Cheetah brings panic to streets of Sharjah

Does this happen anywhere else in the world???

SHARJAH // A cheetah sparked panic in Sharjah yesterday afternoon when it was spotted wandering through the city’s streets at prayer time.

Worshippers saw the creature near the Radisson Blu hotel in the Al Mujjarrah area, pacing near a mosque.

A local shop owner Abu Baker Karim said onlookers were unable to identify it straight away but knew it was dangerous.

He said: “As soon as I saw it I knew it was dangerous and had to run away. People were saying it was a tiger, others said it was a leopard and others said it was a cheetah."

Sharjah Police cordoned off the area, but, according to resident Mohammed Khan, who watched from the window of his nearby apartment, officers ended up playing a game of “hide and seek” with the big cat while they tried to capture it.

“We could tell it was not an easy arrest,” he said. “For about 20 minutes they were taking positions surrounding it, and it twice jumped out the circle.”

According to Lt Col Ahmad bin Darwish, of Anjad Police, it was not clear where the cheetah came from or who owned it.

Ahmed, another local resident, said the cheetah, which was handed over to the Arabian Wildlife Centre, was first spotted swimming behind the mosque.

My new favourite place in Abu Dhabi

Was told of this new cafe, Cafe Arabia in Abu Dhabi - absolutely lovely, pretty and inexpensive yummy food! Now I have somewhere to go to chill and read magazines over a cuppa!

Moroccan Hammam

I went to my first Moroccan Hammam today. I was planning to go to one when I get back from Malaysia next year, but an impromptu suggestion from my friend was too tempting. This was a 'basic' place - where a hammam cost AED40 as opposed to my upcoming hammam session that I paid AED150 for, which was a 50% discount over the original AED300 price.

I was a little apprehensive at first, having heard lots of funny stories about big huge women who scrub you at parts you didn't know you had. My friend was very comforting, saying that all I needed was not to be shy given that we would all have to be naked in a steam and scrub room together!

We got there, undressed and we were whisked into the steam room. There we had to put moroccan soap all over ourselves, and wait for 1/2 hour while the steam opens the pores. Then we were put into 2 separate rooms, and my therapist put on a scrub mitten and scrubbed like there was no tomorrow. I was shocked at how much dead skin there was, especially as I do my own scrub at home once a week. It was quite gross actually, but after 1/2 hour of a real good scrub, I felt like a newborn! I have never felt this clean in my life, and while I wouldn't call the experience 'pleasant', it was interesting and I would definitely do it again, especially for AED40 (that's like RM35!)

Egyptians can't spell..

Taken in a "5-star" hotel in Egypt

Happy UAE Day!

The UAE is 39 years old this weekend and boy, people are right into the celebrations. Cars are decorated, people are out celebrating, and flags are flying everywhere (even at the top of this mountain in the middle of nowhere on the way to oman!)

We also had a 4 day weekend to commemorate it. I only wish they would tell us in advance, so that i can plan stuff! Everyone was expecting a holiday on Thursday till Saturday and then another day off the following Tuesday for the Islamic New Year. Instead, we were told on Tuesday that we would get Thurs till Sun off, because the Government decided to bring the Tuesday holiday forward to Sunday so that we all get 4 days off. If I knew of this earlier, I would have flown out of the country and done something!

However, it's turned out to be a nice holiday, went diving in Oman and spent the night and next day in Dubai catching up with friends and doing some Christmas shopping. Also got treated to one of the yummiest Indian places in Dubai - the world famous Ravi's! Absolutely mouth watering Indian food! Some pics here...

Cradle of Civilisation

I just got back from an amazing 9 day Egypt trip, and boy was I blown away. Egypt was all that I imagined it to be and more. The sights are incredible, and there is so much history and culture packed in one place that after 5 or 6 days I became very blase about it being just another temple or just another 5,000 year old mummy. It's mind boggling how people must have lived 5,000 years ago, and how amazingly well preserved things are. I saw strands of hair and fingernails on a mummy that was thousands of years old, and even smoke markings on the ceiling of an ancient temple, rembrandts of cooking by the Christians that were persecuted during the time of the Roman empire.

We started our tour in Cairo to see the Pyramids, and made our way south via train and cruise to Aswan via Luxor. Plenty of temples, tombs and statues along the way, and amazing greenery throughout the journey along the Nile. We also went on a hot air balloon and the contrast between the greens of the Nile delta and the desert surrounding it is surreal. We had some very good guides along the way who really painted the picture of how people must have lived then. A highlight was also sailing along the Nile in Aswan on a felucca (sail boat) - so beautiful, tranquil and peaceful. The cruise was also very nice, and the staff made our trip. They loved us as we did them, and everyday it was a new adventure, a new comedy followed by barrels of laughter.

More than that, what really made my trip were the hospitality and the warmth of the people. I went to Egypt with an expectation that i would be hassled non-stop, that people were rude and greedy, and yes, there were instances especially in Cairo where people lived up to those expectations. However, more often than not, they were wonderfully warm, friendly and welcoming, so much so that I was so sad to say goodbye to all my new Egyptian friends. So many of them have nothing, but seem so much happier than any rich local living here in Abu Dhabi. We were greeted by smiles everywhere we went, and the contrast was startling as soon as we touched back down in Dubai. I miss the simplicity of people who are contented in life, who are not concerned with ego and money and who are just genuinely happy if you just take a picture with them, or give them a smile or just a friendly word.

Surprisingly, these are traits of people I have met in my travels in the Middle East - Oman, Jordan, Egypt, and while I have not been to Syria yet, I have heard they are the friendliest and most welcoming of the lot. It is sad that the Middle East has such a bad rep and is so misrepresented in the media. The people continue to surprise me with their warmth, selflessness and sincerity..in fact, I cannot think of anywhere besides Bali where people are as nice and welcoming as the Middle East. Sadly I stay in the Gulf Region, whose people (besides Oman) appears to be very different to those in the Middle East.

Overall a great trip and extremely difficult getting back into work...can't wait for my next big holiday, back to Malaysia in December!

Gorgeous Jordan..

Amidst my crazy few weeks at work and mum visiting, I managed to take a couple of days off to visit Jordan. Mum and I went for 4 days, rented a car and drove to Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea. We landed in Amman, and drove the 3 hours to Petra. I realised that I have been too long in the UAE when in Jordan, I had to get used to narrow and bumpy roads, dodgy looking petrol stations and cars whose windows were missing and plastic was held up by tape instead. Jordan is quite a poor country, and it's so easy to think that the whole of the Middle East looks like the Gulf states, when the majority of this region still live in pretty paltry conditions.

We got to Petra in the evening and were told that we could catch Petra at night, where the 1.2km path to the Treasury would be lit up by 1,000 candles. It was an amazing experience, to walk in the dark in this ancient city where people walked more than 2,000 years ago. We settled in front of the Treasury, which was lit by hundreds of candle. They then had a traditional oud player who played music so haunting, and then a flutist and singer too. Truly surreal..

We rose bright and early the next day to go to Petra before all the tourist buses and it was the best decision we made! Petra is a very different place with 100 people at 7am compared to the 20,000 when we left at 2pm. We walked the length of Petra and made our way up by donkey to the Monastery. It was truly magnificent - the history, the scenery, the technology they used 2,000 years ago, and mostly the people. People still live in Petra, not in the tourist site, but in surrounding areas. All the people who work with the donkeys, horses or selling trinkets are people whose families have lived in Petra for centuries. They still live in Petra, in tiny villages around the tourist site.

After we finished Petra we drove south to Wadi Rum, a magnificent desert (where Laurence of Arabia was filmed). We got a guide to bring us around, and again the hospitality we received in the little Bedouin camps was absolutely amazing. People there have nothing but were so welcoming and were so insistent that we have tea with them. It's an amazing contrast to the UAE, where people had been living in similar circumstances 50 years ago, but who because of oil, have gotten so rich that they don't have to live in the desert anymore.

After such a tiring day, we left Petra the next day and headed to the Dead Sea. I treated mum to an afternoon at the Movenpick beach and spa and it was gorgeous. They gave us Dead Sea mud which I slapped on very willingly and just floated on the oily water. It's quite a surreal experience floating. Some guys tried to dive in but no success! The water also tastes bitter, not salty like I expected. Definitely fun, and a must do, once in a lifetime experience!

We then made our way to Amman in crazy traffic and left the next day. The trip was definitely too short and I did not manage to see everything i wanted to, so maybe another trip some other time. It was so refreshing to be in a country with such a long history, where one could go to the mountain where Moses one stood, or the alleged Baptism site of Jesus. The people were definitely the highlight of my trip, so warm and absolutely welcoming ... it made me reflect on how cynical we can be about people's intentions.

I am heading to Egypt next week for 9 days, so looking forward to that!

Pictures are posted here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle_d/

Oman trip

I haven't had time to blog for ages, as my sis was here, and when she was not, I was diving every weekend. It's been great to have so many visitors this year and thankfully there are tons to do outside of the UAE!

My sis and I and a friend made our way down to Muscat for 3 days. I had very high expectations as everyone told me that it was beautiful and they were right. We had a fabulous time, filled of course with tons of dramas which made the trip even more memorable!

Oman is such a lovely country, and the people are amazing -warm, friendly and so inviting. I never knew how big the country is (300,000km2) and there are only 2.8m inhabitants. It also has such a long and varied history, including conquering the East African coast (countries like Zanzibar and Mozambique!). We stayed for 2nights at a huge B&B where we had a triple room with our own outdoor patio, for the price of 1 night in a hotel in Abu Dhabi. They also organised a wonderful guide for us, who was very knowledgable and helpful and showed us so many amazing sites around Muscat. He also has 12 kids from 1 wife, and says that Westerners only know how to sleep at night. Yups, a very funny character who talked to us for 12 hours non-stop!

Muscat is such a nice city, it is so lived in, and established, which is very refreshing compared to life in the UAE. Locals are everywhere, driving taxis, selling things in the souks, and the souk was a real souk, not a fake air conditioned one that can be found in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There is a nice vibe to the city too, and a beautiful promenade with lots of good food.

On our day tour, we went outside Muscat around the Wadis (valleys) and mountains. We also visited an archeological site (I saw a piece of pottery on the floor and asked the guy what it was, he replied in a blase manner that it's part of the ruins and said just take it home..). We drove through dried river beds, and swam in a beautiful turquoise freshwater lake called Wadi Tiwi. We also managed to visit a local's house for Eid in a small village, they were so wonderfully welcoming to us (the guy was our guide's friend). Unfortunately the host had a little boy who had never seen a lady with her hair down before and started screaming like he's seen the devil when he saw my sister! It was a perfect day trip however, ended with a wonderful turkish seafood meal!

We also had tons of dramas like getting stopped on our way back to the UAE at the border crossing. I suspect they thought we were on drugs because we were laughing so heavily at a chain of very funny events before turning up at the border. They stopped our car, took my sis and I into a separate room with all our belongings while my friend waited outside with the car and his stuff were checked by the male guards. The lady guard proceeded to spend the next hour checking every single piece of item we had in our bags. She also did not know what a tampon was when she saw it, and she also did not speak English so you can imagine the conversation! All the time we were inside, my friend was outside slightly panicky wondering if we were ever going to be let out. Finally after she scrolled through our photos and told my sister to stop smoking and find love, we were let go and proceeded to head back to Abu Dhabi.

All in all a great trip, really can't wait to explore other bits of Oman soon!

Photos are up on my flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle_d/

Dark side of Dubai

I've been having a number of very interesting conversations with some new friends recently, particularly about how crazy this country is - how lots of things happen under the table and really, there should be no expectations of 'justice' or 'reasonableness' one would expect of a more developed and westernised country. This is an interesting article published some time ago but it definitely is an eye opener to the world that we all live in..


The dark side of Dubai
Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging. Johann Hari reports...

The wide, smiling face of Sheikh Mohammed – the absolute ruler of Dubai – beams down on his creation. His image is displayed on every other building, sandwiched between the more familiar corporate rictuses of Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders. This man has sold Dubai to the world as the city of One Thousand and One Arabian Lights, a Shangri-La in the Middle East insulated from the dust-storms blasting across the region. He dominates the Manhattan-manqué skyline, beaming out from row after row of glass pyramids and hotels smelted into the shape of piles of golden coins. And there he stands on the tallest building in the world – a skinny spike, jabbing farther into the sky than any other human construction in history.

But something has flickered in Sheikh Mohammed's smile. The ubiquitous cranes have paused on the skyline, as if stuck in time. There are countless buildings half-finished, seemingly abandoned. In the swankiest new constructions – like the vast Atlantis hotel, a giant pink castle built in 1,000 days for $1.5bn on its own artificial island – where rainwater is leaking from the ceilings and the tiles are falling off the roof. This Neverland was built on the Never-Never – and now the cracks are beginning to show. Suddenly it looks less like Manhattan in the sun than Iceland in the desert.

Read more here...
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

Grand Mufti of Dubai calls for curb on mixed marriages

Nice one...I shall not take any insult given I am a product of a mixed marriage albeit not Emirati!


The Grand Mufti of Dubai has called for restrictions on Emiratis marrying outside their nationality.

“In Islam, choosing your life partner is a personal freedom,” he said, speaking at a Ramadan majlis on Sunday night. “But personal freedoms can be restricted for the benefit of the public interest.”

Mixed marriages are more likely to end in divorce and their children are more likely to commit crimes, some experts at the majilis said.

“There should be very specific circumstances for when such marriages are allowed,” Dr al Haddad said. “Such as when a man is too old and cannot find an Emirati to marry him, or when he wants to take a third of fourth wife for certain reasons and no Emirati woman agrees to do so.”

Social experts have attributed the escalating trend to the large dowries demanded by Emirati women – as much as Dh800,000 – and to high wedding ceremony expenses that have reached Dh1 million.

Ramadan in Abu Dhabi

It's nearing the end of Ramadan and this post is kinda late, but better late than never!

This is my first Ramadan in UAE, save for my visit to Dubai 2 years ago for interviews, and it's definitely a very different experience to Malaysia. In Malaysia, nothing really changes, except offices shut 1/2 hour earlier, and there are tons of stalls open in the evenings where people buy food.

Over here, hours are dramatically shorter, most offices are only open from 9am to 3pm, including mine. Unfortunately my team doesn't follow these hours, so no good there :( All or most restaurants are shut during the day, and only open in the evening, so you can't go into a mall to have a meal. The only place to eat is in a hotel where the restaurants would be covered by a huge curtain shielding the food from public view.

You can't eat or drink or smoke in public. In the gyms they even move the water coolers to a separate room so you can only drink in the room. There isn't anything to do during the day as most shops are also closed in the afternoon and only open at 7pm but they all open late till 1am. I was at a mall one weeknight after watching a movie and eating dinner, and the mall was packed at 11pm, including little kids running everywhere. We were probably the only non Muslim person around though! I have heard that most people who are fasting just stay up all night until suhour and then they sleep at 5am and if they have to go to work they wake up again at 8am.

It's quite interesting to me, coming from Malaysia where even people who are fasting would be serving food in a restaurant while they are fasting. Here, there is no tolerance for people who are not fasting to eat, drink or smoke. What I find sad is that while this is supposed to be the Holy Month, where people help the poor etc, this is also the month where the most food is wasted. I went to an Iftar (open fast banquet) and the food buffet was incredible. And they have it at every single hotel in the city...that's kinda ironic for me. But there are tons of good charitable causes going on too, like free food boxes for the poor given out everyday at the mosque and at hotels.

All in all, its been interesting, i'm glad when it is over and when things go back to normal!

DVDs for sale

A few weeks ago, I had someone ring my door bell at 9pm on a weekday night. I open the door and there was this Chinese lady holding a big bag.

She goes : "You want dvd??"
Me: "Erm, no need, thank you"
Chinese Lady: "Very cheap, only 10dirham, all very clear. You don't watch dvd?"

I just stood there thinking, how bizarre!! I didn't buy any as my mum just brought my shipment from Malaysia!

10 course Malaysian Meal

Nopes that's not in Malaysia - but in the UAE, yippee for Reem Cafe!

Drama Drama..

I went diving in Daymaniyat Islands in Oman 2 weekends ago with a friend who visited from Hong Kong and a friend from here. The islands are about 100kms north of Muscat and apparently the best spot to dive in Oman. The diving was awesome, though the trip was drama filled from the start!

One of my friends is a newbie diver and she was requested to pay extra for a dive master, which I felt was good as she would have someone to take care of her. Unfortunately the dive master also had 8 other divers to take care of, so I had to take care of my friend as he also wasn't the most responsible dive master I've met. He even forgot to bring 2 tanks, and 2 divers shared air while diving (which is a BIG NO NO!!). However the dives were good, and we saw so many turtles and they were the most friendly turtles I've ever met!

On the second day, the boat captain dropped the boat key into the water before taking off. He also had the spare key tied to the main key, so we all thought there goes our diving trip! Who in the world keeps the spare and master key together? Fortunately after 1 hour of digging through the sand and sea, they found the key and we departed! When we came back to shore, my friends and I washed our equipment, got packing and headed home for our 4 hour drive home.

When I came home at 11.30pm, the compound was dark - after 3 days being away (think no air conditioning in my apartment in 45 degree heat!), there was no power!! The security guard said maybe it would come back in an hour, so we decided to head out to get groceries at 12am. When we got home, there was still no electricity but by that time, we were just so exhausted that I just slept on the tile floors where it was much cooler. The power came back on at 5am, and I had to wake up again at 7 to head to work. I also then realised that I left my wetsuit in the resort! Superb ending to an eventful trip - thankfully the resort was fantastic and got some divers who live in Dubai to bring back the wetsuit, and I've managed to already get it back!

My poor friend who was visiting definitely had a good taste of the Middle East!

Love this..

Sign in my office gym

Kinda hard when you're changing, don't you think?

Bye Bye Crackberry

Maybe now IT will support iphones instead of giving me a crackberry!

BlackBerry services suspended in October

The UAE announced the world’s first suspensions of BlackBerry services yesterday as telecoms officials in Saudi Arabia also piled pressure on the devices’ maker to allow access to messages sent with them.

The UAE’s telephone and internet regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), said that services for the nation’s 500,000 BlackBerry users would be suspended from October 11. Saudi Arabia’s telecom watchdog was reported to have ordered telecom firms operating in the kingdom to stop BlackBerry messenger services later this month. Saudi Telecom has about 400,000 BlackBerry users.

The moves follow signs of an agreement reached last week between the Indian government and the device’s manufacturer, Research in Motion (RIM), following similar threats by India to suspend services.

BlackBerrys send encrypted messages via RIM’s servers in the UK and Canada – meaning there is no way for authorities outside those countries to access them. This has led to concerns that the system can be exploited by terrorists to threaten national security.

The TRA said it had attempted to negotiate with RIM over various ways to obtain access to encrypted data since 2007.

According to the TRA statement, encrypted messages sent on BlackBerry phones are beyond the reach of UAE law enforcement. These services could “allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns”.

Love Indian food..

One thing I have loved about Abu Dhabi is the diversity, quality and price of Indian food. Most expats don't try these tiny restaurants in the city, they prefer to eat at malls, and hotel restaurants, which are overpriced and are of very, very average quality.
I would easily pay AED60-80 for a meal at a cafe in a mall (that's about AUD20-30) and at least AED100-300 (AUD30-100) for a meal at a hotel restaurant.

The meal above is an Indian vegetarian meal in a popular restaurant in the city. Total cost - AED10 (or AUD3.50). And the quality is remarkable, the guy even asked me if I wanted to top up the gravy. Most of these restaurants even deliver for free, and some friends and I had a full meal last night for AED60, delivered straight to the flat. Some people have no idea what they're missing out on.

An oxymoron?

I don't get this...

This is the line to fill up my car with petrol. This is the USUAL line, no matter what time of the day it is. In fact, I think the only time that I did not have to wait 10 minutes to fill my car up was at 1pm on a Friday (aka prayer time). They really need to build more petrol stations.

UAE is also one of the few places I have been where you don't have to get out of the car to fill up your tank. You sit in air conditioned comfort while waiting for your turn, an attendant comes, you turn your engine off (well most people don't), and he fills it up. I have even seen people asking the attendant to run into the kiosk to buy them drinks / snacks while they wait in the car. I wonder what happens when the locals here have to drive overseas, and whether they manage to run these things by themselves if they had to.

Maccie's back!

So I have been super quiet the last few weeks, firstly because I have had a stream of non-stop visitors and secondly my poor little macbook's hard disk died. Thank goodness for time machine that has backed up all my data, and for apple's magnificent 3 year warranty, which allowed me to replace (and upgrade!) my hard disk free of charge yay! I was definitely lucky - the warranty is expiring in october this year, so good thing it died when it did!

It was great having friends over and showing them around town. Also had my beloved mum come over for 2 weeks to cook, clean and iron (i told her she did not have to lift a finger!) but being mum, she really enjoys doing these things. Plus it was 40 degrees outdoors and she couldn't head out anyway..

So overall it's been a really nice 2 months, with plenty of shopping trips to Dubai, the desert, lots of eating and of course the big credit card bill at the end of it. All worth it to add a bunch of colour to this really brown, hot and humid place!

p/s - when i say humid, it's humid ~90% and even close to 100% sometimes. I turn off the a/c when I head to work and when I get back, my apartment floor is damp and there are droplets of water all over my bathroom floor. Yucks.

Woman who alleged rape jailed

I was so upset to read about this. This was the same story I had on my blog a couple of weeks back about an 18 year old girl who retracted her rape claim after claiming 5 men raped her. She has been jailed for a year for consensual sex, and I guess the saddest thing is that she did not have any family or lawyers with her in court. According to Syariah Law, to prove rape, the accused has to confess to it, or the act has to be witnessed by 4 grown men...


ABU DHABI // A teenager who alleged she was gang-raped by five men but later recanted her claim has been sentenced to a year in prison for consensual sex.

The five she had initially accused were acquitted of rape by the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court yesterday, but were found guilty of less serious charges.

The Emirati teenager LH, 18, was found to have consented to intercourse with YM, a 19-year-old military police officer who was also sentenced to a year in jail after the rape charge against him was changed to one of consensual sex by the judge.

Two other defendants, both referred to as HA, were sentenced to three months in prison each for being alone in the company of a woman.

The fifth and sixth defendants were fined Dh5,000 each for violations of public decency.

The latter verdicts represented rare court rulings in which Sharia law was directly imposed. Police rarely arrest people based on such charges alone; more often they are secondary charges typically connected to sex offences.

LH has been in custody since filing the complaint. She was never appointed a lawyer during the trial, and none of her family members appeared in court during the proceedings.

According to the forensics report submitted to the court LH reported the incident on April 23.

enetic material recovered from the scene led the judge to convict YM of consensual sex, while acquitting HA.

The forensics report found that LH was not a virgin and that there was no genital bruising. It found 12 bruises ranging from 1cm to 7cm long on her upper lip, hands, thighs, knee and behind her left ear.

“Some of the bruises are new, two to three days old, and some of them are old, seven to 15 days old,” the report said. The report attributed the bruises to body pressure or being hit with something solid.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed that LH had gone for a drive on May 2 with her male Emirati friend, HA, in Baniyas, where they had intercourse. Prosecutors said the fact she agreed to go with him alone in the car partly showed her consent to sex.

They said that, HA, 19, then called five of his friends – four Emiratis and one Iraqi – and invited them to join him in raping her in the backseat of his Nissan Altima. Charges against one defendant were later dropped.

On May 25, LH retracted her accusation of rape.

Despite this, only the Public Prosecution had the authority to drop the rape charges – which they did not.

Within two days of the incident, LH had been tested by the forensics unit at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department. Evidence of assault was cited by the public prosecution in charging the men with rape. LH told the court that bruises on her body came from a beating administered by her brother because he suspected she had relationships with men.

Each of the six has 15 days to appeal the verdict.

Whale Shark in the Marina

Just one of those weeks..

I've had one of those really crazy weeks where everything that could go wrong does! The biggest contributor to my pain was Etisalat (yes the ordeal isn't over!) I stupidly decided that I wanted to upgrade my package so that I could get free World Cup coverage (it's normally USD100 - robbery!). It has been 2 weeks since I applied and I still have not got it activated yet. The technician came twice, and didn't do anything. He told me that he could not change the receiver because Etisalat (he's a subby) didn't give him permission to. So after hours calling Etisalat and them not answering, I finally decided to go to their office, and yet after that, nothing has changed and I bet they are already charging me for the extra for the upgrade. I think I'm going to write to the press about this, I don't think there is any other way to solve it.

Then today I was supposed to go diving, woke up at 6am to pack and get moving, and then realised that my back windscreen would not stay up. So i couldn't go diving as it would have been too dangerous to drive to Dubai with a falling windscreen,

On a positive note, I had the chance to swim and dive with a whale shark that decided to pay a visit to a marina here in Abu Dhabi. I'll put a video up of it separately, I'm so happy that she has escaped and gone back to sea!

Crazy Traffic Jam

I got stuck in the worst traffic jam that Abu Dhabi has ever seen 2 nights ago. What normally takes me 15 minutes turned into 1.5 hours, and literally it took me 1 hour 20 minutes to cover 2km. I really wanted to dump my car and walk home but there was no way to park. Apparently the reason was that a crane broke down in the city, causing 2 streets to close. That was the official reason. The other contributing factor that wasn't obviously reported was that they closed off 1 major exit out of the city for a VIP event. Nice one, let the whole city come to a grinding halt to let some VIPs through.

I read today that a lady nearly delivered in her car as she could not get to the hospital on time. Thankfully an ambulance got to her 1/2 hour before her delivery to bring her to the closest hospital..story here

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100603/NATIONAL/706029831&SearchID=73392676144537

Hidden City on Abu Dhabi rooftops

Taken from the National newspaper..

ABU DHABI // A summer campaign is being launched to dismantle a hidden city on the rooftops of the capital. But many of the people living in the cheap rooms are saying that they have nowhere else to go.

It is not good news for the people who live on the rooftops. ND Kawsar’s makeshift dwelling, which he shares with 20 other bachelors, is no penthouse.

Broken satellite dishes, sacks of rubbish and laundry lines roast under the sun outside his door. Inside, exposed wires droop from his ceiling. There are no fire-safety devices, nor is there any means of escape other than a stairwell wide enough for a single-file exit.

“No safety. The level of danger is high. We cannot take a fire,” said Mr Kawsar, 27, a typist.

“But where can we go? Abu Dhabi is expensive. The good flats are only for families.”

Mr Kawsar, who lives in Hadbat al Zafranah, blamed the shortage of affordable housing in the city as the real issue forcing residents such as himself to cheap and unlicensed rooftop flats.

“We are working in small shops, restaurants, some for construction companies,” he said. “It’s so difficult for us. If the baladiyah (municipality) close the room, where [do] I go? Sleep in the road?”

On a salary under Dh2,000 (US$545) per month, his Dh450-a-month accommodation above the weathered three-storey building overlooking Al Saada Street is all he can afford. The landlord plans to raise his rent by Dh50 next month, he added.

“If we are taking a new building, we are paying maybe more than Dh1,000. How we will pay?” he asked. “If the baladiyah want to close, first they have to increase our salary. Money is the problem.”

nfestation and fires are major concerns. Helicopters had to airlift a young girl and two adults to safety in August 2008 after a fire broke out in a rooftop shanty atop a 16-storey apartment block on Airport Road.


It's sad that this place is so rich, yet so many people are so poor....

This story is so sad..

Emirati woman, 18, retracts claim of rape by six men
(and I guess, to me what is saddest is that none of her family members turned up in court to support her)

ABU DHABI // An 18-year-old Emirati woman who was charged with having consensual sex after alleging that she had been raped by six men retracted all her statements in court yesterday.

She told the judge she wanted to withdraw her accusations against all the defendants.

The woman, LH, offered no explanation in court as to why she changed her statements, other than being “unaware” of her actions when she reported the crime.

She added that her brother beat her after accusing her of talking to other men, and after the beating she went to the police to report the rapes.

If the prosecution drops the charge of consensual sex, the woman could face a lesser charge related to deception, which is punishable by six months to two years in prison.

If found guilty of consensual sex, as a Muslim woman, she would face lashes and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Although she changed her evidence, the charges are criminal, not civil, so it is for the prosecution to decide whether to drop the consensual-sex charge. Prosecutors said yesterday that none of the charges had been dropped at this stage.

According to court records, on May 2, LH went for a drive with a male Emirati friend, HA, in Baniyas.

Prosecutors said she went with the intention of having consensual sex with HA, a charge she denies. HA parked his Nissan Altima in an area called Bahia and had sex with her, prosecutors said. He is accused of then telephoning five of his friends, who joined him and raped LH from 1.30am to 5am.

She went to the police after the incident and told them she had been raped by the men in the back seat of the car. She was tested by the Forensics Unit at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, and evidence of assault was cited by the public prosecution in charging all six men with rape.

Since last week, charges against one defendant have been dropped. One of the men has been released on bail, two are in police custody and two are being tried in their absence.

Four of the remaining male defendants are Emirati and one is Iraqi. All are 19 years old and, therefore, being tried as adults.

When LH retracted her statement, Chief Justice Sayeed Abdul Baseer, the president of the criminal court, said “Masha’Allah”, an Arabic phrase indicating an act of surprise. He asked: “So you did not have sex with any of these men?”

“No,” she replied. The judge ordered her to come closer to the panel, because she spoke quietly and had her eyes fixed on the ground. “But [YM, the defendant on bail] told the police in details that he had consensual sex with you,” the judge said. “I do not know [why he said that],” she replied.

The male defendants and the young woman were standing about 20ft apart in court. The woman, who is still being held in custody, was in handcuffs.

When the judge questioned YM, he also denied having sex or confessing to rape. The judge chastised him as the young man visibly held back laughter, reminding him that if he is found guilty, he faces the death penalty, as do all the men accused of rape.

YM, when asked by the judge, declined to request a lawyer. After the judge explained that it was mandatory to have a lawyer where the death penalty is a potential sentence, YM agreed to find one. The two defendants in custody were both represented yesterday by lawyers. The young woman also did not appear with a lawyer, and she was not asked about appointing one. No member of her family was present in court.

The judge adjourned the hearing until June 7 for defendants to bring lawyers and present their defence.

Air India Disaster..

I felt so sad when I read about the Air India Express disaster today. Most of the people who died were Indian nationals working in Dubai or Sharjah, and all on their way home to see their families. For most of them, it would have been the first time going home after a year, or 2 or 3. One of the saddest stories was of this guy living in Dubai who lost 7 of his family members, who were all flying home for various reasons. I guess it really hits home for me as the plane took off from Dubai and really it could happen to anyone. God Bless their souls..

Crazy Drivers - watch the video

This was taken on Sheik Zayed Road, the main highway from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, which more than half of my colleagues drive on each day to get to work. These drivers are really mad. And if you check out the arguments on youtube - there are people defending these actions, saying what's the big deal, noone was hurt, and these guys were just celebrating. I think it is just shameful and selfish that someone can even think of defending such actions.

It's heating up..

Taken at 9.18AM. I can't imagine what summer is going to be like!

Harry Connick!

I had the privilege of watching Harry Connick Jr. last weekend. Tickets were so expensive, I paid AED495 (AUD150) for the second cheapest tickets, and the cheapest tickets that were seated. Comparatively, Michael Buble in Sydney costed me AUD130 and I had the most expensive tickets. It was money well spent however, as I had seats on the first row though on the side of the stage.

Harry Connick Jr. was amazing, he was accompanied by a 30 piece band, including his New Orleans band and an orchestra. He's a wonderfully talented artist, and a great performer. I can't wait to see him again!

963 road deaths a year..

963 road deaths a year, 80% attributed to speeding. That works out to be roughly 3 people a day, in a population of ~4.5m. That's quite similar to Malaysia, where there were ~6000 deaths in 2007 with a total population of 26.6m. That's pretty similar stats, but it just feels alot scarier here, as most people live in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, and I hear about accidents every other day.

I was driving home yesterday from Dubai on the fast lane going at 140k/ph and in my rear view mirror saw this huge ass hummer barrelling his way down my lane. He wasn't slowing down and there was no way I could move to the next lane without crashing into the car next to me. He did not even slow down as he got closer and all I could do is move a little to the other lane while he proceeded to whizz by me using the side emergency lane at about 200k/ph. NUTS.

An ATM that shoots out Gold..only in the UAE!

Abu Dhabi's top hotel is upping the ante in the race for Gulf glitz: adding a gold-dispensing machine.

The ATM-style kiosk in the Emirates Palace monitors the daily gold price and offers small bars up to 10 grams or coins with customized designs.

It's the idea of a German entrepreneur, Thomas Geissler, who began testing the cash-for-gold machines in his native country in 2009. The Abu Dhabi debut on Wednesday is billed as the first international foray for Geissler's "Gold to Go" brand.

Geissler says he picked Abu Dhabi because of its high-rolling atmosphere and the region's traditional ties to gold in commerce.

The unveiling was timed well. Gold hit a record high Wednesday of more than $1,245 an ounce.

And guess what...1 day later, they sold out and the gold had to be restocked. Unbelievable!

Kayaking at the Eastern Mangroves

I went kayaking last weekend at the Eastern Mangroves, right in the heart of Abu Dhabi. It's amazing being out in the water, and people are so surprised to hear that there is so much water and nature, because I'm in the desert.

Kayaking is organised by a great team of guys from Noukhada, who are extremely professional and knowledgeable about the ecology of the area. I learnt that 70% of fishing life in the Gulf spawns in the mangroves in UAE and Oman. We saw blue swimmer crabs, herons and kingfishers which were lovely. The trip before us at 6am in the morning even saw a fox along one of the beaches.

It's sad though to hear some of the stories about how much things have changed and how the ecology is changing because of all the massive developments going on. My firm is responsible for building a large hotel there, and one of the sheiks is building a palace there as well. I wish there was more conscientious development but I think this country has a long way to go in its efforts. Even something as simple as recycling is not easy, I am lucky to have found some drop off bins about 5 mins drive away so I save everything and drop it off on the weekend. Most people never recycle, but hopefully things change as the government puts in more effort in educating people about the environment.

The Etisalat saga continues..

Etisalat finally came to install my receiver for my cable tv. However, they did not tell me they were coming, and when I came home one night, the security guard told me that they had come and installed it. I was quite excited, not about getting tv but more for the prospect of not having to call 101 again, pressing 2 for english, pressing 4 for evision and pressing 2 for not being an etisalat customer, then being told to wait because all their "customer service representatives are busy".

Fat HOPE.

I went into my hall, saw the receiver plugged in, switched on the tv, but nothing happens. I tried rebooting the receiver, but nopes nothing works. So I pick up the phone, call 101, press 2, press 4 and 2 again and speak to a call centre lady who tells me "Of course its not working mam, because we haven't activated it".

OK NICE. So you come to my home twice, install the devices and then don't activate the account until I call you?! Nevermind, give us 2 days and we will activate it for you. And true to their word, 2 days later and 4 weeks after I first applied, I got my cable tv up and running.

I browse the channels, there are a couple of hundred, most of which I haven't subscribed to, or are in Arabic, and not arranged in any particular order). I press the TV Guide button on the remote, and nothing happens. I press the "Info" button on the remote, but of course nothing happens. So, now I have no idea what is on, or what is coming on, or what is even showing on the channel I've chosen.

I reluctantly pick up the phone and call 101, press 1, press 4 and then press 1 (because I'm a customer now!). I speak to the agent who tells me, "Sorry mam, you have the new receiver and the TV GUIDE function has not been activated yet. It will only be activated in a few weeks" (In etisalat time, it means a few months). So I tell him I want the old receiver, but he says no because it has all been phased out. So, how do I find out what's on and when? He says Go to the website and I can find it there.

Now that all sounds easy enough, except that there is not 1 provider, there are 3 separate tv providers with 3 separate websites, and all with TV Guides that do not show online when I click them.

Out of frustration, I call one of the actual provider to get a copy of the guide, they tell me to call their dealer nearest to me, I call the dealer and the dealer tells me to call the provider because it has been 6 months since they received any guide and I wasn't the first customer who was complaining.

Great, what else can these people throw at me?! So now I have a functioning cable tv, with no easy way to avoid browsing a hundred channels to find something I want to watch. Awesome.

Be careful what you say!

I've not met many Malaysians here yet, but I've met 2 Malay speaking persons! One was a security guard at my old compound and the other is a tea boy at my office. Unbelievable...they are both Nepalese, but both had worked in Malaysia before and speak pretty good Malay, boy was I super impressed! Just tells you not to assume anything about anyone!

I hate Etisalat!

I hate Etisalat with a vengeance. Just like how I hated Astro when I was in KL, but 10 times more. Just because they're the local monopoly and can choose to charge exorbitant rates while providing extraordinarily bad service, leaving customers like me with no choice but to just swallow the treatment.

I called them up 4 weeks ago to sign up for cable tv. They tell me that I would receive a contract in my inbox within 48 hours. 3 days later there was nothing so I called them to check. They said they would send a reminder email to whomever was supposed to send me my contract to do so, and I would get it within 48 hours. 48 hours later - no contract, so I call them again...and again 48 hours later..and again 24 hours later..This is how the conversation goes:

Me : "When are you going to send me my contract, it's been 10 days!"
Call centre : "Mam, I will send them a reminder email"
Me : "They have received 5 reminder emails, but I still have no contract!"
CC : "Let me check Mam, please hold"
CC : "Mam, they have problem finding your location, technical issue"
Me : "What! But I have internet and lanline through you, what do you mean you can't find my location?"
CC : "It's different mam, they cannot find, it will take some time"
Me: "How long?"
CC : "48 hours mam, you can call back"
Me: "I am sick of calling back every 48 hours, you can either find it or you can't, if you cant find it, just tell me I cant have cable and I wont' call anymore!"
CC : "You can call back after 1 week mam, if you dont want to call in 48 hours"

Er this guy obviously DOES NOT get that I don't enjoy calling Etisalat. So i put down the phone and call back after 2 days and give the supervisor a piece of my mind. He assures me that I would receive a call in 1 day updating me of the status. But of course, NO CALL received.

So I leave it for 1 week and when I was in a relatively calm mood, decide to call them again.

CC : "Mam, you haven't confirmed which promotion you want, that's why we haven't send you the contract"
Me: "What?! I was told that they couldn't find my location"
CC : "No Mam, they found your location already, now they are holding it because you haven't confirmed your promotion"
Me: "Why didn't someone call me to ask me what promotion I wanted? What if I didn't call to check?"
CC : "Mam, you just need to confirm now and you will get your contract in 5 minutes in your email"
Me: "OK, confirm it"

Then voila, i get my contract in 5 minutes, but it is BLANK! I waited frigging 4 weeks for a BLANK form. Nevermind, I filled it up and email it back to them. But guess what, recipient inbox FULL. Mind you, Etisalat is the local telco internet provider, and their inbox is FULL.

So I finally send it through after 12 hours of attempts yesterday...and I get a call today from this installer this morning who wants to enter my apartment to set it up. I give the go-ahead and look eagerly to coming home this evening to my new cable tv. BUT guess what I find when I come home. An installed model connector thing to the wall but NO RECEIVER!

So I call them again and I am told that it is standard procedure. First someone comes in to install this white box and then someone else will come in to install the received. WTF??? When i asked them when this other person would come, the answer was "Mam, it's not triggered in the system yet, we don't know when it will come"

NICE ONE ETISALAT. What else are you going to throw at me??

Awesome diving - Mussandam

I had the privilege of diving in Mussandam, which is a small area north-east of the UAE, belonging to Oman. I drove up there with a colleague and met another bunch of colleagues to go diving. It's whale shark season but I wasn't expecting to see any. At the end of our first dive, none of the divers saw any sharks, but the snorkeller in the group came out of the water and said "I just saw a huge beast that was the size of a volkswagen with a small trail of fish following it, I freaked out and got out of the water!". All of us stared at her and couldn't believe our ears!

We quickly scanned the water and found the shark and got the boatman to drive us nearer and all of us just jumped into the water to swim with it. Above is a video I took of it, how awesome is the creature!

All of us were so excited, and were so ecstatic until 3 speedboats passed us a few hours later waving a fin and shouting "thank you very much!". I was going to cry when I saw that, and so were many of the other divers. We were so upset that they had cut off the fin of that same beautiful shark we were swimming with earlier in the day. However, when we went back to shore, we found out that it couldn't have been the whale shark as whale shark fins never sell in the markets and it's too difficult to catch.

While I was much relieved, I was still upset that a poor shark was dying and suffering in the water because it didn't have its fin. Please don't eat shark fins!

Sex and the City 2 - Set in Abu Dhabi!!

Apparently set in Abu Dhabi but filmed in Morocco because it was easier to film there?? I bet it wont show in cinemas here, pirated DVD please if you're coming my way!

Unwed couples on Target in Sharjah

Sharjah is one of the 7 Emirates, reputed to be the strictest and most Islamic of the lot..

Sharjah, April 23: Police in the conservative Sharjah emirate are hunting for unmarried couples sharing the same address.

The door-to-door search is the latest effort by Sharjah authorities to enforce Islamic codes in their enclave, which borders far more freewheeling Dubai. The campaign, detailed Thursday in local media, follows a police report that a couple was arrested for living together out of wedlock.

Violators may face jail and deportation. But Shariah, or Islamic law, remains on the books and includes possible sentences of lashings.

The UAE outlaws unmarried couples from living together, but Sharjah enforces the strictest rules. The emirate -- one of seven that comprise the UAE -- also imposes a blanket ban on alcohol.

Sharjah's Police recently arrested a man for wearing a lungi as part of a crackdown on the attire in public.

The lungi is a piece of brightly colored silk or cotton cloth that is wrapped around the waist. It is worn in India, Pakistan, Myanmar and other South Asian countries.

Sharjah Police said that indecent and revealing clothes are not allowed in public.

Kabayan?? It's getting tiring..

I'm feeling really tired of being thought of as Philipino. I have nothing against Philipinos, they are lovely people. They also really like singing for some strange reason (that's not a judgement, just an observation). They sing everywhere, on the street, in the shops, while they're wiping the sofas in the furniture store..I've seen it countless times.

But I digress. I went to church today, and of course there are tons of Philipinos in church. But there are also tons of Pakistani drivers waiting outside in buses and vans waiting to pick up the Philipinos once mass is over. So when mass is over, there is a mass of people (no pun intended) leaving the church, and another ton of people trying to get in. Then the Pakistani bus drivers try to usher all the people leaving into their buses/vans. They scream at the tops of their voices their final destination and really try to herd the people into their bus (think malaysian pink minibuses). And of course because I am so Philipino looking, they try to herd me into the bus too. And I literally have to push back to get around them and not to be herded into a bus going back to some labour camp (labour camps are accommodation for workers, I know it sounds horrible, but it's effectively like a hostel). It's extremely frustrating and stressful. Sometimes I feel like waving my car keys in front of them and tell them to p**s off.

I know people look at me strangely when I get into my car. I know it's not normal for a Philipino looking person to drive, let even own a car. I know it's weird that a single Asian girl walks into a store and buys a home theatre system or furniture, but maybe people just shouldn't judge others based on how they look!

A taste of Malaysia 2

OK how good does this look...I went back to the Malaysian construction cafeteria for lunch with a friend today and yum!! My friend took the pics below..I should start taking pics of the other fabulous ethnic food there is here - Indian and Lebanese in particular is fab! What's sad is that most expats only eat in fancy restaurants in hotels where a meal costs AUD50pp without drinks, while there is this amazing array of delicious and cheap food from all over the world that costs less than AUD10pp with drinks!

New Pad

I have been super busy getting my flat sorted..it just seems like it never ends. I think I have been shopping every weekend for the last 2 months, and I'm so sick of it. I'm nearly there, I still have a few furnishings (rugs, lamps, cushions, pictures, mirror) and 2 side tables to buy, but other than that I think I'm there. So here are a few pictures...you can see that it still looks empty, it's such a big change from my 36sqm hole in Sydney. I also have a HUGE HUGE patio, too bad it's summer and there's no way me or anyone will want to sit outside in 45degree heat! Hopefully this entices you to come - there's also a sofa bed :)

Cityscape Abu Dhabi

That my friends, is how Abu Dhabi will look like in 20 years. A 23 X 17sqm full scale model of the city of Abu Dhabi, mapping out all the development projects based on the Urban Masterplan. Obviously my picture doesn't quite capture it, but it's mind-blowingly massive.

This was part of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, an event that showcases all the major development projects going on here. Since coming here, I've always felt that what we were developing as a firm is massive, and it's so huge, but going to Cityscape puts things in perspective. What we're doing is a small part of the whole masterpiece. Its amazing.

When I saw the models, my first question was who is going to live in all these fancy apartments and villas? Call me a cynic but I don't necessarily believe in the "Build and they will come" motto that everyone in this region subscribes to. But who's to say, I bet someone said the same thing when they were building Hong Kong or Singapore.

Insyallah, I live long enough to see the city built up fully like the model!

A taste of Malaysia

Check that picture out. Does it not look like it was taken in a typical restaurant in Malaysia?

And it felt like Malaysia. Smelt of home. Tasted like mum's cooking. So perfect! Just that it was not in Malaysia but in Abu Dhabi! Yay! A friend brought me to this place last night. It's hidden on a construction site on an island whose first building will be open only in July. Trust Malaysians to ensure they have great food!

So the story is the master developers of Reem Island is Malaysian. Sadly when they came, there was no Malaysian food to be found, so they decided to open a cafeteria for all their workers that will provide a taste of home. Getting there involved driving through security, through barely tarred roads to the middle of this island, where this is a temporary office block housing this cafeteria. All the staff are chinese, speak cantonese and when I was there last night, the other customers were Malaysian Chinese construction guys. Very cool indeed, plus it was cheap! They even sell hokkien mee, ying yong, tai chow, dim sum, egg tarts, the works.

Now I just need to talk to the guys to find out where they buy their produce as the supermarkets here do not stock Chinese stuff well. I can't even buy decent tofu or chinese greens, but they served me yummy home style tofu and kai lan with ham yee yesterday! Well at least it's super close to where I live now, only a 15 min drive, so I think I'll be paying it a few visits for sure!

Easter in Abu Dhabi

I decided to head to church for Easter Sunday, and when I looked at the mass schedule for the ONLY catholic church in Abu Dhabi, this is what I saw (and note this does not include the saturday vigil). Impressive?

MASSES
07.00 a.m. English (Church)
08.30 a.m. English (Outdoor)
09.00 a.m. French (Church)
10.00 a.m. German (Assisi Hall)
10.30 a.m. Arabic (Church)
12.00 Noon Italian (Church)
12.00 Noon Polish (Assisi Hall)
04.30 p.m. English (Outdoor)
04.45 p.m. Urdu (Church)
05.30 p.m. Spanish (Assisi Hall)
05.30 p.m. Tamil (St. Joseph’s Hall)
05.45 p.m. English (Outdoor)
05.45 p.m. Konkani (Church)
06.45 p.m. Sri Lankan (St. Joseph’s Hall)
07.00 p.m. English (Outdoor)
07.00 p.m. Arabic (Church)
08.00 p.m. English (St. Joseph’s Hall)
08.15 p.m. Filipino (Outdoor)
08.30 p.m. Malayalam (Church)

So I turned up for the 5.45 Outdoor mass, and was greeted by a congregation of 2-3 THOUSAND people. It was amazing. And to think that at the same time, 4 other masses were going on in various languages around the compound. There is also a mosque next door, and as the priest was conducting one of the most sacred bits of mass, the azan call came on, so you could hear both the priest singing through the mic and the call to prayer from the mosque. Surreal, yet poignant and there could be no better reminder as to where I am living now.

There are so many catholics here, given the large Filipino population. After mass they even sell Filipino tidbits. And after mass there are private buses (illegal I'm sure) who are driven by screaming Pakistani drivers (think Malaysian pink mini buses!) who try to herd everyone into their own buses. Me included of course, as I look like I am Kabayan. I literally had to push some drivers off before I got herded into a bus. Maybe I need to start carrying some Prada or Gucci bags and start wearing much nicer clothes, or maybe start waving my car keys at them.

My Funny Cleaner

I am lucky that labour is cheap here, and I can afford a cleaner who comes in every week. He came highly recommended, and for good reason.

So he comes in for the first time, and asks to see my cleaning equipment. I show him my mop (it's one of those cool ones that have a wringing twisting thing so that you don't have to wet your hands wringing it dry - which is precisely the reason why I bought it).

He goes "No Mam, your mop no good"
Me: "Why? What's wrong with it? See it even has this wringing thing" (I was still very proud of my purchase)
Cleaner : "No Mam, that mop very small, so very slow, no good. It will take very long. Also you don't have wiper??"
Me: "Wiper? What is that?"

Cleaner makes some gestures - he means this fancy thing that can push water out of the way I think.

Me: "Err No, no wiper. (note also my very poor english - this is what I am relegated to in daily speech)
Cleaner shakes head. "No problem Mam, i will buy for you all new, no problem, I will bring next week. Also you need Clorox"
Me: "Hmm Ok fine" (feeling a little hurt, kinda reminds me of my mum when she comes to visit and says all the stuff I buy is not useful for real cleaning!)

Then he asks to see my other cleaning stuff..apparently my broom and dust pan pass the test, and so does my toilet cleaner and floor cleaner.

So he proceeds to clean while I leave the house to do more interesting things. I get back and this is what I find:






Do you see the pattern?? No wonder he comes so highly recommended, this guy is obsessed with not only cleaning but also arranging things in ascending order. I LIKE!

Beware of Road Surprises

So I am a proud owner of a new (Ok used!) car. The guys at the showroom were super nice, they even forced me to take pictures of me with the car, in it, outside, receiving my certificate!

Finally I feel like I have more freedom and I am slowly feeling like I'm living in this place. No more dealing with clueless cabbies, no more phone calls trying to direct cabbies from one nameless road to another, no more wondering how I'm going to get a trolley load of Ikea stuff back home!

Driving has been good so far. It takes me 15minutes door to door to work, and Abu Dhabi is so small that it really only takes 1/2 hour to get from one end of town to another (without the jam). I also drove down to Dubai and I know now for sure that I would not be able to do the daily drive that 1/2 my colleagues do. It's so stressful, 5 lane highways, so many cars, all driving way too fast, tail gating, flashing lights you name it, you'll find it on Dubai Road.

As I was driving I came across these 2 road signs.

Beware of Road Surprises

And then even better...

Beware of Others' Faults

Need I say more?

Desert Safari

I had the privilege of having my first visitor in Abu Dhabi over the Easter weekend. Not that I had an Easter weekend!

We drove around Abu Dhabi checking out the sites, and to be honest there really isn't that much to do in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, unless you're really into shopping malls. It is amazing however to check out how much construction is going on around here, and how different things are going to be in 3 years time, with the Louvre, Guggenheim, Zayed Museums, Saadiyat etc.

However, there are lots to do outside Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I would have loved to have time to take a weekend out to Sir Bani Yas Island which has a really good wildlife safari and falconry, Qasr al Sarab, or to drive around the other Emirates, which are said to be much more historical and rugged. There is also Oman a short 2 hours drive away.

Given my short weekend, my friend and I only had time to do a day trip to Dubai and then a desert safari. The desert safari boasted of visits to an Ostrich farm, camel farm, dune bashing, sand boarding, riding a camel and then finishing it all off with a bbq in the desert in a traditional bedouin camp underneath the stars.

So we set out for an hour's drive out towards the deserts near Al Ain, and stopped at the ostrich farm where we got to see some pretty huge ostriches. We then saw some camels at the camel farm, and then drove off in a convoy of 26 4WDs for a spot of dune bashing. To the uninitiated, that basically means driving along metre high sand dunes then tipping over them. It's pretty intense stuff, especially for the front passenger, aka MOI! It basically felt like a rollercoaster only scarier. We also got stuck once, and had to be towed by another 4WD (see pic). Would I do it again...er only if I had to.

Then we made way to the traditional Bedouin campsite and it so was not what I expected. It catered for maybe 200 people, with carpets and tables. It was nice sitting outside underneath the stars though it just was a little too touristy for my liking. I didn't bother trying sandboarding because there were so many people waiting and watching and I knew I would fall on my face. I did try the camel ride though (all 5 seconds of it!), that was pretty uncomfortable especially as the camel gets up from the ground. I of course, looked the obvious klutz and I think my friend and I made quite a sight trying to stifle our screams! They finished the night off with a belly dance which err if anyone has checked, is NOT emirati at all. She was the best belly dancer I've seen though, and I guess most tourists wouldn't know the difference between countries in the Middle East anyway.

All in all, a pretty interesting experience though I'm not sure I would want to go again..

Kabayan??

I keep getting mistaken for being Philipino everywhere I go. Most shops here are manned by Philipinos (like literally every salesperson!), and 9 out of 10 times they will ask me if I'm "Kabayan" or countrymen. I was at a mall once looking at the mall directory, and these 2 Philipino ladies came to me and said "Kabayan?". They were so embarassed when I replied No. Once I also stumbled into the office pantry and 3 Philipino ladies were having their lunch, so I said hello, and immediately, one of them asked if I was Philipino. When I replied No, they told me that they had been guessing if the new girl (me!) was Philipino or not!

People have always had a hard time telling what ethnicity I am, but I think it's unanimous that if I had to look like anyone, I would be Philipino. Even when I went to Manila 2 years back, people were talking to me in Tagalog. Maybe I should learn the language, that would really put people in a spin as now, most of them tell me that they know I'm not Philipino once I open my mouth. One Aussie lady did ask me if I was Aussie as soon as I said a sentence, I really didn't think that my Aussie accent was remotely noticeable, but who knows!

JUST...SO...TIRING...

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague last Thursday...it was the end of the week and we were all so exhausted. Not because of work, I think I have had the best work-life balance I've had for the longest time (getting in at 8.15, leaving by 5.30 or 6 is so novel!) but because achieving anything is never straightforward.

Everyday there is h some drama, some complication...with taxi drivers, with banks, with telco providers, with anyone and anything. It's come to a point where I always expect the worst when having to do something, and generally I"m fine, but it does get to a point at the end of the week where everything just heaves down and I feel completely exhausted. Last week, the trigger was my bank loan, when the bank couldn't just scan the approval letter to me though they said they would, and this resulted in my car being delayed by 2 days. All it took was 1 person scanning a simple letter over, but 20 unanswered phone calls, smses and emails later, I"m still waiting.

It does get to me, and I feel like know I understand what an expat setting up home in Malaysia would feel like. There is this big hump of stuff to get over when you first arrive, and dealing with developing country inefficiencies can really drain someone. Thankfully I think I'm nearly there, and hopefully I can lead a fairly protected life away from all these painful touchpoints soon.

Yoga at last!

I am so happy to be finally close by to a yoga studio (www.theyogajuice.com). It has been about 7 weeks since I attended a yoga class and I was really craving for a studio environment where I could practise. There are only 2 dedicated yoga studios in Abu Dhabi, and I live 5 mins walk away from one of them and 10 minute drive from the other. I went to my first yoga class last week and another a few days before and they have a good variety of ashtanga, vinyasa and hatha styles.

While I know I shouldn't compare, I do miss the amazing Stella (www.shinyoga.com) and the awesome Body Mind Life (www.bodymindlife.com) in Surry Hills.. The good thing here is that they organise workshops and yoga by the beach which I cannot wait to try out once I get my wheels!

Naughty naughty..a little scary actually!

Taken from Gulf News..

Dubai: A couple who claimed they kissed on the cheek in a restaurant while under the influence of alcohol face one month in jail and deportation.

A 24-year-old British man, who works in Dubai, and a 25-year-old woman, visiting from the UK, will appear before the Appeals Court next week, seeking acquittal or reduction of the primary judgment. The Dubai Misdemeanours Court sentenced the Britons to one month in jail followed by deportation for kissing and touching at a restaurant in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).

Presiding Judge Ebrahim Khalil Abu Shamma, who handed out the primary verdict, also fined them Dh1,000 each for consuming alcohol.

Prosecutors charged the couple with kissing and drinking alcohol, after an Emirati mother claimed her children saw the man kiss the woman on her lips around 2am in the restaurant. When the defendants appeared in court they denied kissing on the lips and said they kissed each other on the cheek. However, they pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol.

Court records said a 38-year-old Emirati woman testified that she spotted the woman walking into the restaurant along with four men. "My daughter told me that the accused were kissing on the mouth. Then I spotted them doing so myself. I also saw them touching each other, as they were seated two to three metres away from our table. A number of customers witnessed the scene as well," claimed the Emirati in her statement.

A forensic laboratory report showed that the defendants had 22mg/dl of alcohol in their blood. Sources close to the case told Gulf News that the couple appealed the primary judgment. "The couple is seeking to acquit themselves or to win a reduced punishment," said the source.

Prosecutors asked the court to implement articles 121 and 356 of the Federal Penal Law.
Article 121 stipulates that any expatriate suspect, who gets convicted for a crime related to honour or modesty [such as kissing, groping, hugging, cuddling etc…] faces compulsory deportation. According to the same article, a court can instantly deport a suspect for a misdemeanour crime instead of imposing a jail sentence.

The verdict sheet of the primary judgment said: "The court concluded that the man kissed and touched the woman's leg and shoulder in the restaurant in JBR.

"She consented to what he did. The court deemed their behaviour as public indecency and a breach of modesty and honour.
"The man had asked the court to hear the statements of the Emirati woman's children but the court disregarded his plea because her statement was enough. Besides she had also seen the crime herself."

Presiding Judge Abu Shamma handed out a lenient punishment as per articles 99 and 100 of the Federal Penal Law.

Bureaucracy at it's best

Ras Al Khaimah sex-in-car duo to serve sentence
- Taken from Gulf News..

The RAK Criminal Court sentenced the couple after a passer-by heard noises coming from the car and reported it to the police.

Ras Al Khaimah: A Bangladeshi man and an Indian woman have been sentenced to a year's jail and will be deported after they were found having sex in a covered vehicle. The RAK Criminal Court sentenced the couple after a passer-by heard noises coming from the car and reported it to the police, who caught the couple red -handed.

A senior court official said the couple initially denied having an illicit affair despite the evidence the authorities collected against them. During the court session, the suspect provided the court with a marriage contract signed by himself and his partner stating that they were already married.

The court official said that the court did not recognise the contract as it was not attested.

Sorry - you did not get the 10 signatures you needed to get this attested!

Crazy taxis

The reason why I cannot wait to get a car is because I am sick of getting cabs around. There are no street addresses here, so each call-cab affair involves me getting on the phone directing a cabbie on how to get to me. Most of them are pretty ok but occasionally you get the really dumb ones that have absolutely no clue, and refuse to listen to what you're saying.

A sample conversation was my colleague and I getting a cab to get us from the office today. Cab asks where we are, we tell him, he says 10 minutes. 15 minutes later, still no cab, so we call him. This is the conversation on my colleague's side:

"Where are you?"
"Can you speak English or Hindi? I cannot speak Arabic or Pashtun.."
"OK you are at 2454?"
"OK, which roundabout??" (there are like 5 around my office)
"No, what do you see, tell me what you see"
"Do you see the pink concrete wall that borders the airbase?" Go towards that, take a right and you will see the building on the right"
"NO NO NO, we are not at 2454. We are at xxxx "
"Listen to me, we are not at 2454, we are at xxxx, You know xxxx?" (obviously he has no clue!)
"Ok we will wait at the road"
Colleague puts down the phone and we both heave a big sigh...

10 mins later, still no cab. Colleague gets on the phone and calls cabbie..

"Where are you?"
"What??! We are not at Cafe Colombia, I know where that is. You have to come to xxxx"
"OK, who is this?" (Cabbie had passed the phone to someone else!)
"Do you see the pink wall, go straight towards it and turn left, ....."

The conversation goes on for another 5 minutes and colleague puts down the phone cursing..

We wait and see a cab passing on the opposite side, so we wave at him, and expect him to make a u-turn..but 3 mins later, no cab! We got so pissed off that I called another cab, and a total of 30 mins later we were finally in a cab.

This wasn't an isolated incident, and I've had so many conversations like that ("Yes i know you are at a roundabout but there are 5 around the office, what do you see, tell me what you see!). It's really annoying and tiring to deal with this so i cannot cannot wait for the car!

Car please come quick!

As soon as I got my driving license I decided to shop for a car. Initially I was planning to get a new Honda Accord or something similar that costs around the AED100-110k range (~RM90-100K). Then I learnt of the thriving 2nd hand market here, and that I could buy from the showrooms, and they do all the testing, servicing and even put in warranties for a minimum of 1 year. So I went to check out a few second hand dealers and suddenly owning a luxury car seemed pretty do-able! So, I placed a deposit yesterday for a BMW 320i, 2008 model, 20,000K, 3 year full service warranty that covers everything except tyres plus a couple of very cool options, for a nice sum of AED100k. That's RM90k. Unbelievable..I figured this is likely to be the only time that I would ever drive a BMW as it's so cheap, so heck :) I'm hoping to get it latest by early next week!

It's interesting going around these 2nd hand car dealers, most are not interested in even talking to me, unless it's a proper showroom with english speaking sales people. I test drove a Lexus from a 2nd hand shop, the guy sent his assistant who couldn't speak English to get in the car with me. When I came back with the car, boss wasn't even around to talk to me, I was asked to wait for 5 mins till he comes back from prayers. 15mins later, still no boss so I left.

My colleagues are buying direct from owners and they have even funnier incidences. Yesterday, he went to check out a car, and asked to take it for a drive. Owner says no, because he took 1/2 hour to get his car parked 100m from his house and if he removed the car, there is no way he could ever find parking. So he asked my colleague to come back over the weekend! Then today, my colleague calls another guy, and the guy told my colleague that he asked too many questions and he can only test drive the car if he's really going to buy! He has also been trying to get some Audi dealers to let him test drive a couple of the 2nd hand units they have but it's 5 days later and they still haven't brought in the cars! It's quite funny but really infuriating as well. I'm so glad I'm sorted with the car, while I probably paid 10-15k more because I went to a showroom but being able to just breeze through the process really is worth something..

Ironing Shop Update

So..I went back to the ironing shop today to see if my clothes were ready. Voila, 9 pieces all ready and ironed perfectly.

But, where are my 2 pieces that I sent for dry cleaning? They couldn't find it in 5 minutes and I needed to leave as the cab was waiting..So fingers crossed that I will see my clothes again!!

Ironing Shop

I haven't ironed any of my clothes since coming to Abu Dhabi. Where I lived before, there was an in-compound dry cleaner who would also do ironing, which costs AED2.50 per shirt (that's like RM2.20 or AUD$0.90! Now that I've moved, there are a number of dry cleaners around my area. The closest is an "Ironing shop", who apparently also does dry cleaning but calls it an ironing shop because calling it a dry cleaner would cost AED500 more per year in registration fees.

So I went to the closest one today with my pile of clothes. My colleague had been there before (catch - he speaks Hindi, I don't!) and said they're fine. I rock up with my bags, 1 full bag of shirts and another bag for dry cleaning. The 2 guys stare at me.

I hand them my ironing bag and say "pressing only, ok?" and the other bag and say "dry cleaning"
Young Guy : "ah ok ok no problem"
Old Guy has quizzical look on his face, YG says something in Hindi and OG nods. OG gives me a marker pen and makes an indication to write on the plastic bag. I stare at them quizzically.

YG: "Phone number, phone number, name"
Me: "Ah ok ok" and I write my phone number and name on both bags.
YG: "OK thank you, bye bye"
Me: "No no, count how many pieces", so I start taking out and counting the pieces and write the number on the bags.
YG: "Ok OK, no problem"
Me: "Give me your number"
YG: "EH??"
Me: "Your phone number, mobile? Give me paper and pen" . I make a writing gesture
YG: "Ah ok ok". He gives me a piece of paper, I write down their number and name and the number of pieces.
Me: "When ready?"
YG: "samskera" (or something that sounded like that)
Me: "Err, when? tomorrow?"
YG: "Yes Yes tomorrow?"
Me: "Tomorrow yes? Or Monday (its saturday today)"
YG: "Yes yes, Monday"
Me: "Ok, tomorrow, or monday, or when?" and i proceed to count with my fingers the days of the week

YG blabs something in hindi, and it goes on for awhile. In the end I think the ironing is ready by tomorrow and the dry cleaning by who knows when. Actually I don't know if I'll see my clothes again..."fingers crossed!"