Blogosphere: January 27

There were two things that had bloggers in the UAE frothing at the mouth this week. One was a breathtakingly beautiful occurrence, which amazed everyone connected to it. The other involved a gold Mercedes being parked at a mall.

Firstly, of course, what made headline news was the fact that it snowed in the UAE. The snowfall on Ras Al Khaimah's Jebel Jais mountain range in a severe cold snap on Saturday could have been melted by the heat generated by bloggers furiously spreading word of this momentous event.

The local media covered the story pretty well. There were pictures aplenty as well as video clips, giving writers plenty of visual material.

Some chose to go down the National Geographic route, like Farukkh (www.indiancopywriter.com), who pointed out that the UAE was: "A country where the local dialect doesn't even have a word for 'snow'." [Actually there are two Arabic words for snow, but nobody said blogs were strictly factual]. He then added: "We have seen hailstones during this season in previous years, and there has been one incident of snowfall in Ras Al Khaimah. But this weekend was the first time that anyone ever saw snow covering the mountain peak of Jebel Jais, and an area of 5 kilometres around it."

Others, like Gracie (www.crazygraciegirl.blogspot.com), looked on the practical side. "That [the snowfall] probably explains why Friday was extra chilly [and rainy, too]. It's been really cold since we arrived here from our holidays, and just this morning the outside temperature was 13 degrees Celsius. Good thing cars here come with heaters and seat warmers! For good measure, I also have a fleece blanket, a comfy pillow and a pair of airline socks kept in the car 'cos even though I love the winter season here, I easily get cold."

And, this being the blogosphere, some bloggers had to weigh in with a little wry humour. "Here's one for all you global warming nay-sayers," read the headline on (www.birdsnack.blogspot.com), "Apparently there is no word for snow in the local dialect [someone else has been reading indiancopywriter.com]. The Inuit should lend them one, they have extra."

Away from the snow-capped mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, cars are always a favourite topic in Dubai. For those partaking in the latest automotive sensation to hit these shores, buying an expensive car is not quite enough, you've got to add a little bling factor-9 to your pride and joy to make it stand out from the expensive car brigade.

And what says "look at me" better than covering your car in gold? Grapeshisha (www.grapeshisha.blogspot.com) was one of a host of blogs to showcase this extraordinary car, which was snapped in the valet area of Mall of the Emirates (for maximum taxi queue wow effect, I presume). It read: "Imagine you had the money to do it, would you wrap your car in gold? Is that taste - or just showing off that you can?"

And, of course, news of such a car will not stay within the four walls of this emirate. The international Autoblog (www.autoblog.com) has also picked up on the Mercedes C63, adding: "While we have nothing untoward to say about someone who decks out his/her ride in any manner desired, we are always intrigued when someone looks to have spent the worth of a car - on top of the price of the car itself - on 'beautification'".

Quite. Perhaps matt paint jobs are now passé... and cladding your ride in gold will be all the rage this year. Only time will tell. I'm off to find out how much it costs to goldplate a 1988 Saab.