Our Big Trip and Please Donate!

Here is a question for everyone - Suppose you didn’t have any constraints, give it work or relationship or financial, where do you see yourself live? Now obviously we all have commitment of various sorts, but the answer does brings out that dream buried deep down somewhere by the daily routines.

For Q and I, our answer is - on our motorcycle!

To all our family and friends, we want to share with you our latest development and plan. We have decided to leave UAE after three fruitful and exciting years, and take this opportunity to realize one of Q's dreams – riding a motorcycle around the world for about six months, a.k.a. going on a Big Trip! As for me, I am just happy to be wherever Q is. *Aww!*

Ever since the decision was made, we have been working frantically to get ourselves ready for moving and the Big Trip. In short, it is shear madness right now and we can't wait till we get on the road! In terms of where-to afterwards, well, we don’t know yet but we have our eyes on a few countries and will certainly try very hard to get to one of them.

As you can imagine, this will a huge change in our lives – not only because of change of location but also lifestyle – we will get to be modern day nomads and live frugally again - how cool is that! I reckon Q will grow an afro towards the end! Here is a sneak preview of what we plan to do – everything is subject to change!

Right, now that you know our case, this is where we will plead for your donation- we desperately need encouragement. Lots and lots of it. We will not be able to enjoy the trip nearly as much if not for your support, interest and smiles. Please donate generously.

Love,

Shu & Q

Asparagus!!!

Yessssss, white asparagus in Abu Dhabi :)
Last night we enjoyed two portions of beautiful white asparagus at our local German beer cafe, of course complimented with a delicious (but expensive, we discovered later... what to do) glass of Riesling.



(First test post from my phone, pardon the image quality...)

Our cheap eateries in Abu Dhabi

Time Out Abu Dhabi just published a list of 31 cheap eateries in Abu Dhabi. Very pleased to see so many of our long standing favorites in the list! Among others:

Asian Garden (Thai and Filipino. Never really a fan of multiple kitchens in restaurants, but we tried it and were addicted. When we asked the waiters what nationality the cook is, he proudly said they have two cooks,  one Thai and one Filipino! We’ve been regulars ever since.)

Lebanese Flower (Lebanese –> shawarma and other Lebanese goodies)

Kathmandu (Nepali)

Bandung (Indonesian)

Beijing (Chinese, approved by Shu)

Al Fujairah (Pakistani, delicious thick curries)

Captain’s Arms (pub food, one of the few pubs with a very nice cosy outside; ‘terras’ in Dutch)

There are also a few eclectic ones, among which:

49ers The Gold Rush (steaks, as Time Out Abu Dhabi put it: ‘if this were a magazine it would be pure ‘top shelf’, because of the clientele that populates the place after 9pm, ‘nuf said :)

And also a few we have yet to try, like:

Transilvania (Romanian)

and Fish Hut (fried fish…), at just over one Euro/US$, it’s a steal!

My mouth is watering!! Time for LUNCH :D

(you can read the full article here)!

Sex And The City – Not in Abu Dhabi!

I have to make this blog posting because of my rights given to me by all the Sex And The City DVDs I own. Contrary to perception, the upcoming SATC2 movie (trailer here) will NOT be featuring a single scene from Abu Dhabi, even though the name is mentioned all over the place. All the scenes were shot in Morocco.

So how did this all happen? Well, how should I put this kindly. It seems there is a beauty competition for international tourism spotlight. Somehow AD decides to let its prettier neighbor to do the catwalk bearing its name - All in the name of boosting tourism! Ironically given the first SATC movie was pretty much banned in UAE, I doubt the new one will get shown here.

Don’t get me wrong, the city has its own charm – just not what is portrayed in the movie! Will the real Abu Dhabi please stand up?

Made me Scream

The National published two interesting articles on UAE lifestyle today. One of them is about how the car crashes in UAE costs Dhs 21 Billion (Eur 4 Billion or US$ 6 Billion) a year, equivalent to one eighth of the country’s oil export. This is in addition to the ~1,000 lives the crashes cause each year. *Gulp!*

The other one was about Emirati young women’s spending habit and seemed less alarming until I started reading it. Here are some excerpts from the article – yes, I know they only represent individual views, but you can get a glimpse through their situation:

Mai Mohammed, 21, from Abu Dhabi, one of those taking part in the ZU (N.B. Zayed University) discussion, says she spent up to Dh3,000 (N.B. Eur 600 or US$ 900) per week at the boutiques in the malls of Dubai with her friends.

“The pressure is not on me. It’s on my dad and my mum. We’re girls and we have to look after our fashion and style,” said Ms Mohammed, a fourth-year student.
“It’s my parents who are under pressure. They’re the ones who pay.”

And although they do tell her to watch her spending, her tastes have grown expensive.

“Chanel, for instance, it’s my number one brand,” she said. “My parents want to give me what I want.”

Ms Mohammed’s room has a separate dressing area that houses three wardrobes; one for abayas (N.B. see photo below), another for jeans and T-shirts and a third for accessories. She said she thinks she has about 30 name-brand handbags – Chanel, Dior and Fendi. Her most expensive is a classic red Chanel bag she bought in London for about Dh16,500.

“Even my mother wants to take my card away a lot,” she said. “We’re actually spoiled.”

Photo courtesy of The National. A black abaya robe can cost up to 2,000 dhs.

….

“In the first year [at a university], there’s pressure when you see all the other girls. Then you get used to it,” said Mariam al Amimi. “In my first year, I bought a lot of clothes. I went a whole term without repeating any of them.”

Fatima Abdulrahman, 23, agreed: “In the first year, everyone wants to show off.”

The students said that they felt that because they wore abayas, they had to spend a little more on accessories like phones, make up and shoes in order to express their fashion sense and individuality. Some girls like their nail polish to match their BlackBerry cases, for example.

“Sometimes we want to show off, sometimes we want to show off who we are,” said Sarah al Dhaheri, 20.

Matching nail polish to BlackBerry cases?!? AAAHHHHHHHH!!!! I don’t care if anyone thinks I am self-righteous - this cannot be right.

My Bit of Abu Dhabi Impression

Q is in the Netherlands attending his dad’s retirement party -Congrats, Bart & Wads! I figured I can take a camera as my companion to the Abu Dhabi streets and see what I get. Here are some photos to share with you.

This is the city we live in – somehow I saw its heart better through camera lens. I wonder why.

Look, Two Wheels, Hooray!

Isn’t it just so exhilarating to be on two wheels and cutting through fresh air – especially in crazy Abu Dhabi traffic!

I have been biking to work this winter – it is about half an hour one way and takes me through about 10 km of multi-flavored city: downtown congestion, road barriers, highway bridge, pedestrian side walks, building elevator, construction site, and corniche path – watching sunset over the water front is very therapeutic after a long day at work!   Q caught me one morning as he stopped on the way to the Abu Dhabi airport. (If you cannot see the video link, click here.)

 

Another exciting development in our lives is that I am learning to ride motorcycle! Yes, in Abu Dhabi – can you believe it?!? I know, I can’t even believe it myself!!! I don’t want to jinx anything so the storytelling will have to wait till I pass the road test next Monday. But in the mean time enjoy the video Q took – thanks for watching my back, sweetie! (If you cannot see the video link, click here.)

 

More to follow on our two wheels adventure in Abu Dhabi… Stay tuned. :)

I Can, therefore I Spend

Here is a photo of my manicured fingers. For my friends back in Toronto, I promise you this is a one-off thing, so don’t panic. But the experience did prompt me to blog about this human behavior magnified in this part of the world: I can, therefore I spend.

- Nails. Getting French manicure only cost me AED 50 (EUR 10 or USD 13) in a decent ladies-only salon in a shopping mall. Because how affordable it is, getting manicured and pedicured becomes a popular weekly routine for a lot of ladies – both local and expats. Whereas I just got depressed hearing from my Filipino aesthete that it’s been four months since she left her baby behind.

- Hair. I have never seen as high percentage of blonds among Caucasians as in Abu Dhabi. I’m serious. The second time I saw the same Lebanese hairdresser, he asked me, “why don’t you dye your hair?” I said, “no, i like mine grey.” he went, “Oh, I remember you. Last time you also didn’t want your hair dyed.” That was three months ago – I was surprised he remembered me. As if that wasn’t enough, he went on saying, “You are not from this world. Look around, everyone dyes their hair.” Okay, maybe not everyone, but it’s pretty close. Apparently if you can afford adding that touch of gold in your hair, you get it done!

- Cars. Earlier today a colleague complained that he had to pay AED 8,400 (EUR 1,700 or USD 2,200) for his wife’s car registration renewal – all just for her speeding tickets. I asked him what kind of car his (house)wife drives – he said Audi. Just another case of I can therefore I spend.

Like a friend once said, “Abu Dhabi is a place that brings out the best of you and the worst of you.” Unfortunately it’s more the latter for most of us. I’m secretly hoping the nail polish will chip off sooner rather than later.

UAE Visitors Take Note

Unless you are good at reading fine prints, avoid visiting Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Yes, you heard me. UAE is a country where vacation is to be enjoyed with caution. Here are the fine prints that most visitors are not aware:

- It is illegal to drink alcohol without a liquor license in this country, and I suspect none of the tourists would get one considering the application process is lengthy. (story link)

- It is illegal to swear in public, especially to locals. No f-word, no middle-finger, no jokingly, no moment-of-excitement. None. (story link)

- It is illegal to have sex or stay in the same room outside wedlock. And yes, that means rape victims can be charged on the same account, oh yes. (story link)

The list goes on.

Surely all these illegal activities exist among tourists and expats, but just like car accidents, they rarely happen and most people are happy with their day-to-day lives without noticing anything until something goes wrong.

Oh yeah, and if one is really unlucky and got in the way of an important local (story link), it’s a good idea to get on the very next flight out of the country before setting foot in a police station.

There you have it. UAE visitors take note.

Touching base

My previous employer in the Netherlands (LVNL) asked me to write an article for their internal magazine updating them with what’s been going on with us since we left.

I really enjoyed my time working there, and this is a way of touching base with my previous work and colleagues.
(hallo LVNLers (and all others!), post a reply or send an email, let us know how you’re doing!)

They allowed me to publish the article on the blog, have a read if your Dutch is up to scratch :)

(for people on our mailing list, if you don’t see the picture in this post, go to the blog to read it)

(P.S. changed the link to a bigger picture...)