More Ramblings

Above - Al Ain Zoo, African Savanna.
Above - A Jaguar, or is it a leopard? Big Cat either way.

Above - Grizzly Adams.

Above - Hmmmm, a Hummer. Very common in UAE.

Above - Scorpion in an palm oasis, these too are common.

Above - My new landscaper's ute, i was going to pose like a 'biker-slag' on the bonnet, but thought better of it. Besides, its not really mine!

OK avid readers, sorry it's been a while since the last post, can't imagine how you've all gotten through your lives without an update from the UAE, but here we are again. Only 17 days, 12 hours and 38 minutes until i arrive home. Who's counting though heh?? I am very settled in Al Ain now, and have quite a fondness for much of the town / city, but nothing compares to home, and at the end of the day there is still so much uncertainty on whether I'll be staying on, that this is weighing quite heavily on me and making home more and more attractive all the time. We all know the story, basically I'll be stoked to stay here for a year or so if the family are here and everything is bedded down, contract wise. Despite this stuff dragging out since last November, the long term gig seems just as far away now in terms of things being settled, so to cut out the uncertainty on the home front, I've given the deal until March to be finalised, so all parties can move forward. That means the next few weeks are pretty hectic!!

So, other than the usual work stuff, I've managed to squeeze in a couple of runs along the Wadis, been to the gym once or twice to "work through the obvious pain, making sure the 'guns' are on display at all times". Not being a gym person, this has caused some issues the following day, to the point of hardly being able to lift my arms; can you imagine playing the daily charade game in this state!!!

Went to the Al Ain Zoo last Friday. I can honestly say this this is a great zoo, with plenty of movement and active animals. The displays / cages (depending on your animal activism stance) are really good and the flat layout is much easier to walk around than Taronga for example. There are some nice parks inside the zoo and those blow up slides etc too. For an adult the cost is 10dhs ($3 Aus) and kids are only 5 dhs each. Same story though, walking around a zoo by yourself is fine to a point, but a little lonely. (bring out the violins). Some of the displays, you look down from above. The wall is only about 1 metre high, this gives you a great vantage point to see the animals moving around their enclosures, but when you consider there is absolutely no stopping access to anyone game enough, or unlucky enough to have a kid fall into the enclosure, your heart starts to miss a few beats when you see a small kid leaning over the rail, past his tippy toes to get a better look.

I was going to make some notes about the cars and driving in the UAE, but this is a blog all to itself. There is no simple way to sum up the experience of driving in the UAE, so i'll save this for another blog one day.

One of the runs i went for was with the AA Hash house harriers. The motto of this world wide runners group is that they "are drinkers with a running problem". This is the first HHH group I've been apart of, they are great people, know how to have a good time and whilst the run is a part of it, the drink and camaraderie is certainly the focus. The group is made up of mainly Aussies, Poms, Canadians and Brits. I may have already mentioned this previously, but every expat i have met in the UAE (Al Ain), is here as a university lecturer or working in the hospitals. Al Ain is also the education city of the emirates. So if your a teacher, lecturer or involved in hospitals, you'd have little trouble landing a job here, and doing very well for yourself, or at least living a different experience. Most people also seem to have been here for at least 10 or more years.

Bragging rights - Here's to B1 for smashing an unbeaten partnership of 76 runs from 6 overs at cricket last weekend. Very proud dad here mate. And to B2 for being elected into the SGC (student group council), very proud dad again. B3 for still calling out to 'daaaaad' at every plane to fly over-head(lucky we don't live near Mascot), and B4 for trying to crawl through the computer monitor to see me when talking on skype. But most of all to FS who has not 'lost it' at me yet for leaving all behind to pursue this crazy gig, and keeping it all together at home, (don't mind the broken windows, doors and 6 foot high lawns).

Will try to send another Blog within the week. Cheers to all.

One Month Update

Above - NS on one of the hundreds of themed R/A's in Al Ain. This one, surprise, is called the Zoo R/A, at the entrance to the Al Ain Zoo.
Above - In case we forgot this this is a desert, a sand dune for you. These babies are massive and really need to be seen to be put into scale. If only i had a piece of cardboard for sand-surfing.


Above - Some of my colleagues; never sure if their laughing at me or with me?? Good people all the same!

Above - Wadi (creek bed), running through a valley.

Above - Desert Flowers, due to recent rains, some areas are really beautiful.

Above - Desert Grasses, in seed and flower, very similar to the native Australian grasses. Again, the picture doesn't capture how good this looked for real.

Above - Lots of rock. This valley was huge and indicative of some of the out of the way places to see near Al Ain. the valleys are full of fossils and crystallised rocks too.

Above - That's right, suck the gut in now take the picture. NS and more rocks.

Rightyoh, just over one month into it now. Not much else to report on since the last post, other than work and work. Despite the long days, it's hard to actually get much done sometimes. I've had so many conversations where I'm sounding out words as single syllables, drawing pictures and gesturing, that I'm now looking for the international charades tournament to arrive in the UAE.

Funny thing; i was told how well i speak English by a Bangladeshi fella the other day. He was amazed how well i could speak this particular language and then asked me to say something to him Australian!! Strewth, dunno what he's flamin talkin about, found myself saying seeya soon after g'day and got out there quicker than i could down a schooey.

I was asked to play tennis by another Aussie last Thursday evening. He works for a 'rival' company, but i had called him when i heard he was in town. Good bloke. Turns out the tennis was against a couple of Kiwis, a Pom and a Scot. The Scot had never played tennis, one of the kiwis rolled his ankle entering the court, the other kiwi was in Al Ain to play rugby, but couldn't keep the ball in the fenced court and the Pom, was a pretty good player. So, it took all of 1 game for this to be all worked out, and once the first bead of sweat was raised, it was racquet's down and open the beers. These tasted great and we had some good laughs. The others had been in the UAE from 5 months to 12 years and each had some funny stories and experiences to share with me, more importantly, if it turns out we (the family and me) stay here longer, they have some good tips on dealing with the array of Ministries you need to deal with here.

Friday being the day off, i hooked up with the Emirates Natural History Group again. The hike this day was through a Wadi reserve at the rear of Jebel Hafeet. This area until only 5 years ago had been a farming area for local goat herders. Recognising the significance and scale of the area, the local ministry were in two minds. Build a golf course or fence the area for regeneration. The golfer in me immediately saw the potential to build a Tiger Woods Golf (the playstation game) styled course with elevated tees and hideously hard rough and OOB areas. But reality is, this is a really unspoilt beautiful area. given, the UAE doesn't have much of this, the right decision has been made to keep as a sanctuary with only limited foot traffic.

The recent rains over Xmas has seen an explosion of native plants taking a semi foot hold through the rocky and harsh conditions. The Wadi running through the middle of this huge valley, had several pockets of wild grasses and flowers in full bloom. There were several Ghaff trees maintaining there presence also. The Wadi is framed either side by massive jutting rock faces up to about 400metres high. It's easy to find lots of fossils and crystallised rocks through the areas also. Whilst the hike was hardly very demanding, physically speaking, it was again, good to get out and see more of areas that not many of the locals even know about. We had to 4x4 into the area, so this was kind of cool too.

I am now counting every day until i can get home to see the kids and FS. Should be home in Mid March, and i am hopeful that by then i will have some certainty as to what the long term holds, regarding a move to the UAE or not.

Sport in the UAE

Above - Soccer supporters are fanatical here. UAE fans celebrating their win of the Arabian Cup Final.

Above - Camel in back of ute on the way to Camel race. Just don't get caught down wind!

Above - Dubai to a 'tee', Magnificent golf course with expanding city in the background. note all the cranes.

Above - Tiger Woods playing his 3rd shot on the 18th, par 5 in the Dubai desert Classic. only 2 blades of grass stopped this rolling back into the water.

Above - Tiger rushing to meet Nick for some tips.

Above - Dreamer, Nick with Winner's trophy. Nice backpack, could i look any more like a tourist?

So, sports in the UAE. If you love Soccer (football), you'll be in heaven here. it appears on 2 out of every three channels and plays games from all over the world.

Last week i was driving home, the streets were packed with cars and people, everyone had their hazard lights on and the young Arabs were doing burnouts and 'bunny hops' down the main streets. They had their passengers hanging out the windows and sunroofs and the police were happily watching and cheering the events. UAE had just beaten Oman in the final of the Arabian Cup, 1-0. i australia the odd fanatical supporter may paint an old Datsun 120 with their team colours. Here, nearly everyone spraypaints the UAE coulrs and flags on their 4x4's, Hummers, Lexus, sports cars and anything else that moves.

Most streets have local kids playing soccer or cricket on the gravelly nature strips or parks and most carparks of Mosques are filled with Pakistan and Indian adults playing cricket.

I was doing a site inspection at one of the parks and came across a couple of local Pakistan kids playing cricket. they had the tennis ball taped one side and all for a bit of extra swing. they couldn't understand what i said, but got the gesture to give me a bowl. The client with me (from Lebanon found this amusing, he had no idea about cricket). I told the kids i was Brett Lee..giggles from the kids. Came in from the run up, pitched a beauty just outside off and...got smashed by and 11 year old. Second ball, told them I was Shane Warne... more giggles.. short run up, bit of wrist action, pitched outside leg, came across, (not unlike the famous Warne / Gating ball),...got smashed for 4 more runs. I gestured my arm was sore, and threatened the kids with some 'chin music' next time.

Went t Dubai yesterday for my weekend. the Dubai desert Classic was on, and this was a rare chance to go and watch the great Tiger Woods and others in action. I arrived in Dubai, was lost immediately, and after half an hour driving in circles, finally gave a taxi driver 40dhs o take me to the Emirates Golf Course. I was so lucky to arrive as Tiger Woods, Miguel Jimenez and some other guys were being announced. I followed the group for the day and saw some great golf. What an experience. Got to see Norman in his last professional event also.

Another huge sport here is camel racing. The camel is revered in the UAE, there is big money to be won on races and as an owner. I haven't been to a race meet , but plan to do this over the coming month or so.

I have been caught behind a ute / small truck a couple of times now where a camel has been transported. Warning to any new comers in the UAE - Avoid this at any cost. The smell is horrendous!! I still have remnants in my car as if the thing was sitting in my back seat.

Other sports unique to the UAE include - hunting with Falcons. This is fairly restricted to the royals and their underlings, but is a tradition still kept. 4x4 motocross is huge amongst the younger generation here too. They all have the quad bikes towing behind their Lexus, Hummer or Pajero, and take them into the sand dunes for some action. Ice hockey is popular in Al Ain too. there is 2 ice rinks, and the junior (6-8 year olds) got a write up for winning some games. Ski Dubai has been operating in the UAE for a short time and skiing and snowboarding (indoors of course) is very popular.