Month: <span>July 2010</span>

I interrupt regular programming to bring you a public service announcement. My custom t-shirts with a message are finally here!

Yes, a t-shirt that states ‘It’s Football, Not Soccer’.

Mithun It's Football Not Soccer t-shirt white — Why did I get this made?

Well, off late I’ve been quite annoyed by the ever-increasing usage of the word ‘soccer’ — especially by people who couldn’t give a shit about the sport (in India to be particular) had it not been for hype surrounding the World Cup. Some in the media think sucking up to the Americans is all of sudden ‘hip’ and go with the flow… you know with all the jobs being outsourced to India. (Disclaimer: I work for an American company, get the pop culture, the lingo, and consume a lot of American media… but some things will always remain the same to me.)

Why, here’s British comedian and actor John Cleese explaining it in typical eloquent fashion:

I’ve had the idea for this t-shirt for quite some time now. So last month, before the World Cup began, I started to find out how I could produce one and walk around town wearing it. I approached photo studios who do t-shirt prints and when I inquired about prices, it ranged from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500. But I decided not to opt for it because I wasn’t very happy with the quality of the print (apparently, the photo prints only last 15 washes).

So for contacts, I approached the folks in my company who work with various vendors for procuring t-shirts. I approached one, got ripped off, complained, got my money back but lost precious time. I scurried to find another and found Myntra.

Initially I just wanted to do one, exclusively for me. But when I shared the design on Facebook, I got requests from friends and family asking one for them as well. After placing an order for an initial 10 (it would have cost me nearly Rs. 1000 to print just one so I had to order more), got my t-shirts, and was quite happy with the quality.

Loi Its Football Not Soccer t-shirt Mithun full — My friend Loi wearing his (This is size 'L')

I got them printed in white, black and navy blue. White is what I wanted and what I think looks best with the print quality. My friends wanted darker colours and so I made a few for them.

Gaurav It's Football Not Soccer t-shirt black — Gaurav, who helped me convert my design into something that can be printed

If you want to know the dimensions for each Myntra t-shirt, refer to this chart:

Myntra T-shirt size chart — HPS - High point shoulder (point where shoulder & neck seams meets).

Tolerance – say the actual length of Small size, is 25 inches, Myntra will pass the garment if the length is found to be 24 .5″ or 25.5″ i.e. +/- half inch tolerance.

Myntra also offered a choice of Reebok and Lee t-shirts to be printed on. They cost more but a navy blue option was only available with the Reeboks. So I took a few of those.

Reebok It's Football, Not Soccer t-shirt navy blue close up — The prints came out with a blue outline

Reebok It's Football, Not Soccer t-shirt navy blue back — All t-shirts will have '© mithunonthe.net' on the back

I found it a little weird that Reebok and Lee were supplying plain coloured t-shirts for others to print whatever corporate/custom design they wanted. (I kept picturing a toothpaste brand on a t-shirt beside the Reebok logo)

If you guys want to place an order for one (or more), do so by leaving me a comment below – or – email me at darkchild82@gmail.com. I’m nearly out of the 10 I initially ordered so I need to place an order for more based on requests from you lot. I’ll update this post on Tuesday with sizes available and a price because Myntra told me that for my next order, the price per t-shirt would vary. It shouldn’t cross Rs. 400 ($9/€7) a piece.

Edit (July 8, 2010): The regular Myntra t-shirts (white or black modeled above) costs Rs. 300/US$6.50/€5 (available in sizes S, M, L & XL)

The Reebok & Lee t-shirts (slightly better quality according to my buyers) costs Rs. 400. Let me know what size & colour you want and I’ll check with Myntra about availability from either brand.

(Shipping costs will vary with destination and I shall individually inform each buyer with that information).

If you are within India, you can pay me via bank transfer. If you are outside of India, you can pay me via PayPal or Western Union (if it’s feasible). My Middle East buddies can send me the money via UAE Exchange.

I will do my best to deliver via courier as quickly as possible.

P.S: I don’t want phonies or posers wearing this t-shirt. If you genuinely love football, you may order.

Date: 9th April 2010

Today was going to be one heck of an ‘out-&-about’ day. My friend Jassim was free to drive me around and show me the parts of Dubai (as of the above date) the metro service hasn’t covered yet. After all the sight-seeing, we were then going to close out the night with one of the biggest events of this trip — catching David Guetta’s performance in Dubai!

But first, the day.

The morning started out slow and I was mostly indoors. As for lunch, Azhad decided to treat me to a local experience. So we headed to Al Rigga road in Deira.

Golden Fish restaurant Deira Dubai — The Russians must love shrimp

Chinese union society Deira Dubai — The Chinese presence in Dubai is exponential

The restaurant was Bait Al Mandi, a popular Yemeni joint.

What’s unique about this place? Well, they serve Al Mandi — essentially meat on top of flavoured rice. You might be thinking biriyani. but you’ll get a better picture once you see the photos.

We sat upstairs, where you had individuals cabins in which you sit down on the floor.

Inside Bait Al-Mandi Deira Dubai Mithun — That's me

Inside Bait Al-Mandi Deira Dubai slippers — Slippers outside

Bait Al-Mandi chicken mutton rice — Food inside

The meal consists of a lentil soup (which was lovely), an entire cup of curd, and the main dish itself — be it mutton or chicken. And yes, that is an entire half chicken you see above.

Bait Al-Mandi Deira Dubai Azhad — Thumbs up on the food alright

Just that… it was too much! We couldn’t finish all the meat. And the amazing thing is, all this costs less than Dhs 50 (Rs. 600/$13/€11). You can’t ask for a more filling meal in Dubai.

Once we were (partly) done with our heavy lunch, our friend Jassim arrived to pick us up. He had a plan in mind (since he’s done these ‘tours’ for visiting family) and we began our drive.

Dubai clock tower roundabout — Before all the buildings, this was once Dubai's most iconic landmark

Dubai Honda showroom building to-let — Dubai Festival City in the distance

We made a quick stop at the Al Badia Golf Club — an impressive, built completely from the ground up, golf course.

We moved on shortly after.

Dubai skyline buildings afternoon Burj Khalifa — Never tired of Dubai's skyline

Sheikh Zayed buildings Dubai — (Took these photos from inside the car)

DIFC village office building Dubai — The Dubai International Financial Centre

Sheikh Zayed LG old building — This is the oldest building on Sheikh Zayed Road

We then made a brief stop at the gas station to stock up on junk food.

Vimto light can drink Dubai Eppco — Ahhh Vimto, how I missed you. (Now available in 'Light')

After stocking up, Jassim then took us to Souk Madinat Jumeirah.

The souk is the shopping mall attached to the Madinat Jumeirah resort, an impressive resort offering from the Jumeirah Group — the owners of the iconic Burj Al Arab.

Yes, this yet another mall and I thought I was done with malls because once you’ve seen the biggest and the best, it takes a lot to interest you in another. But Jassim assured me this was a mall that was quite different from the others.

Madinat Jumeirah in Arabic translates to ‘City of Jumeirah’ and is resort complex designed keeping in mind old Arab architecture. It houses two hotels, several restaurants and a few hundred stores.

Souk Madinat Jumeirah elevator — From the elevators...

Souk Madinat Jumeirah hall way stores — ... to the mall,

Souk Madinat Jumeirah water — ... the place tries to invoke an 'old Arabia' atmosphere

We just did a roam-around of the mall.

Souk Madinat Jumeirah hall Jassim — (That's our friend Jassim)

Souk Madinat Jumeirah coffee shop restaurant boats — Madinat Jumeirah is a very popular wedding venue too

Souk Madinat Jumeirah bridge abra dock — There are traditional abras to take guests for rides around the water way

Souk Madinat Jumeirah waterway Mithun Burj Al Arab — The obligatory 'You know i'm in Dubai because you can see the Burj Al Arab in the background' photo

Of all the malls I’ve been to in Dubai, the Souk Madinat Jumeirah really stands out as one of the best. It really is a great place to visit, be it for a date or a casual hangout. Plenty of restaurant options and you really can’t beat the setting.

With that, we were done.

Up next was another landmark of Dubai — and one that is best seen from the sky.

But since we couldn’t afford a helicopter ride, we had to see The Palm Jumeirah islands from the ground.

We drove past a lot of (what looked liked to me) empty apartments. To the left of the above photo was the proposed Trump Tower, now on hold.

We were heading towards to tip of The Palm Islands to see the famed Atlantis resort.

Palm Islands Jumeirah monorail Atlantis hotel Dubai

Palm Islands Jumeirah tunnel to Atlantis hotel Dubai — And then you go under water

Palm Islands Jumeirah Atlantis hotel Dubai — Parking was a bit of a problem so I couldn't spend too much time outside the car

Palm Islands Jumeirah Atlantis hotel Big Bus Dubai — Very much a major tourist attraction in Dubai

There’s a lot more to Atlantis The Palm than it’s exterior — but to enter the hotel, unless you are guest, you have to pay an entrance fee. I wasn’t too bothered because we had still more on ‘Jassim’s planned drive tour’ of Dubai’s hotspots.