Days D1-2: The Energy is Infectious

February 8, 2025

After a nice sleep at the Sananwan, I had one last breakfast at the poolside then made tracks for the airport. The nice thing is about the location, and a key reason actually, is how close it is. Technically I should have been worried that it was only a bit more than an hour before the flight while getting into the taxi but whatever.

There was a bit of a cafuffle in trying to locate stuff left behind from previous trips. This time it was an attempt to locate a jacket, some old condo documents, and who knows what else I had left. The staff didn't really have an organized system for this. It sucks, but the onus is on the guest to keep track of this stuff and I wasn't on my A game obviously. They also aren't set up for cards or e-payments, so it's worth noting: it has to be cash even though other places in Thailand now refuse cash. Go figure. Having gotten used to the scanning system, it now made for a mad dash to the ATM on the bicycle some 1km away and the morning traffic was absolute chaos near the main intersection by the temple. At that point it looked like it would be impossible to make the flight on time.

In the end it got sorted. While looking for jackets and other stuff in the storage room, I did happen to come across two pannier bags that were taken at the beginning of the trip and left behind. Even I forgot about those. Good grief. But it goes to show that the minimalism system is an ongoing work in progress. This trip I was carrying maybe half the stuff as previous trips, and all this storage cafuffle provided evidence I could halve it yet again in future.

The staff helped put the bicycle away in storage again until next time or when a buyer picks it up. They will earn great review for that.

The ride to the airport was quick as the traffic had dissipated during all this cafuffle. I was the last to check in, but whisked through immigration in less than 5 minutes and ended up waiting at the boarding gate anyway. The officers were joking about whether I could speak French or not. I told them as someone from Vancouver it would never happen.

The airport was deserted. A nice break for a coffee

As far as flights go, Emirates was one of the best if not the best. It was a double-decker flight, Airbus A340 and my economy class seats were on the top deck along with business class. They served a main meal along with several snacks and drinks. Flight attendands were very polite and accomodating. They also had on-board wifi which was fantastic. It wasn't a long flight either, around 6.5 hours, and the fact it all happened in the day made adjustment easier.

Awesome flight. Great legroom, very spacious all around. Emirates is the best

Landing in Dubai it was back to the first world. There was a shock, and while I missed Thailand immediately with the warm people and the amazing vibes, it was now onwards to the next adventure. This time I was already somewhat familiar with the place. Since it was not my first time, there was no free SIM card at immigration and the staff directed me to the 'smart gates', basically an AI system. You simply scan the passport through a machine and walk in. No stamps, no visas, and no questions. It's all facial recognition technology like almost everywhere in the world now which, depending on how you look at it, could also be a little scary.

This time as luck would have it, I booked an Airbnb for a great deal and I was the only guest. Well for now that is. Unlike the last trip where the host was a buzz of social activity, the host here was nowhere to be seen. It also looked like I got the whole apartment to myself. Getting there was, of course, an adventure in itself. Wanting to try the metro system and save money, it was then a 25 minute walk through various side streets. This pattern would come to define the next week and I got familiar with all the shortcuts quickly. Taxis were used a lot more sparingly thanks to the weather being bearable: only 25 degrees instead of 45 degrees like last time.

That can't be good. Sadly there is an underbelly of these food delivery scooters just like in Shanghai. Only it's far more dangerous in Dubai as they're scooting fast and furious on extremely dangerous roads.

I didn't waste a second in going to a group fitness gym. Unlike Thailand, these were in abundance in Dubai. The fitness mecca was one of the key reasons for coming here. There could be more group gyms and healthy eating options per capita here in Dubai than anywhere else in the world. It's a little known fact either as most people wouldn't be aware of this or suspect it, but my on the ground research confirms it. Not sure why this is, but my best guess is that people care about their appearances a LOT and they take pride in maintaining healthy bodies and lifestyles. To some extent this philosophy could be found in Thailand also, but the infrastructure is lacking to support it. Gyms could still be found in multiple places, but the fitness culture was more of a DIY style. Plus there are habits that are hard to break: Thai people absolutely adore their snack foods at any time of day or night. It goes without saying that both the the younger and older generations are getting more and more obese with every single trip I make. You'll find similar habits and obesity in Dubai too of course, but on a per-capita basis I would certainly argue that the body shapes and sizes are healthier and the people have a more robust physique to them.

Once at the first gym (Orange Theory) I was astonished that the coach and front desk recognized me right away and even remembered my name. They had no idea I was walking in just now either. High fives were given all around and introductions and shoutouts became the order of the day throughout the first class. They said, "This guy literally just walked off the plane." That was exceptional service to say the least. They rightfully earned a sale of a 10-class pack with two thrown in for free and all for around $200, I would say it's great value. Plus it lasts for a year so that only means another trip if I can't use them all this time.

Unfortunately they wanted to kick me out right after the shower because the next class was ladies only and the front desk warned me, "The local ladies here like to make drama. It's better that all the men leave at least 15 minutes before the class." Fair enough.

It was then time to chill out at Starbucks and do some trading. All told I made around $3000 in my futures account in the last several days which offset the earlier gold losses of $2000 on top of the mountains in Thailand. This was the cue to shut down that particular account for the next several weeks which I did. But the key takeaway I got wasn't the money, it was the timezones: here in Dubai, you can trade all three markets (Asia, Europe, and US) at reasonable times and not have to worry about this affecting your sleep like in China. It's simply because when you're sleeping in Dubai time, not much is happening in the world markets. For example the US market now opens at 6:30pm in this time zone. This proved to be an absolute game changer! I could get the majority of my orders done, monitor the markets for several hours, and then go to sleep just a few hours before the closing bell.

It made me realize that if I got a job here, it would absolutely change the game. The day job could be done, hit the gym in the afternoon, set up trading in the evening, then actually go to sleep for once.

The next morning was basically time to make a huge dent in organizing my stuff, both physical belongings and electronic files on my computer. It was another game changer in that I accomplished more in 5 hours than in 5 months back in China dealing with all the stress. It's all about the energy and vibes of the place. Here in Dubai, the bullish environment feeds into you and vice versa. This is a place where shit gets done. Taking a look around you, all you see is the future and progress. It is much more conducive to focusing and accomplishing things. How insane that I would need to fly halfway across the world to make this kind of progress but I wasn't complaining. Back in China, you are constantly fighting fires and dealing with distractions and mismangement caused by others, and this affects your entire day. It leaves you stretched thin, energy depleted, and running in many directions. Basically you're spinning in circles.

After making all this progess, I set off to tackle a few more errands. Along the way I saw more than a few supermarkets that had abundant items and other opportunistic purchases. Life Pharmacy, for example, had protein powder.

Wasn't planning on this but I'll take it

Mercato shopping mall. It's like I never left the place. Even the gym staff said I simply came out of hibernation

But the main errand was to get a SIM card as well as sign up for a smaller number of classes at Barry's Bootcamp. The staff at Barry's also rememered my name. I was astonished and told them so. How do these guys do it? Whatever their secret was, these were skills I needed to draw on. Much of the discourse online tells you how hard it is to remember names and how unnatural it is, and they don't give you a lot of practical ways to actually do it. Yet I was seeing a lot of evidence at the group gyms that people CAN do this.

Everyone seemed to be pointing to Dubai Mall as the place to get a SIM card, and it was nearby so I continued the journey. The place was a bit of a maze but information counter staff were super friendly and they pointed me in the right direction. The SIM card itself was a piece of cake to get, it was just a matter of finding the right shop. As I learned, you can't get them just anywhere. The smaller groceries and mobile phone shops are not authorized to sell them.

Next it was a mad dash in a taxi to make my next fitness class on time. It was also a success and in a few short days I could already see the belly fat start to melt off. This was the result of 5 months of stress, and my plan for this trip was to use the Dubai fitness mecca culture to blast away at it as quickly as possible.

After that, some time to nap and then set out for the evening entertainment. This time I had located a hotel party on some obscure part of the crescent road of Palm Jameria. It's basically where the richest of the rich live.

It was while on the metro that mixed with watching the amazing night views and my phone, a sudden drop in the markets got my attention. Trump had made an impulsive tweet, what else is new. But the speed of the selloff was so quick that not even market orders were filling. This is the stuff of nightmares that will plow though all your stop losses. Fortunately I was trading options on futures which softened the blow but I got out at $650 instead of $800 profit. It could have been far worse. This was the first proof of concept test for Dubai. If this was in China it would be 11pm and no time to react to this. I would have lost the entire $1000 or more easily

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