Al Ain, is the oasis town in the centre of the United Arab Emirates, where for many years, tribes & locals from Abu Dhabi & surrounds, who worked on the coast for their fishing/pearl diving & trade, travelled inland to this oasis in the summer months for some cooler relief. What was once a long arduous camel ride is now a 1 & 1/2hr freeway drive from Abu Dhabi island. It nears the border of Oman, surrounded by the Hajir mountains which divides Oman & UAE....so that's a bit of background! We headed off, zooming down the freeway, passing turban clad [View Full Entry]

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Yeah, been a real bad year for traveling. I am sure everyone would agree with me what with the depression going on! Then again the itch doesn't stop so gotta hop on a car and head where the road takes you. The long summer is finally over and we decided to head back into the desert in our rented FJ Cruiser. Great car with lots of goodies and no good on sand! Traction control is useless so was the differential lock. Anyways did a great trip all the way to Saudi border on Arada highway. I saw the thickest fog ever [View Full Entry]

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The weather!.... At the start of September, AD was still unbareably hot.....like 45 degrees every day!..with high humidity.....so it was an effort or stupidity to go outside much during the day. The dash to your car or waiting for a taxi was a debateable scenario...do you bother or not? I am pleased to report that by the months end, the weather has pleasantly changed! We are still in high 30's, but that now feels like a cool day...and there is a breeze..which you dont often get. There has even been the odd sighting of a cloud or two.( seriously...we usually don't [View Full Entry]

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Hello again! We're actually now in HK, being a bit slow with the blog update as expected, but we'll attempt to get back on schedule soon! Dubai was a great start to our trip. After the stress of packing up and leaving the UK, what we really needed was a bit of chill out time with not much running around. The Dingle family (Richard, Laura and 5 month old Layla) were fantastic hosts. We arrived on September 19 early doors, and within 10 minutes of walking in the door we were wisked down the beach with a view of the famous [View Full Entry]

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Kia Ora Trendsetters, And Congrats to the All Blacks on their success against the Aussies - better late than never and Henry lives another day! There is quite a following of Kiwi’s who get together apparently, to watch the games in a nearby bar. It doubles as a great reason to have a beer for morning tea - we would have joined them, but took the opportunity of the long weekend here to zip down to Dubai, - just an hour away by jet. We had heard so much about this place and it’s so handy, and with a 3 nights [View Full Entry]

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Sunday 20th Did a partial tour of the canal system by water bus - most impressive. Complete the tour tomorrow. Discovered a great little “ristorante” on the square near the hotel - serves a good selection of food, and the top Chianti is very quaffable. Advised (to satisfy our curiosity) that a ristorante is owned by one person, a trattorie is owned by a family, but both serve the same purpose (and food)!! Afternoon snooze to recharge the batteries. Monday 21st Completed the canal tour by water bus and got some good photos/movie clips. Lunch at our now favourite restaura [View Full Entry]

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Tall towers of air conditioned comfort, generally shield us from the approaching desert on our doorstep. Abu Dhabi island is surrounded by desert, once you are near the edge of town, behind the smaller buildings & bitumen roads lies a vastness of desert, which links each city here. Driving to Ras Al Khaimah (Northern coastal Emirate of UAE) we pass a deepening orange sand spreading out into dunes, revealing groups of camels searching shade. The odd hut pops up in amongst the dunes providing relief for its owners, as relief for most of us travellers is in the comfort of our [View Full Entry]

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Hey everyone, So I've moved! Here are pictures of my apartment. I have a huge one with oodles of space. Did I already mention I had room for visitors? I am more than happy to put anyone up (I am referring to my friends who receive notices about my blog). As you can see from my pictures, a bunch of us from work went to Sharjah which is a Emirate past Dubai. The wife of one of the teachers knows a lot of the shop owners and can get us really good deals. For instance, if anyone wants a necklace with [View Full Entry]

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As previously mentioned I have been experiencing the joys of having my underwear cleaned and pressed by those little men at Bombay Laundry. One day, I asked a friend from school to pick it up for me as she lives in town and we are now living in khalifa B. The next day, I was informed that my clothes were being held due to the fact that the school had not paid the complete bill yet…We are now in week three of the hostage taking…I have no idea what is going on over there but I want my clothes back!! I [View Full Entry]

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Hello!!! I have had a few emails chastising me for my poor blog keeping, so I thought I would check in and let you all know I am alive and well, and what I've been doing. Dubai was a mess, lol. Everyone had told me it was going to be hot, but I had no idea it would be as hot as it was. I really have no idea why people insist on living in the desert, its a stupid thing to do (like, who originally rocked up in the Arabian desert and thought, yeah I'll just stay here?? Stupid arabs.). [View Full Entry]

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