Weekend at Jebel Hafeet

The climate in Dubai is cooling down a bit right now, with winter just around the corner. Well don’t say “Yay!!” yet. The temperature has been hovering around 26-30 degrees – usually it is well over 40! So, if you are in Dubai or anywhere in the UAE, now is the right time to visit places such as Ras Al Khaimah, Al Ain, or better still… Jebel Hafeet. Why? Because according to a study, the Jebel Hafeet road has been awarded “the best road to drive in the world”! So, it was weekend for us, and we HAD to check it out.

The Road Going Towards Al Ain.

We (me and two of my roommates) took off at 3:00 pm on Friday (28^th September 2007). A drive to Jebel Hafeet takes around 1.5-2 hours. So we were planning on reaching Jebel Hafeet by 5 pm, because by 6 pm, it would start getting dark and hence we would miss the panoramas and the view of the winding roads from the hilltop. Since it is the holy month of Ramadan here, we figured it would be great if we could pack some munchies from some restaurant. McDonalds was the obvious choice. Then, we went to Spinney’s, grabbed a couple of water bottles, some snacks and candy bars.

My roommate's Peugeot 206.

For those ignorant enough, the holy month of Ramadan spans an entire month. During this month, many restaurants are shut during the day, and they only open at Iftar timings. Smoking, drinking or eating in public is prohibited by law in most countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and so on – so if you are caught doing any of these, you might end up in jail for up to 3 months, in the UAE. It might be worse in other countries such as Saudi Arabia. So, we were careful enough to not be seen eating in public.

The beautiful desert on both the sides of the road.

Here's one more view of the endless "sand land".

The introduction of Salik has been a pain in the ass and my roommate didn’t have a Salik tag on his Peugeot 206 – so taking Garhoud Bridge was out of our options. We hit the Business Bay Crossing, before coming on to Emirates Road, and driving towards Al Ain.

Inside Al Ain. Beautiful trees on both the sides of the road.

And we were on our way to Jebel Hafeet. It was amazing to see that on both the sides of the road, we could only see dunes and dunes of sand. We couldn’t resist stopping for a while to snap up some images.

Getting ready for a photo shoot.

We didn’t have any maps on us and this was our first time towards Jebel Hafeet. So, we had to follow each and every sign on the road – we couldn’t afford to miss one.

Yay! We found the desert!!

Luckily the signs were as easy as they could get. Every road sign had an entry such as “Tourist Destinations”. Need we say more? So we followed the “Tourist Destinations” sign, till we came across a sign that yelled “Jebel Hafeet” with an arrow pointing to the left. And we liked what we saw.

I can jump, too!

Though we weren’t yet on the Jebel Hafeet road, we could see a mountain in front of us with beautifully lit winding roads, all over it. It seemed as if the mountain was decorated with a bunch of twinkly lights! So we started to drive up the mountain – the roads were as smooth as butter. It was a piece of cake for my roommate’s hatchback.

The zigzag roads were amazing to drive on. The roads were clearly marked – two lanes going upwards and one lane coming down, with barricades on the edges. Finally we reached the top of Jebel Hafeet – it’s something like a table-top mountain, except that the “table-top” bit is man-made.

The Jebel Hafeet Table Top.

We got a really nice view of Al Ain below and the Oman road. By the time we reached the top, it was Iftar time already. We had a quick cuppa, before we started descending from the mountain and hitting our way back home.

Finally A Home We Can Call Ours!! (I Hope)

Everyone knows how it is to be single in Dubai. I can say it in one word - SAD!! No, it's not that the girls here aren't pretty (or hot!!). Neither do I intend to say that the night life sucks. It's just that there aren't many places in Dubai, which single people (bachelors and spinsters) can call home.

Take my case as an instance - me and three of my roommates used to live in this beautiful and huge studio in Karama happily for a year and a half. But that's until our lease contract expired. Taking the rising real estate prices in Dubai into consideration, we thought that our real estate agency would ask for more money to renew our contract. Instead, we were slapped with an eviction notice for no fault of ours. The contract read:

"This is to inform you that we do not wish to renew your tenancy contract for the next year. Hence, we give you a month's notice as required by our agreement, to vacate this flat by <> date. We thank you for your co-operation."

Co-operation?? My ass! Why the F*** do you need us to co-operate, when we can clearly see that you are asking us to vacate the flat for no reason!! For those ignorant enough ...you see, single people don't have enough say in anything in Dubai. Even if it's not their fault. And this is what we discovered when we asked for the reason for our eviction notice. Instantly came a reply, "You are bachelors. Bachelors are not allowed to stay in a building where families stay" in resounding "Mallu" English.

We have been renting this flat for about 6 years (I moved into the flat only 1.5 years ago, but the other guys staying there, had been there for six years). So all these years they didn't realise that we were bachelors - and then suddenly, one fine morning, they said to themselves - "Let's kick these stupid bachelors out. They won't agree to a 70 percent rent increase, when we renew their tenancy contract for the next year."

And so, we had to vacate the flat. After hunting for places around, I gave up. Then I enquired around, and I came across this real agent agent, who said that he might have a bedspace vacant in his two bedroom flat in Golden Sands area, in Bur Dubai. It was the building next to Golden Sands 10, behind Spinneys. I went to check out the bedspace - I was to share a room with three other guys.

Since I didn't have any other choice, I moved in. Everything was going on fine for three months - then suddenly another notice to vacate the flat. The same stupid "bachelor"reason was given. Our third accomodation hunt started. For about three weeks, we checked everything - from the classifieds in newspapers and web sites, to notice boards in Spinneys and Lulu Supermarket.

Then, one fine day, we came across this posting in the classifieds section in Gulf News, which read, "One room available for bachelors in Satwa." We immediately went to check it out and we were impressed. It was a huge room, which could easily accomodate four guys and the rent seemed nominal by Dubai standards. We signed the deal.

We moved in, and were just starting to continue with our lives, when we were served another notice. First we were shocked - it hd been just two months since we moved in. But we were pretty sure that it can't be the same "bachelor"problem. That was because the Dubai government had recently passed a ruling that bachelors around the city were free to live in flats, except for villas. And we were staying in a flat.

So we argued with the guy who had the sublet the room to us. He said that he had rented out the flat from the landlord for commercial purposes. However. he then started using the flat for residential purposes, which essentially breaches the contract. Hence, the landlord asked him to vacate the flat. We then asked him, why we weren't even informed that the flat was essentially a commercial one? Had we known that, we wouldn't have even agreed to move in. He had no answers.

Our fourth hunt for home started. We searched the entire Dubai for a place, where could stay peacefully, without anyone bullying us to leave, just because we were bachelors. After a week of careful searching, we finally found a room in a two bedroom flat, in Old Pakistani Consulate area of Bur Dubai. It's an amazing room, with a view of the Deira creek.

The view from our new home.

We move on Thursday. I just hope, nobody asks us to vacate again, because we are bachelors!

Bambaiya Lingo

Was reading through an article at Mid-Day.com. The article suggested some Mumbaiya (Bambaiya) Lingo. Here they go...

A for Aila
A Marathi exclamation made famous by Sachin Tendulkar in a Pepsi ad when he says ‘Aila, plane’

B for Bhendi
A mild expletive or abuse. The ignorant might think this is local lingo for a vegetable (okra). The tapori knows better

C for Chindi
Some say it means insignificant. For others it denotes tight-fistedness. Eg: ‘Bindi is chindi. She won’t even pay for the trip.’

Arshad Warsi played a tapori in the film Munnabhai MBBS.

D for Dhasu
It means great or fabulous. Like what a ‘dhasu’ idea it is to read this tapori talk

E for Ekdum
Not that hard to figure out. Ekdum means absolutely. So ekdum bekaar means absolutely useless

F for Fadoo
Good, fabulous or beautiful quite in the same vein as Dhasu. A fabulous broom might be explained as a ‘fadoo of a jhadoo’

G for Ghanta
Means rubbish or nonsense. If a politician claims: ‘I will eradicate corruption’, the janta comprising Santa-Banta might say Ghanta

H for Hatke
Hatke actually means original or slightly different. Not to be confused with ‘hat gayi hai’, which means he’s lost his marbles

I for Item
Used to refer to a sexy girl — Kya item hai. These days girls also use the word to describe a handsome man

J for Jhol
A common word for a scam or a bungle. Examples: What Jhol is all this?; Sounds like some jhol to me, yaar; Solid jhol in this poll

K for Kalti
This means to give somebody the slip or not keep a promise. It may also mean a turnaround. Example: Usne aaj kalti diya

L for Lafda
Fairly common usage for a squabble. The lafda can also have sexual connotation — Are they having a lafda (affair)?

M for Maal
Dial M for money. That is what maal stands for. It’s also a derogatory slang for a woman — Kya maal hai!

N for Nastar
The taporis tell me this means bad omen or what is more commonly known as ‘panvati’. Another says, it means atheist

O for Ookhad
The word is used rather combatively. Two men in a skirmish might growl at one another: ‘Ookhad kar phek doonga’

P for Punter
It means source or informant. Yeh dekh punter aaya, is the way it is said

Q for Qeeda
This rather strange word means a person who is always up to something, some mischief or is posing as a major irritant

R for Rapchick
More commonly pronounced as ‘raaapchick’, it is used to refer to a sexy, curvaceous woman

S for Sumbdi
This stands for a rather secretive person or somebody who is clever enough not to reveal all. Not to be confused with shy or reticent

T for Tapori
These are roadside rowdies. Tapori talk is becoming more mainstream and losing its stigma

U for Ungli
A rather obvious obscene interpretation. It also means to bait or rile a person and try to get a rise out of them

V for Vaat
Means this is the end of you today. It all means the end, khatam, finito — Aaj toh vaat lag jayega

W for Wohich
It simply means him and him only — Wohich hai, aur doosra kohich nahi

X for Xhun
Xhun is used to describe the sound of a slap. Crack. Xhun se laafa maara

Y for Yeda
Also known as veda in Marathi. It means mad and used in a derogatory tone

Z for Zandu
Zandu stands for Lallu (not Prasad Yadav) or Mamu, one who is spineless. Apologies to Zandu Chawanprash

via Mid-Day.com

i2 Opens its First Café and Flagship Digital Store in Dubai

i2, one of the region’s largest and most diverse mobile providers, has launched its first café and flagship digital store in Dubai, at BurJuman Shopping Centre. The latest addition to i2’s retail portfolio is located on the third floor of the popular shopping destination.

This is the first time the company has introduced the café concept in the UAE. First launched in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia almost a year ago, the i2 café is distinguished by its futuristic green and blue décor, and optimal use of wireless technology. Customers, for instance, can place their orders via mobile phones provided on each table.

1000 gift vouchers worth AED 250, 000 in presents given away as part of launch day special promotion “Freebies Frenzy”

They may also enjoy access to mobile services, free internet connection, as well as up-to-the-minute news and information on mobile devices and accessories. Aside from enjoying the trendy café, customers can also take pleasure in a unique shopping experience at the company’s 1500 sq.feet flagship store adjacent to it. The store displays a wide range of IT products alongside mobile devices and accessories from brands such as Nokia, LG, Samsung and Motorola.

As part of the gala launch event, i2 also hosted a special promotion, the ‘Freebies Frenzy’, providing customers with attractive gifts like mobile phones and accessories. Free vouchers were given to the first one thousand customers who redeemed it for gifts worth AED 250, 000 ($68000) in total. Many gathered to take part in the promotion, which created an atmosphere of excitement and fun.

Comfort at its Best

After Dubai Government announced of air-conditioned bus shelters across the city, it's time for UAE's capital to hog some limelight. Abu Dhabi is in the process of installing the Middle East's first modern public facilities across the city.

One of the air-conditioned bus stops in Dubai, UAE.

The Abu Dhabi Municipality has claimed that it will be installing 60 state of the art, advanced public toilet facilities in strategic locations throughout the city. The location of the public toilets will be decided by the Abu Dhabi Municipality and will focus on strategic areas with high footfall.

Automatic Public Toilets in Abu Dhabi.

The first two public toilets are located on Salam Street and on the Corniche. According to the official statement I received this morning from Abu Dhabi Municipality, "these facilities are top of the range, state of the art and are in line with the modern public toilets found in major cities and world capitals such as London and Paris."

Bye Bye Taipei

I am all packed up and ready to go.

My flight leaves in about 4 hours time. It was nice visiting Taipei and I hope to come back sometime soon...