The Dubai Expat Diaries

For all the shopaholics eagerly waiting for this year’s DSF – here are the dates. It is going to run from 28 January to 28 February 2010.
The details of this year’s events and shopping offers will be listed here as soon as they are available.
Watch this space!

It seems the 5 – 15% services charges, that we are often hit with while eating out, is illegal after all. Only restaurants and cafes operating in hotels are allowed to add these charges to the bill. Which is good news for those of us who dine out frequently, as we get to decide how [...]

Dubai is set to make history today, with the opening of its very own superscraper and the world’s tallest building Burj Dubai scheduled to open at 8pm.
Major General Mohammad Eid Al Mansouri, Director of the General Department of Protective Security and Emergency Department at Dubai Police told Gulf News: “His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid [...]

According to Gulf News, expats who wish to bring their families here will now be required to earn minimum AED 10,000 and also rent an independent accomodation:
Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Menhali, director general of the Naturalisation and Residency Department (NRD), said the decision was made after a study by the Ministry of Interior [...]

The latest shopping craze for credit-crunched Dubai expats – the Dubai Flea Market has become a big hit where people can buy and sell almost any used items. The last event in May witnessed crowds of upto 4,500 visitors. It is being held indoors for the summer at the Al Safa Hall in Jumeirah. The [...]

The Dubai Summer Surprises is back again with lots of fun family events and shopping offers to keep us entertained this long, hot summer. Starting from June 11, this popular festival is scheduled to go on till August 14, with a wide range of attractions all over Dubai.
If you are planning to book a hotel [...]

Dubai Mall is hosting a month-long shopping festival from April 30 – May 29, with exciting shopping deals and giving shoppers who spend AED 500 or more the chance to win AED 10,000 cash in daily raffles, not to mention the Grand raffle at the end giving away a million Dirhams to one lucky shopper. 

RTA has launched a new service called “mpark” which will enable Dubai residents to pay their parking fees more conveniently through their mobile phones. 
This will make it very easy to extend the parking time without having to rush to the parking machine each time for another ticket. This service will initially cover Dubai Media City, [...]

The popular Club Mina has come out with a great summer offer for new members – join for a year and get another 6 months free. Additional nifty perks include great discounts on dining, rooms, spa, etc and beach passes for the family. Check out the details below or on the radio campaign currently running [...]

US pop star Rihanna has scheduled her big comeback concert since the Chris Brown controversy with a performance in Dubai. It is going to be held on May 28 but no other details about the concert are out yet.