Eid Holidays

Financial meltdown, how far is it really away from here, an article in the FT today reported that Dubai have asked for a suspension of their line of credit for a fixed period, debts in the emirate are growing and property prices are still falling. Not a big concern to the industry that I work in for the time being. Concern would be if the only way for Dubai to survive would be through taxation and the end of the free zones. That might lead to another mass migration away from the region so it is unlikely. As with all other things, there will probably be no change to the opulent emirate and commerce and construction will continue until completion. once done and the money slows further then the construction population will be dismissed and other commerce will continue, with incentives to encourage businesses and tourists to use the hub that has been created here. With people now claiming that peak oil may never happen as we introduce more new technologies to assist recovery we produce more from smaller fields at less cost. surely the readjustment that has occurred has given enough confidence back to the global communities that the continued world population explosion is sustainable through the energy resources that we have. I am a little sceptical about all of this.

Dawn in the desert

I set the alarm early, well my normal time and wanted to have a look at when the traffic was going to start picking up. 5.20 and nothing, hardly surprising, really. After the normal early morning activities, around 6ish things were still relatively quiet. So I though 'go for it' and headed out into the world, dawn only just beginning to break. It was a relatively quiet trip towards Jebel Ali and I think I only had to touch the breaks 5 or six times. and then as I approach the zone, I realized I had lost my way again. Looking for the towers at Jafra View I knew I had to get passed them and get onto the road heading east. I flashed the card, although there was no guard at the gate then. I then followed my nose round to the office and stepped out of the Pajero. And for the first time the air was clear and the sky was blue, each breath in smelled sweet and refreshing. The dawn had blown away all the dust. all was quiet, about 6 cars in the car park and you could imagine what this place was like 13 years ago. Quite, cool, serene. A place to gather the thoughts of the world into one place and sweep them into the desert.

Looking around

Thank goodness for help from your employer, I now have a car (Pajero 4x4) (rented) and have a way of getting from A-B and so far I have visited S, R, V and P on the way. Yes I got very lost on the way home from the office. Which exit to take and which road to go down I even had an East/West 'incident' which is very uncharacteristic, in fact my entire bearings are completely lost. Which is very unusual for me. I even found the supermarket, with the help for Jeremy and went there on my own.....still no shopping though but that is a different conversation. I am, however installed in my residence for another evening but work has taken over tonight. I have a conf call with my Coach at 9.30pm. The fun comes in the morning when i get to flash a pass on my way into the office. I really shouldn't say that this isn't mine. Oh well when in Rome.

Welcome to Dubai

There are probably a million and one blogs out there on the ExPat lifestyle in Dubai and hundreds of millions of blogs by ExPats alone So this blog is not designed to help anyone out there find there feet in a strange land. It is only designed to tell a few tales about picking up your life moving it 6,000miles and then carrying on. There are some great books out there on Dubai, and they may be mentioned in this blog so I will write the usual disclaimer about the opinions within this blog not reflecting the opinions of all and this is a solo effort. So I landed in Dubai, to be met at the airport by a driver, well a greeter then a driver and I had a little time with the Driver, he appeared to be from the South East of the former soviet union so I asked him where he was from. "Kyrgyzstan" he replied. I commented about the former soviet state to which he replied, "It became independent in 1991" so how old do you feel today? He then went on to tell me about the mountains and how his home was thought of as the new Switzerland, although I am not sure it would rate the same Banking and Tax status. There is probably some Oligarch loving the fiefdom he now owns. I asked him was he having fun? "No, just work". We bade our farewells as my Driver arrived and trundled off with my large luggage cart containing 40kgs of my life and a set of golf clubs. The cart dwarfed this Indian driver and he struggled with it all the way to the car. We arrived at a large Chevy Caprice, even I was surprised as it swallowed up my cases, although I saw none of the shoe horning through the air conditioned misting over the rear screen. The driver said little and I was quickly and comfortably driven to the serviced apartment I am going to call home for the next 4 weeks till Christmas. At the apartments again checking in went like clockwork even at 2am. I was installed in my small shoe box apartment quickly and without fuss. The works driver would pick me up at 8am so time for a snooze. I awoke to the alarm and the constant sound of construction in Dubai. Jackhammer.....a truck backs up......a drill starts up. Dubai is growing, constantly everything is laid, then dug up, then relaid before being dug up again. the multitude of apartments around the main Sheik Al Zayed road stand tall and new, and missing windows or towered over by cranes. 13 years and growing still. I wait in Reception for Hameed our PRO(still trying to find out that TLA) He arrives and short cuts his way through the traffic. In 40minutes we arrive at the office block. An now the work begins.