Day At The Mall
In this post I will attempt to capture a real day in the life of Dubai. Dubai is all about shopping and where else should I go but the largest mall outside the US, the Mall of the Emirates. Malls are not a trend, they're a necessity. Either spend your day in the air conditioned mall or fry an egg in the parking lot. Every thing is enclosed and air conditioned, even the bus stops.
I take a taxi to the mall, snap a photo of the world's tallest building currently under construction, and have a nice chat with my Pakistani driver. With some exception the hierarchy of jobs and nationalities goes like this: Indians are construction workers, Pakistanis drive the taxis, southeast Asians serve you food and drinks, Arabs stamp your passport. If you're successful you own a store selling clothing or electronic hardware. And if you're really successful, your store is air conditioned.
As I enter the mall I find the world renowned indoor ski run. Yup, it's true, it's there. Snow in the desert. They've done it. You can rent everything but bring your own gloves and beanie. Tuesday nights is the snowboard halfpipe.
The direction arrows in the mall drive me nuts. I'm convinced they have no correlation to actual location and someone enjoys watching the white guy go the wrong way.
Fortunately I have nowhere in particular to go and by no coincidence I find the supermarket and food court without delay. I've never been to a Carrefour before but this one must be the biggest ever. Thanks to price controls and pegging the dirham to the dollar, prices are remarkably good.
McDonald's and other American chains are pretty popular with the locals, but I opt for some Lebanese food. Some kind of thin veggie covered pizza, fries, hummus, and grape leaves.
After lunch I walk around some more and admire the architecture and nice interior.
Then I catch a live performance that occurs multiple times a day. There's always one thing or another being broadcast on the loudspeaker. If it's not a blonde woman singing in a tight dress, it's the Allahu Akbar call to worship. Hold the Gucci bag, I'll be back in 5 minutes.
My trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without cruising by Rodeo Drive. Made me feel right at home.
And if that didn't remind me of LA enough, there was a Lamborghini conveniently parked outside.
But I'll pass on that ride. I'll take one of these beautiful Camrys instead.
(Can someone from the Toyota grammar department confirm that the plural of Camry is not Camries?)
It's getting late. Take me to the Burj al Arab hotel.
I take a taxi to the mall, snap a photo of the world's tallest building currently under construction, and have a nice chat with my Pakistani driver. With some exception the hierarchy of jobs and nationalities goes like this: Indians are construction workers, Pakistanis drive the taxis, southeast Asians serve you food and drinks, Arabs stamp your passport. If you're successful you own a store selling clothing or electronic hardware. And if you're really successful, your store is air conditioned.
As I enter the mall I find the world renowned indoor ski run. Yup, it's true, it's there. Snow in the desert. They've done it. You can rent everything but bring your own gloves and beanie. Tuesday nights is the snowboard halfpipe.
The direction arrows in the mall drive me nuts. I'm convinced they have no correlation to actual location and someone enjoys watching the white guy go the wrong way.
Fortunately I have nowhere in particular to go and by no coincidence I find the supermarket and food court without delay. I've never been to a Carrefour before but this one must be the biggest ever. Thanks to price controls and pegging the dirham to the dollar, prices are remarkably good.
McDonald's and other American chains are pretty popular with the locals, but I opt for some Lebanese food. Some kind of thin veggie covered pizza, fries, hummus, and grape leaves.
After lunch I walk around some more and admire the architecture and nice interior.
Then I catch a live performance that occurs multiple times a day. There's always one thing or another being broadcast on the loudspeaker. If it's not a blonde woman singing in a tight dress, it's the Allahu Akbar call to worship. Hold the Gucci bag, I'll be back in 5 minutes.
My trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without cruising by Rodeo Drive. Made me feel right at home.
And if that didn't remind me of LA enough, there was a Lamborghini conveniently parked outside.
But I'll pass on that ride. I'll take one of these beautiful Camrys instead.
(Can someone from the Toyota grammar department confirm that the plural of Camry is not Camries?)
It's getting late. Take me to the Burj al Arab hotel.
Labels: dubai
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