Five things I love about Dubai

Everybody loves a list!

It may be a classic newbie honeymoon-phase cliché, but narrowing the things I’m appreciating about my new home down to only five is proving hard. I could probably write a full post on each of them, too (and I probably will sometime. It’s called recycling, and writers do it well. Dubai does it badly, but more on that later.) You’ll have to wait til next time for the ‘things I not-so-love’ list.

So... here in no particular order are five things I’m loving about Dubai today:

1.       The separate room for ladies to pay traffic fines (don’t ask). The men’s room was full; ladies’ room, empty. Now, you don’t get to write that sentence very often. The two taciturn women in khaki uniforms and headscarves could have done with some customer service training (or perhaps a cup of coffee – it was early – but maybe I’m projecting), but they were efficient. I think it’s such a good idea that they should introduce it in Australian government offices. Imagine going to renew your driver’s licence without sharing a seat with a man who spreads his knees a metre apart.

2.The call to prayer. Bet you thought that was going to be in the other list! But apart from the one that wakes us at six in the morning (we have to get up anyway), I think it’s rather nice to know what the time is when you’re out and about, and the ‘singers’ (as us non-Muslims call them) can be fantastic. Check out this one (above) I recorded at the kid’s school the other day. It’s a reminder of where we are, which you can forget when you are just wandering around Western-dominated areas. And it’s a reminder of a dimension in life that goes beyond what we can see.

Exhibit A

3.       The roads. Ha! I may well be alone in this, but there’s a weird kind of logic to the layout that suits people like me who don’t think in straight lines but rather meandering circles. I haven’t really been lost yet (I know, I know, famous last words).

 4.       After school activities (or ASAs to those of us in the know). This is a system whereby children’s activities – football, ballet, etc – are taken care of straight after school, on the school premises, often by outside providers. This negates the need for one person to get three children to diverse geographic locations at the EXACT SAME TIME. Brilliant! And if one of your children doesn’t have an activity on, they can do their homework in the cafeteria. See exhibit A.

5.       The desert. It may be everywhere (including all over the roads sometimes) but you don’t get a sense of it until you get out of town, which we did with a few new friends on Saturday. It was literally a breath of fresh air, a much-craved escape into the countryside. And although the rolling green hills of home couldn’t be more different from the wild, craggy mountain landscape we hiked through, the thrill of finding water in the desert (see pics) was worth the dry trek. Loved, loved, loved it. 

6.       Oh, okay. I know I said five, but I’ve thrown in a bonus one. The Dubai Garden Centre is my new favourite shop. It has excellent, very strong coffee, groovy, quirky home products and even a marmalade cat curled up in the sun. My coffee came in a pale green (my favourite colour) old china cup and saucer with a worn gold trim, and it made me realise – in this land of new, shiny things (even buildings made to look old are actually new – you can see the Styrofoam behind the wood veneer) - how precious it is to hold something with some history. Best of all it has a SECOND HAND BOOKSHOP!!!!!!!! (I hate overuse of exclamation marks, but I need to convey how wonderful this is.) Will be back, very soon.

Next time: the five things that have NOT captured my heart, including children without seatbelts, car parking at school (with pictures!) and those pesky neighbourhood sprinklers.