Shopping Malls

Here's a useful link, all the major shopping malls in UAE Mapped in Google earth


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Rain & Traffic

Its been raining in Dubai for the past 3 days and as always traffic is well slow to say the least and as always rain spells accidents in Dubai.

Now that we have the situation, lets talk about the best route to take if you are traveling from Sharjah to Dubai during rush hour. There are four routes you can take

1. Shindagha Tunnel
2. Garhoud Bridge
3. Via Buisness Bay
4. Emirates Road
5. Floating Bridge

No. 1 is a not a good option as you will have to wade thru all the traffic which opts for Garhoud before branching towards the Dubai Hospital, Deira road and then Shindagha is only a three lane opening to New Dubai.

Garhoud Bridge is a good option then again the traffic which goes thru Garhoud is common with the Makhtoum and Floating Bridge commuters which makes the task of actually reaching Garhoud a tough task

Emirates Road is a good option if you can spare the one and half hour which takes to cross the Al-nahda traffic to reach the point then again its unpredictable when Emirates Road will be jammed cause of accidents.

The best route I feel is the Buisness Bay its the shortest route to reach Sheik Zayed Road (Shorter route already cuts down on the time taken to travel with or without traffic) and it feels the best as there it is isolated from other routes and there is no common roads linking to it.

So I give the thumbs up to Buisness Bay, try and let me know your comments.

Code of Conduct

Here are few things every one who wants to stay in dubai should know.

Below link has the full details of the new code of conduct of UAE.

http://www.dubaiinformer.com/2009/03/dubai-code-of-conduct-full-version

Be Warned

Please be advised that effective today, the Dubai Police and RTA has come out with new regulations
All drivers are advised to use hands free mobile phones while driving.
Any one caught using mobile phones whilst driving without hands free ,
shall be fined Dhs. 5000/- and the vehicle shall be impounded for 15 days

Driving is a survival test in Dubai :)

RTA - Recession

Recession is effecting everyone all around the world and looks like RTA, Dubai has a great plan to tackle this - in their own way that is

1) Increase the number of traffic police around Dubai (don't be so happy, they are not there to improve traffic they are out there to get you as soon as you put one foot out of place, which sadly we usually do as per them)
2) Increase RADAR cameras and put in new system of fines, if 10km,20km,30km over limit increase the fine exponentially

I just feel they would leech money from somewhere else and leave us poor commuters alone.

Newspaper Ads

To continue earlier post : Tip number two to finding a Job in Dubai

A most popular way to get interview calls in Dubai is by placing a self Ad in the local news papers

Two heavily circulated english dailies are as below

www.gulfnews.com
www.khaleejtimes.com

find out the nearest branch of the above newspaper office and head down with your Ad Content ready, the charges are nominal 150 AED for 3 days (check with the local office for exact price)

you can also place a free ad online @ http://www.gnads4u.com/classifieds

I would suggest a new comer to Dubai place the Ad after getting acquainted with all the roads and destinations of Dubai before placing a Ad, As interview calls will come think and fast and you need to know how to reach to the said location

Passport & Visa Services

Indian Passport and Visa Service Center working hours for consular services opened in February this year has given an excellent alternative for Indians in dubai for applying Passport and Visa services.

Now that these centers are open 7 days a week there is no need to goto Indian Consulate taking leave from work, its a great service which should benefit all.

Url : http://www.ipavsc.com/

above site has all the information, location maps

GPS Location for Deira Branch is as below

25°15'34.90"N
55°20'11.37"E

Dubai House Rent

Here's another useful data with details of house rent in various locations of Dubai

http://www.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100124127657558849740.000460eee8a8d64753e5c&source=embed&ll=25.261464,55.419159&spn=0.31732,0.615234&z=11

Eid Al Adha

Its holiday time in Dubai, there are two occasions when the hectic routine of Dubai gets a small respite and its during two Eids, Eid ul fitr and Eid ul Adha.

This time we got 5 days off - Eid Mubarak to all.

Job Sites

Nearly everyone who comes to Dubai is to find a job and make a living. While there are numerous ways to find Jobs one of the best ways to gauge the market and make a assessment of the Jobs available for the post you are applying is to go to the local job websites

Below are few sites which will give you a head start

www.Nadia.com
www.bayt.com
www.naukrigulf.com
www.monster.com
www.jobsindubai.com
www.gulftalent.com
http://www.careercentre.ae/

I will be updating the blog with more ways to find jobs around Dubai... Keep checking.

UAE Consulates

Here is a very useful link, all the consulates in Dubai plotted in google maps

http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100124127657558849740.00043ea4fbe1b3742153d&om=1&ll=25.264041,55.335688&spn=0.07669,0.154495&z=13

Drivers License

No driver's license for 100 categories of UAE workers

Residents belonging to up to 100 categories will not be given licences (Since last week this rule has come in place). These include nurses, cooks, carpenters, housemaids, watchmen, tailors, cafeteria waiters, unskilled labourers, gardeners and bakers.

Abu Dhabi

Beware....

There is a new speed radar on abu dhabi - Dubai highway near the area where construction is going on and believe me the radar clicks at the speed limit .... so if you see 80 kmph stay at that level only don't push your luck.

Traffic Fines

Anyone who has tried to find sharjah police office location will agree with me that its a pain to find the exact spot, well here are the co-ordinates which can be used with any GPS or Google Earth to find the exact spot where you need be.

Latitude : 25°21'29.26"N
Longitude : 55°26'37.37"E

Note : Don't forget to take a passport copy

Visit Visa - SATA

After the changes made by Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department expatriates can no long sponsor visit visas for non-relatives.

There is an alternative in Sharjah Airport Travel Agency where you can apply for a visit visa which will be valid for 90 days below are the details

Documents Needed :
Passport copy of the Sponsor
Passport copy of the person you want to apply for visa
2 passport size photos of both

2000 AED Deposit
1550 AED for Visa and Insurance
700 AED advance to SATA for the air ticket (you will need to purchase air ticket from them only)

More information can be found at their web address http://www.sata-uae.com/

Shopping Malls - Dubai Mall

Shopping Malls - Dubai has lots of shopping malls "Mall of Emirates", "Deira City Centre", "Ibn Batuta", "Bur Juman", "Mercato" to name a few.

But the spotlight right now is on Dubai Mall which opened early this month. For record its in Guinness Book of records for the largest aquarium in the world.

Dubai - An Opportunity

Dubai City of Gold, Dubai Tourism Hot spot, Dubai Link for West and East. You can call Dubai many names but what Dubai is ... is an opportunity, I have not met anyone who has come to Dubai and has left empty handed.

Yes wherever in the world you are you will find something not to your liking here as well people point to things they don't like. But I ask why they do not leave and still live here, well I don't need an answer cause, the answer is in one way or another they are happy with what they have found here.

I have created this Blog as a guide to all there is in Dubai, i will be updating the blog with all nessary information needed to stay in Dubai, enjoy in Dubai, making a living in Dubai.