Dubai
Survival & Maintenance
Dress codes – to Bling or Not to Bling? Exercise opportunities, tailors, dry cleaners, hair & beauty salons, travel agents, airport transport &, travel tips

Dubai is probably one of the only places in the world where you will see totally contrasting dress codes comfortably co-existing side by side….from the local ladies in black-spangles shaylahs and and abayahs, to the Lebanese who lunch dressed in the latest French and Italian fashions, to Subcontinentals in saris or shalwar kamiz, or visiting or resident westerners in halter tops and shorts – all simply going tolerantly about their business.

Whatever ethnicity you select, standards are high, and smart rules (shorts and halters notwithstanding)!

      
Images courtesy of chic-case.blogspot.com & www.bollywoodpress.com

Exercise Opportunities

The Pilates Studio in Dubai www.pilatesdubai.com  pilates@eim.ae  tel +971 4 3438252. Located on the ground floor at the rear of the DNI Building on Shaikh Zayed Road, behind RakBank.

The Osteopathic Health Centre on Al Wasl Road. Tel: (971) 4 348 73 66; Fax: (71) 4 348 66 58. http://www.osteopathydubai.com/

Gems of Yoga near the Fairmont Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road, particularly Dr. Ashok’s sessions on Fridays. Very well run classes, on the hour, every hour, from 6am to 9pm. Tel 04 3315161

Or, if private yoga classes are more your thing, by a master who can come to your home and teach on a one to one basis, the charge is approximately 100 dirhams (2007 price) Contact Mr.Sudharshan, tel 050 3507066

Household Stuff

A bit “random”, but even ChI’s need unexpected stuff….
For inexpensive curtains, trimmings, hooks and good sofa upholstery, check out Venus, located opposite the general post office in Karama. tel 04 3968774

Hair & Beauty Salons

The aromatherapy massage in the Givenchy Spa of the One & Only Royal Mirage hotel is sensational. (Yes I know people will try and steer you towards the Moroccan Hammam treatment, but who wants to end up scrubbed raw, and pink, rather than soothed and/or invigorated by essential oils?)

The Givenchy spa is world class, as one would expect, and the décor and atmosphere is soothingly orientalist-minimalist, with wonderful fresh juices and complimentary teas in the understated recovery room for the unwanted transition out of bliss! Tel 3999999

For a fantastically pampering facial, try the Amara Spa in the Park Hyatt Hotel, where eight private treatment rooms circle the spa’s tranquil private courtyards. Features herbal-based products by Anne Semonins of France and an optional outdoor rain shower before massages! Tel 04 6021234

The Taj Spa in the Taj Palace Hotel offers traditional Ayurvedic and holistic treatments, as well as European therapies. Ayurvedic is too oily for ChI, but certainly has its fans….

Hair

  •   Some of the Frank Provost chain are pretty good - ChI goes to the one in
       the Marina Walk (tel +971 4 362 9865/66) in the Dubai Marina area, and
       her hair is styled there by the resident Syrian artistes, but there are also
       outlets in the Burj Al Arab, World Trade Centre, and Mall of the Emirates in
       the Galleria.

  •   Jean Paul in the Meridien hotel, near the airport, in case you are in need of
      a quick makeover between flights

Travel Agents

Adeel Asghar at Al Rais Travel Agency gets the best deals in town, and once you become a regular client, he makes the impossible, possible! Tel +971 (0) 4 302 5351; (0) 4 352 0600.
Traveller Tips

During Ramadhan (the Muslim month of fasting), do not eat or drink in public (the street) between sunrise or sunset. If you do, you risk imprisonment (really). However, the big hotels will serve food at lunchtime (discreetly), and bars have recently been allowed to reopen in the evenings after the iftar (breaking of the fast).

Reliable Airport Transport

Radio cabs are generally good, though if you are staying in Emirates Hills, they tend to get lost in its maze of lookalike greenery. Book ahead, especially if you have an early morning plane to catch – they get very, very booked up and sometimes there are simply none available. Dubai Taxis Tel 208 0808 or Radio Taxis 223 6666

Allow a LOT (ChI really does means a lot) of time to get to the airport, especially during rush hours. Dubai traffic has become notorious, and a trip that can take 30 minutes on a Friday at lunch time, can take up to two hours that same night, especially if you have to cross the Garhoud Bridge or go along Shaikh Zayed road.

Transport Tips

Pink taxis are ladies- or families only. And very pink……bodywork, roofs, seats and interiors. A woman travelling alone arriving after 10pm in the airport will be ushered to one of these. But beware, as some of the ladies are relatively new drivers and may not know the exact location of even an “obvious” destination. They have radio backup, but to avoid long detours and hiked up fares, make absolutely sure they know the way, before you head out. Tel 04 2080808 from within Dubai.

You can also rent a car with a driver. Self drive is fine – if you have nerves of steel and the grit to negotiate the endlessly-changing roads due to constant road construction due to continue till 2012 or so. All the usual companies are there – but try Diamond Lease for a car and driver for that extra bit of luxury, at competitive prices (but do bargain – this IS the Middle East, after all!) and good service. Tel: (00971 4) 2200325; Fax: (00971 4) 2200314 carlease@emirate.net.ae

“Comfort Blankets & “Clutching at Straws”

Actually Dubai is the one place you can find pretty much all the comforts of (anyone’s) home, as well as finding something familiar for almost any needy traveller….but…

For the Subcontinentals among you (of heart, or of ethnicity), try the nehari in the Daily Restaurant on Naif road or at Ghusais; or the Delhi Restaurant in Deira.

Or go for Masala Dhosas at India House on Al Hisn St in Bur Dubai for the veggies among you. Tel +971 4 352 6006

Major Occasions

Want to have a “Jumairah Jane GT” in Dubai? (Insider-speak for a Sofa Brigade outing). If you are feeling affluent, rent a stretch limo to pick up the giggle of “ladies who lunch” as they rise (late) from their beds, ferry them (by special advance arrangement of course) to a special showing of the rocks on offer at Sayegh’s, accompanied by Arabic coffee, and then proceed to the Sky Bar in the Burj al Arab for the champagne tea on the 27th floor. If it is a clear day, you will have fantastic views around the Emirate, as you gossip your way through the day!

Weddings & Parties

The ChI shares some of her uber-cool locations for special events, and also directs you to the best party planners!

Pierre Marcout, CEO of Prisme International, Po Box 37504,
Dubai, tel +971(4)3470383; fax +971(4)3472545 http://www.prismeinternational.com
Not cheap but definitely, definitely chic! Top of the range.

Encompass www.encompass-me.com  are another successful events promotions and conference organisers.

Additionally, most of the big hotels have on-site planners for weddings and special events, who you can work with, once you pick your venue.