Have you experienced standing in queues at the Dubai airport waiting to get through immigration?

Something called e-Gate will save you from that hassle every time you get through Dubai immigration

What is e-gate and why you should use it?

You probably have noticed some part of the immigration look like a subway station - instead of going to see customs officers, passengers walk pass a row of automatic gates after scanning their cards

This is the power of e-Gate and its smart card. It helps you save time and preserve your dignity

• Time - My personal experience tells me it saves 20 minutes from waiting at the super-crowded Economy class departure hall. On arrival, it saves 20 minutes
• Risks of being delayed - I have been delayed by immigration officers, perhaps because they see stamps from countries that’d suggest suspicious behavior. The e-Gate will solve this problem because you don’t have to show your passport
• Passport space - Not having to show your passport will save you some valuable space for other trips - bear in mind every 4 UAE stamp fill a page on the passport
• Physchological benefits - Don’t you feel happy and privileged when you can get through immigration in a split second?

How can you get it?

• You must first be in Dubai. They’ll approve applications even if you’re a visitor! The good news is that you don’t have to be a Dubai resident
• When you go to the Dubai airport for your next departure, arrive 10 minutes earlier than usual
• Go to the Emirates Airport economy class (non-US destinations) departure hall. Head to the 2nd floor. Follow the big signs to the e-Gate office
• The e-Gate staff will help you with the process. You only need to bring your passport and pay AED 200 (~USD 50). Your card will be ready in 10 minutes and you can try it out at the departure gate!
• Or if you want to do it in town, call the Dubai Airline Center at +971-4-3166-966 and find out their locations

What do others say?

Other travelers have written about e-Gates. Here are what they said

World of Pradeep - an Expat living in Dubai

“Anyways thanks to Egate card I dont have to wait on long ques and I can quicky exit from the emmigration counters…”

Chris Saul’s Blog

“eGate is utterly brilliant - every Dubai resident should get one, regardless of how often they fly”

Hiroex - Japanese expat in Dubai

“有効期間は2年間で発行手数料200Dhs（約6,000円）はちょっと高いけど、ただでさえ夜中早朝発着の多いドバイ空港を待ち時間なしにスマートに通れるのならその価値もありですね”

An English Man in Dubai - as a frequent traveler, he reveals what is in his bag

“E-Gate card – the best thing I thing the Dubai authorities have ever introduced for whizzing through immigration at Dubai airport”

The world has changed - from too little information to too much information

In the past, professionals and business people always complained about the lack of data to help them make sound decisions. Nowadays, with the advent of the Internet, people complain that too much information exists and they don’t have enough time to find the right information and digest it. There are 2 challenges in acquiring information

1. To focus on the best information sources available and ignore inferior ones (quality)
2. Once you have found the best information, to absorb more information using less time (quantity)

I want to share some tips to overcome the 2nd challenge. It’s actionable and you will see significant results within an hour, perhaps a 100% improvement in productivity

The limit of human beings - luckily our brains is not the limit

Human being can only read at certain speed. In today’s age of information overload, how can we “get up to speed” to absorb more and more information? Research has been done to understand what the factors limiting our speed of reading

1. Sub-vocalization - The tendency to read aloud even when one is reading silently. While you are reading, you can probably notice the little movements of your tongue, as if you’re reading out loud. The maximum number of words that human beings can vocalize is about 150. This limits to reading speed to not much faster than 150

2. Eye-ball movement - As we read, our eyeballs invariably move. It seems that lateral movement of the eyeball requires much energy, and thereby slows down reading speed. Informal, non-scientific evidence based on me and my friends’ experience (any scientific research to prove or disprove this?), suggest that it is slower for one to read in languages that are written horizontally, compared to reading the same thing on languages that are written vertically. Our eyeballs can only roll so fast. This is a physical limitation
3. Concentration - When I am reading a book, I tend to think about other things that are remotely related to contents of the book, or not related at all. This is especially bad when I was reading online. Sometimes I’d go check email, or when an interesting link comes up, I have problem resisting to click on it. This distracts me from concentrating on the content I’m reading, and thus reduce the speed

The conclusion is that the speed at which the brain can process the information are not constraints to reading speed. This is good news, because technology and discipline can help us resolve the 3 constraints above. However, if our brains were to blame, it’d be much more difficult to increase the speed it which they run

Solutions to overcome human limits - Speed-reading tools

There are two types of speed reading tools. They serve different purposes

1. Rapid word-flashing software
   • Purpose: the purpose of the first type of tools is to help you read documents on a computer screen faster
   • How it works: This type of tools rapidly flashes words at the same position of the computer screen successively. It is like watching a movie in front of a computer screen. My eyeballs don’t have to move, and it helps me to concentrate. Best of all, when the speed of reading is higher, it eliminates my tendency to sub-vocalize
   • Preliminary test results: I managed to get up to 400 words per minute using the tool after a little practice, and for sure the speed can increase if I continue using it. It doesn’t seem to increase the speed of reading books though
   • Example: RapidReader. I recommend that you try a free trial version, downloadable at their website

Screenshot of RapidReader

2. Speed reading techniques training software
   • Purpose: The purpose of the second type of software is to improve your ability to read fast, both on screen and on paper, without the help of any tool
   • How it works: Instead of displaying words in the same place so your eyes don’t have to move laterally, this type of software trains your eyes to improve your span of vision. So when you’re reading a book, your eyeball will only focus on the middle of the line, and use your peripheral vision to read the left and the right. Now your eyeball doesn’t have to move laterally, increasing reading speed
   • Preliminary test results: I managed to get up to 350 words per minute reading a passage online, using the tool after a little practice. I can practice this skill without the tool, so it is useful for book-reading
   • Example: Best Reader. I recommend that you download a free trial version to try it out

Conclusion for lazy people

For quick results without much additional work, I recommend Rapid Reader, a rapid word-flashing software. Given the increasing number of documents I read on-screen, this is more useful. And the fact that I can sit back and relax to read faster is something I can’t resist

I hope the tools will help you increase your information uptake

Additional information

Examples of languages written horizontally

• English, from left to right, then top to bottom
• Arabic, from right to left, then top to bottom

Examples of languages written vertically

• Japanese, from top to bottom then right to left
• Mongolian, from top to bottom then left to right

For more on different writing systems, see Wikipedia entry on writing system

Thoughts on cultural gaps

Posters of the movies Babel

Communication breakdown is a big challenge for human society. They are illustrated vividly by the tragic scenes of the movie Babel. Cultural similarity can also bring seemingly unrelated people together, especially when they cannot blend in to a different culture. Lost in Translation gives this a somewhat romantic touch. The more common variations are the social groups and online forums for Western expatriates in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Also worth mentioning are the Japanese associations and China towns in major cities

There have long been dreams that technology can bridge this gap, enabling everybody to communicate with others from different cultures

Poster of the movie Lost in Translation

Experiment using technology to bridge language gaps

I tried to use online machine translation tools to translate phrases from English to other languages, and see what comes back. I recommend a website, Babelize, that makes this really easy and fun! It translates your phrase into 10 languages and then back into English. I tried to play with the question “Do you believe in God?” Here are the results

Translated to Japanese:
神を信じるか。

Translated back to English:
Is God believed?

Translated to Chinese:
上帝被相信吗?

Translated back to English:
God is believed?

Translated to French:
Dieu est cru ?

Translated back to English:
Is God believed?

Translated to German:
Wird Gott geglaubt?

Translated back to English:
Is God believed?

Translated to Italian:
Il dio si crede?

Translated back to English:
The God believes itself?

Translated to Portuguese:
O deus acredita-se?

Translated back to English:
The god gives credit itself?

Translated to Spanish:
¿El dios da el crédito sí mismo?

Translated back to English:
The God gives to the credit itself?

Machine translation still has a long way to go, until it can spit out meaningful words. Good news for language teachers, otherwise students can always excuse themselves from learning foreign languages

I’ve always struggle in word games like scrabble, because I only know a limited number of words. At school, I once played a word game called Anagrams. It required me to rearrange a word to form other words. For example, the word “Arts” can be rearranged as

- Tars
- Rats
- Star
- Tsar

Lately I’ve come across a few websites that automatically solve this type of word game . They give me a relaxed way to learn new words. I can type some words that I am curious about, and boom! In a split second, a list of words with the same letters arranged differently, come up. Here are some words that I find interestingly sarcastic (although politically incorrect)

Japan’s prime minister
- Shinzo Abe -> Sob in Haze

Taiwan’s president
- Chen Shui-Bien -> Nice Bush in he

Korean actress who once had an affair with a Hong Kong singer
- Kim Hee Sun -> I sue HK men

The world’s hybrid car
- The Toyota Prius -> Oh, auto is pretty! -> Ahoy! Prostitute
The intertwined relationship between 3 celebrities in Taiwan
- Jay Chou, Petty Hou, Jolin Tsai -> Oh! jauntily, joyous, pathetic

Enough examples. Among all anagram-generating sites, I recommend Anagram Genius as it generates the most natural phrases without advanced user settings (try it yourself!), and without bombarding you with numerous combinations to choose from

Here are some other sites that help you generate these funny phrases. Enjoy!

Wordsmith Anagram Solver
Good for basic and advanced users. It contains advanced options for users to limit the number of words in each anagram, force anagrams to include or exclude a word, etc.

Andy’s Anagram Solver
Very similar to Wordsmith, but allows user to choose the dictionary to limit / expand phrases generated. There are 4 English dictionaries to choose from
- English (20000 words)
- English with proper nouns
- Massive English dictionary (>100000 words!)
- Massive English dictionary with some proper nouns

Brendan’s On-Line Anagram Generator
Very simple interface The only configuration you need is the minimum number of letters of a word

A typical taxi-cab

The most common form of transportation in Kuwait is by private car. But if you don’t drive, or don’t want to look bad driving a Toyota next to your friend’s BMW, taxis are the only viable alternative. Buses are infrequent, slow, and the routes they go are very limited. Usually only blue-collar expatriate workers take them

Here are some tips that may help you improve your experience with Kuwaiti taxis

1. Call taxi (241-3414) instead of waiting for street cabs
When I am in Kuwait City, this is the number that I call the most: 241-3414. It is the phone number of one of the larger taxi companies. It is probably the most important number for visitors. I use them for the following reasons
- After you call, they usually come pick you up within 5 minutes
- Cabs are coordinated centrally and are connected to a radio system. They have some English-speaking operators in their call centers. So when I want to go somewhere, as long as I have the address, the driver will find a way to get there through radio

Alternatively, you can wait for street cabs, but you have to believe that you’re lucky. Sometimes they come within 5 minutes, while sometimes they never appear

2. Negotiate the fare before going anywhere
Taxis have meters, but the drivers don’t charge by the meters. At the end of the journey, they’ll just tell you what the fare is. It is EXTREMELY important that you and the driver agree on the fare before you start moving, or you’ll probably pay more than you have to

Here are the going rates, based on my personal experience
- Kuwait International Airport - Kuwait City, 5 KD
- Short distance within Kuwait City - 2 KD
- Long distance within Kuwait City and vicinity - 3 - 4 KD

If they charge you more than that, bargaining helps. Street taxis are usually cheaper than the call-in taxis

Licenses of a taxi driver, photo taken from the back seat
Taxis are heavily regulated in Kuwait. Drivers are required to apply for various licenses (I counted 4) before he can carry passengers in a taxi. This red tape has driven up the price. Comparing journeys of similar distances, fares in Kuwait are up to 50% higher than fares in Dubai. For short-distance journeys, the difference may be even higher

Game theory is a tool used to understand decisions made in situations involving several players. These situations range from wars to family relationships, from president election to bargaining in the black market. Businesses also use game theory to make strategic decisions

One guru on game theory is Roger Myerson. He is a professor at the University of Chicago. I find the following pages on his website interesting

- Academic papers marrying public policy and political decision-making with economics

- Excel add-ins that add statistical functions for Monte Carlo simulation and risk analysis. His tools supplement Excel’s weakness in probabilistic calculations. The add-ins allow users to generate Poisson, beta, gamma and log-normal distributions, as well as some other analytical features

- Syllabus of graduate-level economics classes at the University of Chicago. Here I got a chance to learn what the teach in one of the world’s best school of economics

- Roger Myerson’s Curriculum vitae (CV in pdf). To become a prominent academic is not easy. The long list of positions held and papers published helped me realize this. If I were to go into academia, better be ready for that. It’s also fun going through his professional journey on paper

More information on game theory
Wikipedia entry

Gametheory.net
- Books, academic papers, and online games on game theory for professors, students and practitioners

One of the most frustrating things that can happen to travelers is delay at the airport. The issue has been particularly serious in Kuwait for arriving visitors who’re non-GCC Nationals. There have been times when I had to wait more than 2 hours at the airport before being allowed to enter the country. So I decide to find out and share some tips to help other people save time. Hope this is useful for you

The problem - lengthy visa procedure at Kuwait International Airport

Kuwait has a visa process that is restrictive by international standard. Every non-GCC visitor has to apply for visa in advance before entering Kuwait. In 2004, the Ministry of Interior has adopted a policy to open up its borders. Nationals of the following countries can apply for visa at the airport

1. USA.
2. UK.
3. France.
4. Italy.
5. Germany.
6. Canada.
7. Australia.
8. New Zealand.
9. Japan.
10. The Netherlands.
11. Belgium.
12. Luxembourg.
13. Switzerland.
14. Austria.
15. Sweden.
16. Norway.
17. Denmark.
18. Portugal.
19. Ireland.
20. Greece.
21. Finland.
22. Spain.
23. Monaco.
24. the Vatican.
25. Iceland.
26. Andorra.
27. San Marino.
28. Liechtenstein.
29. Brunei.
30. Singapore.
31. Malaysia.
32. Hong Kong.
33. South Korea.
34. China.*

*They recently excluded China, but the decision was not publicized. Customs officials told me they originally did not plan to restrict Chinese visitors. However, thousands of prostitutes and criminals flock to the country and stay there using the loophole. Therefore, when you arrive at Kuwait International Airport today, you will see notice boards stating people from these 34 countries can obtain visa there, with big crosses covering the word “China”. Moreover, Nationals of Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong were screened in extra caution (that means extra wait time!), because Kuwaiti officials are concerned that Chinese may try using fake passports of these 3 countries to enter Kuwait. They have no way to tell from the look, whether someone is from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong or China

Usually people need to wait for 1 - 1.5 hour to have a visa issued. If you don’t want to wait, here is a good service to use

Solution - Hala (Meet-and-greet) Services
Realizing this problem, entrepreneurs have found a way to speed up the visa process. This is a service run by a private company called Hala Services Kuwait. User can register online or call them at +965-842-842 (Ext. 304) to ask for help. Of all the services they provide (from welcoming you by flowers and dates at the gate to wheelchair assistance), I recommend the airport visa service

I tried it myself. As soon as I stepped out of the plane, I saw a lady holding up a cardboard with my name on it. Then she escorted me directly to the visa counter. Instead of waiting in line with the other ~100 travelers, we bypassed the whole process by using a special counter. 15 minutes later, I was already outside the airport

It costs 1 KD (~3.5 USD), but it’s worth it as I don’t have to worry about waiting. Now I don’t have to worry about arriving after a 747-400 from Amsterdam, and how long I have to wait until they give you a visa

For more information,

Hala Services in Kuwait’s International Airport

Kuwaitah website on Kuwait visa procedure