Iridescent Old-Arabian nights protract into mornings. Serenity and opportunity waits around every corner. Inhibitions slide, your senses take over. You are being welcomed to live the experience that is Dubai
A consolidated empire, laws that were codified, an emirate as glorious a metropolis as it has always been even in days of yore. Dubai is a place of old world protocol and sumptuous dining, of international businesses and sensuously beautiful souqs, of properties beckoning inhabitation and those that have already had their call answered, of encouraging investment markets and inviting business ventures.
I had expected to be intrigued by Dubai, and to admire it; I had not expected to be awed. It has absorbed an array of cultures and people and yet it is different from all of them. There is something immensely enigmatic for me about the shift one perceives, while delving into a place, from the past to the future, from the Bedouin way of desert dwelling nomadic life to the settled yet dynamic city life, from the opulence, majesty and quiet dignity of yore to the simplicity, ‘slim-line’ feeling and sleekness that only technology can bring. It is a gradation of sights, of structural design, of gradually retreating minarets intermingled with advancing glass buildings, of the very look of oases and sand dunes, so that little by little you begin to believe you can read in nature itself the saturation of history. Does the shoulder of an Arabian hillside really look so unlike the slope of an Indian meadow? Of course not. And yet the distinction is as impracticable to eliminate from the eye as the history that enlightens it is from the mind.
And it is not only reaching back into history that tells of a place or people gone by; sometimes history itself reaches inexorably forward for us to tell us where we are going. Dubai has been making leap after quantum leap. After all, a gateway to the East and West means opening up of new vistas and access to places, international businesses, ventures, and people.
Tourism is obviously a major industry here. Says Pravin Nanda, GM Dubai Grand Hotel, “People visit Dubai for 4 reasons. One is historical; for Pearl Diving, the heritage village, to feel a taste of the rustic Arabian charm. Secondly they come here to experience the sights and sounds, the beautiful places engulfed in beauty. People also come here for the security that Dubai provides. One can walk the streets at 3 or 4 a.m. and be absolutely safe. People don’t even lock their cars. It is safe for women. And the crime rate is very low. Fourthly and definitely not the least of the reasons is for shopping, to get the best deals on the best products.”
This also leads to the booming of other industries like the Hotel Industry which should double up by October 2007 and where everyone gets good value for money.
When oil was discovered in 1966, Sheikh Rashid made use of these revenues to stimulate infrastructural expansion in Dubai. The swiftness of development continued at a fever pitch. Project after project left the drawing board to make the impossible into a possible phenomenon. The World, Burj Dubai, the Hydropolis, the Restless Planet theme park, Ski Dubai, The Mall of Arabia, are all either a reality or will soon leave the drawing boards.
With so many new projects being conceptualised and executed investment in property becomes the thereby subsequent step. Syed Ali Anwer, CEO, 3D Venture Real Estate Company explains, “Dubai is Duty Free, crime free, tax free, offers security and safety. It has world class shopping malls, a multi cultural society, best medical and health care, holiday resorts, sports facilities, entertainment centres, an innovative, dynamic and entrepreneurial business culture. Dubai is politically stable and has a forward-looking responsive Government with business friendly regulations, which has played a key role in attracting business investments from all over the world.” “Invest. But invest now. As it is the right time to get on the boat”, reiterates Syed Ali Anwer.
The question being asked today is, ‘Is there an upward momentum in terms of property prices or is Dubai still low-priced and economical?’ Fact of the matter is that it will continue moving upward but the property prices still offer a very good bargain compare to the world’s cosmopolitan cities. Statistics show that the demand due to promotion is too high and will keep increasing even if supply is met thus producing a major hike in the pricing. It will take time for correction to take place and prices to come down to normal. The curve will take at least 5 years to come down but the future will see stability from 2012 onwards and by 2017/2020 correction will occur. To keep up with all this, it is sensible for any investor to invest now and thus not be at a loss. Thus putting to rest any fears that the prices will continue rising and demand may never meet supply.
Dubai is now no more a one stop weekend paradise but a place where one can indulge, invest and even provide incentives for others. From tourism to property to infrastructure, from markets to boardrooms to your very own living room, Dubai epitomizes the phrase, “Even the impossible says I’M POSSIBLE”.
Pas a Pas se va luènh
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Dubai - To Do (Or What To Do?)
Broadening horizons, adding spice, captivating the senses and calling you. Everything should feel this good...
If the most accurate judge of time is a clock, the most sensitive is surely Dubai. It has cultivated its heritage carefully, keeping itself trimmed neither ostentatiously nor in an unstylish manner, walking neither too near to the past nor too far from it, neither too quickly nor too slowly from progress. It has taught itself to pay more attention to the broader picture than to the centre of its vision, thus building itself and expanding into the complete experience for everyone.
Seasons in the Sun
Not just a weekend destination but an ‘any-day-of-the-week’ one. Not just a getaway but a wholesome, fulfilling holiday. The Dubai of now: a place where the frantic pace of modern life slows down enough for you to enjoy it.
The Arabian Experience
Dubai has taken its historical artifacts, monuments, texts, traditions, picked up oil along the way and marched boldly with it all through the streets and souqs of old Arabia into the corporate, much heralded and well blended globalised world.
Summer Surprises
Modhesh! Amazing! That’s what summers are supposed to be. 1998 brought a series of surprises to this season with the starting of the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS). In its 9th year this year and held between June 21 and September 21, 2006, DSS increased surprises ten-fold with its 10 Surprises and more. Modhesh, the yellow mascot for DSS has been bringing fun and cheer to children and adults as he ushers in something for everyone.
Nocturnal Lures
A taste of the desert night air gives one transparency to clear the day’s dust and grime. A taste of its culture at venues throughout the city offer a time to begin a new journey into a new experience. International events, concerts, music artistes, film festivals all provide space and time to adjust to this new world.
Centre Stage
Dubai Creek
The earth gleams still and deep like an opal in the gentle morning sun. A calm breeze gently scallops the creek’s surface at the edges and scrapes the dust across the land. Giving birth to this city and remaining the very lifeblood of Dubai, Dubai Creek has an enticing magnetism for visitors here.
Souqs
The market shimmers into view. Evocative of a scene from the Arabian Nights, the network of tiny lanes and by lanes meander on either side of the creek and other parts of Dubai. Men, women and children don’t just sell their wares but demand a return to the old market rules of bargaining and barter. A sensory invasion few want to run away from.
Bastakiya
Bastakiya gives a peek into the alluring and enticing old city. Thin lanes bear houses with tall chimney-like structures called wind-towers to cool homes naturally. Renovated, preserved and protected Bastakiya now houses a museum, cultural centre, restaurants and a heritage hotel with an art gallery.
Bird Watching
The climate of any country tells of its flora and fauna. A tidal wetland right on its doorstep, within a few minutes off the centre of the town, the scorching desert heat, the cooling desert night, the gulf, all have given rise to a varied array of bird species.
Spirited Sports
Snow (Hey Oh)!
Night is day and winter is summer. And sand is snow. And maybe the gods have gone crazy. But, wait before you pinch yourself. There is snow in the sweltering heat of Dubai. Welcome to Ski Dubai, which opened in December last year and is an indoor ski resort set within a 6.5 million square feet complex. From ski runs of all types for all ages to themed restaurants to an exclusive retail shop to professional instructors.
Golf
An old luxury, a new leisure, Dubai offers this sport with élan. Bragging premier golf courses, challenging ones with varying tee and pin positions, yet enjoyable and rewarding, Dubai has been voted the world’s leading golf destination by the IGTOA.
Horse Riding
Horses have been the pride of tradition here. Riding thorough the desert with the wind in your hair, one can literally paint a picture with the sand as your canvas and the horse as your paintbrush.
Adventure Tourism and Water Sports
Everyone has a wild side. And Dubai provides just the opportunity to unleash it with sports like Mountain Climbing, Sky Jumping, Scuba Diving, Go Karting, Wadi Bashing, Dune Bashing and Sand Storming. Caressed by the waters of the Gulf, Dubai offers diving down to the rich marine life and mysterious wrecks. Sailing and windsurfing are other attractions. Racing and jet skiing add to the thrill of this chase.
Super- Shopping- Dooper- Dubai!
Trust Dubai to tap into and cater to the hilt the one gene that is inbuilt in some, acquired by others and just doesn’t go down with a few. Dubai has taken the business of shopping seriously—right from its historical souqs to its modern malls and shopping villages. The Dubai Duty Free and the Dubai Shopping Festival ranks high on any shopper’s list with discounts and knick-knacks and what-nots.
Carte du jour – Dubai
Culinary experiences in Dubai call for conspicuous consumption. Be it the soul feeding Middle Eastern cuisine or the stomach filling Asian dishes, or the appetite satisfying junk food and even the heart beating romantic dinner cruises in traditional sailing dhows, Dubai gives new meaning to the term ‘food for thought.’
Dubai is thus the paradise that broke the mould once it was created. Come take a ride on this dreamland express and don’t miss a single moment of the sheer bliss offered here.
Pas a Pas se va luènh
If the most accurate judge of time is a clock, the most sensitive is surely Dubai. It has cultivated its heritage carefully, keeping itself trimmed neither ostentatiously nor in an unstylish manner, walking neither too near to the past nor too far from it, neither too quickly nor too slowly from progress. It has taught itself to pay more attention to the broader picture than to the centre of its vision, thus building itself and expanding into the complete experience for everyone.
Seasons in the Sun
Not just a weekend destination but an ‘any-day-of-the-week’ one. Not just a getaway but a wholesome, fulfilling holiday. The Dubai of now: a place where the frantic pace of modern life slows down enough for you to enjoy it.
The Arabian Experience
Dubai has taken its historical artifacts, monuments, texts, traditions, picked up oil along the way and marched boldly with it all through the streets and souqs of old Arabia into the corporate, much heralded and well blended globalised world.
Summer Surprises
Modhesh! Amazing! That’s what summers are supposed to be. 1998 brought a series of surprises to this season with the starting of the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS). In its 9th year this year and held between June 21 and September 21, 2006, DSS increased surprises ten-fold with its 10 Surprises and more. Modhesh, the yellow mascot for DSS has been bringing fun and cheer to children and adults as he ushers in something for everyone.
Nocturnal Lures
A taste of the desert night air gives one transparency to clear the day’s dust and grime. A taste of its culture at venues throughout the city offer a time to begin a new journey into a new experience. International events, concerts, music artistes, film festivals all provide space and time to adjust to this new world.
Centre Stage
Dubai Creek
The earth gleams still and deep like an opal in the gentle morning sun. A calm breeze gently scallops the creek’s surface at the edges and scrapes the dust across the land. Giving birth to this city and remaining the very lifeblood of Dubai, Dubai Creek has an enticing magnetism for visitors here.
Souqs
The market shimmers into view. Evocative of a scene from the Arabian Nights, the network of tiny lanes and by lanes meander on either side of the creek and other parts of Dubai. Men, women and children don’t just sell their wares but demand a return to the old market rules of bargaining and barter. A sensory invasion few want to run away from.
Bastakiya
Bastakiya gives a peek into the alluring and enticing old city. Thin lanes bear houses with tall chimney-like structures called wind-towers to cool homes naturally. Renovated, preserved and protected Bastakiya now houses a museum, cultural centre, restaurants and a heritage hotel with an art gallery.
Bird Watching
The climate of any country tells of its flora and fauna. A tidal wetland right on its doorstep, within a few minutes off the centre of the town, the scorching desert heat, the cooling desert night, the gulf, all have given rise to a varied array of bird species.
Spirited Sports
Snow (Hey Oh)!
Night is day and winter is summer. And sand is snow. And maybe the gods have gone crazy. But, wait before you pinch yourself. There is snow in the sweltering heat of Dubai. Welcome to Ski Dubai, which opened in December last year and is an indoor ski resort set within a 6.5 million square feet complex. From ski runs of all types for all ages to themed restaurants to an exclusive retail shop to professional instructors.
Golf
An old luxury, a new leisure, Dubai offers this sport with élan. Bragging premier golf courses, challenging ones with varying tee and pin positions, yet enjoyable and rewarding, Dubai has been voted the world’s leading golf destination by the IGTOA.
Horse Riding
Horses have been the pride of tradition here. Riding thorough the desert with the wind in your hair, one can literally paint a picture with the sand as your canvas and the horse as your paintbrush.
Adventure Tourism and Water Sports
Everyone has a wild side. And Dubai provides just the opportunity to unleash it with sports like Mountain Climbing, Sky Jumping, Scuba Diving, Go Karting, Wadi Bashing, Dune Bashing and Sand Storming. Caressed by the waters of the Gulf, Dubai offers diving down to the rich marine life and mysterious wrecks. Sailing and windsurfing are other attractions. Racing and jet skiing add to the thrill of this chase.
Super- Shopping- Dooper- Dubai!
Trust Dubai to tap into and cater to the hilt the one gene that is inbuilt in some, acquired by others and just doesn’t go down with a few. Dubai has taken the business of shopping seriously—right from its historical souqs to its modern malls and shopping villages. The Dubai Duty Free and the Dubai Shopping Festival ranks high on any shopper’s list with discounts and knick-knacks and what-nots.
Carte du jour – Dubai
Culinary experiences in Dubai call for conspicuous consumption. Be it the soul feeding Middle Eastern cuisine or the stomach filling Asian dishes, or the appetite satisfying junk food and even the heart beating romantic dinner cruises in traditional sailing dhows, Dubai gives new meaning to the term ‘food for thought.’
Dubai is thus the paradise that broke the mould once it was created. Come take a ride on this dreamland express and don’t miss a single moment of the sheer bliss offered here.
Pas a Pas se va luènh
Unconceived
Dear Daddy (that might never be mine),
I heard mummy cry out into the silence the other day, “How must one grieve for an unconceived child?” I heard grandma and grandpa telling mummy a few days earlier that I would have been a very beautiful baby. I remember you saying that I would have mummy’s brains and your looks. And then you held mummy and kissed her forehead and told her that you love her. You told mummy you wanted a boy because a girl would be so very difficult for you to scold or correct. That she would twist you round her little finger and then you would have yourself all twisted out over two women instead of one. And then you laughed that laugh that I often hear mummy describing as ‘beautiful laughter because it comes from his heart’. I hear mummy laughing that laugh too as she warns you that the prospect of a boy or girl lies entirely on you. You reach out and squeeze her hand, she smiles that special smile for you and rests her head on your shoulder. And I think, my mummy and daddy love each other very much. I can’t wait to be born.
I hear mummy crying again. But she was just so happy. No. That was a few months ago. Before the nightmare started. It is only a nightmare right? Now I only see mummy, living from moment to painful moment. Daddy’s what’s wrong? Why is mummy alone? Where are you? Why is a love that was so close, stretching thin across the seas and sands of stubbornness and idiocy and misconceptions and misunderstandings? I know daddy, I know. Big words right? I heard mom utter them the other night when she was on her knees praying? What did she mean?
Daddy where are you? What happened? Did I do something? But then I’m not born yet am I? I’m not even conceived! Don’t look so shocked daddy. Yes. I am your unconceived child. Yes daddy, I might not be born physically, but your love for mummy made me real. I’m not some preconceived notion or just any unborn child. Daddy, did you stop loving mom? Did you stop loving me? Did you stop loving yourself? But then if I am a child made real by love, shouldn’t I be dead now? Does this mean you still love mummy and me?
Did you know that mom really wanted to have your baby, namely me? Do you know that she still wants to? Do you know that the she believed the most beautiful gift you gave her was that of wanting only her to carry me? That it was one of the main things that would get her through the tough times when you weren’t around physically?
I would sit for hours and watch you and mummy as you lived your lives. Always loving each other; whether you argued, debated, played, slept, breathed, lived.
Love. An elusive word. I hear mummy call out your name so often in a day saying she loves you, praying that you both love each other beyond forever and find your way back to each other. Sometimes I hear her mumbling, at others fighting with herself, at still others just staring into space and letting the tears fall. And I ask myself, is this what love is all about? Pain? Then I want no part in it. Then I see mummy holding her tummy. She’s been doing that pretty often recently. She says she loves me. And she loves you. And I can feel it. And I want to be loved. If I, who isn’t even conceived as yet can feel her love, can you feel it daddy?
Every morning and every night she blows a flying kiss out of her window and sends an “I love you too” your way. Do you receive it? Do you understand it? Because I sure don’t. I don’t understand how you could have walked out wherever you have walked out to. I don’t get why you left. I don’t know how mummy still loves you more and more with each passing moment. At times I think she’ll implode with the love she has for you.
Is this one of those “nothing tastes better than unrequited love” kind of tales? Everyone keeps saying how strong mummy is to go through all this. How mummy is so brave and people look up to her. But do you know daddy that her love for you and yours for her is the only thing that keeps her going?
The other day she walked into the kitchen to make tea and then pour herself a cup, and she unconsciously picked up another and nearly poured that extra cup and then she just all but dropped that cup like it was on fire. She backed out in a trance and walked to the dining table, whipped open the drawer and pulling out a piece of paper. This is what she wrote.
“I miss you at the oddest of times. But then in love, nothing is odd. And everything is rare. This living without you is a new experience and one I do not care to live. And more so because it has been forced upon me for a reason I do not comprehend and for the fact that you lied to me.
I miss you during the oddest of moments. Like today when I made tea. I was about to pour a cup for you as well. And realised you didn’t drink from that cup anymore.
As I sat by my parents bedside the past two days while they’ve been so very sick and as I held my dad’s hand and soothed his fever, willing it to go away and hearing my mum cry in pain, I unconsciously reached for your hand. Didn’t find it. So I reached for my phone to call you and stopped myself in time. I was scared sitting at the edge of my parents bed, in the dark, offering comfort when my own self sought a solace only you could provide. I missed you.
I miss you with the oddest of instants. When I was at mass last week, I reached out for your hand to press your fingers and play our little game. All I found was cold hard wood.
Every evening between 6 and 8 I miss you the most. While I’m on my way home and I walk out of the station and not find you standing at the ticket counter. And then when I ride home in the auto rickshaw alone. I miss you in the middle of the oddest of occasions.
I was blowing my hair from my face the other day and it refused to move. And I wondered why because it always did after a few tries. And then I remembered it was because you always brushed it aside and gently tucked it in. I miss you in the oddest of situations.”
I miss you too daddy. I miss you too.
Love,
Logan
Pas a Pas se va luènh
I heard mummy cry out into the silence the other day, “How must one grieve for an unconceived child?” I heard grandma and grandpa telling mummy a few days earlier that I would have been a very beautiful baby. I remember you saying that I would have mummy’s brains and your looks. And then you held mummy and kissed her forehead and told her that you love her. You told mummy you wanted a boy because a girl would be so very difficult for you to scold or correct. That she would twist you round her little finger and then you would have yourself all twisted out over two women instead of one. And then you laughed that laugh that I often hear mummy describing as ‘beautiful laughter because it comes from his heart’. I hear mummy laughing that laugh too as she warns you that the prospect of a boy or girl lies entirely on you. You reach out and squeeze her hand, she smiles that special smile for you and rests her head on your shoulder. And I think, my mummy and daddy love each other very much. I can’t wait to be born.
I hear mummy crying again. But she was just so happy. No. That was a few months ago. Before the nightmare started. It is only a nightmare right? Now I only see mummy, living from moment to painful moment. Daddy’s what’s wrong? Why is mummy alone? Where are you? Why is a love that was so close, stretching thin across the seas and sands of stubbornness and idiocy and misconceptions and misunderstandings? I know daddy, I know. Big words right? I heard mom utter them the other night when she was on her knees praying? What did she mean?
Daddy where are you? What happened? Did I do something? But then I’m not born yet am I? I’m not even conceived! Don’t look so shocked daddy. Yes. I am your unconceived child. Yes daddy, I might not be born physically, but your love for mummy made me real. I’m not some preconceived notion or just any unborn child. Daddy, did you stop loving mom? Did you stop loving me? Did you stop loving yourself? But then if I am a child made real by love, shouldn’t I be dead now? Does this mean you still love mummy and me?
Did you know that mom really wanted to have your baby, namely me? Do you know that she still wants to? Do you know that the she believed the most beautiful gift you gave her was that of wanting only her to carry me? That it was one of the main things that would get her through the tough times when you weren’t around physically?
I would sit for hours and watch you and mummy as you lived your lives. Always loving each other; whether you argued, debated, played, slept, breathed, lived.
Love. An elusive word. I hear mummy call out your name so often in a day saying she loves you, praying that you both love each other beyond forever and find your way back to each other. Sometimes I hear her mumbling, at others fighting with herself, at still others just staring into space and letting the tears fall. And I ask myself, is this what love is all about? Pain? Then I want no part in it. Then I see mummy holding her tummy. She’s been doing that pretty often recently. She says she loves me. And she loves you. And I can feel it. And I want to be loved. If I, who isn’t even conceived as yet can feel her love, can you feel it daddy?
Every morning and every night she blows a flying kiss out of her window and sends an “I love you too” your way. Do you receive it? Do you understand it? Because I sure don’t. I don’t understand how you could have walked out wherever you have walked out to. I don’t get why you left. I don’t know how mummy still loves you more and more with each passing moment. At times I think she’ll implode with the love she has for you.
Is this one of those “nothing tastes better than unrequited love” kind of tales? Everyone keeps saying how strong mummy is to go through all this. How mummy is so brave and people look up to her. But do you know daddy that her love for you and yours for her is the only thing that keeps her going?
The other day she walked into the kitchen to make tea and then pour herself a cup, and she unconsciously picked up another and nearly poured that extra cup and then she just all but dropped that cup like it was on fire. She backed out in a trance and walked to the dining table, whipped open the drawer and pulling out a piece of paper. This is what she wrote.
“I miss you at the oddest of times. But then in love, nothing is odd. And everything is rare. This living without you is a new experience and one I do not care to live. And more so because it has been forced upon me for a reason I do not comprehend and for the fact that you lied to me.
I miss you during the oddest of moments. Like today when I made tea. I was about to pour a cup for you as well. And realised you didn’t drink from that cup anymore.
As I sat by my parents bedside the past two days while they’ve been so very sick and as I held my dad’s hand and soothed his fever, willing it to go away and hearing my mum cry in pain, I unconsciously reached for your hand. Didn’t find it. So I reached for my phone to call you and stopped myself in time. I was scared sitting at the edge of my parents bed, in the dark, offering comfort when my own self sought a solace only you could provide. I missed you.
I miss you with the oddest of instants. When I was at mass last week, I reached out for your hand to press your fingers and play our little game. All I found was cold hard wood.
Every evening between 6 and 8 I miss you the most. While I’m on my way home and I walk out of the station and not find you standing at the ticket counter. And then when I ride home in the auto rickshaw alone. I miss you in the middle of the oddest of occasions.
I was blowing my hair from my face the other day and it refused to move. And I wondered why because it always did after a few tries. And then I remembered it was because you always brushed it aside and gently tucked it in. I miss you in the oddest of situations.”
I miss you too daddy. I miss you too.
Love,
Logan
Pas a Pas se va luènh
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
"Tonight I Wanna Cry"
-KEITH URBAN
Alone in this house again tonight
I got the TV on, the sound turned down and a bottle of wine
There's pictures of you and I on the walls around me
The way that it was and could have been surrounds me
I'll never get over you walkin' away
[Chorus:]I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain
From my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry
Would it help if I turned a sad song on
"All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone
Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters
It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better
But I'll never get over you by hidin' this way
[Repeat chorus twice]
Pas a Pas se va luènh
-KEITH URBAN
Alone in this house again tonight
I got the TV on, the sound turned down and a bottle of wine
There's pictures of you and I on the walls around me
The way that it was and could have been surrounds me
I'll never get over you walkin' away
[Chorus:]I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control
But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain
From my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry
Would it help if I turned a sad song on
"All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone
Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters
It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better
But I'll never get over you by hidin' this way
[Repeat chorus twice]
Pas a Pas se va luènh
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