Hot & Happening

I think the heat is getting to me. I’ve been sitting here past ½ an hour wondering what to post but the brain is not working. All I can think of are tall glasses of brightly coloured chilled refreshers & immersing myself in cool waters[never mind the fact I cant swim]. The next 6 months are going to be horrible; the heat is unbearable and the humidity is a killer..........Summer has started with a vengeance.

If not for the heat & humidity, one can be forgiven for thinking that this place is not a desert. Nowhere inside the city will you get to see camels or bedouins……or barren land. But mirages....they are everywhere.

The rulers of this country made sure they have the best of everything in their land. When you see the greenery, the unsurpassed structures and the most up-to-date facilities one almost forgets that even 15 yrs back basic amenities like fresh milk & fresh meat[except for camel meat] were not available in the supermarkets. People those days make did with milk powder & frozen meat.

If you have the moolah & want to experience pure unadulterated luxury come over to Dubai & stay at the Burj Al Arab[check this link out. Its worth it]. It’s supposed to be a sublime experience. Ask Shah Rukh Khan or…or David Beckham..... according to local gossip, they’re supposed to have put out their awe-struck hands & picked up their fallen jaws off the luminous flooring.

Commoners like yours truly appreciate the architectural delight from the outside[even entrance fees is a ridiculously high amount], click pictures of ourselves with it in the background and get to check out the luxurious interiors only in the documentaries from Travel & Living and the internet.

Which ofcourse brings me to another well-known accepted fact. There are no confusions about classes…coz there are only 2 types out here. The rich & the middle-class:

The rich…..they are like unimaginably loaded:
#They own Villas in many countries.
#They have cars for each occasion.
#And buy personalized number plates for ridiculously high amounts.
#Most of the men have more than 1 wife[or atleast a Philippino girlfriend].
#Maybe not all but most of them get up around 2pm & wind up by 5am the next day.

The middle-class could be anything from a labourer to a high-salaried person:
#Most of us live in rented accommodation
#Go to our home country once in 2 years or twice in 1 year.
#Almost everybody who has a license will own a car. And the ones who dont will be drivers.
#All of us have cell-phones
#Drink only bottled water
#Would have definitely visited Lulu Supermarket atleast once.
#Kill time in Malls during weekends….the labourers are not allowed in but they manage to get past the security somehow.

Some curious realities:
- Unlike most countries we have almost nil beggars here. In these 10 yrs I’ve been here I can count on 1 hand, the numbers of beggars I’ve met.

- Very rarely do we come across elderly people or even handicapped people. This is not to say there are none but compared to the young & middle-aged, the elderly are a rare sight.

- A white skinned person gets instant attention anywhere. An old story is still doing the rounds that a gardener from UK was given an MD’s post in a company….20 yrs back ofcourse. Though nobody says it, we still think things have not changed all that much.


Having said this much let me hasten to correct your mistaken impression that I don’t have much opinion about my country of residence.
^When I first came here I missed my own country terribly but now I’ve learnt to love Dubai.
^One can’t help but admire the Rulers for taking care of their people & making sure we have the best of amenities.
^The crime-rate is negligible compared to other countries & corruption is almost unheard of.
^Whether it is fresh fruits & vegetables or the latest gadgets, everything is within hand’s reach.
^It maybe a middle-class life but comparitively the standard of living is exceptional[giving u a personal example so that u get the general idea - I was gifted an i-phone by the better-half last week, heeeee, see how casually I let u know;-D]…….....except for the heat.

Uffffffff…….there’s no escaping this blasted heat!!!!!!!