Here is how a lot of people talk about their companies:

“We have offices in most of the Gulf countries… Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai & Oman.”

Hello! All of them aren’t counties!

I dunno about the rest of you, but most of the people I meet refer to Dubai as a country. Everyone forgets that the country is UAE and that Dubai is just a city in there, not even the capitol city! I guess its such a famous place now that if you said UAE, most people wouldn’t know what you were talking about.

Landed in Dubai yesterday morning and was puzzled to see the aircraft taxi to a remote area of the airport for disembarking. I would understand if all the ramps were occupied but from where I was sitting, all the Terminal 3 ramps were empty!!!

And ours wasn’t the only flight to disembark a few hundred miles away from the airport. All the flights were moved there. As I was getting into the wobbly bus sent to pick us up, I noticed a bunch of security guards flashing their torches under the aircraft!!! Searching for something? Dead bird most likely!

Nobody seemed to know why we had to go through all that fuss.

This time from Kuwait to Dubai, we flew Emirates Business Class. The pic above is of their new Business Class cabin introduced on some sectors. 

We reached the airport about an hour and half before take off and were greeted by a huge (and I mean huge) unorganised crowd of travellers all going to Dubai on the same flight. The 14 check-in counters servicing this flight didn’t seem enough and tempers were flaring up in the crowd. After waiting for 5 mins I decided to flash my online check-in printout to the floor manager and he arranged for a 15th check-in counter to open so we could go through quickly. Must say that the distant counter didn’t deter some crazy Indian ladies from running and ploughing their over-stacked luggage trolleys into Ro and mysef. Tough luck ladies, its back to the end of the line for you.

So we check-in quickly into our pre-selected economy seats, move through immigration and decide to have a quick snack at one of the less crowded coffee shops before we board. Here is the best part, while boarding, we get the good news that we are upgraded to Business Class. Seems they were over-booked! This was good news for me after a long day at the office and some hectic packing before leaving for the airport! 

These new business class seats are fabulous. The seats had extra-large screens (for an aircraft), excess leg-room and best of all there was a built-in massage. Oh yeah! That’s the way to fly. The Wave option seems to be the best, pick a medium intensity and low speed and don’t forget to stretch out the seat and just enjoy!

The fancy touch-screen remote needed a bit of learning to operate the ICE navigation but it was fun to try it out. Emirates has done a really great job on this!

The meals too were served in style. Since the lights were off while I was being served I got chicken instead of lamb but it was great and I didn’t bother to make a fuss.

You have got to try this out, its a real awesome experience! This was truly the best flying experience for Ro and me so far.

I noticed this on 2 separate occasions in the last 2 days. Both times in different vehicles and with different drivers. This was a Lexus jeep. Once we got in and were ready to roll, the screen popped up. Here is what it says:

“Drive safely and obey traffic rules.

Watching this screen while vehicle is in motion can lead to a serious accident.

Make selections only while stopped.

Some map data may be incorrect.

Read safety instructions in Navigation Manual.”

And then there is an “I Agree” button. Neither driver clicked on that and it was bugging me the whole ride. The problem seems to be with Lexus. They should have put an “I don’t agree” button in there as well. That was if you want to look at the screen and drive or not obey traffic rules you don’t have to feel guilty and can continue to use that navigation panel.

Most people would not expect to see this in an airport! Its a swimming pool at the Dubai Airport – Terminal 3.

Was returning back to Kuwait last night and the flight was delayed by 45 mins. So decided to roam around the terminal (in search of Microsoft Surface tables) and landed on the 5th floor. I didn’t even know there was a fifth floor at that terminal.  Anyway, its there and there is a swimming pool and spa and what not up there. I clicked that photo from within the elevator. 

I wonder if anyone ever gets time for a quick swim while waiting for their flights!

Here is the map on what hot and happening (ok, maybe not so happening) on the Dubai side of the creek. I didn’t get the time to check it out on my last visit, but hopefully someone reading this blog will.

If you do, don’t forget to post your comments on it.

Finally got around to sharing this map. If your staying in Dubai and want to explore the Deira area, this map comes in pretty handy. Its longer than it looks so wear comfy shoes and carry a bottle of water. Also don’t forget your camera.

If your planning to enter the Gold Souk and buy something “small”, be prepared to come away with something “big”.

There is another map for the other side of the river which I never got to on my last trip. Will try to post that tomorrow.

This is what the Dubai Festival City parking garage looks like. Not as large as Avenues perhaps, but look more closely at the picture above. Notice those little lights above the cars, they are all red. And the one above the empty spot, its green. 

Now wouldn’t it be nice to have this in all parking lots? Saves a ton of time finding a free spot and will also reduce the level of carbon monoxide in the garage from not having to get in and out of lanes.

I did do some experiments while I was there.

1) If you stand under the “thing”, it turns red.

2) If you jump while you’re under it, your head will break the “thing” (be sure to wear a helmet).

3) If you park a car with the sun-roof left open, it will keep blinking between green and red

If you are in Dubai and in the mood for some great south Indian food, you must try out Simran’s Aappa Kadai. Tony and Tharani took us there for dinner. The place is in Karama opposite the Lulu Shopping Center. [Link]

The food is great. I ordered a sweet Lassi in advance to cool down the “spice” . All the seafood dishes were superb. The “Aappas” are amazing. There is a live cooking station from where you can order your aappas. They range from plain to mince to egg aappas. 

I was so full after the meal, there was no place left for any dessert.

This place can get crowded pretty fast so its best to get there by 8 or you’ll end up waiting in a long queue for a slow eater like myself to finish

We were on our way to the Deira Museum when I saw this truck pass by. I was amazed to see KDD in Dubai.

I never figured we exported anything other than oil, sandstorms and wreckless driving.

Go KDD.