Looking at some blogs written by people living in the region it seems that customer service, or at least the lack thereof, is a very real and ongoing problem. Ann, from “A Canadian in Abu Dhabi” is having fun and games with Etisalat; Seabee over at “Life in Dubai” has written numerous times about poor customer service whilst I struggle on with the banks here, not to mention a new wrinkle this weekend which I will go into in a sec.
Category: food
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whilst the Stu’s away
[Dubai Fountain, taken with my phone] This weekend was nice but also rather tiring, or maybe I am just getting old (any comments agreeing with that statement will be deleted, you have been warned). On Thursday evening we started with dinner at the Rivington Grill (Souk al Bahar). I decided on this restaurant purely because of it’s location, it has a good view of the new Dubai Fountain. And, as it seemed to get a good review overall on Timeout, it seemed like a safe choice. We were taking a visiting friend there with us as well as two of Stu’s American colleagues who were in town. As we walked into the Souk we could already see (and hear) the water display through the large window at the end of the passage. It looked amazing!
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seriously hot, really, seriously
We attended South Africa Day here in Dubai on Friday last week, the 1st of May, which was to celebrate Freedom Day in South Africa, which was on the 27th April. Last year the location of this was the Mina Seyahi Yacht Club which must have been lovely. In fact it was a very popular event last year, we even read about it in the local paper in Johannesburg at the time. The food and drink were also fully sponsored last year I believe which may account for the crowds, a great deal of whom, I have subsequently learned, were not even South African. But I digress.
[drumming at SA Day] -
fideous soup anyone?
No its not a spelling mistake I promise. Last night Stu and I decided to take advantage of the visa dining special that runs until the end of June, and made a reservation for dinner at a restaurant called Marina at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The restaurant is situated on the end of a long breakwater overlooking the Burj Al Arab hotel. A truly stunning location. Getting there is a bit of a walk down a rather long path, so we opted for the golf cart shuttle instead. Sadly there is a nightclub above the restaurant, so you feel like you are eating your meal whilst sitting inside the still-beating glass heart of some giant sea creature. And I am sure in the day time the view is amazing from inside, but at night all you see is yourself reflected in the glass if you are facing out or the large fish tank if you are facing inwards. Testament to how many Russian tourists we get here the menu is not in English and Arabic, nope, its in English and Russian. Very bizarre.
[Fideous soup – yummy] -
raining cats and camels?
As unexpected as this wet, cloudy weather is I have to say that I am really enjoying it. Well for the most part anyway. Travelling around on the flooded streets is no fun at all, especially when people don’t slow down. Everyone knows that having your hazard lights on will instantly halve your stopping time so you don’t need to slow down, right?? Getting to work this week has been challenging, I always had an idea that desert sand was like beach sand, and so wouldn’t be muddy. Yeah right! The sand here seems to turn into something resembling soft porridge. Very sticky and sloppy. Thank goodness for 4 wheel drive. On the plus side though I am definitely getting braver, the large lake of water that stopped me just a week ago was no big deal on Wednesday, especially as I was already late and could not be bothered with turning back and finding another way. So I drove through it, despite the fact it seemed bigger and deeper this time, or maybe that was just when I was half-way through and beginning to have second thoughts. Anyway I made it. Although my car is now making a very strange noise at high revs and has no power, it almost sounds like something is stuck, so now I have the added joy of having to take it in to the dealership this week and have it checked out. Needless to say I haven’t bothered to wash it again, I will wait until the rain is completely over I think. More news on the recent weather can be read here, including pictures of hail! My picture of mud below is rather mundane in comparison :-).
[thank goodness for 4 wheel drive]