My (Early) Impression of Dubai

It's tricky to define Dubai, and my definition might be too early because I've just been here for a month and a couple of days.

However, for sure, although Dubai is in Arabian peninsula, you will be disappointed if you look for Arabia world here. For one thing, 85% of the people here are expatriates (and most of them are India and Pakistani). Another thing, Dubai is like a showcase of its country UAE to display how modern and rich the country is.

In my humble opinion, the showcase is somewhat tacky and lots of times over the top.

"Literally" over the top, right? :D

You can browse the Internet and read the history of Dubai, but to make the story short, it was in around 1970 that Dubai started to build fast and tall. So it is like in the Arabian 1001 nights. This modern city was built "magically" overnight . No wonder not much ancient culture can be found here. But if you insist, you can still see such things (click for bigger picture):

Left: Traditional Dubai Water Taxi to travel between Deira and Bur Dubai.
Right: Traditional souk (market) in Deira.

I've tried the water taxi and I've been to the traditional souk. Going there in summer was a mistake. I got nothing but headache. Nothing Arabia, though, simply because everyone there was either an Indian or a Pakistani :D

If you google Dubai images you might get pictures of modern clean crisp city. However, for me, there is something wrong about the air. Perhaps because Dubai is a desert, the air is never clear. It is always somewhat dusty. At least in the summer. I might want to change my opinion when it's winter.

Do you see what I mean?
(click for bigger picture)

Dubai is a weird attractive city. I would say it is a seriously modern and rich place for the wealthiest people clashed with a dusty and hard but rewarding life for immigrants who scrape for a little bit of fortune. I'm still trying to find my place here, to see if I can love this city like other people do.

Trying to find some authentic Arab culture here? Err, try some place else.
Looking for a multinational city with skyscrapers, malls with every major fashion brand in the world? Here is the place ;)

What do you want to know in the next posts? The weather? The people? More big malls? The tourism sites? The transportation? Or maybe the life of labors here? Let me know *wink*

Note: All images are from Wikipedia.

Comments

  1. Andre PriyonoOctober 2, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    Dear Acne Prone Wife,

    I want to know about the socio-cultural thing about this over-the-top Dubai country...

    Would you like to give a bit detail on socio-cultural in your next post?

    Thanks.
    Greetings to your unique and beloved husband.
    Tyo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 3, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    WOW!!!! you moved to dubai!! is it just you and your husband? any family?

    Well, I would like to learn about the people: behavior, interactions, culture, traditions, religion. etc etc

    And, what are you doing there, did you find a job?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Acne Prone WifeOctober 3, 2011 at 2:51 AM

    Tyo, let's see if I can write anything socio-cultural :D I mean, it's been only a month so I might be wrong. But, yeah, I'll try.

    Stacie! Yes, I moved to Dubai to be with my husband. He has already been here for 2 years. Just the two of us :) I found myself a job, worked for 5 days, and quit lol. I'll write about it in the next posts. Hopefully soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AdeLheidOctober 3, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    Hi...
    ini pertama kalinya aku komen, salam kenal ya :)
    anyway, i want to read more about The people and the tourism sites... :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Acne Prone WifeOctober 3, 2011 at 1:28 PM

    Hi AdeLheid, salam kenal :D Yeah, talking about the tourism sites will be interesting. Wait for the next posts.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Facial Review: Facial Ozon Herbal at Profira Aesthetic & Anti Aging Clinic

Image
I love facial. I like being massaged and touched and caressed . So I like to venture and try different clinics that offer spa and facial treatment, although I haven't been to as many clinics as I hope. Let's see, in Surabaya so far I've tried Natasha, LBC, Amethyst, erha. I've always wanted to try Miracle but the facial treatment price is not within my budget. Then Profira opened. Because I've heard that it's opened by a doctor previously working in Miracle, I thought the quality will be on par with Miracle. And the price, too, so I never went there. Haha.. Until the day I saw this at groupon: The link is here: http://groupon.co.id/voucher/surabaya/71966/up-to-52-percent-offfacial-ozon-herbal-chemical-peeling-at-profira It is in my facial budget range, so why not? This is a good deal, or so I thought. So I bought two vouchers, one for me and one for my husband. It was quite easy to make the appointment, and I went there this noon with high hopes.
Read more

Made in Indonesia

Image
Walking down a street in Deira area a couple months ago, we stumbled upon this little store that specializes in selling Indonesian hair care and body care products. Weird. There are not so many Indonesian people here. So we went inside the store, talked to the store owner and asked his permission to take a couple of pictures. We were fascinated. The store owner said that business is quite good. There are always people who come looking for Indonesian products. I suddenly remember that I've been looking for hair tonic in numerous department stores in Dubai with no luck at all. They only have hair oil (sounds yuck). They do not have any knowledge of hair tonic at all. I should go visit this store again. Rudy Hadisuwarno. Who in Indonesia doesn't know him? Balsem Otot Geliga! Pegal Kembali Lega! You can even see the POM number :)) The infamous Citra (or Citra Hand Body as we know it) The store. I also heard that Sharjah (a town next to Dubai) has Indomaret!
Read more

The Plan

I am thinking that running out of town would be the best. Jakarta might be good. I know some friends there who want to help me. I can stay in one of their houses for a while before I find my own place. Or I can always stay in a hotel for a couple of days. I know a couple of affordable nice hotels. I also know some places where I can apply for work. I think I need to work if I want to live on my own. But how do I explain myself to my friends? I cannot think of a scenario where I do not honestly tell them that I leave my hometown because I cannot live with him anymore. I have to be honest. They will understand. They've seen my eye covered in bruises when I went to that party last year in Jakarta. No no no. Running to a town where I meet my friends will make it easy for him to be able to track me down. I might get caught fast. Difficult. Another option is to run away to my family's house in the same town. I can beg them to keep my hideout a secret. And even when he finds o
Read more