Tag: gifts

Chevas/J Walker vs Old Monk Rum

Posted on Posted in Dubai Super City!, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

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I am a Chevas Regal fan( Ahem, only when I can’t get my Indian rum; the attendant at the duty free shop was horrified at the thought of displaying such a monstrosity as Old Monk Rum) ( On the other hand the grapevine on Whatsapp had revealed that they had just unearthed a factory making spurious Chevas Regal and Johnnie Walker Black Label back in New Delhi, India) and we find an offer of one free one litre bottle with three litre bottles of Chivas. At least the quality of my booze is guaranteed here. My Whatsapp has started working with the free Dubai airport wifi and so I ask my daughter  if she approves of the deal and she tells me to jump with alacrity at this great offer. I also buy some white wine. Every person is allowed to buy four litres of liquor at the duty free well equipped shop. Liquor inside Dubai is not served in restaurants except those attached to five star hotels. It is a trick to learn to catch the happy hours of five stars in Dubai. Women are offered two to three free drinks on Tuesdays and on Mondays in some hotels. Well that smells a bit of female chauvinism. Fridays and Saturdays have noon to five great lunch offers with drinks. So grab that copy of DBX and ShortList and learn about all the hotspots of town.

I have seen airports but this is tremendous. The scale of things here is amazing. Dubai is Utopia in the desert; an engineering feat to be marvelled at. It is a remote corner of the world which has become a great tourist hub. Really watching the lunar landscape of the peninsula from the plane one wonders at this magnificent growth of man’s achievements in the desert. Dubai is a sporting hub too (remember the Federer vs Agassi match on the tennis court on the platform of the Burj al Arab?). In fact the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Tournament will be ongoing during our visit. The Federer vs Agassi event was a promotion for this tennis tournament 13 years ago.  The airport itself is a wonder connected by a fast metro to our baggage drop point. It is gigantic in size, the airport. Salman Khan smiles back at me from a hoarding for a local brand. I quickly grab a free copy of the first copy of DBX. Maybe this will be worth a million dollars in a hundred years like the Dubai Airport Duty Free raffle.

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I have seen airports but this is tremendous. The scale of things here is amazing. Dubai is Utopia in the desert; an engineering feat to be marvelled at. It is a remote corner of the world which has become a great tourist hub. Really watching the lunar landscape of the peninsula from the plane one wonders at this magnificent growth of man’s achievements in the desert. Dubai is a sporting hub too (remember the Federer vs Agassi match on the tennis court on the platform of the Burj al Arab?). In fact the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Tournament will be ongoing during our visit. The Federer vs Agassi event was a promotion for this tennis tournament 13 years ago.  The airport itself is a wonder connected by a fast metro to our baggage drop point. It is gigantic in size, the airport. Salman Khan smiles back at me from a hoarding for a local brand. I quickly grab a free copy of the first copy of DBX. Maybe this will be worth a million dollars in a hundred years like the Dubai Airport Duty Free raffle.

Realty Guru

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , ,

‘The truth about yourself that you feel is false is true and the true is false’—it was Gurujee with his daily dose of wisdom which he felt I should include in my book. Gurujee has extreme faith in my writing abilities and is depending upon me to market his wisdom. Yes I am a ferocious writer in my spare time. I do not need money. I have my coffers full. I feel I have the destiny to be the time keeper of our Chawl.

Gurujee thankfully lives bang opposite my flat. I am grateful for the distance of half a mile between two opposite sides of the square that forms the Chawl building. Gurujee can be a handful early in the morning. He is rich. Well, everyone is rich here. Gurujee spends his time looking for properties to invest in. He is constantly scouring maps and travelling in taxis to farms to check out land values and prospects. He is always trying to sell a property. People who buy his gems are forever grateful because these pieces of land or buildings suddenly begin to appreciate with delightful speed.

Gurujee is nearing seventy but is bursting with energy. He cannot sit down. He is constantly moving from one spot to another. Sarla his wife is a tranquil soul. She has her own friends; her own television programmes and her books. She loves to visit her daughters and showers gifts upon them and their husbands and children. Gurujee’s house has a stream of ageing but pretty women. Sarla allows Gurujee to give his spiel to her friends and then shunts him to his office in a small room where he scans property websites on his desktop computer.