| Kippreport.com

Midas much?

February 28, 2011 2:42 by shafeer

“Gold-flavoured mineral water in Dubai” was a headline that caught our attention this week. Apparently, one of the ‘gems’ of the Gulf Food expo was the announcement form Canadian Mineral Water SA who say they are planning on launching GIZE, a gold filtered mineral water, in the luxury market sector of the UAE. The mineral water apparently is filtered through a specially designed golden filtering system: “A special gold filtering process results in a deluxe mineral water, perfect and with an unmistakable flavour that pleases even the most discerning palates” to quote Emirates 24|7.

If you are expecting Kipp’s usual Dubai-opulence-is-beyond-ridiculous stance, you are in for a surprise. Because having spent the better half of the morning watching the Oscar’s, Kipp is, frankly, nothing more than bored by Dubai’s obsession with gold.

Take, for instance, the most recent gold antics, the Gold ATMs that have been set up around the UAE, in major tourist destinations like the entrance of Burj Khalifa, the At The Top viewing platform on the 124th floor and the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The ATM machine, which only accepts cash (dirhams, to be specific), provides over excited tourists with gold nuggets and coins: the smallest nugget weighs 2.5 grams and can set you back by Dh565, whereas a one-ounce coin is a lot more pricey at Dh5,540. The prices are updated via the internet every 10 minutes. Though Kipp initially thought this idea a bit stupid, apparently not everybody agrees. Gulf News reports that “one vendor has had to organise twice-a-week replenishment.”

Then we have the gold tattoo. An exec from Assawan Spa & Health Club at Burj Al Arab, the only spa that offers such tattoos (to date) told Emirates 24|7,”As of now we are the only spa offering such tattoos (…) We have both local residents and tourists as our clients. The starting range is Dh395 for small sized ones and for medium sized tattoos it normally costs Dh495.”

Gold tattoos, gold ATMs and gold water. Is Kipp the only one stifling a yawn?

Tags: gold ATM, gold nuggets, gold tattoos, platinum