Dubai Trip Journal (Day 1-3)

Day 1: 28 Aug 2008
Worried that I might not be able to wake up, I set three alarm times on my phone. However, I managed to wake up within the first ring, and after just closing my eyes for less than 4 hours. Deep in me I hoped that yesterday was a nightmare – hope that the decision Carlos made was reversed! Well, putting that aside, I got ready in just half an hour before having some yogurt and leaving at 5.20am. The journey was pleasant and Heathrow Terminal 4 was much better than Terminal 3(less packed, more organised).

Whilst checking in, I got annoyed with some people who just cut the queue, and being like everyone else(and like the English, according to Kate in her book”Watching the English”), I did not say a word, but patiently(a state which I rarely am – but improving with age) waited for my turn to check in as I was not in a hurry. Well, aft doing a bit of duty free shopping, I boarded the plane – things were very smooth with KLM. Upon reaching my seat(18B) I happy sat down waiting for two strangers to sit beside me. Then this black woman and her kid came. Being the kind person as I am, I offered to sit at the side so they can sit together – just to be greeted by a sour face. Such attitude man! That just pissed me off-but I was in a calm mood. Anyways, suddenly an oriental lady claimed that I was on her seat. That was confusing – I checked my ticket and it was my mistake – my seat was actually 19B. That’s what a sleep deprived person would do – mix up 8 and 9. I felt bad – but nevertheless the black lady had an attitude throughout, even when leaving the plane. It just further strengthens my previous judgement on them(with babies on the bus) – so NOT courteous. Anyways, I don’t mean all, but I have encountered a fair number of them.

At schiphol airport, Amsterdam the two+ hours of stop over was not really beneficial as the wifi was nor free – had to buy certain amount of credit which I did not bother. Interestingly, the prices of things in the duty free shop is priced at the same amount if GBP1 were t be equal to about EUR 1.4 to EU1.5. Hence, a traveler with pound sterling definitely feels the pinch – things in Heathrow seems to be cheaper now…

Another interesting point to note is that I saw quite a number of wind turbines, well spaced whilst descending down to schiphol.

Watched two movies on the plane to Dubai: What happened in Vegas and Iron man. Upon arrival in Dubai, there was as brief power cut. They were running on emergency power for about 30 minutes – so passing through passport control was weird – cos it was dark(got 30 days visa). Waited more than 1 hour for my bag, met Sara and waited a while for the cab. First day itself we had shisha at a place down Chelsea Towers(where we stayed). Shisha cost 30Dhs, which is slightly less than GBP5. Pound Sterling is really bad that the exchange rate is 1GBP = 6.65Dhs(but the guy was good to give 6.66 LOL).

Slept at about 5am!!!

View outside the window(16th floor of chelsea towers):

Day 2: 29 Aug 2008
Woke up at nearly 2pm!!! Went to the Mall of Emirates. Saw the ski slope – reminds me of Mines resort in Malaysia. But, definitely does not match the ski experience in proper slopes! Had some Turkish food – kebab ish. And the meal comes with a soft drink and fries although it did not show on the display(reminds me of the Chilean story where everything comes with coke) – damn soft drink companies!!!The mall was huge with loads of shops and famous brands. But prices aren’t that cheap -it is more expensive than London or Kuala Lumpur, which is surprising considering they are a tax-free nation.

We then took a cab to the beach – Jumeirah Beach Park, after the sun set. So, we sat around for a bit – cost us 5Dhs each to enter the public beach(and they call it PUBLIC). Basic economic law suggests that public good are free, non excludability and not rivalry – clearly this does not exhibit a public good! Water was warm and the view was just lights around it…

We had a nightmare waiting for the cab to go back – took ages before Sara called for a cab, after being prompted. After freshening up, we decided to go to Buddha Bar near Dubai Marina. It is very difficult to get into this place without a reservation. We played a small trick(saying we lived in that hotel) to get in..that was a close call as they asked for our room number etc. The bar was really nice – dark atmosphere. I had a dragon ginseng drink(very exotic drinks there – some with lychee, jackfruit, ginseng etc which is very Asian), while Sara had a Strawberry Mei Mojito. Deciding to come just for a drink, suddenly we had a place to sit – so we had sushi which cost a bomb(I think), accompanied by a nice Riesling wine. So, that was a very good evening spent!

Day 3: 30 Aug 208
Poor Sara had to wake up early to work from 10am to 3pm. I woke up at 12pm, went to change my currency and came back for lunch at the room(Baker’s choice and mixed fruit juice). The Desert Safari was planned for the evening. We got a really good deal whereby we pay 139Dhs for the whole Desert safari experience. Sara initially booked for 280Dhs, without realising this cheaper option – luckily I saw this advert in a book!!! Malaysians and their deal seeking ability …

So the driver came over at nearly 5pm(due to jam) to pick us up and drove quite a long way away from the coast to the desert area. We were gathered at the beginning of the desert – and these Land Rovers tend to go in groups to avoid anyone being stranded. First was the dune bashing where these vehicles go up and down the slopes, like a roller coaster ride – very bumpy and uncomfortable after a while. Heavy lunch is not advised before participating in this. We saw a few camels during the trip…some even crossing the roads. Then we reached the camp site, where we had a very short camel ride, dressed up in the middle eastern clothes for pictures, buffet dinner of shawarma etc, was entertained by a belly dancer who was fantastic, had the hubby bubbly(sheesha) and had my hand painted by a henna artist! All the experience of a middle easter country in one night!!! We were all seated on the floor(with cushion and carpet) and the tables are very low as well(ala Japanese style).

Heading back, we got to see the view of Dubai city from a far. It reminded me of New York from a far(only less densed). We had a brief swim at the pool(good to swim at night cos it is outdoor pool;hence very sunny and uv-prone during the day). Apparently it only rains 5 times a year!!! How bad is that? haha…After our shower, we head down to Chelsea Garden(the hotel restaurant) for second dinner and sheesha. The sheesha here was surprisingly better and cheaper(25Dhs) than last nights. And it lasts long! The food prices here can be expensive. Bearing in mind that 1Dhs = RM1, the briyani is 40Dhs(about 6GBP), the fruit juice at 25Dhs(about 4GBP) and the soup is 18Dhs(slightly less than 3GBP).

New Malaysian missions

I was reading the post by Lim Kit Siang in his blog about the 10 highlights for Merdeka II for a new Malaysia. The ideas seem very appealing – I hope this can be achieved in the long run. It’s good to have a long term mission and vision. But I sincerely hope the transition will be gradual and at the same time not neglecting any parties. This is of course an idealistic view that any government will try to achieve, but holds back due to limitations such as monetary, information and man power. What really drew my attention is his mention that Malaysia was the 2nd most developed nation in Asia(not South East Asia, but ASIA!!!) after we got our independence in 1957 – the first being Japan of course as they were the super power in Asia then. This directly translated that we were better off under the British than our own people. So where did we go wrong? Now we are second in South East Asia after Singapore. With the current investment flows in Vietnam, looks like we will be trailing behind in the future years. Current countries that are developed are all chinese related – Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore.

So, what are we doing to get back on track – meet our vision 2020. Is it still on? By the looks of many cancelled projects and budget being channeled to ‘other things’, we just have to wait and see.

Changing supervisors

I had a big shock today when Carlos mentioned that he resigned! just before my trip to Dubai tomorrow, I am really taken aback! Now, I have to think of which supervisors to lean towards. Given that all of them are professors, it is very difficult indeed!Well, it then depends which direction I want to give to my research.

Carlos is well liked by everyone – especially students as he is very open, informal and dedicates time to his students. I am definitely going to miss this!!! So sad…:(

Any advice on how to choose a supervisor?

Dubai, UAE

I will be away in Dubai for the next ten days! The hotness is scary, but hopefully the beach and safari experience will compensate for that! Not to forget the Shisha!!! Should be staying somewhere on this road:

Randy Pausch

People have been talking about this professor who was famous for his ‘Last Lecture’ – Randy Pausch. He gave the last lecture keeping in mind that it will benefit his kids, but people all around the world was taken aback by his lecture. So, if you do have the time, please feel free to explore his webpage.

Some stats about oil producers

These graphs show the top oil producing countries and the countries with the most oil reserves, obtained from here.

Many of these countries are enjoying high income from the sales of oil in the international oil market, given that their cost is the same and prices are rising. However, when we look at the reserves, we realise that Saudi Arabia and Canada tops the list. Countries like Canada have a lot of reserve which are too expensive to be explored. Only when price of oil rises above a certain level that producers will find it lucrative to start investing in this operation. We wonder whether prices will actually rise to that extent or alternative fuels will be vastly available that oil is easily substitutable. The future of these countries can be extremely bright if the first scenario were to happen!

Electric car charging points

The new London mayor is doing a good job by increasing the number of charging points for electrical cars in London. Alongside other incentives such as no congestion fee and parking fee for these cars, this move will definitely take away another barrier – lack of charging points. This can enable users to prolong the journey, will less worry about places to ‘fuel up’ their cars at these Juice Points.

Electric cars in London has incease from 90 in 2003 to 1600 in 2008[Economist]. This incease of nearly 17 times can be caused by he increase in petrol prices as well as the incentives drawn up by the government favouring electric cars. Well, we hope that more people will take up the challenge and switch to electric cars. At the same time, we don’t want the congestion to increase.

Rise in UK inflation

The Metro today reported that prices are rising pretty steeply in the UK. This affects almost all basic things such as petrol, electricity, meat, milk, bread etc. And rises are all more than 10% – which is alarming. I do feel it every time I shop at Tesco, my bill is always going up(lately) – and most of the time, more than £20 per shopping, instead of less than £15 per shopping before this. Makes me wonder how about changes in prices at M&S and Waitrose(the high end ones). It is implied that people who shop there can afford the things at these places – when prices increase, they might stay with them(the rich ones) whereas the lower income ones might switch to Tesco/Morrisons/Sainsbury, reducing their total revenue. So, are Tesco, Sainsbury etc benefitting from this consumer switch? Let’s wait and see their next profit announcement.

New room

Last weekend was pretty hectic, moving rooms between Yins and me. Although the new room is smaller, it is pretty space efficient. Check out the poster – bought in Spain few years back(finally managed to put it up!).

And the view outside my window after the rain on Sunday. If you look closely you will see the second rainbow on the left of the ‘main’ rainbow.

More hydroelectric dams in Sarawak(E&T Magazine)

Sarawak’s state government has decided to explore their hydro potential by building 12 more dams by 2020. The total capacity they plan to reap from this venture is 4.8GW. If Bakun is also competed, Sarawak will have a total of 7.2GW! The current 930MW seems minute to the end figure we aim to achieve. Contruction is due to start in October this year. Well, hopefully this would help us increase our renewable energy capacity and hence displace some fossil fuel plant production. This however, will be quite tricky, given that we have IPPs operating fossil fuel plants – that we need to take as we are paying for it. How about exporting power produced by the dams in Sarawak to areas that need them in Borneo itself? Would it be viable? Is there demand for it?

Reports:

The Star

Malaysiakini

The diagram below, taken from Inside Sarawak, shows the location of these dams. Let’s hope these do not damage the environment extensively and do not cost us (Malaysia) losses in terms of natural reserves and tourism activities.