Dubai - May 28, 2006

Second day in Dubai, we are provided with shuttle service which picks us up at 8:00 AM. It took us around 45 minutes to reach the office. Along the way I saw the 7 Star Hotel, Burj Al Arab (http://www.burj-al-arab.com/).

Siemens office in Dubai is located in the Dubai Internet City, the "City" is quite big and hold all big IT companies like, Microsoft, Dell, Logica, IBM, HP and Canon. We had a short meeting and introduction with our Project Manager then off to work. We had lunch at Southern Fried Chicken which is located in our building. After lunch we walked around the compund and saw other restaurants. As expected there's quite a number of Filipinoes working in, not just in Siemens, but also around the "City". Funny thing is they never recognize me since I was always walking with my Thai and Chinese colleagues, so they would also assume that I am Chinese.



After work, the Project Manager invited the whole team to have dinner together. We went to Ibn Battuta Mall which is a mix culture mall (http://www.ibnbattutamall.com/). I had Iranian food which are mainly, kebabs. The food is quite nice and I think I will really gain weight.





First impressions or observations here in Dubai:
A lot of construction.
Multi-culture race. A lot of "Kabayans" or Filipinoes for this matter, that's how they call each other here.
Food 3 or 4 times more expensive than Bangkok.
SMS, local and international, is cheaper than Bangkok.
Traffic in the main highway, Sheikh Zayed Road.
Malls are big and spacious. Not too much people around.
Jollibee, yes, there's a Jollibee here. I attached a photo it is a bit dark but it's besides MarryBrown.
FIlipino goods (CDO, Purefoods, Reno, Chippy, Clover and a lot more) are also seen in supermarket.
Low rise structures are common here, although there's a row of high rise structures on one part of Sheikh Zayed Road.
Laundry is also expensive. Shirt is 4 AED, Pants are 5 AED.