Okay so Mr. Mike finally arrived in Dubai the day before yesterday at 3:18am (according to the arrival/departure boards) took a nap and started his festival journey.
Opening Night was pretty good. I saw George Clooney twice. Once as he walked the red carpet while all the girls on my gala staff giggled and faux fainted. Apparently George is a hot commodity wherever he goes. Once he did the intro for the opening night film he was swept off to a nearby theatre for a one on one session which was entirely sold out and had a teeming standby queue. This is where I saw him the second time much closer up. The man's gorgeous. Simply truly gorgeous. Oh yeah, and taller than you would think.
Following the gala and one on one session was the opening night party. It was a really quite beautiful. Folks in tuxs and gowns on a platform at the beach. The decor was all in white and there were giant globes lighting the area. There was a band and then DJ playing standards and then all 80's pop. It was like a giant flashback to junior high and high school except in a fancy dress. The place was teeming with waiters carrying all sorts of good stuff to eat and also some who apparently wanted us to be so drunk we didn't know what to do with ourselves. Lindy danced on a table - that's all I'm saying. A Table.
The following morning Muffin had his very first Dubai hangover. Awesome!
Yesterday was the children's gala. Apparently some braindrain thought that they would block off part of the house as it wasn't selling that well. This, of course, is Dubai and everyone waits until the last minute to show up. So they had to remove the barrier so we could fill the house. My favourite part of the evening was a tween leaning over to her mother - while her mother was talking to me and announcing very loudly that her mother should tell me that we are sponsors. I told the tween it was not polite to talk about someone who was standing right in front of her as though they weren't there. Her mother surprisingly seemed to appreciate that so I found tickets for her. Just as a general note folks - be an ass to a customer service person get nothing but a wall of policy be nice and understanding that their job bites ass and they will go above and beyond for you. It's a rule - embrace it.
You really can't beat drinking champagne with the persian gulf on one side and
Monday, December 10, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Dubai - a Winter Wonderland
Okay so Lindy walked into our office (which has been re-located to the Madinat Jumeirah Arena) and claimed to have been watching folks ice skating just across the way. I ran out with my camera to see a crazy Winter Wonderland (or so it's labelled) across from me. There is an outdoor skating rink and lots of fake snow, a christmas tree and big snow scape mural.
My question here is why doesn't Dubai want to be Dubai?
When I think the middle east I think sand dunes, camels, bedouins, Arabic, marketplaces and beautiful carpets. What you actually get here though is a simulation of what it's like to be anywhere but here.
You have to drive for an hour to hit sand dunes. I've been told that if I was driving between Dubai and Abu Dhabi I would have an excellent chance of seeing a camel and perhaps some bedouins (before I died in some freak car accident because the drivers are INSANE here). There are marketplaces (souks) and I've seen lots of carpets but they just seem out of place in Europe of the East. As for Arabic I hear it all the time but now nearly as often as I hear English or Hindi or French. I just don't get it.
I think Dubai should embrace it's weirdness and it's desert location and be proud of what it is.
Just an opinion from a lowly Canadian.
My question here is why doesn't Dubai want to be Dubai?
When I think the middle east I think sand dunes, camels, bedouins, Arabic, marketplaces and beautiful carpets. What you actually get here though is a simulation of what it's like to be anywhere but here.
You have to drive for an hour to hit sand dunes. I've been told that if I was driving between Dubai and Abu Dhabi I would have an excellent chance of seeing a camel and perhaps some bedouins (before I died in some freak car accident because the drivers are INSANE here). There are marketplaces (souks) and I've seen lots of carpets but they just seem out of place in Europe of the East. As for Arabic I hear it all the time but now nearly as often as I hear English or Hindi or French. I just don't get it.
I think Dubai should embrace it's weirdness and it's desert location and be proud of what it is.
Just an opinion from a lowly Canadian.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
UAE Committed to Democracy
"UAE Committed to Democracy" that was the headline of the Gulf News a few days back - I'm just catching up on my reading. I don't know that there's anything that I can say about that other than HAHAHA *snort* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *more snort* ... ha....ha *wipe tear*. The UAE is about as far from being a democracy as I am from being a size 2.
The first thing I thought when I saw this headline was "does the current government realize that the next Prime Minister or Vice President (they do a love a good title) would be Indian or Filipino?" I'm just guessing that would be true given that most of Dubai seems to be made of folks from those two countries.
Dubai is a never ending contradiction. The pure blood folks treat most people like they are solidly below them on the food chain. The workers who are building everything here are paid about the equivalent of a couple of dollars an hour and are considered to be disposable. Yes, I meant to use the word disposable.
A few weeks back a bridge that was under construction collapsed killing 7 and gravely injuring another 15 workers. It collapsed because the untrained labourer who was given the task of running the giant crane that day didn't realize that the supports on the bridge couldn't take the weight of the many, many iron rods he was stacking on them - as he was told to do. Now anywhere else in the world this would inspire new safety procedures to be put in place, better training for the workers and a lot of news time. Here the story disappeared the next day except for a notice that the building company had decided to compensate the families of the dead men by giving them 10 years salary - if you do the math you will be thoroughly appalled.
If Dubai ever does commit itself to democracy I will eat my punching, light up camel pen.
The first thing I thought when I saw this headline was "does the current government realize that the next Prime Minister or Vice President (they do a love a good title) would be Indian or Filipino?" I'm just guessing that would be true given that most of Dubai seems to be made of folks from those two countries.
Dubai is a never ending contradiction. The pure blood folks treat most people like they are solidly below them on the food chain. The workers who are building everything here are paid about the equivalent of a couple of dollars an hour and are considered to be disposable. Yes, I meant to use the word disposable.
A few weeks back a bridge that was under construction collapsed killing 7 and gravely injuring another 15 workers. It collapsed because the untrained labourer who was given the task of running the giant crane that day didn't realize that the supports on the bridge couldn't take the weight of the many, many iron rods he was stacking on them - as he was told to do. Now anywhere else in the world this would inspire new safety procedures to be put in place, better training for the workers and a lot of news time. Here the story disappeared the next day except for a notice that the building company had decided to compensate the families of the dead men by giving them 10 years salary - if you do the math you will be thoroughly appalled.
If Dubai ever does commit itself to democracy I will eat my punching, light up camel pen.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Burj Dubai
Okay so what I'm wondering is why? In a land where they deal with extreme heat and winds. Where the construction labour is untrained/unskilled and their are fatal accidents all the time. Why do they need to build the world's tallest building?
I've started to refer to this building as the butter pat. Imagine a stack of butter pats and that's kind of the current shape of the building. I imagine when it's faced with extreme heat and the sand underneath the foundation starts to shift it will be about as sturdy as a stack of butter pats too.
As of 24 October 2007, Burj Dubai's official website reported its height to be 585.7 m (1,922 ft), with 156 completed stories. Just to give you an idea of how big the building currently is the picture above is from the Dubai Air Show that took place in early November. The building that seems to be at the same height as the jet plane is the Burj Dubai. I'm assuming anyone who works or lives in this building will need an oxygen tank and their own personal sherpa.
Does anyone else sense the words "national tragedy" in Dubai's future.
Suhail has started calling the building the butter pat too. He did this without even thinking about it - I think it scared him a little that my slangy weirdness is rubbing off on him. Poor Suhail.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
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
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
Thursday, November 29, 2007
It's The Little Things
It's so weird how sometimes the tiniest things will bring and image to your mind.
Today I was getting on the escalator to leave one of the cinemas. The woman who was directly in front of me came to an abrupt halt and waited a second before tentatively stepping on to the escalator. This immediately brought Kerry to mind - not much with the depth perception our girl - and brought on a strong pang of homesick.
Next I went to another one of the cinemas we are using and met up with Mukesh. He's one of our box office staff who is the middle east version of a lovely young lad who works for the Toronto festival named Jonathan Goldsbie. When he came for his initial interview Lindy and I were both struck by the similarity. Until today I didn't even bother learning Mukesh's name because I just called him Goldsbie in my head. I've since told him the story which he finds amusing. I must print a picture of Jonathan so he can see it..... again, more homesick.
I went to the last cinema and the local stray cat - it's a little orange kitty - was chasing a butterfly out by the bushes. This made me think of Hank and again with the homesick.
I pity Lindy in another week or so.
The Muffin Man can't get here soon enough!
BTW Muffin Man the box office staff has been instructed to call you that during the festival .... the legend continues!
Today I was getting on the escalator to leave one of the cinemas. The woman who was directly in front of me came to an abrupt halt and waited a second before tentatively stepping on to the escalator. This immediately brought Kerry to mind - not much with the depth perception our girl - and brought on a strong pang of homesick.
Next I went to another one of the cinemas we are using and met up with Mukesh. He's one of our box office staff who is the middle east version of a lovely young lad who works for the Toronto festival named Jonathan Goldsbie. When he came for his initial interview Lindy and I were both struck by the similarity. Until today I didn't even bother learning Mukesh's name because I just called him Goldsbie in my head. I've since told him the story which he finds amusing. I must print a picture of Jonathan so he can see it..... again, more homesick.
I went to the last cinema and the local stray cat - it's a little orange kitty - was chasing a butterfly out by the bushes. This made me think of Hank and again with the homesick.
I pity Lindy in another week or so.
The Muffin Man can't get here soon enough!
BTW Muffin Man the box office staff has been instructed to call you that during the festival .... the legend continues!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thing to Look Forward To ....
You get into a routine when you're 6000 miles from home and are pretty much working or hanging out in your hotel room. It gives you tonnes to time to think about the things that you miss and things you're looking foward to. I've started a list:
I'm Looking Forward To:
Seeing Lucy, Drew, Mikki and Mekai. I probably won't recognize any of them!
Petting my kitties (which is not dirty - jeez)
Giving big hugs to all my friends
Calling Kerry at more sensible hours
The Muffin Man visiting Dubai
Visiting my favourite expat Simon in San Fran
Drinks with Abaya Barbie, Lindy and the other TIFF/DIFFs in T.O.
Sad as it may seem ... CPOF
Arthur's crazy frisbee hoarding
Seeing the slightly crazy lifeguard at the rec centre by work - she misses me and Maunique when we don't go for a few days.
Lying on my couch with my crazy Christmas lights all over my livingroom. Although I now have this luxury in Dubai - it's just not the same.
Soon .... so soon
I'm Looking Forward To:
Seeing Lucy, Drew, Mikki and Mekai. I probably won't recognize any of them!
Petting my kitties (which is not dirty - jeez)
Giving big hugs to all my friends
Calling Kerry at more sensible hours
The Muffin Man visiting Dubai
Visiting my favourite expat Simon in San Fran
Drinks with Abaya Barbie, Lindy and the other TIFF/DIFFs in T.O.
Sad as it may seem ... CPOF
Arthur's crazy frisbee hoarding
Seeing the slightly crazy lifeguard at the rec centre by work - she misses me and Maunique when we don't go for a few days.
Lying on my couch with my crazy Christmas lights all over my livingroom. Although I now have this luxury in Dubai - it's just not the same.
Soon .... so soon
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