sandCat in Dubai

Category: Dubai

  • restaurant week

    So I am sitting here writing this from our lovely hotel room in Chablis, France. The birds are tweeting in the trees, lovely green trees, outside. Its slightly chilly, about 19 degrees C, but the sun is shining and the air is free of dust. All good. But I thought I better get some thoughts down about last week, when Stu and I visited two restaurants during the Jumeirah restaurant week in Dubai. That is before the wonderful food and wine we are having here in France makes me forget all about it.

    The restaurant week runs for…a week obviously, and is intended as a way to encourage you to try new restaurants in the group. Offering a set menu for a special price, excluding grape beverages sadly, the idea is to highlight a few of the dishes on offer in each case.

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  • flat trousers and drive-through ATMs

    Last year, or was it the year before that, I switched to a chemical free cleaning solution for our home called Enjo. Made in Austria these special fibres work with water to pick up and hold dirt, leaving your home clean and free of chemical residue. Yes its a big ask to believe that this works effectively, but it does. And it makes cleaning quick and easy. And I love not having black feet any-more from walking around barefoot on my tiled floor (no more soap residue). Anyway this isn’t really the point of my story. The problem, or shall we say challenge, I am facing is finding (and keeping) a maid to integrate with this new system. Unfortunately the lovely lady we had for several years, and who was “ENJO trained” by then, left us as she was going back to the Philippines. So I have been on a quest to find a maid that cleans well (my thing), irons well (Stu’s thing), keeps our pet cats inside and the friendly stray cats outside (very NB) whilst not demolishing my walls with the vacuum cleaner. After trying several agencies I have basically given up and gone back to cleaning my own house – although my one concession is having someone do the ironing as I hate ironing. Which ultimately brings me to the point – I have noticed a very strange phenomenon here, pretty much every maid I have tried irons trousers in the same bizarre way. Namely flat, instead of with the fold in the front. I can’t understand why. Combine this with trousers that are sometimes a little short to begin with (in my case anyway) and I end up looking like a clown in the circus. All I need are those big floppy shoes to go with it.

    not a flattering look
    not a flattering look

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  • Dubai emergencies

    Please take note of the following numbers.

    • for General Police Enquiries (labour complaints, traffic fine info and birth, death & burial certificates) dial 901 or email 901@dubaipolice.gov.ae
    • for emergencies dial 999

    Using the correct number means the emergency switchboard does not get clogged up with unnecessary, non-emergency calls. Apparently half of the 2.3 million calls at the moment are trivial.

  • happy Mawlid an-Nabi

    Today marks Mawlid an-Nabi, or festival of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). However its unclear where the tradition of this celebration originated. Neither the Prophet nor his close companions or people who followed him marked or commemorated his birthday as a special day.

    mawlid an-nabi
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  • in store for the UAE in 2013

    Are you a New Year’s Resolutions person? I’m not. I used to dutifully complete my list of intentions for the new year, but they didn’t last much past the 10th of the month really, so now I don’t even go through the charade. And whilst its common for people to make (and of course break) New Year’s resolutions are they an option for other entities, like countries for example?

    Well in yesterday’s paper there were several previews, plans and various stories on changes in the UAE for the coming year – maybe not resolutions exactly – but close enough in my opinion. These are the ones I really like.

    Dubai roadworks
    thanks to emirates247.com

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