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| Burj Khalifa, Dubai |
What’s it really like to live in Dubai? What do the apartments look
like? How is the driving? What are the shopping malls like? What do Americans buy? What do Emiratis buy? All that and more…
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| Burj Al Arab, Dubai |
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| Dubai |
Dubai is an enormous construction site with sand, dust and dirt blowing constantly. There are hundreds of high rise office building and apartments all in various stages of construction.
Cranes, trucks, building materials, Indian and Pakistani workers
everywhere. The heat feels exactly like
your oven when you open the door and get blasted by the intense heat, but with
high humidity thrown in for good measure.
I sit writing this looking out of my sliding glass doors at no less than
15 buildings under construction.
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| Construction in Dubai |
We live in a newly constructed 13-story apartment building called the Sun Rise Building in Al Nahda 2. This being our 2nd time living
in the Middle East, we chose to live in a smaller apartment close to
Bill’s school and save a portion of our Housing Allowance.
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| Sunrise Apt Building, Our Apartment on 7th Floor, Al Nahda 2, Dubai |
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When we lived in Abu Dhabi in 2004/05, we
lived large! We had a huge, swanky
apartment overlooking the Arabian Gulf and the Corniche with 4 bedrooms, 3 ½
bathrooms, a maid’s room, a huge salon, fully appointed kitchen and a foyer so
big that I bought furniture and artwork just to furnish our entrance.
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| Eldiar Apt Bldg, We lived on the 4th Floor, Abu Dhabi | |
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| Corniche, Abu Dhabi |
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| Abu Dhabi |
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This being our 2nd time living in the Middle East, we wanted to have a new and different experience.
And we certainly
did have a unique experience! The 1st floor here is called the Ground Floor. Therefore, our 6th floor apartment
is really on the 7th floor.
Because the building has just been completed, there is no paved street
in front of our building yet, no surface parking lot, and no true access road from
Amman Street (the main road). However, we do have
underground parking.
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| Painted Camels, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai | |
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| Jumeirah Beach Hotel Lobby, Dubai |
To access our building, we very
carefully drove through a large sand lot on a make-shift road that has just
been traveled over extensively and packed down into hard sand.
But, people are constantly getting their cars stuck in the sand and asking
other drivers to pull them out. We’ve
been stuck a couple of times in the deep sand and people are very friendly to help us out. They carry ropes, attach them to your car and pull you out. We speak no Arabic and oftentimes, they speak no English, but it works. It
is really amazing what people will put up with.
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| Base of Burj Khalifa, Dubai |
Our building’s
occupants are culturally diverse.
Most of our neighbors are from India, the UAE, Pakistan, Iraq or
the United Kingdom, but mostly from India.
I can smell the wonderful spicy aromas of curry and coriander wafting through the ventilation system all day and especially at night,
much to Bill’s chagrin. Families from other
cultures oftentimes stay up late to cook and eat dinner. Their typical evening meal will be taken at 9 or 10 pm. Meals
will be even later during Ramadan.
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| Jumeirah Beach Walk, Dubai |
My neighbor is from Baghdad and his job takes him to Washington, DC frequently. He and his wife live next door. Our kitchen windows face each other. However, we can’t actually
see anyone in their kitchen because they taped newspapers on the
windows, instead of curtains, so no one can see into their apartment.
I would give anything to have a
real CLOSET!!! Our apartment has only
one built-in closet or wardrobe which measures 8’ wide with shelves on each end. My clothes take up most of that space!
That tells you how many clothes I brought to
the Middle East this time. I share this ONE closet
space with Bill’s BIG clothes – suits, dress shirts and ties. There are no walk-in closets here. Our last apartment in Abu Dhabi had ZERO
closets. Yes, no closets whatsoever. This time, I bought large wardrobes from IKEA, had them
delivered and assembled.
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| Wardrobe or Closet (Clothing Racks too) |
Apartments all have very high ceilings, 12’
feet high, and shiny white marble floors which are super slick when wet. Everything is marble. So interesting that the bathroom does not
have a wall outlet for a blow dryer or curling iron. However, there is a special wall socket for
the men’s electric shavers. Something
else just for the ‘Man’ in the Middle East.
The wall socket is odd looking because there is a picture of a man’s bearded face with
a shaver on it. The men in
the Middle East groom their faces like finely tuned race car engines. They wear a very handsome ‘five o’clock
shadow’ which they have clipped, trimmed and shaved frequently at the barber
shop. Of course, all salons are
segregated. Men cannot walk into the
ladies salons and vice versa.
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| Bloomingdales - Dubai Mall |
Bathrooms are typically large with marble
tiles covering the floor and all walls.
Also, each bathroom has a drain in the floor. You never know how good the plumbing actually
is or if a professional plumber worked on the building. There is usually a toilet and a bidet, plus
every bathroom has the required ‘sprayer hose with a nozzle’ hanging on the
wall next to the toilet. Let’s just say
that ‘Charmin’ isn’t as highly rated or frequently used as in the United
States. All public restrooms have the
same sprayers and the floors are usually very wet.
There is a one inch marble divider in every
single doorway to stop any water from running throughout the apartment. Does this mean that the plumbers and
contractors didn’t do a good job when constructing the apartments? Makes
you wonder why there is an open drain
in the floor of the kitchen and each bathroom. But also annoying, we
have a tendency to trip on the marble floor divider.
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| Jumeirah Beach Hotel - Bar near Beach |
Kitchens are also usually quite large
as they accommodate the cooker (stove), refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer. I decided not to buy a
cooker! I rarely cook. Why spend the
money? So, I have a large space between
the cabinets where the cooker should be.
I store my cases of bottled water there!
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| Living Simple! |
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| Simple Chic! |
I have the world's smallest refrigerator. I'm actually taller than my fridge and I’m
never taller than anything! Two shelves,
door space, and a small freezer... Too funny, my "Dream
Kitchen". I did buy a skillet, one pot and one pan. I also bought a double ring ‘hot plate’ on which to prepare my culinary delights! There are so
many little Indian restaurants and other small local places close. Everyone orders food and has it delivered
24/7. Why bother cooking? Why would I change my ways in Dubai? Who am I going to impress here with my
culinary expertise?
Not only did I not buy a cooker. I didn’t buy a clothes dryer either.
There is no space in this kitchen for a clothes dryer. Also, the washer/dryer
combinations cost a fortune. Plus, the dryer takes about 2 hours to dry the clothes. Apparently, electricity for the
appliances is sky high. But, the Emiratis don’t care because, guess what? They don’t pay for UTILITIES! Go figure…
So, here I am on the balcony, with my Master's degree filed away, hanging our laundry on the drying racks that I now proudly own. Doesn't get any better than that, does it? Who has more fun? Takes a couple of days to do the laundry, but it drys quickly!
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| Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi |
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| Emirates Palace Dining Overlooking Beach |
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| Emirates Palace Beach, Abu Dhabi |
Bill and I have gotten lost so
many times that we are very careful now when we venture out in the car. We take taxis nearly everywhere. Our first weekend, we tried to find an
apartment to view. We were absolutely
and totally lost for well over two hours driving around and around, mostly on
desert roads.
Now mind you that we didn’t
even bother to take bottled water or any snacks with us. We were low on petrol and finally found a gas
station. The only way we found our way
back to civilization was with our realtor on the mobile phone talking us
through intersections, exchanges and terrible roads.
The signage is a nightmare here and there
are so many highways, roads and streets.
If you make a wrong turn, you might drive 10-20 miles before you can
exit and turn around. However, that doesn’t mean
that you can actually go back the way you came.
It is nearly impossible to make a left turn. You need to go to the next intersection and
make a U-turn, find your destination and make a right turn. Very tedious.
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| Festival City, Dubai |
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| Festival City, Dubai |
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| Festival City, Dubai |
The shopping malls, grocery
stores, department stores, Carrefours and LuLu Hypermarkets are always extremely
crowded with adults, children running around, people bumping into your cart and
stepping in front of you.
The national pastime IS “shopping”.
Out of the 4.5 million people living in Dubai, only 20% are Nationals
with the remainder being expatriates. Many
of the Emiratis do not have jobs, hence the shopping mall
experiences. The men shop together, the
women shop in groups or pairs, then they sit at coffee shops for hours.
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| Marina Mall in Arabian Gulf, Abu Dhabi |
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| Dubai Mall next to Burj Khalifa | | |
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| Bloomingdales, Dubai Mall |
Men and women both wear long
sleeve garments (dishdashas or thobes and abayas), so the hands and
wrists are on display for whatever fashion statement they chose to make.
There are Emirati women who also
cover their hands with long black gloves. They would never even think about
sporting a watch.
Those same women would typically wear either a full face veil or one which only reveals their eyes.
Only very old women wear the traditional
burkha, which is the leather-like face piece covering the nose, mouth and above
the eyes. I was quite surprised that so
many young girls and middle aged women continue to wear the traditional,
national garb: the abaya which is the
full length black garment, the face veil and the sheyla, hijab or head covering.
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| Black Abayas |
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| Gold Jewelry |
I’m always amazed that they don’t trip on the
floor length garment, but they glide along with their friends and navigate the
escalators with great ease.
The fabric
that the black abbyas and the white dishdashas or thobes are made of is incredible. No wrinkles ever!
Many Emiratis have their clothes custom made. I had two white French cuff blouses
made in Abu Dhabi and they are wrinkle free.
Women are buying more glitzy abayas and sheylas. The trim on cuffs, hemlines and sheyla edges is
very elaborate with small rhinestones, flower appliques, embroidery work and other decoration.
Girls start to wear the abaya at about 12 or
13 years of age. The veil is worn
according to her family's tribe and out of respect for their religion. Husbands can require their wives to veil their faces after marriage.
Boys often begin wearing their white dishdasha at about age 8 or 9. Children are officially separated in school
by about the 3rd or 4th grade.
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| Dubai Mall Aquarium |
Status symbols in the Middle East include designer purses, sandals, designer cuff links and matching pens for men, and of course, luxury cars and SUVs. The most significant item for a woman is her handbag because one of the few items which can be publicly
shown while women are out shopping.
So, nothing but the very best for these ladies! If the handbag is not Gucci, Yves St.
Laurent, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi or
Carolina Herrera, then it is large and colorful, but not necessarily in good
taste.
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| Textile Souk, Dubai |
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| Textile Souk, Dubai |
Shoe stores are everywhere! If you thought that Imelda Marcos had lots of
shoes, the women in Dubai have her beat. They love Jimmy Choo shoes.
The women wear incredible
sandals and designer shoes. Most have beautiful pedicures. The sandals have rhinestones, baubles, bright colors, and very high heels.
You can barely see the feet of the women because of the long, black
abayas. But they wear regular clothes beneath that black garment.
Men also wear very expensive sandals. They often have manicures and pedicures. No one wants ugly toes when you wear sandals
daily.
Men also go to
their barber frequently to have their hair cut even though their headpiece covers the entire head. They have their beards trimmed to look
like a five o’clock shadow, which is quite attractive.
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| Dubai Creek & Gold Souk |
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| Man on Wooden Abra Boat, Dubai Creek |
Last, the fragrances are amazing. Men and women all smell wonderful.
They use Oud, oils and perfumes lavishly. So, when they glide pass you, the fragrance is
heavenly.
I really would have enjoyed a swimming pool here! Too bad, but our building doesn't have a pool. It's still 100' - 114' daily and sunny. I have been on the treadmill daily and walk at least 5 miles each time. What else is there to do unless I find a job?
The workout room door is unlocked at 6 am, but no one bothers to turn the AC on. So, when I arrive at 7 am, the room is hotter than an oven. Then, the AC barely works. I phone the building manager, but that doesn't do much good. He either doesn't understand me or he just agrees with me to get me off of the phone. Nothing ever actually changes... He nods his head a lot, but it's all 'Inshallah' or God willing.
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| Abu Dhabi |
Never forget that this is "No Country for Old Men (or Old Women)". It's a hard life with too many cars, too much traffic, too many people in high rise apartment buildings and road rage.
The smells and odors are unbelievable. I'm talking about body odor. It's difficult for men who work outdoors to keep their clothes clean and to keep their bodies free from perspiration odor. You cannot imagine the violation to your olfactory sense when you step on an elevator or hop in a taxi. It does take your breath away!
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| Jumeirah Beach Walk, Dubai |
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| Starbucks, Jumeirah Beach Walk, Dubai |
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And that's just a taste of what life is truly like in Dubai. After living in our building for nearly three years, we eventually had a paved road and parking lot in front. Light at the end of the tunnel.
It isn't all glitz and glamour, but it's always culturally interesting and an adventure!
