Bye Bye, Labour Card.

I am one week away from leaving Dubai. Follow this blog closely as I will report to my dear readers how my stuff leaves me in a chronological order.

First thing to go: My dear UAE labour card.
Time of departure: 10:30 07-Jul-09

Ladies' Counter

In most government offices in the UAE, you can easily spot a counter which is especially catered for ladies.

I find it extremely weird. I understand the concept of having designated car park lots and toilet cubicles for the mobility challenged, and special seats on the commute for pregnant ladies, senior citizens and adults travelling with infants. But I never believe "ladies" in general should be considered as a weaker sex and therefore requires special attention. Of course unless the "lady" in concern here has to cover head to toe in a black veil in the dead heat of the desert summer.


*The customer being served here at RTA was a man at the ladies' counter because there were no ladies waiting at the counter when this photo was being taken. Clearly I wasn't "lady" enough.*

Another article on Dubai

It is just by sheer observation that I conclude many are packing up their stuff and leaving Dubai. I see moving trucks on the road when I am driving. I see ads of cars and furniture selling at remarkable rates on Internet forums when I myself is trying to offload my stuff. I see lines of people trying to settle their bank loans on their vehicles when, once again, I am getting the release paper for my car.

Click here to read more.

Summer is here and it is the perfect time for families with children to move because the semester has just ended. Not being pessimistic here but I think the full effect can only be seen when the schools reopen in September. Of course, families with children are also moving into Dubai at the same time. There's never a time I feel myself acting more like a migratory bird flying to the south to prepare for winter, or in this case, to the east for summer.

Dubai Fountain

Boasted as the world's tallest performing fountain, the Dubai Fountain at the Dubai Mall is quite a spectacular water feature in Dubai.

I was dining with two colleagues travelled from Singapore in the California Kitchen at the Dubai Mall during the weekend when the performance started. The water jets and the music complimented each other and the sight of water shooting up to 150m high (approximately a 50 storey building) was indeed amazing.

There are numerous youtube videos on the Dubai Fountain. So if you would like to take a look at it, just youtube-a-away.

Another Nice Quote

For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case, too early to be whoever you wanna be.
There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want.
You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing.
You can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it.
I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things you never felt before.
I hope you meet people with a different point of view.
I hope you live a life you are proud of.
And if you find that you are not,
I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

Chinese Poem

A poem by my favourite Chinese poet. This poem kind of explains what I am feeling right now.

行路難
李白

金樽清酒斗十千，玉盤珍羞直萬錢。
停杯投箸不能食，拔劍四顧心茫然。
欲渡黃河冰塞川，將登太行雪滿山。
閑來垂釣碧溪上，忽復乘舟夢日邊。
行路難，行路難，多岐路，今安在。
長風破浪會有時，直挂雲帆濟滄海。

[註釋]
①斗十千：每杯酒價十千錢。珍羞：珍美的菜餚，羞同「饈」。直同「值」。
②箸：筷子。顧：看。茫然：渺茫而無著落的樣子。
③「欲渡」二句：比喻人生道路中的事與願違。太行：即太行山，在今山西、河北、河南三省邊界。
④「閑來」二句：古代傳說，姜尚未遇周文王時，曾在磻溪(今陝西寶雞東南)釣魚，伊尹見湯之前，夢見自己乘舟經過日月之邊。這裡把兩個典故合用，表示人生變幻難測，世事茫茫。
⑤長風破浪：出自《南史·宗愨傳》 ：「宗愨少時。叔父炳問其志。愨曰：`願乘長風破萬裡浪。』」濟：渡。滄海：大海。雲帆：指天水相連時，船帆像是出沒雲中。

[賞析]
《行路難》本樂府舊題。多寫世路艱難與別離傷感。詩首先通過對珍饈美酒，食不下咽，拔劍而起，四顧茫然的動作刻畫，突出表現李白內心的苦悶，接著通過黃河冰塞、太行雪滿表現世路的坎坷艱難，最後仍抱著幻想，相信總有一天會實現理想施展抱負，雖然苦悶但不失去信心，給人以激勵。

Salik Recharge Card

Salik is the road toll system in Dubai. It has been in operation since September 2007.

I use the SZR twice per day and pass through the Salik toll gates 2 times each trip. Since Salik was in operation, I have been recharging my salik tag either by going online using my credit card or by going to the petrol station and topping it up with cash.

Lately I have problems recharging my Salik account online. (I have similar problems while paying my DEWA bills but that is another story.) Every time I click on the epay website, an Access Denied message comes up on my screen.

I went to petrol station yesterday, tried to put some cash into my account. But instead I was told that we all would have to use the Salik Recharge Card.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the new Recharge Card. But what's wrong with online recharge or cash recharge? Why do RTA need to produce another piece of paper to complicate the process when the original recharge methods are working fine?

I can't help but think, somewhere on earth a tree has to die for this.