DragonMart

On Saturday, DH and I went shopping at the DragonMart. Imagine if you will, all the importers consigned to a single location. Everyone who's anyone that buys a container filled with whatever cheap product they want to resell, given the opportunity to rent a stall in a mall with like minded merchants. The only thing I can liken it to is an alley market in most locations. But in Dubai, it's shiny and glossy and upscale.

When you get inside, there are dozens of sole proprietors specializing in one thing or the other from industrial tools to plastic toys. All levels of quality and organization. It's a fascinating study.

The house we've rented is new and does not have overhead lights in most locations. We determined that we needed at least two overhead light fixtures and a couple of lamps. After perusing the malls and IKEA, we made a trip out to the DragonMart.

Here, store after store has light fixtures wired to overhead cage ceilings. There is a plethora of choice from quality to price. As DH and I were purchasing fixtures that would be left to our absent landlord, we opted for cheapness. We were warned that at DragonMart, you get what you pay for. Truer words were never spoken.


Most of the canny Chinese merchants at the DragonMart have accurately identified their demographic. They know exactly what their average shopper desires. Overall, the middle easterners like ornate, overblown stuff. In the glamorous shopping malls and upscale furniture stores, there is also a quantity of stylistic modern things, but a majority of their furniture, fixtures and decorative gear is what most Americans would consider gaudy. The Chinese merchants are truly locked into the wants and needs of the consumer.

That said, we had to look at a LOT of light fixtures to find some that we could A) tolerate; and B) afford. We found two chandeliers and two bedside lamps. The lamp bases we found were sleek and interesting, but were topped with shades that had dangling dingle balls from them. No kidding. I finally pointed to the bases and told DH to imagine them with simpler shades. He agreed on the lamps and we stepped into another shop that sold stacks of lamp shades. We appropriated a simple one and held it up to the lamp, then began to haggle with the stall owner.

Now, what you've got to know about the DragonMart is that it is HUGE. And behind this very large mall is an equally large set of warehouses. Most of the merchants have all their inventory stored there. So you can pick something out, wait a while, and they will have your purchases ready for you. Envision a bunch of guys with dolleys running back and forth in the heat and you've pretty much identified the operation.

After leaving a cash deposit on the lamps, we were told to wait half an hour and then come back. When our merchant produced the lamps from his inventory, the same shades with the horrifying dangly bits, had been replaced with simple angular shades of the same color as the originals. He had seen us plan to replace them with ones from across the hall, and he made the swap in the warehouse. This after assuring us that the shades on the example were the shades we had to take. I was quite taken aback. First, he said it was all 'as is'. But once he made the sale and had our money, he realized we were going to spend money with the guy across the way, and he relented and made a substitution. Nice.

I feel like I owe someone an apology for sticking them with those lampshades, though.

--Sandee Wagner

No Code, No How

I have happened on a very frustrating issue while living in Dubai. It's not something I would have ever imagined, so it caught me unawares.

In Dubai, they do not deliver mail to houses. Not at all. No home mail delivery. On the one hand, no junk mail. So, bonus. On the other hand, no zip code.

That's right. No mailing code, no zip code. None.

Imagine if you will, pulling up to a pay at the pump gas station and sliding your card through the slot... it asks for the zip code to authorize against. What do you enter? Will I have to give a bogus five digit code to my bank and BEG them to assign it to me so my card will work in that instance? Right now, I can't pay at the pump at all. The minute that comes up, I schlep inside and hand my card to the attendant who assures me it happens to all the cards.

Because, I can promise you, nothing is set up to NOT have a zip code. I've tried to change my address online at my bank and insurance company websites. Guess what I can't do? I can't save an international address without a freakin' mailing code.

I even tried 12345, 00000, 00001, and 11111. Apparently, the web developers see that coming and don't let you do it. But what are they validating an UAE address against? If there are NO mailing codes assigned in this country, shouldn't they know that?

The most frustrating part of this is that we have been assigned a US based mailing address by the company. Once a week, they will forward our mail to us. So anyone can mail us a letter and only pay US postage. Kind of like an APO address for a military person, only sponsored by the very generous company. So I have a valid mailing address that includes a zip code. But then all the forms want a physical address too. And that's where I hit the wall.

I'm not sure how to resolve this issue. I guess I either need to become a mad hacker, or just write letters to everyone and make THEM change my address. Of course, I'll have to pay international postage to get my point across.

--Sandee Wagner

Cooking, Old School

I missed my DH's birthday this year. We were separated and I had to trust other family members to make a fuss over him and give him cake and ice cream. When we got back together in Dubai, we agreed to celebrate our birthdays together this year. Since our birthdays are about 6 weeks apart, I suggested we pick the day that hits between the two dates. He laughed at me, I guess it was already past by that time.

I was still insistent that we share a birthday and have a cake together. So, this weekend, I crawled the stores looking for measuring cups, spoons and cake pans. Today, I pulled a recipe off the Internet (all my stuff is still in a container in Tunisia) and decided to make a cake from scratch.

I've never liked box mixes as much as cakes made by hand. Something about the texture and density, I think. Anyway, my favorite birthday cake has always been a carrot cake. Today I decided to make one from someone else's recipe. I've made mine often enough to recognize most of the ingredients, so the recipe I selected was close to the one I was used to.

But let me say one thing: don't underestimate your labor saving devices.

Case in point, the hand mixer. Holy cow. Until you have stirred a cake batter and then whipped up a frosting by hand, you don't realize how convenient a mixer can be. My arm is still aching. Creaming butter, cream cheese and sugar into frosting is hard work when all you have is an eating fork.

I managed to find all the conversions. That's right. It took MATHEMATICS. You see, a stick of butter is a standard measurement in the US (in recipes). It is not a measure that is easily translated when your butter comes in a 500 gram brick. I also had to figure out how to set the oven in Celsius. A lot more conversions than one might think.

I pulled it off. I baked a carrot cake. Not the best looking cake I've ever made, but I'm sure it will taste good. My right shoulder is aching. I think I'll wait until my household goods arrive before I try any more baking.

--Sandee Wagner

Ibn Battuta Mall, Part Deaux

We went back to Ibn Battuta Mall to fetch some stuff. I managed to convince DH that I needed to walk through the areas we didn't get to on Thursday.

In the previous column, I showed pictures of the Indian Court and the Persian Court. The signage said there were seven areas that the great traveler documented for posterity. So, I set out to find the other areas in the mall. By my figuring, I needed to explore Andulusia, Tunisia, Egypt and Asia.




I found the Egyptian Court. Very classy. There were hieroglyphics and murals all over the walls. There was even a giant statuary display that Egyptian engineers and inventors in a confab beneath some kind of giant sized gyroscope. It was pretty impressive, I couldn't get the whole thing in one picture, it was that big. They had huge columns, palm trees and ornate carvings everywhere you looked.

Then I wandered into the Tunisian Court, which is co-located with the Food Court. So, bonus! We got a snack and then I snapped a few shots of the Tunisian area. Since we just moved from Tunisia, I kept hoping I'd feel more comfortable in that section of the mall, but not so much. One thing Tunisia had going for it (in the Ibn Battuta Mall) was the beautiful sky mural on the ceiling. It really was lovely. Realistic and restful. I wonder if it morphs to the night sky later in the evening?

The Andalusian Court of the Mall was the smallest section. Ibn Battuta traveled to Andalusia and apparently, learned to hang glide. Or maybe he learned to fly kites. I'm not sure. The architecture was not that interesting. I should probably go back and read all the signage. I was quite taken with this statue of the hang glider, though.


One of the most impressive parts of the Andalusian Court is the lion fountain. It's set in an impressive dome area. The fountain rests on the back of a pride of lions who face outwards and look a little angry. Maybe the weight of the bowl above them is onerous. This fountain is generally a resting place for people. I couldn't get a good picture without sitters obscuring the fountain itself, so I snagged this picture off the Mall's website.

The last part of the Mall that I found was the Chinese Court. It's possibly the most colorful part of the structure. In addition to the ubiquitous Pagoda entrance, they included a full sized Chinese junk.

The ceilings were ornate and featured all the oriental motifs normally seen in oriental art. Each different hall had a unique and colorful ceiling pattern. In the junk room, you can see the sky blue cross members with inset red squares filled with shiny gold medallions. There's a second floor in the Chinese Court that has an health club (for members only!) Interestingly enough, it only has escalators going up and down. No stairs. I guess the health conscious work out so hard, they can't make it down a flight of stairs without some help.

All in all, I think this mall is a wonderful landmark. There is a museum like quality to it that lessens the shameless commerce and makes you feel a little more like an invited visitor and less like a dollar sign. I guess I'm lucky that it's also the closest one to the house. I'll be able to read all the historical stuff over my next few visits.

--Sandee Wagner

Ibn Battuta Mall

I went out to lunch today with DH and one of his coworkers. We decided to meet him at a local mall and select a restaurant from the food court options. Since the Ibn Battuta Mall is near the office, that was selected as our noon time destination.

This mall is most interesting because it has a STORY. That's right. It has some history. It has historic markers in it and signage to read. The mall is named for a famous Morroccan Berber Islamic scholar and traveler, Hajji Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta . He traveled around the globe in the 1300's and documented his wanderings.

This mall devotes a court to each of the major areas where Ibn Battuta spent time. Since I only went there for lunch, I didn't get to explore the whole place, just the parts of the mall we walked through on our way to the restaurant of choice. We hit the Indian Court and the Persian Court. The elephant is a dead giveaway for the Indian court. So is the architecture of the arches, ceilings and moldings.

It's amazing, really. Like having shops in the middle of a museum. The attention to detail in the carvings, paint and decor is truly transcendent. You begin to feel like you are walking along in an Indian pavilion. It was all I could do to keep moving and not stop and gawk like a tourist. I started imagining all the malls in the US trying to find one that is unique, and they all tended to run together in my brain.

Sure, MN has the Mall of America and it is big. But it's not a documented travel through exotic lands like Ibn Battuta is.

The next area we wandered through was the Persian Court. Stylistically, Persia and its influences spawned some of the greatest carpets and ironwork of the past century--and the court in the mall didn't disappoint.
Pervasive use of the color of the sky is symbolic of holiness and holy places. The Persian Court had delicate mosaics that covered every wall and column. The pointed archways were covered with intricate designs. The chandeliers were lantern style punched ironwork scaled to fit the soaring spaces. The ceiling spaces were complicated and sophisticated wooden latticework.

The rich colors and ornate details made walking through the Persian quarter feel like a walk through a harem or a sheikh's palace. The whole feel of the area was completely different from the Indian Court. The stores are the same as stores in any mall. There are kiosks in the center of the aisles hocking all kinds of junk you don't need. It is a modern shopping mall. But Ibn Battuta has a lot of appeal going for it. It's just not an average mall. When I get the other five courts explored, I'll post some more pictures.

--Sandee Wagner

Exploring, Retail Style

When one of my Scottish friends found out we were being posted to Dubai, she exclaimed, "You'll love it there, they're building a Spinney's" I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had no idea what a Spinney's was. Turns out, it's a western-style grocery store. The kind of market where you can get Vegemite, Marmite AND Peanut Butter.

If you have to ask what any of those food products are, then you have not lived expat. Seems like the things I hear folks complain about missing most all come in jars.

While camping out in my empty house, I'm trying to do some home cooking--with a set of rental pots and pans. There have been what I like to call 'usefulness gaps' in the rental kit. Like they don't provide a knife. Apparently, when you are cooking using rental stuff, you're opening cans and dumping it into saucepans. Warming up stuff.

In my attempts to get what I needed to cook, without spending a lot, because REALLY I own all this stuff, it's in my household goods shipment, right? I have found Spinney's, and Choithram's and today the Ramla Hypermarket.

The Hypermarket is close to our home and appears to be well planned. There is underground parking (which is exceptionally good in this heat) and elevators and escalators up through the three levels. The grocery is on the main level and they tout 50,000 square meters of fashion shops on the upper deck. I don't know because I didn't go all the way up. This trip was to the grocery. Ramla was a great store, kind of a WalMart type experience. A little bit of housewares, some beauty and health products, cleaning supplies and a big grocery. We found almost everything we needed. They do not cater to westerners, so no recognizable brands. If I want Hellman's Mayonnaise, I'll have to go to Choithram's or Spinney's. Most of the brands made it easy on me. One side of the label is in Arabic, one side in English.

I think I could have wandered the aisles for hours. Obviously, they cater to the imported workers. Lots of Indonesian and other eastern brands. If you want to cook Tiki Masala or any curry recipe, this place is ideal. All the spices, all the variety you could ever want. Most of the stuff had some English on the labeling, so I wasn't just blindly buying can goods, like I did in Tunisia.

I'm enjoying the adventure of finding places to do my daily and weekly marketing. Seems like I'll be able to stay pretty close to home and find everything I could possibly need.

Except pinto beans. They have all the dried beans and peas in the world. Dozens that I've never seen before. But none of the stores has dried pinto beans. I guess I'll give the Heinz Beanz a try. The label says that they have the exciting essence of Mexican spices. I'm as taken with the spelling of 'beanz' as I am by the exciting Mexican spices. In lieu of Ranch Style Beans, I'm going to give these a try. My other choice is to take white kidney beans and cooking them into cowboy beans. Not quite what I'm hankering for, but it will have to do.

--Sandee Wagner

Home Sweet Home

Well, after my months long tour of the US and environs, I have finally followed DH to Dubai and taken up residence. When I left Tunis the last week of March, DH headed to Dubai and undertook the search for new digs.

Marriage is about trust, after all.

He outdid himself, I'll give him that. He's rented a house for us in a lovely community. It's a single story home. I think my fall down the marble stairs in the Tunis house might have played in his insistence on a single story abode. Of course, he had to schlep stuff up and down stairs too, so maybe it wasn't my clumsiness.

We have a four bedroom villa. It's in a nice, gated community with pools and clubhouses available to residents. We are in a newish block, so only a couple of the new houses are inhabited.

It's big and it's empty. That's right. Even though we were packed up the last week of March, our household goods have not left Tunisia. Is it only me, or does the phrase 'island time' sound appropriate? This time it is not the fault of any municipal government or customs agency. It's all on the company. They were required to provide some kind of tax form to complete the residency paperwork, and they did not do so. So here I sit in an empty house in Dubai while all my worldly possessions are in a container in Tunis.

Good times.

--Sandee Wagner