Rain rain go away..

I witnessed my first thunderstorm in Abu Dhabi. Obviously this doesn't happen very often. It wasn't a real thunderstorm like the ones you get in Malaysia, rather a few claps of thunder and some heavy drops for 15 minutes. However, there were warnings in the newspaper, as people here are not used to rain. The city is not used to rain, drivers don't change their driving habits in the rain, and houses get flooded as seals are not meant to cope with rain. Thankfully nothing's happened here in my apartment except that the cable tv signal has disappeared. However, I haven't forgotten my own exploding rain storm in my bathroom 3 weeks ago!

It's also funny that in Marina Mall, the 2nd largest mall in Abu Dhabi, you get a chance to see fake rain. I didn't know this, and it so happened that I was passing the spot at the exact time that the rain fell..I was just walking through, and saw a cleaner with a bucket and a security guard guarding the area. Then I saw water falling from the ceiling, and heard some thunder noises. I was pretty confused. First I thought that there was a thunderstorm and the roof was leaking, then it hit me that I was in the desert and the likelihood of a thunderstorm is pretty minimal. So I thought, hm could it be fake..and I thought "NO WAY" who would create a fake rain storm in a shopping mall? Then I remembered I was in the UAE, the land of man made islands and fake snow fields in shopping malls and I realised that it was a show. It was funny because there were other expats around looking pretty confused as well..then it stopped and the cleaners got to work mopping the floors. I'm pretty sure lots of people have slipped and fallen on those tiles before. It just seems so ludicrous having a fake 2 mins rainstorm in a shopping mall, especially for me coming from the land where we get thunderstorms every single day!

This is quite a funny read about the fake rainstorm, I hope that I never get to the stage where I miss rain and want to see a 2minute rainstorm..
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081114/REVIEW/741287308/1008

License plate for USD$4.6m anyone?

Taken from arabnews.com

The third most expensive license plate in the world was sold in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, cementing the UAE as a vanity-plate record holder. A plate bearing solely the digit ‘7’ was sold for 17 million dirhams, or $4.6 million, in a government auction on Saturday.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the most expensive plate ‘1’, was sold to Emirati businessman Said Khouri in 2008 for a staggering 52.2 million dirhams, or the equivalent of $14.2 million.

The second most expensive plate, ‘5’ was also sold in Abu Dhabi for 25.2 million dirhams, or $6.86 million, during a special number-plate auction organized by the Emirates Auction Company in 2007. In total, 72 specialized plates were sold on Saturday for a total of 50 million dirhams.

As number plates in the UAE come by default with five digits, the fewer digits on the plate, the higher the price. A number plate with four digits can cost around 5,000 dirhams, ($1,300) but prices are pushed up for numbers that are memorable, in sequence (‘4567’) or all identical (‘4444’).

Same same but different

I was having a conversation with an ex colleague about how I'm finding Abu Dhabi and I said that it's so different but yet so familiar. I thought about that abit more and realised that while it's such a different place, it has so many similarities to Malaysia that I feel like I'm not far from home.

For example, after my theory test, I had to haggle with an unlicensed cabbie to bring me back home. I said "khalifa park", he heard "Khalifabar", drove 20km and brought me to some remote area and asked me whether he should turn left or right. I was like er wrong area, and he's like 'Oh no, i heard khalifabar". I told him 4 times but he wasn't listening or maybe my english/arabic isn't very good. So he drives me back on the right track, we drive on the main road near my place that is under construction and realises that overnight, they had shut off major entrances into the area. So instead of going around, he stops at a slip road (yes, that's an exit slip road for cars coming onto the highway!), and proceeds to reverse back into the area into a roundabout. I was laughing but praying at the same time that I was not going to die. While I haven't taken cabs in KL for awhile, this whole experience didn't feel completely shocking to me for some reason..

Then another incident happened when I went to try to get a road test date at the Road Transport Dept, I turned up at 6pm and they said sorry come back tomorrow before 2pm. It says on their website that they are open from 7.30-9pm. Of course I had tried to call them to check but noone picked up. Sounds familiar? So i go again today, and I can't find the right building even after they told me that it's just there. "Just there" was a construction site with lots of Pakistani men hanging out in front of a single story building with no doors. I walked around, asked around, went to the wrong building and finally found the entrance to the right one. Anyone think of signage? Of course not, that would be too logical!

So I finally get in, they were super prompt at the "Ladies only" section which was good. They said, earliest date is 28th March. I was like, can't I get anything earlier? She said, no its system generated, BUT BUT if you pay AED50 more we bring you forward by 10 days to 18th March. Nice. Wasn't that 18th Mar slot already available when I asked for an earlier date before I paid 50??

It's all good, and I don't find it stressful..it's just funny to me now. I guess it's expectations, if you expect stupid, crazy things to happen, you don't get upset when they do!

Women in Society

It's interesting to see women's place in society here. Abu Dhabi is a very conservative country, most locals wear traditional clothes and women are always covered up. I don't feel it as much in the office as most people are foreign but when I go to public places I truly feel like I'm in a different world.

I've been looking for beauty salons here but never seem to notice any. I only found them when my friend who's been living here for 1.5 years told me that they are normally hidden away, and are usually completely covered so noone can see inside. The above picture is a hair salon hidden away in a corner of one of Abu Dhabi's biggest malls - would you ever have guessed that it was a salon? It's completely covered, in fact it looks like a shop that's yet to open! I went into the manicure shop next to it. It wasn't covered but I could not see any customers even when I went in. Only when it was my turn they took me to the back and it was the largest nail salon I had ever seen, filled with women!

Then today I went to the driving school. I hate going to that place as I'm usually the only non-local or Indian woman, so I'm usually one of the few in jeans and a top. I usually cover up with a sweater because I feel that all eyes are on me as that place is filled with men. They do however have a dedicated service counter for women which is good. I took my theory test today, so I went into the hall and sat down. There were 6 women and maybe 20 men. We all sat randomly first, then the guy asked all the women to sit at the back. Apparently women always go at the back, even in lifts, women walk out last. This is because if women sit in front or walk out first, men will stare at their backs. There is an exception though, in buses, the front seats are only for women.

Then we finished our tests (I passed yay, now to schedule the road test!), and had to wait for our certs. I went into the room, sat in the front 2 rows as there were no other women around. This other man (indian) who took the test with me came and sat 2 seats next to me and started talking. We were chatting, then this Emirati man comes in with his wife who was wearing a burka. He asked the Indian man to move to the back as his wife was going to sit on the row in front of me. At that point I thought, well obviously these men stare at women, they never get to see them as they are always shielded. In any other country, men are disciplined enough and do not stare (well they do gawk but try to do so discretely at least!) but here I think women get stared at all the time because they are always covered up!

I had a taxi driver yesterday who seemed to be super uncomfortable that there were 2 females in his cab, me and my flatmate. He couldn't wait to get rid of us! I also realised that I cannot take private driving lessons from anyone, it has to be a woman because unmarried men and women cannot be in the same car together! Good luck to me finding someone who can instruct me sigh..

Foggy days

It was so foggy here over the last week..I had an offsite to the desert as well on one of those foggy days, and that's a picture of how foggy it was at 7am in the morning near my office. As we drove deeper into the desert the fog got alot worse and we could only see maybe 10metres..and the scary thing is that people here do not change their driving habits in the fog, so they still drive at 140km/h! Last year there was a major pile up of 200 cars on the Abu Dhabi Dubai road because people did not change their driving behaviour when it was foggy. Some cars here even have fog lights, that's definitely new to me.

Abu Dhabi City

I've decided to live in Abu Dhabi, unlike the 60% of my colleagues who live in Dubai. I didn't like Dubai that much, high rise apartment living like Singapore and expensive cafe living like Sydney. Plus it's filled with Brits and Ozzies, not that I have anything against them, but I didn't leave Sydney to live with Ozzies again. I much prefer Abu Dhabi as it's alot smaller, more personal and has alot more character. It reminds me alot of Malaysia actually. The above shot was taken at dinner outside a restaurant in Abu Dhabi, kinda like mamak, but with hummous, baba ganoush and pita bread yum!

So I'm likely moving into a new apartment in 3 weeks time, closer towards the city. I like the place alot, only hesitation is that a mosque is being built just outside my window. Hopefully they're 1 year away from completion!

My photos are up as well, check it out here http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle_d/

Qasr again!

I had to go to Qasr al Sarab again a few days ago, for another workshop. It wasn't as pleasant as before, I wish I didn't have to work while I was there. The highlight was definitely this camel that we saw along the way, we actually had to stop while it crossed! It's amazing kinda like our cows in Malaysia, but this time it's camels. It is quite dangerous though as most people are driving at more than 150km/h and I heard if you hit and kill a camel, you go to jail. Urban myth? Better safe than sorry me thinks..

Driving Test

I went to the Driving Academy to sign up to take a theory test today. The whole place is filled with men, as I walked in, I really felt quite awkward as there were like 50 men hanging out outside. Thankfully there are separate queues for women and even separate test and training sessions, so it makes the whole thing alot faster.

So if you have a driving license, you have to sign up for 4X2 hour theory lessons. However, the actual number you need to attend depends on your designation on your work visa. Thankfully, mine says Director for some reason (and i'm so not at that level!), which means that I only need to attend 2 hours, and take a theory test. Then I have 1 shot at passing a road test, if I pass, I get a license, if I fail, I have to take lessons. I'm not optimistic about passing the road test, apparently 9 out of 10 fail, plus it's a left hand drive.

It's ironic though that I have to take driving lessons - I think the Westerners are the ones who need to take tests as they have no idea how to drive in a crazy country where people don't signal, swerve from the outermost lane to exit the highway and drift between lanes. Oh well..c'est la vie!

Smokers?

Saw this sign in town last week, I wonder what type of shop it is. A place for smokers to congregate? A place for smokers to quit? A place for buying smokes?

Driving License

It's crap being Malaysian sometimes. There is a list of 34 countries whose citizens can enter UAE without a visa, and Malaysia is one of them. Out of the 34, 33 countries can transfer their license to a UAE license immediately, without taking any exams. Guess which is country no. 34? Sigh..so I had to go to the Road Authority today, open a file and now I have to go to a driving school and take some lessons and tests. I just hope it can be done quickly and easily, though I know there is no such thing here.

Prayer Times

It's absolutely fascinating how life here revolves around prayer. I thought I got used to it in Malaysia but I think I've forgotten how it's like after being in Australia for 3 years. I took a bus last week at 12.45pm on Friday, and the bus driver picked me up, drove to a mosque and asked me to wait for 15 minutes while he completed his prayers. Today I went to apply for a driving license, and I had to wait 20minutes for this guy to do my eye test because he was out praying. Even my mobile phone that I got for free here, has prayer time reminders!

Saadiyat Island

I was lucky enough to visit Saadiyat Island last week as part of a site visit. The island currently houses a Gary Player golf course, and a temporary exhibition centre. Eventually, the island will house the Louvre and the Guggenheim museums, 14 5 star resorts, luxury residential villas, a wildlife reserve and who knows what else.

It's absolutely fascinating to see nothing but sand and crane and concrete pilings there now, and to know that in 3 years, this will be where everyone who visits the Middle East will want to visit. That's the other exciting thing about the job I"m doing, I meet all sorts of interesting people - an urban planner who did part of the Egypt town centre, a lady from one of the most prominent museums in the world, and my housemate is one of the designers who is helping to design some of our hotels and a dive centre. Beats all the bankers and corporate people I used to work with in Australia!

Dubai again..

I followed a couple of friends down to Dubai on Saturday. They were playing tourist guides to their friends from KL, while I wanted to check out firstly, the drive to Dubai and secondly, Jumeirah Beach Residences, which is where most people I know who work in Abu Dhabi and live in Dubai, live. The drive is long, 4 lane highway with people weaving in and out at 140-160km/h, honking, flashing etc. It's pretty stressful, and it wasn't even a workday. We also saw 4 camels grazing by the side, that was quite a sight!

I didn't personally like JBR, it was way too western for me. I felt I was back in Darling Harbour cum Singapore with all the high rises (only difference was that most apartments were empty, like a ghost town)

After checking out JBR, I became a tourist too. I went into Atlantis the hotel that houses the huge aquarium. They have a whale shark in the aquarium, how horrible is that! The poor thing kept swimming up and down. The aquarium was also super full with fish, I really think it's very bad for the sealife. By the way, those who want to head to Atlantis, be forewarned, it's 150dirham for valet parking, and really there is no other choice if you want to go in unless you're on a tour.

We then went to Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall that adjoins it. The mall is huge, I don't think I've ever been to a bigger one! The Burj Khalifa is really awe-inspiring, seems like it stretches on forever.

Dubai always reminds me of Las Vegas but with alot less character. The older part of Dubai is nice, but the rest of Dubai, I think is quite stale and very soulless. I realise after this trip that I'm definitely an Abu Dhabi girl, it reminds me alot more of home..small shops, dodgy but yummy eateries, less glitzy and just alot less man made compared to our friendly neighbour Singapore :)

Qasr al Sarab

I had an offsite workshop on Wed and Thursday last week at the awesome Qasr al Sarab resort at the Liwa desert. It's basically a resort developed in the middle of the desert, about 2 hours drive outside of Abu Dhabi, 20km from Saudi Arabia. Link here.. http://qasralsarab.anantara.com/

Getting there was an adventure itself! We got lost along the way, trying to find the road that leads there..just like Malaysia, there are no signs. We did see 1 sign, and took that turnoff, but then of course, after that there are no more signs so we ended up driving until we came to a pool of cab drivers. My colleague who speaks hindi gets out and asks for directions. There is a huge commotion, lots of shouting, waving of hands and finally the asking of some moolah! It was hilarious, I of course stayed in the car being the only female..the taxi guy did lead us to the right track finally!

On the way, we saw camels walking along the desert. It was amazing for me, just like what we would see in the pictures. There is no herder either, the head camel seems to know where to lead the herd too, and there are like 20 camels in a herd. It was surreal, I wished I could have taken a picture but we were going at 150kmh so not a good idea.

The resort itself is amazing. It stretches 1.8km from one end to the other. I stayed in a basic room. By basic I mean it included a nespresso coffee maker, lots of fruits, dates, sweeping views of the desert and a huge deep bathtub that took 25mins to fill! There are villas with private pools, and a royal pavillion which is where all the sheiks stay. The views are amazing, it changes colour throughout the day. While it's not cheap, I really think it's a once in a lifetime experience. I'm glad I got to do it for free though I was cooped up in a boardroom for the whole day.

Pictures coming on my flickr site soon..

Glimpses of Abu Dhabi City

Corniche in Abu Dhabi City


Abu Dhabi City


Let's just park in the middle of the road..


I made my way into the city last weekend, it's like KL 20 years back except there is a beautiful peaceful beach called the Corniche..lots of small shops, dilapidated apartment blocks, cheap mamak like restaurants, fabric shops, guys who can repair your shoes sitting on the sidewalk. I like it! It's kinda hectic though and I don't think I will live in the city, there is absolutely no parking available as most apartment blocks were not built with parking. Lots of people also walk around in traditional clothes (abayas and shelas for women and Kanduras or dishdash and guthras for men). Some restaurants also separate male and family rooms..so I've got to be careful when I explore. I also feel like I'm stared at all the time, there aren't many asian females walking around by themselves in the city. Most asians here are philipinos and there are tons of indians, meaning yummy cheap indian food! I am looking forward to exploring more this weekend..

Apartment Hunting

I currently live in a gated compound 2 mins drive to the office. It's a lovely unit, a huge 3 bedroom double storey house that I share with another lady. However, it's 30mins drive from town, and there are no shops except a small grocery store within walking distance. The style of architecture in Abu Dhabi is also very 'closed', just meters of solid concrete walls around compounds and houses, so it feels extremely isolated. I have the option of living here in the long term, but after 1 week here, I don't think I'll be able to hack it..so I started my apartment hunting exercise to find a more suitable place to live..

The residential market is very tight in Abu Dhabi. There are lots of very old units around, or large villas, but no mid to high range apartments for expats. That has resulted in Abu Dhabi being one of the more expensive cities in the world for rent - a decent 1 bedroom apartment in a reasonable location costs AED100-140k per year. A 2 bedroom unit with facilities in Dubai costs AED90k. So about 60% of my colleagues live in Dubai and commute for 2.5 hours each day. The drive is apparently very intense with most people weaving in and out of traffic at 140-200km/h!

I went to see some units with some agents over the last few days. It's interesting, agents will show an apartment that is not renovated, with dust and rubbish everywhere. An agent that I went with turned up at 2 apartment blocks only to discover that the units that were originally listed were all rented out already. Apparently 1 sheik will own the whole block and the agent has to liaise with his office to get their hands on any available apartment. One of my colleagues also met a real estate agent, but the agent turned up with 5 other guys. Kinda scary!

I have not seen anything nice through these agents, so I might end up with a company leased apartment somewhere closer to the city...I will head up to Dubai this weekend by hitching a ride with some friends just to check out the drive, and see if the AED50k saving is worth it!

P/s the photo above shows the state of apartments in the city - that's a rooftop, check out the wires and cables!

First Impressions

It's only been a week and I feel that my life in Australia is so far behind me. This is such a different world, and it is pretty overwhelming. Having lived in Malaysia for so long, I think I'm much better prepared than many others who have lived all their lives in the developed world. I'm used to inefficiencies, bureaucracies and just expecting that things will not work the first time around. Having said that, there are some really interesting things here that really blew me away, like..

1. How my water heater malfunctioned, which caused a pipe to explode and rain down in my bathroom. Thankfully the water stopped flowing before it flooded. It took maintenance 2 attempts before they got it sorted out and until now I'm still paranoid that something's going to blow while I'm taking my shower and I would have to run out half naked to get help. Apparently leaking roofs are very common during rainy days but explosions aren't.

2. How skype and flickr are banned. I'm not sure why flickr is, but skype is to fund Etisalat and Du. They've got to make money somehow I guess, since local calls are free

3. How there is no postal service, so all mail goes to PO Boxes in the 5 post offices in Abu Dhabi. So most of us just send it straight to the company we work in

4. How crazily people drive. I'm pretty used to mad drivers coming from Malaysia, but the difference is that people here are driving at 160km/h. It's pretty scary. Last year there was a 200+ car pile up on the highway because people were driving at 160km/h in a fog!

5. How most locals are dressed in traditional dress. It was quite an experience going to the supermarket and being overwhelmed with abayas and guthras. I like it actually, it's kinda like Malaysia with all the baju kurungs, except its alot less colourful. I wish I could take pictures but it's illegal to take pictures of women, so hmm, better not risk getting deported in my first week here

6. How much wealth there is here. GDP per capita is USD63k and average net worth for its 420,000 citizens is USD17m. People here pay millions of dirham for a licence plate!

So far it's been interesting to say the least and everyday I find out something new..I like it, it just needs a healthy dose of patience to stay sane!

A New Adventure Begins...

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It started with a random phone call in October last year asking me if I would consider a job in Abu Dhabi. I wasn't looking but heck, the job sounded pretty interesting, so I said OK to an interview. 3 hectic months later I find myself landing in sunny Abu Dhabi, the start of a completely new adventure.

Would I have imagined this at the start of last year? Definitely not..but I guess, fate has it's mysterious ways. Saying goodbye to Australia was tough and I will miss all the wonderful people that I have been so blessed to have met. I don't know if this is the best decision I could have made, but I do know it's the right one. So it's Hello Abu Dhabi, Here I Come!