DXB So Far

8 Nov

So here I am, in this frenetic boomtown, in the heart of the Middle East — and I haven’t been so connected before. I’m literally a few hours from Istanbul and London to the west, all of India within two or three, five to parts of Africa. Seven to Casablanca. Even if I currently harbour no plans to hit up Casablanca as yet, “seven hours to Casablanca” sounds incredible, like it could be a hit song.

I’m trying to make sense of why I’m here and what I am doing, not doing a good job at all but you’d have to pardon me: the traffic here is mind-numbing. I spend so much of my time dealing with it, trying to avoid it, trying to get out of a jam, trying to get somewhere on time, trying to find a taxi. Finding it difficult to grapple with such a car-centric society, especially one that loves its cars but drives this badly.

I’m not sure I like it. I’m not sure I hate it either. That’s mostly because it’s hard to put a finger on what Dubai is about — if it is about anything at all. Mostly, it comes across as a schizophrenic mish-mash that isn’t so much about the sum of its parts adding up to make something coherent, as it is about individual parts just appearing together at different times. I have five months to make up my mind about it, which is fine: I don’t think I can stay any longer. All the wrong things are so easy, and all the things that should be, aren’t. It’s easy to buy a hulking car, but not easy to cross a road. It’s easy to build a neighbourhood so pruned, so perfect, it reminds you of the Truman Show, but it’s not easy to live in one. I wear a ring everyday so I can say I’m married, when the wrong people enquire. For now, the incredible air connections and the opportunities still tilt this heavily towards the positive side.

P.S. If you know DXB at the back of your hand — please tell me your food secrets. There’s no shortage of restaurants and cafes of every stripe and cuisine and budget, but I’ve yet to find one I’ve been truly impressed by.

P.P.S. Istanbul and London tips needed, too!

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  • For Istanbul, a great and incredibly cheap meal are the fish sandwiches served at various spots around the city by fishermen who fry up the catch fresh off their boats. From Blue Mosque/Sirkeci area walk down to Eminonu there are several fish sandwich vendors by the bridge to Karakoy.
  • See if you can grab a steady shot of that "Welcome To Asia" sign (or "Welcome To Europe" -depending on your direction) from a moving bus on the Bosphorus Bridge.

    It won't be easy (at least for me).
  • Her Highness
    I think you will like Silver Eagle restaurant.

    Try out Zaina at Jumeirah and if you fancy some nice cakes- Lime Tree Cafe at Jumeirah 1.

    Have you been to any clubs yet?

    I need to introduce you to Ade and Grace. Are you free this friday to meet up?

    *hugs*

    ps: I need some pointers for roaming around in BKK.
  • Yeah Taksim is good - I think it's closer to a lot of the nightlife as well, and is a much younger crowd too. I've kind of decided to stay in Taksim the next time I go too, since I've done the Sultanahmet thing.

    Let us know if you find a good place to stay!
  • @Lham are you in Doha? heh, come visit DXB, i've heard it's worse.. more insyallah, more wasta, more masallah. dubai always wants to have more of everything!

    @justin of course i do :) just saw your add. it's been almost a decade, shockingly. i'm there for about two weeks late november/early dec, i'll drop you a note!
  • Thanks everyone for the tips!

    @Dibyo Yup, I've been using TTP for years since I started planning a Turkey trip. This time, as it's my first time and I don't have too much of the luxury of time, I think I'm going to stay in Istanbul for a whole week -- I don't think I'd do the city any justice if I didn't. Some of my best friends live in Istanbul too, so that helps. I'll leave the rest of the country for separate trips, esp. since I'm so near now and I plan to hit it up often. Sultanahmet was my first choice initially... it is cheap and close to the sights, but my friends are insisting we stay closer to Taksim so we can be nearer to them. :)

    @Kedar what a great list of indian restaurants! I like keerti, saravana bhavan (i eat at their chennai and singapore stores), didn't like ravi's too much (found it way worse than the pakistani food i love), and will check out calicut paragon and the others you've mentioned soon, as i've heard much about that. not much lacking in terms of indian restaurants in dubai... but... if you've spent enough time in india, these options in dubai and singapore are great, BUT... just not the same, nowhere close! the high end dining options seem to be pretty good, but i haven't had the time, inclination or money to check out nobu, verre and all that stuff.. and desperately wishing there was enough stuff in-between, as is the case in singapore, malaysia, even thailand.. or london!
  • oh another interesting point to note is that they are attempting to regenerate the east with the 2012 olympics and the southeast ish bits with places like Canary Wharf.
  • Hi Adri, not sure if you remember me from back in the days when we chatted on ICQ, but anyhoos, I'm still in London and would be glad to provide you with some guidance on places to go if you'd like - have added you on facebook if you'd like to get in touch.

    General rough guide to london though, would be that centralish, up to zone 4, it's divided into 5 parts.

    Central London includes the West End and the proper City of London (one square mile of it) with the CBD, and the usual historical places like Tower of London, St. Pauls, Westminister Abbey, etc.

    East London has a pretty large south asian (bangladeshi, pakistani, indian) population. A formal industrial area, the recent years have seen lots of old factories and warehouses converted into houses to cater to the booming London population, but it is still a rather run-down area, especially since bombings decimated most of the historic buildings there during WW2 and there is a huge number of houses built since the 40s-50s which have not aged quite as well or as stately as the victorian places in Central and West London. (It's where I stay too, with my modest salary.)

    South East London is somewhat more run-down, being notorious for having experienced lots of gun crime and shootings (usually between gang members, though sadly on a couple of occasions passer-bys has been caught in crossfire). Limited experience there but definitely a more gritty, lower-income part of the UK.

    Interestingly, I read this quote by a politician which said something to the effect of "with, every stop you go east on the tube, life expectancy drop"

    The West and Southwest of London is an area where I've had limited experience in, but seems to be the atas place with boroughs like The Royal Borough of Chelsea and Kensington, with a predominantly white, well-heeled population (this is merely an impression and may be quite wrong). Home to hip and happening places like the Apollo Hammersmith and the largest shopping mall in Europe (though I'm not sure you want/need to go there) if you're based in dubai.

    North London is another place I've got limited experience with, but is home to places like the hip Islington with its pubs and restaurant, as well as Camden Town of course. Slightly dodgy but again a place where professionals and well-heeled people tend to stay, if they can't afford west or central london.

    Again, please take the above with a pinch of salt, as it's based on my limited experience, but hopefully given the rough characteristics of the areas you might be able to home in on places of interest in those areas. In order of historical interest I would rest the 5 areas as such:

    Central
    West/Southwest
    North
    East
    SouthEast

    They also happen to be my ranking of the socio-economic class and life expectancies of their residents.
  • Sorry Adrianna, about the typo with your name!
  • Hello Andriana, welcome to this lego land we also call Dubai. It looks like you've already been to a few spots around the city. So, if I'm telling you about some place you know and have already visited, pardon me for repeating. Dubai is quite limited in the number of choices it offers, however, I haven't yet exhausted the entire list in my last 2 years here. So, I think you'll be fine.

    In Bur Dubai, Karama and Satwa you will find a very good mix of Indian restaurants serving cuisines from all regions of India. I wouldn't hesitate to risk my reputation and state that Dubai and Singapore have the most authentic Indian restaurants outside India.

    Sarvana Bhavan, Appa Kadai, Keerti, Calicut Paragon, Coconut Grove, Nalukettu (in Deira) are some of the south indian eateries that I've eaten at and haven't stopped going back to.

    Ravi, Bikanervala, Moti Mahal, Manvar, Chappan Bhog, Bombay Chowpatty, Delhi Darbar, Sukh Sagar, Puranmal are other western/ central indian restaurants that have also caught my fancy.

    And these are only a fraction of the many Indian restaurants in Dubai...there are tons of other authentic world cusines served too. I'm not an expert, but I do have some favorites which I shall share with you soon.

    Until then enjoy the city and constant buzz of the construction equipment. :)

    Floatr aka Kedar.
  • Also: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/ - good starting point. They also have forums.

    But don't take everything in there as the ultimate truth. I believe that some of the recommendations in that website have been paid for.
  • Istanbul! Awesome place - I've only been there twice, but I have quite a few tips, so I'm not sure where to start.

    Um...

    - Stay in Sultanahmet, it's touristy, yes. But it's also the place with a breakfast view of the Aya Sofia or the Blue Mosque or both.

    - Else, stay on the Asian side, it's cheap, and is the real-er Istanbul

    - Don't buy the carpets in Istanbul - go to Cappadoccia instead. Actually, go to Cappadoccia, anyway.

    - Don't bother with a Bosphorus tour - it's utter nonsense. Take the ferry, instead, with the locals. It's a nicer way of doing the same journey for a tenth the price, and a hundred times more real.

    ... I could go on and on and on...
  • Lham
    Hi Adri,

    If Dubai is anything like in Qatar, I know what u mean for the traffic. People drive here like they are on their way to meet Allah, insyallah.

    Do you also get a lot of Insyallah over in Dubai?

    If you have tips for Istanbul, please let me know. I am planning to go there in early Dec. During the Eid Holidays.

    One other question, how is Oman and driving there? I am planning to go for a driving holiday there soon.

    Thanks.

    fren of ur some of sg blog frens
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