I recently read this article on 7days which talks about how an expatriate can ask a mosque to lower its volume. Its a very touchy subject. Muslims are very sensitive about stuff concerning their religion. This is a good thing. But this makes them very vulnerable to being offended.

The article discusses about one to approach the imam of the mosque and request him to be a little away from the mic while conducting his duty which would lower the volume a bit. If this doesn’t work, file an request with the government. Looking at it rationally, I don’t see anything wrong here. I don’t see how lowering the volume a bit would affect someone’s religion.

The expats in the article are not asking to mute the prayers but to lower it a bit. The whole article has received an over exaggerated response of twitter. I am of the strong opinion this is not a healthy conduct. Dubai is a multicultural country. Harmony can only exist if there is mutual understanding between expats of different community regarding their self and religion.

I am a 21 year Aeronautical engineer who aims to retire by the age of 35. When I tell my parents and relatives about this, they are usually startled. They don’t know how it will work out. I have a rough plan in mind and I am trying to fill in the details.

I have to work hard for 14 years to ensure that I don’t work for rest of my life. Its a good deal i’ll take it. So what am I going to do after the age of 35 ? I am going to do whatever I want. May be travel the world, raise cattle, make more sites or even farm.

I don’t want this money to feed myself and my future family. I want this money to buy me independence from my worldly responsibility and allow me to do what I want.This is life is too short. I want to live it to the fullest.

I am going to share my calculations with you in the next blog post on how exactly am I going to make it happen. So stay tuned !

I have been out of the country on a vacation for a while now. It is a little difficult to blog about something you have been aloof from. I am already out of topics and its getting difficult. The laziness is also getting to me. But I am determined to make this 30 day challenge work out so I’ll keep pushing through….

I’ll be back in the country in few days and I am trying to wrap the Indian chapter. Eat all what I wanted, visit places I wanted to and buy shit I want. I am not planned out well but I am sure it will all work out.

I am kind of excited to be back in the country. Be around things I am comfortable with. Meet people I normally hang out with. Interact with systems I am used to and work in peace on my table.

The priority once I am back is as follows:

• Make 2 different CVs : One targeting a Job as a engineer and one as a Internet Marketer.
• Get a Job.
• Make a portfolio of stocks worth 50,000 Rs .
• Bring revenue to its previous levels.
• Reduce weight.
• Be happier.

I am going to make a conscious effort to do something new every month/week/day. Make life a little interesting. Life is too short to be miserable 🙂

I was born and raised in Dubai. I have virtually lived all my life there and I am still a Indian citizen. This summer I am in India and the way things work here have reinforced my faith that I don’t really belong here.

Its a bit funny for people like us. We are used to world class facilities and no tax. When we go back its like a huge shock. Narrow, semi solid and uneven roads. Chaos all around. Every one is a hurry, every one is shouting. Everyone is cursing the politicians and the government. Everyone wants to try to sell you something. I am not really sure if I’d get used to it. Lets say, I do. I still wouldn’t be happy with all that.

I have a feeling that I have had enough of UAE too and might move to another country. I spoke about it in my previous blog post. Lets see how things turn out.

Note: The post is a bit India Specific.

UAE is a buzzing country and has many world class upcoming cities. There are lot of money making opportunities in the country and lets say you made a lot of money. What now ? Money lying around ideal is basically a waste of money. This blog post i will try to highlight few of the possible instruments you should or should not invest in.

Firstly, the fixed deposits. The rate of interest in Dubai is shit as compared to India. Max to max you can get from a conventional bank in Dubai is around 4%. But critics justify the low rate of interest as a result of low rate of inflation. If you send the money back to India for a greater interest rate, you subject your self to other possible hazardous parameters like currency depreciation and Tax Deduction at Source.

Lets talk a bit about currency depreciation first. Indian currency over the period of time has gone in only direction and that is down. One dirham was once worth 6 rupees and now its worth 15 rupees. So you might make 10% on your capital as interest. The value of the Rupee goes down another 10% with respect to Dirham on a average on yearly basis . Plus, the buying power of your money goes down further 10% due to inflation back in India.

Tax Deduction at Source or TDS is another major stupid parameter. If your interest generated in one bank is more than 10,000 Rupees a good fraction of the interest will be cut as tax. So one needs to be vigilant to ensure that the interest generated is less than the threshold amount always. If you have big money, this could be a major pain.

You could invest in stocks in Dubai. But the stock market lacks volume and hardly a handful of counter have movement. The movement is so slow that its hard to even notice. The brokerages are huge and you need to buy in huge quantities to even make profits. The fundamentals of the market are not favorable for any investor. There is lack of transparency and I don’t really trust an Arab management. I am better of investing back in India or US if you ask me.

You could also invest in real estate in UAE. The terms are not favorable. The properties are located far away, maintenance fees are high and just too expensive. As far as I know, the prices are kind of capped now and chances of appreciation are slim. Because [lot of new properties should be completed in this year. I don’t really see end users for all those properties. There is a huge gap between demand and supply. Demand is less and supply is way more. So even real estate in Dubai is not a ideal location for your money.

So at the end of the day, I am of the opinion that if you don’t like taking risk keep your money in UAE. The currency is stable and not much inflation depreciation. But if you have a risk appetite, send your money elsewhere where you are confident of a double digit return.