Less than ID-al

The Pythonesque attempts to introduce an Identity Card in the UAE seem to have entered a new and even more frustraneous phase.

In the good old days, the Punter downloaded an interactive application form from the Emirates Identity Authority website (the ‘application application’ as Mr McNabb calls it over at Fake Plastic Souks). Then the Punter filled in the form and printed it off. All the data was coded on the printout as a 2D barcode. Then the Punter, if he had any sense, turned up at the EIDA office in Umm Al Quwain at the crack of sparrow-fart and landed at the front of the queue.
Read more at The Grumpy Goat

The world we live in has become virtually dependent on cards. My Father made a comment the other day that life in Dubai society in particular is obsessed with cards. I thought a little about this and it rings true. I had a look in my wallet and did a quick review.


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10 plastic bottles sitting on the wall

After a couple of pleasant weeks of vacation I came back to a short working week and immediately headed out to spend a lazy Ramadan weekend over in Fujairah.

I always like to get out of the hustle and bustle of Dubai and a couple of days by the beach in the peaceful surroundings of mountains and beaches of the Indian ocean are a real treat. I went over last year and as we liked the place we saw plenty of reason to go back not least of all the two for one offer the Royal Beach was offering on their large villas.

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Why The UAE Skype Block Is Pointless

The next move in the transformation of the telecommunications industry would appear to be afoot - Skype's off to the cloud (see this piece from TechCrunch). As eny fule no, Skype is currently blocked by the UAE's telcos as it doesn't hold an operating license in the country.


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Mushrif Park

The long Eid holidays provided a good opportunity to explore places I'd not been to before.
Mushrif Park is a huge facility spread across 5.25 square kilometres located on the eastern outskirts of the city. Go across the Emirates Road on the Khawaneej Road heading towards Mirdiff. Look for directions about 4 kilometres ahead and turn right to get into the park facility.

Read more at Dubai Photo Story

Safa Park

The Eid Al Adha holidays are just about to end today as we headed out to Safa park for some fun. The entire family spent the day at Safa Park. We had packed a nice lunch for all of us (had an overdose of BBQ over the last few days) along with beach toys for the kids.


Read more at Dubai Photo Story

Her Name was Rio and She Dances in The Sand

It occurred to me last month as I gazed out of my living room window the the millionth time that I should actually do something about the yachts beneath me. Not necessarily purchase one, but at least chartering one for afternoon would be a special thing to do. So I set about some research and came across a company calledxclusive yachts who were well respected locally and known the the manager of the yacht club. With my birthday just around the corner, it would be really memorable to take me and my friends out for an afternoon onto the Gulf on a Gin Palace of note. 


Read more at An Englishman in Dubai