Lime Kettles

2011-06-01T11:16:00.000+10:00

http://www.ilktac.com/find11.html

Surprise Visitors to Dubai

2011-02-15T03:48:00.001+11:00

Wow, 2 posts in as many days...

Last night was the culmination of a big secret that has been going on since about November in which our youngest Brookie's best friend from Australia has come to visit. It was a secret to Brooke but we have been aware and preparing for what has seemed like ages and last night her friend Madi, her mum Jo and her big sister Cassie landed in Dubai and I secretly went out to pick them up from the airport.

Then at about 7pm, we pull up at the house, we ring the doorbell and Niki sends Brooke to open the door... SURPRISE!!!

She was absolutely shocked! She had no idea and soon there were "happy tears" all around. So at the moment, we have a full house with friends. And that means presents!!

Niki must have mentioned that we missed certain foods from home and Jo brought boxes of lollies - yes BOXES - of things such as Redskins and my favourite Violet Crumble bars. Aussie Aeroguard as well... we're now well stocked (the local and British stuff here is rubbish!).

So it's a big shopping extravaganza here as the 5 girls in the house are already lining up which mall they're off to over the next 17 days.

Full house yes, but always good to have visitors from home... and once again showing off that Dubai is actually a pretty cool place to live.

Amy Winehouse in Dubai

2011-02-13T13:28:00.001+11:00

Well... been awhile!

Many things going on here and I want to post more but have been pretty busy, but one thing that I just have to report on is that we went to the Amy Winehouse "concert" in Dubai this weekend. "Concert" is in quotation marks deliberately because it was so bad, that we along with thousands of others, left before it was over.

In hindsight, apparently this isnt unusual for her as she invariably turns up drunk and/or high to her shows and we got off to a bad start when she was gargling her "drink" that was in a white coffee mug as soon as she came on stage.

From there, she was disinterested, vague, forgot the words to her songs, played with her earrings and fingernails as opposed to engage with the audience and then she just walked off stage for 20 minutes leaving the show in the hands of her backup singers.

The crowd boo'ed her mercilessly. Worst concert we have been to and a complete waste of money.

And to think she was in an Islamic country in which public displays of drunkeness are outlawed and yet she was paid good money to put that tripe on.

Here is some amateur footage (not mine) of her show... it doesnt actually show the worst bits, but I presume the person who took this must have left after he took it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnhkFu81qJo&feature=player_embedded#at=140

Change of Scenery

2011-01-17T21:33:00.001+11:00

Well, Xmas is always a slow down on many things and Lime Kettles is one that seemingly takes a backseat when you're on the road for 3-4 weeks on holiday.

We had an excellent time in Sydney and caught up with all the family and friends and whilst we deliberately made it less hectic than last year it was still a busy but enjoyable time. Am happy to report that we scored well on the Santa front with all of us picking up new iPads courtesy of my Mum & Dad (thanks!) and also the girls scored iPod Touches as well... so we're now a fully "synced" family with Apple products. Coupled with my AppleTV I got for my birthday, we're now sticking our noses at Microsoft. Having said that though, I cannot bring myself to buy an Apple for PC / Laptop purposes... I hate Microsoft in general but the hassle to learn a new O/S and the Office Products (I know you can get Office for Mac, but still....) is in my too hard / unnecessary basket.

On the UAE front, it is winter here and its cool and we get morning fogs and light rain on occasion but in the main it is still sunny and temps in the high 20's celcius. The big change is however just this past week, I am actually saying good bye to my job at Masdar and am moving back to the parent company.

Sad, and not by my choice, but I have been "reassigned" and the one thing about working here in the UAE is that change is continuous and management see their workforce as expendable and fluid. My new job is going to be challenging and interesting but it will be in the office in downtown Abu Dhabi and will be a world away from working "on site" here.

So, this is my last week here... and I have to say it has been a really enjoyable experience and I will miss the people and also the excitement of working on such a unique set of projects. I guess this means then I will have some new inspiration for blog posts as I settle in to working life closer to town.

Merry Xmas

2010-12-24T23:43:00.003+11:00

2010 is coming to a close. As I write this, I am sitting in Sydney after arriving here from Dubai for the Christmas / NY holidays. Our trip to Sydney was fine and uneventful (which is what you want on a plane!) and whilst the weather isnt brilliant, to be honest I dont mind overcast and showers as a bit of variety from our Dubai home.

The year on reflection has been a great one. Work has consolidated in Dubai and is now routine rather than the wonderous experience of oddities that I blogged about in 2009. Its not that it is no longer "different" but rather I have adjusted where what was once odd and different is now the norm.

On the family front, the year has been excellent. We have made great friends, have met wonderful people and have enjoyed many unique experiences. We have explored the UAE and seen many sites ranging from the view at the top of the Burj Khalifa which is a monument of man's engineering down to seeing the sun set over the mountains of Fujeirah as they drop into the Indian Ocean.

We have reached the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which has been about a 10yr goal of mine to take Niki to and we both were extremely happy to see the kids still hang on to their childhood by dancing around with the Disney Princesses at Euro Disney.

2010 was also the year of learning new things... I have kept up my Arabic lessons and the girls are both getting very adept at French. Kate went into the IB curriculum version of High School and adjusted well.

Sadly though, we lost our first dog Zoe to old age and we still miss her. We also thought we lost Charlie the Cat too, but he came back after a 5 day stay somewhere else?! Both Niki and I had to make sudden trips back to Sydney for her mum and my dad for health reasons but we're glad that they both turned out OK.

But overall, 2010 has been one of the best years ever and we're very much looking forward to 2011. And whilst I know that I havent been posting as often as I once did, but this blog is still a great record of life and next year in 2011 will be the 8th year of Lime Kettles and I will keep posting.

So thank you readers for still reading and I wish everyone a very Merry Xmas and I hope your New Year will be a great one.

All the best!
Clay

Dubai Birthday

2010-12-14T07:08:00.000+11:00

Well, it was my birthday last weekend and given that last year I spent my birthday in a plane to Sydney, this year was a much better occasion and I celebrated with Niki and the girls and our Dubai friends at a big "brunch".

My birthday you see fell on Friday, and therefore as its the "done thing" in Dubai, we celebrated with a Friday Brunch.

Brunch is where you pay a fixed price and get to eat and drink (including alcohol) as much as you like. It's definately an occasion to leave the car at home and take a taxi! All hotels in Dubai offer a Friday Brunch and you can generally find one that meets your price range and you can also take a "non-alcohol" choice as well which reduces the cost of course. Kids are also offered a discounted price and kids typically under 4 eat and drink free.

This all stems from the Arabic custom of having a Friday meal together with family (much like the Sunday Roast in western cultures) and 90% of all Brunches are buffets.

We went to one of our favourites - Beachcombers at Jumeriah Beach Hotel - in which the food is Thai / Malaysian and we pretty much ate from midday to sunset all the satay sticks, fried rice, roti bread and prawn dumplings you could poke a stick at with an endless supply of Tiger Beer.

Cost was 285 Dirhams a head for full alcohol brunch, 185 for non-alcohol and a token amount for kids. We had 24 people, of which 3 were kids, 2 were non-paying babies and the rest were adults and it came to about 4500 dirhams. Now to convert to Aussie Dollars, divide by 3.6 approximately which is about $1,250. Where else can you feed 24 people for 4 hours with unlimited alcohol in a 5 star location for $50 a head!!

Now my head was a bit fuzzy at the time, but the bill did count how many bottles of Tiger we did order and the final total was 59 beers. That was from about 6-7 beer drinkers, so we did pretty good!

I tells ya dear readers in Sydney, Dubai is a great place to visit and a great place to celebrate your birthday!!

UAE National Day

2010-12-01T06:26:00.001+11:00

Well after our trip to Fujeirah, we now have a 4 day weekend coming up with the UAE National Day on Thursday and on Sunday, its the public holiday for the Islamic New Year. So four days off! With Ramadan, then Big Eid, then Little Eid, National Day and Islamic New Year, the last couple of months of the calendar year here are full of holidays. Oh and there was Prophet Mohammed's Birthday as well a couple of weeks ago but we didnt have a holiday because it fell on the weekend.

So, like in Australia in which the country seems to slow down after Melbourne Cup Day, here in the UAE its a bit more of a holiday mode.

Except for Christmas of course, which isnt recognised but many many expats do take some holidays. For us Australians who are used to summer holidays over Christmas its a bigger deal than compared to the English. The English celebrate Christmas Day of course, but then its back to work. So most of my colleagues really only take the Christmas days off and maybe extend through to New Years but I am once again a bit of the office freak in that I am taking three weeks off.

December 21 to January 9 I will be off work but we are thinking that we wont head back to Sydney next year. The airfare costs are 50% more expensive, the friends and relatives at home are busy busy busy with Christmas of course but also many of our friends are taking holidays away out of Sydney so the reality is we don't see everybody and it just seems so rushed with logistics for presents and booking dates in diaries etc etc.

So next year we may change it up and have Christmas in Dubai and see how it pans out.

Having said that, it will be good to get back to Sydney and see the people that we will see. Other than my Dad's heart attack trip, I havent been back since last Christmas and I am looking forward to it and I wont deny, that I am keen to have a break from work which has been particularly busy of late.

But before all that though, its a Happy Islamic New Year and a Happy UAE National Day!!

Fujeirah

2010-11-20T05:45:00.001+11:00

Now, a valid reason for the lack of posts... we went to Fujeirah this week on the eastern / Indian Ocean side of the UAE. It was the first time I had seen the Indian Ocean (its actually called the Gulf of Oman this far north, but it all flows into the Indian Ocean) and it was a really interesting trip.

Whilst we stayed at the lovely Fujeirah Rotana Resort, it was the drive in and the drive out that was really interesting. We took the scenic route in as we drove to Hatta (where we went about three weeks ago) and then pressed on to the coast over a small mountain pass road. The mountains in the UAE and heading down the Indian Ocean coast to Oman are massive bare rock outcrops that look very jagged and rough. The Blue Mountains of Sydney are really a big hill covered in gum trees in comparison as these were the biggest mountains I had seen (and yes, I have never been to New Zealand, the Rocky Mountains in the USA or the Swiss Alps).

The trip was also interesting because once again we got a glimpse of the older UAE and how the people outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are not that well off. The townships we travelled through were all pretty ramshackle with road side fruit shops and places to buy firewood, it was very old school. The roads were rougher as well and whilst there were plenty of flash resorts on the coast, the rest of the place was pretty bleak.

But that's what its all about - getting out and seeing the country side... and by the end of the three days, we had driven up all the way along the UAE East Coast from Kalba to Dibba.

The holiday itself was very relaxing with our friends and I spent two days by the pool working on my tan.

The drive out home we headed north and then back west through the main mountain pass road which is right on the border to Mussandam and the Omani territory north of the UAE. The roads were better but the views as the mountains came right to the sea were breathtaking.

All in all, a great trip away for our Eid break... and now we're on the down hill run to our trip home to Sydney for Xmas.

Blog Lag

2010-11-09T05:32:00.001+11:00

Sorry for the lack of posts... simple explanation is that work has been really busy and really difficult I have been putting in a large number of hours of late.

But that should change as this week is the last week before a week off for Eid. I may have to work the Sunday, but other than that it will be Mon - Thurs off work next week and we will be heading to Fujeirah on the east coast of the UAE for a well deserved break for a couple of nights with the rest of the break spent in and around the pool. I am not sure about Sunday... its an official work day but its also the date of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, so many people will be away there and the day will be pretty dead. I may go in the morning and see how busy work is and then knock off to watch the race.

But to recap on the past couple of weeks, we didnt end up going on our trip to Mussandam as mentioned in my last post because of what is known as a "Dubai Stuff Up". Essentially our friend Marianne booked the trip, had a confirming email, and then the pick up didnt show. When we rang them, they had no record of our booking. No money was lost but its just one of those things that things dont happen as certain as you may hope. But all wasn't lost as we jumped in the cars and spent a day travelling to Hatta in the south east corner of the country and we still got to cross the Omani border to get there.

The weather at the moment is also brilliant with temps in the high 20's / low 30's (celcius) and the humidity non existant. Its been really nice and Oct / Nov is certainly the best time of year. We're still swimming albeit its a bit cooler when getting out and we had our first rain today for about 10 minutes.

On the other side of Eid, it will be a short wait before we're returning to Sydney for Xmas and so we need to start thinking about Xmas presents. Again, it will be a combo of buying stuff here and packing it in the suitcases and buying stuff there in Sydney.

In other news, we rent our maid quarters (yes, we have a maid quarters!) out to an Indian man called Victor who works at the local vets. I am sure I have blogged about this in the past, but to recap Victor was really lovely with our pets at the vet surgery and when he found himself looking for a new place we rented him our un-used maid room in exchange for a bit of rent and to look after the animals while we go on holidays. It has worked out really well and he is quiet, keeps to himself and does a great job with our dog Molly who he walks most days. Victor though must be very lonely and his wife and child are in India and he goes back once every 2 years. He simply works and hangs out at home and doesnt have a big social life. However he was very excited because his brother is coming to Dubai and he will bunk in with Victor soon. I put up the rent a bit but I think it will be good for him as the only people he talks to at home is our part time maid and her husband who come by on Friday's.

If you asked me before we left for Dubai would we sub-let our place to an Indian trainee vet, I would have thought you were nuts but he has helped out heaps with our travelling and keeping the pets safe and looked after.

Eid Mubarak!

Ras al Khaimah In Turmoil?

2010-10-29T04:31:00.001+11:00

Further to yesterday's blog post about the death of Sheikh Saqr, all seems at peace here in Dubai and it was a surprise to stumble on this article in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

The contents of this article are not mentioned in local press here and this is all a surprise to me. Not that I am saying it isnt true, but it is clear that the local media does not report such "scandal" and to everyone here who reads the English language press, there has been nothing but a smooth transition of power. Maybe the Arabic language press may be being more direct, but for me this is totally new.

Having said that, I am aware that in Sunni controlled Abu Dhabi, that there is a concern that Sh'ite muslims in the northern part of the country (Dubai, Ras al Khaimah and Ajman) need to be monitored for ties to Sh'ite governed Iran. After living here for nearly 2 years I cannot tell the difference between a Sh'ite and a Sunni but apparently it is possible by subtle differences in the collar of the white robe Khandoura and the way the head dress is worn. I can pick a Kuwaiti from an Emirati, but I cant pick the difference in religion affiliation.

On Saturday, we're going with friends to Mussandam and we will have to travel through Ras al Khaimah to get there but its still perfectly safe and its hardly believable that it was over a year ago that we went to Ras al Khaimah for a holiday.

National Mourning...

2010-10-28T05:22:00.001+11:00

The ruler of the Emirate Ras al Khaimah, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, passed away this morning at the spritely age of 92. He was, according to wikipedia, the worlds oldest ruling monarch and had been the ruler of Ras al Khaimah since 1948 after taking over in a "bloodless" coup.

Yes, I can read wikipedia and regurgitate all this but what does it mean on the ground here in the UAE?

Well... for starters, there has been a period of National Mourning declared. It varies from Emirate to Emirate with Ras al Khaimah declaring that they will be in mourning for 40 days. The rest of the Emirates are plumping for generally three days of mourning but what is interesting to me is that the largest Emirate - Abu Dhabi - has actually not declared any official mourning period with the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan only passing on his deepest condolences.

Which is disappointing because "National Mourning" includes the closing of government offices and businesses, which would have been a day or three off work for me because I work for an Abu Dhabi government company.

Other than closed government offices what National Mourning means that all radio stations now only play "mourning music" which is at best soft classical music but is typically recitals of the Holy Q'uran and Arabic poetry. This extends to ALL radio stations, which means when the kids want to listen to Virgin Radio Top 40 in the car, its sorry, but we only have Arabic poetry.

Also, all public events and celebrations are cancelled. The opening of the multi million dollar Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi has been postponed which would have involved a huge number of celebrities and big wigs cancelled / rescheduled but also even our kids school cancelled their "International Day Parade" out of respect for the Sheikhs death.

So, it impacts everyone from the big events in town down to the kids and schools... but I have to say that the reaction has been sombre and respectful without being hysterical in the media. It is by no means a "Princess Diana" event, but then again he was 92 and it was hardly unexpected.

Rest in Peace Sheikh Saqr.

God Parents!

2010-10-24T02:42:00.000+11:00

Well, after being here for 18mths we reached a nice milestone this weekend with Niki and I becoming god parents this weekend.

We were very chuffed to be invited to be god parents to baby Olivia who is our friends and neighbours Trevor & Sam's newest addition and its a bit of a feather in our caps to be asked to be a part of their family.

Whilst I am not religious at all and to me the name is a bit of a misnomer, it is still a great honour.

So there we were on Friday morning, in Christ's Church Jebel Ali Dubai, being part of the ceremony along with two other babies to have Olivia baptised and us along with our fellow friends John & Deborah to be God Parents.

It just goes to show how much we have come along here in Dubai! To think I could be a god parent to a little girl from English parents 18mths after landing in this strange country, well I wouldnt have believed you!

Welcome Back Mum!

2010-10-21T20:34:00.000+11:00

Niki comes home tonight! After her being away for two weeks in Sydney, I have come to the end of my run as "Mr Mum" and I think if I can blow my own trumpet, it has gone well.

The girls have had lunches and dinners without resorting to mass orders of take away food and the dishes have been done and the laundry upkept.

I have been able to get away early from work each day and the girls have been able to get home from school to wait for me really well.

I should also say that with the girls being the ages that they are (11 and 9) that they have been really mature and responsible with what they have had to do and Kate has had a key to the house and she hasnt lost it nor abused it. I am very proud of them!

So tonight, with Niki landing around 11pm, it will be a dinner out at the kids place of choice - Chili's or McDonalds undoubtedly, but I may try to convince them to go to Fuddruckers and then we will probably look thru the mall and then onto to Abu Dhabi airport late to pick up their mum.

As for Niki's trip, her mum is recovering well from her surgery and I am glad Niki was able to get back to be there.

For us, the next holiday time is Eid al-Adha, and we're booked into the Indian Ocean side of the UAE for a couple of nights at Fujairah. That's going to be on 17-18 of November!

Dubai, the Land of Service.

2010-10-13T07:12:00.001+11:00

Dubai is the land of "service". Everywhere you go, there is someone there to push your shopping cart to the car, pack your groceries and help you with your luggage. At restaurants and food courts, there is always a "Hello Sir" as soon as you walk in and the service is very attentive.

This is one of the great things about Dubai. Given that is so cheap for the Emirati's to import service staff and Emirati's also have a very high expectation of service, for us expats its a dream come true. No 16 year old school girls behind the counter texting her BFF whilst you wait to be served here!

The downside though is that at times the service can be infruriatingly good and the keen desire to provide good service drives you batty. Today, was a case in point.

We subscribe to the local pay tv company and they're rolling out High Definition boxes and upgrading everyone for free. (Would you get that in Australia?). I rang them to ask when I can book them in and they said, dont worry sir, we will ring you personally when your name comes up and arrange a technician to come and install it.

So, two days ago the phone rings and a pleasant voice at the other end told me all about the transition and that they would take care of it and I didnt have to worry at all. They asked what time would suit on Tuesday and I asked for as late as possible so that I could get home from work to meet the technician. Given that Niki is in Australia, I had to be there for the technician. Positively she said "does the 4pm to 8pm slot suit you". I agreed and she said that the technician would call when he was an hour or so away.

Tuesday comes and I am at work this morning and the phone rings at 11:30am. "Hello Mr Clayton, this is (insert random name I didnt catch) from Orbit Showtime". I said yes, how can I help you... "Well Mr Clayton, I am at your Villa but nobody is home". Umm... why are you at my villa at 11:30? You're nearly five hours early I replied! "I was in area, and my next appointments are at Deira" (which is about 45km across town) "... and I thought you might like early installation".

I replied that I am at work, was an hour drive away and that I wasnt leaving until 3pm to be home by 4pm.

"Can you leave now Sir?"

Um... NO... I have work, I am already stretched for time and you're five hours early!

"OK sir... sorry, I can wait. When can you be here?" he asks... he is being disarmingly pleasant and this is just him trying to do me a favour but my diary now looks like I need to rearrange things to accommodate his 'favour'.

I said I will see what I can do and call you back when I am leaving Abu Dhabi.

"No problem sir, I will wait".

I in turn, perhaps rudely, didnt leave until a bit after 2pm. I had things to do and I got caught up in work and worked through lunch. I rang him as I walked to my car and told him I would be there around 3:30pm.

"OK Mr Clayton, no worries. Can I ask Mr Clayton... can you drive faster?"

Given I drive at the max speed before the cameras flash (which is 160km/h) I reaffirmed that I would be there at 3:30.

Anyway, I arrive and he is there and he is very friendly and helpful and takes me through all the options as if I had never seen a TV remote before... he also tweaked my junction box to boost the signal and was very happy to install. I offered him a drink which he declined but almost apologetically he asked at the end if he could use my bathroom.

It was the least I could do given I kept him waiting for about 4 hours!

Niki is in Oz

2010-10-09T18:57:00.001+11:00

Well, after I made my trip to Sydney for my Dad's heart operation, Niki left last night and should be landing soon in Sydney to help her Mum who is having an important back operation.

This means that the kids have stayed with me in Dubai and I am playing Mr Mum for two weeks. Niki was of course very loathe to leave the girls but it is important for her to go back to help out her parents but I think we will cope nicely.

I am going to have to juggle work alot but given that the official working hours are 8:30 to 4:30 and that I tend to work 2 or so hours a day overtime, I guess I can take "on the clock" time and leave at 4:30 every day. Our neighbours have all offerred to help out with the girls until I get home each day and the kids with their mobiles are always contactable and in turn they can always contact me.

So for the next two weeks, I am going to be pretty busy with the extra shopping and dinner responsibilities (and I hope I don't make the girls ill with my cooking skills!) but it should also be good fun.

Speaking of mobile phones for the kids, Kate who is 11 is really pestering us for a Black Berry. Why does a girl of 11 need a BlackBerry? Well its all peer pressure and with a number of parents with what seems to be oodles of disposable income, a number of Kate's class mates have one or an iPhone. To me its insane, and we checked out the prices for a BlackBerry and the base model is 1100 dirhams (divide by 3.6 for Aussie) and the base data cost per month is another 189 dirhams a month. Given I just paid 400 dirhams for a phone for her and I sling her 50 dirhams credit every blue moon on her pre-paid, it seems like a big jump in out goings so that she can email and facebook her friends (and of course the dreaded BBM). It seems that we're getting the first of the teenage style peer pressure purchase blues!

(Just had to laugh, as I type this Brooke is running around the house looking for her mobile as its ringing... the 9 year old social scene is alive and well!)

Well, better sign off, need to get the kids lunch together... McDonalds of course... but it is the weekend after all!

DRAGONS NRL PREMIERS 2010

2010-10-04T04:54:00.001+11:00

Well, my football team, the St George Illawarra Dragons won the NRL Premiership!

Today, in steamy Dubai, I took the day off work to ensure that at 10am I was on the lounge ready to watch the game.

After grand final losses in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1999 and then 10 years of promising so much and delivering so little, the Dragons have led the 2010 premiership from start to finish and today eclipsed the Roosters 32-8.

I have to say today was an emotional day as I sat so far away watching through the Middle East sports network OSN. Niki sat with me after we dropped the kids to school, had a coffee and then walked the dog. We were so far away from the hype and the press and of course my mates giving me a hard time but the tension in my lounge room was huge as we waited for kick off. With the weather in Sydney clearly cold and rainy, we watched some really crap (and I mean really crap) pre-game entertainment before a really crap rendition of the National Anthem. A note to Australian event organisers:- Do not f#ck around with the Anthem. Do not jazz it up, put a didgeridoo under it or muck about in any way shape or form. Get a solid singer with no pretensions to belt it out so that the fans and the players can sing along. Jessica Mauboy is not such a person... she remixed it to sound like a B-Side of her "upcoming album" which I will not be in a hurry to buy.

Anyway, the game was on and with Niki enthusiastically cheering as well we watched the first half whilst we both kept connected to people back home via Facebook. The first half didnt go so well and the Roosters led at half time 8-6 but on the plus side it should have been worse.

Second half however was a brilliant effort as the Dragons in driving rain smashed the Roosters to win the game 32-8. A nearly faultless display of ball handling in tough conditions and some unforgiving defense saw the game in the bag with 15 minutes to play and we were celebrating. I couldn't believe it... the team that I have been following for as long as I could remember and yet had lost 5 grand finals in my younger years had finally done it. The last premiership that we won was in 1979 (when I was 7, yet I can't remember it) and now I found myself 13,000km away watching from afar as the trophy was lifted by a St George team for the first time in 31 years.

It's days like today that you wish you were back at home, but that's OK... I had my St George jersey on today and had a couple of celebratory beers after the game :-)

Still here!

2010-09-26T16:56:00.001+10:00

Sorry blog readers, I am sorry I have been out of sorts with the blog posting but I have been fairly busy with work this past week and it isn't letting up with me traveling to London later this week as well.

Things here have been good though and a few general things I should blog about are:

One, we watched the might Dragons get into the NRL grandfinal yesterday and I have already booked myself a day off from work next Sunday as we take on the Roosters in the big one. The NRL has been well covered by the local TV this season but it is a lonely place here in Dubai for the NRL fan. Rarely do I see any NRL gear here (I saw one guy wearing a Raiders cap a few weeks ago) but I was down the local shops yesterday before the game in my Saints jersey and am proud to fly the flag when I can. We will however (we being Niki and I) be watching the game alone in our lounge room on Sunday. Saints by 4.

Two, we watched by accident last night the local Dubai TV news. There is a channel called Dubai One on the TV guide which we never go to because it doesnt actually tell you what is on, but I flicked it on just as the news was starting. We were laughing though as the stories were hardly hard hitting and it was all good news stories about the Sheikh's (who are in Kentucky USA on some equestrian event) and that there was a Arabian Suluki dog show in Abu Dhabi. Oh and by the way, the budget surplus in Dubai is set to rise by 367%... not sure what creative accounting worked that out!

Three: We have been without our maid Dhammi this past fortnight as she went to Sri Lanka for a holiday... it was a bit of a culture shock for us and a sign that we have been living the good life here. Not that it was difficult but it is just very nice that things get done for us and when it disappears it takes a bit to adjust. But Dhammi was back this morning and she stopped by on the weekend to give the girls some trinkets and Niki scored a new skirt. Very generous!

Four: And again as a contrast for what Dubai is like, we went to brunch on Friday and given there were 17 of us in all, we decided to hire a limo to take us. What turned up was a jet black stretch Hummer that holds 20 and we piled in and really enjoyed it. It was a slight premium on paying for enough taxis but not by much and the laughs as we all piled into the Hummer were worth the cost. It made me think though how lucky we are to have our girls laughing and poking their heads out of the windows waving to passing motorists from such a massive car whilst driving down the golden mile of Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. They are certainly having a good life!

So, sorry for the lack of posts... I guess France took the wind out of my blogging sails, but life here is very good and we're still enjoying it. The weather is down to the mid 30's and is incredibly pleasant and the summer is well and truly over weather wise. Life is Good!

Go The Dragons!

Bonjour! We're Back!

2010-09-14T16:35:00.001+10:00

Yes, we got back from France on the weekend and I am now back at work. Was meaning to do a meaningful and long descriptive post but this short summary will have to do instead.

We arrived on the overnight flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris and managed to negotiate ourselves through customs and out to the bus terminal to get a bus to the TGV station for the fast train to Bordeaux. We timed it beautifully as we only had about a 20min wait at Montparnasse station which was ample time to get my first French croissant into me! YUM!

The train was brilliant and we sped through France to Bordeaux at speeds up to 320km/h and arrived in about 3hrs where we were met by our Dubai friends Philippe and Marianne and their son Raphi. They had also scored a big 9 seater van and we had plenty of room for our luggage as well as we sped off to our accommodation for the next two nights at La Girarde.

La Girarde was lovely and we relaxed in the afternoon and also headed into the local town of Gensac for a late afternoon aperitif! Dinner was provided by our hosts at La Girarde Mark and Kathy and it turned out to be the best meal we had all trip.

The next day we toured Margaux and Pauillac and did sight seeing, had some wine and sampled the local markets. Also had a very funny lunch in which the staff did not speak English and only talked to Philippe (who is French) and basically insulted us when we asked if we could have some French Fries for the kids. The loose translation of the insult was "that this is not England and the children should eat real food and not just potatoes!". I think I was more upset at being referred to as English!!

After our end of our time at La Girarde and after alot of good food, we headed back to Paris again via the TGV train.

We arrived late in the evening and the big excitement was that we discovered our hotel was within spitting distance of the Eiffel Tower and Niki and the girls all were amazed at how it was lit up at night. If it was one thing that the girls, particularly Kate, were keen to see in Paris it was the Eiffel Tower and so the first impressions of Paris were a big winner!

It was late, we checked in and got some sleep. Our hotel room wasnt the most modern, but it had two double beds and lots of space and we were up and about the next day to go straight to the Eiffel Tower - which was of course breathtaking.

I had been to Paris before back in 2001, but it was really interesting to see how Niki and the girls took in the sights. They were all amazed how tall the tower was and Niki commented that she thought it would be shorter. We queued for a little while, but not too long, and soon enough we went up the lifts. For those who have done it, the lifts themselves are an exciting part of the experience as you go up the angular lifts up the legs and then relay to the tower lifts. We took ALOT of photos!

It was very special that finally after nearly 10 years in the planning, Niki and I had our photo together and shared a kiss on the top of the tower... :-)

The rest of Day 1 in Paris was spent on a river cruise and we spent along time in Notre Dame. Built in 1163, this place is amazing and the history is amazing. As an Australian in which old means just 200 years, Europe amazes me how things have stood for close to 1000 years. Notre Dame is probably the oldest thing I have been to.

The rest of the trip to Paris was spent in taxis and on the Big Red Bus tour and we saw all the site. The Louvre was a special experience as well and we, as with every other tourist, made a bee line to the Mona Lisa, but we spent alot of time in other areas of the museum. The Egyptian artifacts were a big hit for the kids.

We also went to Montemarte and Sacre Couer, the Arc de Triomphe and spent alot of time in brasseries, souvenir shops and sunning ourselves in the parks. Our new favourite delicacy is the Ham & Cheese baguette or the Croque Monsieur which is a grilled ham and cheese multi-decker sandwhich. We also ate alot of duck and drank a fair amount of wine ;-)

After 4 nights in Paris doing all the above, it was time to hit Euro Disney and for the kids especially, this was a great way to finish the holiday. We booked in for 3 nights at the Disneyland Hotel and whilst its expensive, it is well worth being just 5 minutes from your hotel room to the roller coasters!

Euro Disney was great and we had access to Disneyland, Walt Disney Studios and the Disney Village plus all the amenities of the hotel. All our meals in the hotel were accompanied by the Disney characters and Pluto even tried to steal my ice cream cone!

As for the parks themselves, we went on all the rides, queues were reasonable (worst wait was 40mins for the Nemo themed "Crush's Coaster" roller coaster) but they also had a "fast pass system" for some rides which we actually never needed to use. My favourite ride was the Aerosmith Rock'n'Roll roller coaster at Walt Disney Studios and top marks also for the Wild West Big Thunder Bay roller coaster and the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom roller coaster both in Disneyland.

Space Mountain, a Disney classic, was also ridden on about 4 times!

By the end of three days at Euro Disney, we had seen it all and we had to get up very early for our bus transfer to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and our flight home.

At the end of it, a great 10 days in France and one of the best holidays we have ever had. The girls loved speaking French and I was surprised at how much they had picked up from school and Kate has vowed to "learn full French" at school...

Pics to come I hope!

Jet Setting

2010-08-31T14:09:00.001+10:00

Well I got back from Australia yesterday... for those readers who aren't already aware, Dad had a triple bypass and is as we speak sitting in the hospital recovering nicely. All will be OK it seems and I left Sydney on Sunday night with him in good spirits.

I have now been in Dubai 24hrs and tonight we fly out for our vacation in France. 2 nights in Bordeaux, 4 nights in Paris and 3 nights at EuroDisney. It will be a "busy but enjoyable" holiday and its one that I have been thinking about for about 10 years. I went to Paris in 2001 on the back end of a business trip and I promised I would take Niki back there. Initially I said it would be a great place for the 2 of us to go for our 10th wedding anniversary (which would have been 2005) but come 2005 we had two small children and it wasn't easy to go.

So now, after being here in Dubai for a bit over 18mths, we finally get to go and take the kids with us. I am really looking forward to it as are Niki and the girls.

So, this blog will be "updateless" for the next 10-11 days or so but will put some pics up when we get back.

Au revoir!

Contingency Plans

2010-08-25T04:46:00.001+10:00

When we moved here to Dubai, one of the big issues mentally was the fact that we were leaving our families. Upping and moving around the world to a foreign country without your support network of friends and family was a big deal for us.

One of the things, and its not a great thing to think about, is what happens when something important happens in Australia? What do we do? Its not like we can "pop back" anytime... there needs to be a level of importance attached to things.

Well, we reached that point this week when my Mum rang me to tell me that Dad had had a 'minor heart attack' on Saturday night. To me, there is nothing minor about any heart attack and I was instantly worried. Calls to home were positive... it was nothing major, it was a heart attack but Mum did the right thing and rang the ambulance quickly and a test on Tuesday will show what damage was done and Dad would have to start to think about changing very ingrained habits.

Unfortunately the tests showed major blockages and Dad is scheduled to have a quadruple bypass on Thursday. I found all this out this morning and by early afternoon I am booked on a plane to Sydney. I land very early morning and depending on the timing of the surgery I could be getting straight into a taxi and heading to the hospital.

It is one of those moments that we had talked about between Niki and I and it was an automatic reaction to call my travel guy and get on the next available plane. I must admit though it is still a shock to actually have this scenario play out and its a bit surreal that in a bit over 24hrs I will be touching down in Sydney.

But this is what family is about and this is what we had discussed when we moved here... the dreaded "what if" scenarios and the contingency plan is being put into effect.

Hopefully though Dad will be OK... it is major surgery but at the same time it almost feels routine these days. Niki's Dad had the same operation a number of years ago and he's as fit as a fiddle these days, so I know what its going to be like after the surgery. But nevertheless, its something you have to be there for.

Good luck Dad!

Getting on with it....

2010-08-17T19:38:00.002+10:00

Been a weird period of late... Ramadan is on, work has been busy and I am counting down to when I take my holidays... I guess at this stage of life, you can very much say that we're now "in a routine" in living in the Emirates.

I feel very comfortable driving around the place, the Islamic culture has grown on me, I am feeling like I truly live here and not on holidays. Its little things too, like when someone mentions a place and you know where it is or when someone refers to a Mohammed at work and you know which one they mean (that sounds terribly racist and I dont mean it that way, but its true).

Life is pretty much running normal.

The number of moments in which I say to myself "wow, how unusual is that" are reducing and when little surprises pop up, you just tend to roll with things and get on with it. For example, our power got cut off the other day and Niki rang me at work to tell me she was suddenly without air con. Turns out that my bill hadnt arrived for two months due to the vague lack of any postal service here and the power company just cut us off. No problem, I get in the car, drive from Abu Dhabi to Dubai (roughly 140kms) and pay the bill and the power was back on in two hours.

Yes, its bureaucratic and yes if it happened in Sydney I would be "outraged" but here its just "meh... bloody postal company". We get on with it...

Niki and the kids though are in holiday mode and the kids have moved into this half nocturnal pattern of bed by 11pm and they get up at 11am... In my view, let em do it as they cannot go anywhere unless they want to forgo food due to Ramadan (hard for kids) and its very hot outside, so let them sleep... it means I get home from work and they're full of beans which is nice.

And today, I will be heading home sometime between 3 and 4pm today... its about time I too start enjoying the Ramadan slow down. Two weeks to France!!

(3 minutes later)

OK, need to do a PS here... I just hit "send" and published the above post and my mobile rang. It was the bank and a lady introduced herself and said she was from the bank and for security reasons can she confirm my ID. She asks me the usual "mothers maiden name" and my date of birth etc etc... She then asks me to confirm my country of birth and I said Australia. She then asks "are you traveling there today?"

I reply "um, no... I am at work..."

"Mr Clayton are you traveling there this weekend?"

"Um... no... not going until Christmas" I reply.

"OK, thank you sir." and she then hangs up.

What was the point of the call? Why did she ring me?

That my dear readers is one of life's quirky UAE moments....

Ramadan Kareem!

2010-08-11T06:01:00.000+10:00

Well, Ramadan has started once again! Its a funny time here when Ramadan is on... its a period of religious reflection and in a country that is governed by religion, then it impacts EVERYTHING. Work, shopping, dining out, driving and socialising in general are all affected.

The rules of Ramadan are this:

1. No eating or drinking, even of water in the daylight hours (this is particularly tough given its summer and temps are 45-50 degrees celcius)
2. No smoking, chewing gum or any other item that goes in the mouth again in daylight hours
3. Work hours are reduced and knock off time (for those observing Ramadan) is 3pm

Ramadan means increased prayer times so instead of Muslims ducking out for prayer for say 5 minutes, they're gone for much longer. In non-Ramadan times this has no impact on my work day and is almost the same as a "smoko" in Australia, but when 80% of the staff disappear for nearly half an hour at a time, it does impact the work day.

On the roads, and particularly as Ramadan goes on, the driving becomes more erratic. Muslims are not eating and sleeping and yet are operating motor vehicles at high speed. Its a mix for a disaster and there were a number of crashes on the roads last year. The trick is to avoid the 3pm rush but also leave before the Iftar rush (Iftar is the meal that breaks the daily fast which occurs exactly on sunset... which is approx 6:30pm).

Speaking of Iftar, it is like the Xmas Party season in the western world. My company will be putting on an Iftar Buffet for all staff and their families on August 25 and I have already been invited to another companies Iftar Buffet for their clients next Monday. Think the Xmas Party scene in Sydney but without the alcohol.

But whilst I point out all these do's and do not's, it is actually a very interesting time to be living and working in the Middle East. I have a real respect for the Arabic way of life now that I have been here for a while now and it is their holiday season and they do make Westerners feel welcome. You need to be more careful and you need to be conscious of your own actions (dont sip water, don't eat in front of fasting Muslims) but at the same time the impact on the way of life here is intriguing and a great experience.

And its long... its a full lunar cycle so approximately 29 or 30 days and given its summer, its going to be quite difficult for fasters especially the lack of water!

Ramadan Kareem!

Vive La France!

2010-08-08T01:17:00.001+10:00

Well, exciting news here... we're all booked for our French holiday next month. Yes, as Roy & HG say, we're off to the land of the cheese eating surrender monkeys and we're very excited.

We fly to Paris and then head straight to the train station as we're heading for 2 nights in Bordeaux. The TGV train is one of those "very fast trains" that the Australian government keeps cancelling and we'll be in the south of France by early afternoon. We're meeting our friends Marianne and Philippe there who are holidaying as well and given Philippe is French, we'll be glad for the local to help with the language issues.

Then we're heading back north to Paris and four nights to see all the famous Parisian sites. I was there in 2001 and always wanted to head back with Niki and now we're finally doing it! We're staying not far from the river Seine and closish to the Eiffel Tower. Both the girls are pumped to see the Mona Lisa.

After what will undoubetedly be alot of walking, we're then finishing off with three nights at Euro Disney. Roller coasters and the like will be a great day to finish what we're hoping will be a great trip. We did say that we'd be making use of the closer proximity to Europe and each northern summer we'll be heading to somewhere new.

In the meantime, I have about three more weeks of work to get through and I am sure it will go really slow!

LOST - The Finale

2010-08-01T12:33:00.003+10:00

For the past six years I have been an avid viewer of a show called LOST. You may have heard of it...

Well this past month whilst Niki was away I watched Season 6 via download and finally got the finale of the entire series this weekend.

I know LOST had many critics and that the "instant satisfaction" generation thought it was a rubbish show, but when you watch all six seasons and then get such a brilliant finale, you realise that perhaps LOST was one of the best tv series ever made.

It was so deep, so layered and so detailed that you basically had to watch every episode otherwise you in turn would be lost yourself (pun intended).

So, what of the finale? How did it end... well beware below if you dont want any spoilers but given that the finale has been done and dusted in both Australia and the US I think I can speak freely...

Essentially in a nutshell, the original passengers of Oceanic 815 did crash, they did survive and they did experience all the things that happened on the island. The Island, is a mystical place that balances the world between good and evil and does act as a holding place for people who have died who had sinned in their lives. It cannot be called Hell or Purgatory because it does exist on Earth.

However, what is not revealed until the finale of Season 6 is that the "alternate world" in which the Lostaways return to lives but their lives are 'different' is actually Purgatory and that until they all realise this individually do they come together and ascend to heaven (or whatever you believe the Afterlife is).

That's a very simplistic explanation and more detailed explanations are on many different blogs and websites such as this one but for me, LOST is the best TV series ever created and if you fell off the LOST bandwagon over the past 6 years, I highly recommend you get the DVD set and be prepared to sit down and watch it back to back.

And I may just do that...

Beer Run!

2010-07-25T22:12:00.001+10:00

Well, life here has been.... dull.

Niki and the girls continue their Australian adventure and seem to be having a great time catching up with friends and family whilst I am here doing not much other than working and mucking around on the computer or PlayStation.

I suppose its not all dull and boring... have managed to run two D&D sessions this month and we have finally completed the adventure that I was running. Next steps in the game is in my court to arrange and I will probably do a fair bit of that this week.

Also, went for my first ever beer run through Sharjah to Umm al-Quwain to a place called "Barracuda's". Barracuda is just like your regular Australian bottle shop except its very large and secondly and most importantly, they dont enforce the UAE regulation of requiring a license to buy alcohol. I have no idea why, the place is extremely popular with tourists (in fact the neighbouring water park would probably go out of business if it wasn't for westerners doing 'a Barracuda run").

So on Saturday morning I set off with friends John & Trevor to the bottle shop to stock up. Its about a 45min drive and most importantly you need to run through Sharjah (see map below). Sharjah is the opposite of Umm al-Quwain in that it enforces alot of the Sharia laws and it is a bit of an urban tale that many a car has been pulled over by the police who are looking for alcohol.

Punishment is typically 10 days jail... but I have never met anyone who has been jailed here, so I tend to have my doubts.

Anyway, we got to Barracuda's without incident, we spent 8000 dirhams between us on alot of beer and wine and some harder stuff and then we set off back. Stupidly, we didnt have anything covering our load - which was a very full Land Cruiser and whilst we did pass police on the road, we weren't stopped and made it back safe and sound.

Now... who wants a drink!

Full Land Cruiser

Up In Smoke...

2010-07-12T15:29:00.001+10:00

Strange feeling this week... with Niki and the girls in Australia and both my staff on summer vacation, I am alone at home and the office... mmm... a bit weird!

Yes, work is still here and I still interact with people, but its a bit different when you're the only one in your area and that banter isnt happening across the offices.

But I am hardly in solitary confinement... went out last night for the World Cup final and wasn't home until after 1am as a result. I am glad the Cup is now over because its been playing havoc with my sleeping patterns. Also, I found myself sharing a plate of chicken wings at midnight last night as we watched the game and I feel really 'gluggy' this morning.

One thing about Dubai that is different to home is that smoking is not banned in pubs and I spent 5hrs in a pub last night sitting behind some Dutch fans who were keen to smoke big fat cigars all night. I absolutely reeked when I got home and after two showers and prodigiously brushing my teeth, I can still taste / smell cigar smoke on me.

Also met an Aussie guy last night at the game as well. In a packed pub that had arranged seating in an almost movie theatre style convention around the big screen, this guy in a t-shirt with Aussie flags sat next to me and would you believe I picked his accent as being from Queensland? Yes, you know the high nasally accent of Brisbane people - if you know what rugby league player Billy Slater sounds like, you'll know what I mean. Anyways, in true expat style when you see someone from home, despite them being a complete stranger you introduce yourself and shake hands.

So, in a rather weird clash of worlds, I found myself in a Dubai pub, watching the World Cup final between Holland and Spain and in the breaks was talking to a guy from Brisbane about State of Origin and the Melbourne Storm salary cap drama. All the while being fumigated by big Dutch stogies and eating chicken wings!

Still on the smoking, in a throw back to the 1970's, would you believe that there were 2 girls in matching tight legging pants and tops walking around giving free cigarettes of a particular brand to all the punters? This girl came up to my table and asked us would we like to try the new Marlboro cigarettes and when I said I didn't smoke she asked would I like to try! Imagine if a company used attractive girls to give away cigarettes in Sydney! There would be an uproar!

Obviously they haven't heard about lung cancer here in the Middle East yet....

Travelling...

2010-07-05T15:57:00.001+10:00

Niki and the girls in Sydney and today I am off to London on business. It amazes me how the world has gotten so much smaller over the years. I am sitting here in Dubai and just skyped Niki in Sydney and will board a plane shortly to go to London and by this evening I will be in a pub catching up with some friends I have met via online gaming. Then work will be the next day and will involve me meeting with my business colleagues who are flying in from Denmark and Germany.

Whilst this all goes on our dog and cat Molly and Charlie will be here being walked by our Sri Lankan maid...

Makes my head spin sometimes thinking about it and how far life takes you at times.

Other than the logistics of arranging all this, I am a bit bored and lonely and I can already tell that its going to be a very long month ahead. Skype is great, but it freezes your life as you sit and chat away for ages and then when the call ends, the silence is pretty deafening. I will need to do something to take up some time for me... perhaps painting or get into a new PS3 game or something.

Will report again when I am back from London on Wednesday!

Sending the Girls Home :-(

2010-06-30T04:51:00.001+10:00

Niki and the girls are off tomorrow for a month in Sydney. On one hand I am happy that they can get to go back and visit the family and their friends but on the other hand I will be rattling around the house here on my lonesome when I am not at work.

To me, my holidays wont be until a) they get home and b) we get on the plane to go to France in September!

As I type this, its nearly 11pm in Dubai and Niki is packing the last minute things and double and triple checking. Then we'll be off early in the morning to be at Abu Dhabi Airport at around 8:30ish for her check-in.

So, mixed feelings tonight and I will miss Niki and the girls heaps!

World Cup and a Bit Each Way

2010-06-21T04:42:00.001+10:00

The Australian World Cup journey is spluttering along in which we really should be dead and buried but we keep on keeping on.... To have conceded 5 goals in two games and to be still in with a decent (read 10%) chance of qualification to the 2nd stage is not really a testament to Australia but rather a statement that a) the Germans should have buried Serbia and b) Ghana should have beaten us. But we take it as it comes and we look to the heavens for a miracle in the 3rd and final game. All we can do is win against Serbia and hope that either Ghana beats Germany OR Germany pummels Ghana by 3 goals. Yes, we're cheering for BOTH teams to win!

If you can follow the logic as to why this is the case, then congratulations you are now a fully fledged soccer aficionado!

In other news, its getting rather busy all round at my end... Niki and the girls are making preparations for their trip home to Australia for a month to beat the heat and enjoy the extended school holidays. I will be staying on and I am trying not to think about it. I will miss them heaps and I will be alone for the entire month of July. Other than the World Cup and watching the NRL I will probably be beating the heat on the weekends by staying indoors with the blessed PS3. Might buy myself a new game...

Also at work each of my two staff members will be taking their summer holidays and for one week at least I will be manning the fort on my own. So it will be lonely times indeed!

But, when the girls come back, I will be looking forward to our French sojourn in September and between now and then, I will be booking train tickets, Euro Disney and hotels! Very excited!

The Heat Is On...

2010-06-16T21:44:00.001+10:00

Well, summer is here. Officially.

By officially I mean because I have turned off the hot water heaters in the bathroom as the "cold" water now gets so hot in the pipes that it is actually very warm and therefore if you don't you end up with a "hot" tap and a "very warm" tap. Not great for brushing your teeth!

Because the hot water tank is in a building and out of the direct sun, if you turn off the heater, then the water goes cool and is shaded and therefore comes out cool from the taps.

So, hot is cold, cold is hot and summer is here!

It's been 47-48 degrees Celsius this week... and it will probably get hotter next month!

Mannshafted

2010-06-14T18:16:00.001+10:00

Das Mannshaft or in other words, the German Soccer team really did shaft Australia last night... Today I am really perplexed at a) the tactics that the coach employed (no strikers, 5 full backs) and b) how slow we looked in comparison to the Germans... but for full match analysis, I will leave you to read the newspapers because I want to dwell more on my personal experience last night.

Once again, I attended a bar - this time the Jebel Ali Sports Club - to watch the match. Being a sadist, I accepted an invitation to join a party being hosted by a German contracting firm which was attended by, you guessed it, Germans.

By the time kickoff came around, I was outnumbered 40 to 1 and whilst the beer and food was free, the Germans in their jerseys, t-shirts and flags were making me pay. Sure, it was all good natured and I was giving it back, but I always seem to end up as the vocal minority at these things. I was wearing my Socceroos hat and had the national flag tied around my neck but I was just as much of a match for my German hosts in the sledging stakes as our team was on the pitch.

In the pre-game build up the Qatari TV network they had a number of British guys talking 95% about Germany but ex-Aussie coach Terry Venebles was one of the panel members and he declared Australia whilst not favourites would not be over run and would be very physical. I didnt hear what Terry said during the half time break, but I am sure he wasn't saying Australia was going to come back and equalise.

But as the game went on, I slumped further down into my seat and the Germans were laughing it up at my expense and the beers couldn't come quick enough.

Finally it was over. 4-0 but it could have been 8 nil and the German hosts announced the winners of the "Pick the Score" competition of which I was eliminated from in the 9th minute when Germany scored their first goal (I was going for a 1-0 Aussie win). A flashy soccer ball and sports bag were shared between the two guys who tipped 4-0 but graciously the German company man hosting the function came up and and shook my hand for being a good sport and for cheering on Australia.

He gave me a soccer ball as well with his company logo emblazoned on it.

I was very happy with getting his German ball... apparently they go into the back of the net alot easier than Australian ones!

World Cup in Dubai

2010-06-13T18:05:00.001+10:00

Well, I find myself in Dubai for the World Cup. Its different from previous World Cups as the games are in prime time (from 3pm through to midnight) and the local TV coverage is in a shambolic mess. In Australia, the coverage is free and excellent courtesy of SBS but you have to get up at 3am to watch the games.

In the Emirates and in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the main TV network is Orbit Showtime. They dominate TV here in the UAE but the thing is - they dont have the rights to the World Cup. The Middle Eastern rights were secured by Al Jazeera (many of you may be familiar with their news channels) who are based in Qatar.

Now Orbit Showtime do have Al Jazeera news as part of their package and you have some of their basic channels (in Arabic only) as part of the package, but nobody has access to their English language sports channels which includes the World Cup. So, Dubai has been a scramble as people try to get Al Jazeera connected. Not an easy task as you need a different decoder box (approx 1000 dirhams) and sign up to their service which apparently is another 700 dirhams. Supplies - in true middle eastern style - are too short for demand and nobody I know has managed to get connected successfully.

As a result, I am only able to watch the games in my lounge room with Arabic commentary.

The second thing also to consider being an Australian in Dubai in the World Cup is that nobody rates Australia and it gets zero mention in the press. Whilst Australian media are all over us, here I can't even buy an imitation jersey as the market is swamped with English, Brazil, Argentina and German gear. Not a single piece of Socceroo paraphernalia in the entire country I don't think! And of course not alot of Aussies at my work or neighbourhood who share the enthusiasm of our chances.

So last night, I went with my English neighbours to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel to see England vs USA. 99% of the 2000 strong crowd were English, 0.95% of the crowd were American and I was the 0.05% being the token Aussie. Sure, I was polite, but was silently cheering on the Americans... hehe. The game ended in a 1-1 draw and the English turned rabid against their team. Before the game they were touting the side as the best thing since 1966 but after they "were all a bunch of donkeys" and were "rubbish" and had the knives out for a number of players. I guess I experienced the Fleet Street press mentality up close! To me, a scrapping 1-1 draw in a World Cup is nothing to be worried about as you can live to fight another day.

Tonight though will be another big "odd experience" for me. One of my English neighbours is a client of a German contracting firm who invited he and a few friends (including me) to watch the Germany vs Australia game. So I will, in my Socceroos cap and draped Aussie flag, be sitting in an all expenses paid function hosted by Germans. Should be interesting! My English friends are supporting Australia, so I won't exactly be alone, but it will be daunting sitting in a room of Germans chanting "Aussie Aussie Aussie" and getting weird looks.... Particularly when we win 1-0! LOL!

Zoe...

2010-06-09T12:37:00.003+10:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. We've been dealing with a sad thing in that our beloved dog Zoe was deteriorating and she was not well enough to go on. Today, we called the vet and he came to our house and she went to sleep at home very peacefully.

She was a wonderful dog who managed to live in two continents and was there for the birth of both our girls. She slowed down dramatically in the past six months but never stopped smiling.

We will miss you Zoe. XXXX

Zoe: 24/1/98 - 9/6/2010

Bonjour!

2010-05-31T15:30:00.001+10:00

Well, we moved to the UAE and one of the benefits would be easier travel to other parts of the world. After a year of settling in and only a short jaunt to London to show for it, we're off to France in early September!

Very excited!!

Booked the tickets yesterday and we're off for nine nights... which will be split between Bordeaux, Paris and Euro Disney. I visited Paris nearly 10 years ago and absolutely loved it but was traveling with a uni mate and have always wanted to take Niki back there so its a long time dream coming true.

On top of that, the girls will be coming too and they're probably going to put in extra effort in French lessons at school before the summer break :-)

We'll be flying Etihad into Paris and then taking the TGV (France's "very fast train") down to Bordeaux and meeting up with our neighbours Felippe (who is French) and Marianne and enjoy the wine country with them. We'll then head back to Paris after a few days and take in the tourist sites and then we'll end with a trip to Euro Disney for the kids and for big kids like me!

Very excited! (I said that didn't I....)

Bureaucracyat its finest!

2010-05-27T19:16:00.001+10:00

A week has passed and I am now looking forward to the weekend and trying to reflect on how quickly it has gone...

One thing that stands out though is a run-in with our accounts department over the payment of my electricity and water. My company pays for these things but the power companies are very slack on getting their money so I had been slack and not paid my bill for six months.

Each month, I got a bill and a balance owing and I kept saying "I should pay that" but never did. Eventually, with the bill at 7,500 dirhams I paid it. I took my invoice and paid and got the receipt. No worries.

Then I sent the original invoice and the original receipt with the expense claim to work and asked for the 7,500 dirhams back. It went through the system and was approved for payment.

Then on Tuesday I get an email saying that my payment of 1,600 dirhams will be made at the end of the week.

1,600?? Um, a bit short I think! I emailed and called the accounts department but got no response so I turned up yesterday and demanded to see someone. I got an elderly assistant manager type who informed me that they only pay bills month to month and that they were only paying the most recent month. I said "what about the prior five months?"

"Do you have invoices for the prior months? If so, submit them." I am now confused. I explain I have ONE invoice for six months TOTALING 7,500 dirhams and I have a receipt as proof of payment. "Oh we don't care about receipts, just invoices" was his reply. I asked why is that and he went on to explain that they only pay on monthly invoices because it prevents people claiming months more than once. Huh??? I am now very confused.

He said if I submit an invoice and get the money but don't pay, then I could rort the system by then claiming the next months invoice with two months worth of expenses and so on. Therefore, if they limit their payouts to singular months, then they cannot be rorted.

"BUT I HAVE A RECEIPT!" I said. "I have a genuine original receipt showing I paid 6 months in one hit" I explained. Again, he refused this argument because they dont pay on receipts, just invoices. He suggests I send each months invoice to them to be paid and they will give me the cash irrespective if I pay the power company. Crazy.

I then said "but you know I am not rorting the system because you can see my payment history and you know I haven't claimed any money for six months".

His response: "Oh, our system doesn't keep record of payments out".

*blinks*

Crazy. If anyone wants to get a job running an accounts payable system or you're an internal auditor who wants to have a field day, let me know!

I have months 4 and 5 invoices in my briefcase... I may have some others at home, but this is absolutely crazy logic!

Normal Service is Trying to Resume

2010-05-19T21:43:00.001+10:00

OK, Mum & Dad have been and gone and its nearly a week since then and still no post on the good old blog. Sorry for that!

We have been really busy this week with the kids wrapping up school projects before their mid-term breaks (which is next week) with Brooke building a building to be able to withstand 1kg of weight, a blast of air from a hair dryer and be water proof. We have the weight and water down pat, but the house is made of Balsa wood and its a bit tricky to add weight to it so it doesn't blow away.

Kate in turn is doing an exhibition and has to create presentations and multi-media material on any subject relating to "Peace and Conflict". She has chosen to do the history of the Stolen Generation. (For non-Aussies, that was the Australian government policy from colonial times through to the 1970s of removing tribal aboriginal children from their families and placing them in white, anglo-saxon foster families and missions). She has done alot of work and its been really enjoyable to see her work so hard on a research project that she knew very little about.

The girls are going to an International Baccalaureate school and this type of hands on project work is typical of the IB system and I have to say I think the kids have both taken to it with great enthusiasm and they seem to be learning so much more effortlessly than in Sydney.

Otherwise, that's about it! Work and general life has been the theme this week. We are planning some trips and excursions in the coming months... its nearly Niki, Kate & Brooke's first anniversary of relocation and we should try and do something to celebrate... and the girls are also heading back to Sydney in July and I am supposed to pull my finger out and book a trip to Europe in August / September.

What does Dubai look like?

2010-05-12T23:07:00.001+10:00

Never been to Dubai? Wonder what it looks like?

Well check this link out!

This is apparently the new world record for the worlds largest photograph at a size of 45 Giga pixels.

At first glance, you go... yeah so what. But zoom in... zoom right in... you can read the company names on the sides of buses and are just about able to read the number plates of cars! Best example of this is the freeways on the right hand side of the shot.

Enjoy the amazing zoom of 45 gigapixels, but also its a great photo of Dubai.

Week Off, Tour Guide

2010-05-04T20:44:00.001+10:00

Am back at work and have had my mum & dad visiting us from Sydney last week, this week and next week.

I took the first week off to play the role of tour guide and was able to show mum & dad around the main sites of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

I guess the highlight of the trip so far, at least from my perspective, was to be able to go up the world's highest structure - the Burj Khalifa - and be able to see my new home town from the 124th floor. The viewing was excellent and it really gave a new perspective on how Dubai looks from up on high.

I should point out though that the Burj Khalifa is in excess of 200 stories tall and it was a very strange feeling to be so high up in the sky but then to be able to look up from the observation deck and still see a further 80 stories above you!

In addition to the Burj, we were able to go to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque once again in Abu Dhabi and that place still impresses me even though it was my third trip... I also took mum & dad out to Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain to climb the mountain. It was a work day when we went though and hence pretty quiet but it was a good drive in the countryside.

Of course, we have also done the 4WD sand dune bashing and that was good fun... mum screamed and laughed the whole way so that was pretty funny in itself.

Now, am back at work though and have left mum & dad to their own devices and they'll explore the old part of town and check out the souq's.

On other news, our dear old dog Zoe is starting to really show her age and I am really worried that we'll have to soon "make the call". Her mobility has decreased dramatically this last week and she has had two injections to try and get the arthritis pain to subside but they haven't been too effective. She's over 12yrs old and I am very sad about it as she has been a part of our family for so long and the girls have grown up with her. But dogs, no matter how loving and loyal they are, have relatively short life spans and old Zoe is now starting to do it tough. :-(

Mum & Dad In Town

2010-04-26T15:17:00.001+10:00

Lack of posts due to Mum & Dad being in town. They've been here just 4 days so far but have already been to the top of the Burj Khalifa, 4WD dune bashing and have seen some of the local sites. Will be off to Al Ain and Abu Dhabi later in the week.

Charity Begins At Home

2010-04-20T16:19:00.001+10:00

My last post was a comedic insight into going to the bathroom in the UAE, but one of my readers seemed to take it that we're taking advantage of the underclass in the UAE.

I can see that point of view, but probably want to share what it's like here with respect to the "workers" in Dubai.

Firstly, yes... there are alot of workers here in the UAE who earn pitiful salaries by Western standards. The population of the UAE is 4 millions. 800,000 of those are Emirati's - the local people. 400,000 are western expats on good money. That leaves a further 2.8 million people.

The 95% of those would be workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. All of these people earn fractions of what I would and do the work that nobody else does.

For the record, we pay our gardener - a nice Pakistani fellow called Faiz - 300 dirhams a month and he comes six days a week and spends anywhere between 30mins to an hour keeping our garden neat and tidy. He does a fantastic job.

We have a part time maid (Dammy) from Sri Lanka and her 18yr old nephew who come in 6 days a week and do an hours worth of cleaning, wash the car once a week and will do the odd bit of ironing on top. We pay them 25 dirhams per hour each and spend about 1300 dirhams a week.

Taking the exchange rate of A$1 is equal to 3.4 dirhams, its not a great deal of money...

But the point is that these people are hear by choice and they're earning better money than they would at home. They do send most of it back to family in their home countries and hence live meager lives here in Dubai. It is culturally confronting and for us it was very strange initially but now we have come to understand their home lives better and appreciate that they do actually enjoy living here when compared to the home country.

But Faiz and Dammy are very lucky compared to some of their compatriots. You hear alot of stories about mistreatment, workers being unpaid for months at a time and alot of general exploitation by employers. Also, you do meet some westerners who have developed a bit of a racist streak and think because they're in a country that is economically segregated that they can mouth off a bit about "the jinglies" and the "pakkies". Some people can be very nasty and rude.

We however are not going down that path and we, and Niki in particular, goes at great lengths to help the less fortunate. She has cleared out her pantry of bread and fruit juice when she found out three air con repair men hadnt been paid in 2 months and were very very hungry and hadnt eaten in days. She passes out cans of soft drink and also allowed Faiz to sleep in our air conditioned maids room when the summer heat was too much.

We have given Dammy the kids old push bikes and excess furniture we didnt need to send back to her family in Sri Lanka and also just recently we have sent a bag of excess clothes to Ethiopia for an orphanage. (Some neighbours are adopting two Ethiopian orphans and are heading there this week).

Also, we are renting our maids room out to an Indian worker from the local Vets for 500 Dirhams less a month than what he was paying and when he turned up without a bed, we went to IKEA and bought a new bed and a chest of drawers and a TV receiver so he can watch TV.

The point is, you can be in a country with a wide variety of economic scale and still be decent and generous to those around you. Language barriers are difficult but a generous gift and a smile is universally understood.

Also, with two impressionable young children, you want to make sure that they realise how lucky they are and for when the day comes that we return to Australia, that they're not first class brats and have a compassion for people less fortunate.

Bahrain and Attendants

2010-04-15T20:06:00.001+10:00

Next week I am off to Bahrain for a conference... I am giving a short (15min) presentation, but other than that I am listening to 3 days of talk fest.

Never been to Bahrain before, so not sure what it's like, but I guess it will be pretty similar to the UAE. I will try and post something from Bahrain when I am over there.

But on local oddities, I wanted to raise something that I probably haven't raised before... "the Attendant". It is local custom here for owners of public places and places of business that have public bathrooms that they're stocked with "Attendants". Attendants are workers who have a job to do while you're doing your job...

Essentially, and we have them here in the office, you go into the bathroom and there is a guy in there (a lady I presume if you're in the ladies) and they will welcome you. "Hello sir" is the greeting I get here in the office. Then you go to do "the business". They don't assist you (thank god!) and you are left to your own devices, but you can still get performance anxiety if you know that you're alone in the bathroom and there is "the Attendant" waiting outside by the sinks.

When you're finished and you flush, then instantly I hear the paper roll dispenser into action... you may think its automatically connected electronically to the flush, but no... "the Attendant" has pressed the button and has some paper towels waiting for you. Flashier places like hotels and business class airport lounges will have warm towels, but here at work we have a paper towel dispenser on an electronic roller... and he pre-presses it for you for your "convenience".

On good days, I exit the stall and he will also have the sink running at a mid range temperature (depends how busy he is!) and you wash your hands and he will pass you the paper towel... then if you motion to get a bit more extra towel (for the back up dry) he will reach in front of you and press the button again and again pass you the paper towel.

Then, when drying is done, he opens the door...

Considering that in Australia, you'd be hard pressed to find a company to work for that would buy decent biscuits in the kitchen, here at my work here in Abu Dhabi I am blessed with "the Attendant".

Imagine my horror last night when at home, I realised that there was no toilet paper left... I had to get it myself!! May need to get an Attendant for home...

Lord of the Rings - A Tale For All Ages

2010-04-11T19:34:00.001+10:00

Last week, before we had our friends Julie and Hannah visit, I sat Kate down and we watched the first of the two Lord of the Rings movies. Kate has on and off again asked to watch it and we resisted because of the "scary orcs and the violence" but in reality it is quite tame when compared to some other movies. But given she's a 10yr old girl your natural instinct is to say "no".

In the end I relented and we watched the movies and she sat bolt upright through two very long movies and she loved it and this week we will finish off the trilogy. Its funny though that at the same time this is happening, I read this article on a gaming website I sometimes peruse (and I listen to their podcast) and thought this article was really sweet.

I think maybe, after we watch the movie, I will read the story of Bilbo Baggins to both Kate & Brooke chapter by chapter...

Get Me A Doctor! Spam!!

2010-04-11T17:02:00.001+10:00

Spam. Most of it today is irrelevant as any credible email client will filter it all away... but in the UAE, you get a new invention: Mobile Spam.

Yes, you get - daily - spam to your mobile phone in SMS format. Just now, I have been sent a text message. Answering the beep at work, hoping it would be Niki sending me good news, I get the message that Dr's Ahmed and Wasima are Orthopedic Surgeons and Endocrinologists respectively and that they are available for consultation in Dubai if I call the number below.

Wow... Dr's are now spamming people randomly in the hope that you're sick and you need their specialty treatment services! Wonder what the hit rate is?

At work, we now play Spam bingo. We sit there and someone's mobile will beep. Normally you would be polite and ignore it as you talk to the person at the table whom you're having the meeting with, but now the phone is grabbed and checked in case its a spam. "YES! Its Babyshop telling me that they have 20% this weekend!!" OR "Yes!! I can buy one and get one free at an Indian restaurant in Dubai!!".

Advertising is big business here in the UAE, but its as if the marketing people have come straight from 1990 and believe that SMS text messaging is the new cutting edge and that people would REALLY appreciate you flogging their products on their mobiles. Gold Star for that idea!!

On the flipside though, Hertz rent a car keep sending me emails re their new deals and still no one is picking up the phone!

More Visitors!

2010-04-06T23:36:00.001+10:00

We have our friend Julie and her daughter Hannah with us this week from Sydney and we're counting down to when my parents arrive on April 23, but on the weekend in between, my mate Joe will be swinging by for just 24hrs as he makes his way home from a business trip in Europe!

Its a full house!

But it's really good, and I am very happy and grateful that people are taking the time to come out and see us and to see how we live first hand. It made it really alot easier on us and Niki in particular, when her parents came out last year as they can see how we live, can understand that Dubai isn't this evil place of Islamic fundamentalists and that in reality its a great place to live. Means that Skype sessions with Niki's parents are better as they understand what we're talking about.

And now, with Julie, Joe and my mum & dad seeing us over the April / May period, that will be more people who will also understand.

But for my mate Joe, it will be a rush job... he's in the country for just 26hrs and I will be certainly giving him the "rushed tour"...

Easter in the Middle East

2010-04-04T17:27:00.001+10:00

Well, its Easter (Easter Sunday to be exact) and I am in the office and its just another day here. I had to give a presentation this morning and whilst there were a few "Happy Easter" greetings amongst the westerners, it was down to business as usual.

At home though, the Easter Bunny paid his annual visit and it was a better experience because Niki's friend Julie and her daughter Hannah are visiting us as well so there is a bit of a festive holiday feel at the moment at home. I should add, it is school holidays here in any event, so the girls are calling them "Easter Holidays" whereas they are simply "End of Term 2 Holidays" in the eyes of the government.

Kate did ask me this morning as I was leaving for work would she have to go to school if it wasn't holidays and the answer is unfortunately yes.

But, this is all part of the experience and given I am in no way a religious person, I don't really care that I am missing Easter itself, but it would have been nice to hang out and eat chocolate with the kids anyway.

But its not like the UAE suppresses Christianity though. There are Easter displays in the shops, eggs are able to be purchased, the Phillipino's in particular tend to be very Christian and so Easter is alive and well, its just that we don't get the day off. And you can't complain because I can get holidays when the Islamic holidays occur, so again as a non-religious person, I just go with the flow.

Happy Easter!

The Death of a Sheikh

2010-04-01T06:35:00.001+11:00

Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed, younger brother of the Ruler of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa died last Friday in a glider accident in Morocco and his body wasn't found until yesterday. What happens here in the UAE with the death of such a prominent member of the ruling family is that a period of National Mourning is declared (three days in this case) and essentially alot of events and celebrations are cancelled or postponed and the radio and free TV networks simply broadcast readings of the Quran and in a sign of modernism, classical music (albeit sombre pieces) are actually being played.

We went to the mall tonight and it was strange that there wasnt any music being played whatsoever. In the mall corridors there would be music, the shops would all have their own music playing but tonight it was echoing and quiet around the mall.

So, from today through to midnight Friday, the mourning period will last and whilst businesses are remaining open it isnt unusual for some government departments to close.

Good Morning...

2010-03-26T14:18:00.001+11:00

Its a bit after 7am here... I am up early on a Friday morning although Friday here is the Islamic Holy day in which everyone has the day off. Its like Sunday was when I was a kid in which shops dont open until later (if at all) and everyone is supposed to go to church (or the mosque here).

So why am I awake so early? Well, my mobile phone this morning received 2 text messages as it lay on the charger beside my bed. The first at 6:04am said was a message from the Abu Dhabi police to tell me that I was caught speeding on the 16th (see story below) and that I should "remember to obey the traffic rules". Just a friendly reminder...

This message woke me up... which meant I had to get up to go to the bathroom and it interrupted my sleep.

I go back to bed... snoozing turns into dozing which turns into sleeping....

BEEP BEEP

7:00am... "HSBC ATM Cards will not work in non-HSBC ATM's from the hours of 2am and 6am on the 27th of March. HSBC ATM Cards will work in HSBC ATM Machines"

WTF? OK, I am awake... I am up... so much for the Friday sleep in and here I am at the computer venting about it...

Who thought it was a great idea to send "official" SMS's at 6am and 7am on a Friday morning?!

Only in the UAE

2010-03-24T18:07:00.001+11:00

I got an email from Hertz here advertising their new rates for car leases. I currently pay 2200 AED a month for my Toyota Corolla and yet they're advertising that I can now get a Toyota Corolla for just 1700 AED a month.

CALL NOW they say....

So I ring the number and after going through a highly convoluted and slow speaking voice prompting the phone rings. And Rings... AND RINGS. Nobody picks up...

I redial... go through the process again... and same result.

I try again but select the option to report that I have crashed my car and I get a human voice straight away and I ask to speak to someone in the leasing department. The Indian chap says that this is the Vehicle Recovery department and not the leasing section. I reply I know but nobody is answering, can you put me through. "Sorry sir, this is another department I am at a different location". I hang up.

I then go to their website (http://www.hertz-uae.com/) and as you can see, its being worked on and has no information other than the number I have been dialing.

Only in the UAE can you get a such customer service... lol. Would a company in Australia issue an email offering new prices and then have zero way to contact them??

Its a funny place ;-)

Summer in the UAE

2010-03-22T22:08:00.000+11:00

Equates to 9 months of the year... and by summer I mean swimming weather. The weather here in Dubai at the moment is excellent and even though we're just one month past what passes for winter here, we're already into the swimming again.

We have bought new outdoor furniture now and have a BBQ and last weekend had the opportunity to sit outside in the evening weather and be very relaxed. At the pool, the water is now the perfect temperature and the sun is shining all day every day.

I noticed last night that Niki and the girls already are getting their tans back and I will have to follow suit and spend more time at the pool to catch up because no matter the weather, you don't get a tan by being at work in a suit.

Also, I am very happy that the rugby league is now on TV here in Dubai and I have enjoyed watching the first two rounds of the season. Oddly, because of the weekend time shift (Friday and Saturday are my weekends) I get Friday Night Football and FoxSports Super Saturday games beamed live into our place from around 10:30am or Midday onwards. But because we dont really spend too much time at home on weekends, I have taken advantage of the regions new Pay TV service in which you can record live tv on your pay tv box. That was just coming out in Australia when I left and it has now reached us here in Dubai and its brilliant!

So, my summer is pool, sun and NRL... happy days!

Broke My Cherry

2010-03-18T05:09:00.002+11:00

The above is evidence of my first brush with the law here in the UAE - a speeding fine.

I have written a number of times on this blog and have spoken to people back home about the excessive speeds that drivers drive at here in the UAE. Well last night, I was pinged... for the excessive speed of... *drum roll*

86km/hr in a 60 zone!!!

To set the scene, Niki and I attended a work function at the famous Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Lovely evening with my colleagues at work to celebrate a good year. Al Qasr was the restaurant which was an Arabic BBQ restaurant and we were down on the private beach. All very nice but also I was driving so it was bubbly water and coke with lemon and ice for me.

It was 11:30pm, my car was driven up by the valet and we cruised out onto the Corniche which is the beach front of Abu Dhabi to go home... traffic was heavy and we were getting every red light.

I am cruising in the left (fast) lane and I see a flash behind me... a typical sign of an upcoming speeding Emirati in a flashier car than my Toyota Corolla.

I go to shift into the next lane and suddenly it's red & blue lights of the police. I try to pull across the FIVE lanes to the right side of the road but we're at a red light (again) and I sit with a big police 4WD up my backside with the red / blues flashing. Light goes green, the traffic moves and I get across and into a car park off the 5 lane road.

I get out because that's what you do here, in Australia you sit and wait for the policeman to come to you. Here, its a meeting in the middle of the road (carpark).

"Mahabaa. Masaa Al Khair" (Hello, good evening) I say.

"Massaa al Noor, Keefahlak, aw salaam ali kum" says a pleasant police man.

The Arabic dance of greeting is done... and I say was there a problem?

Very pleasantly he informs me I was doing 86 in a 60 zone and even though I get "20 kilometres free", 86 is too much. I said I didnt know this 5 lane monster roadway was a 60 zone but alas it was.

License, car rego papers are shown and at this point a very young second police officer gets out.

In Arabic, they converse and the young constable (who's uniform looks a day old) is seemingly instructed on getting the booking sheet out and he's shown by the older officer how to fill it in.

"Ismak" (which is a derivative of the word "name") is said a few times and I gather that he's writing my name in the wrong spot. The young constable looks intently at my rego slip, he compares it to the number plate, he looks at my license and comments "Oh, you're Australian... very nice" and the older man keeps him on the straight and narrow on how to book a speeding ticket.

It is clear... I have been picked at random to be a "training lesson" for the young constable and unfortunately its going to cost me.

"How much?" I ask and he tells me "600 dirham" which is about A$170, "but if you go to Abu Dhabi traffic police and pay in person, you can get a discount... 50% if the judge is generous".

I said I didn't want to go to court about it but I was mistaken apparently...you submit the ticket and "a judge" - probably in a back room - makes an arbitrary call on a discount. Talk about sweet justice!

All in all, I guess I am talking to these guys for about 15mins and we shake hands and he says for me to drive home safely. Very pleasant and I am glad that I helped a young cadet learn the ropes...

Now... about that discount......

Retail Therapy for Hangover Cure

2010-03-16T20:14:00.001+11:00

Has been a hectic period for me of late... work has been taxing as some major projects come to a head and I have had to put in some overtime. On top of that, we've had Brooke's birthday last week and her party last weekend. This included a BBQ for the grown ups after the party on the Friday night and hence Saturday was a cruisey day and we ended the weekend by the pool for the first time in ages. The weather is starting to warm up now which is good!

I did however have to take a bit of retail therapy of the suit buying kind this weekend and replace a suit which lost the arse out of one of the trousers. In Sydney for me, suit buying is a major pain in terms of time and hip pocket. In Sydney, my tailor was a high pressure sales guy who would always push me to spend more than I cared for and to be honest in hindsight he was a used car salesman type. Yet, they had my measurements and it was too painful to go anywhere else.

So, I asked around at work and was recommended I go to a menswear shop in a shopping mall that I had never been too. Dubai is riddled with large shopping malls that dont have any real customers as they have been superseded by the big malls such as Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. However I was assured that "Brands" in the Mazaya Centre was
the place to go for cheap good quality suits.

And yes whilst the mall was spookily quiet with little customers, in less than 30mins I bought two suits made from NZ wool for less than $500. A huge saving compared to Australian prices.

Given that I was hung over, that was the perfect result!

The Mist

2010-03-11T19:08:00.002+11:00

Anyone seen the movie or read the original Stephen King story "The Mist"? Well if you have, then you'd appreciate what its like driving in the mornings in Dubai at the moment.

Absolute pea soupers and its been this way every day for a week now.

But the locals here don't seem to care... their only concession to road safety is to whack the hazard lights on and drive like normal and by normal, that's generally 160km/h.

So, I have now shifted down a gear, cruise at a speed I feel comfortable being at and stay out of the fast lane. Otherwise, you run the risk of being in one of these:

This is a photo taken by my neighbour Trevor who was driving at the back of our suburb and was caught up in it. Luckily for him, he ended up stopped without being hit but people in front and behind were all over the road. One person died, and many were injured but this is typical of a multi car pile up in Dubai.

For me, I ended up having to take a 50km detour (when driving through the desert, there are no back roads!) and was an hour late for work... but I think I'd prefer that to the above.

Happy Birthday

2010-03-09T17:58:00.001+11:00

My littlest girl Brooke is 9 today! Her first birthday to be celebrated in the UAE.

We offered to take her out for dinner tonight anywhere she wanted... and what she has asked for is for us to set up the picnic table in the backyard and I am bringing McDonalds home!! Classic! I have never been to a Picnic at Home with McDonalds party before!

On Friday, she's having a birthday party with her school and neighbourhood friends and we've hired a jumping castle and balloons etc etc and we'll be having a bit of a garden party followed by a BBQ for the grown ups for dinner. So all in all a pretty relaxed birthday without a huge amount of razzamattaz but that is very much Brooke's style. She loves to be at home and she loves simply being able to hang out and play with her friends.

Happy Birthday Brookie Chookie!

Arabic

2010-03-05T16:20:00.001+11:00

Last night, I attended my first Arabic lesson. I am very keen to learn conversational phrases and to be able to pick up on things here and not be a virtual deaf mute when dealing with the local people. I spent three years in high school German classes and still retain odd words but I am worried about how to make it "sink in" with the Arabic.

The teacher, a very enthusiastic Iraqi lady dove straight in and is not going to give us an easy time of it. After the first 2 hrs of lesson, I know the first 4-5 letters of the alphabet, know that of the 29 letters, 3 of them are vowels and each vowel can be sounded in 2 different ways.

Its going to be tough... the language (and she was blunt about this) uses parts of the throat and mouth that English speakers don't use. She even said that alot of Arabs cannot pronounce words "properly" because they cannot physically do the tongue motions. After going through the alphabet, I found I was the only one of the 5 students who couldnt vibrate the back of my tongue to sound one of the letters so I may be in that boat already.

But, its early days and I am keen to learn! Each lesson is 4:30 - 6:30pm Thursdays and they're put on by my company at the work site. Do Australian companies pay for English lessons? I don't think so...

We have a lodger

2010-03-02T20:22:00.001+11:00

The culture here in the UAE is to have maids and drivers etc etc... we have never experienced this before in Australia but here it is the "norm" for people to have live in service staff and the houses are built accordingly. We have a separate building on the side of the house attached to the garage in which there is a (small) bedroom, (smaller) bathroom and a "space" for cooking and washing dishes.

As for us, we felt a full time maid would be too intrusive... you have this lady in your house, at any time, cooking, cleaning and looking after you but we felt we would not be comfortable with that. It would be like having a "guest" in the house all the time... you couldnt wander into the kitchen in your underwear, you would feel uneasy about eavesdropping and I would also feel uncomfortable leaving cash and loose change around... your house ceases to be your own.

However, having said all that, we have struck up a good relationship with an Indian man Victor who works at the vet clinic. He is absolutely fantastic with animals and is training to be a vet himself. He also lives around the corner from us with the vets (an Austrian couple) and he lives in their maids quarters.

Anyway, the Austrians - for whatever reason - are moving out of their villa and into an apartment block and Victor was looking for a place to stay. So we have agreed that he can rent our maids quarters out on the proviso that he is able to assist in looking after our dogs and cat in particular when we're away on holidays.

With being so close to Europe and Asia and with the regular trips back to Sydney, our annual costs of boarding the animals in kennels is prohibitive and also we worry about the quality of care. Our old golden retriever Zoe is also getting a bit too old for kennels as well.

So, this weekend Victor will move in, rent our room and be self contained and not in the house like a maid would be. We get some rent income and we also have peace of mind with the pets and the freedom to travel when we want to.

Of course, its all a trial and I said that to Victor as well... so if it doesnt work out, then at least we gave it a go :-)

Time is flying!

2010-02-24T00:09:00.001+11:00

We're nearly at the end of February... One sixth of the way through the year! Scary huh!

Work is interesting at the moment as the company is going through a restructuring process and the reality is that there is some downsizing to take place... I am safe given I am seconded to the company by the parent company (and hence not on the downsizing company's payroll) but nevertheless it is distracting. I personally think the change is needed and the new direction is the right direction in my mind, but at the same time some people I have enjoyed working with are leaving.

My two ex-bosses who hired me are gone... the Managing Director and the Finance Director are both out the door with the latter announcing his departure today. It is odd because they hired me and they saw the need for what I do and now they have paid the price for this change. Mixed feelings I guess...

But its not like I am a stranger to all this... I have been made redundant three times in my life and in all cases it was because of "company restructure". The difference is that this time I am on the side of the change agents and not a drone in the org chart that is to be snipped off at the trunk. Kinda refreshing!

All this change however doesn't mean I am idle. Work is moving forward with gusto and projects are proceeding and my services are needed in many more pots... A lot of these projects are being driven out of Europe - be it because the project is physically occurring there or because the financing is driven from there and as such, like tonight, I will be on the phone to Europe which means my day will be extended a tad. Not great, but its not the norm so it remains on the side of exciting rather than tiresome.

Amsterdam

2010-02-19T04:12:00.000+11:00

Am here in Amsterdam on a work conference... not much to tell as I have been in a hotel conference room for most of the time, but I did get to go and walk around a bit last night and see some sights.

Amsterdam is alot smaller than I thought it would be... it is basically a big, very compacted, village with wall to wall townhouses. No real CBD, nothing but canals and small streets. The streets are mostly paved and it was hard to judge when you were on the road, on the cycle ways or on the footpath!

Big highlight for me as an Aussie who doesnt go to the snow is that I was able to walk the streets whilst a light snow fell. Very amazing for me as I have never seen snow fall like that before. It was very cold, but I really enjoyed it.

As for the sights, we were walking and it was freezing so we didnt go far, but we saw lots of monuments and old cathedral like buildings but I didnt really know what they were history wise.

Today has been very grey and cloudy and it may snow heavily tonight (fingers crossed) and I am about to go out for dinner tonight across town a bit, so will see some more of the town (its not really a city) by taxi.

Its very pretty, would love to spend a day (which is all you really need) to explore and I must admit its nice to have a bit of cold weather after all the heat of the UAE.

Am flying back tomorrow night... so back to the grind next week after only a one day weekend at home.

Into the snow...

2010-02-16T21:03:00.001+11:00

A quick note... I am off to Amsterdam tonight to attend a conference. Will be back in Dubai on Saturday morning, so no posts of meaningful note until then. Forecast for Amsterdam is top temps of 2 degrees and snowfall predicted for Thursday.

Brrrr!!

Frustrations of Shopping

2010-02-14T21:58:00.001+11:00

Shopping in the UAE is an interesting but frustrating experience.

In Sydney, we had a choice of shopping malls but in general each shopping mall always had the same major and mini-major department stores. Myer / David Jones and then shops like Rebel Sports, the super markets, K-Mart / Target etc.

But in Dubai, each shop tends to be more unique and the common stores are not necessarily common to every mall in the city. This means you have to think about what you want before you go and then select the mall where you need to go to.

Yesterday, we needed to get Kate some clothes and a small amount of gear (a backpack and a sleeping bag) for her upcoming school camping trip. And the clothes included a specific item - decent boardshorts for swimming. The school requested that all girls wear swimming costumes that "ideally go to the knee" in length because the camp was in the more religiously conservative Sharjah. So we thought board shorts.

So the mall selected was the Dubai Outlet Mall. We drove out there and the mall is biggish without being too massive. We went to the sports clothing outlet store and were able to find soccer boots for Brooke (which weren't on the list) and some bikinis at ridiculously cheap prices but no girls boardshorts and no camping gear despite the store having every other bit of sporting equipment you can poke a stick at.

So after some lunch, we drove to Dubai Mall. I kid you not, this place is massive... its the biggest Mall in the world. It is hard to measure, but it has 8 levels of carpark, has 4 levels of Mall, is extremely long and wide. It is oddly shaped and you walk around the perimeter in an arc like pattern and it has a crossing lane across the guts of the mall so that it looks Phi symbol but also has some side arcades... anyway thats a crap explanation, check out the website and maps.

We went to Dubai Mall because we knew that they had a Roxy and Billabong surf shops. Aussie surf shops always stock board shorts and we weren't disappointed. We also went there because it has an Etisalat (the UAE's version of Telstra) and I needed to see someone about my mobile phone account. In addition, we tried to find a camp store or sports store that sold camping gear but we were unfortunately out of luck.

But the whole expedition took hours and after leaving the house at 11:30am, we returned home at around 5pm with some items but not everything. I think the whole problem was that we were exhausted and spent so many times at the public display maps and concierge desks and being directed to a shop 3 levels up or down and about a kilometer away as the crow flies.

To put this mall into perspective it has:

- a full size olympic ice rink
- an indoor theme park (Sega Republic) including a couple of roller coasters
- an indoor aquarium including the worlds largest fish tank
- a massive cinema which includes an IMAX
- a kids theme park called Kidszania
- about 5 centre courts

It's an amazing place to visit and is a beautiful mall, but its not a great place when you want to just duck in and grab a few things... Murphy's Law was having a field day sending us this way and that!

A year ago today...

2010-02-09T23:25:00.001+11:00

Today marks the first anniversary of my move to the UAE. It feels very odd that a year has gone past already! To say that time has flown is a massive understatement.

I left Sydney on the 9th and arrived on the 10th and started work on the 11th... straight into it with barely anytime to get over the jet lag. My desk wasnt ready, I didnt have a phone either and I didnt have a mobile. The project / company was much different then and I had no idea where anything was. I was living in a hotel which I initially thought was great but soon came to detest.

From there, I bought a phone, got my residency and visa sorted out... then came a car (leased) and I was mobile. Looking for a house, I moved from the Abu Dhabi hotel into a villa in the Green Community Dubai. I had a piece of foam to sleep on and a towel, a few plates, glasses and cutlery. I borrowed a pair of bar stools to sit on and also bought a camp chair.

That was the time when it really got a bit heavy and the "newness" wore off and I was really missing Niki and the girls.

I bought a TV and a DVD but couldnt watch TV until the pay TV network came out to install it... same with Internet and I spent some very lonely days in my massive villa with no furniture.

Slowly things progressed and I remember the day the Internet was finally connected... many tears over the Skype that day!

All of the above was the first 2 months... I would remain alone in Dubai for a further two months and in that time I got curtains, furniture, landscaping etc. In addition, I was keeping abreast of the dismantling of the household in Sydney as Niki sent all our furniture and clothes on a Chinese shipping container. They were very emotional times.

By June, Niki and the girls arrived to 45 degree temps that would soon soar to 55 in their first month. A quick trip to London was a great highlight and an effective way to escape the heat.

Then it was waiting for the shipping container and it wasnt until July I suppose that we could finally consider ourselves "moved in".

Then the social things... Niki met the neighbours (as I really was too busy working and shopping on weekends) and the kids met the neighbourhood kids. School was on the horizon for September and we went shopping for uniforms and stuff... we were also doing tourist things and got to know where the malls and attractions were. By the time school started, we were ready but the kids had had alot of time off and were basically living like it was a holiday camp.

So homework was the painful item in September but the kids found the school to be really enjoyable and their social circles expanded as did ours. We became good friends with a number of families here and started holidaying and day-tripping together. Ramadan also came and we learnt to become squirrels with our food...

October saw our first visitors from home and we were able to entertain Niki's parents and our nephew Scotty from London. It was good for everyone to have that family contact and we were very proud in showing off our new place and what lifestyle we had put together. Work was busy, but was now manageable... family life was a greater focus and we were enjoying being together on weekends and having real family meals at night.

As the weather started to cool, BBQ's became the norm and each weekend became a party... Xmas gatherings and birthdays for our friends became important and by the time we came back to Sydney at Xmas time we felt like we were on a family holiday rather than "coming home".

Since then of course, life continues and we really do feel settled. Just this week, we got a second TV connection for the upstairs lounge and I am in the process of renewing our lease on the villa. Plans for a European Holiday are being discussed - need to book that! - and my first years performance review, salary review and bonus are being discussed.

And when you read all that back, it makes me realise how far we have come since I left Sydney this time last year. It was a big decision and one filled with a number of unknowns. We have had surprises and some unexpected twists and turns but they have been for the better and we can truly say that the decision to take the job and the associated lifestyle upheaval has been the right one.

The Emirates is a developing country. Yes Dubai has alot of glitz and glamour attached to it, but to live here everyday is not what you would expect by watching the travel shows. The country is ambitious and proud of its heritage but the people are very generous and welcoming. The Middle East is a place of contrasts with extravagant architecture such as the Burj Khalifa down to the fact that some of the labourers live in pipes on the side of the road. For every famous Porsche Cayenne driving Emirati there is a beat up old car being driven by a Pakistani as a taxi. But there is also a great respect for religious differences and culture. We have attended a Catholic wedding and have visited the grandest mosque in the entire Middle East. Every day has been an adventure.

So tomorrow is Day 1 of Year 2 and I am very happy.

Avatar

2010-02-07T23:12:00.001+11:00

We took the girls to see Avatar last night. We did the whole 3D IMAX thing and I have to say I think I enjoyed it much more the second time around. The IMAX was massive too... and we could only get seats about 6 rows from the front! Its amazing how this movie is still selling. We went on Friday night and tried to get in to the 7:30pm session but it was sold out. So on Saturday I called past the mall at 11:00am to get the 4:30pm session and it was nearly sold out too! It sure does seem to be getting repeat business.

As for Avatar itself, my line of thinking was that when I was young I got to see Star Wars and the experience is something that I have never forgotten. The event was bigger than the movie itself. Star Wars wasn't a "kids movie" then either but it was an exciting thing for a 6yr old kid. With Avatar, I think that is the Star Wars of this generation... a big event, the 3D experience etc etc... and the kids loved it.

Brookie was scared a little when the big Pandoran panther monster attacked but she was OK (she took her glasses off to make it blurry! lol!!) and Kate seemed to enjoy it. On the way to school this morning they were still talking about it. Maybe they will remember it too when they grow into adults and how they went and saw a packed blockbuster Avatar in 3D IMAX. Not sure if the Arabic subtitles made it more memorable though ;-)

To burst or not to burst...

2010-02-04T00:38:00.001+11:00

Kate has been feeling pretty ordinary of late and complained every now and then about a "sore tummy". But for the past 3-4 days, she has been really specific and has been telling us that her stomach hurts "Here" and points to the lower right side of her abdomen.

Appendix!

So we took her to the same hospital that Niki went for her sore foot and again we got great service. The problem has been though she does have a specific pain which is clearly in her appendix area but she doesnt have a fever or vomiting that is usually a sign of appendicitis but the doctors cannot determine the cause.

So we did blood tests and an ultrasound and then when they came back "inconclusive" they asked her to come back the next day (today) and do the tests again. They were looking for an increased blood count or something and yet today the tests were again uncertain.

Therefore its back again tomorrow for more blood taking!

The reality is I am sure (despite my lack of medical degree) that it is "early rumblings" of an appendix and I want her to have it taken out now rather than wait for it to get worse and more painful for her. The appendix is from what I can tell is a useless organ that has nothing really to do ever since we stopped eating tree branches in the Paleolithic Era and hence lets take it out.

But the doctors wont perform "needless" surgery and hence we wait...

If they keep this up, I bet we will be in the hospital with Kate by the end of the month.

Weekend. Or "Geez I'm tired, lets go back to work for a rest!"

2010-01-31T23:23:00.001+11:00

Very busy weekend was just had! So busy, we let the girls chuck a sickie and I really thought about it too!

Firstly, after a very hectic work day on Thursday, Niki and I went to the Australian Business Council Dubai's "Australia Day Ball". We had a great night and we danced to all the old 80's and 90's Aussie music... INXS, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, ACDC... you get the picture.

Add in alot of beer and wine and we were "very tired" when we left the Grand Hyatt Ballroom some time after 1am. The theme was a bit of a fizzer - "Underbelly" - but it was a great night. Even got to belt out the National Anthem!

Friday was a "ginger" day in which I spent most of it camped on the lounge playing the PlayStation but it served its purpose as we had a birthday party to attend. Our neighbour Deborah was turning 20+21 and was throwing a bit of a bash. It was excellently catered with a full Indian buffet complete with waiter and we sat around the tables outside drinking more beer and wine and eating way too much Chicken Tikka and roti bread. The surprising thing was, it was actually very cold weather wise and whilst I braved it in a cotton shirt and shorts, many people were rugging up against what seemed to be an actual winters evening! Again, we went home "tired" but it wasnt too late...

Another ginger morning on Saturday in which I got up very early but went back to bed around 10ish but we had to set out for our first Dubai wedding. Friends JR and Abby were tying the not at the St Mary's Catholic Church in Bur Dubai and we managed to find it easily enough. The wedding was at 3pm, the reception was scheduled to start at 6pm but didnt due to DJ-Not-Arriving issues until 8pm and with some very tired kids in tow we left around 10:30 - 11:00pm. I was driving but Niki didnt drink anyway but I think we had had enough anyway ;-).

The wedding was a Philippino affair with lots of colour and it was great to be invited... the reception was a typical Dubai Hotel style buffet affair with plenty of good food.

So, come this morning, the kids were still zonked and I went to work but it will be early to bed tonight!

VISITORS!

2010-01-27T16:18:00.002+11:00

VISITORS!

No, its not the Visitors of South Park fame, but we're very excited that we'll be having some visitors from home come to see us in April / May this year. Firstly, Niki's longest friend Julie is coming with her daughter Hannah for a 10 day visit over the Easter period and that will be good for both Niki and the girls.

Then we also found out yesterday that my Mum & Dad have booked themselves a flight in late April and will come to stay with us for three weeks through to mid-May.

Having moved here nearly a year ago (my first anniversary is only a week or two away) we have really enjoyed the lifestyle and have been very happy with the UAE and what it has to offer. But the problem is that it is very hard to translate that into words and convey that to our friends and family back home.

We had Niki's parents come and stay with us last October and since then it has been alot easier on us and them. They have been able to understand and see for their own eyes what life in the UAE is like and why we like it. They understand that we're safe and that the girls have a great school and lifestyle and in addition have an appreciation of what our house is like and what the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are like. It has made the conversations on Skype alot easier and there is a greater sense of comfort.

But for everyone else, and for our trip back to Australia last Xmas, it is hard to "explain" and we also have had to deal with the various stereotypes of what the Middle East is like.

So now we have two more sets of visitors to host and we're excited to have Julie & Hannah and my Mum & Dad. Yes, we'll do the "touristy" things but in addition, it's more about seeing how we live, the circle of friends we have here and the lifestyle that we enjoy.

So to all our other relatives and friends - get yourselves booked! We'd love to have you over too!

Lets Go Shopping

2010-01-25T18:18:00.001+11:00

We have a big weekend next weekend. We have the Australia Day Ball on Thursday night, which is an annual event hosted by the Australian Business Council of Dubai. The theme however is "Underbelly"... I am not sure why we need to sully the national day with a reference to drug lords and prostitutes, but there you go.

But nevertheless, we are going but one issue was that I dont actually own a "dinner suit" or a "black tie". Never have and thought it was useless to buy a whole ensemble for one night and in Sydney I would rent one given I would only go to a Black Tie function once every 2 years or more. But they don't have "formal hire" places in Dubai and it is de rigeur that one should own such a suit here. So we went shopping...

Was recommended the Pierre Cardin store here in Dubai and we went in. I was expecting big dollars (or dirhams) to buy this thing and I hate shopping at the best of times so I was not in a good mood to start with. But my mood turned alot better when once again I was in a specialty store with a 75% off (second time in a fortnight) and with alot of trying on and and trips in and out of the change room I ended up picking up a Pierre Cardin dinner suit for the princely sum of 550Dhs. Thats about A$180! That included the tailoring.

For another 300Dhs I also picked up a shirt and bow tie and a black regular shirt and a black regular tie (we may do the Underbelly thing) on top. A$325 for a suit, two shirts and two ties! Bargain.

Niki then went to the local department store and was able to find a nice flowy cocktail dress for just 220Dhs and we were set!

We also have a birthday party on the Friday and a wedding on the Saturday so we went shopping for a Barbie Doll for the former. Whilst we found that clothes are cheap, a basic Barbie Doll in the toy store was 150Dhs. I am not sure why toys here seem so much more expensive and yet clothes are dirt cheap... I guess its an import / branding thing with Mattel I guess...

Still, we can't complain, we've both got new gear for the Ball. Now I just need a pumpkin and some mice!

Brunch This Weekend

2010-01-21T18:34:00.001+11:00

We're off tomorrow for a big brunch with our friends at the Jebel Ali Hotel & Spa to celebrate the weekend. After a very busy week and a short and jet lagged weekend last weekend, I am very much looking forward to it. For 300Dhs for adults and 150Dhs for kids, you can eat and drink as much as you want but in addition we get to make use of the hotel facilities (read pools and spas) all day. Bargain!

And better still, its just 15mins from our house!

Speaking of our house, I should point out that Google Earth have refreshed their maps of Dubai and the UAE and our housing estate now magically appears! Previous maps had the area half constructed and under the shadow of clouds and hence you couldnt see anything. Now however the maps are clear, our estate is in full view and even my white Toyota is in the driveway! In addition, Dubai shows the second palm island - Palm Jebel Ali - which is bigger than the original Palm Jumeriah but has zero building on it. You can also see a good shot of the Burj Khalifa and you can get a good perspective as its shadow is significantly larger than any other building.

Also got an odd taste of homesickness this morning when I arrived at work and found that overnight that they had laid wood chips all over the garden beds. There was a real strong smell of wood chips and I instantly thought of Australia... exact same smell. I presume they're not Eucalyptus wood chips, but still...

Missed My Weekend

2010-01-17T17:46:00.002+11:00

Well, I went to London for business on Thursday night for a Friday meeting. Friday of course being our weekend, but when dealing with a UK project on occasion I guess I have to work "western hours". It meant however I spent Thursday night and then Friday night coming back on a plane and as such probably only had 6hrs sleep all told.

I just cannot sleep well on planes... I doze I guess, but I just feel like crap when I land and as a consequence my Saturday morning was spent sleeping and then in the afternoon I was yawning whilst vegging out on the lounge playing PlayStation (Dragon Age for those who care) and then we went for an early (5pm) dinner with neighbours. In addition, Kate had spent the weekend at a friends place and by the time I drove out and collected her at 8:30pm, I was absolutely exhausted.

This morning, I woke up early and had to get ready for work... and I feel like I just left the office.

This week though wont be a normal week as the World Future Energy Summit is on and I will be attending that both as an interested spectator but also for work. I will be manning our company's stand and greeting people from all around the world. Whilst I work in the "renewable energy business" it is actually a product that I feel enthused about as it a new frontier and also trying to do a good thing for the world in general... much more so than any other company I have worked for.

I also have to still go to get that Police Report (see last weeks post) and also, my leased car needs changing over because the registration is expiring and also starting to contact my landlord as would you believe the 12mths lease expires in about 6 weeks and I need to renegotiate for another year. We're very happy with our place so, we're very keen to stay on!

Dubai Hospitals - Thumbs Up

2010-01-14T02:59:00.001+11:00

Yesterday, Niki slipped on the staircase and hurt her ankle / foot. She was in quite a bit of pain and by the time I got home from work she was basically stuck on the lounge with her foot strapped and up on pillows.

Whilst we thought it may be broken and we should get an X-ray, we left it until today after the kids went to school.

But we had never been to a hospital here before and were a bit unsure of which one to go to. The closest one has had a number of poor reviews from people around here and is known more as a "labour camp hospital" and is a bit run down. Instead we opted to go up the road further to the "MedCare Hospital" which had a good reputation as being clean and efficient.

And it certainly was. We turned up at the Emergency at 9am, we filled out the "first timers" forms and soon enough Niki was seen to by a triage nurse, and then straight away an orderly came out with a wheel chair, took her to x-ray, then took her to the doctor (who cleared her of a break, just a bad sprain and gave her a prescription for pain relief). The orderly then took us to the "cashier" and I was happy to say that the x-ray was free under my insurance and then to the pharmacy. He then wheeled Niki out to the carpark, stood with her whilst I got the car and then helped her from the chair into the car.

All up, we were there for less than 2hrs and home by 11am.

Great service and far better than a Sydney Hospital... we are now a bit more relaxed about where the hospital is and the quality of care. It was "fortunate" to be able to go to the hospital for a "check up" via x-ray rather than for any serious emergency, gives us a great piece of mind.

You just have to laugh...

2010-01-11T21:12:00.001+11:00

For those of you who I saw in Australia, you may be aware that I lost both my work Blackberry and my personal mobile phone. Lost it, last seen on Xmas Day at my sister in laws, never seen from again despite extensive searches by all the family. To me, it was annoying and at the time very frustrating, but to be honest life without the CrackBerry has been fine.

But, work expects me to be available on email virtually 24x7 so I made arrangements here at work to get a new Blackberry. Spoke to my boss about it whilst in Australia and upon my return got his and my bosses boss to signoff on me getting a new one. They had no issue at all.

Then the secretary pulls me aside yesterday and says that for the IT department to give me a new Blackberry, they need a "Police Report".

Huh?!

I said, I lost it in Australia and in Australia, we don't report missing phones to the police when we misplace them. We probably wouldnt even bother if it was stolen, let alone simply "lost".

So she went back to tell the IT department that...

Today however, I have been told that it is "impossible" to proceed with the issuance of a new BlackBerry without said report and that I need to go to Abu Dhabi Police to get the report.

So to summarise, I "misplaced and lost" my BlackBerry in Australia but I have to report it missing to police in Abu Dhabi to authorise my company, a company with turnover measured in billions of US$, to spend approx A$1000 on a new BlackBerry device.

Apparently yes, that's exactly the case.

Upon investigation and asking around, I cannot go to any police station, I have to go to the General Headquarters in downtown Abu Dhabi in which I have to take a number and wait to explain my situation to a government employee (who will in all cases will not be an actual police officer) and have that person issue the report. I have also been told on the quiet that I shouldnt say it was lost but rather stolen as they will tell me that if its lost, then they cannot actually verify that I didnt simply sell the said BlackBerry for cash and am now making it all up.

So, I have been told that I should report the BlackBerry "stolen" as that is more believable...

I am tempted not to bother and to continue living a "BlackBerry Free" life...

Well, we made it!

2010-01-06T00:44:00.001+11:00

We're back home in Dubai after a great three weeks in Sydney. The trip back was exhausting and some 36hrs later I am still feeling jet lagged, but it was great to see all of our families and friends.

It was difficult too though with so many appointments and we had to keep to a pretty tight schedule which was also very demanding. The other difficulty too was each time we saw someone for the first time, we had to relay the standard answers to the questions that everybody asks... over the 3 weeks, I am sure I lost count and probably bored someone silly by repeating myself.

Adding to this was the business of Christmas and we had to fit in our shopping as well but on reflection, I am glad we arrived a good 2 weeks before Xmas day.

So overall, a great trip! We have also taken a large number of photos, many of which will eventually make their way onto Facebook and the best ones I will post up on here soon.

The other thing that was interesting was how we felt about Sydney. Whilst I missed everyone greatly whilst away, it was really fantastic that I was able to pick up with everyone pretty much where we left off and it felt like I was away for a weekend and not 10 months. I put this down to the power of the internet, skype and facebook which help tremendously in keeping in contact with people.

Outside of the people however, I must say that Sydney as a whole has lost some shine in my mind as I really struggled with the traffic, the costs (conceptually, not monetarily) and how much more intense a lifestyle it is to live in Sydney. Everyone is busy, everything is rushed and I really missed the relaxed lifestyle we lead here in Dubai. I know that it was Christmas etc, but really Sydney is alot more "intense" and I have fallen out of step with that.

For me as well, I felt like I was visiting on holiday and not "home" and it crystallised how I now consider Dubai to be home. For the girls, I asked them both when we touched down in Abu Dhabi yesterday as to whether they felt that they had come home or not. Brooke agreed that the UAE was now home and Kate was a bit 50-50 so that was interesting.

Now, looking ahead, its 2010 and we will be getting some visitors in the coming year. Niki's girlfriend Julie will be visiting in April with her daughter Hannah and also my parents will make the trek as well. We were also happy to hear other people indicate that they're thinking of coming over and I hope thats the case. We're experiencing a very different but enjoyable life here in the UAE and I want as many people to come over and experience it as well :-)

On top of that, we're looking to plan our next holiday to Europe... I am thinking Paris / Rome and perhaps driving between the two but whatever we do, we're looking forward to doing some more world exploring this year. Some quick breaks around the Middle East too would be nice.

Its going to be an exciting year!

Merry Xmas, Happy New Year

2009-12-29T23:08:00.001+11:00

Well, I am back in Australia (and have been for 2 weeks!) and we've had our first Christmas home since our big move to Dubai. Firstly, the Xmas celebrations have been excellent and we had a lovely Xmas Day and Boxing Day with the families. Both of the days being probably some of the best Xmas get togethers we've had.

Other than the Xmas events themselves, we have been incredibly busy catching up with family and friends. We have seen as many people as we can and we still have some meet and greets to go before we head home on Sunday and whilst we are very tired, it has been well worth it.

Unfortunately, the Sydney weather hasn't been too kind on us with lots of rainy days, but we have ticked off most of our things to do before we head back to Dubai... I know that I am yet to get a Chocolate Thick Shake yet :-)

Its also been odd coming back to Sydney. After being away for 10mths, I thought that things might have "changed" but the reality is that we have slipped into Sydney and it doesn't feel like we've been away. The people are here, our friends and family haven't really had any dramatic changes in their lives and everyone has welcomed us warmly. We have the "what's it like?" spiel down pat but its still enjoyable to tell people about Dubai and the great life we're having over there.

Also, as it is customary at this time of year, you do look back on the previous year and what happened and you look forward to the new year and what you want to achieve. For me, and for all of us, 2009 has been probably the biggest life changing year for us and it also has been incredibly rewarding. 2008 was a horror year in which the dam burst but I am very proud of me and Niki and the girls because we have really changed tact in a huge way and have made alot of changes that have all been for the better.

And I don't just mean the physical move to Dubai, but that in itself would also be the biggest thing we have ever have happen to Niki & I since the birth of the girls.

We have made many new friends in Dubai, but we have also retained the good friends of Sydney and in short 2009 has been brilliant.

So, what for 2010? Well, we are over the "hurdle" of the move and have settled into our new life... so I guess 2010 will be the year of travel and enjoyment. I personally want to drop the 25kgs I have added over the past 3 years and spend more time bettering my health but also as a family, we're looking forward to the new experiences that the world can give whilst still keeping the home roots of Australia close to heart.

I know that this blog has suffered a bit in 2009 and perhaps its a sign that the therapeutic need I had to vent my spleen has dropped a bit... but Lime Kettles will enter its 7th year next year and will continue on. I hope that the readers of this corner of the Internet, both friends and strangers, continue to read and post the odd comment that you're out there :-)

So to you readers, I hope your Christmas was also great, that 2009 was kind and that 2010 will be better than any other year!

Cheers
Clay

Greetings From Sydney

2009-12-16T11:24:00.001+11:00

Well, we made it to Sydney! The flight was excellent and I found the Etihad economy to be a little bit more roomy than the Emirates economy class. It was my birthday during the flight, but I considered sitting down to watch movies and TV shows for 14hrs not too bad a way to spend the day.

With the flight being 14hrs but leaving in the morning, it was hard (impossible) for me to sleep but the girls got 2-3 hrs at the back end of the flight. Niki and I didnt sleep a wink and we landed at Sydney at 7:30am local time. We got our luggage in about 30 seconds after clearing passport control and we were out and hiring the car and on the road very quickly.

I got back into the groove of right hand driving on the left side of the road very quickly but I was really frustrated by all the traffic lights and the slowness on the freeways. Have been here 5 days or so already and am still frustrated by the bad driving habits of Sydney-siders, the way trucks seem to have a god given right to the fast lane and ridiculously slow speeds on the freeways.

And being away for 10mths doesnt sound long, but things have subtley changed... I really noticed things like the trees on the M4 motorway being taller (at the M7 interchange) and the odd new roundabout or traffic light. Also, the odd shop or business in the local area is gone and replaced with something else. Just little things...

Have met most of my cravings already... have had my coffee from the local deli which is the best coffee in the world in my opinion, have also had a chocolate milkshake and last night I had a milk bar hamburger with egg and bacon. Also, had lunch with my parents on Sunday and Niki and I shared a massive seafood platter (at Nicks Seafood at Darling Harbour) and I got my craving for decent seafood out of the way as well.

Also have had some decent Aussie beer - Carlton Draught, VB etc - as I have only really had Corona's and Heinekins in Dubai.

We have been very busy too... have caught up with both our parents (we're staying at Niki's parents place) and have caught up with Niki's brother and sister and their families, have seen many friends already and I managed to pop down and watch my old cricket team play for a couple of hours as well.

The kids are also seeing their friends... Kate has actually gone to her old school today and is spending the day in her old class. Brooke tonight is going to see her dancing friends and has a sleep over arranged with her best friend tonight.

So, all up, its very busy but its been good to catch up with friends and family. Alot of people are asking about Dubai and seem genuinely happy that we're enjoying it... perhaps even a bit surprised that we are! There are alot of stereotypes about the Middle East and we're doing our bit to quash those.

And its only the first week of three!

Apologies

2009-12-08T20:27:00.001+11:00

Sorry for the lack of posts... i have had a few comments on "arent you updating" so, just as a placeholder, yes this is still a live blog but I have been busy.

I did actually make a post the other night summarising our Eid / UAE National Day holiday last week complete with pics, but for some reason Blogger crashed and I lost it all. It was late at night and I didn't get back to it.

So, yes... I will try and post some pics up of our Ski Dubai experience, our first Greenfield Community Xmas party, some latest pics of our house etc. We are however flying back to Sydney on Thursday morning UAE time for our Christmas Holidays in Sydney. Will be in Sydney Dec 11 - Jan 4. We're all very excited about heading home.

C

Cat Update

2009-11-28T16:53:00.001+11:00

Weird! After less than an hour after posting the post below, Charlie the Cat returned! I took the garbage out and he was sitting by the garage door. A bit skinny and very hungry, but he is back home with us after 4 or so nights away. He must have got locked in something and was let out... thats the only explanation we have.

Missing cats and dollars

2009-11-28T15:31:00.001+11:00

We're on Eid Holidays at the moment... I am not sure what the second Eid holiday represents (the first was the end of Ramadan) but we're off for a week with a combination of Eid holiday and UAE National Day public holidays. I am not back at work until Dec 6.

However, we are a bit upset at the moment because Charlie our cat has gone missing. He's been gone I think 4 nights now... he ran out the door to go to the bathroom on Tuesday night and he never came back. He has been outside before, he wasnt a completely housebound cat, but he has never done anything like this before. He was always outside in Australia as well... So at this stage, we cannot help but think the worst. We have posted flyers at the supermarkets, pet stores and vets and also around the neighbourhood and the area we live in has alot of gardens but is flat and the traffic is minimal and slowed by alot of speed humps. So I can only think someone has nabbed him. Its very sad.

Also, there is at the same time alot of press about the government owned Dubai World defaulting on its debt payments and sending the world financial markets into a spin. Alot of people seem to be thinking that this is a bad thing for us here in Dubai, but its actually a bigger problem in the western world as many of the US and UK banks are geared to the hilt in the property development here. For me personally, I am employed by the Abu Dhabi government, who's liquidity is not in question, and am probably going to benefit from cheaper rents when my lease is up for renewal in March. The real issue is that Dubai World owns alot of Australian assets including nearly all of the Australian Ports and there was even talk about the Ports being impacted and that the end result could be industrial action again in the Stevedoring industry (who remembers the Patrick / Chris Corrigan strike issues of a fair few years ago).

But back to Dubai, we're doing OK... its always a worry in the back of the mind, and this article is very applicable to me. Traffic to work is getting heavy!

Expat Survival - Friends Required

2009-11-24T16:55:00.001+11:00

When I came over here in February, one thing I was very surprised (and grateful for) was the generosity of new friends who were basically strangers. New country with archaic ways of getting things done meant that to get simple things sorted (power connected, cars, furniture etc) you had to ask people "How?" and also on many occasions those same people physically helped me out.

Initially my only contact was a fellow Australian family (Catherine & Peter + kids) who I was aware of via Niki because they had lived in our Sydney suburb and our daughters were in the same class... and they helped me out tremendously in those early days from everything to giving me a home cooked meal on occasion through to lending me a drill.

Well, its come complete circle as tonight I am helping out a new expat at work who has been here for a little bit and his family are coming over from the USA next week. He was telling me how he is struggling to get a bed sorted for his daughter and that he needs to pick it up and put it together... he of course has nothing other than a leased Toyota and some kitchen utensils.

So, I am tonight going with him to pick up the bed from the furniture shop in our 4WD and I am then lending him my drill, alan keys and shifting spanner so that he can put the thing together. It was only 6 months ago that I had borrowed Peter's drill and tools to do the very same thing.

When you relocate countries, its surprising what small details (like having some basic tools) can bring you unstuck and you have to rely on the kindness of other expats to help you out. In turn, that results in people being very generous, giving and social. I am continuously amazed at how we have been able to meet and socialise with people when in Australia, making friends is a much slower process.

It's kinda nice....

Golden Boot!

2009-11-23T03:49:00.004+11:00

Well, as posted in my last post, Kate made her debut for her school soccer (or football as they call it here) on the weekend and to my great surprise, Kate's team won the 4 team tournament with 2 wins and a draw, didn't concede a goal and she herself scored 3 out of the 5 goals her team scored and scored the most goals in any of the teams!

We were very surprised but also very happy!

Of course, as a proud dad, I snapped the following pics of her in action:

Warming Up

Throw Ins

Lining up her first goal!

Giving Coach Ben some tips ;-)

Trying to round the Al Raha keeper...

One on One with the Keeper...

Happy with the trophy!

Back in the UAE

2009-11-19T17:57:00.001+11:00

Got back from London after a pretty intense but successful business trip... and its one day back in the office and then its the weekend!

A pretty relaxing weekend on offer with the only commitment being Kate's debut for the school football team. She has apparently got her way into the side as a deft striker, so I will be very keen to see how she goes this weekend. Apparently its a bit of a round robin tournament running from 8am to midday.

Otherwise, we're free spirits this weekend... not sure what we'll do but we'll make the most of it I hope. I am thinking beach...

Then we have a short week next week (4 days) and then its off for the Eid break and then the UAE National Day Holiday. These things run concurrently and I think I have 10 days off! So we'll try and do some touristy things as well... things like Ski Dubai and another crack at the sand dune 4WDing.

Also, this morning, saw another truck over turned on the highway... was carrying a shipping container, the truck was upright, its rig on the back was on the side and the container was skewed across the sand, dented but unopened. Glad that didnt happen to our furniture!!

Off to London

2009-11-17T05:20:00.001+11:00

In a mere 30mins, I will be whisked away and driven to the airport and am off on a 2 nighter to London. Etihad airlines really is classy in that its business class travellers get picked up from home and taken to the airport, are then taken by car to their hotel and then back again on the way home. Its a really great service that I wish Qantas could emulate.

The trip in itself is not terribly exciting... more meetings on the London Array windfarm project. Its a really exciting project, but this trip in itself is not terribly interesting.

The girls though tonight were very jealous of me going in a plane and even though we're flying to Sydney in 4 weeks, they want to fly to London with me. Very sweet.

Also, speaking of the girls, Kate & Brooke both made the school girls football (soccer) squad and Kate got picked in the starting XI this weekend in the first game. So, we're off to see her game representing the mighty Greenfield Community School against some other mob! Apparently their strip is blue and green vertical stripes... nice!

Weekend!

2009-11-12T23:37:00.001+11:00

The weather in Dubai has been improving every week and we're having beautiful weather at the moment. I went out this morning for a walk before work and the weather was cool without the chill and the early morning sunlight was really nice. We have massive parkland around our place and I walked along there until I got to the end of my estate and saw for the first time the next stage of the estate development. Workers were already busy installing palm trees at 6am this morning and its coming along. The area has really filled up and is very popular.

This weekend is going to be a good one too. We're off to the mall this evening for a bite to eat and a look around. Ibn Battutta is our local mall and we'll go for pizza or something... maybe even check out the movies.

Tomorrow, is D&D game day and I will be nerding it up during the day which is always a good bit of fun. No plans for the evening, but we'll see how it goes.

Saturday will be quiet... I have to go to DEWA (the local water and power company) to sort out some bill issues (I am not getting them) and then we'll relax around the pool. Have a couple of work colleagues potentially coming over as well (trying to convince them to move to the Green Community) and other than that we're doing nothing but "chillaxing".

So, all is good!

London Calling... again

2009-11-11T21:44:00.001+11:00

Am off to London again next week. The joint venture project I am involved with over there is getting increasingly busy and it seems to be that I am expected over there every 4 weeks.

But on top of that, we're having the corporate accountants trying to "minimise" costs and I have been asked once again to fly out of Abu Dhabi on the 2am flight, land at 7am London time, work a full day and then come home on the 9pm London flight (1am body clock time) and land at Abu Dhabi at 7am the next day and go straight to the office. In addition, I live in Dubai and would have to get home from Abu Dhabi and there is no way I want to do that.

I did this once before and I got a cab home at 7am and "worked from home" but was virtually useless the next day and slept for half of it. There is no way I can be functioning in the office... but that's what is expected... Sit up to 2am for two nights in a row, sleep 4-5 hrs on a plane, manage the time shift, work a full day and come straight to the office from the airport. All for the sake of saving a hotel cost for 1 night.

I have though managed to argue this and have got my one night, but fly out in the early morning the next day. Much more manageable and humane.

Crazy Drivers...

2009-11-09T17:16:00.001+11:00

Was late home last night once again... my 50min drive turned into 90min as once again, a semi trailer found itself on its side and across the 3 lane road. This is increasingly being a normal event lately.

It seems to me that the trucks in this country travel incredibly slowly when compared to Sydney as they stick to the slow lane and convoy along at no more than 80km/h and yet they seem to end up on their side more often than not. Again, a truck turning around a round-a-bout rolled and lost its load last night and I think I have seen approximately 10 vehicles (mostly trucks or vans) on their side since arriving here in February. I did also see a car on its roof once, but that would have been excessive speed.

I find driving in the UAE a breeze now... people cruise at 140km/h, trucks stay in their slow (right) lanes and everything seems fine, but BANG and suddenly the traffic backs up because something has gone wrong. I have never seen these incidents live but always seem to end up behind them in the traffic.

I presume that its because trucks are being overloaded, but the one last night was a big truck with a shipping container on its back... really difficult you would think to overload such a defined cargo?

Fan(s)

2009-11-07T00:31:00.001+11:00

Wow, surreal experience today...

Went to Festival City today (yet another shopping centre) and whilst we're walking around, this lovely young lady comes up and says "Are you Mr Clayton?". For a minute, I was thinking "ooh, I dropped my wallet or something" and I said yes. She then said that she reads my blog all the time and really enjoys it.

I was stunned... and I was really stumped as to what to say to that, and I probably came off a bit rude because I was trying to comprehend how a complete stranger can recognise me in a shopping mall from my blog.

But anyway, we went to lunch and I was still trying to comprehend it all as I was sure the only people who read this are friends and family... but I guess, I must have some regular readers and I am quietly pleased someone recognised me!

So, thanks for the hello Mystery Lady, you made my day.

Its a long way to Dubai...

2009-11-02T18:36:00.001+11:00

Well, went to the F1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit yesterday. Niki & I went on Sat night for the Qualifying and then saw the Kings of Leon concert which was excellent! And yesterday I took my father in law Geoff who is visiting to the race itself.

In the build up to the weekend, the media has been warning everyone to leave themselves plenty of time to get onto the island at Yas Marina as this was the first ever Abu Dhabi F1 GP and in addition everyone I spoke to said it was "going to be hell!".

So, when I was invited to get myself and Geoff onto a privately hired bus from Dubai to Abu Dhabi that would take us in and pick us up, I jumped at the chance. The alternative was to drive myself and then park at a place called Al Shahama about 10kms from the track and then ride the government supplied buses. With rumours that there wouldnt be enough buses and long queues, I took the private bus option.

Niki and I however took the public park and ride option but in all honesty, it worked extremely well! Suprisingly, we had very little waiting and were straight in and out. The bus after the concert was packed, but we waited just 5mins and got on the first bus that came along.

But with the promise that the crowds would be massive on race day, I stuck to the option of the private bus for the Sunday. With an 80yr old father in law in tow as well, it was the better option for sure...

Well, on Sunday the bus down was fine... no problem, the organisers had two buses in convoy and we trekked down the highway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi's Yas Island which was about 80kms. We went straight in and the bus parked in the car park close to my grandstand and we were told that the bus would be here at the same spot at 8pm to take us home. The race was scheduled to finish at 7pm at the latest, so no worries there!

Had a great day... the GP was fanstastic and all was well.

Got back to the car park well before 8pm and no bus... I called the organiser who was in a different grandstand and she said that the bus was running late in traffic and would get there at 9pm. So we hung around the car park.... and waited and waited.

By 9pm, still no bus and there were now 9 souls looking for a ride home. The deal was that there would be an 8pm bus for the people heading home and then another bus at 11pm for those who stayed for the Aerosmith concert... Geoff's not a big fan of Aerosmith, so we were keen to head home.

The organiser (Katie) rang the bus company and it was pretty heated. Aparently the bus now wasnt coming at all and we were stranded... and now looking for a taxi amongst the throngs of people.

We walked out of the car park and asked the parking attendent for the nearest taxi rank. Fat chance in my mind, but the guy said "15mins walk that way" and pointed down the road... which had no foot path and was choked with traffic.

But then Katie's husband (who was Finnish and had a couple of Finnish friends in our group) had talked the driver of a rickety labourers bus (think a 1970's school bus fitted to carry 60 Indian workers on a construction site) to open his door. We all piled in and asked if he could drive us to the taxi stand. This thing was a driving mechanical health hazard and we crawled through the traffic for ages and for at least 4kms (15mins my arse!). We tried to bribe the driver to get us to Dubai and after 600Dhs we gave up... and then the Finns started singing and the driver turned up the Sitar music to 11 to drown them out...

Soon enough we reached a massive on grade carpark chock full of taxis. Waving 100Dhs notes in her hand, Katie started calling for someone to take us to Dubai but all the drivers kept pointing us away to the far side of the carpark... here, there were taxis on the driveway out of the carpark with their engines going waiting for passengers. Given that they were 4kms away from the circuit, not sure how much passing traffic we got, but we piled in to taxis and Katie handed out the 100Dhs notes to cover costs. I can only assume this was the money for the bus driver, but he was long forgotten.

And then we were away with a happy Pakistani cabbie and we were home... we walked in at 10:30pm... some 4hrs after the end of the race!

M4 Toll Cash Back

2009-10-27T23:12:00.001+11:00

OK, been probably 10mths since I wrote about local news in Australia and you're all probably sick of my banal tales of Dubai etc, so here is something to hark back to my old roots of why this blog existed.

This article is one such article that makes my blood boil... when I lived in Sydney, the M4 was an unbearable mess and the traffic grind to get from the mountains to Sydney (well Strathfield, where the M4 inexplicably ends some 20km short of the city) was ridiculous. Having seen roads in Dubai where highways are anything between 4 and 7 lanes, the 2-3 lane M4 is a nightmare and worse still you had to pay for it.

I do acknowledge however that of all the toll roads, its cheaper and that the traffic is not as bad as say the M2 in morning peek, however it was still a bad road.

Then this article... in which finally the toll will be removed, and they claim (and who are 'they'?) that the "effect of removing the toll will see an additional 2000 cars an hour on the road".

But read the detail again... 1500 of that is from "natural growth"... 500 cars for the toll lift itself. So "they" are wrong. Exaggerated headlines profiling doom and gloom if we stop giving $2.50 a trip. What a load of crap.

A word of advice to the NSW government... build the M4 East. Make it 6 lanes and demolish everything in its path. Widen the existing M4 and M2 to also 6 lanes (each way!) and again, demolish everything it its path.

The costs to buy real estate and compensate those directly effected will be minimal when considering you will future proof Sydney for the next 100+ yrs. How much money has been sucked up by 3x3 cent petrol taxes and PPP driven toll charges over the past 30 years? And what have we got for it? Proverbial side streets in which speeds of 30km/h are deemed as "flying along".

Current infrastructure planning in Sydney needs a good overhaul!

Family Business

2009-10-25T20:42:00.001+11:00

Hey all,

Apologies for the delay, but it has been a very hectic fortnight in which I traveled to London and am now in the middle of a family visit from home. Niki's parents are in town from Sydney and also our nephew is staying as well and he has flown in from London. So we have the House Full sign up!

Have had many great experiences though this past week with the highlights being a trip to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and my first foray into sand dune 4WD'ing.... got some great pictures from those two excursions which I will post up soon.

The family will be here for another 2 weeks and including that time I have secured tickets for the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. The tickets include access to the Beyonce, Kings of Leon and Aerosmith concerts.... not sure which of these we'll be going to yet, but we'll be trying to organise something to go.

So sorry once again for the lack of posts, will try and get some time in front of the home PC soon to knock out some pictures.

Clay

Mobile Post From London

2009-10-15T04:37:00.001+11:00

Hopefully this works but a blackberry post from London.

Am undergoing an extensive test in endurance today as I have flown to
London for the day.

As an Australian, that statement is very disconcerting. In a small bag
I packed a shirt, a change of underpants and a toothbrush.

I left Abu Dhabi last night on the 2:30am flight and landed in London
at 7:30am. Then to meetings in St James Park in London and am now in a
car to the airport for an evening flight back. Landing time in Abu
Dhabi is at 7:30am just 29hrs after leaving.

Feeling tired and am still in UAE time zone so hopefully jet lag won't
be an issue but the lack of sleep is a bigger problem.

Lucky though I am working from home tomorrow and will keep an eye on
emails. Ironically I will have a telephone meeting at 6pm tomorrow
night with a guy from London.

I still can't believe how central the UAE is for travel but it does
mean these trips to Europe are now easy...

--
Sent from my mobile device

Flights Booked... JUST!

2009-10-11T23:34:00.001+11:00

We've hit a bit of a snag... all the flights at Xmas time have filled up and we have been in a bit of a panic, but through my work I was able to book some flights back to Sydney.

Not sure how it happened, but I have been perusing flights online and seemingly had no issues but when we went to book this weekend we were being blocked every which way we turned. Niki even walked into a travel agent to get an over the counter quote and was simply told "there are no more flights available!".

PANIC MODE.

But I got our internal work people to connect via their system and even though the raw cost was a bit of a premium, I got a company discount and that got me somewhere in the middle of the price range. PHEW!

So, we'll be in Sydney landing early morning on Dec 11 and flying out the night of Jan 3. Means I will spend my birthday in the air too... mmm... interesting concept.

And we wont leave it until last minute next time... but who knew 2 months in advance was last minute!

International Schooling

2009-10-08T17:35:00.001+11:00

We're really enjoying the kids' new school. Thats a simple statement, but is accurate and the reason I say this is that the school here seems to be much more in sync with modern life and living.

For one, its uses the International curriculum and methodology called "IB". An IB school focuses on learning through participation and hands on activities rather than text book based rote learning. Both the girls are each day doing things and are encouraged to not only express themselves but are also assessed on that expression.

And in addition, whilst it hasnt been easy, the school day starts very early with kids in their classrooms by 7:50am each day. This means I can take the girls to school and be a bit more involved. It also means that family breakfast is able to be had, although its hardly a sit down meal... we're in a rush still!

What prompted me to write this post today was that this morning I was able to go to the school and see Kate's first presentation of their major projects. After a unit of work on the environment and recycling etc, the kids had to make a building or an animal or a plant that has adapted to the environment as global warming takes hold. There was lots of plaster of paris, cardboard, styrofoam and painting etc and I was able to be at the school at 8am, see Kate and her classmates projects, and have the presentation and then head to the office and be in by 10am here.

In Sydney, I would never have been able to do that and would have missed it.

Hello World!

2009-10-05T01:17:00.001+11:00

Long time no posting... my excuse is flimsy, but I have been rather busy on the work front and gained my 2nd staff member to my 'massive' team this week. Problem is with a new starter, you have to spend alot of time in getting them familiar with things, getting them involved in projects etc etc and you have less time to do your things and then less time for everything else! So, my apologies.

Quick run down on all things...

Zoe the Dog is doing "ok" and has improved with anti-inflammatory drugs but that can only be kept up for a week or so. She has improved to basically having a limp instead of her rear leg being totally spastic and floppy but we're worried that she'll deteriorate when the medicine has to stop.

Life in the Green Community is very busy as we've quickly developed a social life! We saw some live comedy on Thursday night and we had a BBQ on Friday night and the kids have been having parties for school friends and sleep overs with kids in our street. All been very busy, but really feeling like home now. I also ran my second session of D&D this month and that went very well and Niki stepped in and really stole the show with some great play.

We're also counting the days down to our first visitors from home! Niki's parents arrive in less than 2 weeks now to stay with us for three weeks and also our nephew Scottie is coming over from London to meet them as well. We've booked another trip to The Atlantis and we're also planning things to do when they're here. I will be taking the first week off work as well, so that will be a good break for me too.

Niki has ventured further in her driving. Brooke had a birthday party at the next housing community north of us, some 20mins drive away and Niki drove with me riding shotgun. She negotiated some three lane round-abouts and the trucks etc on the highway and did really well. She needs to now get to our local shopping mall (Ibn Battutta Mall) and park the big 4WD there.

On our own touristing stuff, we visited the Dubai Marina for the first time this weekend. I thought it was just a big conglomerate of high rise towers, but its actually a very stylish cafe precinct and beach area. We went for lunch there on the weekend, but we'll pack the swimmers too next time! Also, we went to the industrial area of Sharjah on the weekend to a furniture warehouse. Many people had recommended it and it was good looking furniture and very cheap. We picked up a massive coffee table, and two side tables plus some ornamental pots for just 2300 Dhs. That should now complete our major housing furniture purchases!

But we also need to buy a BBQ. It is getting cooler (if you call 37 celcius cool!) and its now BBQ season. That should be the next purchase, but we just want a little webber or something, rather than a massive BBQ.

And finally, we're looking at booking our flights home for Xmas! We'll be back in Oz in mid December through to early January.

Back to work, Swine Flu and Vets...

2009-09-23T17:03:00.000+10:00

Well our Eid trip was really good. We had two nights away and we went with 4 other couples and associated children and grand parents and in all there was 17 of us. It goes along way in showing how tight the expat community can be that within a month of meeting people you're going away together on a holiday. Back home, you'd never strike up a conversation with people in the public pool, but here the communication barriers tend to be alot thinner and people are all essentially the same in that you need to have a social network as part of being a human being.

So, with our respective kids striking up friendships the parents have gotten together and I have to say its been really nice to meet new people. On our trip two of the other three couples were British and the other couple (who we had just met) are South African. Actually, she still lives in South Africa, but was here for one of her frequent visits.

Putting it all together, the Hilton in Ras Al Khaimah was booked and we set off in convoy and had a great 2 night holiday. Eid was declared on our first night there so on the second evening there was a big buffet banquet and entertainment put on to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the commencement of Eid so that was extra special.

Then it was back home again way too quickly and after having the final day at Eid at home yesterday, I am back at work today for a frantic two days before the weekend. The girls however should have been back at school as well, but we found out that Swine Flu has been confirmed at the school (6 cases) and as a precaution on the advice of the school nurse we have kept the kids back for the two days remaining in the week. All a bit weird to be having Swine Flu now, but apparently its hit the UAE a bit hard now because of all the westerners returning from their summer vacations and they have brought it into the country and its a bit of an issue in the expat community. The western media have sort of stopped talking about it but we're copping it here now... oh well!

In other family news, our dog Zoe is not doing too well either. She had an X-Ray yesterday and basically her back is fairly arthritic and in bigger dogs (she's a golden retriever) a genetic fact is that they have a very short and cramped vertebrae where her hips join her spine and now she is experiencing nerve issues due to calcification in that verterbae. She's limping badly and is struggling but we have her on painkillers, have been told she isnt in pain (yes, I know thats hypocritical) and that we should encourage her to exercise, keep her off the stairs and to give her massage in her back.

All sounds pretty normal, but the painkillers can only last so long and so we're trying very hard to get her better and I have been feeling pretty down about that. Her progress has improved slightly over the past 48hrs but she's still not back to normal.

Eid Trip

2009-09-17T18:37:00.001+10:00

As I mentioned in the last post, we were looking to get away for Eid and my neighbours have booked us in to the Hilton Hotel at Ras Al Khaimah. There will be us and 3 other families going and all the kids get on well and its a package deal that includes breakfast and dinner each night. We're only going for 2 nights, but its great to get away and have a bit of a change of pace.

We'll be going on Saturday and Sunday nights and even at this stage (midday on Thursday at the end of the week), I still don't know when I will be back at work. Eid all falls on the sighting of the moon and it is "predicted" that we'll have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off work because the moon should be seen on Saturday night, if for some reason it isnt and its seen on Sunday night, then technically you could have to work Sunday. Alternatively, if its seen on Friday night, then we will have to be back at work on Tuesday. So its not like in the west when the public holidays are diarised, it all falls down to the Muslim Clerics and their sighting of the moon.

Having said that, NO ONE is planning to be at work on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and locals here tell me that its always fortunate that the moon gets sighted to make the most of the weekend and public holidays. In other words, if the moon isnt actually sighted, someone will dangle a cardboard moon over the side of the Mosque and light it up with a flash light...

Last night we went to my companies Iftar Buffet at the Emirates Palace Hotel. It was an excellent night and Niki was able to meet some of my work colleagues and the kids were entertained by a magician and balloon animals etc. The food was excellent and there were some great prizes raffled away including 2 Etihad tickets to anywhere in the world (excl Australia and the US?!) and also a 3 day all expenses paid trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Unfortunately, this black duck didnt win anything... :-(

But the night was excellent and a good time was had by all....

Eid Holiday & Seaside Exploring

2009-09-15T18:36:00.001+10:00

At the end of this week, Ramadan ends... and I can tell you it hasnt been as big a deal as I thought it would be. We havent been going to the Malls as much during the days on the weekends, but thats because the girls have made a number of friends in our community and have spent many days riding bikes and swimming. In addition, Niki and I have also met the parents of these kids and we're striking up quite a decent social circle.

Its been nice to start to fit in and feel comfortable at home!

But the final week of Ramadan is deemed to be the holier week and firstly the kids' school put on an Iftar Buffet at the local hotel and we went along to that on Sunday night. It was a good opportunity to mix and meet people and it was a big but chaotic spread of food and (soft) drink.

Tomorrow night, my work is putting on its annual Iftar Buffet and all the family is invited down to Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi for a big spread. You can think of Ramadan as the western version of Xmas and whilst it goes on for a month, its got the same sort of vibe. Charities are prominent, gift giving seems to be frequent and it generally has that "be good to others" vibe.

At the end of Ramadan, is another holiday called Eid. I am not sure if anything special happens, but at the sighting of the new moon, Ramadan ends and there is a three day holiday. Then apparently, and it wont be confirmed until last minute, but alot of government agencies close down for an additional day or 2 and that will include my company. So I think next week, I may get the whole week off!

We were planning to go away, then we werent, and then one of our neighbours suggested we go to the east coast of the UAE to a place called Fujierah and stay there... so our neighbour was coordinating hotel rooms on a mass booking basis for us, them and two other families. Haven't heard if they were successful, but it'd be nice to get away and see a bit more of the country.

Speaking of which, we went last weekend to a water park called Dreamland in an emirate call Ras al Khaimah which is in the north. Ras al Khaimah (or RAK) is a little known emirate in comparison to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Its on the other side of Sharjah and driving out of Dubai into Sharjah and then into RAK you got a very big sense of difference between the have's and the have nots in the UAE. Dubai has the largesse of investment and Abu Dhabi has the oil, but Sharjah and RAK are more quaint and give you an insight into what the Emirates was like before the big boom. Lots of farming, lots of wild camels, goats and donkeys and a more seaside and sedate lifestyle. Before the big oil rush, the UAE was a country that got alot of its income from pearl diving... so it was interesting to see what it was perhaps like 30+ years ago.

Niki Gets Her License - We all feel 17 again!

2009-09-10T15:52:00.003+10:00

Slow week this week, but the week was punctuated by me taking yesterday off to be able to take Niki to Abu Dhabi to get her drivers license.

In the UAE, once you become a resident (as Niki did last week), you're then deemed to be illegally driving on anything other than a UAE drivers license. Her Aussie one just doesnt count suddenly.

So, you need to front to the Dept of Transport in your home emirate (which for us is Abu Dhabi because that's where my visa was issued from) and go through a really badly managed process of paperwork and stamping of documents to get a UAE license.

So, we set off with all the paperwork which included her passport, a photo copy of the passport, a "letter of no objection" which is required from me (in Arabic! LOL!) stating that I have no objection as her sponsor, an Arabic translation of her Australian license and some passport photos.

At first, no worries... we had to line up for an eye test which Niki reckons she thought she failed (needs glasses!) and then it was off to the counter for processing. Lady behind the counter tells her she needs a photocopy of her residency (despite having the original in her hand) and sends us off looking for a photocopy machine.

After asking around, I go downstairs into the bowels of the building and there's a photocopy station. Its unattended so I go behind the counter but despite the machine being plugged in, its not working (no lights on at all). Then back upstairs we go into an area called "Diplomatic Operations" and ask some military guys who have two photocopy machines but they too are broken.

I then head into an area all plush and seemingly reserved for Emiratis called "Customer Service" and wait an age to be served and finally a woman in again military uniform (I think its the RTA but they look like military) takes Niki's passport away and photocopies it.

We then head back, Niki is promptly told off for taking too long and its all processed.

A short wait and bingo, license in hand!

Still... I don't think its as bad as going to the RTA in Sydney!

Happy snap below!

Fathers Day UAE Style

2009-09-06T22:47:00.001+10:00

Well, I found out back in May that Fathers Day for Brits and Americans is in May. So back then, alot of guys here had cards or bad ties or were heading away for the weekend to enjoy their Fathers Day.

Well today is Fathers Day in Australia and its a work day, but on the weekend I was treated to a lovely relaxing weekend and a brand new PlayStation3! Woo! Spent the weekend watching the football on Friday, playing video games and in between just relaxing with Niki and the girls. We went out for a posh Chinese meal on Friday night which meant taking a taxi so that we could have some wine as well. Even splurged and had a lobster (which apparently was from Australia) and in general had a really good weekend.

Rang my Dad as well today from work and wished him a Happy Fathers Day and all in all was a very good weekend.

Article in the Australian

2009-09-06T12:43:00.000+10:00

An article on Abu Dhabi, Dubai and it leads on my project that I am working on that appeared in the Australian newspaper this week...

LINK

Good to see my work is getting some local press :-)

Time is slowing...

2009-09-02T22:20:00.001+10:00

Ramadan seems to drag out the day in my opinion. Its only 4pm but alot of people have left (all the Muslims, all the expats are still here) and things just seem to be dragging out. Lunch is now reduced to a functional intake of food as many of the social networks have been decimated by the fact that 70% of the people aren't there in the cafeteria.

So you eat, in small groups, and go back to the desk.

The mornings drag out too... no coffee, means the morning gets a bit edgy and the caffeine fix isn't in. Sad, but true - I am a caffeine addict.

The work however continues and there seems to be a strange sense of urgency before lunch but afterwards the emails slow up and yet people are still here. It all adds up to a pretty bizarro work culture even though in all honesty, I (or the other non-muslims) should not be effected.

So, at the moment, my tasks keep building up, I seem to be plowing through things but then the day just drags out...

School's Back...

2009-08-30T20:46:00.001+10:00

A general catch up post today... after being away in London, things got a bit busy on the work front but in other news:

The kids start school this week. The girls seem keen and excited but slightly nervous as well. Monday is orientation for 2hrs and Tuesday is the first full day. I will be taking Tuesday off work to see them off and to pick them up as well. Ramadan sees the school day being reduced to a 1:30pm pick up time as well, so they'll ease their way into it.

Also on Tuesday, our dog Zoe is to have an operation. They have found a tennis ball sized tumor attached to her spleen and they're going to operate on Tuesday. We have been monitoring her since we discovered the lump a while ago but she's gotten slower and a bit lethargic and we're having it taken out. Fingers crossed! Surgery is the easy bit, the recovery will be tough.

As an early Fathers Day present, I got myself (well Niki & the girls got for me after many hints) a new PlayStation 3. Got two free games in the box and I have to say highly impressed with the game "LittleBigPlanet". Its a great kids game and is also fun for adults. The other game is a very hard "save the world, shoot the aliens" game called "Resistance - Fall of Man". Its gory and violent so that only gets a play when the kids arent about. I am hoping that the good little cherubs will surprise me with a copy of Madden NFL 2010 on the weekend (hint hint).

Ramadan is going OK... I hardly notice it on site, not too big a deal. Weekends are lazy around the house and pool and we actually left the house to go to Dubai Mall on Friday night at 7pm and didnt get home until 12:40am! So tiring and odd to be out at such a late hour.

Also, finally, to my Dad, glad to skype you on the weekend... hope you're feeling OK and will call you on Monday.

Sydney Press For Us in the UAE

2009-08-27T01:36:00.001+10:00

Am happy to say I have been working with these guys on their design for the our hotel and convention centre.

Glad to be working with Aussies...

LINK

In London...

2009-08-26T03:11:00.001+10:00

so no major posting, but saw this just now...

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/flight-test-etihad-business-class-20090819-eqor.html

This is my home airline at the moment and how I am getting about the place on these work jaunts.

Such a hard life!