THE FOOD MYTH OS_112015.P00.indd 1 10/21/15 5:04 PM L'Oreal - G Armani (LHP).pdf 1 10/20/15 11:11 AM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K L'Oreal - G Armani (RHP).pdf 1 10/20/15 11:13 AM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Dior_OpenSkies.indd 1 12/10/2015 12:25 Le Théâtre Dior From November 9 to November 24, 2015 Photography Patrick Demarchelier Patrick Photography The Dubai Mall, Fashion Catwalk Atrium Dior_OpenSkies_11-15_Right.indd 1 12/10/2015 12:29 monili - LHP.pdf 1 9/21/15 7:06 PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K monili - RHP.pdf 1 9/21/15 7:08 PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K lifestyle (LHP).pdf 1 10/25/15 4:30 PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Diamond Guitar played by Jermaine Jackson in front of an audience of 40,000 at the BBC Proms, Hyde Park. lifestyle (RHP).pdf 1 10/25/15 4:40 PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K RADO.COM RADO HYPERCHROME AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH PLASMA HIGH-TECH CERAMIC HRITHIK ROSHAN RADO_OpenSkies_mag_November_195x260.indd 1 08.10.15 14:10 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Obaid Humaid Al Tayer MANAGING PARTNER & GROUP EDITOR Ian Fairservice EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gina Johnson [email protected] GROUP EDITOR Mark Evans [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR Andrew Nagy [email protected] DIGITAL / PRINT DESIGNER Ralph Mancao [email protected] DIGITAL ANIMATOR Surajit Dutta [email protected] SUB EDITOR Salil Kumar [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Londresa Flores [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Gary Evans, Andrew Birbeck, Gemma Correll, Meryl D’Souza, Kaye Martindale, Daniel Huffman, Mark Johanson, Carolyn Stritch, Sandra Tinari, Sean Williams. 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Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. Comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken. 114,087 copies Media One Tower, Dubai Media City PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE January – June 2015 Telephone: (+971 4) 427 3000 Fax: (+971 4) 428 2261 Email: [email protected] Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai, UAE OS57_013 Flannel.indd 13 10/22/15 3:04 PM AHMED SEDDIQI & SONS AHMED SEDDIQI & SONS AHMED SEDDIQI & SONS BAHRAIN JEWELLERY CENTRE Dubai Mall - DUBAI Atlantis Hotel - DUBAI Wa Mall - DUBAI Al Aali - SEEF (+971) 4 339 8881 (+971) 4 422 0240 (+971) 4 324 6060 (+973) 17 582 444 BOUTIQUE AKILLIS 332 RUE SAINT-HONORÉ PARIS WWW.AKILLIS.COM EDITOR’S LETTER ON THE COVER ANDREW NAGY remember leaving university, Fully aware of government plans to as a twenty-something, with modernise India’s railway, we felt it only I hopes, dreams and an incredibly wise to send a writer there for one strong desire not to get a real job. final hurrah. “Go until your visa runs Not immediately at least. And so in out,” was the plan. And he did, and he’s hopelessly clichéd fashion, I set about put together a rather lovely feature booking a round-the-world trip. about it too. After a few weeks of prep (begging Another thing I remember about THE FOOD MYTH for money from parents and any other India is that back then, as a rather This month’s cover story will revolutionise wealthy relatives I could find), the route naïve traveller with a less than iron the way you eat. Neurogastronomy is was set. India-Thailand-Vietnam-Fiji- constitution, I feared eating almost the name of the game and it’s absolutely Australia-America. I was happy. everything. It resulted in a diet of, well, mindboggling. For our cover we went to It took my best friend roughly 20 bread. The upshot was that I lost a fair illustrator Kyle Smart, whose work has seconds to shoot down this dream. “Ooh, amount of weight and missed out on appeared in The Wall Street Journal mate. India? India first? I wouldn’t do that whole host of fantastic food. and Port magazine. if I were you.” His thinking being that the Why am I telling you this? Well, our second most populous country on Earth other main feature this month is about might be such an assault on the senses neurogastronomy and it’s staggering. I that making it my first port of call would won’t go into details here, but suffice have me running home within the week. to say that I know what you’ll be eating I followed his advice, and was in the future – it comes in a special ultimately pleased I did. Don’t get me shape to fit your mouth and with added wrong, India is an absolutely amazing sounds of the sea. country, with stunning landscapes and Enjoy the issue. NOW AVAILABLE ON YOUR IPAD rich history, but any journey there can be tough, particularly a first one and especially by train – watching the stark “WHAT MAKES INDIA SO TOUGH contrasts of life whizzing past your window. However, this is also what IS ALSO WHAT MAKES IT SUCH AN makes it one of the classic journeys. AMAZING COUNTRY TO VISIT” facebook.com/ twitter.com/ instagram.com/ openskiesmagazine openskiesmag openskiesmag LOOK OUT FOR THIS ICON ON EACH STORY IN OPEN SKIES FOR AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF EMIRATES | 15 | OS57_015 Editor's Letter.indd 15 10/22/15 4:18 PM shop online carpisa.com available in all Carpisa Stores THE CAPSULE COLLECTION designed by PENÉLOPE and M Ó NICA CRUZ WE ARE PRESENT IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, Montenegro, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom WE ARE ALSO PRESENT IN THE DEPARTMENT STORES OF El Corte Ingles (Spain), Falabella (Chile), Groupe Beaumanoir (France), Siman (El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica). For Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia: Primis Consult – [email protected] For Croatia: Pianoforte Croatia d.o.o. – [email protected] For Spain: [email protected] For Greece: Yama Hellas S.A. – [email protected] / For Portugal: Corrêa & Terenas S.A. – [email protected] For Russia: Indaco OOO – grechkoentrade.ru / For all the other countries: [email protected] CONTENTS FRONT 22 30 32 35 42 Experience Flashback Entrepreneur Lunch With Stay 48 59 Neighbourhood Local Knowledge MAIN 68 84 92 The Last Train Magnificent Sevens Brain Food BRIEFING 104 110 112 114 116 Emirates News Inside Emirates Destination Comfort Visas, Quick Connect & Quarantine Information 120 122 128 130 UAE Smart Gate Route Map The Fleet Knowledge | 17 | OS57_017 Contents.indd 17 10/22/15 3:09 PM CONTRIBUTORS NOVEMBER Some of the people who helped create this issue of Open Skies ANDREW MERYL GARY MARK BIRBECK D’SOUZA EVANS JOHANSON Andrew is an Edinburgh-born Meryl is the deputy digital Gary is a freelance feature Mark is an American writer author, writer and blogger editor at GQ India who turned, writer from Sunderland. who contributes to a number who contributes regularly to grudgingly, to journalism after His writing has appeared in of international publications a broad range of international accepting the hard truth that Rolling Stone, The Guardian, from his home in Santiago, and national titles. This month he just wasn’t good enough The Independent and Dazed Chile. This month he explores he spoke with Komal Ahmad, to become a professional & Confused. This month he the multisensory process who created an app to feed footballer. This month he writes about India. behind our flavour. the homeless. writes about Diwali. “Travel the length and “It was mindboggling to “The beauty of an idea “As a Christian boy breadth of India by train: discover that eating is one often lies in simplicity.