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Dubai...
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As I stood there in the line in front of the stadium gates dripping with sweat that was quickly matted away by the Dubai sand carried over by the incessant blowing of the desert winds, forming a sandy second-layer of skin all over my body, I felt my reputation slip away from me. Anyways, I talk about this more here. from home to the venue: It was a rather easy find, to be honest. If you have a GPS or Google Maps and enough gas, you're basically good to go. We took a more industrial (truck) road through Jebel Ali instead of going through Downtown Dubai. Overall, I think that saved us the stress of missing the easily missable turns and exits that are characteristic to Dubai. at the venue: The sun was at its peak. A sandstorm was brewing. The concert venue was surrounded by miles of desert. Sweat on everyone. Dehydration imminent. Attempt to leave your spot in the line and you'll lose it forever (unless you decide to be that a****** and forcibly make your way to the front of the line). We were there at 1:30 PM when the concert gates were said to open at 4:00 PM. Why were we there that early? Well, we initially decided to just "check how things were", to which we saw a line already formed and decided to line up early as well. Anyways, despite the prickling heat, lining up would have been worth it if it meant securing a good viewing spot inside the arena. However, whoever was in charge of venue entrance procedures and and staff knowledge deserves to chug down a gallon of sand for being irresponsible and ignorant. Here's a rundown of the chaotic experience we had entering the venue:
So, what was this experience's take-away? The early bird does not always get the worm. It's the bird that arrives just in time who does. Seriously, the people who got inside the stadium first were the people who came late or just in time (around 3:45 onwards). Therefore, they got all the good spots while the people who were there hours early got the mediocre to bad ones. Just before we went inside the stadium, we glanced back at Gate A and the crowd we left (the early liners from both Gate A and B) were still huddled there and seemingly unaware of the moving line in Gate C. However, in honesty, it's not the early concert-goers who should be blamed but rather the event organisers and their sh**** organisation. "First come, first serve," my ass. inside the stadium: The overall concert area wasn't as big as I'd expected. And the crowd inside, while I was there, didn't feel like there was too much. As I said, we were situated more to the side of the stage but was still pretty close. The crowd behind us throughout the whole concert wasn't thick at all. In fact, I could clearly see the barrier separating the Golden Circle to the Regular from where I stood. And towards the end of the concert, I actually went back and sat down in that empty space. (However, looking at photos of the stadium and the crowd who attended post-concert, the area looked much bigger and the crowd looked much thicker. I don't get why.) There was a food corner to the right side of the concert area but we didn't bother to go. Besides, we had an annoying group of teenagers standing beside us who claimed that they 'reserved' that spot. So, if we moved away then those girls would've gotten what they wanted. Not today, sis. Not today. concert time! I'd hate to be the person to say this but, I simply cannot properly explain how it was like, you had to be there! It was such an amazing experience. Everyone who performed were superb but my favourite acts that night were most definitely Henry and Super Junior (who knew? Before the concert, the only SM Artists I actively listened to were only EXO. I even had a slightly repellent attitude towards Super Junior because of their age. And Henry???? I knew he could sing but, he played the piano and he pulled out a violin and started playing the tune to the bridge of the song, like what? How to be you, po?) I had found a new dance craze in Red Velvet, and just plain talent goals from Henry. My heart and soul went out to Shinee as I battled my sadness throughout their performances. Super Junior, whom my sister and I used to jokingly call "too old", well, we ate our words. We're ELFs now. EXO seemed a little (a lot, except Kai and Xiumin) bit out it and not in the mood during the concert but that just made me want to see them live again even more. I used to find it awkward to view anything NCT Dream-related because of how young they look, and indeed they are young but so am I. They are literally around my age so I don't know why I find them so awkward although, lesser now. NCT Lucas, I don't want to fall for you so please... I don't know what else to say and I would post some of the video clips I took here if I could but unfortunately, I can't because I'm not a premium user. So, please just YouTube it. post-concert: The concert ended at around 11:00 PM, therefore, the concert ended to be 5 hours long. As I previously mentioned, the crowd around us wasn't thick and therefore, we got to go out of the stadium swiftly and hassle-free after the concert ended. As with events, one does expect traffic on their way out but in my opinion, it wasn't so bad. Once again, some of the traffic could've been avoided if only there was proper traffic control (*ehem* this is similar to what happened earlier *ehem*). However, after exiting the concert grounds, there was slow-moving traffic which lasted about 15 minutes then no traffic at all on the rest of the ride home. Yeepee!
Did I have fun? HELL YEAH! Would I go for a similar event again? HECK YEAH! Am I still a closeted K-pop fan? Well, after this event, not anymore but, who cares? I still like rock, OPM, the occasional hugot song, r&b, alternative, musical soundtracks, ballads, and the occasional foreign bop that plague your brain like a spam email (Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi)-- K-pop is just added to that list now. :) Yesterday, we dropped my dad off at the Dubai airport to go to his new assignment in Mauritius! Here are my thoughts and experiences with the Dubai airport for you, my fellow travelers: en route l'aeroport:* by car Lots of tunnels and tiny roads. If you're running late to a flight, please take a taxi. Save yourself or your nice friend, who offered to drive you there, the trouble of (most likely) getting lost. Unless that person already knows the way pretty well (so a special no-no for first-timers), just simply taking the taxi may be more practical and hassle-free. Besides, going to the airport is not that expensive. Yesterday, we were staying at a hotel in the Financial District (alongside Sheikh Zayed Road) and from there to the airport, the flag-down rate was only 5 AED, and the total trip cost us 33 AED; not bad. HOWEVER, the trip back to the hotel from the airport was the one that cost quite a bit. We paid a total of 55 AED on the way back, which is about 20 AED more than the cost of our former trip. my comparison: I've been to airports both great and mediocre and as per tradition, here are my rankings of the best to the mehh airport that I have been to. To find out which airports are on my list, click on the "???" next to their ranking to find out. (Please do understand that the views expressed in these posts are purely subjective and based on experience. I am aware that other people may or may not share my opinion.) 1. ??? Structure-wise, it bares a resemblance to the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, in my opinion. The metro is adjacent to the Departure (Terminal 3) entrance, and between them is an elevated road to which the Arrivals are below of. The Departure area is HUGE, and was definitely built to accommodate the thousands of tourists that flock the airport during peak seasons like June-August and December.
Compared to its upstairs (where the Departure area is), the roamable area of the Arrivals for non-travelers is only a third of the former. Yesterday was a non-busy day as March isn't a particularly busy month nor was the time of day that we were there but, when we picked up my grandpa from there on December a few years ago, the place was almost uncomfortably crowded. Now, the main reasons why the Dubai Airport isn't particularly at the top of my list are because a) there aren't many places to eat for non-travelers picking up/dropping off someone; b) the interior aesthetics of the place just seems a bit dull to me and doesn't scream 'DUBAI' enough, aside from the fact that it's huge. On a positive note, however, here are some positive aspects of the Dubai Airport: a) it's connected to the metro, which is convenient to many travelers; b) taxis and buses are organised and easily-accessible; c) the drop-off area is spacious and efficient, if you are going to be dropped-off by car by someone (the parking area is also just adjacent to the departure/arrival gates). |
about:The UAE has been and always will be, my second home. Archives
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