I've always enjoyed doing that wherever I've lived, one reason being that you look at the place from a different perspective when you're showing people around.
Things you normally walk past without a glance you stop at, and not only take time to look but also talk about them, maybe learning a bit more about them yourself in the process.
Peter & Vanessa are an architect and a town planner respectively, so there's plenty to interest them in Dubai. Their first visit was eighteen months ago and they were comparing the amazing speed of development with the lack of speed for even the smallest job in Oz.
We packed a fair bit into the two days. Took them here...
...and straight on to here, a real contrast maybe twenty minutes or so apart...
Took an abra across the Creek of course, the difference in safety regulations being a point they made but which we're used to. No safety rails around it, two lifebelts for twenty-one people on board, the abra stopping by thumping into the dock, no tying up nonsense, just jump the half metre between abra and dock.
Lots of other little bits and pieces caught their attention too, things we take for granted and hardly notice. Like a Ladies Banking section...
That made me wonder about the use of pink for ladies - a pink sign on the ladies' banking section, pink ladies only taxis. Is it pink for girls and blue for boys everywhere in the world I wonder?
The Walk at JBR has all sorts of DFS related stuff going on - we were planning to go for a pizza at Scoozi yesterday evening - the best pizza in town folks - but it was traffic gridlock.
I have no idea what was going on but all the roads into The Walk were blocked off. Naturally there was no warning anywhere so thousands of vehicles which could and would have avoided the area were jammed solid. It took me an hour to get out of it.
We guessed the blocking off might be for a street parade or something but I didn't see anything in this morning's papers.
9 comments:
The traffic is common Thursday nights at The Walk. Its just the sheer number of cars in the area. I learned that the hard way.
i love doing the older stuff of dubai like the abra and walking the souqs. especially with the amazing weather now.
The Walk was probably blocked off for the CArnival PArade... the same stuff they had at Jumeirah last week. Was scheduled for The Walk today.
A ride across the creek on an abra is such a soothing experience!! I do it often.
Lame blog
Anon@7.51, feel free to not waste your valuable time reading it.
didnt you think its just such a nice surprise to see allthe goings on at JBR...really bringing the place to life a bit. good to see.
http://jacquesrenault.wordpress.com
Jacques, we're regulars at The Walk and it's buzzing every evening. The DFS activity has added to it - and to the parking chaos!
give the big bus dubai tour a shot as well. it is surprising how many locals never get to do this activity. it just provides a different angle on sightseeing....a great introduction to the city initially id say
I agree about the BigBus - you get to see over walls for once!
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