Posted by: Aaron | November 4, 2009

Don’t Slow Down

When one of my colleagues asked me a simple question a few weeks ago I didn’t realise the implications.

“Do you want to go to the F1 in Abu Dhabi?”

“Sure, why not?”

So tickets secured I didn’t really give it a second thought till last Friday. Then I started to get caught up in the hype. Facebook and Twitter were awash with people excitedly proclaiming that they too were going to spend a day or two at the race. Cool – I thought at least there would be a good crowd. Before I was really more excited about seeing the concerts – Kings of Leon and Aerosmith. I was a little sad that I didn’t get a three day ticket so I could have seen Jamiroquai and Beyonce too but as it turned out the two rock groups were plenty.

I am fortunate to have been to Silverstone a couple of times in the UK for the F1 and even luckier to have been given VIP paddock passes to both McLaren and Ferrari on separate occasions. This time as regular Joe Public in the grandstand would be a new experience and as it turned out to be just as fun.

On qualifying day we left Dubai in a minibus so we might enjoy a few drinks without consequence. In less than an hour we were parked and on the bus to Yas Island Marina Circuit. I was impressed, excellent road links, ample parking and plenty of air-conditioned buses. There was none of the traffic issues that I had experienced getting to Silverstone or any hiking through marsh-ridden bogs…

On the bus ride to the circuit friends who had been landscape architects on the Yas Island project accompanied us. They gave us the inside scope. The amount of details that hadn’t been completed were gleefully pointed out but that best efforts had been put in to give it a very presentable look. To the untrained eye it simply looked brand new. The sheer scale of the development is hard to comprehend. Here is a shot from the big screen of the development

Entry into the circuit through security was again painless – none of the multi-hour queues that had plagued the Dubai World Cup a couple of years ago. Once in the roar of thousand horsepower engines greeted us. Stuffing foam pieces into our ears (handed out by friends Emarati volunteers) we raced to our seats in the West Grandstand eager to get a view of practice session.

The new “Protec Barriers” used on the circuit meant that we literally on top of the action. We were placed at the end of the longest straight on the F1 tour just before a hard left hander. The West stand also provided views of the cars coming into the home straight and entry into the pit lane. With the big screen providing shots of the rest of the track it was easy to keep up with the action.  Now with the modern miracle of 3G, iPhone and the BBC website we knew exactly what was happening.

The circuit simply looks sensational. The space craft looking Yas Hotel setting the scene with its wacky curves and twinkling lights as the night pulled in. The cyan blue painted run off areas also add to the futuristic look. After the qualifying session that evening I watched a replay in HD – the helicopter that had been buzzing around all night provided some amazing shots. My dad commented “It looked like something from a sci-fi movie” personally I thought it would not have looked out of place in the classic playstation game Wipeout. Here we are just in front of the track following the race:

Watching the qualifying was good but the following day race day was superb. It was nice to hear the crowd react to highlights and I would estimate at 90% capacity it was not a race in front of empty stands that we had seen this year in Beijing, KL and Istanbul.
Key moments of racing that had me on the edge of my seat were the start of the race, Hamilton getting pole in the dying seconds of qualifying, when Vettel exited the pit lane to take the lead or in the last lap when Button twice made a move to over take Webber but was repelled. Here is a clip I took of the race start – the engine noise is unbelievable:

It was exciting stuff and I have to admit to really enjoy seeing it live. Watching it on TV just isn’t the same and I admit to find it boring sometimes. Trackside it is different gravy.
As were spending all day at the circuit a few comments on the facilities:
1.    Toilets – plentiful though the ones inside the stadium have a crazy design which creates a choke point on entry/exit
2.    Food – generally awful. Overpriced restaurants selling poor quality dishes. The fast food stands were no better with the ones in the F1 village actually closing during the afternoon having run out of food. I brought six chicken shwarmas for the guys in the concert arena to essentially have paid $8 each for onions wrapped in bread. Very disappointing.
3.    Drinks – no problems here. Innocuous tents simply labelled as no admission to under 21s provided everything a thirsty expat might need. Also water was free around the circuit – good job as it was hot before sunset.
4.    The F1 village – sat just behind the VIP area it was a great place to hang out. Sponsor tents were setup with the Etihad one was particularly good with F1 simulators the major draw. The Marlboro tent had a big draw but I think this had more to do with all the promo models who just seemed to be hanging around looking cool
5.    Entertainment – the organizers had a stage setup at one end of the F1 village and brought some really top class performers. It was a shame you had no idea where or when they would perform.

My personal favourite was Nathan Flutebox – I have been following this human beat box flute playing genius for sometime and it was a pleasure to see him live:

And the double dutch skipping antics of these young guys were really enjoyable to watch:

It is also amazing who you can meet at these events. I saw Richard Branson but was far happier seeing my friend from Gitex:

The organizers had really put together an awesome set of concerts. The venue was under one of the arches of the forthcoming Ferrari Experience theme park. It was an excellent venue and I imagine will give Emirates Palace a run for its money as the premiere concert venue in the UAE. I never really though that Kings of Leon would ever play in the UAE and there was no way I was missing them. We made the hike from the stand over to the concert, which turned out to be a mistake. As there were plenty of buses available.
On entry to the concert area all bags were searched and any “professional” cameras were forced to check them in at a porta-cabin. Later this turned out to be a nightmare; despite leaving the gig early there was a huge melee of people trying to collect their cameras. It took us more than an hour.
There was a little bit of British humour in the crowd waiting for their cameras with a little singing and one guy raising his camera bag like it was the world cup and giving it a kiss accompanied to a tremendous cheer from the crowd. There really needs to be a better system for this. It ended up leaving a sour note with many after an otherwise great day. After all – with the mass up take of digital SLRs which owner is going to leave their’s at home? The second day – I did.

Kings of Leon
I managed to gather up most of my friends who were at the gig and we enjoyed the show together. I admit to being a three trick pony as far as Kings of Leon going.
The crowd reacted well to there rock style despite clearly not knowing most of the songs. This all changed for their Anthem “Sex on Fire” and the crowd sang their hearts out. This seemed to get approval from their front man who performed enthusiastically and was determined to enjoy himself so far from his homeland. The crowd seemed happy and I was delighted having missed out on Coldplay last year.

Here is Abu Dhabi going crazy for them:

Aerosmith

After the excitement of the race I was feeling a little fatigued. It had been a long day at qualifying in the heat and Kings of Leon the previous evening. So we turned to Strongbow to provide the necessary restorative powers and get us in the mood. This day we had been smart. We had lunch before getting to the circuit, we limited our hiking around the grounds in the afternoon heat, left the SLR at home and made sure to get on and off the shuttle at the right time.
It was clear that a lot more people were in attendance for Aerosmith than the previous night and without DJ bliss warming up the crowd there was an air of anticipation. I was pretty neutral to begin with and was secretly wishing I could have snuck home with one of my friends as my feet gently throbbed in my crocs. But when Steve Tyler burst out on stage delivering “Livin’ on the Edge” all thoughts of discomfort were immediately discounted.

Me and the guys stood around and rocked out to their great live set. Here is a clip of an Aerosmith classic:

Despite looking like he has nearly as much plastic surgery as the late Michael Jackson, I take my hat off to him and the rest of the band. They performed like they meant it and had energy that belied their years.
When we left I felt privileged to have witnessed one of the truly great Rock bands of my era. In fact when I got home I dusted off “Guitar Hero – Aerosmith Edition” it is clear that I don’t have the same pipes as Steve Tyler, but I enjoyed trying.

There has been a lot written about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It is an amazing feat of construction from sand to a space age race circuit with five star hotels and a marina in just 32 short months. Sure, there are some things that can be improved but that is par for the course here and lessons will soon be learnt and rectified. And when the F1 Ferrari experience theme park opens up it will without doubt be an amazing tourist destination.

Abu Dhabi really came of age onto the world scene last weekend and came out of the shadow of Dubai. There are a number of “must do” events on the expat calendar – The Rugby 7s, The Dubai World Cup and now the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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Posted by: Aaron | October 30, 2009

Ten Dubai Phrases

Struck me the other day while directing a taxi driver that there were certain phrases that I use in common day to day life in Dubai. However, if I was to use them in London I would certainly get an odd look or two.

Here are my favourites that when uttered can provide the grease to getting by in Dubai.

1. “Come on let’s go. Yallah Habibi”  - getting the gang to move

2. “What to do yanni?  - often said to no one in particular

3.  I’ll do that today itself “- as today really means sometime this week

4. “I will revert soonest”

5. “I will send you my coordinates” -often combined with 3 and 4

6. While calling a removal company – “Are you available for shifting and fixing next weekend?”

7.  ”Full tank special please” – I have never had the luxury of full service petrol stations before coming to Dubai

8. (While answering the phone) – “Tell me, mmmm, tell me…”

9. “too much” inserted in all sentences where I should be saying “a lot”

and the classic to the taxi driver:

10. “You come my backside now ?”

I have to admit to having used all of the above, but one I get a lot when speaking in an area with poor mobile reception:

11. “Aaron your voice is breaking” – Crikey I hoped that had happened 20 years ago

 

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Posted by: Aaron | October 26, 2009

New Top 10 Things to Do in Dubai

I have just seen a tweet from a site called Visiting Dubai with their Top 10 things to do in Dubai. Here it is:

10. Visit the Dubai spice souk
9. Buy art at a gallery in the Bastakia quarter
8. Ride a camel in the desert
7. Visit the Dubai Museum
6. Ride a dhow across Dubai Creek
5. Shop at the Dubai gold souk
4. Eat dinner at The Noble House
3. Ski at the Mall of the Emirates
2. Dune buggy in the desert
1. Have a drink at Skyview Bar in the Burj al Arab

I think that this is good list and covers all the the things that Dubai is well known for. I thought I might write the Top 10 things to do that have been built/added since I have been here:

10. Ride the Dubai Metro
9. Buy art at the Covent Garden Market on JBR Walk
8. Ride Halfpipe Canyon at Sega Republic
7. Visit the Lost Chambers at the Atlantis
6. See Jumana Secret of the Desert
5. Shop at the eclectic Souk Al Baha
4. Eat dinner at Zuma
3. Visit the Dubai Fountain
2. Ride the Leap of Faith at Aquaventure
1. Visit the viewing platform on the 134th Floor of the Burj Dubai (well from Dec 2nd 2009)

Which list wins? Neither – they are all great things to do and a combination between the two would give an amazing time in Dubai. I want to write a similar list in a year or so but encompassing Abu Dhabi – things like the Guggenheim museum, Yas Island Race Track, the Ferrari Theme park and even a tour of the QE2 will be possibilities. Who said anything about a slowdown?

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Posted by: Aaron | October 26, 2009

Turning Japanese

It had been a long but fulfilling week at GITEX and my feet were telling me that it was time to find some more comfortable shoes next time around. The timing of the Japan theme party at “Casa Jumeriah” in hindsight was perfect. I really did think that I wouldn’t have the energy for it and a quiet night in with a visit from a reflexologist is all I really wanted. However, once you I got there and you see everyone else’s outfits and have a couple of refreshing beverages it is an amazing stimulant.

The guys living at Casa Jumeriah again put a huge effort in for the theming and decoration of the villa – with a certain Mr Chesman freaking out that the Japanese characters were properly represented:

The gang down at the villa were suitably attired (Mr Chris’s Hello Kitty attracted a unique attraction from a lot of people that evening)

Sensei Quintin found a new opponent in Matt “Karate-Kid” Sulli-san

And after a liberal amount of Dutch courage I felt it was time to join the fun so I donned the inflatable Sumo outfit complete with crazy hair piece:

I was really impressed by the lengths some people go to for these parties. My favourite outfits were the Karama tailor made Monkey and Tripitaka outfits from one my fondest TV shows (Monkey) I use to enjoy as a kid. I am not sure how the Toyota factory worker fits in:

A little later in the evening we were treated to a special appearance from the most glamorous Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles I have ever seen

A good friend of mine Michelle writes a brilliantly observed “tumblr” called Hands Up Thumbs Down mainly about Dubai that makes me smile a lot. Following the Japan party she posted a little skit here – I have replicated it for posterity:

“I’ll roshambo you for it.. Well. First I kick you in the nuts as hard as I can, then you kick me in the nuts as hard as you can, and we keep going back and forth until somebody falls. The last one standing gets the arrowhead.. Ok ready? I’ll go first..”

I wondered what a roshambo was – made famous in Southpark and defined by the Urban Dictionary – it all looks rather uncomfortable. Now, I can probably understand why I woke up in so much pain the morning after.

I do love these parties but they are rather like Christmas. One eagerly looks forward to them for so ages and there is a huge amount of preparation, then it is all over before you know it.

Edit: Thanks to Tabu and Michelle for the photos – driving a camera while wearing a sumo outfit and drinking a beer is nearly impossible.

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Posted by: Aaron | October 26, 2009

Work It

Two things close to Mr Chris’s heart are the cost of the maintenance and the lack of inclusive gym facilities. I sympathize about the eye watering maintenance costs however I am fortunate enough to have excellent leisure facilities aside from the swimming pools there are squash courts, badminton courts, two well equipped gyms and even a pool table. All free to use once the wallet crushing maintenance fees have been paid. Over the last few months I have making the most of it and getting down the gym on a regular basis to battle any further “Dubai expansion”.

Recently the complex I live in has had a facilities management change and I have been impressed by the positive steps they have taken. Firstly they significantly reduced the fees, then they did something about the hideous landscaping of the swimming pools, got the concierge in the building to take post and courier deliveries and recently introduced parking bay stickers. All welcome additions.

Coming back from the office this evening I found a note under my door asking me a whole bunch of questions about the gym facilities in the building. I am actually shocked.

Should the gyms be upgraded (insert lots of equipment) at the cost of $x ?
Should their be provision for basketball and indoor soccer to be played at the cost of $x ?
Should their be outdoor benches beside the swimming pool at the cost of $x?

It was also made quite clear that any extras spent would be paid for with an additional levy next year.

This really is great to see and probably the first time I have ever heard of a property management company in Dubai proactively soliciting feedback from the owners/tenants to improve the community facilities. While no one wants to pay more it is great to be asked and personally I have responded that more facilities is only a good thing.

You never know, I might get really hardcore in the gym one day and I will absolutely need to have access to dumbbells in the 28 to 38kg range, an Olympic Barbell rod and a Scott bench. In the interim, it will be good enough for me to look at such equipment as I stagger off the x-trainer as a sweaty wreck.

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Posted by: Aaron | October 18, 2009

Exterminate

Heavy traffic and burgeoning crowds can only mean one of two things. Either it is the Dubai Shopping Festival or it is GITEX.

Regular readers will know that GITEX is a personal challenge for me as the majority of attendees are really consumers as opposed to the business data center end users that VMware fits. Nevertheless despite the early morning traffic and parking dramas I always get to meet lots of interesting people and generally have good fun whilst I am there.

Today the show opened. Opening day starts at 1pm – just prior to this Sheikh Mohammed and his entourage get a personal tour of the show and it was nice to see him this morning opening procedures.

I was soon into the swing of things and into full exhibition mode giving the opening presentation and trying my best to raise a few smiles and give away some corporate gifts to those people willing to ask me a question. I even managed to get a decent sized crowd at the end of it. Just after I finished I wondered back to the pod to hear some loud music playing.

Looking down the hall I could see a golf cart with a rather robot sat on the back of it – flanked by bazooka looking speaker tubes. I was more impressed when it stopped near the stand and the robot got up and started a little song and dance act.

This was great I thought until it walked directly at me a little too quickly with sound effects taken directly from Robocop. I hadn’t moved so fast since I had to get off a horse and cart in Egypt.

Not sure why I was freaked out – but it is large and intimidating. Searching through twitter this evening and @mahmoodb had all ready posted the robot up on youtube for our viewing pleasure:

It certainly drew crowds of cellphone filming gadget lovers to record it. I thought it was good of the organizers to put something a little different on this year. I wonder if there will be any more surprises this week, it not I will settle for some more dancing robot. Only this time I will be viewing from a further distance.

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Posted by: Aaron | October 17, 2009

Big in Japan Tonight

The summer is over. The weather is cooling down and bored expats with way too much time on there hands once again decide it is villa party time. As is traditional with any of the crazy fancy dress parties the lads of “Casa Jumeriah” throw it has become a requirement to put a rather ridiculous trailer.

These trailers have become a bit of an urban legend within our circle of friends and I think the “Vimto” scene is worthy of particular mention.

Now I just have to work out what to wear. Though my creative inventions are going to be a little hampered by GITEX this week (is it that time all ready?)

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Posted by: Aaron | October 11, 2009

The Candyman Can

Dubai Mall is starting to become a Mall and destination I want to visit. Recent openings of the new cinema, Sega Republic, the Dubai Fountain and a host of new restaurants (Entrecote, California Pizza Kitchen) mark it as place you can easily spend a whole day in.

Though I was beaten to the punch by Umar the new confectionery store “Candylicious” really is worth blogging about. Like a lot of other things in Downtown Dubai it is the world’s biggest. Ten thousand square feet of Willy Wonka shaming sugary goodness.

A marketing genius has secured them the spot right in front of the Aquarium. I think on Friday afternoon once the kids have seen the sharks being fed I am almost certain there will be a feeding frenzy of another kind in Candylicious.

The first thing to greet you on entry is a Gourmet Popcorn stand from a company called Garrett Popcorn Shops. It is sensational and Caramel Crisp is really a treat for those with a sweet tooth. I don’t what it is with Cheese flavoured popcorn – it is so wrong but yet so right. The nice staff let me try the varying flavours. A top tip is to avoid the tins as this seems to triple the price and just go for popcorn in a bag which worked out to be a far more reasonable affair.

Once the popcorn excitement was out-of-the-way, I ambled around the store. It is literally eye popping. The decoration and merchandising that has gone into the shop design is awesome. It is almost mesmerizing and despite the fact I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth I found myself wanting to dive into one of the many pic”n”mix and totally over indulge. Seven deadly sins eh? Sign yourself up for Gluttony right here.

I was initially unaware of the very blatant “No Photography” signs posted around but they stood little chance to all the eye candy surrounding me and I subconsciously found myself reaching for my camera phone. Here is the first one I took:

I got politely told not to do it. I couldn’t help myself and took a photo of the lollipop tree:

I could see a member of staff heading over to me. So I made a prompt exit clinging onto my Cheezy gourmet popcorn muttering something about this place being the death of me.

You have been warned.

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Posted by: Aaron | October 5, 2009

A Fork in the Road

I often muse about what to write and have found myself wanting to write about things that I just can’t get enough of. If you have been reading this blog for a while it is fairly obvious I love gadgets and these type of posts I feel don’t really belong on this site.

So I spent a little time this weekend and created a new blog just for those tech posts. This blog will remain and I will continue to write Dubai/Middle East posts but all the tech and gadget stuff will move over to the new blog. To give it a little kick start I added some of the tech posts from here and if there is something that fits into both Dubai and Tech it will appear on both sites.

So if you want to know why I really love Spotify follow this link over to Addicted to Tech

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Posted by: Aaron | October 3, 2009

My Pipe has Expanded

I was looking at some old posts as I tidied up this site earlier today and nearly a year ago I was very pleased about getting 12 Mbps internet. Du has continued to work on its network and as the result of the their investment into their backbone they are now offering improved services.

The first thing I got excited about was an upgrade (at no extra cost) from 12 Mbps to 24 Mbps. Despite it being expensive ($204 a month) at least I have the option to choose this service. Below is a chart of the different offerings:

Having had this speed for a couple of months I am overall really pleased with the service. Typical web browsing is a good experience and HD streaming sites like Revision 3 are now a joy to visit. I have benchmarked the speed and I can easily achieve full line speed late in the evenings. I think there is some traffic shaping but I rarely see anything less that 16Mbps at peak times. The best bit – there are no bandwidth caps. I didn’t realise just how good this was till I was in the UK recently and realised that you pay dearly for having a true unlimited download package from an ISP. Now if only I could get a service with really low latency – I would be ecstatic.

The more recent service that I am happy to see is the introduction of a High Definition (HD) TV service. When I left the UK mid 2006 HD was something that had yet to be launched to the general public and in the interim three years has become defacto with most of my friends (even my Mum has HD TV now!)

The DU HD TV service involves getting new decoders and an engineer to come and install them. After a four week wait I got them installed last weekend. The set top box appears to be a Tatung model with the added bonus of acting as a PVR allowing the recording of TV shows for viewing later (I didn’t realise how much I had missed simple VCR functionality). It looks quite slick:

The good thing is that the new HD box has HDMI output for easy hook up into the rest of my home cinema gear. The options for HD display are 720p and 1080i and with the right HD content the output is really quite decent. Below is a photo (excuse the light reflection) of “Chuck and Larry” from the Showtime HD channel and it is on a par with DVD quality.

If I look at the three key areas for HD TV I rate the picture to be a really good improvement, the sound to be an excellent improvement and the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to be a huge step forward. Now with picture in picture channel surfing and easy to set-up recording of shows it is very friendly in use. The downside of all the promise of HD TV is that there is still a lot of content in regular standard definition which now looks even worse in direct comparison.

It is great to see the service provides Du and Etisalat now bringing these offerings to consumers in Dubai and pulling home entertainment onto a par with other parts of the world. I am interested to see what else is in the pipeline maybe 50Mbps home internet or a wider variety of HD content – either way it is all upside for the regular Joe.

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Posted in Dubai, TV, Technology | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Aaron | September 27, 2009

A Guide to a Lad’s Weekend in Beirut

It had been a long hot dusty Ramadan this summer and there was palpable excitement in Dubai as the Eid holiday approached. Nearly everyone I spoke to had some plans for going away or spending it with their families and the mood was really upbeat.

Me and some of the lads took advantage of the new low cost airline www.flydubai.com to get over to Beirut for the Eid for only $245. Coupled with a reasonably priced hotel – Casa D’or (about $60 each a night) located in the always alive Hamra area and we had the makings of an enjoyable break.

We crammed a lot into the four days we were there. However there is so much to see and do and it didn’t help that by the time we had got out of bed and had brekkie/lunch it was typically well gone 1pm which did hamper choices a little. So in order to give you a little taste here are the highlights of the trip.

The Corniche and Mostafa’s

The first day after the obligatory trip to Lina’s Cafe we went for an exploratory walk. We set off from Hamra down the Corniche and walked along the coast. The weather made it for warm work and we soon in need of some refreshment.

The local beer is called Almaza and its light, refreshing and very drinkable. We searched along the Corniche for somewhere to quench our thirst but the first couple of places did not meet our requirements. Until nearly at the end of the corniche was a small place called “Nina’s”

One of the braver lads volunteered to go in and check it out:

“Hamza? You have Hamza? Five” uttered Duncan with forthright confidence whilst waving his arms about

“Shoo?” said the proprietor

“You know – Hamza, Hamza!” Duncan spluttered

A look of confusion crossed the jovial owner of the cafe.

“Ummm. Duncan. I think you mean Almaza” chirped up one of the more on the ball lads

“Yes. Yes. Hamza errrr…Almaza – five?” Duncan stammered

“ALMAZA! Yes we have it”

Turns out that Hamza is Arabic for the word apostrophe. Suffice to say Duncan was made not to forget the fact that Hamza is not arabic for the amber nectar.

Mostafa the proprietor of Nina’s took a bit of a shine to us and took the time to tell us a couple of jokes. Here he is in full flow:

We liked him back and returned to his place on a daily basis for a cold “Hamza” and the chance to sit on his terrace that provided an awesome view of the sea. We affectionately renamed his cafe to “Mostafa’s”. If you want to find it – just walk past the Movenpick and it is the first Cafe you come to.

Gemayzé

From Long Street in Cape Town to Kings Cross in Sydney I love cities that have streets full of pubs, clubs and restaurants and Gemayzé street can easily hold its head up high in such company.

As a group of guys we had no issue in entering any of the many bars that inhabit that street. A couple that we went into:

1. Cactus – a tex-mex bar with loud eighties pop music and strong cocktails

2. Cloud 9 – too cool for school bar that is a good place to be seen in

3. Caviar – even cooler than school. With sophisticated crowd listening to “uplifting techno” or so said the flyer

4. Lakay – A Caribbean restaurant with a funky Latin theme. Was popular with birthday parties

5. The Melting Pot – An American style dinner with a soundtrack of 80s Power Ballads all heartily sung along to by the boys

However the charm of Gemayzé Street is the numerous small bars that at anyone time can just be rockin’. Our strategy was to find a place that looked lively and to get involved. The prices were reasonable in comparison to Dubai with a beer about $5 and a mixed drink about $10. However that mixed drink is like rocket fuel usually with just enough mixer to change the colour of the drink.

I admit. We stood out like a sore thumb however there were a few other small groups of western tourists which can only be a good sign.

Here are lads – “Havin’ it” late night in some obscure bar:

Eddé Sands

Eddé Sands is located just outside Byblos and takes about 20km from central north of Beirut by taxi. It is a beautiful beach resort that you can enjoy for a $20 entry fee. Sadly the day we went rain had been forecast. Despite that our British stiff upper lip took over and us and 20 other brave souls enjoyed the slightly overcast day to enjoy a day by the Mediterranean. I am told that this place is party central during the summer. I will have to go back – just to be sure. In the meanwhile we were treated to a spectacular sun set:

Paintball

As the shy retiring type I chose to mooch around the renovated down town Beirut with some Lebanese friends. The rest of the lads decided to shoot the living “wotsit” out of each other at an indoor paint ball venue. Apparently there is a choice of music for added effect:

1. Pop

2. Rock

3. Arabic Pop

4. Koran

I am sure they all mean something to some one – I understand the guys shot each other only to accompaniment of their own howls of pain. Judging by the bruises I was shown I think I made the right choice. Below the victorious blue team show their steel before a series of engagements:

Riviera

After several hard nights of over-indulging and shooting each other we were happy to get some downtime at a pool. There are a couple of good pool clubs in central Beirut one being La Plage and the other the Riviera Hotel.

The pool at the Riviera is a sight to behold. Large white concrete circles surround the pool give it a 70s kitsch look that today is the height of fashion. Again, the slightly overcast weather kept the place quiet but we all enjoyed lying out in the cool – a welcome break from the searing heat and humidity of Dubai.

Despite it being quiet there were still a lot to see. Here are a few of the chaps enjoying the view:

White

No weekend in Beirut is complete without a visit to one of the “Super Clubs” be it Skybar, Music Hall or White. My friend had waved his wasta wand and managed to get a table at White for the last night of our stay.

The door policy at these places is quite draconian. Despite us being the first people into the club with the promise of lots of ladies joining us later and having a reservation the seven lads had some trouble getting in. However, once resolved we were rocking it.

We had dinner to start the night off and the food was excellent. Then with a super efficient bottle service all the guys were in a great mood (A litre of rum $120). This mood was further lifted as we were joined by some rather beautiful company.

We all enjoyed the night – the music was great. Remixed oldies, uplifting house and the classic bit when all the lights in the club came on and the DJ gave it some

“This is Beirut”

We went nuts along with the rest of the crowd. All the signature moves came out that night from the lads:

1. The napkin dance

2. The garden sprinkler

3. The crab

4. The spear dance

5. The jig of desperation

and I think I even spotted an attempt at some limbo. Still all were received with good grace and predictably we not only the first table going nuts but the last ones to leave. It has not been since Kiev and the night club Decadence had all the boys partied so hard for so long.

It was made even better as I had my two favourite Beirut Habibtis to party with:

Four days, seven lads and one hospital visit made for an epic lads trip. To my readers outside of the middle east. Take a chance  – go and visit Lebanon and Beirut. It is truly a wondrous country with warm people who want to party all night.

I have the good fortune that I occasionally visit Beirut for business but this time I got to see it with different eyes and I was not left disappointed.

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Posted by: Aaron | September 11, 2009

All the Nines

The world didn’t end. But as good things come in three the 9th of the 9th 2009 brought some real smiles.

England qualified for the world cup which was great considering the epic failure they had missing out on the last European Championships. This now gives me the perfect opportunity to go back to my favourite holiday vacation, South Africa.

Then by the power of  Twitter and live blogging I sat back and enjoyed the nearly simultaneous Dubai Metro opening and the the Apple iPod/iTunes announcements. It was also excellent to see Steve Jobs back in action following his liver transplant.

The launch of the Dubai Metro has been promised since I first arrived in Dubai mid 2006. It was amazing watching the supports for the Metro sprout up along the Sheikh Zayed Road seemingly over night. Then following this the huge Japanese bridge building machines that joined the supports with countless concrete sections.Finally the stations started to appear looking like huge gold Armadillos mirroring in the desert sun.

For it to open on time (a soft opening of 10 stations) is a remarkable achievement. I drove passed one of the stations the night of the opening and they look wonderful inside. The National has some great photos here and a nice video montage.

The opening attracted a huge press following but I liked the fact keen Dubai Tweeters used the event to shake the Twitterverse with #Dubaimetro making a top trending topic for a little while. I love the power of the community with Web 2.0 making it happen.

I for one will use it when the need arises especially as more stations open up over the coming months. The RTA have done well to make it very affordable to ride with a the maximum cost of a single ticket coming in at only 5.80 aed ($1.58) making it about a quarter of the price of a similar trip on the London Underground.

I do wonder about the opening hours i.e. not running till 2pm on a Friday and closing at 11pm outside of Ramadan. Seems a little odd as the Metro would be the ideal transit for a lot of people arriving into Dubai Airport during the peak arrivals time of midnight till 2am. Having said this, the RTA have said they will review the opening hours based on demand.

Dubai has had a tough year with the financial crisis, property market crash and stinging articles in the world’s press. But this week Dubai can stand proud and united with the first mass transit system in the Gulf built to world class standards. A huge step forward. Well done.

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Posted by: Aaron | September 6, 2009

10 Plastic Bottles Sitting on a Wall

After a couple of pleasant weeks of vacation I came back to a short working week and immediately headed out to spend a lazy Ramadan weekend over in Fujairah.

I always like to get out of the hustle and bustle of Dubai and a couple of days by the beach in the peaceful surroundings of mountains and beaches of the Indian ocean are a real treat. I went over last year and as we liked the place we saw plenty of reason to go back not least of all the two for one offer the Royal Beach was offering on their large villas.

Like last time we headed via a super bouncy road to Wadi Wurrayah to have a splosh around the rock pools and douse ourselves in the waterfall. It really is a rugged sight to behold – however it was really sad to see a huge increase in the amount of graffiti:

There were quite a few other people enjoying the cool refreshing waters of the Wadi when we got down there. A couple of chaps had decided to take the rather unusual idea of improvised flotation aids and had stuffed plastic bottles down their pants or tied plastic bottles to their waists. Turns out that they couldn’t swim very well and a two litre empty bottle of Pepsi gave them all the confidence one might need.

While I can’t see this catching on any time soon the chap and his friend below certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves:

Later on once it was passed Iftar time we settled in for some BBQ, refreshments and even a cheeky Sheesha. One of our party came particularly well prepared not only bringing special coals, a pipe, tobacco but share-friendly tips to insert into the end of the Sheesha pipe. On closer inspection these were no ordinary tips. They proclaimed proudly to have the following essential features:

1. Ergonomic Design

2. Easy to use

3. Lip Comforting

4. Wrinkle preventer

and to sum it all up “The Tips That Preserve The Lips” – amazing what a tiny piece of plastic can now do.

Sadly, as a non-smoker I passed on the sheesha but lip maintenance is on high on my priority list and I will be sure to use these if I do ever indulge.

Aside from this, it was a relaxing weekend but the weather right now is really is too hot and humid to spend any length of time outside without being immersed in cool water. It seemed we got the good dry weather as we left heavy showers came which is very out of season. This type of heavy rainfall also makes the Wadi’s a very dangerous place to be due to flash floods.

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Posted by: Aaron | August 28, 2009

1000 Drawings on 1 Arabian Night

I have a confession. As a young lad at school I use to really dislike Art classes. So with a little bit of planning I use to arrange my monthly trips to see the Orthodontist during my art lessons. When I did attend I tried hard but I just couldn’t be as creative as the other kids and I felt I would rather have my teeth pulled then go through this. As a result, as a thirty something adult I will openly admit to having a drawing age of around six, possible seven years old.

The nice thing is that I know lots of arty types and one of them told me about  a very worthwhile cause they were using their talents for. The idea is that they collect 1000 drawings and sell them at an exhibition night for 50aed ($14) each with all proceeds going to the charity Gulf for Good. The drawing brief is that it can be of anything, made of anything, drawn with anything but must be A5 in size.

This idea was originally run in South Africa and it looked like a really fun evening – http://www.1000drawings.co.za/ it is great to see this being brought to Dubai.

The team have been in planning for sometime and earlier this week lauched the idea to the public. Below is the first flyer:

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A few photos of the creative process in full flow:
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This piece looks like having all the hallmarks of something special:
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As someone who holds his hands up to not being able to contribute artistically I thought I would help by providing some shameless publicity.

The event is due to be held during November with the location and exact date still to be decided but I will post an update when this is finalised.

If you wish to contribute a drawing there are now collection points at The Shelter, The Jam Jar and the Lime Street Cafe in Dubai.

Also feel free to join in and get the latest updates with via any of these wonderful Web 2.0 applications:

Facebook Group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=224121255553

Blog:

http://1000drawingsdubai.wordpress.com/

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/N1000DDubai

I have been told that they are still looking for the venue and a sponsor or two so if you can feel you can help in anway please send them an email:

dxb@1000drawings.co.za

So let those creative juices flow and I will see you there in November.

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Posted by: Aaron | August 18, 2009

Pyramids in the Sand

Usual business trips no matter where I am are typically the same. Busy airports, tired hotels and a stream of customer and partner meetings punctuated with a mad dash back to catch the last flight to Dubai. So it was a good change to be able to finally get to see the mighty Giza Pyramids.

For some reason I was expecting a long drive out to the desert to see them, but the Giza pyramids are literally on the edge of the city and the drive (other than normal crazy traffic) was short.

On arrival, my colleague Walid started negotiating with one of the many guides. There certainly was a lot of loud Arabic going on for quite a while. I busied myself by taking in the sights of the three large pyramids. Here are me and Walid excited at the prospect of seeing one of the wonders of the world:
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The initial guide negotiation yielded a short guided tour of some of the ruins alongside the pyramids and a brief history of the site. However, the guide was really more interested in taking some photos of me and who could visit the Pyramids and not have a rather corny “Perspective” photo taken? with due respect to my guide he knew exactly where I should stand:

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It made me smile because once done I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for other people taking such photos. My favourite being this lady “standing” on a Pyramid:

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Once the brief tour had concluded the real negotiation with the guide began. He wanted to sell us a complete tour of all the pyramids to conclude with a trip to the Sphinx. I was offered the choice of taking a horse ride, a camel ride or a ride in a horse and cart, it was an easy decision. As someone whose last encounter was riding a donkey on Blackpool Beach twenty odd years ago I was a horse and cart man every time. This was where the fun began.

After a little time my rather tired chariot arrived with possibly the most rickety looking wheels I have seen. Nonetheless ,with the temperature approaching 40c the shaded hood on the cart would be welcome. I was a little worried that an old cart and even older horse might be not be man enough to drag one hundred kilos of prime English beef around the desert for the afternoon. It was apparently no problem, they make their transport tough and wiry around the Pyramids:

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Upon mounting up and setting off with a second horse and cart pulling Walid – I was greeted with the lovely view of the horses behind. As it was hot the horse was working hard and I was getting an amazing aroma of hot sweaty horse to accompany my scenic trip. This only got better when the horse raised its tail and gave me a fruity burst of horse flatulence. Just beautiful.

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Now that my eyes were feasting on the treats of the desert and Pyramids (while watering a little) and my olfactory system was getting a special equine treat it would seem a shame for the my hearing to miss out. It was a good job that the horse and cart had been retrofitted with speakers, amplifier and a tape deck. I first thought they may play a recorded guided tour.

A fistful of tapes were soon found and some suitably upbeat Arabic music was played for my listening pleasure as we bounced along the trail. At one point the stereo seemed to be having a tough time with the harsh environment, after a couple of tape swaps not fixing the issue, more radical methods were used. A quick finger to into the tape machine to wipe the heads didn’t do the trick but a healthy lick of the offending tape had it going again. Sadly, after a few minutes it had given up again. Instead, I was left with the guide who would ask me every two minutes if he was doing a good job and that a large tip would be nice.

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Once we had seen the three great pyramids we sped downhill towards the Sphinx. This is something I thought I would never see. I was not disappointed. To my mind a true wonder. Huge, imposing and majestic. It was mind boggling.

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Energised by seeing the Sphinx we were sent to a tourist trap to see some hugely expensive Papyrus which were nice to look at. It was a fun couple of hours and something I will never forget. If I did it again, I would go for an air conditioned mini bus as the horse cart comes very close to the large tour coaches zooming around and I never felt entirely safe. Also I felt very sorry for the poor horse.

I now have a very real desire to see Luxor and when in Jordan next Petra. It is all about finding the time.

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Posted by: Aaron | August 8, 2009

Dynamic Duo

For long term readers of this blog you might have noticed that I have enjoyed getting dressed up. My favourite being the Buzz Lightyear outfit I wore for a party earlier this year. My Father thought he knew why I had this obession with fancy dress when he dug out some old photos this week.

We lived for a while in Brunei when I was probably about five years old where these pictures were taken. I remember it being blazing hot most of the time with the occasional massive monsoon rainfall. I recall it being a fun place to live as a kid as it was only a short bike ride to the beach from where we lived.

Here are my sister and I dressed as the dynamic duo. I certainly seem to be enjoying myself, my sister less so. But we are still looking cool:

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And another this time in our pyjamas (isn’t it a bit early in the day to wearing these?). I am looking distinctly unimpressed and it is probably why I detest wearing pyjamas nowadays:

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I am going to have a look around for some photos of when I was in Abu Dhabi as a kid a few years after this and see if I can tell anything about my life in Dubai today from them.

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Posted by: Aaron | August 8, 2009

Zuma

Back in March I visited the Taste of Dubai food festival, one of the stalls there that I really liked was Zuma. Since then it has gone onto win the Dubai Japanese restaurant of the year as voted Timeout. I wanted to know what the fuss was all about and based on the recommendation of a friend I booked a table this weekend and was excited about the promise of some excellent culinary delights.

The first thing to say about Zuma in Dubai which is located in the finance DIFC district is that is has a distinctive “London” feel to it. Especially on a work night the gents in their pinstripes and quaffed hair wouldn’t be out of place in the square mile.

The bar and lounge are situated upstairs allowing for the restaurant to have a more relaxed feel and the open kitchen gives eager diners something to focus on while waiting for their treats.

The first thing I wanted to do was to work out what Sake to drink. There is certainly no shortage of choice with an extensive menu of Sake’s and wines. In the end, I settled for a carafe of Sawanoi – I choose it for the description that went something along the lines of “stored in large tanks buried under a lot of ancient snow” – that is all it had to say, I was sold.

The menu certainly takes some studying and the South African waitress was full of good advice and helped assemble a menu for me and my dining partner.

First up we shared some edamae as well as the “ika no kari kari age” which was the calamari with green chilli and lime that I liked so much at the Taste of Dubai. The waitress also recommended the “age watarigani” or soft shell crab with wasabi mayonnaise.  I remember having soft shell crab years ago in KL and liking it.  I was not disappointed, it was a crispy on the outside with delicious meaty white crab on the inside. A little weird to be eating the shell but an excellent dish. Here it is:

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For the next course we had the Chef’s selection of Sashimi. It was predictably excellent especially with the freshly grated wasabi. The presentation was also outstanding, served on crushed ice with a couple of mini-icebergs setting it off nicely:
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For the main course we opted for more seafood accompanied by asparagus and wild garlic mushrooms. The “ebi no sumibiyaki yuzu kosho fuumi” or jumbo tiger prawn with yuzu pepper was excellent. Still firm and expertly cooked and presented in a way that made it a snap to eat with chopsticks:
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Then we had to have what surely must be the signature dish at Zuma. The “gindara no saikyo miso yaki” or miso marinated black cod wrapped in hoba leaf is simply sensational. It flakes beautifully and when put it in ones mouths melts with an irresistible burst of flavor that makes you produce noises like “yummm” or “oh my” or even “mmmmmh mmmmmh mmmmmh” . It really is that good and no trip to Zuma is complete without ordering this dish:

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Zuma really is that good, though you are going to pay a healthy amount for food this good. Personally, I thought it was worth every dirham ($150-$200 a head is a good budget to include drinks).

A booking is essential as it gets very busy, in fact after the meal we tried to get a drink in the bar but it was just too busy. We we were full and content so we headed to somewhere else to enjoy a quiet drink and talk about just how good that food was.

Overall – 9.5/10 – A really treat to go out and eat there, this is the place to go if your boss is in town and he/she is paying. I knock half a mark off as there is no AC in the lift and when it is 46c outside it is necessary.

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Posted in Dubai, Restaurants | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Aaron | August 5, 2009

Blinded by the Shirt

I have previously mentioned that the most popular blog post I have ever written is about the experience I had buying a tailored suit in Dubai. Over the last couple of years I have become a regular customer at Parmar’s usually I get my work shirts and trousers made there. When some of my mates from London visit we make the pilgrimage down to Bur Dubai to see them and they have all been really happy with the results.

Every time I visit and I am selecting that blue or pink work shirt, I had always wondered if I could get something more casual made. The other week to cheer me up after my run around getting my e-gate card replaced I went to see what they could offer.

As usual I was greeted warmly (and by name) by the friendly tailors and immediately asked if I wanted something to drink. I then went on to explain:

“I am looking for a casual evening shirt”

“Something fancy sir?”

“Yes, that might be just what I need – something like that one over there” I said pointing at a bust which had a particularly loud stripey shirt on it with a massive collar.

“That is concept only, sir. Material no longer available”

“That is a shame”

“We can make sir something extra fancy, with designing”

“Show me”

I then proceeded into a really wonderful shopping experience. It was broken down into a number of distinct phases.

1. Material selection – I was shown some extra fancy materials and some more conservative. While I like loud shirts some of it was just too fancy for me

2. Collar and Cuff choice – they knew exactly what I wanted – large collar with triple buttons and wide single cuff

3. The Master – The shirt master is called and he comes with the selected collar and cuffs templates and fits them on you. Here you get the chance to have say, the left cuff slightly wider if you were to wear a watch. You are also expertly measured – I was less than delighted to hear that “Sir, has expanded since his last visit” I put it down to a large lunch and vowed to get into the gym more

4. The designing – with the measurements done the serious business of getting the extra design detail into the shirts was next. They had recommended a contrasting material for the underside of the collar and cuffs. I was keen for this as I had recently seen some lovely “designer” shirts with this detail but had balked at the price. The tailor knew what would contrast well and disappeared next door to the ladies branch and promptly came back with material that I had to double take. To say it looked like my Grannies curtains or pure chintz was an understatement. I was assured it would look super fancy and I thought I would trust them and go with it.

5. The finishing touches – finally a few decisions on button style, the cut of the shirt, pocket or no pocket, initials or not and if so what font and color

Then I was done. I was told to come back in 48hrs for a final fitting then they would be ready 48hrs after that. To say I was pleased with the end result is an understatement. Here are a couple for your viewing pleasure:

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The super chintz material really worked well:

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I have to admit I am a total sucker for the initials and the flowery contrast material on this shirt:

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I can’t recommend these chaps enough. Sure, there are probably cheaper places but for what I paid 550aed ($149) for a bespoke one off shirt made to my own specification, I am delighted.

I think they will only really get a true test drive when I go on vacation to Beirut next month. I can hardly wait.

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Posted in Clothes, Dubai | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Aaron | July 26, 2009

Passing of the Torch

This weekend saw the funeral of a colleague of mine Murtaza Talawala or affectionately known as MT.  I first met MT just before I joined VMware at a virtualization event in September 2007 around the time of GITEX. It was odd for me attending. I knew I had the VMware job at the time but I had to keep confidential until I had tendered my resignation.

I spoke to MT that day about a couple of projects I had been involved from a sales perspective and I was surprised to find out that it was actually MT who had been the engineer implementing the solution. I instantly thought I would get on well with MT as he certainly knew his stuff and gave an entertaining VMware presentation to the audience that day.

About six weeks later, I was on board with VMware and I met MT along with the rest of the team at Magirus for the first time on my third day of the job. His enthusiasm of the opportunity surrounding VMware was infectious and I enjoyed working with him on numerous projects.

I then discovered he had been almost a one man army driving the VMware message out across the Middle East. Not only was he doing the implementations, but he was also doing the pre-sales, the sales, the channel management, the design and even the VMware training. I was in awe. He was truly a flag carrier taking the message out into new territories. We now have six or seven people performing these roles, he really did the work of six strong men.

After about six months MT choose to leave Magirus and joined the local EMC team where he eventually became the “VMware champion” and we continued to work closely together up  until the 16th July 2009 when he suddenly passed away.

The circumstances over his death are unclear and I certainly am not going to speculate over it. Suffice to say my thoughts are with his wife and daughter whose loss and grief I am saddened for.

Murtaza was a dear colleague, gentleman and a friend. Ultra reliable and with a wealth of knowledge his passing away has been a difficult thing to deal with for myself for a very tight knit IT community in the Middle East.

While I may have been the first VMware employee in the Middle East he had been pioneering the way for virtualization years before this. I intend to honor Murtaza’s memory by picking up the torch he bore for this technology and ensuring that the passion he had for it remains burning.

Murtaza may you Rest in Peace.

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Posted by: Aaron | July 13, 2009

Sgt Pepper

Friday Brunch in Dubai has rose to a level of some notoriety in the British media last summer. Lurid stories of expats spending all afternoon guzzling far too much alcohol in an afternoon followed by drunken antics was hard for the gutter press to resist. After the sex on the beach scandal that was linked to this expat Dubai tradition I have to admit to being put off them for sometime. So when invited to one this weekend I was a little hesitant to sign up.

When a  Friday Brunch is mentioned the usual names spring to mind such as Yalumba, Spectrum on One or for the bargain hunters Waxy’s. However, when I asked where I was to turn up the answer I got was surprising – Peppercrab at the Grand Hyatt.

The format was a little different. Usually at brunches there are a selection of food stations and you go for the all out how many different things can I get on my plate. Then I am always left with that difficult decision. Will anybody really notice if I go up for that fourth plate of food?

This time there was a set menu served to your table in almost military precision. The nice thing was that if you wanted some thing more of one dish they were happy to bring it out. This was great as it meant a very social lunch as people weren’t getting up at random intervals to do battle tongs and sneeze guards.

We kicked off with a selection of Sushi accompanied by Edamame beans and duck salad. There was also a real treat of crispy-fried baby squids. These was any amazing dish that had the texture of crackling with the sweetness of hoi sin sauce. Once the interstitial soup course was dealt with. The staff quickly cleared the table then set it with the surgical like instruments for doing battle with the crab. Next, with a little bit of ceremony the staff proceeded to dress each of us with a bib. While not the height of fashion it was certainly needed later on. Here Monique and Renata model said bib (though their cocktail dresses were far nicer):

After an indeterminable wait the main dishes of beef, bok choi and rice arrived. Then in a flurry of activity we were served with their signature dish of Mud Crab in Black Pepper Sauce. Here it is before we were let loose on it:

I like food you have to battle with. This was no exception, the reward being super sweet crab meat. Handling the shell was a little tricky due to the sensational blackpepper sauce which was a real treat in itself. Sticky and spicy it made you want to lick your fingers the whole time and if that was not enough there were liberal hunks of warm break to dunk into the saliva inducing sauce.

It was a visceral experience with everyone letting go of their inhibitions. There was cracking of crab legs and pepper sauce all over the place, accompanied by the moans of pleasure that only come out when eating deeply satisfying food.

The whole time our glasses were never empty.  There is half a bottle of Moet included in the price and after this house wine or beverages. Then came the best bit. Usually this set menu with the bubbly weighs in at 350AED a person ($95) but Monique had spied a coupon in a recent Timeout for 2 for 1 meaning we paid only 175AED ($47) each for a truly enjoyable afternoon.

If you were to go on a regular evening with their A La Carte Menu – the tanks surrounding the kitchen gave you a good idea what you could be in for:

Overall 9/10 – Excellent food and amazing value with the voucher we used. Set in pleasing surroundings with a high level of service. I dock it one mark as I am next to hopeless at extracting crab meat from its home with any degree of efficiency

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Posted in Dubai, Restaurants | Tags: , , , , ,

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