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Celebrations

November 26, 2008

Apparently, the grand opening ceremony for the Atlantis Hotel was well publicized in the States, because several of you have asked us about it. The fireworks were supposed to start at midnight and we did look out the window at 5 after midnight to see if we could see them. However, apparently they started about 40 minutes late (typical Arab time) and we were fast asleep by then. We probably would have been able to see them, had we gone up to the roof and waited long enough. Fireworks are common at ceremonies here (even my college started the year with a fireworks display), but I am sure this was a record setting performance.

This next week is National Day — the celebration of the creation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 — 37 years old (or young). The build up has already started and displays are already going up. We passed the house below on the way home tonight. It is literally covered in lights all the way around roof to foundation.

We will let you know what other sights we see, although we will be leaving for Germany in the middle of the festivities. Between now and then, we need to go buy some parkas.

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Lack of infrastructure

October 14, 2008

So, I may have mentioned the lack of infrastructure before, as in the heavy traffic on arterials is due to a lack of alternative routes on side streets and the randomness of buildings – both in size and placement. There’s also the lack of systematized addressing and residential postal delivery.

I have learned that there is another major piece of the infrastructure puzzle missing — sewer system. Actually, that’s unfair, they have a sewer system, a significant portion of it does not involve piping leading to the sewage plant. Sewage goes into storage tanks and is then pumped into trucks and trucked to the sewage treatment plant. Apparently, 3000 of these trucks are trying to keep up with the daily demand, so to speak. One would think that the inefficiency of this system in the long run would have occurred to someone before the population reached 1.5 million.

http://www.ameinfo.com/141407.html

Article about new treatment plant in Jebel Ali

So, the moral of this story is: If you are apartment/villa shopping in Dubai, add “how close is it to the sewage plant?” to your list of questions to ask. Just imagine — sewage plant + sewage trucks + 110F = reek!

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