Will the last one out turn the lights off please?

There seems to have been a lot of premature nonsense, in the UK media especially, about Dubai having gone bust. Apparently enquiries for holiday bookings were up 570% immediately after Dubai World requested a six month suspension on their debt repayment. There certainly are some serious problems here, and I'm hearing stories all the time of companies being owed money, but ultimately this is still a rich country with a significant percentage of the world's oil and gas. Abu Dhabi finally stepped in earlier this week, in the form of a $10 billion loan, which should keep the wolf from the door for a little longer.

In the meantime, life goes on pretty much as normal. I travel past this royal palace on Al Sufouh road every day. It, and the surrounding wall, has been completely covered in lights, presumably for a wedding. The picture I took hasn't really done it justice - there was a decent view from the main gate but I didn't want to set my tripod up with all the police there - but it made me gasp and say 'wow' out loud to myself as I walked past.

It's raining, it's pouring ...

If you've booked a winter sun holiday in Dubai this week then you're going to be disappointed. It has rained for the past days, and very heavily yesterday - more than a month's rain in a week. Not a big deal in most places, but a big problem here. Absolute chaos on the roads and, according to The National, at least 6 people lost their lives.

Rugby Sevens

Last week was filled with public holidays due to Eid and National Day, which was celebrating the UAE's 38th birthday. We went over to Abu Dhabi for a couple of days holiday and had a good time but unfortunately, despite our valiant efforts, completely missed the 'world's largest firework display' on the Corniche due to complete traffic gridlock.

Anyway, the day after was the Dubai Rugby Sevens; an expat institution (aka huge piss up) and an event which is older than the country. We normally don't go since it isn't a great deal of fun either for, or with, young kids. This year, however, was different.

Ben, 7, and Max, 4, both play for the Dubai Hurricanes in the U8s and U5s. Every Friday morning we drive 30 minutes out of Dubai into the desert location that is now home of rugby in Dubai. Even though it is often an effort due to suffering from the night before (I am not alone in this by any means!), I do enjoy getting out there. It is the only sporting activity we do that is a) not run for profit and b) run by dads of all rugby playing nationalities who want their kids to enjoy rugby. Everything else we do, at least it seems to me, is all geared up to lightening your wallet.

Ben, like his father, isn't a natural sportsman but does put in the effort and was rewarded by being picked in the side to play in an exhibition match at the Sevens between the internationals. They warmed up on the sidelines, just like the national teams, as Australia struggled to overcome the Argentinians.



The match itself was only six minutes, but good fun with a crowd of well over 20,000 shouting and cheering. The intention was to showcase rugby to local people and hopefully get them to get their kids along too. I reckon it couldn't have gone much better in that respect - the kids played well and were obviously enjoying it.

Afterwards there was a little presentation of a medal and small gift on the pitch for all the kids by Lawrence Dallaglio. Although none of the kids knew who he was, we were impressed, and a very proud bunch of parents.

Photoshop

I do love Photoshop - and Lightroom for that matter. Amazing programmes which I am just scratching the surface of. But, I am getting better and I'm very pleased with the photo that I've added as the title bar. The unedited version is below. And no, Max (who is only 4) is not a gay musketeer - it's just that his sister likes to dress him up.

Metro

Dubai has finally joined the exclusive global club of cities with a Metro. With much fanfare a very limited service started on 09/09/09 at, predictably, 09.09pm. Sheikh Mohammed looked justifably proud as he opened it and took the first official ride.

Only 10 stations are open and only 6 trains per hour are running at the moment. The rest of the stations won't open until next February, but it is impressive that it has been built so quickly. I spent many years working on the Jubilee Line Extension and know how difficult a task it is to introduce a new rail system.

There is a lot of local interest in it, but it isn't clear yet how it is going to be useful to the majority of residents. Although they have laid on parking and feeder buses, it is very hard to compete with the car in such a hot climate and where there is a fast motorway running alongside the route.

I was in the Mall of the Emirates this evening and thought I'd go and have a ride and take some photos now that the novelty has worn off. Unfortunately, it was all a bit chaotic. I couldn't figure out how to pay and the queues were too long for me to be bothered. Instead, I got back in the car and went to practice some night photography on the beach next to the Burj al Arab.

To Let

At this time last year we were looking for a villa to rent near the new school in Jumeirah. For weeks I drove miles and miles, up and down all the streets in the area trying to find a 'To Let' sign. The few that did have a sign wanted more money than most people earn in a year.

Now, one year on, the change could not be more marked. On a short 5 minute walk to the supermarket last night I spotted 7 'To Let' signs and it is noticeable driving around the area that more and more properties are coming on the market.

Prices have fallen too - in some places they have almost halved in a year. No doubt this is a combination of the slowdown, people leaving and the large number of apartments and villas being finally completed. I'll be going to see my landlord and ask for a rent cut - if he won't agree then we'll probably have to move.

PS give that number above a ring - it's a nice villa opposite the Chinese Consulate and I'm curious how much rent they want.

The best laid plans ...

The number of ill-thought out Government announcements in Dubai and the Emirates are legion. Salik (the road toll system) caused huge problems when it started and the ID card situation is still a complete fiasco.

The latest announcement is that schools will remain closed during Ramadan, delaying the start of the new school year by 3 weeks or so. Apparently this is because of feedback Sheikh Mohammed received on his Facebook account. Listening to the people is one thing, but Government by Facebook is quite unbelievable! It isn't surprising that most respondents thought closing schools during Ramadan was a good idea - it is a tough time for Muslims after all - but no thought seems to have been given as to how the extra days are to be made up during the year. For myself, I think my kids spend enough time at school as it is. The school day is already going to be lengthened next year for more arabic lessons, which I don't have a problem with, but any additional hours or Saturday working is just going to be too much of a burden on all concerned.

Anyway, in the usual way of things here, it isn't clear if private schools are going to be affected as well or not. Apparently discussions with the private schools are ongoing, although it is clear they are against the plan and wish to open as originally planned on September 6. As a result our plans for holidays are up in the air whilst we wait to see what happens.

Countdown

Three weeks until the school holidays, and, frankly, it can't come too soon for the children. It has been extremely hot of late and there will be no respite until much later in the year.

There is very little of note to report. Lucy came a very good second in the club gymnastic competition at the weekend. I was quite pleased with this photo, which justifies the outrageous cost of my new lens, but also shows up that I need a new camera with better high ISO performance (honest!).



I also liked this picture of Ben that I took yesterday as part of my effort to enter the Stobist competition. Unfortunately, the other two kids are not nearly as willing to pose and are harder to pin down to get a decent mugshot. I don't think it's good enough yet, but does make me wonder if I could get a job taking school photos?

Red Break

In these uncertain times, you can still be certain of one thing in Dubai. The temperature, unlike local property prices, will continue to rise and rise. The effect is gradual and, at first, you only notice it in small ways. The electricity bill goes up because the AC is on continually and the water out of the cold tap, since the tank is on the roof, comes out hot. Your back is sweaty after you drop the kids off at school at 7.30am, and it's too hot and sticky to sit out in the garden at night.

It's hard to tell when summer actually starts (although one local said to me 'yes, we have four seasons, three are summer'). Anyway, I reckon it was yesterday - 47 degrees in Jebel Ali and I felt my cheeks start to burn the moment I stepped out of the car. The kids are now on red break at school - not allowed out at playtime because it's too hot. Spare a thought for those poor souls stuck outside all day working in it earning a pittance for their toil.

Adrian Hayes

I know Adrian through Dubai Road Runners and have trotted round Safa Park with him and his daughter Charlotte (who is at school with Ben). He is quite something, in the Guiness Book of Records for the fastest time to walk to the North and South Poles and climb Everest and also, at almost 50, the 'fittest man in the UAE'.

He has just departed for the longest unsupported polar walk ever - 3500km across Greenland - to raise awareness of environmental issues and 'to have fun'.

I'd like to wish him the best of luck You can follow his progress here.

Honesty

On my very first visit to the Middle East, over 10 years ago now, I left my wallet on the back seat of a hire car. Living in Liverpool at the time I had become conditioned to expect never to see it again, but it turned up next day with no fuss at all.

This weekend, after Ben's last rugby match of the season (soooo hot...), we went to Dubai Outlet Mall for a bit of shopping. I had to pop back to the car and walked off leaving the boot wide open. My camera, complete with expensive new lens, was sat in full view. When I got back to the car, two hours later, I was mortified to see the boot wide open and three man standing around. Thankfully, nothing had been stolen and the Security Guard had kept watch over it for over two hours in the scorching heat. He wouldn't even accept a small reward from me.

Just recently there was an article in the local paper where a cleaner in a shopping mall in Ajman found a wallet containing 55,000 Dhs (£10,000). In the same way as he had done with other finds in the past, he handed it in. This guy is on a wage of 750 Dhs (£130) per month. The tempation to pocket what is almost 7 years wages must have been enormous. The thing that struck me most about the story was that the rightful owner gave the man a mere 500Dhs as reward which he said he would send back to the family he hasn't seen in 2 years in India.

I'm not saying there is no crime or theft here, far from it, but there is certainly at a much lower level than back in the UK and there is a totally different attitude.

Sri Lanka

Just back from 6 days in Sri Lanka - our first visit to that part of the world and a bit of an eye-opener.

There has been a war raging in Sri Lanka for a long time and the week before we travelled the UAE Government issued advice for citizens not to travel to the country 'except in extreme emergencies'. On the day we arrived, the Sri Lankan army announced that it had killed 453 troops. However, apart from some troops behind sandbags at the airport, there was no obvious signs of any conflict (which is mostly tucked away in a small part of the north anyway) and we felt perfectly safe the whole time. The Tamils have never targeted tourists and I don't think the threat of terrorism should put you off visiting.

We, rightly as it turned out, were concerned that any journey in Sri Lanka would be extremely slow and so picked a hotel quite close to the airport at Negombo.

Jetwing Beach Hotel

We had a couple of rooms on the ground floor which opened out to the pool. They were large, comfortable and had great bathrooms with huge baths and walk-in showers. They were also filled with mosquitoes the size of small horses but our chemical weapons and the hotel's chemical warfare man, who napalmed the whole of the outside of the hotel every evening, meant we weren't bothered unduly.

The hotel was good. Food was generally excellent and the staff friendly. However, on the down side, it was very expensive for what it was and you could not go on the beach without being pestered by hawkers selling expensive tat and people wanting you to sponsor a local school or similar scam. I had a general feeling of being viewed as a walking ATM machine - tips are expected by everyone and the amount you give never seems to be enough.

Highlight of the holiday was the visit to the elephant orphanage at Pinnewala. The sight of 60 elephants walking down the street to the river, with nothing between you and them, was amazing.

We all had a ride on an elephant as well. Extremely high up, and I think on balance we all prefer camels!

Post-Strobist

At last years Gulf Photo Plus I spent the day photographing attractive models with Bobbi Lane and a bunch of pro photographers using available light. A hard act to follow. This year I spent two days in a classroom with David Hobby and didn't get to press the shutter once. Nor did we have any models - he just used the course attendees. However, David is the main man in this field (his blog has over 300,000 regular readers) and didn't disappoint. He packed loads into those 2 days and taught us not only nuts and bolts but, more importantly, how to think about lighting and how to approach any assignment (including some great ideas especially for me for photographing 3 hyperactive kids). There was a lot to take in, but I've come away with loads of ideas to try out in my own photography and I'm already seeing improvements in the pictures I'm taking.

Once again, GPP had a world class set of instructors. David Nightingale took some amazing pictures of Dubai, as published in his blog. My personal favourite was taken on my local beach, but the pictures taken by Zack Arias were also superb - especially the group photo of 29 people lit with just the one flash.

Strobist

I've been impressed with David Hobby (aka Strobist) for quite some time and have signed up for his course at Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai next week. Essentially he preaches the use of small, off-camera, flashes and my Strobist kit arrived from the States last week. I still haven't entirely figured it out, but here's one of my first efforts using Ben as an unwilling subject.

It's all gone quiet

Whilst not as bad as made out by some slightly hysterical and inaccurate reporting in the UK press (reports of 3,000 abandoned cars, for example, at the airport are complete nonsense and local media put the number at 11), it has definitely got much quieter. There is less traffic on the roads and I've noticed normally busy places obviously doing less business. Rents and property prices have also dropped sharply and reportedly half of all projects are now on hold. For me, this is not a bad thing as the rate of development, and the problems it brings, was unsustainable.

In spite of all the gloom in the world, business is still being done and, although I do know of people who have left (of their own free will or otherwise) there still seems a generally optimistic outlook and a view that things are better here than elsewhere in the world.

Twitter

I've just found out about Twitter (independently from Stephen Fry and Tim Ferris). Since I think Facebook is primarily for the young (and grammatically challenged) this is more appealing to me and I think it's going to be the next big social networking thing. You can follow me here to see just how tedious my life generally is.

Hot

In spite of having been here for over two years, I can't seem to rid myself of my British obsession with the weather. So here's the weather report. After a chilly start to February, it really has heated up over the past couple of weeks. It was 36 degrees at the weekend - only one degree less than the highest recorded February temperature. We also had strong winds and a sandstorm.

It was 29 degrees at the Road Runners on Saturday evening and my 6 year old, Ben, really struggled to get round Safa Park. Running is getting much harder now and I was proud of him for not giving up and making it round without stopping.

Doctor Who in Dubai

Doctor Who is currently filming an episode in Dubai, due to be screened later in the year. They shipped in a big red London bus specially and now it is sat outside English College, just around the corner from our villa. As you can see from the picture I took this morning, it is rather battered. Apparently, the crane operator at Jebel Ali port dropped it and so there had to be a hasty rewrite of the script.

These aren't the only strange goings on in the desert. Last week I was sent an email with pictures showing a European family who had parked up by the side of the road and wandered into the desert for a picnic. A passing local, reportedly concerned, followed their tracks to see if they were OK before offering traditional hospitality of Arabic coffee.

For those not familiar with the Ruler of Dubai, this is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Hard to imagine any other world leader doing this kind of thing.

I also received a picture this week of a car outside the Mall of the Emirates whose body is made of gold. What credit crunch?

Snow

Whilst I wouldn't expect any sympathy from UK readers, it has been a bit chilly here recently. In fact, for the first time in living memory it snowed in the hills of the most northerly emirate, Ras Al Khaimah. Apparently the local dialect has no word for snow!

More amazingly, Ras Al Khaimah has plans to make Jebel Jais into an outdoor ski resort using some Australian technology that will allow you to ski in temperatures up to 35 degrees C.

Knees, bottom, shoulders

Max and Ben both play for the Dubai mini-Hurricanes Rugby Club in the U-4s and U-7s respectively. This week we were on the main pitch at The Sevens where the Rugby World Cup is due to be played soon. I took this video of Max strutting his stuff (on my phone so the quality isn't great) and learning how to fall over.

Dubai 10K

My third Dubai 10K today, at the unfathomably early time of 06.45, went better than the previous two. I plodded around in a slightly faster than expected time of 51 minutes. It was well organised and a good event to be part of. However, it was cold and heavy rain just prevented Haile Gebreselassie from breaking his own world record in the main event of the marathon. Mind you, he still picked up $250k for winning - not bad for 2 hours and 5 minutes of effort.

The best part of the day came later at 11, when it had warmed up a little, and I proudly ran round the 3K fun run with my 8 year old daughter Lucy.

Dusk at DOSC

Our new villa is only a couple of minutes from the beach at DOSC (Dubai Offshore Sailing Club). You can't swim at the moment because of illegal sewage dumping in the storm drains, but that's another story.

I took the kids down there this evening to kick a ball about and take a few pictures. There was a beautiful sunset over Atlantis but unfortunately the sun drops like a stone and it was almost gone before I could get the camera out.






We had a lovely time, kids just messing around in the sand, watching fishermen mend their nets and people walking and running at sunset. Simple pleasures are often the best.