UAE National Day

Happy UAE National Day! It has been 36 years since Dubai became independant from Britain. Actually UAE Day was yesterday but I'm a bit behind.

In celebration of the day a number of buildings in the city (and some of the cranes) are covered with coloured lights. Think the beads you get at Mardi Gras - now make them glow and cover a 10 storey building with them. It was kind of nice. There were even fireworks which were kind of distracting because they were happening at two different sites at the same time and both were within our eyesight. I'm glad Suhail (who was driving at the time) is not as easily distracted as I am and managed to keep the car on the road. Although I did make him stop the car and take pictures.

So to commemorate the day I've made a list of the things I like about Dubai - it's longer than you'd think:

1. I like the people. They're very friendly and just truly decent, nice folks. People don't swear like sailors (even the teenagers in the mall), they're polite, family oriented and kind. Sort of like the folks on the East coast of Canada without the beer and with more teeth.

2. I like the clothes. By that I mean National dress (Abayas and Dishdashas) and the Indian garb (Shalway kameez and Kurtas) . The National dress is kind of like a uniform but it's neat and clean and I have to admit a little imposing. The Indian garb is awesome - colourful and bright and just .... well, gorgeous. I could be happy trotting around in a shalway kameez every day.

3. The sun: Yeah, I said it, I like the sun here. I guess when there's still an ozone layer above me I don't burn. I freckle like a freak but I don't have to slather myself in aloe vera every two seconds for pain relief.

4. The Architecture: there's so much construction here it's kind of hard to wrap your head around it but the parts that are finished are quite pretty. The architechture (one of my passions) is interesting. The lines, shapes, building materials are like nothing I've seen before. Now I don't for a second believe that these buildings will keep standing but for now they're great to look at.

5. The Driving: Everyday it's like being a part of the Indy 500 or riding a rollercoaster. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I have been in a car that's almost been hit by another one or has almost hit another one. Everyone here drives 120 - to start. No one waits until there is a space big enough for their car to start changing lanes. People LOVE to beep their horns at every opportunity. And despite this there is no discernable road rage - although we have had one frustrated cabbie yell "Stupid Hindi" but that's as close as we've come to outright anger. Of course, flipping someone the bird could land you in jail so that could have something to do with it.

6. The Food. It's good. It's authentic. It's making my ass larger.

7. Yoga by Candle Light. A few days ago a number of us received an email that we were to attend a meeting at the amphitheatre behind our office at 6pm. Attendance was mandatory and we were required to get permission if we had to miss it - very formal and intimidating. The meeting was a candlelight yoga session. Sooo good

8. The Customer Service. The motto I'm pretty sure is "the customer is always right even if their request is entirely idiotic and not at all feasible."

Every time I enter the hotel the door guy tries to carry my bag. Binu, the awesome guy who cleans my room, does my dishes and folds my laundry even though I've told him he doesn't have to (I've bought juice and water for him so he can have a treat when he does my room - he thinks I'm crazy). Last week Jane, Lindy and I went to Lulu Hypermarket and when we were done we called a cab. I was told "there are no cabs call back later". Lindy was told "It will be one hour". When she asked what was going on that was taking away all the cabs there was no response. We would have been stranded but we called our hotel and they hired a private car for us. When we drove past the hotel at the mall (which is next door to Lulu) the cab queue was FULL of empty taxis waiting for people to come out of the mall. Awesome.

9. The Souks are just amazing. You can find everything. You can barter. You can try food you've never seen before. The vendors will chat about all kinds of crap with you. It's really cool.

10. The Beach. It may sound the same as the sun but it's not. Jumeirah Beach Park is where Lindy and I have gone on our beach days. This is the public beach used by anyone who's got 5 dirham to spare. What I like about the beach is that the sand is lovely and silky soft. The leering men are hilarious - they really haven't honed the skill of being inconspicuous. The water is blue and warm and salty. Scrumptious

11. Eastern Mantras. This should fall under food but this delicious yogurty treat deserves it's own mention. This is a smoothie consisting of dates, bananas, frozen yogurt and milk. It's the best thing I've ever tasted. Lindy and I have had about 20 of them each so far. They make me believe there is a God.

That's my list! Go UAE