My first post from the UAE... I will also update my profile on Blogger on the right hand side there as I am no longer a Sydney train user!
My trip started as a bit of a disaster when my Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi was cancelled due to mechanical issues and I was shunted onto the Emirates flight to Dubai and a car would drive me to Abu Dhabi from there....
Wasn't all bad though, as the Emirates flight was on the new A380 Airbus and flying Business Class made it all the better! I have never had a more comfortable flight and it absolutely shat all over Qantas Business Class.
The flight was smooth, but a bit of turbulence over Indonesia woke me up and I had the dreaded realisation that most of the movies were the same as the ones I had on the flight to Dubai last December for an interview.
But a great seat with no one person sitting to another so everyone had aisles AND windows made the trip very enjoyable.
Landing in Dubai at 6am local time, I was in and out of customs and baggage collection very quickly and the only hiccup was my driver wasnt quick enough and I had to wait 30mins to be driven to Abu Dhabi. The weather is coolish in the morning - it was 16 degrees celcius when I got off the plane, but the day has turned out very beautiful with temps in the mid-20's.
The hotel is good... its five star, but I don't think four star exists in this country and I have been out and about for lunch and had a wander around.
I start work tomorrow and I have the first day jitters, but the jet lag is fine and I will be sure to get a good sleep tonight.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Have Falcon, will travel...
Getting ready to fly on Etihad Airways, I was perusing the baggage section and came across this...
Apparently, you can have Falcon's on board!!
Apparently, you can have Falcon's on board!!
Pets - Weight Concept (Pets checked as baggage for the cargo hold)
Falcons
To be accepted as checked baggage, charge for one falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
Dogs to lead the blind and/or deaf
We do not accept dogs to lead the blind or deaf for transportation in the cabin. However,the animal may be accepted as checked baggage in the cargo hold without charge. Any other animals must travel as cargo and are not permitted within the aircraft cabin or checked baggage.
Pets in cabin – Weight Concept
The carriage of animals in the cabin is restricted to falcons only and is permitted on all types of aircraft subject to the following conditions:
Diamond First Class
• Up to 2 falcons per guest (per seat) are permitted. Charge for each falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
• Up to 2 additional falcons can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcons will apply
Pearl Business Class
• Up to 2 falcons per guest (per seat) are permitted. Charge for each falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
• Up to 2 additional falcons can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcons will apply.
Coral Economy Class
• 1 falcon per guest (per seat) is permitted. Charge for one falcon (which is considered 3 kilos) is 3 times the normal excess baggage rate of the journey.
• 1 additional falcon can be carried when an extra seat is purchased within same class. No excess baggage charges for the additional falcon will apply.
Sorry for the lack of posts... here's why :-)
Yes, relocating to another country and leaving your family temporarily behind tends to take up most, if not all, of your time.
I know my postings have been few and far between and without any great depth, but I hope you can understand why.
I am now flying out Monday afternoon on Etihad Airways for Abu Dhabi. The reason its Abu Dhabi and not Dubai (on Emirates) is because my company is an Abu Dhabi company and whilst I will be trying to live in Dubai I am being based at a very nice 5 star resort near Abu Dhabi until I do. So I will be living close to work at Masdar City but a fair hike up the freeway to Dubai. Given I want to buy a car and find a villa to rent, it will be difficult whilst staying in a lovely resort in the middle of nowhere!
I land on Monday night UAE time and I am expected in the office on Tuesday morning... straight into it!
But whilst I'm nervous like a kid starting school, I will be posting here updates of my travels and experiences... you can consider Lime Kettles now officially "On Tour"!
I know my postings have been few and far between and without any great depth, but I hope you can understand why.
I am now flying out Monday afternoon on Etihad Airways for Abu Dhabi. The reason its Abu Dhabi and not Dubai (on Emirates) is because my company is an Abu Dhabi company and whilst I will be trying to live in Dubai I am being based at a very nice 5 star resort near Abu Dhabi until I do. So I will be living close to work at Masdar City but a fair hike up the freeway to Dubai. Given I want to buy a car and find a villa to rent, it will be difficult whilst staying in a lovely resort in the middle of nowhere!
I land on Monday night UAE time and I am expected in the office on Tuesday morning... straight into it!
But whilst I'm nervous like a kid starting school, I will be posting here updates of my travels and experiences... you can consider Lime Kettles now officially "On Tour"!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Been busy...
Well, I ran the Australian Blood Bowl Championships down at Canberra this weekend and it was a great success! Largest ever Australian tournament ever with 72 entrants!
I got back on Monday night and ever since then, we've been flat chat busy with a variety of things to get done in preparation for me going to Dubai. Fixing up the house, clothes, luggage, cleaning out crap, putting stuff on eBay, getting cars detailed in anticipation for sale and just going through lists of things!
We're now all very excited though. The girls are even talking alot about the move and Niki said today that she is really excited. We've moved from that "oh my god, should we even be considering this" thru to fears and worries and now excitement. It crystalised further when my webcams arrived and we installed one here on the PC and Niki and I spent an hour last night chatting to each other on Skype across the house. We have to install webcams at both our parents places and teach them how to use them as well.
Today, we need to get more paint for the new pergola and guttering and get cracking on finishing that. Also, lots of paperwork needs to be sorted as I need to take Marriage and Birth certificates and official qualifications to Dubai and we all need to have a stack of passport photos taken for various visa and UAE government documents.
Its getting close now!
I got back on Monday night and ever since then, we've been flat chat busy with a variety of things to get done in preparation for me going to Dubai. Fixing up the house, clothes, luggage, cleaning out crap, putting stuff on eBay, getting cars detailed in anticipation for sale and just going through lists of things!
We're now all very excited though. The girls are even talking alot about the move and Niki said today that she is really excited. We've moved from that "oh my god, should we even be considering this" thru to fears and worries and now excitement. It crystalised further when my webcams arrived and we installed one here on the PC and Niki and I spent an hour last night chatting to each other on Skype across the house. We have to install webcams at both our parents places and teach them how to use them as well.
Today, we need to get more paint for the new pergola and guttering and get cracking on finishing that. Also, lots of paperwork needs to be sorted as I need to take Marriage and Birth certificates and official qualifications to Dubai and we all need to have a stack of passport photos taken for various visa and UAE government documents.
Its getting close now!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The King is Dead, Long Live the King!
Long readers of Lime Kettles, know that I share the opinion of an overwhelming majority of people that George W Bush was not only the worst President of the United States with respect to the people of America, but also from the perspective of virtually everyone in the world - with the possible exception of China as their economy has benefitted enormously from the failure of the US to be able to compete on trade.
But today, the world changed. Hopefully the enemies of the USA will now see an opportunity to negotiate and create a better environment for peace and that perhaps we can finally get on with life and move on from "The War on Terror".
Obama though has a tough road and apart from being black and personable there have been doubts of his political credentials... I hope that they do stand up to the rhetoric to date, but even if he is really not the best president ever, he is deserving of it as the better alternative. I still shudder to think what the future would be had McCain got in.
Well done America, don't fuck it up.
But today, the world changed. Hopefully the enemies of the USA will now see an opportunity to negotiate and create a better environment for peace and that perhaps we can finally get on with life and move on from "The War on Terror".
Obama though has a tough road and apart from being black and personable there have been doubts of his political credentials... I hope that they do stand up to the rhetoric to date, but even if he is really not the best president ever, he is deserving of it as the better alternative. I still shudder to think what the future would be had McCain got in.
Well done America, don't fuck it up.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Busy, busy, busy
Well, now that it's all official, things are getting busy. We now have to actually do all the stuff we said we would need to do if we went to Dubai.
On Friday, we had work start on replacing our back pergola as the timber had become soft and rotten. We had only been talking about it for four years now (lol!) and now when we have to leave, we get it done. I just couldnt stand tenants complaining about the leaking roof, so we are currently having it done... will be finished Thursday.
Then we had to repaint our bedroom and the front family room... bedroom is done, family room done tomorrow (or tonight if Niki's 8th wind keeps going!).
Electrical work needs to be done... new BBQ light, some down lights etc etc.
Then there is the renting of our house, changing the mortgage to an investment property, sorting out the relocation costs, getting rid of stuff we don't want, selling the cars... and then there is hooking up Skype to the home PC, my parents and Niki's parents PC's and then testing it all out and teaching the grand parents how to use it. Niki had to teach her parents how to turn a computer on and use the mouse, so you can imagine the learning curve required! But they're keen and want to get it all down pat before we go!
Tax return needs to be done for last year... drivers licenses renewed and I haven't even thought about my new job and the settling in over there bit!
*phew*
On Friday, we had work start on replacing our back pergola as the timber had become soft and rotten. We had only been talking about it for four years now (lol!) and now when we have to leave, we get it done. I just couldnt stand tenants complaining about the leaking roof, so we are currently having it done... will be finished Thursday.
Then we had to repaint our bedroom and the front family room... bedroom is done, family room done tomorrow (or tonight if Niki's 8th wind keeps going!).
Electrical work needs to be done... new BBQ light, some down lights etc etc.
Then there is the renting of our house, changing the mortgage to an investment property, sorting out the relocation costs, getting rid of stuff we don't want, selling the cars... and then there is hooking up Skype to the home PC, my parents and Niki's parents PC's and then testing it all out and teaching the grand parents how to use it. Niki had to teach her parents how to turn a computer on and use the mouse, so you can imagine the learning curve required! But they're keen and want to get it all down pat before we go!
Tax return needs to be done for last year... drivers licenses renewed and I haven't even thought about my new job and the settling in over there bit!
*phew*
Thursday, January 15, 2009
And the winner is...
Dubai!
Yes, I have accepted the role and this little blogger is off to the Middle East. I don't like to blog about work too much here, but there are exceptions!
Moving to another country is definately one of those!
I looked for work in Sydney, and to be honest there is not alot out there and those companies that were hiring were siting the economic crisis to slash salary expectations. The salaries on offer, I was getting five years ago. Not a great step if you have a mortgage and if I had a Sydney job, we probably would have had to sell the house and downsize.
However, there was never a choice, with the last of my Sydney offers fizzling out at the same time I got the Dubai offer and with nothing else, it was the choice to be made.
Having said that, I did want the Dubai role and we have been spared the choice of taking the exciting but scary move or staying safe in Sydney and slugging it out and making ends meet.
For all of us, the biggest issue is the moving away and creating distance with family and friends. We will be facebooking, blogging and skyping as much as possible, but the reality is is that you're half a world away.
We do get flights back as part of the package and we will be coming home for Christmas each year and perhaps depending on the cash, in the Dubai summer break which is in July / August. We will though be taking the opportunity to see the rest of the world, mainly Europe and I have a keen sense to see India as well, which is only 3hrs away.
The next step is the uprooting and moving... I will need to be in Dubai in February sometime and will be madly prepping the house for renting before I go. Then Niki & the girls will be following 2-3 mths afterwards depending on how quickly I can set up a house, car and the visa's come through.
All very exciting and its going to be a big change....
So, I have perhaps blogged my last rant about CityRail and the like, but Lime Kettles will continue and will "On Tour" so to speak, so you will be able to follow an odd Aussie bloke's journey into the Middle East.
Niki mentioned that she would like to set up a more family orientated blog as well... so will post a cross link when (if) that gets up.
Now... where did I put that Arabic phrase book....
Yes, I have accepted the role and this little blogger is off to the Middle East. I don't like to blog about work too much here, but there are exceptions!
Moving to another country is definately one of those!
I looked for work in Sydney, and to be honest there is not alot out there and those companies that were hiring were siting the economic crisis to slash salary expectations. The salaries on offer, I was getting five years ago. Not a great step if you have a mortgage and if I had a Sydney job, we probably would have had to sell the house and downsize.
However, there was never a choice, with the last of my Sydney offers fizzling out at the same time I got the Dubai offer and with nothing else, it was the choice to be made.
Having said that, I did want the Dubai role and we have been spared the choice of taking the exciting but scary move or staying safe in Sydney and slugging it out and making ends meet.
For all of us, the biggest issue is the moving away and creating distance with family and friends. We will be facebooking, blogging and skyping as much as possible, but the reality is is that you're half a world away.
We do get flights back as part of the package and we will be coming home for Christmas each year and perhaps depending on the cash, in the Dubai summer break which is in July / August. We will though be taking the opportunity to see the rest of the world, mainly Europe and I have a keen sense to see India as well, which is only 3hrs away.
The next step is the uprooting and moving... I will need to be in Dubai in February sometime and will be madly prepping the house for renting before I go. Then Niki & the girls will be following 2-3 mths afterwards depending on how quickly I can set up a house, car and the visa's come through.
All very exciting and its going to be a big change....
So, I have perhaps blogged my last rant about CityRail and the like, but Lime Kettles will continue and will "On Tour" so to speak, so you will be able to follow an odd Aussie bloke's journey into the Middle East.
Niki mentioned that she would like to set up a more family orientated blog as well... so will post a cross link when (if) that gets up.
Now... where did I put that Arabic phrase book....
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