About Boy Dubai - Page 71 of 80 - Boy Dubai: Experiencing Dubai

Public Inter-city Buses in Dubai will have a WiFi

News

Ion

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October 4, 2011

Finally! Installing WiFi spots on public buses is what I’ve been long waiting for. According to an article in Dubai-Bus website, “The authority is also planning to launch a number of value added services like wifi connectivity on some intercity bus routes to attract young and net-savvy commuters.“

As far as I know, intercity bus routes means Dubai to Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Ajman or other Emirates only (?).

Public buses in Dubai are mostly patronized by up to middle-class, average-income earning populate in the Emirates. And most often, you will see the a lot of commuters using their Blackberry, iPhones and iPADs while traveling.

It is not clearly mentioned though if the WiFi will be free. In Dubai Metro, you have to subscribe to Du and pay per consumption – that just sucks.

“The most efficient & convenient way to circle the city“
Since Dubai Bus aims to be the most efficient and convenient public transport to circle the city, I hope they also address some concerns. How can it be convenient if they always fill up the bus to more than its fullest? Last year they were strict on not allowing anyone standing on any Dubai-Sharjah-Dubai buses. How can it be comfortable if they allow unhygienic people aboard? They prohibit food and drinks to preserve the cleanliness in the bus, and to avoid unwanted smelly foods. But you know what, I’d rather have those smelly foods in than other unpleasant odor coming from… sure, you know what I mean.

Worst(est) Traffic in Al Ittihad, Sharjah-Dubai Road Ever

Life Abroad

Ion

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October 2, 2011

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Photo from Khaleej TImes Online

This past week has been the worst(est) traffic jam I’ve ever experienced in Ittihad Sharjah-Dubai Road. I left Sharjah 6:40am and reached Hor Al Anz, DEIRA 8:50am. That’s a whopping 2 hours and 10 minutes road trip for a distance less than 12km. My everyday travel used to be an hour given the constant morning rush. This week, 90minutes is the shortest I could.

The reason? Some construction is going on at the border of Dubai and Sharjah. Khaleej Times reported that the 6-year closed Mamzar Exit is being reconstructed and will be converted into an exclusive ‘Bus and Taxi Only’ lane. Any private vehicles that would enter will be fined AED600.

Bus and Taxi Lane for Sharjah-Dubai Road

Will it really ease the traffic? Honestly, it’s highly unlikely that much. The lane is just about a kilometer long, and starts at the foot of Al Nahda bridge. The morning traffic clog in Sharjah commonly starts beyond the 2nd subway in Al Wahda Road.

Also, public buses in Sharjah leave every 20minutes, and there are only about 6-8 Dubai terminal destinations – that’s just 8 Dubai-bound buses leaving every 20 minutes (add the one Abu Dhabi bound bus that leaves every hour). I don’t see that much Dubai-bound taxis every morning as well. Bottom line, it is still the private cars that clog the roads.

Public buses also only use the Al Wahda Road. Traffic jam starts actually from other sub-highways that leads to the bottleneck Ittihad Road. Al Khan and Al Nahda bridges alone bring a volume of cars in the morning.

But anyway, the effort is appreciable. I hope my theories are wrong. I hope this move would at least slowly ease the spelled Sharjah-Dubai traffic. Rumors say that this lane will be opened on 1st of November which is the RTA Public Transport Day.

Get TEDx Dubai Admissions Through FreeRice

Events

Ion

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October 1, 2011

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TEDxDubai is giving you a chance for a free admission to this edition’s TEDx. All you have to do is play on Freerice.com, and play til you get your rice donations higher. Here’s how:

Create an account on FreeRice.com here. You can use Facebook or Twitter Connect too.
Join TEDx Dubai Group here
Start playing

Click here for the rules to guide you in playing.

By October 15th, the top 5 rice donors will get an admission to TEDxDubai 2011 ″The Beauty of Small Things” taking place on the 22nd of October. Winners will be also asked to go onstage during the FreeRice segment.

Not only that you’re helping yourself into a free admission, you’re also assisting the cause. At FreeRice.com the more you play by testing your knowledge in different areas, the more grains of rice are donated through the World Food Program.

TEDxDubai 2011 The Beauty of Small Things | Teaser 2 from Giorgio Ungania on Vimeo.

*Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

Burj Khalifa Ushers Mission Impossible 4 Movie Poster

Life Abroad

Ion

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September 30, 2011

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Google Day UAE 2011

Events

Ion

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September 30, 2011

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Calling all Developers, Entrepreneurs, Students, Webmasters, IT and Business Professionals!

For the first time ever in the United Arab Emirates, Google will be hosting g|uae on October 19 & 20 in Dubai.

“Google is very excited to meet with computer science students, software developers, small businesses and tech entrepreneurs in the UAE. We will be demonstrating Google’s suite of products that are driving innovation in technology and business across the globe, and here in the Middle East.”

Visit this link – as it will be updated regularly and will soon include details on the agenda, so make sure to come back to the site for regular updates! Registration is free but slots are limited. You may take the quiz, err, register on the same link and choose which day/s would you attend to, and your registration will be confirmed until some few weeks (which is weird though). Be sure you’re ready to answer a few algorithmic and syntactical questions eh…

Again, visit the site – https://sites.google.com/site/guae2011/

Philippine Film Festival in Dubai, UAE

Life Abroad

Ion

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September 28, 2011

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How to win free tickets to see Britney Spears Live in Abu Dhabi

Life Abroad

Ion

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September 27, 2011

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Simply visit www.yasalam.ae to sign-up and get a chance to win two of 10,000 invitations to see Britney Spears perform at the Yasalam first after-race concert.

YASALAM AFTER RACE CONCERTS happen on 11 to 13 November at the Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Aside from the pop princess, American rock band Incubus, British rock band The Cult and music legend Sir Paul McCartney are set to light up Abu Dhabi as part of this year’s ‘Live on Yas Island’ concert series.

Ushering the main events is BEATS ON THE BEACH, happening on 09 to 12 November. It has become one of the hottest events within the Yasalam programme – ‘Beats on the Beach’ has acted as a platform for local artists to showcase their talent alongside some of the most popular performers from across the region and the world.

Expected to perform on the BEATS are: Example, Fat Boy Slim, Jay Sean, Najwa Karam, and Saber Rebai among others.

LIKE ThinkFlash on Facebook to keep on the loop.

The Rib Room Experience at Emirates Towers

Food Trip

Ion

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September 25, 2011

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We’ve just had one fine Thursday evening again, this time at The Rib Room in Jumeirah Emirates Towers. This newly re-launched steakhouse already boasts of its stylish cozy interiors, before you even savor with what’s on the menu. The serenading live saxophone adds class to the already-posh atmosphere. We were welcomed and ushered politely into our table by the receptionist. Offered and asked about what we wanted to have for a drink.

THE MENU
The Rib Room is famous for their, well, signature rib dishes. The appetizers are more of seafood varieties (oyster, mussels, prawns, calamari, lobster) than beef and salads. The mains have classic steaks and ribs. Chateaubriand, Australian Beef Tomahawk, Beef Fillet Wellington, Wagyu Beef and Pork Baby Spareribs are some of their drooling main course. Rest of the menu you’ll find Grilled, Fish and Shellfish, Vegetarian Options, and of course the side dishes and sauces.

Have a look at The Rib Room PDF menu here.

We were served with a complimentary bread. Also, recommended with a Zinfandel Red Wine (I forgot the name), rich in taste and is very smooth. Perfect match for our meaty and seafood orders.

OUR ORDERS

Prawn Cocktail

I had Prawn Cocktail for appetizer. I’ve seen this one on a cooking demo during Taste of Dubai and finally I’ve had a taste. It’s a 7-8 layers of medium-sized prawns with slices of avocado in it, in a ketchup-mayo-like dressing, topped with some herbs, and a rye bread at bottom of it. It was served semi-chilled. It’s excellent! The combination of the tasty prawns and the medium-sweet avocado is perfect. But I guess I would have preferred it better when it’s not chilled when served.

Spicy Fried Calamari with Tartar Sauce

Wife had Spicy Fried Calamari served with lemon and Tartar Sauce. I like that the calamari isn’t rubber-like. The breading is mildly spicy and really tasty when dipped with tartar sauce. We didn’t even need to squeeze the lemon in the sauce.

Australian Wagyu Beef Stockyard Rib Eye

Wife had 200 grams Australian Wagyu Beef Stockyard Rib Eye – because this is the only ‘fat’ she loves. Yes, well done (how cute is that potato strip on that photo huh). It’s not the typical thick steak cut and she’s happy about it. I tried it, tastes good, but I guess it would taste best with a black peppercorn sauce rather than the Lemon and Tarragon sauce she asked for it. It comes with a bowl of flavorful Tempura Wasabi Fries too (look below behind the lobster) – it’s a must try!

Atlantic Lobster (and the bowl of Tempura Wasabi Fries)

For me is the Atlantic Lobster – the typical grilled one. One thing about big lobsters is sometimes they have less flavor than the smaller ones. I’m not sure if there’s a better dip for it than the Hollandaise – that was what our server recommended. Maybe because it’s too big, I find it a bit slimy in the long eating. Generally, this one’s a winner! My side is a Baked Potato with Sour Cream, not bad.

American Cheesecake with Strawberry Ice Cream

Warm Chocolate Liquid Fondant

To end the night, we had American Cheesecake with Strawberry Ice Cream and Warm Chocolate Liquid Fondant. Nothing really extraordinary about the cheesecake and the ice cream, but they were good. I like the chunky berries and the syrup on top. And so with my chocolate fondant, the liquid chocolate inside was not too warm though. Although the chiffon was not as soft as I was expecting.

We left the restaurant happy, satisfied and thinking of going back again. We left with a complimentary cupcake each.

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The Rib Room, located on the Lobby Level, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, is open for lunch from 12.30pm and dinner from 7.00p. Visit their website here.

An Event for People New In Dubai

Events

Ion

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September 20, 2011

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Are you new in Dubai? Still getting into it? Want to know the things you could do, or not do? Where and when to go? Then NEW IN DUBAI is an event for you. New in Dubai is an event full of useful information on clubs, sporting activities, art groups, doctors, dentists, help in the house, banking, insurance, green issues, job opportunities, ladies groups, charities, children’s groups, talks on local etiquette and regulations, language schools, driving schools, your pets and a whole lot more.

It’s happening on 1 October, 2011 | 10am – 6pm at Conference Centre, Knowledge Village

Join the New to Dubai facebook page for a chance to win some exciting prizes at the event! Click here to register.

Check the website for more info: http://www.newtodubai.org/

Here’s a clip on who will be there and what else to expect on the event:

Photo Blog: Snow Park at Ski Dubai Experience

Outside Dubai

Ion

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September 18, 2011

1

We had a great time at the Snow Park inside Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates.

“Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, or just playing in the snow. Young or old, there is something for everyone, from the beginner to the snow sport enthusiast. Ski Dubai is a unique mountain-themed attraction that offers you the opportunity to enjoy real snow in Dubai all year round.” – SkiDxb.com

You can enter the park for AED120 per person that comes with a complete snow suite. You have to buy gloves though (you need to) at the Ski Store. The cheapest, yet really usable, you could get is the Ski Dubai branded cotton for AED20 each.

Strolling in the -3*C Snow Park is one among the basic things you can do inside. You can roam around the park except the ski and cable cars area. You can glide and slide, climb the rocks, cross and pose on the hanging bridge, and you can pull and ride some sleighs too.

Here are some of our photos taken at the park: