I will update some more things on the blog in late November and early December to complete the record of the trip.  I had a few days in Bahrain earlier this week which was nice to tick another country off my Arabian list. 

Will I be back?  That is a question that I am yet to find an answer for.  I have spoken to a few people and things are promising but not definite. 

Whatever the future holds, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of living in a skyscraper by the beach in the desert.  More news and reflective views at a later time.

After dropping Neill off at the airport, headed down to Mirdif to catch up with Jude, a friend of Nerida.  A nice quiet hour spent at their place.  Then off to Raymi’s 50th birthday party at the Montgomery Golf Academy.  He arrived by camel which was wonderful to see.  I needed to buy a black bow tie for the occasion!  Beautiful weather now. 

Camel at the Golf Academy

Then today was up for the Bledisloe Brunch at the Westin, organised by Kiwis.  Some great stories by two fantastic sportsmen, Dick Taylor (winner of 1974 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres), and Colin Meads (one of NZ’s best ever rugby players).  Lots of really good jokes and anecdotes.  The game in Hong Kong was marred by the slipping surface but entertaining and close.  Typical result with the All Blacks lucky to win and Australian not finding a way home in the second half.  At least, I had a great time singing the national anthem before the game with Tracey and Francoise – lots of emotion there!

Bledisloe Brunch

We went up into the hills – the Hajar Mountains – that lie between Dubai and the East Coast.  There are not too many places that you can go without a 4WD that offer reasonably decent walking, views and scenery.  After about 90 minutes of driving, we arrived at Masafi Wadi, identified earlier through a birdwatcher’s website.

We started walking about 8 am.  The sun was warm and clear and not much breeze.  As we climbed up the valley, we walked either along the plains or in the wadi itself.  The wadi is the creekbed except there is no water unless it rains and then the water can scream down these creekbeds and gouge out the rocks from the floodplain.  Walking along the creekbed was lovely in the morning shielded from the sun by the high sides.  There was not much bush to speak of, a few plants in the floodplain itself and the odd shrubs in the valley.  We arrived back at the car after about 3 and a half hours and headed into Fujairah to the Hilton for lunch beside the ocean and the rolling waves.

Highights of the walk included a large gecko, someone’s farm at the top of the valley with palm trees and an irrigated garden, a few ruins of old hut foundations at the top, and a few birds, particularly lots of Long-billed Pipits on the sides of the valley.

High cliffs in Masafi Wadi

A blurry gecko

Grasses in the creek bed near the top

Foundations of an old hut at the top of the wadi

Farmed creek valley in a sheltered spot - palm trees and irrigated crops

When I was first looking to come out to Dubai and in contract discussions, I was hungry at work and while walking back from a meeting popped in to Dimmeys as they often had cheap foodstuffs.  I spied a packet of biscuits and thought, yep, that will do nicely for an afternoon snack.  Later at work, I looked on the back of the packet of Date Biscuits and discovered they were made in the United Arab Emirates.  The first time I had ever seen imported food from the UAE (there is not much made locally here either!).  I took that as an important sign that I was meant to come over to Dubai.

Other people I have spoken to over here have made similar comments.  They looked out the window and saw an Emirates Airlines sign that they had not noticed before.  Things similar to that.

And so, I laughed when I saw this article in The Age today.  What was Colonial Stadium and then Telstra Dome will now be Etihad Stadium.  Etihad is the airline for Abu Dhabi and this may be a sign pointing in that direction. They will soon be offering direct flights to Melbourne – a bit late for me.  Or it may be a sign that I needed to tell someone else about (you know who it is!).

With the clearer skies of late and less humidity, I thought that maybe the sun might actually get to touch the water as it sets over the Gulf of Arabia.  But alas, it still fades from view rather than dissolve into the water like back in Australia.  Here as the sun gets close to the horizon, it slowly loses shine and then fades completely into the dust layer.  What you are left with is this glow above the horizon where the sun used to be as the daytime ends.

And you can see how busy this open beach (not owned by a hotel) becomes on the weekend with so may people enjoying the balmy weather.

I was a fan of Cold Chisel in the early 80’s, particularly following the release of their East album. But I had never seen them live and of course, due to their self-imposed boycott, did not get to see them on Countdown either while growing up.

The audience was typically Australian – raucous, loud (especially in singing the old Cold Chisel ballads like Khe Sanh, Choir Girl, Whent the War is Over or screaming along with the rock songs like Star Hotel and You Got Nothing I Want), beer-swilling, and fun-loving. Highlights included the guys with the mullet wigs and the blow up kangaroos (one of which ended up on stage with a stage pass around its neck), the 75 year old bald guy dancing away (or was he staggering), the Aussie humour of embellished stories (no, the bass player is not the guy who sang Spaghetti Bolognese to kids in the 1980s – Peter Combe), irreverent and fun-loving.

I am amazed that my eardrums felt OK when I left the building with no ringing – perhaps that is a sign of increased deafness and reduced sensitivity as I age! And also I am pleasantly surprised that my voice is not too husky after a bit of yelling and singing (or was that screaming like Barnesy) last night.   A wonderful night for the princely sum of only 150 Dh a ticket (about A$50).

Barnesy is in the middle with the black shirt with the guitar - bit hard with all that backlighting

Of course, some Aussies brought the ubiquitous blow up kangaroo!

The food was superb, the champagne was well-chilled and there were even a few cocktails for after dinner.  Oysters, prawns and lobster were taken, with a little roast pork and very delicious vegetables. 

The outlook from the hotel is fantastic – looking out to the Burj Al Arab.  It’s an expensive lunch (450 dirhams) but well worth it.  The collapse in the financial markets the day before had not affected the turn-out at all.  It was booked out.  Perhaps this is a bit like partying while Rome burns, or sipping cognac as the Titanic sinks?

Looking north to the Burj Al Arab from Al Qasr

Inside set up for Friday Brunch at Al Qasr

No - that is not my hat!!

I do not know what the pirate means either

I stayed at the Gallery Hotel on the river which provided free broadband in the hotel room and an interesting display of large photos of unclad men and women in various poses around the hotel surrounds.  Definitely a place to go back to and well recommended.

I had dinner with a KM colleague along the river on Friday night and caught up with a couple of people the next day opposite the place I stayed last time near Orchard Road.  It was so good to see the city and shops but still with the boulevard of trees along the side of the roads, smell the scent of the tropics, taste local seafood and hear the cacophany of sounds that make Singapore such a vibrant and bustling hub.

The Giant Wheel modelled on the London Eye

Artistic bridge over the Singapore river

Orchard Road with its wonderful trees

I went up to Sydney to attend a Web 2.0 bootcamp which was really interesting. Took the time to then fly the family up and have four wonderful days in Sydney.  We climbed the bridge, took the ferry across to Manly, walked up the steps of the Opera House, and walked around the QVB.  I also managed to catch up with a couple of friends as well.  Later, we walked the re-opened National Pass track at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains – absolutely majestic walking along the escarpment and one of the best day walks I have ever done.

Fam in front of the Opera House

Tim the day before we climbed that Bridge!

The rest of the time in Melbourne was spent catching up with family and friends and doing the Dad stuff.  When I first got back, I made some comments like “Well back home in Dubai ….”.  So at the moment, I feel like I have two homes – one here and one where the heart lies!