Gulf News Fun Drive

On Friday, 10th Jan we attended the Gulf News Fun Drive. It is basically a planned/guided day long drive in the desert that is organised every year since 33 years now. 

Cars going up and down the dunes

I went in not knowing what to expect but was pleasantly surprised to see the huge turnout- more than 900 cars and the expanse of the arrangements. In essence, there was a guided route to be followed with about 8-10 check points. The target was to complete 6 check points by 2.30 pm to avoid driving in the desert in the dark.

Throughout the track, their were 'Marshal' and 'Sweep cars' that are driving around to provide help with any kind of problems. The underlying feeling was of great camaraderie and team spirit where strangers helped each other out with cars stuck in the sand, punctured tyres etc.

The changing terrain starting from more firm mud tracks to soft sand

The overnight event includes a breakfast, a packed lunch, a dinner and again a breakfast next morning apart from the Marshals and Camp facilities overnight for the cost of AED 350 per person. We went in prepared with bags full of food expecting the food quality to be as bad as that at the Desert Safaris but to the contrary, the catering was by Jabel Ali Resorts which could easily rival a brunch spread in a 5 star hotel. A few top tips:

• Go as lightly packed as you can 
• Don't set a goal to finish the course, do as much as you can and return to the camp to enjoy the experience of a night in the desert
• Eat as less as you can before and during the drive
• Carry anti-sickness medicines 
• Do not go in with your new fancy car - there will be more appropriate occasions to flaunt it

Steve Madden Sale: DSF 2014

BARGAIN Alert!

As part of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2014, Steve Madden is hosting a real sale on their collection. I picked up these beauties for AED 40- AED 150. Yes, AED 40! I went to their showroom in Marina Mall, get yourselves to your nearest outlet soon.

Note: This link is in NO way sponsored, the pictured items were bought by me at my own expense.

Review: Bombay by the Bay

Bombay by the Bay, Bay by the Bombay…babababa.

After we could actually say the name of the restaurant in JBR, we were worried about where to park in the area. The very sad fact about JBR as I am sure we all agree is that it has been made beautifully and has come up very well but the parking and road infrastructure has been so poorly thought about that it has become the most dreaded place to visit for a chilled evening.

We did get there finally, its just above Paul’s on the first floor. The approach is a bit complicated to find. But once there, it has been decorated beautifully with lovely Peacock feather fans swaying back and forth on the ceiling. We got a table outside, under the huge and striking Rajasthani umbrellas. The service was helpful and friendly. We were in a big group so we ordered a couple of starters (Onion Bhaji and Tandoori platter) and a selection of Main course dishes (Dal Makhani, paneer lababdar and Malai Kofta). The food and breads came nice and hot. The taste- I would say was quite close to what Indian food should taste like. It was still a little westernised (read bland-ified).

All in all quite a good experience out f the few Indian cuisine choices at JBR. I would recommend it for decent food and ambiance.

Happy New Year from Dubai Doodles!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hope you all had a great evening yesterday and wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2014 from Dubai Doodles.

What did you get upto?

This picture literally summed up the whole of Dubai's NYE plans - to attend the record-breaking fireworks. Luckily we had a great view and really enjoyed the whole atmosphere of the whole neighbourhood being out on their balconies hooting and cheering the spectacular show!

Looking forward to a lot more experiences to share here in 2014 :D

Culture in Dubai, Part (2)

As mentioned before, I feel that there is a lot of activity going on the cultural spectrum in Dubai - one just has to have the right eye and the will to make an effort.

Recently in December, we attended two music shows on subsequent days: the first one was of the Pakistani superstar - Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and the second one of Pt. Jasraj - the Indian classical music legend.

We enjoyed both the shows a lot but the two shows were the extreme ends of the spectrum when it came to organisation and class. Whereas Rahat's show was immensely entertaining but also fairly commercialised, not true to the qualities set by his forefathers in my opinion. He blizted through all his famous songs at jet-speed not giving the compositions time to settle into the minds of the audience. To add to that, there was a gross mis-communication from the organisers in printing the wrong time on the tickets which meant most people waited for the show to start for more than 3 hours! Also, is anyone else disappointed by the accoustics and quality of the venue at World Trade Centre?

On the other hand, Pt. Jasraj's performance was the show-case of Indian classical music with most of the audience there to appreciate his puritanical style. The performance was a treat to watch also because of the teacher-student style that he follows even on the stage. The audience received him very well and he sang his usual gems. Pt. Jasraj has never disappointed his audiences before and he did not this time either. Kudos to the organisers, for conceptualising this lovely series of concerts this year and can't wait for the schedule for next yea to be announced.

The maestro himself

The legend in action