Avoid a layover in Dubai at all costs

by Jerry Guo on

A British traveler traveling through Dubai International Airport on a layover has just been sentenced to four years in a United Arab Emirate jail.

You’re probably thinking he did something crazy like punched a flight attendant, as Iva wrote about yesterday. You’ll never believe this: he was arrested for having a microscopic bit of marijuana on the bottom of his shoe.

The marijuana–which is strictly illegal in the UAE–weighed in at 0.003 grams, which is invisible to human eyes. But apparently the custom agents there practice a even harsher form of racial profiling than the American TSA folks.

Here are some more outrageous cases:

  • One man has been jailed for possession of three poppy seeds left over from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow Airport. Painkiller codeine is also banned.
  • A 25-year-old Briton who was found with a similar speck in one pocket as he arrived on holiday has been awaiting sentence since November.
  • A Big Brother TV executive has so far been held without charge for five days after being arrested for possessing the health supplement melatonin.

Internet failure hits several continents

by Anna Brones on

Internet has undoubtedly changed the way we communicate, travel, think, and even live. So what happens when there is an all out Internet failure? A good bit of chaos.

That’s exactly what happened today across large parts of the Middle East, Asia and North Africa, when tens of millions of Internet users were without a connection. India’s bandwidth was cut in half, posing problems for not only the outsourcing industry that is dependent on Internet connections, but also the stock exchanges in Delhi and Bombay. The United Arab Emirates was also hit hard, as the outage affected telephone and television services. Dubai’s businesses, notoriously known for their billion dollar a day transactions, were also stuck without a way to conduct affairs. Basically, things got messy.

As for travelers? Although sources from Emirate Airlines denied that the Internet failure would lead to flight delays, Dnata, a government group in charge of air travel services in the Middle East, admitted that they would most likely be facing some problems. So if you are traveling in that area today or through the weekend, I would recommend to be flexible and prepared for anything.

Big in Japan: Sega plans to open mega-arcade in Dubai

by Matthew Firestone on

Here’s a quick question for you:

Name the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the city of Dubai.

a) Billions and billions of dollars worth of untapped oil reserves
b) Something akin to the Las Vegas of the Arabian Gulf
c) A desert oasis of shopping malls and astronomically expensive hotels
d) More ridiculous bling than the front row of a Ludicrous concert
e) An environmentally unsustainable nightmare built by slave labor

If you answered any or all of the above, by all means you are indeed correct!

However, it is only going to be a few more months before Dubai also boasts what will most likely be the world’s largest video arcade.

Seriously.

From Japan to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sega is about to launch its brand name on the Arab world.

Last week, a representative from the Japanese game company announced that it intends to build a mega-arcade in the Dubai Mall, which will be completed later this year.

Needless to say, Sega also announced that their first mega-arcade in the Middle East will be unlike anything the world has ever seen before.

So, what is the Dubai Mall you ask? Good question!

The Dubai Mall is scheduled to open in late 2008, and when completed, will be the largest mall in the world.

(In a city of gross excess, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise!)

According to Wikipedia, the Dubai Mall is rumored to cover an area of 12.1 million square feet, and will actually be comprised of a dozen smaller malls.

Again, as this is Dubai, keep in mind that ‘small’ is a relative concept.

In total, the Dubai mall will offer 9 million square feet of shopping retail space, and approximately 1200 stores.

In addition to housing the world’s most exclusive brand names, the Dubai Mall will also feature the following absurdities:

– The world’s largest gold souk
– The world’s largest aquarium
– The world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai

We’re not done…

The Dubai Mall will also feature an Olympic-sized ice skating rink and a towering waterfall – keep in mind people that all of this is in the middle of the desert!

And of course, what shopping mall would be complete without a video arcade!

In America, a generation of children grew up playing Sonic the Hedgehog and other titles, though Sega stopped releasing consoles following the relative failure of the Dreamcast in 2001.

However, in 2004 Sega merged with the Sammy Corporation, the world’s largest pachinko machine manufacturer, and has since then focused on arcade theme parks throughout Japan.

Of course, nothing in Japan will stand a chance of comparing with the mega-arcade in the works.

When completed, the new Sega spot will occupy 75,350 square feet spread out over two floors of the shopping mall.

All I can say is that if you’re planning a trip to Dubai in the near future, you had better start saving your quarters!

** Today’s post is dedicated to my wanderlust-ridden sister, who made her brother incredibly jealous of her exploits by partying it up with royalty in Dubai. **

The Universe in the centre of Dubai

by Abha Malpani on

As if building islands in the shape of the world weren’t enough, Dubai has just announced the construction of islands representing the Universe. The islands will take the shape of the sun, moon, planets and other elements of the solar system.

Most new projects in Dubai sound wow, and most of the times they are. But when they are not, they are totally not, like this Universe project for example. Look at the picture and tell me which part of the islands are supposed to be the Universe.

Clueless? Confused? So was I. It’s the section in the middle-right, between the two Palm Islands, surrounding the islands that form The World. From which angle does this look like the Universe?

I had to laugh when I read that Dubai has been dubbed “Donald Trump on Acid.” The problem with all this crazy construction in the city is that Dubai doesn’t know when to stop. Oh well.

Dubai shuts down for Bush visit

by Abha Malpani on

It has been declared a public holiday in Dubai tomorrow because of Bush’s visit. The notice people get? Not even 24-hours. All private and public sectors will be closed, and so will all the main roads. In other words, doing anything tomorrow will either be painful, or impossible.

Dubai abruptly declared dysfunctional like this for a day, is an example of how your life can be thrown into unpredictable pandemonium if you live in the city.

I can imagine the situation in my office had I still been working there: some people rejoicing as others curse their way out of frustration. All major events or even personal plans for tomorrow need to be canceled immediately and rearranged: conferences, meetings, press-events, lunch at Gran’s, a visit to the zoo. You really learn to “go with the flow” in Dubai where you have no other option.

Can you imagine this in any other country? I think not. Sure, it’s Dubai’s way of maximizing security for a presidential visit, but Bush’s visit has been in the schedule for a while and I don’t understand why the city couldn’t have pre-planned this. French President Sarkozy is supposed to visit Dubai on Tuesday; will that mean another public holiday? I think Dubai should have just declared the entire week off. Easier for everyone, don’t you think?