Dubai Sound & Light Show

Had three weeks of house guests and what a fabulous time! Complete mayhem, meals to be organised, sight seeing to be done, getting everyone to get ready on time, rushing back to collect son from school - its been a mad, mad three weeks but oh what wonderful weeks!

I think I actually saw Dubai with different eyes, cos this was "my city" that I was showing around! In course of digging around, trying to find what they could do other than shop and eat lavish brunches, discovered the Dubai Sound and Light Show.

Held at Wafi Mall, every evening at 7.30 p.m., 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., the setting is beautiful and the weather now perfect for it!

Held on the walls of the Pyramids, just opposite the Arabian Souk - Khan Murjan - at Wafi, there is no formal seating, so you just lounge on the steps or sit on the edging. We of course landed up at 6.30, ending up at Wafi without getting lost (yours truly was driving) and there was not a soul in sight till about 7.15 p.m. I was beginning to feel a tad foolish, having dragged my visitors all the way for nothing!

To kill time, we did go down to the Arabian Souk, which is essentially a beautifully constructed, decorated souk (its visually really impressive) selling a lot of overpriced kitch, and to the restaurant in the atrium. Its open air, and serves traditional Levant food. The falafel, humous and the bread was fresh and the atmosphere nice.

Finally around 7.20-25 the crowds started to collect, and around 7.40 p.m. or so the lights were switched off. The 7.30 and 9.30 p.m. shows are called "Wafi goes Wild" and is essentially a wild life sound & light show - the visuals are fabulous and the sound great and its an interesting 10 minutes.

Its hugely different from the Sound & Light shows in Cairo and New Delhi where the show essentially is historical and uses the natural backdrop of the Pyramids (Cairo) and the Red Fort (Delhi) to recreate their history. These shows are mesmerising cos they transport you back in history and make it come alive for you. So don't go to the Dubai Sound & light show expecting the same!

However, this is different and impressive in its own way, and, I think the whole experience of sitting out in the open, with the impressive Egyptian structure in front of you, the great visuals and the impressive sound, all add to a lovely experience.

At 8.30 p.m is the Pharaohs show, which is something I definitely want to watch - it should be even more fascinating, given that its ancient Egyptian history projected onto a pharaonic structure. A def must do! The clip looks really interesting!

http://www.wafi.com/page.aspx?id=4562

The Dubai Light and Sound Show festive theme - Four shows every evening.

Show timings : 6.30PM | 7.30PM | 8.30PM | 9.30PM

Cars & UAE National Day!

There's been a lot of hoopla about the 40th National UAE day as there should be! However, since I had family visiting, one missed a lot of the events / things happening specifically for UAE's 40th birthday, cos I was busy ensuring that they do all the touristy things there are to do!

In the midst of this, it was by pure accident that I got to witness, first hand, how Emiratis esp the royalty express their happiness for the National day.

Had taken my folks to see the singing fountain at Dubai Mall, and I found myself struggling to get past the Mall entrance at Fashion Avenue after dropping them at the steps leading down to the fountain. After a 15 minute wait, I finally handed the keys to a valet and stepped out to see what has caused the jam.

Lining the entrance of Dubai Mall were 5 gorgeous, gorgeous cars, all painted the colours of the UAE flag and bearing Abu Dhabi number plates - A Bugati, a Ferari, a Bently, a Land Rover and I can't remember the 5th. All top of the line, mean looking machines dressed in green, red, white and black.

We are a family of car freaks, so we stopped to have a closer look, and, got the shock of our life as the cars suddenly started reving up in a synchronised symphony!

Well, all the cars were, save for the Bugati that led the pack. On enquiry, the helpful guard informed us that the cars all belonged to Sheikh Mo's elder son, who, supposedly was inside the Mall! Though why would Sheikh Mo's son own cars with Abu Dhabi number plates instead of Dubai ones, quite escapes me! The Bugati, the guard very enthusiactically offered, was being driven by the man himself, and no one would touch HIS car while he was away!

While we were waiting for the overworked valet to park and return the keys, I stood around while my son went gaga over the cars!

Since the valet was back, we started walking away towards the fountain, when there was a sudden hush and I vaguley remember my son telling me that he thought the cars were leaving cos the crowd began to edge away from the cars, and then as suddenly as there had been a hush, the cars started their symphony again, well this time more like cacophony :-(

Clearly the heir to the throne, if indeed it was him, had decided to leave the Mall. But for my young 10 year old, and, if I am a wee bit honest, for me as well, those gorgeous cars painted in UAE colours, made the national day seem a little more real than an extended weekend! 

Antique Museum - reasonable curios

I had been googling for arabic lamps - I am fascinated by them but unfortunately outside of Egypt, Turkey and Morracco, haven't really found any that stood out. I know you get enough of the coloured kitschy stuff, but that's not what I was looking for. I wanted something different and beautifully crafted and finished.

Anyways, am deviating, was googling when I came across a site called "Dubai Shopping secrets" which talked about a place called Antique Museum. It talked about a place where you could get very reasonable lamps, curios etc at a fraction of the price elsewhere. Decided it was worth a visit. Clearly many expats before me have obviously discovered the place, cos a search on Antique Museum threw up tons of responses and it was fairly easy to find the place.

In AL Quoz, behind Times Square mall, the place is quite easy to find (see directions below). Located in a warehouse, the entrance is piled high with wooden furniture and artefacts of all kinds. In act, the security office is a cute little pergola cum gazebo rolled into one!

You walk into a nicely lit room with easy sofas etc, when a young lady in uniform walks up, and asks you if its your first time and if you have been here before tec.. and then you are handed a shopping bag and gently ushered towards a huge thick wooden door - much like Simsim except here the magic words are "shop till you drop" , lol!

It's a bit like being in Alladin's cave - one small narrow room leads into another...stocking all kinds of little curios - brass figure, small lamps, cloth camels, the UAE sands frame etc.. as you enter the narow corridor its eerily light up with red light, I guess to enhance the impression of a cave full of treasure!

There are some quirky things like the arabic equivalent of the Russian Matryoshka dolls! Except in this case, they were in the shape of an arab in his galabeya or I found one very cute one of a woman with a hijab.

Another "cave" is full of all sorts of brass stuff priced between Dhs 20-Dhs 60...and larger pieces of course slightly more expensive. There are brass sheesha lamps, castanets, Aladin's lamps etc..

The place is nice to pick up some gimmicky stuff to gift as a token of UAE, but most of it is interesting junk! :-))

The two things that I did find interesting were the coloured glass lamps hanging from the ceiling...

... and the faux traditional Indian jewellery... there were chunky rustic pieces which I wouldn't mind wearing to accesorize something or to frame and put up on my wall...

They also have a huge framing section with some interesting framing done for artefacts. That's actually a must visit section, especially if you have artefacts to frame. One of the most common ready frames are the Omani daggers which have been beautifully framed. At about Dhs 300-400 they're are marginally cheaper than what you would get at a Lifestyle etc..

Though I didn't end up buying anything other than a Matryoshka doll - I must admit I was a lil dissapointed.

I guess I was looking for something more exotic but honestly, it's a good place to take visitors and to pick up some UAE curios for gifting at reasonable prices. The wooden furniture outside has some spectacular pieces including a couple of lovely wooden doors which I eyed rather wistfully but since I rent a place, it shall remain a desire.....

Directions: Take exit 43 when you are coming from Bur Dubai, take the bridge, past Times Square. At the signal, turn left, turn right at the second right, and then right again when you see a big tree and a small restaurant. You will see the Antique Museum on the right side!

Telephone:  +971 4 3479935

No tailgating please, I'm new!

I am beginning to believe that lots of people in Dubai are either in a tearing hurry to get somewhere or tend to procrastinate leaving home, and hence, have to rush to get to their destination on time, lol. Nothing else offers an explanation for the lack of patience on the roads :-)

Of course, I am completely guilty of adding to their impatience being a new driver, who is clueless about the roads and directions :-((

The signage on the road is fabulous and I can, by and large, find my way, but it fazes me completely, when suddenly from the left most lane, I am expected to switch to the right most lane to get somewhere! It will take some time before I figure which lane to keep to facilitate easy change - I completely understand, it must be an irritant on the road, but I am sure everyone is new to the roads at some point in time, lol!

To cut a long story short, I have decided to print out a huge sign and put it up on my rear window or the rear boot door that explicitly states" I am a new driver, some patience please"!!

Or better still, UAE RTA should add one more process to their procedure for getting a license (unless of course you're privileged to get a conversion straight away), and, insist that each new license holder have a different colour number plate, which can be changed to a regular number plate after a pre-agreed timeframe, lol!

Maybe, just maybe then, no one will tailgate me, or honk me, or speed up every time I hesitate as I try and change lanes, sigh!

P.S. My wonderful notice, all printed and ready, has suffered an early demise. It appears that anything that has not adorned the car when it left the manufacturer, needs the RTA approval. After having done rounds of government offices for my mom-in-law's residency visa, I dont think I want to deal with another government office, well not as yet!   

Daiso

Had been hunting for some plastic boxes in a small size, but everything in Spinneys / Carrefour / Home Centre / Homes r Us came in large sizes or lock-boxes. You dont really need a large box to store buttons / seeds / condiments etc.. Was making a mental note to buy some when I went back home in winters, when a friend mentioned I should check out Daiso at Oasis Centre.

Daiso is a Japanese chain that sells everything priced at Dhs 7. Well almost everything - there is stuff priced at Dhs 13, 19, 20 etc.. but bulk of the items are priced at Dhs 7. I went across rather skeptical, not sure of the quality and type of stuff on offer at Dhs 7, convinced that I was being sent off on a wild goose chase and a waste of time.

To my utter surprise, the place is full of a number of useful things that work very well. There's obviously a lot of thought that has gone into figuring out requirements across your daily life and then producing something that addresses it.

There's an entire range of crockery in typical blue chinese / japenese pottery. Sure its nor Royal Doulton but its sturdy, pretty and very reasonable.

The plastic range is incredible and they have some interesting storage ideas in plastic.. be it a storage pull-out box which makes it so easy to store spices etc & pull them out in the kitchen cupboards......

...or a can holder to store your drinks in the fridge or even on the counter......

.....or a plastic holder to hold your lids! I swear by this one! Its made my kitchen so much neater...

The store stocks make-up etc but that's not something I would recommend even trying from Daiso, but there is other stuff like small porclain figures for your garden, picket fences, ready frames, squeeze bottles, stationery, craft cutters, paints, sushi sheets, wall hooks, wrapping paper etc... ideal for picking up supplies for school going kids esp for art and craft!

Daiso is available at the following locations in Dubai

Lamcy Plaza, karama, Bur Dubai
Dubai Arabian Center - Mirdif
Oasis Centre 2nd Floor Sheikh Zayed Road
Al Fahidi Street, Opp. Choithram Supermarket, Bur Dubai
Reef Mall, 2nd Floor, Deira
Mirdiff City Centre, Ground Floor
Union Co-Op. Hor Al Anz, Deira
Al Barsha Mall
IBN Battuta Mall 

Truly International

Dubai abounds with international schools offering all kinds of curriculums, and, almost all of the schools are a wonderful amalgamation of cultures, nationalities, languages and attitudes!

However, despite the international tag, by and large, I have found that most celebrations / occassions in schools tend to be centred around Halloween, Christmas, maybe an odd international food day and of course in the UAE, the UAE national day! You don't really get to see a Korean festival, or the Chinese New Year or a Bangladeshi Durga puja etc being celebrated in any school - my 10 yr old has now been to 3 international schools and I haven't seen much of this anywhere! Its not really specific to Dubai.

Of course Halloween has universal appeal that is divorced from any religious / festival / faith considerations so I guess that's something that everyone looks forward to! But I for one, would love to attend a celebration for say a Chinese New Year - that's the entire point of being a nomad and living overseas, isn't it? An exposure to different people and cultures?

So I was very pleasanty surprised when my cousins invited us to a Diwali celebration at their kids school! It's a relatively new international school in Jumeirah with a cross section of nationalities and the Indian parents had decided to host a Diwali evening to aquaint people with Diwali!

It wasn't that the evening was organised on a grand lavish scale, I think it was the parents and children who made it so wonderful! They had a couple of food stalls selling some Indian snacks for which coupons had been pre-sold and/or you could buy coupons on the spot! The parents had carried rugs, and, food, and decided to make it one big picnic in the evening under the stars!

The principal turned out in a traditional Indian outfit - a kurta and pyjama! I must say he looked very comfortable in it! A couple of teachers had made an effort to dress up in traditional Indian clothes and looked really very nice!

The younger (pre-K and K I think) kids, danced to a popular song for the English-Hindi movie Slumdog Millionaire. They were absolutely adorable.

This was followed by a couple of classical Indian dance performances and a small presentation explaining what Diwali was all about! I think what made the evening special was the interest shown by the parents in everything that was happening and of course the picnic like atmosphere! And the kids charged up the atmosphere with matching steps to some peppy Hindi songs!

We were there till late at night, chatting with a lot of people who we met for the first time, who were fascinated by my mother-in-law's saree and asked a lot of questions! And of course,when it comes to India, a huge chunk of conversation always veers around to curries and Goa!

It was a lovely evening, grand, not in the sense of proportions or size, but in terms of participaion enthu and thebonhomie factor! Now, I'd love to attend a Chinese New Year celebration some day! 

Telephone scams

It would appear that Dubai is no different from any city in the world as far as scams go! I guess the lure of lucre is far more compelling than the fear of deportation, or, the likelihood of you being a state guest for a year or so!

Had some friends over yesterday, and when they left, was surprised to find some 10 missed calls from the same mobile number. Obviously someone had been desperately trying to get in touch with me.

When I called back, I got someone called Mohamad Kaiser who apparently was calling me from Etisalat to inform me of a Dhs 500,000 prize that I had won!


He gave me a number, asked me to check if this was my SIM card number and call him back to claim the prize. Willingly gave me his mobile number and kept repeating "my dear, please check the SIM card number my dear, and call me back my dear. You must do it quickly my dear, this is an offer from Etisalat."


Pretty sure it was a scam, decided it was time for some entertainment! I called back the mobile number, and asked him why had  I got the bonanza since I hadn't entered any sweepstakes! The guy obviously had a rehearsed script and kept repeating the same script with no deviation, no matter what I asked! :-)

Called Etisalat, and, gave them the number and the scamster's name! Hopefully Mr Kaiser will not be "my dearing" anyone for a while, but beware!!