Saya juga getol shopping kalau sedang business trip ke Dubai.. Salam shopping
Danardono --- In [email protected], lulu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > tapi walaupun begitu adanya ... > UAE adalah salah satu negara paling di minati oleh para pahlawan devisa kita ... > > salam hangat selalu > /Lu2 ( yang kebetulan juga tinggal di dubai ) > > > mediacare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Dipromosikan dengan gencar, Dubai adalah kawasan paling gemerlap dan paling maju di Timur Tengah. Tapi kenyataannya? Sekilas saya baca, ternyata lebih enak tinggal di Jakarta dan Bali......:)) > > The Top 20 Reasons Not to Move to Dubai (in no particular order!) > > By Tia O'Neill > > Living in Dubai is not wonderful and glamorous, as many would have you > believe. Forget about what you've read, seen, and heard; those shiny > buildings and manmade islands are all just smoke and mirrors. There are so > many things wrong with this place that I have decided to compile a list, a > must read if you are considering a potential move to Dubai. > > 1. There is no standard address system making mail-to-the door delivery > impossible. In fact, it makes anything nearly impossible. The taxi driver, > here for only two days, and having learned English from old Beatles albums > has no clue where your house is. He won't tell you that of course, he'll > just keep calling and saying, "Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah." When you purchase > something that requires delivery they do not have an address line, but a box > where you are expected to draw a map. Not able to draw a map? Explain like > this: I live on the street after the airport road, but before the > roundabout. Go past the mosque and make a U-turn. > > 2. The government blocks all web sites that it deems "offensive" to the > "religious, moral, and cultural values" of the UAE. That's hard to swallow > for a freedom loving American, but I get it. I do not understand, however, > why all VOIP access and related web sites are blocked. I guess the > government also takes offense to people inexpensively contacting their > families back home. You're welcome to call using the analog service provided > by the government-owned telephone monopoly, but it will cost you a whole lot > more. So much so, in fact, your frequency of calls will be greatly > diminished if you can afford them at all. The government says VOIP is > blocked for security reasons, yet even the residents of communist China and > North Korea have access to these inexpensive calls. > > 3. It is really hot outside. Not Florida in July hot; Hot as if you were > locked in a car in Florida in July with sufficient humidity to make it feel > as though you are drowning. Hot as in 120 degrees with nearly 100% humidity. > Do not look to the wind for relief. This is the equivalent of pointing a > hairdryer on full blast directly at your face. Pour fine moon dust- like sand > over your head as you do this and you get the picture. > > 4. There are too few trees, plants, and grass ââ¬â or living things aside from > us crazy humans, for that matter. Ever see a bird pant? I have. In my > opinion, human beings were not meant to live in such a place. If we were, > there would be sufficient water and shade. The only greenery around are the > roadside gardens planted by the government, who waters the hell out of them > in the middle of the day. Thanks a lot! Didn't you say we should cut down on > our water consumption because you are unable to keep up with the demand? I > have an idea: let's all move someplace where it's not 120 degrees outside. > > 5. This country prides itself so much on its glitz and glamour that it put a > picture of its 7-star hotel on the license plate. Yet, the public toilets in > the king-of-bling Gold Souk district are holes in the ground with no toilet > paper or soap. Hoses to rinse your nether regions, however, are provided. > This results in a mass of water on the floor that you must stand in to pee. > Try squatting without touching anything and keeping your pants from touching > anything either. Oh yeah. It's 120 degrees in there too. > > 6. This country encourages businesses to hire people from other poor > countries to come here and work. They have them sign contracts that are a > decade long and then take their passports. Even though taking passports is > supposedly illegal, the government knows it happens and does nothing to > enforce the law. These poor people are promised a certain pay, but the > companies neglect to tell them they will be deducting their cost of living > from their paychecks, leaving them virtually penniless ââ¬â that is, if they > choose to pay them. Companies hold back paychecks for months at a time. When the workers strike as a result, they are jailed. Protesting is illegal, you > see (apparently this law IS enforced). > > These people will never make enough to buy a ticket home and even if they > do, they do not have their passports. They live crammed in portables with > tons of others, in highly unsanitary conditions. The kicker: they are > building hotels that cost more to stay in for one night than they will make > in an entire year. Things are so bad that a number of laborers are willing > to throw themselves in front of cars because their death would bring their > family affluence in the form of diya, blood money paid to the victim's > family as mandated by the government. > > 7. Things are not cheaper here. I'm sick of people saying that. I read the > letters to the editor page of the paper and people say to those who complain > about the cost of living rising here, "Well, it's cheaper than your home > country or you wouldn't be here." The only thing cheaper here is labor. Yes, > you can have a maid - but a bag of washed lettuce will cost you almost $10. > > 8. There are traffic cameras everywhere. I consider this cheating. Where are > the damn cops? I drove around this city for weeks before I ever even saw a > cop. Trust me, they need traffic cops here. People drive like idiots. It's > perfectly okay to turn left from the far right lane, but speeding even just > a couple of kilometers over will get you fined. These cameras are placed > strategically as you come down hills, or just as the speed limit changes. > Before you know it BAM! Fined. Forget to pay the bill and your car will be > impounded.. > > 9. The clothing some of these women wear makes no sense to me. I understand > that as part of your religion you are required to dress in a particular way, > but a black robe over your jeans and turtleneck and cover your head when it > is 120 degrees outside? In the gym some women wear five layers of > clothing-sweatpants and t-shits over sweaters with headscarves. Yet the > men's clothing makes absolute sense: white, airy, and nothing underneath but > their skivvies. > > 10. People stare at you. I am sick of being stared at. I'm stared at by men > who have never seen a fair-skinned blue-eyed woman before, or who have and > think we are all prostitutes so it's okay to stare. They stare at me when I > am fully covered or with my husband, and even follow me around. It's beyond > creepy and has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. The staring is > not limited to men, either. I'm stared at angrily by female prostitutes who > think I am running in on their territory by having a few drinks with my > husband at the bar. > > 11. Prostitutes? Oh hell yes, there are prostitutes. Tons of them. So, let > me get this straight, I can't look at a naked picture of a person on the > Internet in the privacy of my home, but it is okay to go out in public and > buy a few for the night? > > 12. Alcohol can only be sold in hotels and a handful of private clubs. A > person must own a liquor license to consume in the privacy of their own > home. To obtain a liquor license you must get signed approval from your > boss, prove a certain level of salary that determines how much you are > allowed to buy, and then submit several mug shots (aka passport photos) for > approval. Pay the fee and the additional 30% tax on every purchase and you > may drink at home. Then again, you can just pick up a few bottles in the > airport duty free on your way in to the country, but two is the max. Why not > just drive out to Ajman where it's a free-for-all and load up the SUV? It's > easy enough, but crossing the Emirates with alcohol is illegal - > particularly in the dry emirate of Sharjah, which just happens to lie > between Dubai and Ajman. Go figure. > > 13. Not only do you have to get your boss's approval to obtain a liquor > license, but you must also get the company's approval to rent property, have > a telephone, or get satellite TV. > > 14. Back to the craziness on the roads: If I see one more kid standing up > and waving to me out the back window while flying down the road at 160 > kph whatever happened to seatbelts? > > 15. When is the weekend again? Let me get this straight: the weekend used to > be Thursday and Friday, but no one took off all of Thursday, just a half day > really. Now the government says Friday and Saturday are the weekend, but > some people only take off Friday, others still take a half day on Thursday, > but some might just take a half day on Saturday instead. Anyway you slice > it, Sundays are workdays and little business can be accomplished Thursday > through Saturday. > > 16. There are few satellite television operators:. The movie channels play > movies that are old and outdated. Many of them went straight to video back > in the States. Every sitcom that failed in the US has been purchased and is > played here. Old episodes of Knight Rider are advertised like it is the > coolest thing since sliced bread. The TV commercials are repeated so often > that I am determined NOT to buy anything I see advertised on television here > just for thee principle of it. When I say repeated often, I mean every > commercial break - sometimes more than once. > > 17. The roads are horribly designed. Driving ten minutes out of the way to > make a U-turn is not uncommon. People are not able to give directions most > of the time (remember reason #1), and the maps are little help because most > have few road names on them, if any. Where is interchange four? You just > have to hope you got on the freeway in the right place and start counting > because they are not numbered. Miss it and you'll likely end up on the other > side of town before you are able to turn around and go back. > > 18. Taxi drivers are dangerous and smell. Taxi drivers work very hard here > to earn a living because travel by taxi is still relatively inexpensive, > even though the cost of living is not (see reason #7). Because of this you > may have a driver who has had little sleep or the opportunity to shower for > several days. Many of these drivers have just as much difficulty finding > their way around as you do, but add to this a third-world country driving > style and extreme exhaustion and, well, remember to buckle up for safety. > > 19. Speeding is an Emirati sport and Emirates Road is just an extension of > the Dubai Autodrome. I know I keep mentioning the roads, but really, much of > this city's issues are encompassed by the erratic and irrational behavior > displayed on its streets. Visions of flashing lights on even flashier, > limo-tinted SUVs haunt me as I merge on to the highway. Local nationals are > somehow able to get the sun-protecting dark window tint denied to us lowly > expats and use it to hide their faces as they tailgate you incessantly at > unbelievably high speeds, their lights flickering on and off and horn > blaring repeatedly. It doesn't matter that you can't get over, or if doing > so would be particularly dangerous, they will run you off the road to get in > front of you. Don't even think about giving someone the finger; the offense > could land you in jail. Tailgating is, unbelievably, legal. > > 20. Dubai is far from environmentally friendly. Ever wonder how much damage > those manmade islands are doing to the delicate ocean ecosystem? Coral > reefs, sea grasses, and oyster beds that were once part of protected marine > lands lie choked under a barrage of dredged up sea sand. Consider the waste > that occurs from erecting buildings on top of these sand monsters and from > the people that occupy them coupled with the lack of an effective recycling > program and you have an environmental disaster on your hands. Add to this > more gas guzzling SUVs than fuel-efficient cars on the road and the need for > 24-hour powerful air-conditioning and its evident that the environment is > not high on the priority list of the UAE. > > So while I'm sure there are benefits to living in Dubai, tax breaks, > multi-cultural environments, and beautiful buildings aside, reconsider your > plans to move here if any of the above mentioned reasons strikes a chord > within you. Dubai is a city caught in an identity crisis. Struggling > somewhere between its desire to be a playground for the rich and its > adherence to traditional Islamic roots, rests a city that lacks sufficient > infrastructure to support its delusions of grandeur. Visit if you must, but > leave quickly before you are sucked into its calamitous void. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Bergabunglah dengan orang-orang yang berwawasan, di bidang Anda di Yahoo! Answers > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
