Dubai – Friends

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The best thing about the trip to Dubai was the friends we met and made. We met Stephan who gave us a thorough run-down on the IT world and life in general. Even though we had only communicated by email and IM previously he met us at one of the popular shopping malls (More on shopping malls in another post). The first conversation we had over a coffee at Starbucks was more like a quick-fire quiz than a conversation. Half way through I stopped talking partly because Rie was asking all the questions and partly because I prefer not to force a Q&A session on someone. Stephan graciously and patiently answered all the questions we had.

Thankfully the second time we met the conversation was a little more balanced. He’s a terrific conversationalist and we talked about things ranging from Sheep brains to How to get a small spoon for Ice Cream to the famous Amino Suppli Rangers. He took us on a tour of Dubai Internet City and Media City as well as visiting the Jumeirah Beach Hotel which is close to the famous Burj Al Arab (as seen in the photos). The Burj Al Arab is the equivalent of Osaka’s Glico man in that it serves as the landmark to have your photo taken with to prove that you were in Dubai. I am sure the owner of the Burj Al Arab as well as its architect would have fits to see it compared with Osaka’s Glico man.

We also met a lovely family, the Verrips. We had dinner with Roy, Angela and Nathan at the Grand Hyatt where Roy works. Nathan is such a special little boy and so well behaved. You can tell that Roy and Angela heap loads of love on him. Although we talked about jobs and life in Dubai, the thought that stuck in my mind after meeting them was I hope we can be as good parents and role models for Michelle as they are for Nathan. I also hope that they can meet Michelle one day though I’m sure she won’t be as well behaved.

We also met a friend of our good friend Elie, Kamal. He treated us to some Lebanese food which was very enjoyable. Lebanese food is the main type of Arabic food available in Dubai. There was a minor incident while we were eating. A lady dropped her child while taking the escalator. Everybody’s attention was drawn to her as she was screaming continously. Thankfully she received the help she needed. Later Gamal gave us a little night tour before sending us back to the hotel. Only as we were arriving at the hotel did we learn that he had to be at work by 6am the next morning!

As well as Elie’s friend we also met one of his cousins, Mira, who like Stephan works in the Dubai Internet City. She told us about some of the problems with working in Dubai and some of the reasons she is working in Dubai. She showed us a few photos of her cute nieces on her phone. One thing that was interesting to hear was that she didn’t initially enjoy Dubai but she got used to it after a while. She spent some time in the States before Dubai so maybe there were some comparisons made when she started living in Dubai. I don’t know, maybe it is me but while in Dubai I kept comparing it to other places I have lived in like the UK, Hong Kong and Japan.

And we also met Yonekawa-san, who is the Assistant chef at the most popular Japanese restaurant in Dubai. He was kind enough to take us on a mini-tour of the area close to the creek. Although terribly hot (and mid-day) I was glad to see a slightly different area than the most recommended areas in the guide books. Yonekawa-san didn’t mind the heat at all and we had hot-pot at one of his favourite restaurants. He chose an outside seating area and although the view was nicer than inside I had a hard time concentrating on the food in the afternoon heat. I think I drank most of the 2-litre bottle of Pepsi alone. From the banter he had with the taxi-drivers and restaurant staff it seems that he is really enjoying life in Dubai.

If it hadn’t been for my unfortunate illness on the last day we would have met/made at least two more friends, Stephan’s fiance and Hamo, Elie’s other cousin. I spent the whole day in bed with a fever and also had severe diarrehea. I was only slightly better when we caught the flight home. The long flight plus the ice cold a/c on the train from the airport to home was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I spent the first 2 days back in Japan in bed. It was so bad that the first day Michelle got back from her grandparents I didn’t let her see me, in case she wanted me to hold her. With the TLC supplied by my lovely wife Rie, I got well enough to see her the next day.

The next post will be about various other things to do with Dubai including my overall impression and the highlights.