There has been much excitement regarding the launch of the Dubai Metro and I can see why not. A few years ago it was a dream and now a reality! Not many countries or cities can see such progress in such a short span. Dubai is certainly different. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a visionary and a great leader inaugurated the Dubai Metro on 09-09-09 at 09:09:09.

Dubai Metro

Unfortunately I am still on holiday in India and just waiting to return to Dubai to test ride the Dubai Metro. The feedback from friends have been great. One speculation that the prices were going to be high was proved wrong with quite reasonable rates. They should introduce seasonal and festive tickets as well. Keeping ticket prices low will attract more passengers. Let’s hope the don’t increase the rates in the near future.

The problem with this country is the heat. People just can walk a few feet in the hot sun. This comes as a disadvantage for people who have to walk to their offices. Of course cabs and buses are available, but it comes with its own problems like time and another expense. Nothing can be done regarding that unfortunately.

I have been on the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in Honk Kong and in Singapore. I liked the HK one better. It is a lot simpler, cheaper, faster. Stations are aplenty and stations excellent. Getting tickets was a breeze. The trains bigger and cleaner. It was always a joy travelling on the MTR. There were no paper tickets. All tickets were plastic, even one way tickets. The one way tickets are not returned to the passenger in the destination station. This way a lot of paper waste is avoided. In Singapore paper tickets are found everywhere! A big mess. I still haven’t used the Dunai Metro so I am not sure how it is compared to these cities.

The Dubai Metro is sure a huge boost for the economy. People will certainly use it if its affordable, if parking is available and not a problem, if it is more accessible to offices and residential areas, if there are good connecting services etc. This will all be possible, because this is Dubai.

It would be great if all the Emirates would be connected by metros.

For the past few days i have killed nearly 5! I am not writing from jail and certainly I am not wanted by the police! It’s mosquitoes that were killed! 5! Is that even a count? I’ve been in Sharjah, UAE for nearly 6 years and haven’t seen any mosquitoes!… until now that is. The favourite pet pest in the UAE is the famous bachelors bug or the bed bug. It thrives oh heat and of course blood! It likes bachelor pads for the single reason because they are very clean and hygienic! If you kill one you bring 100’s more. Only a few ways to get rid of them, drown them in water, scotch tape them, bomb them (they have a special bomb where you place the bomb in the room and seal the room so that no air escapes…it works – be gone for 24 hrs, else you go with the bugs!), or leave the country! We have come to live with them, drowning, taping and bombing them frequently.

The recent rain has brought a new pe(s)t – Mosquitoes! I don’t think they will last the summer but the point is- they have arrived! Brings back memories of home – nets, good night liquid, tortoise coils…

Welcome my friends. Have a great summer!

We all miss the rains here in UAE. It’s because being from the subcontinent, we are used to the rain. Riding on bikes, with no helmet on, crossing puddles of water, surviving open drainage, with buses happily spaying us with a mixture of rain water, sewage, mud, rose petals, jasmine (the rose and jasmine – leftovers from a funeral procession of course!), it is so much fun and excitement. Getting fully soaked is a good feeling. The ultimate part is when the water starts to flow from the shirt into the pants! What a feeling! lol

The rain brings us back to all our childhood memories and the fun we all had together as children. Rain is beautiful. The first raindrops on the dry earth brings our an aroma that cannot be described! What a smell! Like the famous Titanic phrase there is a similar one… It’s been 84 months and I can still smell the wonderful smell of rain on soil! I know it sounds horrible.. but who cares! It’s just to say rain bring in a lot of pleasant memories.

Rain in UAE. Now that is a total different thing. First of all it is a desert and rain is not there in the UAE dictionary. Or so it seemed to be until a few years ago. Now it is becoming a regular event! Here a slight rain clogs up the roads. What else would you expect when throughout the year you have sand blowing everywhere and filling up every drainage hole. Now here rain water and fine sand is not good. Slush! Luckily over here most of us drive around in cars. Bikes are not common because of the heat. The only thing we experience here from the rain is – TRAFFIC JAMS!

Recently in the past few days we have had heavy rain, hail stones as big as marbles and SNOW also! You can view more of this in the Gulf News. This climate change surely has something to do with global warming. UAE cannot withstand rain like this. Let’s hope everything is back to normal soon. Certainly this rain does not bring any memories back but only fear – fear of traffic jams! …especially driving to and fro between Dubai and Sharjah.

Rain rain go away, little johnny wants to go to work!