BRIEFING
LOCATION of Your Crib: (In case you get lost!)
Flat 209, 2nd Floor,
Esa Saleh Gurg Building,
Bank Street, (Opposite Mussalah Towers,
Near Ramada Hotel and the Old Spinnies,)
Bur Dubai,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
HISTORY:
Originally a small fishing and trading settlement, Dubai was taken over in about 1830 by a branch of the Bani Yas tribe from the Liwa oasis led by the Maktoum family who still rule the emirate today.
Traditional activities included herding sheep and goats, cultivating dates, fishing and pearling, but the inhabitants built up trade too. By the turn of the century, Dubai was reputed to have the largest souks (markets) on the Gulf coast, with 350 shops in the Deira district alone.
Commercial success allied to the liberal attitudes of Dubai's rulers, made the emirate attractive to traders from India and Iran, who began to settle in the growing town. On the British withdrawal in 1971, Dubai came together with Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and (in 1972) Ras Al Khaimah to create the federation of the United Arab Emirates.
This was shortly after the discovery of oil in 1966, which was soon to transform the emirate and its way of life. Dubai's first oil exports in 1969 were followed by a period of rapid development that laid the foundations for today's modern society. Much of the credit for this development can be traced to the vision of the late Ruler, HH Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who ensured that Dubai's oil revenues, despite being relatively modest by the standards of the region, were deployed to maximum effect.
His work has been continued by the present Ruler, HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and his brother, Their Highnesses Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry. The result is that Dubai is constantly building up its infrastructure of transport facilities, schools, hospitals, tourism developments and other amenities of an advanced society.
Making it the AWESOME that it is today.
CLIMATE:
Dubai’s spectacular positioning guarantees year-round sunshine (and happiness) and a sub-tropical climate where rain is rare. The summer months from June to September are the hottest and temperatures can reach upto 50°C (that’s 122°F for you foreigners). Don’t let that worry you though as visitors can take advantage of the state-of-the-art Air Conditioning Systems that have been introduced in shopping malls, vehicles, hotels, and EVEN bus stops!
CURRENCY:
The currency in Dubai is the United Arab Emirate Dirham (referred to as just Dirham, and written as ‘AED’ or ‘Dhs’), which is divided into 100 fils.
1$ = approximately 3.67dhs.
OTHER RANDOM INFORMATION:
-Dubai’s weekend runs from Thursday night to Saturday night.
-The electricity supply is 220-240 volts at 50 cycles.
-You will probably need transformers. (Not in reference to the cool transforming vehicles in the movie ‘Transformers’)
-Water supply is desalinated and safe to drink, however most people choose to drink bottled water
-When nature calls and you visit the little girl’s room, you will notice that there is a miniature “handheld shower-device” hanging on the wall near the toilet seat. It is very common in many Arabic/Muslism countries and is known as a “Sharddaf” or in plain English; a bum-washer. As toilet paper is less used, enjoy getting acquainted :D
-The clothes the men wear is called a “dish-dasha” and the women wear a “burka” or just the headscarf called “hijab”
MISSION GOALS:
-Smoke a SHEESHA (also known as “Hookah” or “Hubbly-bubbly”) None of the rubbish you get here in the States, but high-quality stuff. The traditional oriental pipe with a long flexible tube is connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water. Sheesha is smoke mixed with molasses and various of fruit flavours. Some of the most popular flavours are Apple, Double-Apple, Strawberry, Banana, Grape, Mint etc.
-CONSUME A Mouthful of chunkified heaven ie. a SHOWARMA
-SEE and RIDE A CAMEL
-RIDE on an ABRA
-GO DUNE/WADI BASHING
-SEE BURJ AL ARAB, BURJ DUBAI, and other such extravagant buildings
-Shop in some of the crazy malls, especially DUBAI MALL, the largest mall in the world.
-Shop in the ridunkulously cheap, older ‘bazaars’ of Dubai.
-See SKI DUBAI. Take pictures. Tell Robbie about its amazing-ness.
-Go BEACHING. Don’t sun-burn.
-VISIT that boy in Abu Dhabi
-VISIT/ bully the other boy in Sharjah
-GO on a ROAD TRIP to one of the old heritage oases in UAE
-See belly dancing. Then outshine belly-dancer with own awesome dance skills.
-Go to a MOSQUE.
-REPAY Illika for her services!
-GO visit a spice/gold SOUQ.
RESTRICTIONS:
It is best to wear conservative clothes. Ie. Avoid wearing revealing clothes in public places or places (no ridunkulously low cut tops, micro minis, refrain from spaghetti shirts without a jacket, midriff bearing shirts- or else refer to last phrase in “Useful Phrases” section.). One piece bathing suits are recommended.
Drugs are illegal. There is an EXTREMELY strict zero tolerance policy. Like get jailed and deported for even a milligram of the substance on your shoe strict. (no pressure though, I’m pretty sure you’re all clean)
Prescription medicines should have the accompanying doctor’s note/prescription to authenticate its use. Advisable to carry medicines in original packaging.
You want to NOT take pictures of Arab women without permission. However you don’t need to go out of the way to make sure that they don’t “accidentally” fall into the frame while you’re taking a shot.
Obscenity is apparently a sin, punishable by law. That said, I didn’t know about that law until I researched it online for this packlet.
Some sites on the internet are deemed to have “inappropriate content” and are blocked, but really its not excessive.
Committing suicide and abortion are both prohibited. So please plan such activities around this holiday.
Cross dressing is also prohibited. But this is mostly to prevent men from using “burkas” to enter women-only areas.
TAXING AND TIPPING:
Service charge applied when dining in the ritzy-glitsy hotels and restaurants of Dubai, otherwise, it’s a TAX-FREE country (‘cept for water and electricity). A 10% tip is customary.
TO PACK (you can use your creative discretion and pack other things too if you want, I permit you) :
-Jeans
-Comfortable walking shoes
-Jumper/jacket/sweatshirt- because some times when walking into the AC blast from the outside, it gets chilly. Or I could gladly give you some of mine.
-Some fancier clothes and shoes
-Underwear (because for this one, I refuse to give you any of mine)
-Some cash please- for phone sim cards, rendezvous plans, shopping.
-Things to tackle the heat.
Expressly for your exotic skin:
“It can be quite windy at Dubai beaches, which dries-out the skin; dry skin is the main reason we get sunburn. For that reason, sun tanning OILS actually prevent sunburn better than high-factor white, sticky lotions. (I recommend Hawaiian Tropic tanning oils). Sun block and sun screen are also a MUST!”
---- As said by a western visitor to Dubai (as this is not an essay for a class, I’m adamantly NOT citing my sources).
USEFUL PHRASES:
Hello = As-salam Walaikum
(Reply) = Walaikum As-salam
Welcome = MarHuba
Goodbye = Ma’assalaama
Please = min fadlak (to a man), min fadliki (to a woman)
Thank you = shukran
Yes = na’am
No = la’
What = Ma-dha
Where = Aeen
No problem = Mafi Mushkil
Do you speak English? = tatakullum ingleezi?
I don’t speak Arabic = ana la atkallami arabi
Sorry = Asf
Slow down/wait/be patient = Shweya-shweya
I am not a prostitute = Ana La-st Aah-raH
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