Long before the first train of the day, it was clear that the Dubai Metro’s debut weekend would provide the biggest challenge of its short history.
Crowds of would-be passengers descended on stations beginning early in the morning, unaware that no train would run until 2pm. The crush threatened to overwhelm both staff and the system, with officials estimating that 30,000 passengers passed through the turnstiles in the first two hours of operation yesterday.
Last night, several stations were briefly closed and service was suspended after reports that some passengers had been hitting the emergency stop buttons on the crowded trains.
At the Mall of the Emirates station, where some of the biggest crowds congregated, Metro employees used a megaphone to urge passengers to stay calm and not push. Workers were later joined by transport police after the queuing system threatened to break down as dozens of men tried to push their way through to platforms.
Nakheel Station was also closed for a while in the evening, with staff saying that a train had broken down, halting service for at least an hour. Trains were stationary at Al Rashidiya as well, at the end of the Red Line, for more than an hour, forcing some passengers to abandon their journeys.
Mohammed Sageer said he boarded a train with his family at 6pm and was still waiting to leave an hour later. There was no air conditioning and lights were flickering on and off at the station.
“There was no information, people were getting very confused and women and children were getting upset,” he said, adding that Metro staff were unable to offer refunds.
Services were due to be extended past the official closing time of midnight to 2am so passengers could return home…SOURCE
Dubai seriously needs to reconsider what it wants to be. No one will visit the equivalent of Saudi Arabia on a vacation.
Dubai’s shopping malls don’t just combine the awesome collections of international brand labels, but go further to enlighten newcomers on Emirati cultural rules and what’s the acceptable general behaviour.
The rules are on signs at the main entrances and distributed by security personnel as well.
It includes no smoking in the mall, wearing of respectable clothing and no kissing or public displays of affection, no consumption of alcohol in the mall and few other don’ts.
Sabina Khanvwani, Head of Public Relations and Marketing Department at Burjuman Centre, said despite the signs, there are still visitors who still need to be reminded of what is and what is not acceptable.
“Burjuman has already fixed stickers on the main entrances in order to deliver the message directly to them, some of them adhere and others don’t. We cannot enforce them to comply but we keep reminding them that Dubai is part of the UAE and it’s a Muslim country with a conservative society and must be respected.”
Most expatriates Gulf News spoke to say they didn’t do things on purpose or to annoy the Emirati community. They just grew up dressing that way.
Tania N. a 29-year-old Russian businesswoman, said she got confused when a security guard at the Mall of the Emirates handed her a brochure on how to dress appropriately.
“I respect Dubai, its religion, culture and people, I come here frequently for business and pleasure, and I was never asked to cover my shoulders or my knees until recently,” she said.
“I used to wear a sleeveless short gown or miniskirt and according to my background it is a decent outfit and doesn’t cause any kind of embarrassment. But lately a security approached me and in a polite way handed me a brochure that includes the mall’s courtesy policy regarding dress code and general behaviour.”
Asked whether she will adhere to the mall’s dress code, she said: “I really don’t find it necessary, besides I don’t have long or covered outfits, and the most importantly I didn’t do something bad to Dubai or its people.”
Katayoon Tahmoress M, an Iranian writer based in Dubai agrees with Tania.
“I love Dubai and I like its style. But the way I dress is completely a personal matter and I don’t allow anybody to educate me on what to wear and what not to wear.”
Gabriel and Elena, both Americans, said the visitors and expatriates should’ve been informed of the dress and behavioural rules before they fly into the country.
“Such instructions should be informed before we enter the country not while we are shopping. Besides the weather in Dubai is truly hot,” they said.
Mariam Al Salem and her Emirati companions said visitors and expatriates should tow the line.
“Our rules must be strictly followed,” Mariam said… SOURCE
After one such cab ride, I found freezing temperatures and deeply packed snow as night fell on the Mall of the Emirates — at least at the Middle East’s only indoor ski slope. But the vibe inside Almaz by Momo (which is within the Harvey Nichols store in the mall; 971-4-409-8877; www.altayer.com/companies/food/almazbymomo), a sexy Moroccan restaurant, was pure North African warmth: bulbous tangerinelike lanterns, plush pistachio-colored chairs, funky Algerian rai music.
Few Dubai restaurants boast such an impressive pedigree. The restaurant was the brainchild of Mourad Mazouz, the man behind the London hot spots Momo and Sketch. (Foreigners aren’t allowed to own businesses in Dubai, but Mr. Mazouz, an Algerian — the “Momo” in the name — was hired to create the concept and management of the restaurant.) And with style radiating from every corner, the question naturally arose: Could the kitchen match the design?
The red olives, marinated in tomato paste and olive oil, were immediately devoured by my friend Yasmin, a Syrian-born art dealer who grew up in Dubai. I took that as a ringing endorsement. Our appetizers, though, proved hit and miss. The salad called mechouia (20 dirhams) here was a chunky dip made from soft-grilled tomatoes and peppers, flat-lined on the tongue. Better was the zalouk (22 dirhams), a similar dip with an eggplant base, which was far more flavorful and mouth-filling.
The best gauge of a Moroccan restaurant is its tagines, the complex stews that often balance everything-and-the-kitchen-sink ingredients, from meats to fruits to sauces. We chose a simple version — kefta with egg (65 dirhams) — that hit the mark exactly. The kefta were lightly spiced and complemented perfectly by the soft blanket of egg and tangy tomato sauce.
But our couscous Almaz (75 dirhams) was a letdown. The accompanying red merguez sausage, intended to be spicy and juicy, was dry and leathery. The grilled lamb chunks suggested marinated rubber. Thankfully, the mint tea (25 dirhams) and pistachio-honey-almond pastries (10 dirhams) that rounded out our meal would have pleased in Marrakesh.
Over all, our dinner felt like a slalom back and forth between good dishes and mediocre ones. Still, if you can swerve around the pitfalls, you can have a satisfying — and stylish — run…SOURCE
Where: Dubai Community Theatre, Mall of the Emirates
When: 5 to 7 PM, March 14th
Cost: 30 AED per person to offset room hire expenses
Please join us for an ex-pat tax seminar on March 14th at 5PM in the Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.Dennis Allen, a tax expert with PriceWaterhouseCoopers will give a short presentation on common tax issues for Americans in the UAE and be on hand to answer all you tax related question from 5-7 PM.It will cover what is included as income and how to qualify for foreign exclusions, as well as some of the relevant tax law changes for 2008 and those coming up in 2009.
To find the theatre in the Mall of the Emirates, go to Level 2 of the Galleria, pass Le Notre Café on your left and continue right past the Nail Bar, through the first set of double glass doors to the end of the walkway. From the car park use Level 2, Rows S & T
Light refreshments will be served, please bring 30 AED per person to offset the room hire expenses.
Like all good columns, it always helps to have a celebrity endorsement or two. Movie and television, erm, egend David Hasselhoff is currently spending some time in Dubai, and felt so moved that he had to blog about it.
So, to mark this momentous occasion, this week’s blogosphere will not look into events in cyberspace. No, this week we’ll be looking at what’s happening in Hoffspace (yes, that is what he calls it). The Hoff, as he is affectionately known around the world, waxed on lyrically about Dubai in his video blog, spending quite a bit of time at Ski Dubai.
This is The Hoff unedited: “Dubai is a fun place; it’s a little bit like the Las Vegas of the Middle East because there’s always something fun to do!
“The Mall of the Emirates is huge as you can see and filled with some of the best shopping in the world, but the best part of the mall is Ski Dubai; an indoor ski slope!!!! We had such a great time here and the skiing was really good! Check it out if you’re ever in Dubai. It’s awesome!”…
Ten Dubai-based artists – designers, illustrators, painters, photographers and a videographer – have combined their talents and put together an art show to benefit the children of Gaza. The artists are from Mexico, India, Canada, England and the Philippines. The show will formally open on March 3 through March 10 at the Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre located on the second level (orange car park) at the Mall of the Emirates…Source
Speakeasy, Tuesday March 3 at Après in the Mall of the Emirates from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. For those of you in Abu Dhabi, we now have a group working on events there, please let me know if you would like to volunteer to help out with that effort.
Speakeasy, Tuesday Feb 3 at Après in the Mall of the Emirates from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. For those of you in Abu Dhabi, we now have a group working on events there, please let me know if you would like to volunteer to help out with that effort.
Also, please save the date on your calendar for an ex-pat tax seminar on March 14 with Dennis Allen from PriceWaterhouseCoopers hosted by Dems Abroad, location in Dubai, TBA.
As good the DIFC is, the Dubai Mall is another story entirely. First, one of my pet peeves is how developers here always open buildings before completion. This is a bad habit that needs to stop. During my trip today to the mall, I nearly suffered an asthma attack from the paint and construction fumes. What’s worse, even when completed, this mall is basically going to be a rat’s warren of design. Stuff is stuck everywhere and the size is such that it is difficult to navigate. Literally, if you miss what you are looking for it’s a quicker trek to the car than to the destination. In that case, I would pick the car. While the aquarium is nice, it’s stuck within the monstrosity that is Dubai Mall. It has a long way to go too compare to the balanced open and easy access of Festival City, or the overblown panache of the Mall of the Emirates. Even Ibn Battuta has some moments.
In short, they should have kept the aquarium and dumped the mall. While we will reserve final judgement of the Dubai Mall for another day, early reviews are not so keen. I, for one, don’t plan to return until it is close to completion with full metro access.
Until then, here is video of the fish. Ha! It’s the best part anyway.
A while back, my daughter discovered the concept of “chicken nuggets”. Trying to maintain a healthy balance, we make sure she doesn’t have more than 3 to 4 pieces per week. Usually on our eating-out day on the weekend. Her favorite is the STAR shaped ones that Hardee’s serve.
Last week, I picked my daughter up from the children’s play area in Mall of the Emirates. The area is next to one of the food courts there. She said she was hungry and that she wanted chicken nuggets.
Since there was no Hardee’s at that court, I got some nuggets from KFC instead.
While she was on her second piece, my daughter came up to her mother with her mouth open and looking agitated. “mama.. mama.. yucky,” she mumbled while pointing at her mouth’s full.
We opened her mouth and found a huge piece of chicken bone with a sharp, point edge! Can you believe this? My daughter would’ve easily chocked on it.
I took a few shots of the thing just to give you some perspective to the size of the bone fragment my 3 year old daughter’s almost chocked on.
Salik, no sooner do I here the sound of that word and I get hackles. For those of you who do not know, Salik is Dubai’s attempt to limit traffic congestion by imposing tolls. The bad part of this idea comes-in when you realize that it will do nothing but raise revenue for Dubai RTA. Currently, there are very few alternatives to traveling Sheikh Zayed road. The Metro is years from completion. Alternative routes all have some construction and/or bottlenecks. In fact, Sheikh Zayed Rd. was one of the most complete routes in all of Dubai. Now, you will have to pay to use it.
Living in Sharajah I have the luxury of not driving on Shk. Zayed Rd.. And, until Dubai does something different about transport, I and my family will not use the Salik system. If we MUST go to Dubai, we will use the alternate routes.
This, of course, is going to majorly affect those malls and businesses (Mall of the Emirates, Mazaya Center, Wafi City) that rely on the easy access to Shk. Zayed to get customers into their stores. Out of town business will be affected in a major way.
It’s time RTA stopped listening to their British and British-trained road engineers! They are quickly turning Dubai into a copy of London’s transit system. Unfortunately, we all know what that is like!
Until that happens, I (and my family) will take our business elsewhere.
Oh, and citizens of Dubai… enjoy the new traffic jams created by the system.
erm, egend David Hasselhoff is currently spending some time in Dubai, and felt so moved that he had to blog about it. 
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