At The Top

Today is the day and it isn't even half over yet. The photos here were taken from the 124th floor of the Burj Dubai this morning, which opened first to the media and subsequently to the general public.

But don't hurry just yet to make the trek up to the top. The observation hall is spread over about 3/4 of that level with another 1/4 comprising the outdoor observation deck--a terrace if you will, though not exactly. That terrace is not open, yet--presumably it will open on the 5th (tomorrow).

There were a couple of big questions that got answered for me today, 1) how much would a ticket to the top cost and 2) what is the observation deck really like? As to the first, it is AED 100 for adults (ages 12 and above) and AED 75 for children. If you think that is a bit steep, then you're welcome to pay AED 210 for a speedier trip. That is, if you are not prepared to wait your turn to take the journey, you get to cut ahead of the line, as it were.

There are two elevators to ferry passengers up--each carrying no more than a dozen or so persons. I have read that there are split level elevators--two levels each--but it didn't appear that these elevators were like that.

As to the second question, the photos here will do most of the explaining. The enclosed hall which extends 3/4 around the 124th floor is very spacious inside in some places, narrower in others. The clarity of the view depends as much as anything on the angle of the sun. Windows, while not perfectly spotless, were clean and clear enough for good panoramas and good photography. But this will never replace the fully unfiltered balcony views, once the outdoor viewing platform is opened--closed for the day in preparation for the fireworks display this evening.

Many people have wondered about the elevator experience. We did the 124 floors in approximately 65 seconds. That's almost 2 floors every second; but it didn't feel very fast at all. The change in air pressure was perceptible but not uncomfortable.

The elevators are not of the glass variety which offer panoramic views as you ascend, but are completely closed. The lift interiors are for the most part darkened with twinkling lights that flicker in relation to the soft music being played. There is hardly any opportunity for those uncomfortable elevator moments due in part to the subdued lighting and speed of the trip.

Overall Impressions

This morning was a media event. The observation deck was buzzing with media professionals punctuated by a brief visit from Emaar chairman Mohammad Al Abbar. The employed assistants who guided visitors from the attraction entrance up to the top welcomed everyone with warm smiles. It was a beautiful thing to experience the success of this engineering marvel. Almost as much as the towers exterior finish, Dubai itself shines as a city to marvel at when seen from this tower's lofty heights.

Thank you Emaar and thank you Dubai for giving the world one more amazing spectacle.

Approach from the newly opened Burj Dubai/Dubai Mall Station

The station is open, for at least its second day today. On departing the station passengers can wait for the F13 bus to shuttle them to the mall--the public entrance to the observation deck starts in the Mall at the Lower Ground Food Court, just beside mOre Cafe. If one prefers to walk, certainly suitable in the pleasant cool climate, there is no clear path to take.

One basically exits the station and heads toward the side of Dubai Mall. With no apparent pedestrian entrance, one has to make his or her way through the parking structure. The stroll from the station will take at least 10 minutes, depending on how lost one gets.

At the opposite exit, toward the Jumeirah side of SZR, there are still no feeder buses running and none to come online very quickly, it would appear. The station itself is also one of the smallest among the Red line's with no particularly distinctinve features.


The travelator which takes one through toward the observation deck elevators.


A first glimpse of the magnificent tower once you step off the travelator.


One more passage way where the construction of the tower is illustrated.


The elevators to the At the Top observation floor. They don't appear to be double-decker.


The view inside the elevator, with camera pointed at the mirrored ceiling. Subdued lighting and soft music creates the desired ambiance.


Shooting into the sun, the Burj Dubai downtown 124 floors down.


View toward the Burj al Arab.


View toward Deira.


The open terrace--closed for the day.


Electronic telescopes provided for closer views, with credit card payment of AED 10.


It was a field day for the media.


All crowd around for an appearance of the chairman of Emaar.


The Chairman, Mohammad Al Abbar, makes a brief appearance.

Burj Dubai Station & the Big Day (Tomorrow)

It was open today, ahead of the big opening day of the Burj Dubai. Media reports were that the station would be open for the event and it makes sense that they have started a dry run at least a day before. I expect the station to be inundated tomorrow.

I presume I am one of the first users of the new station. The numbers on the platform this evening could be counted on two hands. One of these, strangely, was a white shaggy bearded elderly man in backpacker attire. When I sat next to him on the platform he began to advise me of the train schedule, supposing that this was all new with the opening of the new station.

He apparently is here for the opening of the Burj tomorrow. He presumed I was too but when I told him I was working here, he expressed amazement that a foreigner could have such an opportunity. How is that so, he asked. He described himself as a 77 year old (or was it 87?) Denmark citizen. I would describe him simply as Santa Claus.

Could that be a sign of things to come with the events surrounding the opening of the Burj Dubai? Maybe. This man is a totally new breed of visitor to Dubai. The newspaper says 2 billion people will be watching the event worldwide. I can't say I would expect anything like that. We'll just have to see how far the excitement goes.

It hasn't much penetrated the thick walls of the office where I work on Sheikh Zayed Road. As far as I could tell I'm the only one buzzing about the event tomorrow. A colleague happens to be renting a flat in Business Bay with a view of the tower, so he'll be able to see the spectacle from his own windows. How lucky is that! But he seemed totally nonchalant.

Not me. I'm so excited. I had thought I'd take the whole day off from work tomorrow in order to secure the best public viewing spot. I have my sights on the promenade at the Burj Dubai residences, which will provide not only a clear view of the tower and part of the lake, but also the viewing screen on which a special showing will be presented for Sheikh Mohammad and his 6000 invited guests.

With those thoughts in mind I got an unexpected call while in the office this afternoon. The caller was a person I had met at a publicity event a couple of weeks ago. It turns out their photographer is unavailable for a visit inside the tower tomorrow morning. He asked if I could fill in!

Wow, you bet I will. So 8 a.m. tomorrow I'll be heading into the Tower of Dubai with camera in hand, ahead of the grand opening. So excited I was that I failed to get the details of the visit. I'll be ready with a full report and pictures tomorrow.

Stay tuned...

Safe & Secure

(Dubai) It's 9:30 pm. The side street I'm on, a little off of a main road, has a line of street lights but it is still rather dark. I sit alone in a brightly lit bus shelter in an area where there are a few office blocks and some activity in a nearby parking lot. I am usually the only passenger in the bus shelter this time of night and I sit waiting with my white Macintosh laptop open, as I try to read or type while watching out for the bus.

Financial Center metro station at night.

(Seattle, USA) I'm a tourist there, unfamiliar with just about everything. It's 5:30 pm, the sun has just set, but it's still light out. I stand nervously at the downtown bus stop. It's on a major road but a bit on the edge of the CBD (central business district). Why does the whole area seem so eerily deserted still early in the evening? I'm empty handed, carrying nothing thankfully, but I just wish the bus would hurry up and come. There are a few dodgy looking characters making their way toward me. Someone's high I can tell. Let me somehow just be inconspicuous.

I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that I would never, ever sit at a lonely bus stop in any American city blithely pecking at keys on my laptop. If I dared even to carry a laptop I would do my best to disguise it and appear as nonchalant and local as I possibly could.

A typical interior in many of Dubai's new, uncrowded buses. >>

In Dubai I feel 100% safe and at ease in such a setting, but in most American cities under similar circumstances I would feel absolutely at risk and vulnerable. It is the combination of dusk or nightfall and the absence of pedestrian traffic, save any miscreants, that can turn an otherwise normal functioning city street into a lawless no-man's land.

Americans and the local residents know this. They know that it matters what the time of day is, what the pedestrian traffic is like and what other conditions are there that might make a street unsafe.

Is it a justified rationale that they have or is it paranoia? Nothing happened to me at that Seattle bus stop as daylight faded. Nothing happened to me when I walked the dark streets of a New Orleans, still Katrina ravaged street, looking for a bus stop one night. But something could have or just might have happened--in a wrong place/wrong time kind of way.

I developed the perception growing up in America that the most unsafe thing one could do when in such a setting was to look like you didn't know where you were. To seem at ease and to somewhat blend in was the first rule. The second was to get out of that place as quickly as possible--without haste, that is, lest you violate the first rule.

I think this is the rule of thumb for most Americans. Whether it really is the answer to being safe or whether it is largely a matter of luck, I'm not quite sure. Whatever the case, I feel no need to be on my guard when on the streets of Dubai, whether by day or night.

Keeping it Real... Safe

<< A military style young Emirati security man.

Security inside the Dubai metro is tight. There are two classes of uniformed men (I haven't seen any female security staff)--one in the popular Group 4 style and the other in military style garb. The former tend to include various expat staff and the latter young locals. There is also a contingent of station attendants wearing blazers or jackets of one kind or other.

It would seem the task of the attendants is to assist passengers and inspect their boarding cards, while the Group 4 style security men are there to enforce rules. The military style men don't normally interact with the passengers, so it would seem their role is to guard against terrorism and control the peace should the need arise. They do not, however, appear to carry any weapons except for batons.

I did attempt to engage one of the young officers in conversation. I was able to confirm that he was local, from Sharjah. He appeared to be very young, probably not yet 20, and he could not speak any English. Although I hadn't spoken with any of the other officers on duty, I would speculate that his profile was typical. They all seem to be local and as young as he was, and judging from their glances askance whenever I pass near any of them, I suspect most don't speak English.

Are the uniformed men, without weaponry really enough to guard against terrorism? One must appreciate that here there is no gun culture, except perhaps as part of some traditional dances. Security guards are always unarmed and I don't ever recall seeing a police officer carrying a pistol, although I may just never have noticed.

A Group Four style civilian security man. >>

That said, I have heard that there is a new stipulation in Dubai that security guards must receive some kind of weapons training. Up till now the common practice seems to have been to simply put a uniform on a new man fresh off the boat and thus you get a qualified security man.

That begs the question once again. Are these security men enough to guard against terrorism? Well, they are at least eyes on the ground, and there are a lot of them roaming around the stations and on the trains themselves. There are also the much heralded CCTV cameras. That should be enough to spot the unattended bag or strangely behaving commuter. If they can keep an eye out for things suspicious as well as they manage to keep people from eating, drinking and entering the wrong cabins, then we shouldn't have too many security concerns.

All Alone

My commute to work today is a little earlier than usual, just turning noon. It finds me in the gold class all alone except for the company of a train attendant. This time must be the sweet spot where hardly anyone rides. Alas I am joined by a couple of other riders. Oh no, they've just been escorted to a silver class cabin.

Iconic Views

Still u/c metro Green line passing below the Burj Dubai downtown skyline.

On days that I decide not to take the metro into the city, I get my first clear views of the city skyline as I descend from Business Bay Bridge. It is a spectacular skyline, even on less than clear days, with the Burj Dubai, at 165 floors, pointing up to the sky like a beacon.

I am reminded of childhood days, some 40 years ago, when I would anxiously await the first views of the Louisiana State capitol building, scraping the sky at a clean 34 floors, then the tallest building in Louisiana--the place I called home. Occasionally my family made trips to the capital city, Baton Rouge, from my little hometown an hour's drive away.

<< Approach to what could be called Sheikh Zayed Rd's central business district.

Driving 4 hours instead in the opposite direction and into Houston, Texas, I would get an even bigger thrill from spying views of that city's dramatic skyline. Unbeknown to me at the time was that this was a just a hint of what Dubai would eventually come to offer.

Commute

My commute to work this afternoon has me in my regular gold class seat. By boarding at the starting station I can have my choice of seating. The cabin almost fills up as we make our way through a few stations. It is a mixed crowd of Emiratis , some Westerners and other foreign expats. Some of them look like tourists, others joyriders and just a few commuters. Of course there aren't many people still commuting to work at noon.

<< The iconic Burj Dubai tower rises to a needlepoint pinnacle.

Once I disembark from the metro it is about a 7 minute walk to my bus stop 500 meters away. That is the primary extent of my walking. One of the benefits of public transport is that one has to walk quite a bit, which is great for getting exercise. Unfortunately not much walking is required as part of my car, train, and bus commute. Of course, it isn't so much fun trekking under a scorching sun, but the weather will start to cool in a month or so.

When I lived in Japan my daily commute was either by bicycle or by train with a lot of walking, and climbing up and down hundreds of steps to get to and from train platforms. I suppose this is one reason why the Japanese population are so healthy despite their relative wealth. With escalators, moving walkways and air-conditioned bus shelters, the RTA seems to be doing everything it can to entice Dubai residents out of their cars. While this means we'll sweat less, we also won't be able to shed so many extra poinds.

The National had a photo and story on one commuter, predictably a Westerner, who carries his fold-up bicycle onto the train and cycles the rest of his journey on either end. That could well be me if I lived within cycling distance of a station and had a cycle light enough to carry around.

Dubai's new futuristic-looking headquarters for telecom Etisalat. >>

Apart from the fact that the UAE is not a country of cyclists, which results in more road hazards for those who do it, cycling or a combination of cycle and public transport has the positive effect of being healthy, time-efficient, economic and sometimes fun. There is, however, the over-confidence that regular cyclists sometimes develop in thinking they are invulnerable when, in fact, the safety issue is always there.




Construction on towers continues along Sheikh Zayed Road. ↓

Tidbits 2

Dusk colors the Jafaliya station and Sheikh Zayed Rd. skyline.

Card Abuse & Other Minor Infractions

I saw and experienced it for the first time a few days ago--the use of a handheld device used to inspect nol cards, which one is asked to display upon entering the gold class cabin. The Gulf Arab gentlemen seated in front of me politely protested being treated suspiciously, but I suggested to him that it was a useful procedure as people are known to have abused the system.

That said, in the span of a few minutes our cards were inspected by two different cabin crew attendants. For the most part, however, the procedure appears to be to inspect cards as riders enter at the various stations, rather than waiting until they have already taken their seats.

Another monitoring incident... A young man waiting to board was getting a chiding from one of the security guards. When I asked him what had happened he said it was because he was having a drink. He didn't know that drinking was not allowed on the platform--neither did I. So the restriction does not apply only on the trains but on the platforms as well, and I would now presume you'll be warned if you have an open drink or food anywhere once passing through the wickets.

That does not bode well for the concessions at stations. These include Star Bucks, a fruit juice outlet and Chow King (an oriental fast food shop)--those are the ones I've seen so far at the stations I regularly pass through. The Chow King is located at a street side entrance/exit of the Financial Centre station, so one might well pick up a takeout order on leaving the station. The other outets, however, just outside the entrance wickets, seem not to make much sense. They don't have seating, so one would basically have to walk with one's purchase while exiting the station or else gulp it down before heading toward the boarding platform.

I can't say I remember ever seeing a commuter train where passengers could eat on board the trains themselves, but it was certainly allowed on platforms and elsewhere within the stations. In Japan, where I lived for many years, stations had quick order shops with seating or stand-up bars, and the favorite of many passengers was to have a quick bowl of hot tasty ramen (noodle soup) either before or just after their train ride. It was really one of the unique appeals of the stations. I think I would skip dinner at home every evening if I could get a bowl of hot ramen at the end of my evening commute.

The emphasis in Dubai's new stations is clearly on cleanliness and I wouldn't fault anyone for that. I really appreciate the shiny newness of everything. No doubt, if eating were allowed you would get paper trash and sticky or grimy surfaces here and there. But the least they could do is have stools or small seating areas at the concessions outside of the wicket gates. A 16 dhs cup of coffee from Star Bucks just doesn't make sense if you can't at least sit down and leisurely sip it.

Alternative Transport

A recent Gulf News article reports the following:

Approximately 21 per cent of all road fatalities in the first three months of this year have been caused by accidents involving minibuses...

It continues with a police recommendation that mini-buses no longer be permitted to transport passengers. Is that a ploy to get more riders onto the metro? Maybe, but it seems to be a genuinely good move in terms of safety.

There isn't anything inherently more dangerous with minibuses than with other vehicles--apart from comparisons based on size. Of course, a sub-compact car is more vulnerable than a giant bus. The point is that most accidents result from the actions of drivers rather than the type of vehicle.

In this view, the suggestion that mini-buses be no longer permitted to ferry passengers is perhaps more an indictment on the people who drive these vehicles. Such drivers are often poorly trained and seem to have no particular appreciation of the value of their cargo, as it were. The comfort and safety of human passengers ought to command a bit more respect than the transport of goods.

So, here perhaps we take care of two birds with one stone, by getting the recklessly driven mini-buses off the roads and ushering more commuters onto the metro.

Nol Woes Continued...

This time the angst is not mine but that of others I know. The balance of credit on their cards seem invariably to shrink unexplained. The quick assumption is I've been cheated or that the card or card readers are malfunctioning. As I have learned, however, the real culprit is normally incorrect use of the card or misunderstanding the info given by the card readers.

I don't fault the riders, however, for this confusion. There is a learning curve involved and the RTA has not adequately addressed this. For most people it is going to be trial by fire--the fire being that which seems to burn their cash away. The best rule of thumb is to just be cool and calm about it and assume there is a rational explanation behind every error. At the same time, one can get a print out of his/her card usage history (available at the ticket machines and info counters in metro stations, and perhaps elsewhere).

Taxis

I have to add these to my compendium of transport options. It used to be that in Abu Dhabi, where I lived for 9 years, taxiing was the only practical transport option for those who did not own cars--and part of the reason why that city is plagued today with even worse vehicle traffic and parking woes than Dubai.

A public bus transport system was only introduced in Abu Dhabi in 2008. To be fair there was a precursor of sorts, a fleet of big buses that traveled inner and inter-city routes. But the buses, their routes and boarding spots were largely unmarked. Usage remained confined to the extremely humble of means--i.e. the unemployed few, it would seem--who had no option but to work out the mysterious system. Even laborers on meagre salaries found no use for them and instead relied on an informal system of taxi sharing.

Back to Dubai, taxis have always been part of a mix that included buses as well as informal car shares, but the price, several times that in Abu Dhabi, had made them a sort of last resort option. (I've seen some commentators speak of Dubai's reasonable taxi fares, but I have to wonder from which planet they hail--OK, maybe Tokyo or New York, but why compare Dubai with the most expensive of cities?) With the metro partially opened and lots of new buses, commuters in Dubai finally have real options, but will still need to rely on taxis from time to time.

Metro Info via The National

There are a number of websites around which attempt to fill the sometimes dearth of information about the metro, its facilities, services, etc. I have just come across Abu Dhabi's English daily The National's contribution which seems quite promising.

This seems to be a space worth watching.

My City, My Metro

So goes the ad campaign. It resonates with me. Dubai is my adopted city, and the metro is a great new way to experience it. << The start of my morning commute, past UAE telecom Etisalat's Dubai HQ.

I have just found next to the luggage compartment in the gold cabin a sign indicating baggage size, as follows: maximum luggage size w81 X h58 X d30. This should answer the question of those wondering how much baggage they can carry on the train when transiting to and from the airport.

Best Practices?

My one friend so far at the metro is one of the security men at Rashidiya station. Perhaps it is better to leave him unnamed. I asked him this morning if work was busy, he answered always busy.

What about your day off? I asked. No day off, he answered. Why not, I wondered; his badge read Serco, the company which manages and provides services for the metro. He is a contracted hire, however, with a company called Frist Security or something like that.

It is very typical in the UAE, and probably in a lot of other countries that a large reputable firm wins a big service contract, partially on the basis of their good practices. But then a lot of the work gets contracted out to third companies with dodgy practices.

One of Dubai's central districts, home to Emirates Towers and the DIFC.

The presumed reputable firm does not take the responsibility of insuring that its contracted agents are carrying out proper procedures, nor does the party who awards the original contract. That said, the first and second party will speak of their own best practices while turning a blind eye to what happens further down the line.

So, a security guard works 7 days a week, probably on a 12-hour shift, which is not only bad for that individual but detrimental to the service he was hired to carry out--in this case security.

Bus Shelters

As I've probably pointed out before, taking the bus is an essential part of the metro commute. In large part Dubai's buses are big, shiny-new, comfortable and to my experience thus far--largely empty. So, one can enjoy a comfortable ride, and for me it is good enough to work at my laptop at the same time.

U/C towers at Dubai Marina.	View of Dubai Marina & JLT from Nakheel Harbour & Tower station footbridge.

A lot was made of the city's air-conditioned bus shelters when they were introduced a year or so ago. It would seem that at least half the stops have these, so one needn't wait in the hot sun while waiting for a bus. One problem, however, is that using the shelters could result in missing your bus.

Some are positioned well away from the actual stopping place of the bus and it is often hard to get a clear view of the approaching buses. Drivers aren't likely to stop unless they see someone standing at the stop, so it is often tricky to enjoy the comfort of the a/c shelters while at the same time managing to catch your bus.

Still Under-Construction Stations

There are 19 of these, and regrettably they are no longer making haste at getting them finished, as with the first 10 in the lead up to commencement day. February 2010 was the newly announced completion date for the remaining stations but I think this also may have been pushed back. Fortunately, 09-09-09 was chosen for the original opening date. It was an arbitrary deadline, but one that could not be easily brushed aside.

Emirates Golf Course & the Greens development.	Dubai Marina Mall

Gold Class Privilege

As I type I find the attendants attempting to issue a fine to a passenger for traveling in the gold cabin without the proper ticket. It appears the accosted passenger is feigning ignorance as she is escorted off the train. Looks like she escapes the fine, but not without her pride bruised, I'm sure.

So, they are trying to enforce the rules, but I'm sure it isn't easy for the normally ready to please cabin attendants to play the role of cop.

At the same time as the one woman was being chided a few others seated nearby announced this cabin is in the wrong direction as they made their getaway.

They did have a point, however. The gold cabin sits at the front of the train from Rashidiya to Nakheel Harbour & Towers, but at the back of the train in the reverse direction. Most of the seats in the cabin are likewise facing the reverse direction on the train when traveling in that direction.

Cabin attendants guarding the entrance to the gold class section. >>

I think I have become now a frequent gold class rider because I am a sucker for routine. Oh, and the seats, empty space and other comforts are nice too. In business class on a flight you pay at least three times the normal fare. We pay only double for gold. When I have travelled as a rich foreigner in Vietnam I was forced to pay 3 times the normal fare while utilizing the same transport as a local.

In Sri Lanka they have a wonderful modus operandi where foreign visitors to historical sites pay 20-30 times the local rate. So, double fare in gold class is a real bargain.

I shall be ending my metro commute shortly, having made use of the time on the morning and evening ride to compose this post. After nearly 3 weeks of metro use I would say that it is a rather different experience from that of metro use in other parts of the world.

The end of my evening commute, once again past the the SZR financial hub.

The newness, stylishness and comfort (of the gold class cabin especially) is nothing like one would experience elsewhere. We've got the cabin crew in their gold, black and white uniforms that resemble flight crew. There also hasn't emerged yet any preponderance of bad behaviour. No pushing or rudeness among riders, no rowdy youths or sloppy inebriates. It is all a very civil experience thusfar with a multi-national cast of characters.

Tidbits

The Metro Red line running through new Dubai

No metro ride for me today as I had to stay home from work, having picked up something. Some people are warning, don't ride the metro for fear of swine flu. It is highly unlikely I've got the sniffles from either the metro or the bus. Both are normally not crowded--especially in the gold class. One can sit comfortably with good ventilation.

It is much more likely that I picked up whatever I've got in the office or the apartment block I live in. This morning my building's management staff greeted me with advice to drink tea with lemon, which they said they were all doing.

Wifi No Go, p2
(Yesterday's metro news...)

<< The venerable Dubai World Trade Center (at center), the city's first skyscraper built in 1979.

The Gulf News featured an article on the introduction of Du wireless to the metro. Is this news? I don't get it. The rather hapless wireless service has been available since day one. I was hopeful that the day's news was going to be an announcement of a change in terms which might improve the service, but it simply reported the old news in banner headline form as if to herald something new.

It looks fine in print... wireless internet service at various fee structures. But you don't appreciate what any of that really means unless you actually try to use the service and discover that in reality it is expensive and does not really work.

Login takes a long time, the signal cuts out at times, page loading at times is extremely poor--3, 4, 5 minutes for Gmail to load, if at all--and nearly non-existent upload capability.

Extendable trays in the gold class cabin are more designed for laptops than coffee cups. >>

I have used my laptop nearly every day since opening day on 10 Sept--12 to 15 days now--and the service has been consistently poor. I don't get why they are even charging for this, or at least why they don't enable it to perform well with any consistency.

There are two freebees--the Du website itself (yawn), where you can find out all about their services, and the RTA site. At least the RTA site provides practical and relevant information. You could plan out the remainder of your journey in minute detail and explore bus routes and schedules.

You could also try out a variety of games and metro simulations provided on the virtual RTA site--actually I will need to confirm whether this one is also free to access without a Du login.

Other RTA Business

<< Looking through the metro glass at a receding Jafiliya station. Not directly related to the metro but another facet of the RTA are the driver's license regulations. I am in the process of exchanging a driver's license from Abu Dhabi with a Dubai license. As this is not very commonly done, there is no specific info on any RTA sites detailing the process. It isn't necessary for most people to do this, anyway, as a license from any emirate can be used in any other. In my case, however, I need to replace a damaged license and might as well do so with one for my current residency. Besides, having a Dubai license seems cooler than having an Abu Dhabi one! The requirements I have found, thusfar, are straightforward.

Gold class cabin convenience and comfort. >> Several things are required: original passport photo copy of passport bio and visa pages an eye test certificate (obtained at an RTA approved commercial eyeglasses dealer an NOC (no-objection letter) from ones employer the original license a fee of 110 dhs Not so straightforward, however, is upon presenting all of these to one of the several RTA license centers, I was thereupon informed that I also needed a letter from the Abu Dhabi license office. There you go, the stereotypical bureaucratic red-tape. That is where the process currently hangs. At least the RTA office provided in Arabic a letter which they also placed in a sealed envelope with whatever details or instructions I presume the Abu Dhabi office will be in need of. Thereby, hopefully, avoiding my going to the AD office only to be told that I need something else from the Dubai office. To be continued...

A shaky low-light condition digital snapshot creates an artistic impression of the view through the driverless train window.

Creatures of Habit

How many of us continue with the same routine, even when it may not be advantageous to do so? I recently moved to Ajman, in order to shorten my daily commute to work in Dubai. Yes--shorten. It used to be a 300 km round-trip drive from Abu Dhabi. Now thanks to being conveniently located in Ajman and with a little help from the metro, my driving distance is only 55 km return. It's a big improvement in mileage, with my car suffering badly from overuse after a year and half of the AD-Dubai daily run. What I haven't reduced, however, is the time it takes. Thanks to Sharjah traffic and the metro-bus routine without benefit of any nearby stations, it still takes 4 hrs of my day to get to and from work. When I was new to Ajman I found it an interesting challenge each day to find the shortest (first priority) and fastest route to Dubai. Each day I made my way through different Sharjah routes. Having found the shortest route, I never wanted to deviate from it, even though there were days when traffic made the trip especially long.

I had been hearing that the trip could be be faster on Emirates Rd., but there was one day when it took me 2.5 hours to navigate that road and finally make it into work in Dubai. After that I would be more than happy to never see Emirates Rd. again, I thought. Even during the night when Emirates Rd. was sure to provide a faster alternative, I wouldn't take it. I had become a creature of habit, not willing to give up my familiar route. So, it has happened for me with the metro as well. It has become a hard to break commitment to park my car at Rashidiya station and hop onto the metro. Nevermind that it takes more time than if I took my car to my destination within the city. Nevermind that the traffic isn't bad at all on some of the expressways in Dubai and it is definitely clear at certain times of day. Nevermind even that I find I'm running late for work. I've become hardwired to leave my car at Rashidiya station.

Al Kazim twin towers in Media City--new Dubai.

I don't suppose I am the only creature of habit like this. It is likely that most of us are. As to why I am such a metro enthusiast, I suppose there are two reasons. One is that I'm a big fan of how Dubai modernizes as a futuristic city, and the metro is one manifestation of that. The other is that I have some nostalgia for train commutes after having lived in Japan for 11 years. Riding trains everyday to go everywhere is the only way to travel for most people there.

Latest on wifi... The RTA's site, with all of its links can be browsed without logging in to the Du hotspot on the metro. So, while you're stuck not able to get a successful login, even after biting the bullet and deciding to go for one of the very limited wifi packages, you can fully explore the RTA's own website.


Byline Plus 50--a little aside:

---

Take the anger from a broken heart, feel no pain.

Just picked up this line in an old, otherwise familiar Phil Collins song. Rings true. Perhaps it's the anger that really hurts, not the sadness.

Have you ever heard that free will's an illusion? An intriguing thought I sometimes ponder.

Bruce Dauphin, 50 words

Quasi-Holiday

Financial Center station: one of the planned 3000 security personnel pegged to guard Dubai's metro system.

Successful Du payment and login this time... finally (27-Sep, evening). Then, a very long 7 minutes before I could log in and get my target page to load (28-Sep, morning)--see also wifi no goes....

Evening train on Saturday, a quasi-holiday. Not crowded at all in the station nor on the trains. Friday is much more the busier day. I'm in the gold class which has some Emirati shebab (young guys), a couple of families with a lot of children and a mix of other nationalities. It sort of seems there are too many kids running around in this cabin. I think the 5 and under free shouldn't qualify for this cabin.

<< Burj Bubai?

I tried the feeder bus today from Financial Center station to Dubai Mall. The bus comes quickly--good frequency--but the route to the mall is rather circuitous and the drop off point is not at any mall entrance. One has to first guess which way it is to an entrance and then start hiking. My guess was wrong, so it was a long walk into one car entrance after another before finally finding a walk-in entrance to the Mall.

So, I doubt many shoppers will make use of this means of transport, especially if they know what it entails. It is a workaround measure until the Burj Dubai station opens, but even then will there be any better way to get from station to mall? A tram was originally planned but that seems nowhere in sight.

More Bits & Pieces

Precariously hanging barricades below sign. >>

An earlier post included a write-up on car access to Rashidiya station, but I didn't have any photos to illustrate the post. Now I do, and I will be sending one of these to the RTA as it reveals the car entrance to the parking structure involving cars narrowly avoiding a precariously hanging barrier.

I will also be sending in the funny RTA bus sign which reads Burj Bubai instead of Burj Dubai. Not a big deal, I know, but it's a shame to mangle the name of the cities' proudest landmark.

The previous post details first and last train timings, and it is rather a shame that the final train out of some stations is just after 10 p.m. That means there is little chance of relying on the train to enjoy an evening out without having to rush to make the last train, especially if one has to get a connecting bus first. I would have thought that the publicized 11:00 pm end of service would have meant 11:00 pm for last departure.

Last train approaching Rashidiya station

First & Last (Metro Station Timings)

Knowing when to be there...

Reading this table:

From Rashidiya station get the first morning train at 6:00 am toward Nakheel Harbour & Tower.
In the evening, get the last train toward NH & T at 22:10.

Rashidiya to Nakheel Harbour & Tower Saturday - Thursday Metro Timings
Station	First Train	Last Train
Rashidiya	6:00	22:10
Airport Terminal 3	6:04	22:14
Deira City Centre	6:10	22:20
Al Rigga	6:12	22:22
Union	6:15	22:25
Khalid Bin al Waleed	6:17	22:27
Al Jafiliya	6:21	22:31
Financial Centre	6:26	22:36
Mall of the Emirates	6:39	22:49
Nakheel Harbour & Tower	6:50 (arv)	23:00 (arv)

Reading this table:

I finish work near the Financial Centre at 10 p.m. What's the last train I can get back to Rashidiya?
It's at 10:36 p.m.

Nakheel Harbour & Tower to Rashidiya Saturday - Thursday Metro Timings
Station	First Train	Last Train
Nakheel Harbour & Tower	6:02	22:12
Mall of the Emirates	6:13	22:23
Financial Centre	6:26	22:36
Al Jafiliya	6:30	22:40
Khalid Bin al Waleed	6:34	22:44
Union	6:37	22:47
Al Rigga	6:39	22:49
Deira City Centre	6:42	22:52
Airport Terminal 3	6:47	22:57
Rashidiya	6:52 (arv)	23:02 (arv)

See also:
What's in a Number, for a sequential list of metro related number facts.