Blogs from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 89

WEDNESDAY 25th June. We are now back to Civilisation where the computers work; there are no frequent power cuts; the air conditioning works; the hot water is actually hot - and the plug in the bath keeps the water in!; the booze is free - well for 2 hours of the day, so it's a matter of drinking very quickly!; and the pool is great. Mind you it's only 45+C out there but I brought a vest with me! Now I have good Internet access, and I'm chilling out after being up at 12,000' for 6 days , I can depress all you guys I thought that I would put on all my photos with attendant suitable coarse captions, and then over the next 2 days complete my notes on the last 8-9 days in Northern ... read more

Dave finally pulled his finger out, got rid of the fat 4WD car, and bought himself a very flash Saab convertible. Dave had got a taste for open-top driving when he used the Peugeot for a short while but wanted a car that a man should drive, not a girl’s car. His appetite was further whetted with the abortive attempt to buy Beach Boy’s Saab (see previous blog when we had a wonderful free week-end at the Danat Resort, Jabal Dana). He’d been um-ing and ah-ing about a Porsche Carrera but couldn’t find the “right one” (you know what’s boys are like) so he finally bit the bullet and went for a blemish-free little Scandinavian number - the only one he’s likely to get as well !!! Paperwork was gob-smackingly easy with 4x4 Motors doing all ... read more

I got to sleep-in a bit but I noticed that I did not drink enough water, I was really tired and sluggish - a 5 hour flight I should have had about 5 litres of water but instead I had 0.5 liters. This means it will take me a few days to adjust. I joined Imi and headed to his office for the day. I know that I would have internet access and could see a bit of Dubai again. It had been approximatley 7 years since I last came to Dubai, I did not recognize the place. At Imi's office the first thing we did was order Tea and then order lunch - guess what? Shwarmas. I spent the good part of the day cleaning up emails, updating the blog and assisting Imi with building ... read more

Dubai, we’ve decided, is a must see destination. The amount of construction going on here is beyond description. By the time they finish what they have set out to do here, in about 10 years, it would be safe to say they will have built more buildings and infrastructure in 20 years than Melbourne (Greater Melbourne) has built in 150+ years. In 1983 they had 20000 tourists pass through, last year they topped 6 MILLION. By 2010 they anticipate 16 MILLION! There are hundreds of hotels, hundreds of 50 storey + office buildings and dozens of ‘world’s biggest’ everything. They have - the world’s tallest building (and it’s not finished yet) - the worlds largest mall will be finished this year - they are building the worlds longest canal - they are building the largest man ... read more

Hi everyone, finally I get around to starting my blog (hoping beyond hope the computer doesnt crash!) Well my trip started with a fantastic flight to Dubai having all four seats in the middle to myself. Dubai was a lovely 35 degrees on arrival (18:30). My first impression was of disorganisation at the airport unable to locate my pick-up in the throng of people. Eventually sorted it was a short drive to the fabulous hotel. My room being enormous having a great view of the north part of the city and a bed as wide as it was long. As soon as I arrived I went for a walk to find some food, I was disappointed to only locate fast food places and had to resort to McDonalds for dinner. I was however happy to locate ... read more