DXB
يمكن للمال جلب العروس
Money can fetch the bride
(money can make anything in life come true)
A month of travel ended here, in Dubai. DXB has been our transit stop for so long now.
The emirate is strangely familiar and unfamiliar to us, all at the same. This city was home to us for 5 years. We knew it well. But so much has changed in the ten years since we moved on.
There are signs of development everywhere. The Dubai metro, which revolutionised travel across the city has been extended. We rode to the end of the green line, to ‘Creek’ and see that there are plans afoot to keep going, across the water. Some stations have been re-named, using the brands of retailers or banks, rather than location.
The pace of life is not new to us but it is a shock all over again, after living in other places. People here talk fast, they walk fast. A man walks right up behind me, practically on my heels, before I move aside and let him pass. Why couldn’t he just walk around me? Must I ‘give way’?! A woman ‘butt bumps’ me with her trolley in the supermarket. Twice! Truly, what’s the rush?!
I watched ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ on the fight to DXB. And I’m reminded of the scene where the friends gather together over dinner in Rome. They discuss the idea that each city has a word. They say in London it’s ‘stuffy’, in Stockholm it’s ‘conform’, in New York, it’s ‘ambition’ and in Rome it’s Sex. If Dubai had a word, it would surely be money.
Money is why everyone comes here, to earn more than they would in their passport countries, to pay their kids uni fees, to set up their own business or over-pay a mortgage. I get it. We did the same. At one point I was working three jobs while we lived here; full time teaching in an international school, lecturing at a university and tutoring several students. You earn every dirham in Dubai, taking the opportunity to improve your life. And maybe that’s why some people seem so stressed. Everyone is working hard.
After the long flight we took time to walk around our friend’s neighbourhood, TECOM, which runs parallel to the busy Sheik Zayed Road. It’s changed completely since we left, when there was just one hotel and a lot of sand. Now there are multiple hotels, landscaped gardens, proper sidewalks and many apartment buildings. Construction of the neighbourhood is nearly finished.
There are many things that are instantly familiar; We sit and people watch, sipping on lemon mint coolers and listening to mynah birds chirping. We hear the the call to prayer for the first time in three years.
We gravitate towards things that we remember to be great in this city, away from the crowds; a stroll along the creek, meandering through the lanes of the Bastikiya, a visit to the beautiful XVA gallery. We enjoy all the different aromas coming from the street food vendors.
We took two abra rides on the creek. And the cost was exactly the same as 15 years ago, 2 dirhams per ride, possibly the best value thing to do in the emirate.
It was really good to be back
But the best thing of all were the familiar faces of friends, ones who we typically see in transit and who we’ve missed seeing in the last three years, when international travel was so altered.
We took the chance to catch up all of each other’s news, sharing hopes and plans for the future.
© Maggie M / Mother City Time