This is how it looks like while standing in the middle of taxi queue in the Diera City Centre Mall.

The queue is generally formed in two stages. The first stage starts from inside the mall which leads to the separate area for taxi queue, the stage two. Actually, the queuing area for taxi is not big enough to accommodate all the passengers so the line drags down deep inside the mall.

What people stand in the line waiting for their turn, they don’t realize the queue is longer than it seems. So when they reach stage two a big scream is uttered by them because stage two is almost as long as stage one.

Words can’t do justice with this menace. You have to experience it yourself to understand how it feels.

Dubai Bowling Club is located on Sheikh Zayed Road in the Al Qouz area. I happened to go there a couple of days with friends and had a great time. It had been a while since I last played bowling and I had plenty of fun.

In addition to bowling there was pool, foosball, and many other electronic gaming machines.

The main reason I enjoyed the place was because it was not in a mall. It’s the first time I didn’t go to a place not located inside a mall.

After I get a car I will certainly visit this place more often.

Since mango season is at its peak, mangoes from different parts of world can be seen for sale at stores around Dubai.

I love mangoes and I used to enjoy best quality mangoes while I lived in Pakistan. It is believed that Pakistan produces some of the best mangoes in the world.

In Dubai, I came across these mangoes from Pakistan for sale at Carrefour.

In case the picture doesn’t do justice, these are the worst quality mangoes I have ever seen. They were also the cheapest of all. Nevertheless, we decided to buy a couple out of patriotism, but when we cut one the next day, there were worms in it. Imagine that.

On the contrary, below is a picture of mangoes from India being sold in the same store.

As apparent, the quality of these mangoes was superior. They also tasted pretty good, though not as good as Pakistani mangoes I enjoyed while living in Pakistan.

So the point of this post is that someone in Pakistan is not doing their job properly, since the country that produces best mangoes in the world is exporting such a bad quality fruit, that also with worms in it. Not a good way to promote your country. If India who is farther away from Dubai can export quality produce here then why can’t Pakistan do the same.

Dubai Metro, the much hyped urban transport system of Dubai, scheduled to start operations in September 2009, started testing the trains on completed tracks.

The video below shows all.

This looks very interesting.

I still can’t say how successful this project will be, but for me, if it allows me to reach office on time, without getting stuck in traffic jams, at a fraction of cost, and a way to survive the scorching heat while waiting for the train, then I am all for leaving my car at home and using it for my daily commutes.

I have a very different kind of interaction experience with the CEO of my current company.

In the last two companies I worked with, I was pretty close to the CEO. I used to visit their office often, discuss work, life, and everything in between. The CEO used to come to office regularly, be involved in company matters, know their employees by name, and participate in company events.

But all I know about the CEO of my company in Dubai is his name. I hardly ever see him, and going in his office is out of question, even though his office is just five steps away from my seat. He shows up only two or three days in the month, and I seriously doubt he even knows my name, and what role I play in his organization.

I think that’s how it is in larger companies with hundreds and thousands of employees. The CEO only deals with his vice presidents. He has nothing to do with employees. I am not sure if this is good or not, but sometimes I really miss interacting with the CEO of the company.

If twitter is something you do, you can follow me there. Sometimes I come up with interesting stuff there. Plus my new posts are tweeted on twitter.

Image via WikipediaA terror alert has been issued, more specifically for British citizens living in Dubai and UAE, by the British Embassy in Dubai.

The reason this news is important is because Dubai, despite all its problems, is believed to be one of the safest places in the world. No one can deny the fact that crime rate is negligible here and terror attacks are unimaginable.

So when a terror threat is elevated for Dubai, this is really something to be worried about. I really wish and pray that nothing happens here and things remain peaceful as ever, but if something bad happens then that will damage the image of Dubai somewhat. It will no longer be the peaceful city where everyone prefers to live.

On a humorous note, this might be a rumor spread by someone who is interested in buying property in Dubai. Any bad news can bring down the prices of real estate and new investors can benefit from it.