In is not a new phenomenon that the names of products destined for outside the English speaking market are a source of amusement. Oh how we laugh at a group of drunken football supporters mooning at the camera in front of a sign of the German town of "Wank", the mirth generated by a photo of the "Good Fuk Noodle Restaurant" in Bangkok is almost beyond belief. Personally I think poking fun at this aspect of other cultures, many of them much older than my own is puerile, childish and utterly reprehensible. So you can imagine my disappointment when I spotted [View Full Entry]

---

---

Warner Bros. were in town as the 2nd Unit were filming some of the desert scenes to Hogwarts favourite pupils new flick "Harry Potter and the Glinstening Clacker", so naturally Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double was itching to see the sights. As you can see by the photos we hit the quad bikes and headed off to the endlessly shifting sands to pit man's resolve and ingenuity against the harshest forces of nature with the inevitable result - Man One : Nature Nil - IN YOUR FACE NATURE! Mike took the lead, pushing his Prado to the limits, and then over the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Just the other day Shez phoned me up to tell me she’d just seen a Land Cruiser roll onto it’s side in front of Abu Dhabi Mall. I know 4X4s have a slightly higher centre of gravity than an average saloon car, but the speed limit in that part of town is 30mph and there is less than 200 yards between sets of traffic lights, so you have to be doing something fairly stupid to tip one over. In the same area I have seen a Corolla on the pavement on its roof before now, again, that takes some doing. I [View Full Entry]

---

---

The roads out here in Abu Dhabi are well laid out with proper junctions. They are wide, smooth and well maintained. They are well lit. There are quite strict MOT style checks every year and the vast majority of the vehicles are new and in good condition. The Police are visible, well trained and equipped, courteous and efficient. The traffic in the city is busy, but always keeps moving, and the further out of town you get the amount of vehicles drops to virtually empty status. Despite all this not a day goes past without me witnessing, hearing or seeing the [View Full Entry]

---

---

The Romans - what have they ever done for us? Not wanting to quote the famous “Life of Brian” sketch you have to admit they were way ahead of their time. They invented so many things we take for granted today. Invading other countries and having an Empire just because you can, central heating, political corruption, Ceasar Salads (with or without extra Anchovies) Toga parties, pizza and riding scooters without a crash helmet were all Roman ideas. Where would Russell Crowe’s career be without “Gladiator”? Where would George Michael’s be without public toilets? [View Full Entry]

---

---

Business recently sent me across to Ban Chang, about 100 miles South East of Bangkok. It’s about the same distance from AUH to Bangkok as it is to London (300 miles less actually), but is a different world again. For a start they drive on the proper side of the road, so after 7 months of left hand drive I was back to flicking the wipers on every time I wanted to indicate. Not that anyone noticed, nobody else was bothering with indicators, traffic lights or the pavement/road divide, or even which side of the road to drive on, it was [View Full Entry]

---

---

I haven’t got time at the moment to go through the dozens of photos I took in Thailand last week, most of them probably breech the guidelines set by this travel blog site anyway and I don’t want to be banned again, but in the meantime here is another morsel from Abu Dhabi. They really do cater for all tastes here, you want Pizza? Curry? Lebanese? Thai? Philipino? Nepalese? Fresh Baguettes? German Sausage? Absolutely no problem, downtown AUH has got it all. Sick of all the hassle of chewing? Sugar rotting your teeth? Well then get yourself down to Madinat Zayed [View Full Entry]

---

---

As you have seen here before, the building next to us is being demolished, and people still want to park right next to the plummeting steel weight of doom that they are using to smash the old block o' flats. They have had to start issuing very stern warnings and disclaimers, some of which are even understandable. Unbelievably some random people have left messages on this blog saying that it is cruel to make fun of the bad spelling. Well if the Gideons started leaving something useful in hotel rooms like dictionaries instead of Bibles then I wouldn’t have this sort [View Full Entry]

---

---

The only thing Abu Dhabi lacked on a Friday afternoon was nine Hawk aircraft flying inches apart from each other in a stunning aerobatic display. Luckily the Red Arrows were in town and gave us a half hour of Britain’s finest showing people how to really fly over the Corniche. Anyone who has ever seen me reverse park knows that I have got precision vehicle manoeuvring skills, so I am fully qualified to assess these boys, and yes, they are quite good. Although how hard can it be? It’s only like driving, but with an “up/down” component, and you don’t even [View Full Entry]

---

---

You know, one of the things I miss about England is seeing skips where they should be, i.e. on the ground. There are only two places skips should be, blocking your driveway so that you have to park half way down the road and your neighbours can surreptitiously fill it with old mattresses and 3 year old Christmas trees in the night, or badly secured on an overloaded skip wagon going down the A13 at 80 mph with the driver arguing with his wife on his mobile phone, oblivious to the shower of bricks and rubble that is flying off the [View Full Entry]

---

---