sandCat in Dubai

Category: reality

  • today is the day

    It took 49 months, 30000 workers and Dh28 billion to meet the city’s need for an alternative mode of transport – one that will ease congestion and boost economic activity. Tonight, when the first Metro train rolls out of the station, Dubai will turn another page of history. A dream will be realised – 9.9.9 will stay etched in memory.

    From the front-page of the Gulf News this morning

    The inaugural whizz down the tracks takes place tonight, well for the VIPs that is, the rest of us will get to ride the train from tomorrow, the 10th. The part I am most excited about is the link to the airport, this is one of the 10 stations that will be open in the first phase. I feel this will certainly save many residents, and visitors, time and effort in getting both there and back, quickly and easily, without the hassle of parking at the airport itself. Certainly once all the “kinks” (if there are any) are ironed out, and all the stations are open, I will definitely make regular use of the metro.

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  • the good, the bad and the ugly

    When someone tells you there is good news, and there is bad news, which do you choose to hear first? I like to start with the bad news and get it out the way, and hope that the good news will somehow make up for it. Sadly, in life, you don’t always get both options, and have to deal with one or the other. This last week was a little bit like that…but I will start with the good (in line with the famous movie title anyway).

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  • fast facts

    In all likelihood Ramadan will start tomorrow, that is depending on the sighting of the new moon, which will probably happen tonight.

    Ramadan follows the moon cycle with lasts 29 or 30 days. It is seen as an opportunity for families to renew their connections, it’s also a month of forgiveness and mercy. According to a quote in the Xpress today Ramadan is “when you hit the reset button on your relationships – with God, with yourself, family and even neighbours”.

    For the non-Muslims living in the region, and for tourists too, it is important to have consideration for those fasting and remember that all eating, drinking and even smoking in public is frowned upon between dawn and dusk.

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  • it’s not completely over

    Despite the signs of recovery they keep going on about on CNN (in an effort to convince us through repetition), and in the papers here, the reality seems to be that we haven’t yet turned the corner. Illustrative of this is the fact that there are two vehicles parked at the small shopping centre close to our house where we go to gym in the morning, and they have both clearly been abandoned. The one, a Porsche Cayenne, has 2 flat tyres now (tragic) and the other, a Pajero, is covered in a thick layer of dust.

    abandoned
    [abandoned vehicle]

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  • that’s a relief..

    The UAE Health Ministry has denied a report that said expatriates returning to the country would have to produce a medical certificate to prove they were free of the H1N1 virus.

    “The news about this issue is completely untrue,” Dr Ali Ahmed bin Shuker, Health Ministry Director-General and Chairman of the Technical Health Committee for Combating Swine Flu, told official news agency Wam.

    An English daily had reported on Tuesday that returning expatriates would need to produce the certificate before being allowed in.

    Full story is here.