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Book by young South Korean girl covers travels of Italy and UAE
Bored? What do you do to find a way out of it? You could go on a travel, draw something or make yourself a quick snack. Or you could write a book and publish it with elements around all of the forementioned, as 11-year-old Grace Joo-eun Choi has done.
Grace has published her first book The Way Out Of Boredom, and she made an appearance as a mini-celebrity in her own right at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival at the emirate’s Expo Centre. The 14th edition of the SCRF concluded on Sunday after more than 1,700 events with 68 prominent authors, writers and literary figures as guests, a Cookery Corner with 12 chefs from nine countries, plenty of entertainment, engaging skills workshops, fun and games.
Not only has Grace written the book, she has even drawn the comic characters and illustrations that serve the graphic elements on the 40-page square size book. She started writing the book during the pandemic days when her father’s work took them to Italy as a South Korean diplomat.
“It is about our travels to the country’s various iconic places which we visited, seen through the character The Fluff ball,” says Grace on the sidelines of the SCRF at the stand of her book publisher, Austin Macauley. Written in poetry fashion with rhyming lines wherever possible character, Grace traces her travels through Fluff across 10 cities in 10 days in the book.
Grace Choi’s book about her UAE experiences is to be published towards the end of the year. Supplied
“I never thought much about my travels. In fact, I used to get bored at times. But when Covid-19 happened, you realised the importance of going out. So now I want others to experience the realisation I had through this book.”
The next natural question and answer to it is prompt – the focus of Part 2 of The Way Out Of Boredom is the UAE, because her father Choi Young-joon has been posted as the Deputy Consul General in Dubai. And her best place in the country is? “This is not an answer on the expected lines, but I like the malls here the most, especially the Dubai Mall. I love skating and it amazes me to see a skating rink that big at the Dubai Mall,” she said.
The skating may be off the beaten track, but the writing, drawing and a passion for cooking is genetics. Grace’s mother is an author herself, who has written two books around art and cooking in the Korean language.
Grace displays remarkable poise as an experienced writer would, though her female lead in the book is named The Fluff. The naming process was also a bit random, the Harry Potter fan recalls. “For both my books, I have taken inspiration by characters from my digital drawing gallery. Still, me and my brother took help from a random generator to short-list three characters. I went with The Fluff.”
Grace’s favourite hero is Spiderman. The Marvel follower acknowledges she gets help as a writer from the friendly neighbourhood, but starting with her home. “There is no method when I write. Whenever I get an idea, I pen it down. Then usually my first draft is ready within six months. My mother helps me with the design process and the final revisions before my work is commissioned to a publisher.”
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If you’ve ever fumbled for a parking ticket while leaving City Walk or queued at a payment machine, those days are over.
Dubai’s popular lifestyle destination has rolled out a barrierless, ticketless parking system, allowing motorists to drive in and out without collecting a ticket or stopping to pay before exiting.
The new system, introduced by Parkin, uses automatic number plate recognition technology to record when vehicles enter and leave the parking facility, making the entire process faster and more convenient.
How the new parking system works
Instead of paper tickets and exit barriers, cameras identify your vehicle when you enter and exit City Walk.
Parking fees are calculated automatically based on the length of your stay.
If you have a Parkin account, the fee is deducted automatically. Visitors without an account, or those with insufficient balance, will receive a payment link to complete the transaction digitally.
The move is part of Dubai’s wider shift towards smart mobility and cashless services.
Parking charges at City Walk
Visitors can still enjoy one hour of free parking at City Walk.
After the complimentary period, parking is charged at:
- Dh5 per hour, or part of an hour.
For visitors heading to The Boulevard, a different tariff applies.
The first 30 minutes are free, after which parking costs Dh20 per hour. According to City Walk, these charges are automatically deducted through the visitor’s Salik account.
How to get free parking
Visitors spending Dh50 or more at participating outlets can receive up to three hours of complimentary parking.
To claim the benefit, shoppers and diners must validate their parking at the participating retailer before leaving.
Parking validation is also available for eligible visitors at attractions including Roxy Cinemas, The Green Planet and selected participating outlets.
Part of a growing smart parking network
City Walk is the latest destination to embrace ticketless parking as Dubai continues expanding digital payment solutions across the city.
Earlier, Parkin announced a five-year agreement with Al Ghurair Centre to introduce a similar smart parking system.
Under that arrangement, visitors receive three hours of complimentary parking before charges apply from Monday to Saturday, while parking remains free on Sundays and public holidays.
With barrierless parking now becoming more common across Dubai, motorists can expect quicker entry and exit, fewer queues and a smoother parking experience, without the hassle of paper tickets.
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