Dubai trip...

did a quick trip to dubai to see a friend... he bartends at The Address hotel, which is right across from Burj Khalifa, and looks down on the Dubai Dancing Fountain...

couple of pics from that night...


the address hotel bar is 64 floors up, and we are only halfway up from looking across at the burj khalifa...

my friend anubhav and i went and saw my friend jeremy in his new work gig...

and looking down at the fountain and souq, pretty cool...

cars, licenses, and independence...

this blog will be a little about driving in the uae...

this country is very much all about the car... either if you talk about local emeratis with their porsches, hummers, and land cruisers, or you are talking about the labourers, who only dream of such things...

the biggest thing out here is owning a car... and acquiring a driver's license to go with it...

for most people who work here, either indian or filipino, or even from other arabic countries like egypt or syria, the pay is very low, and most of your monthly salary would go towards a car.

for most, owning a car symbolizes wealth like nothing else, and the independence and freedom to take off and go driving, go to the mall, etc. whenever you want...

most staff, for example in my hotel, live in a shared accommodation, and they are shuttled back and forth to work. we have a cafeteria, where the food is free, and the shuttle back to the accommodation is free... but you are unable to do anything else if you are slave to the food and bus timings... and the accommodation is 45 minutes from downtown

so for them, being able to go to the mall on your own or with a couple friends to sit at the movie or go bowling or sit at the food court is the same as back home with teenagers, the thrill of being able to break out of the rut...

like i mentioned, getting a license for westerners is no big deal, we just get a couple pieces of paper, and a stamp or two, pay some money, and after one solid day of bureaucracy, it is done and we can drive here ( if you rent a car you can use your CAD license, if you own a car, you must have a UAE license...)

but for non westerners (indian, egyptian, etc.) you need to spend several days in lineups for paperwork, and then you have to take a road test, which cost alot more money than my paperwork... and if you fail the test, you need to take a week long driving school... and this is even after you have your own license from your own country...

and of course, once you own a car, trying to find parking is a whole other blog!!

this and that...

i am woefully behind in my posting... i apologize to my loyal 5 readers... :)

so... what to talk about???

as most of you know from facebook, we got a new puppy named LeaLou, another chihuahua, a little sister for Tinsley... she has been fun, and a handful, and at least Tinsley is not bored now LOL...


Lorien and I had some days of hanging at the pool and going for drinks before she went home for the summer... She is spending some time in Vancouver before visiting some Irish Teacher friends over in Ireland... i am still planning on heading back in October, so I will visit with people then...

work is okay, and i have been hanging with the kids mainly... i found a friend who plays guitar and we have been playing a little here and there, me on the harp and him on guitar... it is something to do and not go crazy, being inside all the time because of the heat...

it has actually been cool the last 4 days, and by cool i mean under 40 degrees... i can actually enjoy mid 30's after a few days of 47...

i have also got back running and working out, and trying to spend time at the pool...

i have a few friends who will also be here all summer, so i will have company on my off days... they are also members of the pool, so we can hang out there and have a drink or two...

you might see more posts over the summer if i have time, i will try to do some from work while i am bored...

i might head to dubai this weekend, will take pics!!!