There are many ordinary things we have, see or do in our daily lives that we take for granted and never really think about. But after living in Dubai for too long we kind of start noticing these things and even missing them!
Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:
1. Blue skies
In Dubai, the sky has a yellowish, sandy color on most days. With all the dust, sand and humidity blowing up in the air every morning, sometimes it is hard to remember that the actual color of the sky should be blue.
2.Walking
Actually melted walking 10 metres from the hotel to the airport bus in Dubai. I'm just a puddle now. It was nice knowing all of you.
— Gerry (@geraldmellor) July 15, 2016
Yes, walking! To work, to school, to the local supermarket. We can’t really blame the weather for that because it is actually nice for most of the year. But maybe owning a car and the lack of pedestrian friendly roads mean that most of our walking is done inside shopping malls as opposed to the outdoors.
3. Seeing the stars
The sky is supposed to be lit up with stars at night, but we kind of miss seeing them in Dubai’s sky due to the sheer amount of brightly lit towers and highways. You need to go deep in the desert to be able to encounter starry skies.
4. Borrowing sugar from the neighbors
When was the last time you knocked on your neighbor’s door to borrow sugar or coffee? Yeah, I can’t remember either! In Dubai, you could live in your apartment for years without ever knowing the name of your neighbor or where they are from. In fact, it would be odd to know anything about them.
5. Afternoon naps
If you get to enjoy an afternoon nap in Dubai without having to go back to work afterwards then you are a dying breed… or you work in a government office!
6. Bumped up cars
Do you remember these scratched up cars with huge dents on the bumpers we used to see back home? No? Yeah, because you’ve been living in Dubai for too long!
7. Buying alcohol from the local shop
Forget about getting your wine from Spinney's or Carrefour. Instead, you have to travel all the way to another emirate (Barracuda in Umm Al Qaywayn) or wait till your next trip to stock up from the duty free.
8. Soft sand
If you go to JBR beach or Kite Beach a lot then you know what I’m talking about. The sand on Dubai’s beaches feels so harsh beneath your feet and you definitely can’t sink your toes into it. Where did all the nice and soft sand go in Dubai?!
9. Ordinary boutiques
The word boutique in Dubai means an exclusive shop in a fancy area with extremely overpriced items. It certainly doesn’t mean an ordinary shop with affordable merchandise and a serious sale.
10. Closed kitchens
In Dubai, we kind of miss making a meal in a separate, closed up kitchen without having our entire furniture and clothes smelling of garlic. We'd really like to see more walls around our kitchens in Dubai please.
