A change of venue for holy month with people spotting and World Cup bonuses

I got a lot of feedback about my complaints a couple of weeks back about the lack of certain facilities in the Dubai International Financial Centre, basically the three Bs of banking, bookshops and barbers.

I said there was nowhere to perform simple banking transactions like depositing cash, nowhere to get your hair cut, and nowhere to buy a book or stationery.

One senior DIFC official jokingly accused me of “dissing” the DIFC (at least I think he was joking), which as any reader of this column will know was the last thing on my agenda. I’ve got a lot of respect for the Centre, and spend a lot of time and money there.

As I suspected, there are good regulatory reasons for the lack of better banking facilities in the Gate environs: according to the decree which set up the DIFC 10 years ago, it could not compete with the “onshore” banking industry and therefore could not provide full branch banking services – cheque encashment, cash deposit-taking - anywhere in its jurisdiction.

The DIFC’s hands appear to firmly tied on this.

And, I must admit, I got it slightly wrong on the barbers. One reader pointed out that I could use the facilities of the Urban Male Lounge on the first floor next to Bateel Cafe.

But honestly, take a look at the cartoon drawing of me at the top of this page and ask yourself: do I look like an Urban Male Lounge type? I think I’ll wait until the British Barbers’ Association opens its shop on the ground floor, which I’m assured will be “coming soon”, as it has said on the hoarding for the past three months.

But at least I am in accord with the DIFC on the third item: the lack of a bookshop. I am told the DIFC authorities are in discussions with an operator who is planning a small bookstore and cafe “on the lobby between the balcony and the Gate Village”. That sounds encouraging.

The offering will not be as comprehensive as Kinokuniya in The Dubai Mall – the best bookshop in the Middle East, I would guess – but it will offer more “cultural titles and publications”.

I'm not sure what this means, but as long as it stocks Moleskine notebooks, some decent history and a selection of good magazines (where can you buy Foreign Policy in Dubai?) I'll be very happy to try it out.

However, for the next few weeks I shall be in DIFC less frequently than usual. The holy month of Ramadan brings a new spiritual feel to the place, which I have decided in previous years is not conducive to daytime work.

Instead, I shall decamp to the lobby of the Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel. JET has for a long time been the best business hotel in Dubai, and even during the holy month (although the restaurants and cafes are curtained off, of course) it still retains the atmosphere of a “working” hotel.

It also remains the best place for “people spotting”. In the space of a few minutes earlier this week I nodded to a member of the Dubai ruling family, had a chat with a senior bank executive and enjoyed a useful exchange with one of the leading lawyers in the region.

I haven’t yet experienced iftar in the JET, but I bet it is uplifting and sumptuous, and there is a very good sports bar for the Fifa World Cup matches that follow.

I think I’m going to enjoy life in the lobby over the next few weeks.

fkane@thenational.ae

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