# I never really understood this: why do tourists bring their camera into the mall?



## Guest (Nov 29, 2008)

Meet Johnny, he's my made up tourist dude that just arrived to Dubai! YAY! DUUUUUUBAIIIIIIIII..... 

I thought I'd post up this topic on here because I never really understood why so many tourists take their video camera, digital camera, satellite cameras or any other type of camera to the mall...? I mean, what is there that's so breath taking at; MOE, City Centre, Festival City, Mercato...? Dubai Mall yes, because of the Acquarium and the LCD displays in the centre... but besides that, nothing.

The funniest is when I see someone taking a pic in front of the window of a shop with the camera flash! What they do not realize is, flash + reflection is very bad for the image, secondly it proves their just window shoppers hahaha...

What's even more crazy is; there are a certain type of "individuals" who take their video cameras on weekends to IKEAAAAAA and just roam around... I mean WHAT THE H-E-L-L is going on here? hahaha...

Well you might think I'm nuts, but I bet the next time you see someone with a camera inside the mall or especially at IKEA you'll think of me 

-Joey


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## irishxpat (Nov 17, 2008)

JoeyDee said:


> Meet Johnny (attached), he's my made up tourist dude that just arrived to Dubai! YAY! DUUUUUUBAIIIIIIIII.....
> 
> I thought I'd post up this topic on here because I never really understood why so many tourists take their video camera, digital camera, satellite cameras or any other type of camera to the mall...? I mean, what is there that's so breath taking at; MOE, City Centre, Festival City, Mercato...? Dubai Mall yes, because of the Acquarium and the LCD displays in the centre... but besides that, nothing.
> 
> ...


i have just been to the top gear show in dublin when the presenters came out all the flashes went of dont people realise flashes are only efective upto around 10 ft ish oh and people with point and shoot cameras using digital zoom it does nothing except ruin picture quality thanks rant over Flickr: at least i try's Photostream


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

well let them have their fun  i guess everybody has different tastes and gets entertained/amused by different things? nothing wrong in that if you ask me - as long as they don't take pics of people without their permission!


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## mazdaRX8 (Jul 13, 2008)

Havn't really seen anyone take pictures outside shop windows. Only seen em at the aquarium and just a few people taking shots of the architecture n stuff.


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## Pimpin80 (Jul 29, 2008)

JoeyDee: I noticed in another post that you are from Ottawa, Canada. I currently live in Montreal and I'm moving to Dubai by the end of january 2009. What field do you work in? And how do you find it so far? Are you considering moving back to Canada? If so, why? I'm a tad nervous as I am aiming for a real estate job and the market is apparently completely dead down there. Any info or opinion you can share with a fellow Canadian will be very much appreciated!


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2008)

Pimpin80 said:


> JoeyDee: I noticed in another post that you are from Ottawa, Canada. I currently live in Montreal and I'm moving to Dubai by the end of january 2009. What field do you work in? And how do you find it so far? Are you considering moving back to Canada? If so, why? I'm a tad nervous as I am aiming for a real estate job and the market is apparently completely dead down there. Any info or opinion you can share with a fellow Canadian will be very much appreciated!


Dude - I also live in Montreal, in St-Leornard!

I work in the Cinematic business - So bring movies from Hollywood & all parts of the world & market them in Dubai & across the UAE & Middle-East. In general entertainment is quite strong all over the world, Hollywood hasn't been affect by the financial crisis, however Real Estate and other types of retail banking and stuff like that are affect. Also Dubai is broke right now, take Emirates Airlines as an example, a large share of it was sold to Abu Dhabi Government due to minimal liquidity.

I worked all over Europe as a Creative Director and I was coming to Dubai every week if not every 2 weeks on business, so finally I got tired of always flying from various parts of Europe to Dubai and decided 2 years ago I'd come here... so I did... but you see, in Cinema not a lot of people who come to Dubai first think of working in that business... they all think like you, Real Estate or Finance or Advertising but those markets are saturated BIG TIME! And for now it's not a good time.

Im thinking of leaving DUbai by 2010, not sure where I'll go next, I'm thinking maybe, MAYBE - Moscow, Prague or back to the States, NY or LA.

But I do miss Canada - I go back every 4 months and just suck up everything it has to offer, that means even just sitting on the patio and starring at a large maple leaf tree!

BTW I heard the Canadians are doing very good this year no? If it was one thing I'd wish for in Dubai, it would be to watch a live HOCKEY game!

-JOey


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## Pimpin80 (Jul 29, 2008)

JoeyDee said:


> Dude - I also live in Montreal, in St-Leornard!
> 
> I work in the Cinematic business - So bring movies from Hollywood & all parts of the world & market them in Dubai & across the UAE & Middle-East. In general entertainment is quite strong all over the world, Hollywood hasn't been affect by the financial crisis, however Real Estate and other types of retail banking and stuff like that are affect. Also Dubai is broke right now, take Emirates Airlines as an example, a large share of it was sold to Abu Dhabi Government due to minimal liquidity.
> 
> ...


Nice! I have a lot of italian friends in st-leonard, very nice people, and the food their moms/wives cook, mamamia lol! I'm sure you have a blast working in the cinema industry, quite different from the average worker's field! I do realize that real estate is saturated, but my options are a bit limited. I have 5 years of experience in a 5 star hotel (the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, I'm sure you know this place!) as a royal service agent (customer service for the rich, basically!) and I have a college certification as a real estate agent. I could work in either of these fields, but for most other jobs I wouldn't fit the qualifications that employers require.

Do you think I could get hired in a management position in a hotel down there? I've seen positions advertised that offer about 12-15k a month + accomodations (front office manager and the like). I have all the experience they require but I don't have any official management experience, although I know very well how things work and I do supervise employees a bit here.

Thanx a bunch,
Khaled


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2008)

Pimpin80 said:


> Do you think I could get hired in a management position in a hotel down there? I've seen positions advertised that offer about 12-15k a month + accomodations (front office manager and the like).


I'll let you answer that question;

Knowing you are in Montreal and your name is Khaled, I'm guessing since you speak English, you must know french & arabic as well? Correct?

So think about it, you speak 3 languages + x number of experience in your field - I think your chance are quite good, if not better than any other candidate that only speaks 1 language (English).

-Joey


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## Pimpin80 (Jul 29, 2008)

JoeyDee said:


> I'll let you answer that question;
> 
> Knowing you are in Montreal and your name is Khaled, I'm guessing since you speak English, you must know french & arabic as well? Correct?
> 
> ...


Waahhhh man you just made my day, somehow this move is stressing me out more than it should! Ya i speak french, english, arabic, and a bit of spanish! However my arabic is from Tunisia so it will need some adjustment, but a month or so should do it! Well that's great news! You'll probably find me managing the front desk of a major hotel in Dubai if I can't secure something decent in real estate! Remember me to buy you a drink when I get there man!


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## Haylz87 (Nov 4, 2008)

Pimpin80 said:


> JoeyDee: I noticed in another post that you are from Ottawa, Canada. I currently live in Montreal and I'm moving to Dubai by the end of january 2009. What field do you work in? And how do you find it so far? Are you considering moving back to Canada? If so, why? I'm a tad nervous as I am aiming for a real estate job and the market is apparently completely dead down there. Any info or opinion you can share with a fellow Canadian will be very much appreciated!


Hi i noticed ur looking for a job in the real estate, A couple of my friends work in real estate and they say the market is completely dead and a lot of people have been sacked from their company because of it. Also Emaar and Nakheel (Two of the biggest developers (nakheel - palm islands and emaar - Burj Dubai, tallest building in the world) have just got rid of a lot of people... Nahkeel was 1,000 people + sold shares to Abu Dhabi govenment and Emaar 800 people, So its not looking too good at the moment.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

If you have a secure job in Canada, I would say stay there (at least until things improve!)! It's not worth coming out here at the mo; too many people are losing their jobs and the sad truth is that there is no such thing as employment rights here! No one cares - it's every man for himself!


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

*be aware!*



Pimpin80 said:


> Waahhhh man you just made my day, somehow this move is stressing me out more than it should! Ya i speak french, english, arabic, and a bit of spanish! However my arabic is from Tunisia so it will need some adjustment, but a month or so should do it! Well that's great news! You'll probably find me managing the front desk of a major hotel in Dubai if I can't secure something decent in real estate! Remember me to buy you a drink when I get there man!


things are not looking good AT ALL 

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...k-thousand-jobs-lost-dubai-only-november.html


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## Pimpin80 (Jul 29, 2008)

well I was referring to hospitality jobs. With hotels opening everywhere and job postings all over the place don't you guys think I'll be able to secure something decent!


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## macca_24 (Apr 14, 2008)

iIm waiting for an answer to yr question too because I'm already living in Dubai with my husband and I was considering looking for job in hospitality I don't need to live on my earnings tho, it would just be a contribution to the household for extras. Wish you luck


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2008)

macca_24 said:


> iIm waiting for an answer to yr question too because I'm already living in Dubai with my husband and I was considering looking for job in hospitality I don't need to live on my earnings tho, it would just be a contribution to the household for extras. Wish you luck


A good friend of mine is the sales director at Le Meridien and he's telling me the market even for hospitality (hotels & accommodation) has slow down... 

-Joey


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## Pimpin80 (Jul 29, 2008)

wow my luck, well I guess it'll pick up at one point or another anyway, tourists, and people in general are low on cash worldwide. I'll see when I get down there anyway, speculating like this is only gonna serve the purpose of driving me nuts!


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## Pimpin80 (Jul 29, 2008)

JoeyDee: Out of curiosity and since your in the entertainment business, do you think there would be work for someone who does voice overs in Dubai? People always tell me that I have a radio voice and I'm the one who does all the greeting/hold messages in the hotel where I work. If I can't find a decent job I might try to get a couple of voice over gigs if possible


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2008)

Pimpin80 said:


> JoeyDee: Out of curiosity and since your in the entertainment business, do you think there would be work for someone who does voice overs in Dubai? People always tell me that I have a radio voice and I'm the one who does all the greeting/hold messages in the hotel where I work. If I can't find a decent job I might try to get a couple of voice over gigs if possible


The entertainment business is one hell of a drug! (Rick Jamessss!)

You'd most deff have to start off a freelancer, that's for sure. If you want to be on the radio and have a good voice and all that jazz check out ARN (Arabian Radio Network) they are quite big here and check it out, stations like 103.8fm and so on... 

I've been on the radio a few times to talk about films & cinemas in the UAE & across the Middle-East and the technology and system they use is like outdated stuff!

Check it out - why not!? But i'll tell you something, employers are preferring to hire people already in the UAE because they do not have the money to fly someone here for an interview, then find him a place to stay, then giving furniture allowance and so on... it all ads up dude 

But check it out - it doesn't hurt to try!

-Joey


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

Pimpin80 said:


> JoeyDee: Out of curiosity and since your in the entertainment business, do you think there would be work for someone who does voice overs in Dubai? People always tell me that I have a radio voice and I'm the one who does all the greeting/hold messages in the hotel where I work. If I can't find a decent job I might try to get a couple of voice over gigs if possible



Sorry, but don't get your hopes up. I know several people who do that and they pretty much have the town sewn up. 

To stay you would need residency and you won't get that from a couple of freelance jobs. You need residency to rent a home, to buy a car etc.

Right now, I'd forget about anything property related and only look for hotel related jobs, but bear in mind that only high level ones pay anything decent. Have you tried The Atlantis? They pay better than most and currently have the highest occupancy rates in Dubai.

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## dzdoc (Oct 26, 2008)

*Good Luck*



Elphaba said:


> Sorry, but don't get your hopes up. I know several people who do that and they pretty much have the town sewn up.
> 
> To stay you would need residency and you won't get that from a couple of freelance jobs. You need residency to rent a home, to buy a car etc.
> 
> ...


Good luck to you all. I am still awaiting approval from the Atlantis for my Job as MD. They are like 6 weeks behind in their reply. Suspect they are affected too. Have a call into my recruiting agent for tomorrow for a firm commitment. I really want to come but if they can't bring me over soon or guarantee anything will start looking elsewhere. I hope I do get to come as some of you sound interesting enough to meet. Others of you hmmmm not so much. Anyway still think the economy will turn around at least that's my pipe dream so don't bust my bubble.  If I hear anything on the down low from the recruiter re jobs in Dubai will post it hear for you guys.


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## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

I read in the news that Atlantis occupancy is really down after that great opening. They are having weekday specials which are as low as Aed150 a night. That's after throwing 20M USD on the fireworks.

Good luck with your visa.


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## macca_24 (Apr 14, 2008)

Gee doesn't sound hopeful I might have to join Expat women and make gardening and house work my career, doesn't sound very hopeful, I thought it would be easy to get some mundane care free job if you had a bit of experience, spoke english, and were white (not meant to be a racious comment), disappointing.


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## dzdoc (Oct 26, 2008)

*fling myself*



macca_24 said:


> Gee doesn't sound hopeful I might have to join Expat women and make gardening and house work my career, doesn't sound very hopeful, I thought it would be easy to get some mundane care free job if you had a bit of experience, spoke english, and were white (not meant to be a racious comment), disappointing.


I would have to fling myself off of a bridge if I had to stay at home and chase dust bunnies. Macca you would be bored out of your skull. You would have to take up drinking full time and you know how hard it is to get a liquor license. Pretty soon you will be sitting on the rug spinning circles on your big wheel, blowing bubbles saying bah bah bah. 

On another note. The atlantis is still rebuilding areas and has delayed hiring me until they get that area repaired. I will be delayed 2 months but it is still on the table. Hope their not yanking my chain. Meanwhile I guess I'll keep the job I have.


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

macca_24 said:


> Gee doesn't sound hopeful I might have to join Expat women and make gardening and house work my career, doesn't sound very hopeful, I thought it would be easy to get some mundane care free job if you had a bit of experience, spoke english, and were white (not meant to be a racious comment), disappointing.



You want a part-time admin job in a nice UK company? If so, let me know when you are back, as I may be able to help.


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