Mah Salama UAE

Above - Lorraine, Karla, and FS.....so many of these nights over the years, it will be hard to imagine having a Thursday arvo drink without these 3 together.

Above - Some of the Al Ain chick gang. Karla, Joni, FS, Amanda & Keirstan.

Above - Lets dress up as some sort of excuse to have a girl's night out. Amanda, Claire, Kerry, Lozza, FS, Karla & Keirstan.

Above - Men folk doing what men folk do....standing in front of cameras and smiling....Wade, Jody, NS, Justin & Mick.

Above - Another dress up for these naughty school girls. FS and Lozza.

Above - Portrait shot of the words best neighbours. Craig and Marcia.

Above - Another international party, this one at the Saunders Aussie Out-back BBQ party. FS, Mick, Wayne, Karla, Liam, NS, Guy, Lexi, Bob, Lozza, Claire, Craig (going the grope on his missus), Marcia, Phil and Seb.

Above - Pre-going out drinks at the home made Aussie bar. Mick, Karla, FS, Hala, NS, Mitch, Lozza and Guy.

Above - Chicks at a NYE party. Hala, Bonnie, Karla, FS, Kerry, Lozza, Amanda, Rachael and Emma.

Above - Go West looking loose at the Roman party, thank god that book in front is covering him!

Above - 80's party, Bob (aka Queen) goes the reverse vaccuum suck on Lozza.

Above - No, he's not standing in a hole. Mick, ripping off my fashion again.

Above - Pimp Mick with Foxy lady Karla and Liam Bjorn Weeks.

Above - Indo Besties, Mary and Dewi at the front of our villa.

Above - Surrogate family at Xmas, the Saunders, West, McDermott and Haddow families.

Above - Santa got a little more extreme each year with his entrance. Dec 2011 saw him abseil down from the roof of the villa much to the delight of the kids and panic of FS.

Above - Our family for the last 5 years in the UAE, NS, FS and the boys with Mary at the Dubai Mall aquarium.

Above - When in the desert, its time to go do some sand bashing on the quad-bikes.

Above - Can't believe they just opened up the wave pool a month before we are leaving the UAE. None-the-less, we made good use of it. B1 and B2 after another session.

Above - Between the 5 of us, we represented the AAARFC from every age group except for U18. Thats U6 to U17 and also in Seniors Premiership and Vets. The 4 boys were their respective team captains for each year which was a great attribute to them.

What started out as a 3 month project for work, quickly transpired into a 5 year long, life changing experinace for the entire family. You could have asked me any time, and i would have told you we would only have lasted 6 months or maybe a year if we were lucky. There is always the constant anxienty of working in the UAE that your job is not safe and at the whim of a 'local' you could be gone. I guess it is a bit of a coping mechanism that alot of expats here have also, to not put too much pressure on a long term arragement, and save yourself disspointment later down the track. I remember i hated my first 3 months here without the family and the pressures of starting a new business in a foreign land where i didn't even speak the language. But in a strange way, whilst those first few months seem like a different life away, we have since become so happy, settled and comfortable here, that 5 years just seems to have flown by. So, how the bloody hell did we get here anyway?

Making the move to the UAE from an idealic life on the northern beaches of Sydney with a young family of four boys, leaving a good job , great friends and family may have seemed a little crazy to others. Even to this day, FS and i often reflect back to that fateful day sitting on the beach at Collaroy Basin whilst the boys swam in the surf and built sand castles on the shoreline. It was a complete no brainer for us, we actually couldn't think of a single reason why we shouldn't make the leap (admittedly, we weren't trying to think of reasons why we shouldnt go). It was just the perfect oppurtunity at the perfect time (any time is good for such a move though in-case you're considering it), and our decision had nothing to do with tax free dollars or any such superficial desires, but was based purely around the excitment of being able to travel a little bit with the kids, live and experiance life through the eyes of a different culture and ultimately to create our own little family adventure.

Hands-down it was the best decision we have ever made. And whilst there have been ups and downs associated with living so far away from 'home' and the endless list of frustrations that come with livng and working in the Middle East; its an experiance we can all hold on to forever and recount with each other around the family dinner table for the decades to come. I can already see us sitting back, possibly without the boys fighting, yelling or abusing one another (that in itself would be a great family dining experinance), and perhaps during that window of peace we'll all be laughing or crying at the retelling of any number of our awesome adventures which included travelling all over the world to dozens of countries (inlcuding Thailand, Kenya, Jordan, Uganda, Oman, Vietnam, Kuwait, Bahrain, Maldives, Sth Africa, USA, Eygpt, the UK, and Malaysia) living and surviving oppressive heat upwards of 49degrees celsius, somehow negotiating the roads without serious injury or death, managing the ridiculous procedures and red-tape associated with any process here, thinking about the amazing people and friends that we made from all over the world and the big parties, wild times and antics that we shared with all of them, or perhaps how the boys all played some form of international rugby, touring around the Middle East and Asia, being able to learn and use a new languauge (just enough to get me into trouble in my case), maybe it will be the incredile community we were so lucky to have been a part of in Al Ain, the Oasis City where until you have really lived there and emersed yourself into the spirit and sense of the place, you would not know what i mean (I am not able to give justice to it here in words). Either way, we have a life time of stories already, but cant wait now to add to these with the next part of our journey which takes us to the USA to start a new job, new house, new schools, more new friends and certainly we're anticipated a totally different way of living and culture.

Our 4 boys have each grown up from babies to boys and from boys to strapping young men respectively, so whilst the time has flown by, it has also left a lasting impression on our development as a family. I was always concerned about the boys growing up for too much of their youth here in the UAE, where admittedly life can be pretty good as a parent without the fear of your kids being exposed to drugs, violence etc, and where house maids are common and a lot of general chores can be handled by hired help. I was a little niave perhaps, but was concerned that the boys may miss out on an Aussie upbringing if we were here too long. This has been less of a concern the last few years as i reckon we're pretty 'aussie' in our attitude wherever we are and certainly having the boys exposed to so many cultures and differnces (all of their mates from here are from across the world) has hopefully broaden their outlook on things, (I can't really tell though as the older ones mostly grunt in monosyllabic broken voice tones and the little guys still ask questions like, "are we muslim arabs now?") so i guess only time will tell, which is pretty much what happens anywhere right?.

Whilst i neither have the time nor memory ability to recount all of the wonderful people and experinces, i know for sure that we will all miss the UAE, especially Al Ain where we met so many of our best friends. My own recount of just a few of the dozens of fondly remembered friends inlcude: when i first arrived during those first terrible lonely months, being taken in a little by wonderful people such as Suzzane and Bushy Bluff, hanging out with the NZers like Russ and Mary, the Noosa boy Jeff and Alison, creating long lasting friendships with my Palestinian mate Ahmed Osman, smoking shisha every week with my Syrian mate, Ghassan Al Eid, working closely with Ayad and Mounjid for years on massive projects, FS's close friendship with Rachel 'are you a runner too' Rice, All the boys from rugby of course, Anne and Ghazi, Cosimo and Zeno brothers and best mates to B1 and B2, all the crew from Onion Village including Bob and Lexi, Phil and Claire, Clive and Noriko, Omar and Nasheen, Alec, Ian and Chulli, Simon and Jenny, Liam, the crew outside the village including Jody and Amanda, Wade and Jonni and Paul and Emma and Justin and Keirstan, my best golfing and more often than not drinking buddy Dave 'Mitch' Mitchell, the very best neighbours anyone could ever hope for "The Shamers" Craig and Marcia and last but most definitely not least, our partners in crime for just about everything being: Go West, The Scottish Lass Lorraine, Mick "did i tell you the story about when i was back in Ireland and I..." and Karla "no i'm not his African housemaid" McDermott. We expect everyone of you and of course everyone else as well to come and visit us in the States or at least 'Down Under' in Oz!  Mah Salama UAE, we truly thank you for having us.

The Spring Roll Challenge through Vietnam

Above - NS surprising the family at Suvarnabhumi airport Bangkok, Thailand. FS shriek of surprise almost brought the security guards with their taser guns.

Above - Hanoi City, trying to cross the road against this traffic was like a suicide mission!

Above - Hanoi's Old Quarter, magic place with crazy traffic, ramshckle buoldings and an overflow of culture and amazement.

Above - Have hammock, will sleep anywhere. Hanoi City.

Above - Outdoor market restuarant in Sapa hills . Check out the kindergarten chairs and tables where we sat for dinner....fine dining Sapa style.

Above - Heartbreaking...child beggers sent out to the streets at night to beg for money. These brother and sister took turns in carting their baby sibling all through the city markets backstreets for the entire evening and probably do it every night.

Above - FS arriving at the Bac Ha markets located high in the NW mountains of Vietnam, just near the border with China.

Above - The differing colours of each tribe (depending on the location) was really interesting and beautiful. The markets at Bac Ha are probably the best in the country and are real working markets displaying the best of the Vietnamese rural lifestyle and culture.

Above - Bac Ha market seller. Bloody hard life, but these ladies make the back breaking work every day.

Above - Pho Bo and springrolls were a daily treat for us whilst travelling through Vietnam. Every town, city and province has a different style or variety of springroll, making for an enjoyable and delictable surprise every day.  Its a bit of a cliche' but we decided to call our trip the spring roll challenge as a result.

Above - The boys loved exploring the old caves on Cat Ba where the VC had constructed entire bases, hospitals and headquarters to manage their operations during the 'American War'.

Above - Exploring the Cat Ba island on bike. B4 holding on for dear life to the back of my bike.

Above - Floating cities in and around the Bac Ha and Halong bay waters. Evereything here (homes, shops, markets, petrol stations etc) are floated using plastic drums and timber and then tied together.

Above - Our mini bus driver was a maniac leading B3 and myself to don the crazy helmets and tinted yellow glass.

Above - Admittedly, we were excited by all the new foods but came across a few exceptions where we really had no idea what we were eating. B4 always steered toward the safety of a Pho Bo and somehow managed to eat it all with chopsticks in both hands.

Above - The long winding roads littered with landslides and other perils were well worth the travelling to reach the mountain tops of Sa Pa. Absolutely breath-taking! This place actually has 4 proper seasons including snow covered peaks during the winter.

Above - We loved hiking through some of the mountain trails of Sa Pa.

Above - Farmers House in Sa Pa mountains area. An entire family including their livestock (namely pigs, chickens and small cattle) would be crowded into the house each night. No shortage of rice obviously.

Above - Every bridge creaked and cracked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, we managed to stall long enough for a photo here though.

Above - FS and Nanny hitch a ride up from the bottom of a trail back to Sa Pa main town.

Above - Capt George took over the wheel whilst the real Capt had a ciggy out on deck. Steering us through the magnificent sea mountains in Halong Bay.

Above - Capt Archie took over when the strong tides kicked in; check out the real capt on the rail taking a break. Great people the Vietnamese.

Above - FS ready for the next adventure in Vietnam.

Above - Sunset at Halong Bay.

Above - More caves and mountain tunnels here at Halong Bay.

Above - Looking down to part of Halong Bay from Sung Sot Cave (Cave of Surprises).

Above - Sea Kyaking with FS and B4.

Above - It was hard to get the mic when both John and NS were vying for the stage during karoke aboard our ketch.

Above - Tam Coc caves and waterways near Ninh Binh.

Above - With so much of the economy dependant on agriculture, it would seem that nearly everyone in Vietnam are agricultural workers. Farmer and ox plough the feilds.

Above -  Vinh, along the coast well south of Hanoi.  Can you imagine the face of the restaurant owner when this mob turned up on their bike trying to ask for a menu list.  Of course no-one spoke a lick of english and our vietnamese was even worse, so between the family and the restaurant owner and other patrons the whole place was going through charades trying to identify what was listed....Pig, Cow, and even Dog.

Above -  Another boat trip, this time heading towards the Phong Nah caves.

Above - Poppy John and the boys at the Hue.

Above - B3 takes a theatrical approach with a traditional fan.

Above - Poppy, B2 and B3 practise their Kung Fu out the front of the Kung Fu Master of Hue.

Above - Cyclo transportation around the old city of Hue.

Above - Forget the 'Guns of Navrone'; Its the Guns of Oz here with B2 at the Imperial City just outside the Forbidden City, Hue.

Above -  Looking down toward the DMZ and China Beach.

Above -  B2 checking out the sites.

"Are you crazy, Goddamit?  Don't you think its a little risky for some R&R?.......Kilgore,"If i say its safe to surf this beach, Captain, then its safe to surf this beach!  I mean, I'm not afraid to surf this place, I'll surf this whole f@#$ing place!"...."Charlie don't surf!" scene from Apocolypt Now movie. Here though, B3 gives the waves a go at China Beach.

Above - B3 and Poppy.

Above - The boys and PJ in Da Lat
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Above - Cu Chi tunnels outside of Ho Chi Minh City - VC Booby trap, spinning floor with long steel spikes at bottom.

Above - Restored tank at Cu Chi tunnels.

Above - Hilarious!!!!!! Nanny gets stuck trying to get out of an underground tunnel. Got to love how the local boys is rushing to assist her out, must be thinking, "Ahhh, another tourist playing armies, easy to get in lady, not so easy to get out. Keep trying, we'll get the vaso soon enough".

Above - B3 loved exploring the underground tunnels network at Cu Chi, he and Nanny were the only one brave enough to go right through.

Above - More Cyclo fun through HCMC, formerly known as Saigon.

Above - Museum of the 'American War'.  Definitely worth the trip.

Above - B3 wanted to wear the silk pjs on the plane ride home to UAE. A discerning traveller more worried about comfort than what he looks like i guess.

Following on from the last post, we left NS at home smoking too much shisha, meanwhile FS and the boys had just completed a month of surfing and sunning in Thailand and were now plane bound to Vietnam.......NS was not going to miss all the fun though and a last minute decision to ditch work for a week or so, was now in action.  Arriving in Bangkok with only a few hours to spare before the connecting flight to Hanoi, but more importantly, i had to try to find Fs and the boys in the Bangkok terminal firstly.

Hands down there was one guaranteed place where a mum could sanely take her 4 energetic boys in an airport terminal....the food court!  I made my way through the terminal, not really sure how i would surprise them, but i bought a newspaper and walked careful peeping over the top every now and then looking for the gang.  Sure enough, out the front of a Starbucks there they were, all tanned and glowing, the boys wearing typical singlets from the Thai markets.  As i approached, i asked in a deep authoritative type voice to see their passports......AAAAHHHHHHH, the loudest scream ever that almost brought the real airport security running our way.  It was great to be re-united again, but the catchup stories would have to wait, we had a plane to catch for Hanoi, Vietnam.
Arriving in Hanoi, we quickly met up with Nanny and PJ who had come in on the following plane from Oz.  We had pre-arranged a driver to get us from A to B, so Khan met us and we travelled through to the Old City of Hanoi where we based ourselves for a few days.  The constant honking of horns and maniac driving was a spectacle to behold.  We must have avoided at least 25 near death experiences just in the first couple of hours and we were at least inside a crappy old van;  most of the commuters were traveling on their moped bikes, not 1 not 2 not even 3 at time, but more in tune with a family at a time; and half the livestock they owned also strapped to the back of the bike. Crazy but your senses burst alive with all the ensuing chaos and madness, there is never any shortages of sights to behold.
Whilst in Hanoi we travelled to many of the Old City market places, taking in the sights and of course the smells.  Everything is cramped hustle and bustle style.  We loved the oil paintings and restaurants, museums and citadels  that really gave a deep insight into the Vietnamese history, culture and heritage.  By comparison to Thailand, the Vietnamese people were much more serious, perhaps reserved in nature but we would learn as we travelled through the country that the often harsh way of life and undeniable influence of invasions and civil unrest has had much to do with the shaping of the people and their general outlook on life. PJ and i really enjoyed sampling all of the local beers, Nanny loved the shopping and the boys enjoyed getting around on the cyclos.
Following Hanoi we travelled by bus towards the NW border with China and made the trek up to the Sa Pa mountains. Sa Pa was genuinely beautiful, the mountain people distinctly different from their city cousins, including the way they dressed, in brightly adorned colors and caps.  The rice fields that clung to the mountain faces have been carved out by hand by generations of farmers and huge Ox wander the streets with more often than not a child as their sherpa.
We loved the hiking through natural forested areas with huge waterfalls and wobbly bridges that crossed them.  Having the opportunity to get so close to the rural farmers of these areas was a privilege,  glimpsing their so-called primitive way of life.  Water powered rice hull crushes and life stock living in the quarters with the families.  It never ceased to amaze us at how they all kept their traditional dresses so clean and bright....answered a little later as we hiked through farm lands to see ladies bashing the clothes clean on the nearby river rocks.  There is a strange part of me that is really attached to the idea of the subsistence way of life and i couldn't help but feel almost envious of this way of life.  Of course, i also enjoyed the soft bed and cold beer back at our hotel later that night as we recalled each day's amazing adventures.  We had some pretty interesting and at times funky foods.  I felt like a giant walking alongside some of the hunched over old ladies and gentlemen as we walked the street markets.  The wrinkles on the faces of these older folk told a million stories, i would love to have been able to hear just some of these.  Most people do not speak english but given the chance to earn a few tourist dollars, it is amazing what some hand gestures can achieve.
From Sa Pa, we travelled to Bac Ha and then back down the mountain to Lao Cai where we boarded the overnight train for Hanoi.  It was hands down the worst train ride ever, small cramped and basically screaming loud and rocking you out of the tiny crib.  The length of the crib was so small, that even B3 was having to bend his knees in order to fit.  I felt like a contortionist, but as always it is great to look back at these funny experiences as part of the fun of traveling.
From Hanoi, we bussed it down to Halong Bay; the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down almost threatening to cancel our planned boat trip out to the 'other-world' like islands.  Our ketch was an over-sized looking timber tug boat but with great rooms and and awesome bar area to grab a cold beer before sitting out on the deck to take in the incredible sights.  Enormous green mountains rear up from the ocean to create a maze of canals and channels.  It was kind of like a scene from the movie Avatar.  Floating villages adorned some of the smaller bays through-out Halong Bay where entire communities lived as open ocean farmers with schools and housing all tied together with ropes and floated using large barrels and bouys. During the day we went caving through the Sung Sot caves and tunnels and kayaking from island to island.  At Dust we would dive off the top of the boat, grabbing the cargo net at the back of the boat before the currents swept us away.
Following Halong Bay we traveled over to the Cat Ba Island where we stayed a few days, biking across the island to view the former sites of the VC caves and mountain escapes that were used during the Vietnam War...or as they call it in Vietnam, the American War.  Funny moment was when we were cycling back from a day's outing and Nanny who is not the most competent at any physical activities was taking advice from Fran.  Within 2 minutes, Fran was making a circle back on the road and mis calculated the turning ability of these 1970 bikes, suddenly dropping off the road edge about 3 metres down a slope and into a creek.
Unfortunately it was time for me to depart the trip and fly back to Abu Dhabi, leaving the rest of the family to continue their travels south through Vietnam.  I had no accommodation booked and again english was a barrier.  I manage to play another game of charades with a gent who picked me up from the bus station and take me the 100miles back in the general direction of the Hanoi International Airport.  Its a long story as to what happened next, but i ended up spending the night in a random village shack.  As each of the family members came back from the day's work in the field i was there to greet them.  I received a strange look, a slight nod of the head and then basically sat down at dinner time to share their rice and a form (that is me being polite) of Pho Boh soup.
The rest of the family headed south towards Ho Chi Min City.  One of the stops was Tam Coc, where they did more caving through inland streams and mountain ranges, taking a small boat right through the middle of a mountain cave.  Accommodation was 2 star (at best) and that was by Vietnamese 3rd world standards.  It didn't matter, as most places were literally a bed at night as they travelled south.  The DMZ is generally a part of the country with not a lot to see or do, a no-mans-land if you like.  Most people generally fly or train through this vast area of land.  China Beach was one of the stops through here and the boys can all say that they have at least surfed through Vietnam after finding a little wave to catch a few.  When they returned to the UAE and showed me the photos i immediately thought of the scene from the movie Apocolypt Now, where the rogue General orders his men to go surfing whist in the middle of a battle, classic movie and classic memory for the boys to have surfed in Vietnam.  The rest of the trip through the DMZ was basically hard, long days of driving.
Eventually they arrived at Hue and savored the foods or basically anything that was not Pho Boh.  Lots of site seeing availability here, with the Perfume River, citadels, the Forbidden City and the living quarters of the former Emperor and his many wives.  in contrast from the previous few days through the DMZ, Hue was a very touristy city.
From Hue, they travelled down to Da Nang hoping for some surf but were given the universal surf line of, "you shoulda been here yesterday". Next was Hoi An were FS and Nanny had lots of shoes, bags and clothes custom made.
Nha Trang was the next destination of significance and was the base for a mountain trip to Da Lat.  The heavy weather the previous few weeks had decimated most of the already treacherous roads and with a van driver who thought he was qualifying for the next F1 grand-prix, the trip was nothing short of mortifying for everyone.  A flat tire slowed the trip a bit and the washed away roads down shear cliff faces had everyone thinking that this could possibly be the end of the world.  Arriving in Da Lat, it was unfortunate that the renowned flowers were not in full bloom, however the spring roll challenge now had a new front runner with everyone looking for more helpings.
After a couple weeks of the 2 star budget accommodations, it was time for the family to upgrade, so a 3 star joint at Mui Ne did wonders as everyone relaxed on the beach for a few days.
Next stop was HCMC!  The absolute highlight for the boys was the Cu Chi tunnels with an assortment of real life booby traps including spinning ground traps with sharpened spikes in the bottom of a pit, door traps that when opened sent flying spears into you, and foot traps with sharpened steal sticks to dismember you.  Craters from bomb explosions still existed and of course the hidden tunnels were a treat.  B3 was the bravest of the boys and honestly, the only one small enough to fit, but he went exploring through all of the tunnels and trap doors.  Nanny tried and got stuck, having to be pulled out by a few of the local men, much to their humor as well as everyone else there to witness it.
The American War Museum, a hugely popular and sombre place that depicts real life photographs and images of the tragedies of the war brought FS to tears and the boys were left gulping at some of what they saw and the reality of war.
Eight weeks had passed now and although everyone had had an amazing time, all were ready to head home to some 'normalcy'.  Thoroughly exhausted but with another life's-time worth of memories and experiences, the weary tribe boarded the plane heading for home in Al Ain.
As for what our future holds at this point, we don't really know.  My work is coming to a close over the next few months in the UAE and whilst there are a few opportunities to pursue other ventures there, we have decided that perhaps Australia is calling us, or maybe there is another part of the world to go and explore as expats?  Either way, this gardener and his little tribe have some big things happening in our lives over the coming 6-12 months.