Weekend In Dubai

Well, no posts for a few days as we have been driving around the UAE and giving Niki the full tour of the place. She landed early in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night and she was able to have a lazy day around the hotel whilst I had to go to work on the Thursday... a bit of a bummer, but it was good for her to get over her jet lag.

Thursday night, I drove her into Abu Dhabi where we went all the way into town and down to the Corniche and across to the Marina Mall. We checked out some furniture shops and browsed around and it was Niki's first taste of the mall-centric Arabic night life. We drove around the city on the way back and cut across town to give her the full experience of the heavily Indian population here.

Friday was Dubai day and we drove up to first our house at the Green Community and I was able to show her what her new home looked like and where it was in relation to everything else - the shops, the school, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. She loved it and was gobsmacked at the 7 toilets, 3 baths, 4 showers, 2 living areas and 2 dining rooms... its pretty big when you put it all together!

After a drive around the Green Community we headed into "The Address" which would be our home for 2 nights... the place was amazing! We were truly impressed and the views of the pool areas, the Lake around the Burj Dubai and the massive Burj Dubai itself was amazing.

The view from our room... overlooking the magnificent pool deck

Me in front of the 820 odd metre high Burj Dubai... Niki couldnt get it all in the shot (the building, not me!)

After we left, we went on a drive around to the Mall of the Emirates where Niki saw the Ski Dubai for the first time, we also drove along Jumeira Beach (but didnt get to the Palm) and took some shots of the Burj Al Arab (the big sail like hotel)... we were in a rush though because we had an appointment at the girls' future school for a bit of a tour and a discussion on their enrollment.

It was whirlwind, but it gave Niki a real flavour of the area.

Tomorrow, Niki's final full day, we will relax around Al Raha and perhaps look to buy me some furniture!

The least of your problems...

Just diverting from the UAE latest...

I read this article just now.

Let me paraphrase... complaints are being made on why a warning label on swearing wasnt included on the box of a computer game.

If this was Bambi Chases Butterflies, then yes if Bambi drops the F-Bomb well you'd be upset.

But no, this game is a MA 15+ Violence riddled game called "House of the Dead: Overkill" and you can see what a wholesome game it is from the screenshots.

Seriously, if you let your kids play this and THEN complain about the swearing, you're an idiot!

24hrs Until Niki is Here!

Well... its like Christmas and I am 6yrs old!  Niki is coming for a visit and lands at 11pm tomorrow night.

By then, I should have the keys to our villa and I have booked into one of the fancy hotels in Dubai for a couple of nights and we'll do some sight seeing and some shopping in prep for me moving into the villa.

So its a combo of showing her her new country and more "prep" work... Between work and getting ready for Niki and the girls to relocate, I am really frazzled and I am looking forward to perhaps having a week of downtime with her.

I think we have also decided that I will come back to Australia in late May / early June to bring her and the girls back to Dubai... so to all my Aussie friends, be on the look out for me on a flying visit.

On the banking front, I got the pin numbers to my accounts... which is nice considering I dont have the ATM cards... but I think they are coming tomorrow!

I just have to keep telling myself to be patient... ;-)

The Heat Is On

Today is the first day here where I have said "geez!  How about this heat!!".  It's getting warmer here and the dreaded Arabian summer that everyone seems to talk about is just around the corner.  I keep saying "Yeah, but I'm an Aussie - all you Poms are whingers" but they just laugh... perhaps it will test my patience for the heat.  (Which is none, because I much prefer winter!)

But that aside, I had one of the UAE's great mysteries uncovered for me yesterday.  Speaking to a Lebanese Arab who has been in the UAE for 4yrs, we got talking about houses, cars and loans... he then revealed why all Emirati's are so rich and don't need to work.

Essentially, the good Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE who ruled and was loved by everyone from say sometime in the 1960's through to his death in the early 2000's would approach the countries banks at the same time every year and clear the debts of Emirati citizens.  Yes... Every Emirati had their mortgage, car loans and personal loans PAID FOR by the Sheikh.  Every year.

*BLINKS*

So each year, Emiratis would take out as many loans as they could for houses, cars and other luxuries and the Sheikh paid for them.  Then using their new 100% owned assets as collateral they would then get bigger loans the following year and the Sheikh would pay for them.  As long as the Emirati could meet the repayments during the first 12mths there was no real cap on borrowings and hence the Sheikh's benevolence.

This explains why the mail boy who drives between Abu Dhabi Headquarters and the construction site drives a US$500K Mercedes and it also explains why Emiratis have no concept of money.  They pay speeding fines like road tolls and they right off cars left right and centre.  They will bash your car in the car park rather than take a 3 point turn.  As a westerner, we just have to live with their decadence.

Unfortunately when Sheikh Zayed abdicated due to ill health to his son (Sheikh Khalifa?), the son stopped the practice but it is immaterial now as all Emiratis have so much property they don't know what to do with all their money!

Home... I have one!

Well, its been a busy 72hrs, well 48 actually... Friday was a lazy day! On Saturday I went up to Green Community and looked at 4 properties that were for rent... from 10am to 2pm I was with real estate agents and looked at the properties, but it was the last one that really grabbed me. A brand new (read 1 week old) 4 bedroom / 1 study villa right next door to a pool/gym complex. (Every couple of blocks there is a pool and gym and kids playground). Price was within my accommodation allowance set by my company and when I showed Niki the pictures that afternoon (it was 1am Sydney time, she was up waiting for me) she agreed that it was fantastic and to make an offer.

I did, we hageled a bit and our offer was accepted. Then this afternoon (Sunday, I am still thrown by the weekend being Fri/Sat) I left work early and drove the 45min drive to the Green Community and met the landlady (lovely lady, Iranian by background) and we negotiated the tenancy contract and I paid a 5% deposit and it was done! We have tentatively set Tuesday afternoon as the date I will produce a cheque for the first years rent (yes, rent is a year in advance, which my company will pay) and upon production of the cheque, the property is mine, I get the keys and I can start planning furniture! Because I have NONE! LOL!.

This is all perfect timing because Niki is flying in on Wednesday night and I will be able to show her her new home. I am very pleased with the timing!

So to give you a flavour, here is a shot of the front and a shot taken from the balcony of the Master Bedroom looking into the neighbourhood pool next door. Yes, the backyard is all sand and I have to get it turfed!

But its a brilliant place and is going to be ideal for the kids.

Weekend Real Estate

Well, its the weekend here in the UAE and I am having an exciting night in in front of the laptop... a work report to write and emails to answer... it doesnt seem to let up at the moment.  My project is chronically understaffed and we're on a massive recruitment drive but it takes time to get people on board.  I am having meetings at work and suddenly there's a new face.  "Hi, I am so and so, been here 3 days, my role is blah blah and I have come all the way from Country X".  Its amazing really... and I am enjoying working with Brits, Lebanese, Arabs and even the odd Kiwi.  I heard one of the new senior managers looking after Facilities Management for completed buildings is an Aussie who starts some time in the next fortnight or so... its all very exciting.  So seriously, to all my friends and family who read this blog... if you have something to offer drop me an email!

This weekend is also exciting because on Saturday I am looking at potential houses... or villas as they're called here.  I sat down this morning and perused the classifieds and was able to line up to inspect 5 properties on Saturday in just 45mins.  10am, 11am, Midday (two properties) and 1:30pm... 5 properties, 4 different agents all in the one day.  The financial crisis has turned Dubai into a cheap land grab and those of us lucky enough to be working in secure companies are taking advantage.

To quote numbers, when we looked at moving here, annual rents for a 3-4 bedroom villa were around 330,000 - 350,000 Dirhams per annum.  On Saturday I am looking at 5 bedroom villas listed between 230,000 and 260,000 Dhs per annum.  A massive drop in just 3 months!

So, yes the financial crisis is taking hold, but I also heard that 35,000 jobs were lost in Australia last month... so I think to be working for a company that is hiring I am very blessed and not only that the job is excellent!

Dodgy Chicken

A pretty busy day at work today... was flat out in meetings and then realised that I havent actually achieved anything tangible other than talking alot!  One of those days I guess.

Mr Amit didnt show either today from HSBC... gonna give him one of my "stop dicking me around calls" tomorrow.

A scary thing though is that I have realised that I have to soon vacate the Al Raha Beach Hotel... I have about 2 weeks or so to find my own place.  Armed with my drivers licence, that starts in earnest TOMORROW!  I have been so caught up with logistics, that I havent been able to get about and house hunt.  Well now that I have my own wheels, I will be making calls this weekend to advertised properties.

Also, counting down the days until Niki gets here (next week!!) for a flying visit so she will probably be involved in the house hunt too which will be great.

For something different tonight, I went to Khalifa City for a look around and find something different to eat.  Khalifa City would be a 'blue collar' (read Indian) area between work and the hotel and I checked it out.  Not much there except what I thought was a KFC.... so I decided to go in... then I realised that whilst it had all the corporate colours and similar logo of KFC, it was actually "RFC".  RFC stands for Rapid Fired Chicken... *gulp!*

Well, I said why not and ordered a 3 piece box... lets just say I am now not sure if its Rapid cooked or if its "Rapid" on the way out!!  Pretty dodgy! Live and learn I suppose :-)