Let’s Visit Dubai

Dubai Chalo:

Have you seen this 1979 Punjabi movie? A blockbuster, it was a story of a person going to Dubai to make his fortune. It was the dream of an ordinary worker in 60’s & 70’s to go Dubai/Middle East and work there, then return back home with lots of money and electronic gadgets. Two of my uncles also went to Riyadh and stayed there for many years. They would visit us every couple of years bringing us nice toys. As a young boy, I thought of going there too and earn lots of cash.  “I want to go abroad”, I expressed to one of my uncles once. NO, you WILL NOT. He responded quite decisively and angrily. I could not figure out why he responded in such a harsh way. I only found out as I grew up that Middle East was not a heaven for workers. Immense heat, poor living conditions, low low wages, long long working hours, no protection of any kind, it was a living hell for a poor labourer. Picture was not as rosy as it looked from outside. Things are improving for workers recently a little bit as new labour laws are enforced upon, yet a long way to go.

I had the chance to visit Dubai in 2003 for first time when I came here for a 3 day visit. Here I am in Dubai again after 8 years. Things have changed since then. It was October last time and weather was unbearably hot & humid. Walking outside was impossible; it was like walking in a sauna. It was impossible to even cross the road. I was expecting worse at the end of June but surprise surprise it is hot but not so much and there is no humidity; walking outside during the day is possible; if you can manage 40c !!

Flight was completely FULL, not even a single seat free. Emirates Airline do have good seats, huge entertainment list, reasonable Service & good choice of food. As soon as I got out of customs, I was approached by a person, “need taxi”? I hesitantly agreed. He escorted me to a side of the parking and asked me to wait for few minutes. Soon a colleague of his brought the taxi there. Settled in, soon we were on our way to hotel. As I reached there, he showed me the meter; it was 185 DHS (Drahmas). On payment he handed me a “hand written” receipt. Later I found out that it was only 100 DHS more than it should have been. I don’t know how he tweaked the meter. The moral of the story is, while in Dubai take the taxi from taxi stand, and check the meter at beginning.

Why Come Dubai?

So what is Dubai & why is it so famous? I can safely say that Dubai is a lot of Sun, Sand, Sea, Skyscrapers, Sharab (alcohol) & Skin; in short a superb place for Sinful activities. But you know I was limited to pious practices only! Kind of central, Dubai is easily commutable from Middle East, Asia & Europe. Thousands of tourists visit it due to the above and enjoy its nicely built infrastructure. It is a land of biggest, tallest & fastest:

• It has the highest building – Burj Khalifah 828 meters, 160 storeys
• 2nd Tallest unofficially claimed 7* Hotel “Burj al Arab”, 321 meters, 60 floors. It is built on a man-made island.
• Dubai has the highest percentage of immigrants at (85%).
• It has the largest man-made island in the world called Jumeirah Palm.
• It has the newest driver-less Metro train system.
• There are a lot of shopping malls here, both for rich & poor.
• Dubai is fastest growing & developing its roads and buildings.

  

History; Old & New:

Dubai was a centuries old small village that was dependent on fishing and pearls. Initially under Abu Dhabi, a town was established in 1799, then becoming a separate sheikhdom in 1833 under the Sheikh Al Maktoum family. Invention of artificial pearls declined its income in early 1900s. Ruling Sheikhs thought of alternative sources of income by making Dubai a big export sea port. Discovery of oil in 1966 took Dubai to a new boom. In 1979, Jabal Ali Free Zone was introduced allowing unrestricted import of labour, export of capital and zero taxes. This lead to an influx of wealth, labour and foreign companies to Dubai.

A boom or rather a craze of building high rise buildings, big roads and infrastructure struck the area. A kind of artificial boom in property market here in Dubai saw the property prices soar unbelievably high. This phenomenon peaked from 2000 till 2008 when suddenly Dubai bubble (especially real estate) crash landed. A property of millions became worthless. Businesses collapsed drastically leaving Dubai under billions of dollars debt. Under UAE law, if one becomes defaulter or under debt, he cannot leave the country until debt is cleared. Many people rushed to airports leaving everything behind so they could leave UAE before a case is launched against them. Taxi driver told me that car parks filled with cars with keys hanging in ignition. A glimpse of recovery can be seen recently.

Dubai’s economy currently relies on real estate, oil, free trade port, foreign investment and some tourism. The investment comes from all over the world & this includes Pakistan also. A huge amount of wealth has been sucked into Dubai as it has decent infrastructure, good law & order and favourable trade laws – prerequisites for any business to flourish.

How Dubai was Born?

British being the leading power in the area in 18^th century played the main role in shaping the borders & current political system, as well as establishing the current royal families. Dubai is part of UAE (United Arab Emirates), and UAE is part of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).

– UAE consists of seven states also called Emirates. These are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah.

– GCC, also referred to as “Arab Gulf States” comprises of 6 countries namely Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE.

– There is no visa restriction among these countries.

– Most of these ‘countries’ are just one city, e.g. Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah & Bahrain. Yet most of them have border dispute with each other; the very reason these tiny pockets were created i.e. Divide, Make them Fight & Conquer.

– Surprisingly Iraq, Yemen and Jordan are not part of GCC even though they are next door neighbours.

Where are Locals?

Roaming in the streets of Dubai all you will see is Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos) walking & talking in Hindi Punjabi. But there is no sign of Arabs except a hint now & then. Road signs & Shop names are in Arabic & English reminding you that you ARE in Middle East! The official language is Arabic though unofficially it is Hirdu (a mixture of Hindi & Urdu!). Nearly 71% can speak or understand Hirdu, so much so that I have seen many Arabs speak a bit of it. I used it regularly while in Dubai, at shops, in taxis on streets. Out of 1.42 million of Dubai population, 1.2 million (85%) are foreigners. Majority being from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh arrived here as labourers. They are the unsung heroes who built UAE in scorching heat & poor (sometimes non-existent) living conditions at dead low wages.

My Stay:

I was staying in the newly built area which houses hotels, technology parks, and universities. A bit far from the old centre, the area is called Dubai Marina. The two man-made Palm islands are also here. The construction is elegant and beautiful. Its residents are mainly Europeans & other rich people.

There were many restaurants nearby including Chinese, Indians, Pakistani, Mexican, Japanese, Lebanese and Italians. All Halal, but guess what I went for on first night?? I opted for a vegetarian biryani and lentil soup.

My Excursions:

My last day in Dubai was reserved for excursions. I started with Dubai Museum, located in Deira district, unofficially known as Little India because it is full of Indians & Pakistanis. Museum has nice displays of Dubai history as well as glimpse of Bedouin lifestyle; a must visit place for a Dubai tourist.

My intention was to visit Meena Bazaar straight after completing the museum. This bazaar is somewhat similar to old Anarkali bazaar. Many shops for clothes, phones, spare parts, etc, etc. And of course small shops selling chai, chaat, samosay, juice and other Indian delicacies. Coming out of the museum I spotted a sardar jee in traditional dress. I wished to ask him for directions to Meena Bazaar. So I approached him and asked:

ME: Pa Jee, Meena Bazaar kis tarah ja sakday aan? (How can I go to Meena Bazaar?)

Sardar held me from my arm (I got scared, maybe I asked something wrong!). Then responded as, Tusee Meena Bazaar thay vich hee kharay ho. (you are in the Meena Bazaar). Next Street was it.

I headed straight to it. Spotting smaosay peeping out of a Vegetarian restaurant’s window I couldn’t resist. Filling me with a huge plate of samosay, chanay, imli chatni & salad, it was quite satisfying. Followed by a nice cup of tea at a corner shop I started my Bazaar excursion. I bought a souvenir and couple of other small items. It was quite hot so I was almost exhausted after few hours. I decided to head back to hotel. I wished to but couldn’t cover the Old Spice & Gold Souqs (bazaars) near Dubai Creek. Next time Insha Allah.