Dubai is quickly becoming the most recognizable city in the world. The city is filled with distinctive landmarks and it is ever evolving, always in a state of change and construction.
I have heard this over and over again, ‘you have to live in Dubai for at least two years to truly get it’.
Our two year mark in the United Arab Emirates has come and gone and I think I now fully understand that statement.
Dubai sucks you in from the very first minute you arrive; you are instantly captivated and mesmerized. As time passes and you get to know the city and country, you start to see things differently and gain a better understanding and perspective.
But it also has its quirky side, wacky things that make you shake your head and say, "only in Dubai".
The government is offering rewards of gold if you lose weight. The more weight you lose, the more gold you get - “Gold for your Load". When announced, masses of people stood in line to be weighed and measured for a chance to earn gold. Because of the overwhelming demand, the government changed the rules. Lose less weight - get more gold. What, that is so curious ....wouldn't you want to make it harder to obtain?! Of course, the public went crazy over the new rules.
People in Dubai, no matter young or old, wait patiently for elevators to come down from the 15th, 30th or even the 100th floors, just to give them a lift up or down one floor. The stairs could be very close but get rarely used.
Children at very young ages, quickly learn to operate an elevator, knowing what all the symbols mean. Our little Ellie Grace, age two, was with us in Dubai over the summer for one month, by the time she left; Ellie Grace was a master at the elevator and navigated it with ease. Little Ellie Grace is a city dweller at heart.
Shopping is the national sport, with malls open 24 hours on holidays and special occasions as so dictated. Literally the saying, ‘Shop till you Drop’, is applied here. The malls in Dubai don't even get busy on week nights until 10:00 P.M, which also includes very young children being out with their parents until very late.
When you leave your purse, wallet, iPhone or anything else of value in a taxi, you can expect to get everything back in tact the very same day. Only in Dubai would that happen.
Street names are only now being posted in some places around this big city. You can have numerous villas or businesses on the same street with the same number which is so confusing. If one person liked the number 56 and the next door neighbor liked 56, then they both could have the address 56. Okay, that makes sense. Goodness gracious...You get around the city and give directions by landmarks, what's on the corner, closest store, what you live close to.
I have never given a proper address to anyone but surprisingly everyone seems to get to their destination.
Lateness is a given. No matter what it is ....plan on everyone being late. Only in Dubai.
When you find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere or stuck in sand, before you begin to despair, a complete stranger in a 4x4, most likely an Arab, will come to your rescue. No questions asked. They provide help and before you know it they have driven off before you can thank them properly.
Abandoned and sand covered cars litter the city. From expensive cars to junkers, there is no rhyme or reason; the owner has walked away and left them to deteriorate in the hot sun in the strangest places.
When your monthly water bill is more expensive than your electricity bill, you know for a certainty you reside in a desert.
When you are driving on Sheikh Zayed Road at the maximum speed permissible and are tailgated and flashed by a SUV bigger than yours, you know you are in Dubai. It doesn't matter the lane either-fast lane, slow lane or a crowded traffic lane-someone always thinks they should be ahead of you.
A Guinness World Record office was opened in Dubai last year. Dubai holds a ridiculous number of world records and has many more already in the works. Always striving to be the best, the biggest, the tallest, etc...I am certain it made perfect sense to put an office here. I myself am proud to say that I live in tallest residential tower in the world and the top floor has the official plaque proving it hanging on the wall.
Last but not least, when it is announced that a large canal, which will run across the city, will be built within two years thereby bringing beach front to places in the middle of the city, far away from the beach AND cutting in half the three main traffic arteries, you say to yourself, "only in Dubai".
I love this wacky and wonderful city. There are days that it drives me absolutely crazy but I have come to realize that it is craziness that endures me to this city and keeps me interested.
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