Browse Tag

middle east

UAE 2010: Heading back to the Gulf after 7 years

For the few who regularly check my blog, first of all — thank you! Secondly, I know I haven’t updated it much in the past 2 weeks.

And that’s because I was on a two week vacation to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to visit family and friends.

I was last in the Gulf in 2002, having spent 6 months in Bahrain, after graduating from college. Since then, the Middle East has been a hot bed of activity — both good and bad. From the US-invasion of Iraq, the war in Lebanon, to rising oil prices — a key factor for the US invasion of Iraq — and one that helped fuel the massive construction boom that left the world stunned.

‘Stunned’ is truly the only word to describe the ambitions UAE had. The leader of the pack was, of course, the one-and-only Dubai. From the tallest building, to the biggest shopping mall in the region to recreating the Las Vegas strip and all the seven wonders of the world… one could only gape at their colossal projects. And as always, when Dubai does something, the other GCC nations wake up and shamelessly try to play catch up.

But in 2007, I knew it was all going to come crashing down. Which it did. Very Badly.

My opinion piece on all that will come later. Beginning with this, the next few posts are going to document my two weeks in the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai mostly).

Date: 2nd April, 2010

I booked my tickets online from both Yatra.com and Makemytrip.com. I could have just done with Yatra but unfortunately the stupid site won’t allow for one-way international flight searches. So I booked my onward journey with Yatra (Bangalore to Abu Dhabi via Doha) on Qatar Airways (because my father insisted that I fly with them) and the return journey (Dubai to Bangalore via Goa) on Indian Airlines. Totally, the tickets cost me around Rs. 18k (10k change + 7k change). In the morning, I got me some UAE dirhams from the UAE Exchange branch in Koramangala and decided to take the Vayu Vajra BMTC bus at night to go to the airport.

Unfortunately, when me and my brother headed to the HSR Layout bus stop, assuming I could board the 12am bus, I was told by the passing-by Volvo bus driver that all buses post 11:30pm were cancelled! Figuring the options were slim or too expensive at that time, my brother decided to drive me all the way to the airport. I had the time, my flight was only at 4:35am.

The drive took us an hour and just past 1am, we finally arrived.

I thanked my brother and after our goodbyes, went in. The first thing I did before checking in my luggage was declare my camera with customs and collect the customs duty form. I had learnt from my last Thailand trip and didn’t want any issues this time upon return.

The last time, the Customs officer told me there were large banners informing passengers that they need to declare anything above Rs. 25,000 in value before “exporting” it. I found no such sign or information anywhere at the check-in area. So I asked one of the airport assistants and after asking one another, one assistant offered to accompany me to the customs officer where I can collect my ‘export certificate’.

I had to go all the way upstairs with my luggage, past the immigration counter to get to the customs officer’s desk. He finally inspected my Canon 7D, my two lenses and stated the same on the form before signing it off.

On the way back down, I asked the airport assistant as to why the desk was upstairs after one checked in their luggage. He just said, well, that’s how customs can screw you over. If you check-in something you should have declared, upon return, if customs catches you, you’ll have to deal with them by paying the duty or just paying them off. So my advice is, get to the airport a bit early, inform the assistants that you have something to declare and get the ‘export certificate’.

Having done all that, I came back down, checked-in my luggage and went on with the usual process. I couldn’t get a window-seat or one by the aisle as the lady at the counter said the flight was “over-booked”. (Never, understood how one can “over-book” a flight.)

I passed the rest of my time by taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi service at BIAL. The flight was on time and I sat in-between a rather large man and a woman. Now I understand the controversy over why some airlines are demanding obese passengers buy two seats for themselves.

The Qatar Airways very-late dinner/very-early breakfast was quite good.

Qatar Airways flight food dinner — My rating: 3.5/5 (Photo taken on Nokia E72)

The main course was a meat-stuffed cheese omlette, chicken cutlet and baked potato. The croissant was quite greasy though. The rest were the usual: fruit juice, salad and dessert.

I tried to sleep but couldn’t manage much of it. So I just watched a heavily-censored version of the very adult situation-centric ‘Up in the Air‘. Since I had already watched the film, it was funny to see them censor certain words like “Asians” with “they” in the film. Oh well, playing it (too) safe I guess.

By 9am, we had landed in Doha, Qatar — also the hub for Qatar Airways. I had switch flights now, which meant getting out of the plane, hopping into the airport for a bit before getting on to another one.

Once inside, the queue to pass through security was rather large. I was starting to get worried if I would miss my flight but after half-an-hour so, I was done.

And though I was supposed to rush to my flight’s gate, instead, I got distracted by two beautiful works of engineering.

Aston Martin DB9 Doha Duty Free — The Aston Martin DB9 (Photo taken on Nokia E72)

Aston Martin DB9 Doha Duty free back — One of Jeremy Clarkson’s favourite cars

Maserati Gran Turismo Doha Duty free — Maserati Gran Turismo

After enjoying being this close to such nice (expensive) toys, I made my way to the gate which was near by and boarded the bus to my connecting flight soon after. This Qatar Airways flight was a better plane though (newer I’m presuming). And this time, I got a window seat.

Since it was just a 45-minute flight, the ‘meal’ was a yummy puff-sandwich and juice. That’s it.

Qatar Airways flying over Abu Dhabi houses — Flying over houses in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Airport air traffic control tower — The air traffic control tower at Abu Dhabi International Airport

Abu Dhabi airport Etihad airplanes — Abu Dhabi International Airport

Abu Dhabi airport inside — The only bit of the airport that I found interesting

Once I disembarked, I really didn’t have much time to look around as my father had arranged for an airport service by which someone would receive me (with a name card and all) and then guide me through the necessary procedure. Also, I get preferential treatment, which means no waiting in lines! 🙂 The Filipino lady who received me first took me down for the eye-scan, followed by the passport and Visa check and finally baggage collection. All-in-all, 10 minutes and I was out to the lobby where my father was waiting for me with a smile.

Abu Dhabi airport Acha on the phone — Dad calling the taxi to take us home

Abu Dhabi inside taxi meter — From the Toyota Corollas of the 90’s, most taxis have now upgraded to Camrys

Abu Dhabi inside taxi Acha taking photo — Father taking a photo of me taking a photo of him taking a photo of me taking a photo of him…

The taxi was headed to a place called Mussafah where my parents were staying with my uncle and aunt (also where I would be staying). Since my dad was only going to be in Abu Dhabi for a year-long project, and since he was new here, he didn’t bother looking for an independent accommodation. Once home, it was welcoming by my mother, aunt and my pesky little cousin. A short sleep and a lunch later, my parents decided to show me around town a bit. Driving around Abu Dhabi city Even though my father has a UAE license, he also didn’t bother getting his own car as he was only going be in the country for a year. So he called his regular taxi guy, a fellow Mallu, to take us for a drive to Abu Dhabi city.

Musaffah Toyota Camry taxi — Our ride, the same that picked me up from the airport

We passed by some notable landmarks, first being the Sheikh Zayed Mosque — a.k.a Grand Mosque. Just seeing it from the outside left me impressed. The taxi driver told me it was far more impressive from the inside. My mom told me it’s even prettier at night! But we had to move on. I decided I’d come back the day after to visit the mosque.

Abu Dhabi road to corniche — (Photos taken from inside the car)

Abu Dhabi roundabout buildings — Construction still in progess in oil-rich Abu Dhabi

We drove past the massive US$2 billion-plus Emirates Palace. The photos I took through gate from outside really don’t show just how impressive this place is. The Emirates Palace was featured in the movie ‘The Kingdom‘. You’re better off just visiting the official website or watching this video to get an idea what this government-owned hotel offers it’s guests. Or you could just work/stay at the neighbouring Etihad Towers to get a birds-eye view of the hotel. After a quick stop for me to take photos out of the car, we drove along the Abu Dhabi corniche. Next, the Marina Mall area of the corniche.

Abu Dhabi corniche jet ski — Rich boys and their toys

Abu Dhabi corniche Marina Mall — Marina Mall — one of Abu Dhabi’s most popular malls; houses a Carrefour too

Being back in the Middle East, another thing I was looking forward to was ‘car-spotting’. Most of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars can be found here. While I did spot a few older Porsche’s, they are no match for the über-impressive Nissan GTR.

Abu Dhabi Nissan GTR — The first one I spotted on this trip… there would be many more

Abu Dhabi corniche office buildings — Sorry, I’m a sucker for good architecture. Thus so many photos of buildings.

Then we got down as my parents wanted to do a bit of shopping. Which gave me the first chance of actually walking about town. An hour or so later, we headed back home… and on the way back home, saw the Shaikh Zayed Mosque ‘at night’. Driving back, I was happy to be in the Gulf again and looking forward to the next few days. Everything just got bigger and taller in the past 7 years and all I kept thinking to myself was — how glad I was that I invested in a wide-angle lens! You so need it here! I ended my day with one other thing I love (and missed) about the Gulf…

Musaffah Lebanese shawarma stand — … the food!

13 more days to eat. Oh the joy!

Read the rest of the posts in this series:

UAE 2010: Driving from Abu Dhabi to Dubai (& back)

UAE 2010: Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

UAE 2010: Heading to Dubai by bus; checking out Bur Dubai

UAE 2010: Dubai Mall (Aquarium, Underwater Zoo & Gold Souk) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Burj Khalifa, At the Top (and Wafi Mall) – Part 2

UAE 2010: Mall of Emirates and Times Square Center

UAE 2010: Driving around Dubai (Souk Madinat Jumeirah, The Atlantis & The Palm Islands) – Part 1

UAE 2010: Dubai Marina, Jumeirah, The Walk and David Guetta concert – Part 2

UAE 2010: Showing my parents the sights of Dubai; inside Ibn Battuta Mall

UAE 2010: From the desert sands of Abu Dhabi to the corniche

UAE 2010: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit

Thailand 2009: Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Feb 03, 2010
/
Bangkok, Thailand, Travel

Date: Dec 22nd, 2009

Woke up at a reasonable time after sleeping properly for the first time since I arrived in Thailand a week ago. I wondered what to do today. I still had sights to go see but looking at the battery power left in my camera made me realize I need to get my charger fixed or at least find a new one (my Canon 7D batter charger had gotten wet in Ao Nang) before I could click again.

So I decided to head back to MBK Center and visit the Canon showroom I picked up my camera from.

Bangkok grafitti BTS Skytrain Nana — This was taken from the Nana BTS station

I took the BTS, got off at the Siam stop and reached MBK by around 10am. Stores were just opening for business and the Canon store unfortunately wasn’t going to open until 11am. So I decided to explore all the levels of MBK Center to kill time.

MBK was once the biggest mall in Asia. Even though it has long lost that title, it still remains one of the most popular shopping centers in Thailand. Mostly because you get a good mix of branded stores and independent small ones selling stuff you probably find in less-posh street stores or at flea markets.

Like I mentioned in the last post, just because you find something in a small store or a flea market, doesn’t mean you got a good deal. Case in point, the 80 litre bag I picked up from Ao Nang. When I bought it for 1500 baht/Rs. 2000 (bargained down from 2000 baht), I thought I got a good deal. Until I saw it for 890 baht (Rs. 1,200) in one store on the ground floor at MBK 🙁

Oh well.

MBK’s fourth floor was dominated by mobile phone stores. Be it handsets or accessories, there were plenty of them. Selling everything from the genuine to even the fake Nokias and Apples. You name the brand, they had it. You want customization options, there’s plenty to choose from. Worth checking out if you want to deck out your mobile.

As I entered the 4th floor though, I smelled something sweet in air and I followed the trail which led to this:

I tried the pancake with coc0nut filling and had coffee. Funny thing is, the coffee cost more than the pastry!

Done with “breakfast,” I had some time to kill before the Canon store opened. So I went to the 5th floor which had the food court on one side and (mostly) clothes stores on the other. Like Chatuchak, you had stores selling all sorts of gear for more or less the same prices. I picked up some more t-shirts and then went around looking for good deals on PlayStation 3 games.

Trouble is, finding original games in Thailand is very, very difficult. Pirated discs pretty much rule the home entertainment market and very few stores stocked a good collection of original video games.

By 11am, the Canon store opened and I went to meet Kosin, the sales guy I mostly dealt with. He saw me and even remembered my name. I told him what happened to my battery charger and asked him if I could get it repaired.

Canon showroom Fotofile MBK — Inside the Canon showroom at MBK

I had Thai warranty on the camera and even though water damage isn’t covered, he still took me to the service center which was behind the showroom and gave it for service. They said they couldn’t promise anything because the Canon 7D was so new that they didn’t have the parts for everything just yet. But I still filled up the papers and was asked to come back in the evening.

Since there was a good chance I wouldn’t get the charger repaired, I wondered if I could get a new one. Kosin told me they hadn’t received stock of the new charger so I decided to head to Pantip Plaza and try there.

I took a taxi and made my way to Pantip, which is around 2 kms from MBK.

Bangkok schoolgirls — Saw more girls in uniforms than boys

I had written about Pantip in my Day 1 post but for the sake of a quick reminder, Pantip Plaza is pretty much the most popular IT destination in Bangkok (and also famous for being the largest grey market mall as well).

I went around asking every camera equipment store if they had the particular battery charger in stock but none did. So I ended up having to buy a third party battery charger for 600 baht (Rs. 830) — which is a lot cheaper than what the genuine Canon charger costs.

I went back to the room, put my battery for charging and prayed that the third party device wouldn’t blow up.

Since I had to wait a while before the battery had enough charge for use and that it was already noon, I realized I wouldn’t be able to do any of the sight-seeing I had planned for in Bangkok while the sun was still up. So I headed back to MBK.

I had lunch at the food court and decided to watch ‘Avatar‘ in 3D. My take on the film? Technically brilliant, visually stunning… but so damn cliched and predictable that it got boring and some what annoying after a while. Sorry James Cameron, I still like you but ‘Avatar‘ wasn’t really worth all the hype and years of anticipation. (And it totally doesn’t deserve all the critical praise and record-breaking financial return its getting!)

By the time the film was over, it was already past 5pm. I went back to the Canon service center to collect my charger and find out if they repaired it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t as they said they didn’t have the parts needed.

So I collected it and left MBK. I figured if there was no tourist attraction to see today, I rather just cross over to the other side and check out the place that now holds the crown for being the largest mall in Thailand.

Bangkok night traffic near MBK — Night traffic near MBK

BTS Skytrain Siam Discovery — Siam Discovery, one-third of Siam Center

Siam Center is now the biggest shopping complex in Bangkok, consisting of Siam Discovery, the Siam office tower and Siam Paragon, the newest and the most posh of the bunch. MBK and Siam Center are conveniently accessed by a large over bridge and a BTS station above that!

Siam Center is your typical international standard mall. The usual big brands and using every major festival, like Christmas, to deck the place up all nice — even though Thailand is a Buddhist majority. Siam Center houses several well-known (and slightly more affordable) brands while Siam Paragon mostly caters to luxury goods.

Emporio Armani Siam Paragon — Inside Siam Paragon

So as expected, they was hardly anybody inside the shops.

I went down to the food court to catch some grub and was happy to see a Mos Burger outlet. Being a Japanophile, I’ve always wanted to try one.

I got my takeaway and checked out the rest of the mall. Fairly standard international mall affair.

Except for this.

Lotus showroom Siam Paragon — Lotus showroom at Siam Paragon

This was the first time I saw a car showroom, and that too, luxury cars being sold on the second floor of a mall! There were a series of them. But the coolest of them was the Lamborghini showroom. Just two cars – an orange Gallardo and a white Murcielago SV (or it could have been the other way around, don’t exactly remember) – in an all black showroom. Sexy.

Sadly, photography was prohibited.

I headed home and on the way, stepped into a tour agency to inquire about how to get to the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and the Floating Market, which were the sights I wanted to see. In the map, the Grand Palace seemed far off and the tour agency told me the Floating Market is a two hour drive away from the city (or at least from Sukhumvit). I went back to the room and had to decide which I wanted to see because I could only do one the next day. The woman who runs Thai House Inn told me I can just take a taxi to the Grand Palace for around 100 baht and assured me that it wasn’t as far as I thought it was.

I had only the day to spare, so Grand Palace and Wat Pho it was. I really wanted to capture the Floating Market on video but I just couldn’t take the risk of being late for my flight back to Bangalore later that evening. Disappointed, I decided to walk one final night instead of hitting the bed just yet.

And I was glad I did. Turns out the area I was in was popular with Middle Easterners and North Africans. There were so many restaurants run by Egyptians, Lebanese and other Arabs serving Middle Eastern cuisine (a favourite of mine!) as well as some Indian.

There were joints popular with Africans and enough shawarma joints to go around. It was kinda cool. Reminded me of walking through the bylanes of Manama growing up. I picked up a mutton shawarma (which was tad spicy) from a Nigerian-run joint and went back after picking up some chocolates to take back to Bangalore.