Everything's tickedy-boo.

I'm back in Dubai sorting, culling and packing.  How can people accumulate so much stuff'?  We arrived in Dubai with one suitcase each but we'll need a 40 foot container (possibly two) to leave.

It seems like Sunday was the start of an official 'Everything's Tickedy-Boo in Dubai' campaign. The media has bombarded the public with positive stories; Business Bay is surging ahead, there are blokes are on the radio saying property prices have reached their lowest point and the market is bouncing back. Meanwhile, down at the shops, Deira City Centre is confident of an expanding retail market and will be building 55 new shops.  Who these potential property buyers are, where they'll come from and most interesting, why they would buy in Dubai is not explained and the commentators have obviously never heard the expression 'Once bitten, twice shy'. Dubai's reputation as a safe place for investment has been muddied by the property market implosion.  What rules there were, were shown to be woefully inadequate to deal with the fallout.  Currently there are ongoing complaints and some law suits by investors who have lost their money on developments that have been shelved for the foreseeable future.  Reputation, like virginity, is something that once lost, cannot be restored (yeh I know about the operation but you see my point?)  There would need to be a vast number of people move into Dubai to get rid of the current glut of property units, (those people won't be coming from the construction industry) and did anyone say the magic word "visa"?  Where are the jobs for these people?  It also comes as a rude shock to prospective purchasers when they find that their 'residence visa' in Dubai only lasts for 6 months at a time and then they have to leave and request a renewal. So why would they?  There are markets that welcome their investment, Malaysia for example and its "My Second Home" programme. In response to the current oversupply in Dubai developers are holding back on releasing development units.  The hotel sector is reportedly taking the biggest hit, with one example being the shelving of the Kempinski hotel on the Palm Jumeirah which will remain a shell for the next two years  Ulrich Eckhardt, Kempinski’s head of the Middle East and Africa said “I’m concerned about what I consider poor planning from those in a position to approve new hotels.  He continued, "Building permission was granted without studying “existing inventory, growth rates and future demand." (Just because you get permission to build doesn't mean you have to do it surely?  I would have thought the hotel company itself would have taken a look at the state of the market but there you go....)

With oil prices rising due to the Libyan crisis the number of international travellers is expected to fall, and let's face it, the Middle East is not currently the holiday destination of choice.
Back to the Deira City Centre expansion, Q1: How long ago did they shut their 'luxury arcade' due to lack of custom? Q2: Will the expansion take over more of the car park? Will Deira CC end up like Doha City Centre in Qatar?  Doha CC is a shopping mall almost the size of Mall of the Emirates but with the car park space of Spinneys in Jumeira. Oh yes and Frederick's of Hollywood is opening 10 shops in the Middle East this despite, and this may come as a surprise to many readers, the lingerie market here being saturated - a strange irony isn't it?

Finally, the metro (which I would use regularly if it ran to anywhere near where I work from anywhere near where I live) and which according to local media carries, I don't know, about 17 zillion passengers every week, is cutting back on staff and decreasing the frequency of services.

But everything's tickedy boo.....

Take the Metro to Dubai Airport but don't bring your suitcase.

The RTA in Dubai has published figures which show the Metro station at Terminal 3 of Dubai airport is the least used of the 10 stations opened to date. You'd think it would be one of the busiest with people heading out to catch planes or to meet incoming passengers, but there's a snag...suitcases are not allowed on the Dubai Metro. Only "carry-on" luggage is allowed because the RTA wants to prevent hordes of people using the train for goods deliveries.  What other train system in the world has this bizarre rule?  Why aren't the rail authorities in London, New York, Paris or Moscow quaking at the thought of their train carriages filling up with fridge movers, the IKEA delivery guys and battalions of blokes pushing trolleys loaded with photocopier paper?
Source: ArabianBusiness.com 18 Oct 09
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Transport chiefs might look at increasing the luggage allowance for passengers on the Dubai Metro if they are inundated by requests to do so, it was reported on Sunday.
Current rules allow commuters to carry only hand luggage, which has left many Arabian Business reader wondering why stations were built at Dubai International Airport.
Since the launch of the rail system, many readers have left comments on stories asking for the Roads and Transport Authority to reconsider the rules.
Peyman Parham, director of marketing and corporate communication, RTA, told Emirates Business: "If just a few people come and ask us for more baggage allowance, we will not consider it. But if tens of thousands said they would use the Metro if they are allowed to carry heavy luggage we would consider it."
A station at Terminal 1 has yet to open, although Terminal 3 station, which exclusively services Emirates airline flights, is in operation.
Parham insisted that business travellers would still ride the Metro.
"Dubai is a centre of transit and many people travel light. We're allowing bag sizes that one would typically pack for a short three- or four-day trip somewhere. And there are many of those travellers," he told the paper.
But he added that the Rail Department conducted regular mobility studies for issues such as these.
"Nothing is set in stone. We will run a study for this issue when the appeals increase. If the study tells us a majority of travellers will use the metro if they are allowed to carry more luggage, I can tell you it will be considered," he said.
The Dubai Metro launched its Red Line more than a month ago on September 9 and has transported more than a million passengers since.
When completed mid-next year, the Red line will have 29 stations spanning 52.1km and run from Al Rashidiya to Jebel Ali along Sheikh Zayed Road for most of its length.

It's alive........

The Dubai Metro train has been doing test runs along the track almost every day and seems to be getting a faster each time. Here are a few photos taken from the office window as the train disappears between the buildings on Sheikh Zayed Road.

It's alive!

I've finally seen the train that will run on the Dubai Metro line. This afternoon as we were on Sheikh Zayed Road out near Jebel Ali the train came zipping along on the track that runs parallel to SZR.

From what I've seen of the track construction so far, the track is such an up and down corkscrew ride, that I reckon they'll have to hand out a sick bag with every ticket.