The super super white galabeyas

I love the fact that the locals wear their ethnic dress everywhere they go. Even in the malls, the only place where I have really seen the locals, the Emiratis are always dressed in sparkling white galabeyas, and their traditional head gear. It’s so heartening to see them eschew a western attire (read shirt, trouser or a suit) in favour of their own national dress.

Though sometimes I feel, they probably feel a need to do this - to establish their separate ethnic identity in this melting pot of nationlities.

But I am detracting, I am amazed at how white the galabeyas are! I am so tempted to venture upto a local and ask them the secret of their galabeyas being incredibly white – almost as good as new! Have been warned not to do so, cos they might get offended, though I fail to fathom why.

Hopefully one day, when I find an affable looking chap with his family, I shall dare to accost his wife and enquire about the secret behind the white galabeyas. R’s white shirts could sure do with looking as good as the galabeyas do!

Need to learn a new language?

Have figured need to learn a new language. When we were in Cairo or Iraq, it used to be really easy to talk in Hindi or Bengali so that domestic help, other locals would not understand you & you could have a conversation without anyone overhearing.

Dubai is a different ball game. A huge proportion of the population speaks Hindi (courtesy a large chunk of Indians settled here) including many of the locals! Was at the driving institute yesterday, trying to practice what little Arabic I picked up in Cairo, and the Arab responds me to me in Hindi J

Thought Bengali would be my saviour, but there are enough and more Bangladeshis who understand what you say, so clearly learning a new language is the need of the hour! I just feel weird that all my personal conversations are not personal anymore.

Much as I would like to learn Arabic, I figure it’s a waste in terms of local, everyday usage, cos everyone seems to speak and understand English and Hindi. And there aren’t really too many Emirati to practice it with anyways! Takes away the romance of it all, grump!

Driving licensce

While public transport is an option, it’s not a viable long-term option – so you need a car. Now that’s the really fun part of Dubai! Cars of almost any make that you can think of, are available, are not that expensive and leases are readily available.

So that’s how the three of us ended up spending three days practically camping on Sheikh Zayed Road, where bulk of the car showrooms are situated. Father and son have been discussing horsepower, RPM, torque, leg space, speed, acceleration, size etc ad nauseum, me, I’ve set my heart on a Hummer! Unfortunately, they stopped making them in 2009, so will have to contend with a second hand one, but believe they walk out of the doors faster than they walk in! Sigh!

After having spent 3 days, window shopping for cars, received a rather rude jolt. Can’t buy a car unless you have a license valid for driving in Dubai! Great idea actually, it ensures that everyone who buys a car, is at least capable of driving it.

Hmmm, just a thought…I am not quite sure what happens if you happen to be a local / expat who cannot drive and would rather be driven around. Do you buy the car in your driver’s name J? Or just hire cars? Or you have no option, and must learn to drive, to own a car? Do the same rules apply to both expats and locals?

Till that question remains unanswered, the bottom-line is that you can’t drive or buy a car unless you hold a valid license.

I have enrolled in a school, for, hold your breath, driving lessons. The powers-that-be clearly believe that Indians don’t know how to drive in a disciplined manner J (as well as some other nationalities) but the bottom line is that my driving license, if I had had one, would not have been valid – that’s why a driving school! Not to mention, the driving school refused to give me lessons, till my “better half” had given me permission to learn! R says I’m paying for past sins, lol! I suspect, he has no intention of getting a license for himself, and intends to ensure that I drop/pick him up from work – not too different from back home, I’ve simply exchanged my young boy for the older one, lol!

Have been warned, I need to unlearn 18 years of driving and start from scratch. Sounds intriguing, bring it on!

Getting around

Your biggest consideration in settling down, even before you’ve managed a house, is your transport. Public transport does exist – there is a Metro, a bus service which I have yet to brave, and of course the radio cabs.

Metro is very efficient, and quite reasonable and pretty useful if you happen to live or work on Sheikh Zayed Road or essentially the metro line. Anything else and you can expect to wait for a long time to get a cab to get to your destination. I believe the cabs have been asked to stick around at the metro stations but on the few occasions that I have used the Metro, no cabs have been in sight. I guess it still makes sense if you’re travelling long distances, to use the Metro, and then call a cab at the station. We’ve ended up doing a couple of fun trips up and down, made easy by the fact that the hotel dropped and picked us up from the Metro station J

Bus I haven’t ventured into trying cos frankly speaking it’s just too hot! The bus stands are air-conditioned, but you’d probably be toast by the time you reach one. Maybe will try in the more pleasant winter months.

Cabs are easily available and expensive (depending on the distance you need to travel :-)), but the good part is that they’re just a phone call away.

Must say, cabs work very efficiently, now they even have my number registered so booking a cab is essentially talking to the machine! And so far, fingers crossed, haven't had a problem!

Skype

After having written to friends asking for their Skype addresses, have received a rather rude shock!

Skype is banned in UAE!! There go my plans of having my son video chat with his friends back home every weekend. Have been told international trunk dialling is quite expensive but since the Etisalat bill has still not hit, am blissfully ignorant!!

...and then there were only two.....

I have officially, lost my son to Dubai!

For a child who was really upset with us for uprooting him from his settled life with loads of friends, he has declared that he thinks Dubai is a cool place. I suspect ICC, cars, Ski Dubai and Segaworld (in that order J) have a lot to do with his change of heart, lol!

My cricket mad son is very excited cos he’s going to be attending a cricket camp at the ICC Cricket Academy. Father and son have been practicing and debating bowling actions. The only one who is ambivalent is the poor mother who has to ferry the child to and from Dubai Sports City, which currently to me, seems to be practically in the neighbouring Emirate! Not to mention cooling my heels there for 5 hours while he’s at the camp! Ah motherhood!

P.S. Mercifully, the Academy has Wi Fi, so I am reasonably occupied, but on the flip side no coffee shop! The ICC guys very sweetly got me a coffee, and refused to accept payment, but there is just this much that you can impinge on their kindness! Have to buy a flask tonight and carry at least some tea / coffee. The lack of lunch would probably do me good anyways!

P.P.S.  Awesome facilities at the Academy and my son is really enjoying the camp. Might enrol him for the regular coaching classes in October. Well that, at least, narrows down choices for the house. I refuse to trek halfway across the city for a 1 hour sessions, so house / villa will need to be close to Dubai Sports City.

Food for thought

After having seen so many houses / villas, one thing completely baffles me. Dubai is a dessert, where sea water, at great expense, is run through desalination plants and then pumped into homes.

Understandably, your DEWA bills for water are high especially if you happen to live in a villa. In that context, I am completely flummoxed so to why all bathrooms, ensuite or otherwise, are fitted with bathtubs instead of shower cubicles. A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation will tell you that a soak and then a bath in a bathtub consumes more water than a quick shower, so am left wondering why this preference for bathtubs? Have seen this not only in villas, but in most apartments as well. I wonder why?

 P.S. My bigger concern is my mom-in-law having to get in the bathtubs with her knee problem. Wonder if I can find ladders with 2-3 steps somewhere to make it easier for her?