stressed, rushed, and frustrated people. There is a lot of big money to be made in this town, and people come from all over the world to give it a try. They work long hours, weekends, have multiple cell phones, and get little sleep. These same people live in the �Beverly Hills� type of neighbourhoods on the beach (yet don�t make time to sun tan or swim), drive expensive cars (yet are stuck in traffic jams with other rich people driving sports cars), and eat dinner at the most expensive restaurants, yet afterwards they go back to work to stress themselves out seeking more money and longer hours! What else could they possibly want to do with their money? Eat more?!! :) As the saying goes: �what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?� I feel sorry for some of these rich people. Take a break, relax, and enjoy your life! Moderation!
Recreation
There is an unfortunate mentality in Dubai that you "live to work". I realize the city is growing rapidly, and thousands of people are moving here every day, but if things are always busy, then to me it would seem only logical that either companies are taking on too much or not hiring enough staff � not that the employees aren�t working long or hard enough. All the job sectors work long hours - from the trades, to the service industry, to the professionals. I feel a lot of pressure myself to stay late or even come in on the weekend!! However, there's only so much people can reasonably do.
On my time off, I�ve had opportunities to go jet skiing on Dubai Creek, go ATV-ing on sand dunes in the desert, take evening walks along Dubai Creek, take a road trip to rock pools out in the desert mountains, and attend a non-denominational church � a huge gathering of about 800 Christians on a government-donated compound about 45 minutes outside of central Dubai. I�ve made some great friends there already. Everyone there is young, fun-loving, very sociable, and come from all parts of the world. The pastor here is actually from Vancouver. It�s nice to meet a community that knows there is more to life than money and work! The church is very similar to Lambrick Park � the big non-denominational church in Victoria.
Television
While I never came here to watch television, I sometimes flip the channels briefly when I find some time. I�ve never seen such a diverse selection. You have channels dedicated to the news, reality shows, music videos, sports, and so on. You could be watching a show in English, then when the commercials come on, one advertisement will be in Cantonese, the next one in Arabic, the next in Dutch, then a couple in English, then back to your show. Other times, there will be news channels in French, Hindi, Dutch, or Arabic, with all-English commercials. Many of the commercials are related to making big money � including advertising for exotic vacations, flights, Rolex watches, jewelry, cars, new residential and commercial properties, and other material things.
Transportation
When you combine the super rich with a hot climate, everybody drives. While in Canada taking the bus is often viewed as a last resort, over here it�s completely out of the question altogether. So everyone gets into their Porsche, Lamborghini, Mercedes, BMW, Range Rover, Land Cruiser, or Lexus, and drives to work. As a result, the traffic is horrible, as are the driving habits. From a technical traffic engineering point of view, we classify most of the major roads as �Level of Service � F�, meaning they �Fail�, and are above their intended maximum capacity during rush "hour". As a result, drivers are very impatient, and take chances, honk their horns, run red lights, don�t stop for pedestrians, park wherever they feel like (including behind other parked cars � blocking them in!, or up on the sidewalks � which doesn�t make walking an attractive option either!). One of my first days here I almost got hit by a motorbike on the sidewalk! It was a "Chicken on the Run" delivery service or something like that! HA! And while they drive, they talk on their cell phones, weave in and out of traffic without signaling, often drive around a queue of vehicles waiting to turn then try to cut back into line at the last second, and sometimes don't bother to put their headlights on at night! As a result, there is a lot of road rage. Every few days, in my just 15 minute trip to work, I�ll see an accident. Large dents in the rear, side, or front of vehicles are a common sight. Interestingly enough, they are considering to raise the speed limit on the main highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi from 120 km/h to 160 km/h! What are they thinking?! The papers are full of stories of road accidents, traffic violation ticket statistics, letter's to the editor complaining about red-light and speed cameras, etc.
As a transportation planner in this town, I�m almost ashamed, because people all ask you what you�re going to do to fix the traffic problem! Believe me, if I had my way, there are a lot of things I�d do differently, but we�re a private firm, and unfortunately our business is generally to write reports for big, international, private developers � who are interested in making money. Big money, for rich people, with big cars, and big attitudes.
The sidewalks are actually very nice and wide, with textured paving, and are often sheltered from the sun with palm trees. The problem is it�s currently too hot to walk on them for more than 5 minutes (for a guy with Scottish blood anyway!), and when it is cool enough to walk, cars don�t stop for you! There are no bike lanes, car pool lanes, bus lanes, curb cuts (for wheelchairs or strollers), or anything to help make walking easier or to encourage more people to drive in fewer vehicles.
The good news is that plans are underway to construct an elevated light rail system � similar to SkyTrain in Vancouver. The contract was awarded to Mitsubishi (Japan) just a few weeks ago. They could have used this train 5 years ago, but it's better than nothing, and they are going to do an excellent job - the various lines will stretch some 70 kilometres around different parts of the city, and will be the world's longest driverless rail system. It should be partially operational by 2009, and fully completed by 2012.
The Weather
It�s hot! And I probably have the worst possible combination of genetics and experience to bear the heat: Scottish blood, raised in Canada, and recently adjusted to Nova Scotia winters! It�s only June (at the time of writing), and already people begin to sweat just standing outside, let alone walking. In August, I hear the temperatures can reach as high as 50 degrees on a bad day, with very high humidity � sometimes with fog from the Gulf! You can imagine what that would feel like! Standing in the shade makes a big difference, especially when waiting for a taxi, which during peak periods can take a while. Over here, I can tan in about 15 minutes, and burn after 25. Dubai is after all, located on the Tropic of Cancer!
I�m looking forward to the winters over here, which are like British Columbia summers (15 degrees overnight, 30 degrees in the afternoon). Very pleasant. Because of the heat, most people drive, try to park as close to their destination as possible, and even leave their engines running (to keep the air conditioning on) when they go inside a building for a short visit. This of course has led to horrendous traffic congestion, which in turn has led to some of the most impatient and crankiest drivers I�ve ever seen!
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