There are certain things one inevitably ends up doing as a UAE resident. Things like booking a room at one of the city’s five-star hotels for one’s anniversary. Having observed that this is apparently the done thing for anniversaries in the city, my husband and I — many years ago, as newlyweds ourselves — proceeded to do the same.
We stood in the marble lobby, handed over our passports for check-in, and accepted the keys to our very expensive hotel room. Once inside it, we weren’t really sure what to do.
To be perfectly honest, we felt like fakes: we lived just down the road and here we were in some hotel. But we also wanted to be a part of this whole “we spent our wedding weekend at such-and-such hotel” thing everyone seemed to be doing, so we powered on.
We ventured out to the beach. We came back with sand between our toes and seashells weighing down our pockets. Dinner was a strange affair, wedged between tourist families orange from too much sun in too little time. Fathers, balding and middle-aged; mothers equally aged and enormously endowed; teenaged children seemingly bored to death. I remember being glad mine hadn’t been the kind of parents who took along the kids on holidays in a foreign country that were spent going orange on the beach.
We tried to get some shisha after dinner, but the hotel apparently only offered shisha 5 and 7.30pm. Who has shisha between 5 and 7:30pm? Our anniversary weekend was rapidly going downhill.
Back in the hotel room, we flipped channels on the television and then flopped down on the bed, flat on our backs, looking at the ceiling and giggling at each other. This was so not us.
“You know what?” I said, finally throwing in the towel. “Let’s just go back home. Let’s just fire up our shisha and chill at home.”
“Let’s,” my husband enthusiastically agreed.
We quickly packed back whatever little luggage we had brought and proceeded to check out. Embarrassed to be checking out so early, we pretended I was sick and needed to go see a doctor. We had lasted a total of four and a half hours.
I think that that was the last time we followed a prescribed or prevalent formula on how any significant occasion should be observed or celebrated. Not that there is anything wrong with splashing out on a hotel room for one’s anniversary weekend, but just that maybe it wasn’t for us.
It is with the very same sentiment that we generally give New Year party invites a wide berth. Big party at some club on The Palm? No, thank you. Cosy, house party at someone’s flat in the Marina? No, thank you. Anything the requires any amount of driving is forgone in favour of staying home, spending time with a few close friends, followed by home-baked brownies and watching the fireworks on TV. Not because we’re old and boring, but because we can think of better ways to start the new year than being stuck in traffic for two hours trying to get back home. For the past few years, this stance of ours has forced our friends to roll their eyes at us in dismay.
This year though, something marvellous happened. Something that has forever changed the way people will think about our preference for a laid-back start to the New Year: thousands of would-be New Year’s Eve revellers got stranded on and around the Palm. For hours, they stood in line, waited on buses or trudged around in high heels and short skirts.
I watched it unfold on Twitter … in my PJs, on my couch.
The writer is an honest-to-goodness desi living in Dubai
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
Company%20Profile
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
NBA Finals so far
(Toronto lead 3-1 in best-of-seven series_
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5