its one of those life changing decisions to up sticks and leave for a land far, far away. with blighty now a distant memory was it worth it i think to myself...? me thinks yes! emigrating opens up the mind to new possibilities and a future you never knew you had. staying put in one place for your whole lifetime now seems restrictive. go on, live a little cos the grass IS greener on the other side!
Some shots of the burj Dubai...you really have to see it up close to appreciate it!
Too tall to fit onto one pic, had to be done on two pics!
And a couplapnths later here it is again at a distance of a few km. For the perspective, you can see all the 'normal' skyscrapers next to it I'm comparison, now dwarfed by the burj!
Missing in Action...yes I have been! Well it has been a long time and yes many things have changed, for example, I am sitting here knocking out this update on my iPhone! Hopefully what this should mean is that I will now be able to update the blog a little more often as and when things happen...possibly even on the go. Anyway I am still trying to figure out how to put pics up but as soon as I do, will post pictures of what I have been upto for the past few months.
As some of you may be aware, recently i asked you guys to donate money to help ship urgent supplies to the needy in Gaza. This is an update of what happened to your hard earned wonga (and to prove i haven't been relaxing at The poolside on a luxury holiday courtesy of you lot!). In all we managed to collect roughly £1000 squids which worked out at over 5000AED in the local currency.
Before I continue, just some quick political analysis of the situation there...this to me is no more a 'war' than can be considered a war by Hitler against the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. It was genocide and ethnic cleansing then and it it is genocide and ethnic cleansing now with the Gaza strip the new ghetto and Israel the new Nazi's. Now that there is a ceasfire everybody needs to continue to do what they can to keep up the political pressure to help free the people of Gaza from the opression of the zionist regime.
Anyway, this is where some of your money went...
because people have lost their homes, large canvas tents that can accommodate a family of 6...
and loads of blankets to help keep them warm as it is winter there...
the bulk of the money was spent on medical supplies. pictured is a selection of assorted hospital grade bandages, swabs, plasters...
some of the most expensive items were medicines including wholesale size packs of painkillers and anti-biotics. other supplies include emergency first aid kits and specialist stuff for hospitals such as the orangeyiodine wash used for sterilising wounds before operating. on top of this the rest of the money was spent on dried foods such as milk powder, noodles tinned stuff etc. and personal hygiene products such as soap and washing up powder.
Once everything was collected, a bunch of us went down to the Aramex sorting and logistics depot in Dubai to help out with the sorting out of donations. Now personally I have never helped out before doing this kind of stuff so seeing this was quite an eye opener for me.
There was a throng of activity as we found volunteers from all walks of life helping out and doing their bit to help the people of Gaza.
tasks included...
Forming a human chain to unload trucks that were delivering donations being brought in from all over the country...
sorting everything and placing into various labeled bins...
to be packed onto pallets and loaded onto trucks to make the trip to the Gaza Strip via Jordan to be distributed by various humanitarian aid agencies including the UN and Red Crescent.
Finally I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed both in terms of money, physically helping and moral support. I am sure you have made a difference to the lives of the oppressed Gazans. That's enough out of me so until the next time.
ps. yes, you have figured there are lots of pics of us messing around and having some fun but i didn't want to detract from the seriousness of why we were there so i will save them for next time. ;-)
I promised to keep you entertained with with 'alternative' snippets of life out here so here'ssomething to whet your appetite (or not as the case may be!)
so i was grocery shopping as you do and you know how in tesco's of late you seem to be able to find forever more exotic fruit and veg, well i was in one of our local supermarkets and came across these...
known as Durian fruit, some of you may have seen or heard of it because it absolutely stinks!
this one really freaked me out, known as snake fruit (or salak), I'm sure you can spot the resemblance to its slithery namesake!
and finally the weirdest pick of the bunch in my opinion was this...
going off on a tangent (well not exactly as it is linked to the broccoli) if you are not convinced of god's handiwork in nature then check this link on logarithmic spiral's. Signs of intelligent deisgn and not just a random act of nature?!
As you can no doubt imagine this little cheeky chappy has been keeping us very very busy. so much so i havent had a chance to update this till now. i get a feelin my 4 wheelin days may have come to an end...cant see myself tackling dusty trails and remote mountain passes with this little one in tow instead it might be discovering the wonders of a nappy change and mastering burping techniques. anyways, heres a few more piccies to whet your appetite, enjoy!
I am worried I may not have too much to write home bout now with sufyan taking up so much of our time so i may revert to civvy mode and start writing about the local taxi's and roundabouts...erm, i think not!!!
No promises, I will try and come up with a different take on what i am getting up to here to keep you all entertained, ciao for now :-)
On route to Al-Ain we headed back via Jabal Akhdar (or the green mountain) part of the Hajar mountain range. At over 2km tall this was definitely an awesome sight to behold.
Most of the mountain is scattered with roads and tracks that wind their way through the Mountains. with over 30 populated villages on this part of the mountain range, this place isn't as desolate as it looks.
We drove to a local beauty spot known locally as Diana's Viewpoint (something to do with when princess Diana visited Oman, she was brought to this spot because of the views via helicopter and so the name stuck) for the spectacular views overlooking the rest of the mountain range. It was here we stopped for lunch. Never has a salad and tuna sandwich tasted this satisfying all washed down with a stomach full of this gorgeously inspiring view.
You really do feel as if you are sitting on top of the world
the eerie quietness leads you to stop and appreciate the finer things in life
yes you are right, i was absorbed in a moments contemplation and meditation
for any of you considering the trip to Jabal Akhdar, it comes highly recommended!
Standing on top of the world (or so it felt like it!)
Now a word of warning! there are police checkpoints on all the roads entering onto Jabal Akhdar, with good reason. Only 4wd's are allowed on the mountain and with good reason. Put it this way, when a polce officer hands you some kind of safety leaflet - read it! Unfortunately I didnt and almost paid dearly. Due to the extreme gradients a lot of stress is put on your car therefore you have to adapt your driving technique and need a 4wd for the added traction and if necessary low range gears and better engine braking etc. To cut a long story short, on my way back down, I booted it down the mountain using hard braking at the bends however what i didnt realise was the hard braking was smoking out my brakes and had I not, half way down, decided to stop and read the leaflet the coppers had given me (it also conatined other touristy information), I would have become another statistic of some dopey tourist whose car caught fire because he overworked his brakes and ended up turning into a crashing fireball hurtling down the side of the mountain!
After leaving Salalah we headed north and took a detour to to the capital of Oman, Muscat. This is a beautiful city and there is no way a few pics and scant words can do this city justice. If any of you have been to Monaco then picture something similar, in the sense of a city that blends into the surrounding mountains and littered with greenery everywhere. Compared to any city in the UAE, i think it beats them all hands down. There is definitely something in the air that adds a sense of genuineness and mystery to this ancient city. Suffice it to say, I am not done with Muscat yet so will definitely have to retrn again to do some thorough exploring. In the mean time heres a few piccies to whet your appetite until I return!
Muscat Beach
The view from one of the hotels we stayed in on the muscat corniche.
A viewing platform onlooking the city in the shape of a giant incense burner. One of the stops on the tourist trail except on the day it was too hot and i was too tired to climb to the top to take in the views. Now this is one of the major landmarks of the city, the grand mosque, built by the sultan of Oman.
Being in this mosque really feels like stepping back in time as it has borrowed architectural techniques and designs found elsewhere in the ancient Muslim world.
Inside is a very ornately designed interior...
with a hand woven Persian carpet that is only exceeded in size and weight by the carpet of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi
no doubt a record breaking chandelier hanging from the central dome
and finally the mihrab (or imams prayer niche).
Whilst in Muscat, we came across this quaint little aquarium with a limited selection of marine life however i had share this one with you. If memory serves correct, this was some kind of eel however you would not believe the size of this thing, its head was almost the size of a human head! Put it this way, i wouldn't want to bump into this fella in a dark and lonely coral reef!
In southern Oman lies the region of Dhofar and and on its southern most tip is the city of Salalah, looking out onto the Arabian sea, famed for being the only place in the Arabian peninsula for having monsoon weather in its summer months. Given the average temperature here in Al Ain during the summer months is almost in the fifties, off we set on the epic 1000km (that's right, you heard me!) adventure across the desert.
For hundreds of miles all there is to see is the barren empty desert and the dusty road ahead. this is a solid 12hour drive (without stops) which is only broken up by the occasional petrol stations and on this occasion the tourists flocking southwards as we were. Though the road is empty here, at times it was a little like wacky races as everyone was going hell for leather to try and reach Salalah!
After what seemed like forever (driven all night and arrived the next morning) you eventually reach the Dhofar mountain range shrouded in a blanket of mist. Given the air temperature is still in the mid to top forties where we took this picture, a strange but welcoming sight.
This is where we start the ascent up into the hills...
Once inside the hills the weather changes dramatically with temperatures plummeting to the low twenties, mist, fog and drizzle abound not unlike an autumn day back in blighty but the most shocking sight of all is the greenery....there's vegetation everywhere!
Once over the mountain range we enter salalah city itself, a very naturally green place with an abundance of palm trees everywhere but hang on a sec...these arent date palms...they're coconut palms!!!
Here's me checking out the local fare, as well as coconuts, there are banana's, mango's, sugar cane, papaya etc. You would be forgiven for thinking that you were on some tropical island on the Indian sub continent instead of Arabia.
The man from Al-Ain says...yes!
After getting some rest, the next day we went off exploring. The area pictured is Mughaysal beach.
A spectacularly carved shoreline with monsoon waves crashing down on the cliff face made this an awesome sight to behold!
Duh...enough with the words, heres a video!
Mughaysal is locally renowned for the spectacular blowholes that have been carved into the rocks!
Two nutters...all it would take is one abnormally large wave to come crashing down and off they go to meet their maker!
This is Khor Ruri (or Ruri creek), an inlet to the ancient ruined seaport through which the lucrative global trade of Frankincense (once, weight for weight, more valuable than gold!) was once conducted.
And this is the ruined city of Samharam, a UNESCO world heritage site overlooking the creek. It is very likely that the frankincense, as in one of the gifts carried by the 3 wise men, would have come through this city on its way northwards and also reputed to be where the Queen of Sheba would have appropriated her supply of frankincense.
after driving down the hillside we reached mouth of the creek.
with a very nice beach...
and what are the chances...camels on the beach!
Wadi Darbat
This is one of the reasons why thousands of people flock to Salalah` from miles around. Wadi Darbat is a valley of picturesque green that could be something straight out of our own Lake District.
surrounded by misty hills...
and a tranquil lake at its centre next to which you can relax and while away the hours till the cows come home (yes that is actually a herd of cows on the other side of the lake!).
Whilst out exploring, we came across this travertine (type of sedimentary rock) cliff face.
normally there is a water fall here as the rain water that collects in wadi Darbat comes cascading over the cliff face.
Its not obvious but it was quite a mission scrambling up here in the 4wd with a very potholed graded track that required me to engage all the the gadgets on the 4wd (low gear, centre and rear diff etc.) and some skillful driving to negotiate the climb hence the look of achievement! I only wish i could have caught it on video for you folks at home :-(
In and around Salalah there are a number of historical claims to fame including the tomb of the prophet Imran (and family, as.) and the tomb of the prophet Ayub (biblically known as Job as.). Personally i thought it would be more appropriate to buck the trend of turning the ritual of paying ones respect to prophets deceased into a touristy photo shoot frenzy. Hence there are no actual pictures of their respective tombs. On the other hand when we went to visit the tomb of Ayub (as.) it was a winding and at times treacherous journey through steep and narrow mountain passes (I wonder how he ended up there - it really was a mission to get there!). As the time for Magrib (evening prayer) approached the mist and fog really set in reducing us down to zero visibilty and with the onset of drizzle really did turn the mood into one of foreboding dread on the thought of the journey back down the mountain when suddenly the mist cleared a little and out in the middle of nowhere was this mosque that came up on us as an abandoned ghost ship would do out of some Victorian horror novel. The mosque was very eerie, no doubt due to its location, so we made haste to pray quickly and be one our way.
On one of our last trips exploring the local sights and terrain before we left Salalah we went to visit the Tawi Atayr (or well of birds) sinkhole, at 180m in diameter and 211m deep, one of the biggest in the world and a surprising find in one of the more quieter neighbourhoods that is planet earth.
If you listen carefully you can actually hear the birds! however as always I just couldn't capture such a spectacular scene with my camera phone so here a better picture... http://www.ngsprints.co.uk/popup_image.php?pID=118271ℑ=0
Recently i took a trip over to Lu Lu island just off the Abu Dhabi coast. As you can see, i'm still in good health...making sailing look good ;-)
As with alomost everything in the emirates its still a work in progress so there wasnt much to see or do on the island. However there was a sort of lake in the middle of the island for swimming etc. and most of the island did have secluded empty beaches all the way round.
I took this opportunity of a lack of things to do to travel on a traditional 4x4...
To be honest i havent done this up until now for two reasons, namely iive feared for the camel however he took it in his stride and managed to haul me up easily and secondly its a long way down from up there should i wish to inspect the ground very quickly.
So here she is, the new beast! ths is a Toyota Fortuner, 4.0l V6. it has a low range transfer case with a centre and rear diff lock. This car is based on the Hilux pick up truck and as far as i am aware is not available in europe so you wouldnt have seen it before. (ps. click on the images to see better high resolution pics).
Unlike the pajero this has a 5 speed auto gearbox so it is great around town and given that its is the land cruiser prado's younger sibling makes it easier to live with in terms if its size. Nevertheless this is still a seven seater so has got a decent load capacity for those roadtrips.
Now if you are wondering, performance wise this jeep is excellent! i took it down to Hatta to do a little rock crawling on the river bed and it didnt skip a beat.
The rear diff lock really paid off making sure i got through the ruff stuff without getting caught out on some minor axle twisters.
Good approach, departure and ramp over angles coupled with the cars height meant no grounding out on any rocky outcrops.
All in all a good all rounder with many miles of happy motoring to look forward to.
Most of the mountain is scattered with roads and tracks that wind their way through the Mountains. with over 30 populated villages on this part of the mountain range, this place isn't as desolate as it looks.
We drove to a local beauty spot known locally as Diana's Viewpoint (something to do with when princess Diana visited Oman, she was brought to this spot because of the views via helicopter and so the name stuck) for the spectacular views overlooking the rest of the mountain range. It was here we stopped for lunch. Never has a salad and tuna sandwich tasted this satisfying all washed down with a stomach full of this gorgeously inspiring view.
You really do feel as if you are sitting on top of the world
the eerie quietness leads you to stop and appreciate the finer things in life
yes you are right, i was absorbed in a moments contemplation and meditation
for any of you considering the trip to Jabal Akhdar, it comes highly recommended!
Standing on top of the world (or so it felt like it!)
Now a word of warning! there are police checkpoints on all the roads entering onto Jabal Akhdar, with good reason. Only 4wd's are allowed on the mountain and with good reason. Put it this way, when a polce officer hands you some kind of safety leaflet - read it! Unfortunately I didnt and almost paid dearly. Due to the extreme gradients a lot of stress is put on your car therefore you have to adapt your driving technique and need a 4wd for the added traction and if necessary low range gears and better engine braking etc. To cut a long story short, on my way back down, I booted it down the mountain using hard braking at the bends however what i didnt realise was the hard braking was smoking out my brakes and had I not, half way down, decided to stop and read the leaflet the coppers had given me (it also conatined other touristy information), I would have become another statistic of some dopey tourist whose car caught fire because he overworked his brakes and ended up turning into a crashing fireball hurtling down the side of the mountain!
Muscat Beach
The view from one of the hotels we stayed in on the muscat corniche.
A viewing platform onlooking the city in the shape of a giant incense burner. One of the stops on the tourist trail except on the day it was too hot and i was too tired to climb to the top to take in the views.
Now this is one of the major landmarks of the city, the grand mosque, built by the sultan of Oman.
Inside is a very ornately designed interior...
with a hand woven Persian carpet that is only exceeded in size and weight by the carpet of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi
no doubt a record breaking chandelier hanging from the central dome
and finally the mihrab (or imams prayer niche).
Whilst in Muscat, we came across this quaint little aquarium with a limited selection of marine life however i had share this one with you. If memory serves correct, this was some kind of eel however you would not believe the size of this thing, its head was almost the size of a human head! Put it this way, i wouldn't want to bump into this fella in a dark and lonely coral reef!
For hundreds of miles all there is to see is the barren empty desert and the dusty road ahead. this is a solid 12hour drive (without stops) which is only broken up by the occasional petrol stations and on this occasion the tourists flocking southwards as we were. Though the road is empty here, at times it was a little like wacky races as everyone was going hell for leather to try and reach Salalah!
After what seemed like forever (driven all night and arrived the next morning) you eventually reach the Dhofar mountain range shrouded in a blanket of mist. Given the air temperature is still in the mid to top forties where we took this picture, a strange but welcoming sight. 
Once inside the hills the weather changes dramatically with temperatures plummeting to the low twenties, mist, fog and drizzle abound not unlike an autumn day back in blighty but the most shocking sight of all is the greenery....there's vegetation everywhere!
Once over the mountain range we enter salalah city itself, a very naturally green place with an abundance of palm trees everywhere but hang on a sec...these arent date palms...they're coconut palms!!!
After getting some rest, the next day we went off exploring. The area pictured is Mughaysal beach.
Two nutters...all it would take is one abnormally large wave to come crashing down and off they go to meet their maker! 
This is Khor Ruri (or Ruri creek), an inlet to the ancient ruined seaport through which the lucrative global trade of Frankincense (once, weight for weight, more valuable than gold!) was once conducted. 
And this is the ruined city of Samharam, a UNESCO world heritage site overlooking the creek. It is very likely that the frankincense, as in one of the gifts carried by the 3 wise men, would have come through this city on its way northwards and also reputed to be where the Queen of Sheba would have appropriated her supply of frankincense.
This is one of the reasons why thousands of people flock to Salalah` from miles around. Wadi Darbat is a valley of picturesque green that could be something straight out of our own Lake District.
Whilst out exploring, we came across this travertine (type of sedimentary rock) cliff face.
normally there is a water fall here as the rain water that collects in wadi Darbat comes cascading over the cliff face.
Its not obvious but it was quite a mission scrambling up here in the 4wd with a very potholed graded track that required me to engage all the the gadgets on the 4wd (low gear, centre and rear diff etc.) and some skillful driving to negotiate the climb hence the look of achievement! I only wish i could have caught it on video for you folks at home :-(
As with alomost everything in the emirates its still a work in progress so there wasnt much to see or do on the island. However there was a sort of lake in the middle of the island for swimming etc. and most of the island did have secluded empty beaches all the way round.
To be honest i havent done this up until now for two reasons, namely iive feared for the camel however he took it in his stride and managed to haul me up easily and secondly its a long way down from up there should i wish to inspect the ground very quickly.
Unlike the pajero this has a 5 speed auto gearbox so it is great around town and given that
Now if you are wondering, performance wise this jeep is excellent! i took it down to
The rear diff lock really paid off making sure i got through the ruff stuff
Good approach, departure and ramp over angles coupled with the cars height meant no grounding out on any rocky outcrops.
All in all a good all rounder with many miles of happy motoring to look forward to.
Who's that fella over yonder?!
