In The News: Flood in the UAE!!!

On Monday morning I had a meeting in Abu Dhabi. So I get out onto Emirates Road (which is a scary road at the best of times, even for Dubai) heading towards AD and traffic is backing up, more so than usual. I started to notice that there is some water on the road ... actually, quite a bit of water ... about 6 inches deep and getting deeper! The puddle on the shoulder was about 18 inches deep! Just when I was thinking how bizarre that was, I looked across to the other side of the road and it was FLOODED! Water up to the top of the 3-foot high concrete barrier and over-flowing onto our side!!! It was a lake! I tried to get pictures but my silly camera fell onto the floor where I couldn’t reach it and I kinda had to keep my hands on the wheel. I grabbed some of these from the internet ...






In the middle of the road where the light posts are, those are the 3-foot high concrete barriers that were acting as a dyke. I didn't see the source of the water when I was driving by but I did some surfing later:

... apparently it was a water tank that collapsed at a construction site near the road according to this website.

... or a burst pipe according to this website. UPDATE: Good old Gulf News has changed their article; no longer says it was a burst pipe.

... and apparently it happened “yesterday” according to this article which was posted on August 25th and would imply that this happened on the 24th (since I was actually there when it happened on the 25th, me thinks someone was fibbing about the “yesterday” part! The quality and reliability of the news here leaves something to be desired.)

Also of note in that last article is that, instead of showing photos of the subject of the article ... the flooding, the traffic, the clean-up efforts ... they elected to show a photo of the Engineer from the traffic department (RTA) whom gave the quotes ... huh?


Luckily no one was hurt in this incident and traffic was still crawling along going towards Abu Dhabi (but the other direction towards Sharjah was closed). The rest of my day-trip was uneventful.

The Taxi Situation and Driving Lessons

I haven't complained about the taxis lately. That's because I haven't really needed them since I got wheels.

This week has been crazy hectic as it sometimes is in the Architectural biz, getting approvals (aka "No Objection Certificates" or NOC's) are an important step in the process and take a lot of effort on the part of we, the consultant.

On Tuesday we had one such submission to our Master Developer, I went to their office with our package of drawings, report, etc. The presentation went very well, I believe we will get our approval. Phew! Now to get to my next meeting.

The Master Developer's office is kind of off the beaten track and I needed a taxi to get back. The receptionist kindly called and then I waited ... and waited ... and ... 30 minutes later she called again ... and I waited ... another 35 minutes. Nothing.

I must have looked rather destitute sitting there in the lobby when a man who was leaving saw me and kindly offered to give me a lift. Oh hallelujah! Turns out he is the VP of Business Development, originally from Houston, Texas, a "sea-man" who has been all over the world. Always interesting to talk to other Westerners here and I sure did appreciate that ride! My disrespect for the taxis here remains intact.

Flashback to April when I was getting my Dubai driver's license, I was thoroughly frustrated, I went to the Traffic Department THREE times (taking taxis there and back) before they finally issued it! I have since come to accept that spontaneous rule changes and hoards of paperwork are a way of life here.

Yesterday, my office-mate from Bolivia was telling me that she is required to take driving lessons before she can get her license. She has to take a taxi to the traffic department where she boards a bus out to the driving academy (in the middle of no-where), drives around the course for an hour and then comes back. Twenty lessons! It is a well known fact that NO ONE passes their driver course the first time no matter how good a driver they are. I hear that anyone from the Indian sub-continent can expect to take the lessons at least 4 times and pay the corresponding fee 4 times ... therein lies the point of driving lessons. The Emirates may be "tax-free" but they find creative ways to generate other revenue streams. And I might add, the drivers here are not any safer for having taken all those lessons!

I was rejoicing in the fact that as a Canadian, I did not have to take any driving lessons, my Alberta license was transferred over directly. However, my office mate says that that has now changed. All new-comers to Dubai regardless of nationality must take driving lessons! Just goes to show you that no matter how crappy things seem to be, they could always be worse.

Thought for the day

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities, always see them for they are always there. "
--Norman Vincent Peale

Not that things are dark here, just seemed like a nice quote :-)

And while I'm at it, Congrats to all the Canadian athletes who won metals today (or achieved a personal best or qualified to move on or even just got to compete!) One does not get to the top of the podium without being a "possibilitarian".

Dubai Documentary on CBC

Seems the CBC will be re-broadcasting the documentary "Dubai: Miracle or Mirage" again this week.

DUBAI: MIRACLE OR MIRAGE?
Thursday November 22, 2007 at 9pm on CBC-TV
repeating Saturday August 16, 2008 at 10 pm ET/PT & Wedneday August 20 at 11 pm PT on CBC Newsworld
DUBAI: MIRACLE OR MIRAGE? is a one-hour documentary that examines one the world’s most fascinating and fastest developing city-states.

Surrounded by war zones, Dubai remains blissfully peaceful. This state which is smaller than the province of Prince Edward Island has become home to superlatives – the biggest building, the largest airport, the tallest hotel, the richest horse race are all situated in Dubai.

Forty years ago it was a sleepy backwater, now it is a magnet for the young and ambitious from around the world. But this meteoric expansion comes at a price. To accommodate the tsunami of foreigners known as expats, Dubai, a Muslim state, turns a blind eye to some of these visitors’ excesses, often to the great displeasure of the locals known as Emirati.

This massive influx of expats which includes hundreds of thousands of indentured labourers from South Asia is crucial if Dubai Inc. is to reach its goal of becoming an economic and tourist powerhouse. It’s also led to an extraordinary phenomenon. Emiratis are now a minority in their own land. We meet some of these Emirati both young and old and some of the expats including a number of Canadians, as they work and play in this unreal world of Dubai.

I browsed the website of the film's producer and saw the trailer but have not seen the film itself (apparently I am the only one on the planet). According to the photos on the website, they interview a Canadian Executive Architect, Hans Krause, at the Burj Dubai. He is a VP at NORR but I have not met him personally.

I'm also curious where in this city that girl goes roller-blading??? Most sidewalks and pathways are paving stones so not a very smooth ride and the sand must wreak havoc on the wheels!

Brunch at More Cafe

One of my favorite colleagues is moving away to Saudi Arabia this week. But before she goes, she invited us all out for a farewell brunch yesterday at a place called "More Cafe". It was a really nice time.


Mirielle (a fellow Scorpio!) and I were teamed up to do a big 5-tower residential project in Abu Dhabi. We had a crazy amount of work to do in a crazy short time and Mirielle was the glue that held it all together. To work with her was a great first experience for me in Dubai and I hope we cross paths again someday.


A few other colleages: Mirielle (again), Marc, Mauro and Diala.


At the end of the table, Sophie (age: 5) and Mauro (age:???) were having Barbie car races through a tough course of salt & pepper shakers, napkin holders and a glass. Barbie, along with her passenger, the yellow hippo, whipped around the race course with reckless abandon but in the end, a winner could not be determined, there was some dispute as the the official time keeper, the rules of the race, safety, etc.


Thanks to Ali R. for the use of his pictures here. He managed to make me look good, that should tell you something about his talent behind the lense :-)