As is known, the UAE is still and will for a number of years be undergoing huge levels of development. One of the most exciting in Abu Dhabi is Saadiyat Island, one of the largest natural islands off the coast of AD, which is being developed as the cultural centre of the capital.
Alongside the Picasso exhibition in the Emirates Palace, there are models on the plans for the development, which include no less than 4 brand new museums, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Maritime Museum and the Sheihk Zayed National Museum.
The developments is one of the most exciting in Abu Dhabi, which will include more hotels, apartments, villas, retail and leisure, a business district, concert hall, performing arts centre, 2 brand new golf courses and still maintain 30km of sea front. It's taken them 20 years of talking to get Saadiyat to this stage, but looking at the plans it seems it will be well worth the wait.
It's good to see that nearly all major developments in AD have a masterplan to ensure their sustainability, but that they all seem to have a theme. Go further up the coast and you reach Yas Island, another exciting development, with the main theme being motorsports, and will include a Ferrari Theme Park and Abu Dhabi's F1 circuit. NB: first Grand Prix - October 2009
Friday, July 18, 2008
Picasso in AD
There seems to be an emphasis on Arts and Culture here in Abu Dhabi, highlighted by the development at Saadiyat Island of the cultural district, but more of that in bit. To increase the interest, for a period of about 3 and half months up to early September, there is a Picasso exhibition on at the Emirates Palace.
A fabulous exhibition with over 200 paintings, sketches and sculptures on display covering virtually all examples of his work. Apparently the total amount of pieces by the Spaniard is in the hundreds of thousands and seeing a small percentage in one place gives you an amazing insight into the numerous different phases he experienced, from the Blue and Rose periods to Cubism. You can literally walk from one exhibit to another and couldn't be blamed for thinking you were looking at the work of different artists. Even some of his self portraits were amazingly different!
The interesting thing as well is reading the explanations by each piece, you can understand what was going on in his personal life and how that influenced his work. More time and effort seems to have been put into works on his wives and lovers, than those done when he was alone.
A great exhibition offering a fabulous insight into his life.
A fabulous exhibition with over 200 paintings, sketches and sculptures on display covering virtually all examples of his work. Apparently the total amount of pieces by the Spaniard is in the hundreds of thousands and seeing a small percentage in one place gives you an amazing insight into the numerous different phases he experienced, from the Blue and Rose periods to Cubism. You can literally walk from one exhibit to another and couldn't be blamed for thinking you were looking at the work of different artists. Even some of his self portraits were amazingly different!
The interesting thing as well is reading the explanations by each piece, you can understand what was going on in his personal life and how that influenced his work. More time and effort seems to have been put into works on his wives and lovers, than those done when he was alone.
A great exhibition offering a fabulous insight into his life.
Rumour - George Michael coming to town
Everyone gets excited when an act comes to town, it doesn't happen that often and when they come they usually only do one night. Apparently it happened at the beginning of the year when Elton John came and the same at the beginning of the summer when Bon Jovi played an open air concert in the grounds of the Emirates Palace.
A good mixture of people go to these concerts, people that aren't necessarily big fans but go because they happen so infrequently that they just want to go to a concert here.
A rumour I heard recently, which originated from a reliable source, is that to mark the end of this years National Day celebrations (2nd December), George Michael will be performing here. Nothings confirmed yet and there are also rumours that he will stop performing live soon anyway, but having seen him a couple of years ago at the NEC in Brum, if he does perform over here, then I'm there. And no doubt certain friends and family will make the effort and come over for it.
Other acts soon to come to the UAE, admittedly to Dubai, but still worth a trip nonetheless, are Queen, Kylie and Sting!
A good mixture of people go to these concerts, people that aren't necessarily big fans but go because they happen so infrequently that they just want to go to a concert here.
A rumour I heard recently, which originated from a reliable source, is that to mark the end of this years National Day celebrations (2nd December), George Michael will be performing here. Nothings confirmed yet and there are also rumours that he will stop performing live soon anyway, but having seen him a couple of years ago at the NEC in Brum, if he does perform over here, then I'm there. And no doubt certain friends and family will make the effort and come over for it.
Other acts soon to come to the UAE, admittedly to Dubai, but still worth a trip nonetheless, are Queen, Kylie and Sting!
As Nelly said ...... It's getting hot in here .....
Clearly we're in the desert, we are not far from the Tropic of Cancer and we know it's going to get hot, but blimey, do the summers get hot? July and August are the hottest months of the year, with clear blue skies, scorching sun, and temperatures in the early to mid 40's. I like the sunshine so thrive on this type of weather in the day. The difficulty is in the evenings, temperatures don't drop as much as you would expect and humidity is high. This summer is apparently a particularly hot one, with daily temperatures way above the average of 43 degrees for this time of year, nighttime humidity at around 80% and 90%, and evening temperatures not often going below 37 degrees.
Just to let you know, the car was parked in the shade and later that day I was in the car again, unfortunately without a camera phone and the display showed 50!
I had to pop out to a meeting at mid morning recently and was shocked at the temperature display in the car:
Just to let you know, the car was parked in the shade and later that day I was in the car again, unfortunately without a camera phone and the display showed 50!
Stinginess or a point of principal?
I've mentioned on a few occasions how cheap a taxi ride is around Abu Dhabi. Depending on what type of cab you hail, either an older looking white and gold taxi or the more modern silver ones, a typical ride from one end of town to the other will cost somewhere between 4 & 7 dirhams, or 60p to a quid. Subsequently you give a tip, and usually round it all up to 10 dirhams. Sometimes you end up giving as much as tip as the cost of the ride itself, probably something you would never do in the UK. A cab ride from the centre of Brum back to my house is about 17quid, and it's the norm to give 20 and leave it there, not double it to 34, but the cost here is so cheap, giving 5 dirhams for a 4 dirham taxi ride, with 1 dirham as a tip is a bit embarrassing. The other thing as well is, unlike most black cab drivers back home, over here the cabbies are employed and salaried, so what is on the meter is for the firm and a tip is straight in their pocket. And tips are very important to them.
Late at night it gets interesting. Recently every time I've got into a cab after a night out I've had to argue with a cabbie who refuses to put the meter on. Fair enough, he's just trying to make some extra money, but at the end of the day it's not right. If he insists, then you try and agree the price. Now, normally he's going to get a 5 dirham tip on a 5 dirham cab ride, so 10 dirhams back to the apartment is acceptable, but most try it on and try 20, 30 or even 40 for a ride that is only 5. OK we're only talking a couple of quid, the price of a pint, but if you're going to pull a fast one over your boss, don't take the mick out of the punter. In these cases, people usually get out and wait for another cab. While waiting for one outside the Hilton the other week, a girl in front of me got in and out of 3 different cabs because of this. We joked about it, and even though it's small amounts compared to the UK, it is a point of principal ......... or are we just being tight?
Late at night it gets interesting. Recently every time I've got into a cab after a night out I've had to argue with a cabbie who refuses to put the meter on. Fair enough, he's just trying to make some extra money, but at the end of the day it's not right. If he insists, then you try and agree the price. Now, normally he's going to get a 5 dirham tip on a 5 dirham cab ride, so 10 dirhams back to the apartment is acceptable, but most try it on and try 20, 30 or even 40 for a ride that is only 5. OK we're only talking a couple of quid, the price of a pint, but if you're going to pull a fast one over your boss, don't take the mick out of the punter. In these cases, people usually get out and wait for another cab. While waiting for one outside the Hilton the other week, a girl in front of me got in and out of 3 different cabs because of this. We joked about it, and even though it's small amounts compared to the UK, it is a point of principal ......... or are we just being tight?
Friday, July 11, 2008
You know the rules, don't break them! You have been warned!
It's common knowledge worldwide that what some people may see as acceptable behaviour or may tolerate in some parts of the world, is frowned on and even illegal in the UAE. There are also those things which are also not acceptable anywhere in the world, that the UAE are are harsher on, and as well as not tolerate, punish, and punish severely. There are no hidden secrets, we know the rules, to live here contently you have to stick to them, and after all, we are guests in someone else's country.
One of the biggest topics over the past few days amongst the expats over here, and especially us in the "media" sector has been the story of a couple of Brits facing jail terms on a number of what are seen as serious charges. It's made headlines over here and back home, and the way the different national press cover it is funny, but that's a different story. If you've not heard it, a thirty year old girl who works in publishing in Dubai for one of the biggest publishers over there got extremely drunk at a traditional Friday brunch. A typical Friday brunch starts at 12, finishes at around 4 and consists of an all you can eat and all you can drink menu. At this brunch, this girl became friendly and acquainted with a male British tourist. They went for an afternoon walk down the beach and one thing led to another and subsequently began consummating their newly formed relationship. Unfortunately for them, they were caught in the act by the local police, who then advised them they were acting against the UAE laws, though very fortunately for them just asked them to stop and cautioned them.
Now maybe it's just me, but if you get caught doing something wrong and are let off, you count your lucky stars and take the advice given and just don't do it again. Well on this occasion, once the officer left the seen, the couple just carried on, only to get caught shortly afterwards by the same copper, who promptly arrested them. The girl allegedly took offence to this and threw a tirade of verbal and physical abuse towards the officer. She is alleged to have hit him with her stiletto, swore and was racist towards him.
This was last Friday, and soon afterwards she appeared in court facing three serious charges, having a sexual affair (sex outside marriage is against the law), indecency in public and insulting a police officer - there are rumours of a fourth charge of being drunk in public as well. She faces a sentence of between 3 months and 6 years. To try and lessen the sentence, the couple have allegedly got married to have the first charge dropped - a shot gun wedding if ever I've heard one and a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. She has also since been fired from her job, I wouldn't be surprised if this is partly because in their article on the issue, The Sun newspaper featured the companies big blue logo!
Their final fate has yet to be decided, if they are lucky they will just be deported, however legal experts are saying that she is likely to be sentenced to years not months.
Do I have any sympathy for her? Not at all. She has lived here 3 years and knows the rules, she broke them, and carried on breaking them after she was warned. The defence will be she was very drunk, and too me that is no defence at all, and I can't see that landing on sympathetic ears in the courts over here for obvious reasons.
As the saying goes, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime!"
One of the biggest topics over the past few days amongst the expats over here, and especially us in the "media" sector has been the story of a couple of Brits facing jail terms on a number of what are seen as serious charges. It's made headlines over here and back home, and the way the different national press cover it is funny, but that's a different story. If you've not heard it, a thirty year old girl who works in publishing in Dubai for one of the biggest publishers over there got extremely drunk at a traditional Friday brunch. A typical Friday brunch starts at 12, finishes at around 4 and consists of an all you can eat and all you can drink menu. At this brunch, this girl became friendly and acquainted with a male British tourist. They went for an afternoon walk down the beach and one thing led to another and subsequently began consummating their newly formed relationship. Unfortunately for them, they were caught in the act by the local police, who then advised them they were acting against the UAE laws, though very fortunately for them just asked them to stop and cautioned them.
Now maybe it's just me, but if you get caught doing something wrong and are let off, you count your lucky stars and take the advice given and just don't do it again. Well on this occasion, once the officer left the seen, the couple just carried on, only to get caught shortly afterwards by the same copper, who promptly arrested them. The girl allegedly took offence to this and threw a tirade of verbal and physical abuse towards the officer. She is alleged to have hit him with her stiletto, swore and was racist towards him.
This was last Friday, and soon afterwards she appeared in court facing three serious charges, having a sexual affair (sex outside marriage is against the law), indecency in public and insulting a police officer - there are rumours of a fourth charge of being drunk in public as well. She faces a sentence of between 3 months and 6 years. To try and lessen the sentence, the couple have allegedly got married to have the first charge dropped - a shot gun wedding if ever I've heard one and a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. She has also since been fired from her job, I wouldn't be surprised if this is partly because in their article on the issue, The Sun newspaper featured the companies big blue logo!
Their final fate has yet to be decided, if they are lucky they will just be deported, however legal experts are saying that she is likely to be sentenced to years not months.
Do I have any sympathy for her? Not at all. She has lived here 3 years and knows the rules, she broke them, and carried on breaking them after she was warned. The defence will be she was very drunk, and too me that is no defence at all, and I can't see that landing on sympathetic ears in the courts over here for obvious reasons.
As the saying goes, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime!"
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Grocery shopping
We're quite lucky where we live, we have all the amenities close to hand, KFC virtually under the apartment, Baskin Robbins next to that, then BK, MacDonalds and in between them Al Sahada which does the nicest chicken shwarmas ever. We also have a choice of handy supermarkets, the 24hr Abu Dhabi Co-op is 3 minutes walk and nearby we have the much nicer Abela, and 3 minutes in the car is the even nicer Spinneys.
Spinneys and Abela are great, they have everything you need, from freshly baked bread, cheeses and fresh fruit and veg, to toiletries, household goods and a lot of Waitrose products. They do have two other sections that stand out, the first is the drinks section. No supermarket sells alcohol on it's main shop floor (Spinneys has an off license underneath), however they do have shelves of Budweiser, Holsten etc. These are all alcohol free and in a lot of cases, flavoured! The strangest I have seen yet is apple flavoured, alcohol free Budweiser. As a friend said last night, it is called Budweiser, but it doesn't taste of beer, has no alcohol and tastes of fruit juice, so why don't they just call it fruit juice? Fair point.
The second section is a lot more welcome. Clearly we are in a Muslim country and pork is not allowed, however, like the discreet off licenses, some supermarkets that cater more for the expat community, do have dedicated, discreet, non Muslim sections. The other day I was like a kid in a sweet shop, stocking up on Pepperami, pork sausages, black pudding (yes, we found black pudding in the desert), bacon, pate, bacon fries and the best of all, Mr Porky Pork Scratchings - all the way from Wednesbury in the West Midlands. I must admit I did feel a bit guilty going through the checkout with all this, but the bacon buttie I had the next morning soon made me forget the guilt!
Spinneys and Abela are great, they have everything you need, from freshly baked bread, cheeses and fresh fruit and veg, to toiletries, household goods and a lot of Waitrose products. They do have two other sections that stand out, the first is the drinks section. No supermarket sells alcohol on it's main shop floor (Spinneys has an off license underneath), however they do have shelves of Budweiser, Holsten etc. These are all alcohol free and in a lot of cases, flavoured! The strangest I have seen yet is apple flavoured, alcohol free Budweiser. As a friend said last night, it is called Budweiser, but it doesn't taste of beer, has no alcohol and tastes of fruit juice, so why don't they just call it fruit juice? Fair point.
The second section is a lot more welcome. Clearly we are in a Muslim country and pork is not allowed, however, like the discreet off licenses, some supermarkets that cater more for the expat community, do have dedicated, discreet, non Muslim sections. The other day I was like a kid in a sweet shop, stocking up on Pepperami, pork sausages, black pudding (yes, we found black pudding in the desert), bacon, pate, bacon fries and the best of all, Mr Porky Pork Scratchings - all the way from Wednesbury in the West Midlands. I must admit I did feel a bit guilty going through the checkout with all this, but the bacon buttie I had the next morning soon made me forget the guilt!
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