We’ve been listening to constant jack hammering for a few days now. This is not just your average jack hammering. So, today we looked over the balcony to see what we could see.
There are two industrial sized jack hammers, one of which is directly below our apartment. No wonder they are SO loud.
Archive for the ‘Dubai metro construction’ Category
Jackhammers
February 14, 2009Update on the Metro
January 27, 2009Back on October 30th, I posted pictures of the metro construction down our street. I thought it was time for an update. The following pictures alternate between October 30th and the present day. Unfortunately, they are not exact comparisons because I didn’t take the pictures from the same position and perspective, but I hope you can make heads or tails out of them.
Above October, below January
Above October, below January
Above October, below January
There is still a ways to go. The whole thing will be painted a lovely — you guessed it — sand color (or cement color). Also they will still need to put on the tracks and railings and whatever else goes on top of these sections.
Above the view from our balcony September, below January. There is some progress – the gaping holes are smaller. They continue to jackhammer and bang and clang. This line of the train isn’t scheduled to open until March 2010, so we have a while to go.
Down our street
October 31, 2008It was 77F when we left the apartment this morning. We thought we’d take a little walk before it got too hot.
This is the police station just down the street from our apartment building.
The rapid transit train will make its transition from being an elevated train to a subway here. You can see the support columns getting progressively shorter.
Notice the men in the picture above. Two of the men on the right are wearing lungi (or dhoti) instead of pants. This is basically a single piece of cloth about 5 yds long that is wrapped around and knotted at the waist. The man on the left is apparently African and wearing a caftan type garment.
In the picture above, our apartment building is just above the head of the guy in the foreground.
I attempted to get this hotel that is under construction in one shot, but it was impossible. And, yes that is a plane flying over it. We frequently see planes flying in for a landing, but there isn’t a noise issue.
This amazes me. They have brought in this large metal platform and will be attaching the concrete sections that will connect the columns and support the train track soon.
Yes, that is the same plane as in the previous photo.
This is the path we take on a daily basis to go to and from our apartment. On the left is the train construction and on the right is a new building being built. This particular building is slow going up and is being done the hard way. Probably not as well funded as most construction projects are.
The black spot way in front of Paul is a stray cat. We both carry a small bag of cat food with us so that we can give a little treat to the stray cats we encounter. He was a cutey. Very lean, but looked healthy. He had a hard time choosing between being petted and eating the food we gave him.
He broke my heart by following us and meowing pitiously. The cats here are very long legged, have big ears and very long tails. They have very little fur due to the heat. Every cat I’ve met so far has had an incredibly loud voice.
Shopping, driving, ogling
August 25, 2008Saturday, August 16th – We experienced “weekend shopping” yesterday. We had been warned about it, but we had to check out of the hotel, so we needed things like sheets, towels, pots, pans, dishes, etc., in order to begin living in our new apartment. So, we had no choice. We took a taxi to Deira City Center, which is a large mall a short distance from here. Most of the things we needed could be purchased in Carrefour, a large (and I mean LARGE) store not unlike a super Walmart. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people in a mall or store at one time. It was a mad house, not unlike the old jokes about the JC Penney white sales. AND people here drive shopping carts like they drive cars.
We purchased our refrigerator (only appliance not provided with our apartment). If you are wondering about prices here, we got a large side by side with ice maker in the door (656 liter capacity – don’t know what that is in cubit feet) for approximately $1,300.00. Try that in the States! For the most part, prices are comparable or lower for most goods. The rents are sky high, but we don’t have to worry about that.
Gary B. asked what I would miss and I haven’t figured that out, yet. I have found many things that I am delighted are available, however. Fruit juice, REAL fruit juice is cheap and easy to come by. We can buy bottled lemonade that is actually made with lemons and tastes like lemons. Yummy! There are also many other fruit juices available – Mango, Orange, Apple, etc. I have yet to see CranApple, CranGrape, or CranWhatever. The juices aren’t all apple, pear, or white grape base with a little of the titled juice thrown in either. In fact, you can go to a food court restaurant and order fresh squeezed orange juice with your entree.
Our first load of laundry is running right now. The “directions” on the machine are all in symbols, so I hope I have guessed right. I thought the swirly symbol meant wash, but it turned out to mean spin, this lead to the discovery that I should read the symbols from the right to the left, not the left to the right.
It is interesting being out in public and discovering that you are some kind of oddity. The East Indian men “check me out” when I walk by, which wasn’t too unexpected, except that I am old, grey and overweight, so really didn’t expect to get ogled. On other occasions, though, women have given me a thorough look up and down, so I am not sure what that is about. My clothes are not unusual, so maybe it is my grey hair (which I have not seen much of on other people) or my weight (not many overweight people here either) or my pale skin (not much of that in the crowds where we’ve been shopping either). The cab driver, yesterday, seemed very interested in Paul’s appearance and asked us what country we were from. Perhaps he hasn’t seen a ruddy, red bearded guy before.
So, let’s talk about driving/traffic. The only thing I miss at this point is the freedom of having personal transportation. However, we are not in any hurry to start driving here. Lane markings are apparently only suggestions. You don’t actually have to stay in the lane as you round corners or even when driving straight. Changing lanes is done simply by nosing your car into the other lane. You can signal after the fact to let them know what you did. There is NO patience at a stop signal. If the light turns green and the first car does not immediately move forward, horns honk. No dilly dallying allowed. Construction is in progress everywhere, so detours are everywhere also. New buildings are going up everywhere, but infrastructure is not necessarily keeping up. There are plenty of main arterials, but the commute traffic problem is, in part, due to the lack of side street alternatives. No one has laid out a grid of streets, things just sprout up wherever and however large they want to. This plus the total lack of street addresses makes getting around a major challenge. Neither one of us is eager to join the chaos that is traffic.
The rapid transport train that is currently under construction will run right in front of our apartment building. I don’t know where the nearest station will be, but hope that it will be within walking distance. The train does not go right by the college, but will be a short walk (again depending on where the station is placed), although there is talk of a shuttle bus from the train to the college. It is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2009, so my hope is to hold out and taxi/carpool until then.
Sunday (tomorrow) is my first day of orientation/work. I’ll be glad to have something other than shopping to do and to be around others who are new and as bewildered as I. Will let you know how it goes.
Living the Travel Channel 