127 car pile up in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi never ceases to amaze me. In 2008, there was a 60+ car pile up, leaving 5 people dead, and over 300 people injured.

This time, there was a 127 car pile up last weekend in foggy conditions. Amazingly only 1 person passed away and 59 people injured. I heard that people were driving at 120km/h in visibility of 5m. How stupid, reckless and selfish can one be.

Because of that, they are going to reduce the speed limit to 140km/h - now it's officially 120km/h but one can go up to 159km/h without getting a fine (and I am guilty of doing that too). I think it's good that they're reducing it, but the problem is bigger than lowering the speed limits. It's because people are so uneducated about the dangers of reckless driving. I had a conversation with a local colleague who said that wearing seatbelts are unnecessary unless there's a cop nearby. He's educated, been to university - and these are the guys who have so much money that imposing fines for going above the limits isn't going to change anything.

This country has a long way to go when it comes to road safety.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/emergencies/major-car-pile-up-in-abu-dhabi-1.786418

Do not look like tourists at airports

Since I've come here, I see gems of funny signs everywhere. With so many people from so many parts of the world, the level of spoken and written English isn't very consistent. Here are some classic signs that the Gulf News recently highlighted:

Online anomalies:

Traffic Sins -Typo on Dubai Police website, under a section stressing traffic signs as part of "Road Language"

Do not look like tourists at airports -Travel security advice on Dubai Police website

No need for stress, as all matters are beyond the control of anyone -Another travel tip on Dubai Police website

Traffic signs is the most important road signals that guids the driver to drive safly -Driving pointer on Sharjah Police website

Replace plastic bags with another friend of the environment- Suggestion for cutting down plastic pollution, on Ministry of Environment & Water website

Rolls and Regulations -Misprint on many occasions on Ministry of Labour website

Taking drugs or alcoholics
These should not brought to work, -says the Ministry of Labour website

for the full write up - see here
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/unintentionally-funny-classic-bloopers-1.774157

Horseriding is hard..

I never thought horseriding would be so difficult. Maybe I'm a slow learner and I'm not consistent in my practice but I honestly thought it looked really easy. Getting into the rhythmn is difficult though today I felt like I made some sort of breakthrough..It's still tough, with my instructor saying "Michelle, Sit softly, bum forward and down, softly softly softly!" Gosh, I wish I had a smaller butt, maybe then it would be easier..my thighs are aching, ego is bruised but I still enjoy it! Too bad I have to take another 3 week break so I'm gonna be back to basics once I go back..

Yoga yoga yoga

I am so so excited to be starting my yoga teacher training in a week's time. I've been wanting to do this for more than a year now, and finally, a chance has popped by and I'm not going to miss it.

It will be 12 hours of blissful and challenging practice for 12 straight days starting next Friday, and then another 10 days in May. It will be tough and I am investing so much of my leave in this, but I am sure it will be worth it!

Till then!

Enchanting Syria..

I took a 5 day holiday to Syria last week with my mum and a friend. I did not really know what to expect, except that everyone i met who had visited the country said that the Syrians are one of the most welcoming and hospitable people they had ever met. I heard stories of how Syrians went out of their way to help foreigners, of how foreigners would be invited over to their house, to meet their families and shown their beautiful country.

And..Syria was all of that and so much more. It is a beautiful country, filled with historical sites, a place where one gets transported back to biblical times. Damascus and Aleppo are reputed to be the oldest inhabited city in the world, dating back to 2000 BC. It has all the elements that people associate with the Middle East - the old souks, the spices, scents, the chatter, shisha, tea, paintings, buildings. It's also so peaceful...while the souks are bustling with activity, nearby there is always a deserted cobbled alleyway, or an empty courtyard that one can escape to.

We made our way around Syria - from Damascus, Syria's capital, site of the Old City filled with souks and beautifully restored courtyard houses, to Palmyra, home to ancient Roman ruins. From Palmyra we made our way to Crac des Chevaliers, one of the oldest, best preserved castles in the world, and north to Aleppo, home to the oldest medieval souk in the world. Along the way we met amazing locals, who invited us to their houses, who struck up conversations with us in bus stations, or airports, or just along the street...always telling us "Welcome to our country" or "Wish you a good stay", or who went out of their way to help us (most Syrians do not speak English so taxis were a big problem!). We met a nice Syrian English teacher at a local coffee shop, where an ancient storyteller still tells a story every night. She came by herself to have her shisha and asked if she could sit with us, and told us so much about Syria and their lives and the education system. We also met a nice local lady who walked with us for 20 minutes trying to get us to the right entrance into a famous mosque in Damascus. We were also exempted from paying entry fee into the same mosque as we were "malaysians"..We were also so fortunate to meet 3 malaysian ladies travelling on their own staying in the same hotel we were (WHAT ARE THE ODDS!), who had a friend who was local, and he offered to bring us around. So, we got to see another layer of society that was so different to the typical tourist areas.

To round it all off - the food is AMAZING. I've travelled around the region quite abit, and most of the food appears similar but Syrians have found a way to make the same food extra special and tasty. The place is filled with wonderful cocktail stores selling fresh juices for 30US cents, with shops selling mountains of baklava and yummy sweets, and small hole in the walls dishing out hot toasty bread and snacks. Definitely the best food experience I've had in the Middle East!

I wish more people would head to Syria to see how beautiful the country and the people are, instead of believing the media and government hype about how dangerous it is there. Everyone I spoke to said there would be no protests in Syria as people were happy with the government, they were contented in their jobs and they were just getting along with their lives. Definitely a place I want to visit again, especially now that I have invites from such nice locals I met along the way!

My photos are up on http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle_d/ - it tells the story much better than I can!

Trouble in Egypt..

I felt so sad watching the news on Egypt...it's such a beautiful country and lovely people. I spoke to a few Egyptians here, and they are happy that change is coming, though of course, all are worried about their family and loved ones back home. When I went to Egypt, everyone I met hated Mubarak, but I never expected something like this could happen. I guess what happened in Tunisia has ignited a belief that the masses can change things, and it's so inspiring to see it working. It's also spreading throughout the Middle East - Yemen, Jordan and apparently Syria tomorrow.

I'm booked to head to Syria on the 15th of Feb for 5 days with mum and friend in tow..let's see if that happens!

And i thought the locals here have it great..

Kuwait gives each citizen Dh13,000 and free food (that's close to USD3,500!)


KUWAIT CITY // Kuwaiti citizens will each receive a grant of 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars (Dh13,000) and free food staples for 13 months to mark three major anniversaries, a government statement said.

Roudhan al Roudhan, the minister of state for cabinet affairs, said after the cabinet's weekly meeting on Sunday that the grant reflected the desire of the emir, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed al Jaber al Sabah, to help citizens improve their living conditions, the state news agency, Kuna, reported. The minister said all citizens will be entitled to the grant.

Foreign workers, who make up about two thirds of the country's population of 3.1 million, are excluded from the largesse.

As part of the gift, Kuwait's system of food rationing, where citizens can buy staples, such as rice, oil, chicken or milk, wholesale at cut prices in co-operative societies, will offer supplies free of charge from next month to March 31, 2013.

Kuwait sits on around nine per cent of the world's oil, and food rationing is just one way in which the state distributes its prodigious wealth. Kuwait was ranked as having the eighth-highest gross domestic product per citizen while taking the cost of living into account in 2010, according to the CIA's World Factbook.

The majority of employed Kuwaiti citizens have jobs in the public sector and are entitled to benefits such as low-cost land, interest-free housing loans, and free education and health care.