A Friday on the roads

Friday in the UAE is the first day of the weekend, and as far as the roads are concerned, up until early afternoon, they are very quiet. My apartment overlooks one of the busiest roads in AD and it is busy virtually all of the time, apart from a Friday morning.

AD's road system is based on a grid, very similar to Milton Keynes but with traffic lights at most junctions not roundabouts! The main roads are about 3 lanes wide each way, so pretty wide and plenty of space. On Friday lunchtime a pal and I were popping over to some friends from work in a taxi, and were driving along these quite wide roads. As we approached a set of lights, we noticed, just over the lights, a very congested road, with cars stationary in 2 of the three lanes. Our immediate thought was there has been yet another accident on the UAE roads. However as we approached this "traffic" and drove past, we realised all the cars were empty. They were outside a mosque and as the car park was full, the worshippers literally just parked and double parked their cars outside and went in for Friday prayers. No one would ever complain, and rightly so! It was considerate parking, they did after all leave their hazard lights on!

A very different drink

I came across a new drink last night that I'm just not sure about at the moment. I tried a bit and it just left me confused. Apparently it's not unique to Abu Dhabi (or the UAE) as it's name would suggest. The drink was a Fosters Mexican, but I guess it could just as well be a Heineken Mexican, a Carling Mexican or even a Stella Mexican! You get the idea. I tried to guess what this drink could be, but just couldn't! I mean, who would dare mess with the sacred pint of lager and start adding things to it? I have a pal back in Birmingham who drinks a lager top, and that I can just about accept as it adds a little touch of sweetness to a cold pint. So what is it? Three simple ingredients, two of which are usual accompaniments of the most popular Mexican drink, tequila. Take a pint glass, absolutely coat the rim with salt, poor in the bottom a very healthy measure of freshly squeezed, pure lemon juice then fill up with a draught lager of your choice. A very strange combination, which the barman at 3rd Avenue assures me helps you not get drunk! And who am I to argue with the font of all knowledge that is a barman! Was half expecting him to tell me that it also contributes to my 5 a day!

Eating out

We do a fair bit of cooking over here, but to be honest most people. most of the time, go out for food. There are some great places to eat, you are spoilt for choice, and I don't think I've ate anywhere that's let me down. Bice, Hemmingways and the Jazz Bar all at the Hilton served good food, the Marakesh at the Millennium Hotel has a great seafood buffet, so much choice, probably too much. 3rd Avenue at the Sheraton down the road has good English pub grub and Il Paradisso at the other Sheraton had a great menu, where you literally paid by the weight for your fish. Outside of hotels, the Lebanese Flower does a great meat grill. However the one that sticks out the most for me is the Starlight Cafe.

I was taken there the other week, and it was described to me as the place where the Indian taxi drivers go to eat. Now, these guys aren't on the best of salaries so my expectation levels were set pretty low before I got there. Even with this in mind, I wasn't prepared for what I saw. It was just like the greasiest greasy spoon in the back streets of Birmingham you've ever seen . The choice is chicken curry or fish curry, with rice, salad and chapatis. Drinks on offer are water and ...... water. We got there late (about 8pm), sat a table looking into the kitchen, and when we ordered was told there was no rice! The food came out with no cutlery, and when I asked for a fork, was given a very strange look.

Once you get passed this, and trying to eat with scores of flies all over the place, the food was great. It was simple, straight forward Indian food, not made for tourists, but made for Indians. The type of food they would probably eat in their own home & not like what you'd get in Birmingham's Balti Triangle or Manchester's Curry Mile. Tasty and plentiful. Definitely worth a visit if you are ever over here. The cost? Two of us ate (and ate very well) for 17 and a half dirhams, and with just under 7 dirhams to the pound, you do the maths! That's right, just under 2 pounds 50 for two! Where is it? Not 100% sure, but aim for BHS and it's just behind there.

Abu Dhabi v Dubai

Just shy of two years ago I had a great holiday in Dubai. My first visit over here and I literally loved it! A mixture of needing a holiday, going somewhere different and fashionable, staying in a great resort on the outskirts of Dubai, but mainly due to the experience of the place. After a 2 week holiday, I left feeling that I could really enjoy living and working there.

My next visit to Dubai was for a day on my first trip to Abu Dhabi about 6 months ago, and I wasn't too sure about the place, it just wasn't the same as Abu Dhabi, and in less than 18months it had changed a lot.

I went again yesterday for the day (it's no more than an hour and half in the car) and again it's changed. So busy, so much development, so many cars, so many people, it just doesn't look as appealing. The tower blocks they are building are just metres apart from each other, and they seem to have decided to get as many buildings on the smallest amount of land area possible. However what is impressive is the new tower the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower). When completed it will be the tallest building in the world, over 750 metres tall, or half a mile high!

So why has the appeal gone? A number of reasons, the main one being able to compare Dubai with Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, and bigger than Dubai, but internationally Dubai is more recognised. Abu Dhabi is behind Dubai in it's development, but from spending just over four weeks over here, it is a lovely place. Not over developed, more open spaces, not as many cranes (fact - 15% of the worlds cranes are in Dubai), and busy and congested in parts, but not as much as Dubai. The way someone compared the two to me recently was Dubai is the New York and Abu Dhabi the Washington, which is a fair comparison.

The Abu Dhabi of now is much calmer and cleaner (in my opinion) to the Dubai of today, and that's why I prefer it, but it's a few years behind Dubai in development and has a lot of plans. I just hope it doesn't suffer the same as Dubai and just implode? Honestly I don't think it will for two reasons, firstly it claims to be learning from the mistakes of Dubai and secondly it has it's masterplan called Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, which is aimed at joining up all the developments going on here. Again I hope it does manage things better, but it will be a challenge as, as in all cases, money talks. In the new newspaper today, The National, I read that residential property has gone up 53% in the year to April 2008, occupancy levels are at 98% and subsequently rents rising sharply (22% in the same period). Market forces are dictating what goes on. With the current population of 900,000 expected to rise to 1,300,000 by 2013, the demand will continue to outstrip supply. Currently there are 180,000 residential units, and a further 100,000 are needed by 2010, and a further 140,000 in the 3 years after that till 2013. And even after all this there will still not be oversupply! So, in 5 years Abu Dhabi will be every different, so to manage this huge growth in a controlled way, without it losing the charm it has now, is a challenge, but I'm sure one AD will rise to.

Becoming a resident of the UAE

Getting residency in the UAE is quite a long, drawn out process, and it is bureaucracy at its finest. More paperwork and more passport photos than you can imagine! But it’s a necessary evil as you are limited to what you can do until you have your residence visa. You can’t get a bank account, you can’t get a mobile phone on contract (it has to be pay as you go), you can’t get a booze license, and you can’t buy a car. All things I’ve taken for granted back in the UK.

The process begins by you applying through your employer, who is also your sponsor. They do all the paperwork, but you hand over 6 passport photos! Once that’s complete, you get a form to go for your medical examination which includes an x-ray for shadows on your chest in case you have tuberculosis and blood test for HIV! These cost you just over 30pounds and a further 4 passport photos.

These tests are carried out one after the other in a local hospital, which has absolutely no order whatsoever, no discretion, just from one desk to another for form filling, over to the cashier for paying, back to the desk for a form, in for the tests, back to the desk, over to the x-ray area, and then it’s done! Three day later, back to the hospital for the results! And you get given a form simply saying you are “FIT”. Not sure what it says if you fail any of them! Apparently though, it is rumored that if you do fail you are asked to leave the country straight away! In some cases it is alleged that they escort you from the hospital to your flat, are asked to pack your stuff and taken to the airport and put on the first available flight back home!

So, once you are declared “FIT”, you then take your certificate back to your employer who then passes it on to get processed. But so far no need for more passport photos!

Anyway, I was declared “FIT” the other day (which for those that no me, is probably not a way you would expect me described) and should hopefully have a residence visa in the next few days, then Abu Dhabi is my oyster!!!

Jazz Bar

I have mentioned this place in a previous blog, but now I think it deserves it's own little review. A group of us from Turret ME went out to the Jazz Bar at the Hilton for a bite to eat, a couple of drinks, and a little dance. Were about 11 of us in all, and the company was great, which then doesn't really matter where you are. However the Jazz Bar is like the icing on the cake of a good night out.

We got to the Jazz Bar at about 8 and left at 2, and it felt like we were there for about half an hour. The food was great, a massive chicken Caesar salad to start with, with more chicken than salad. After that I didn't need any more food, and I didn't think I'd manage the main, but when the lamb chops came out, my appetite miraculously returned. They were fantastic!

The same house band were on, called N2 from Cape Town and they entertained as normal. The variation of songs was brilliant, Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye) one minute to Mysterious Girl (Peter Andre) another minute. A naff song admittedly, but the reggae style rap the singer throws in half way through just makes you love it! And completely out of no where, they throw in a bit of Bon Jovi. Not one of their usual songs but I guess they did it as Bon Jovi were in concert here on Tuesday. An intimate venue of a couple of hundred people and the band had them screaming for more at 2am as if they were playing Wembley!

Champions League Final at NRG

Watching the Champions League in Abu Dhabi was fun. Ended up in NRG Sports Bar at Le Meridien, watching it out doors till 2 in the morning. The place was rammed and a great atmosphere. There were people wearing Manure tops and others wearing Chelski, and there was great banter going on between all the groups. But the one guy that stood out from all was the big bloke standing in the centre all the way through the game wearing an Arse top! Fair play to him! Was going to wear a Villa shirt, but thought it might be best to save that one for the main European tournament that kicks off in July, the Inter Toto! It's importance is under rated!

Met a nice guy while at NRG from the FT. Originally from Yorkshire and a Leeds Utd fan, but still a decent bloke. As he was with his mate Colin the Manc, he felt he ought to support Manure, which I think is the first time I've ever heard a Leeds fan do that.

Jobs for everyone

In some aspects, we're just like any other established events company and fledgling publishing business. We have a Chairman, and MD, an accounts department, admin, sales people, journalist, designers, marketeers, basically everything you would expect. But we also have 3 very different, but just as important, roles to what you would find in many other companies. We have our very own Chauffeur/Debt Collector (that's how he is listed in the internal directory). You have a meeting in Dubai, he takes you - you need to get to the airport, he's there - you need a contract picking up, he gets it - a cheque needs collecting he's your man.

Then there's the guy, who does a lot of miscellaneous things for different people, not wanting to put him down, but a bit like an office gofer. The one thing he always does for everyone is bring you tea, coffee, water whenever you want one. Now, without even asking by 9am there's a coffee no sugar and a glass of water brought in for me. His official job title is catering Officer and he even has his own extension line in the kitchen so you can call him up when you want a drink instead of just waiting for him to walk past. You may chuckle and think it's lazy, but as far as i know every company has one. Personally, I feel embarrassed asking for a drink (but i do) however I've never called him up for one!

Thirdly, there's the other guy. Now how do I describe him? He's an Emirati, dresses in a dishdasha, has a desk with no computer, but a phone which he never uses. I've been struggling to work out what he does, it looks like he does very little! His job title is Head of Business Development, and apparently he's a "Mr Fix-it"! He's very well connected, with every organisation, even with the government, and can get you in front of people you may otherwise not get in front of. Can be very useful as sometimes Emiratis will only deal with Emiratis.

Thank you

A short message to thank everyone for their feedback and encouragement since I started this blog, I'm primarily doing it for my own record, but as it's accessible by anyone and everyone it's nice to get some feedback.

One thing I promise is I will put photos on shortly ......... and as soon as I work out how to!

Fun nights out

There's something for everyone to do on any evening of the week in Abu Dhabi. In the past week we've had some great nights out, Wednesday night we bowled down to Hemingway's bar at the Hilton, lovely bar, nice food, mainly Mexican theme. They have a great house band that play six nights a week, only two a two piece, a guy who plays the guitar and a lady who plays drums and sings. They're both from New Zealand, she has a great voice and I've spoken to them over a beer before and they're nice friendly people. After that we walked through the door of Hemingway's into the Jazz Bar. We were all a bit tired, so just sat there, unwinding listening to some relaxing jazz and soul. The band were new to Jazz Bar apparently, a six piece band from South Africa. About half way through the night they livened it up immensely, playing reggae, pop, you name it, but these guys, especially the lead singer were really entertaining. A group of us are going there on Thursday, apparently, as it's the start of the weekend, it is absolutely packed and has one of the best atmospheres in town. With this band i can well believe it.

Thursday a small group of us from work went to the Sheraton and ate in one of their 12 restaurants, Il Paradiso, the seafood restaurant. We had a table outside, it was in the mid 30's with high humidity, and those of us carrying a bit of extra baggage were getting a bit hot under the collar! Nevertheless the food was great, but not too sure if the soup they bought us was exactly necessary! After that, bowled over to a club called Embassy in Emirates Palace (probably the best - certainly the most expensive to build - hotel in the world). Good crowd, great atmosphere, and ok music if you like that sort of thing. Nice to go to a club where everyone relaxes, no attitude and you aren't worried if you get a glass in your face just for catching someones glance!

Five fascinations

Hopefully a regular post that will highlight some of the experiences, impressions, things that have fascinated me, etc and that have really stood out and made an impact, both good and bad.

1. The Greenery - we're in the desert, the biggest area of the land in the UAE is pure sand, from May through to September it's over 40 degrees, yet the dual carriageways are all green, the hotel grounds are beautifully landscaped and there are numerous parks - I'm looking at one now directly across the road from my apartment balcony, full of palm trees and date trees and covered in glorious green grass, it's just not what you expect, but lovely to see nonetheless.

2. The Politeness - all the service jobs are done by non-locals, the bar tenders, waiters, supermarket attendants etc, are all mainly from the Far East and Sub-Continent, but by and large they are all so friendly. At the exhibition centre where the office is, downstairs is the coffee shop and restaurant. All the staff there make a point of knowing your name straight away, and you walk in in the mornings to the sound of "Morning Mr Chris" and when you leave in the evening, the last thing you hear is "Goodnight Sir Chris". It's the same people both of the time, they've been on their feet all day, yet are still up beat, jovial, friendly and very polite. And unlike in the USA, they're not playing for tips!

3. The National Pride - I'm still getting used to seeing most of the men dressed in the traditional national outfit, the dishdasha or kandura (the long white shirt like robe, with a headdress of a white cloth and black rope).

It made an impression on me when I came to Dubai a couple of years ago, and it still makes an impression on me now. They all walk about with this very regal look about them, and this air of pride to be wearing their national outfit. Walking around the shopping centres, even the young teenage lads are wearing them. Beats seeing kids in designer clobber, massively expensive trainers and the standard Burberry check!

4. The Driving - an experience I don't think I'll ever get used to and one I'm not looking forward to joining in on! It's like the worst white knuckle ride in the world! They change lanes without indicating, and don't even care if you are in the lane next to them. All you can do is move out of the way. They screech to a halt at the traffic lights, mainly because they are going so fast and leave it till the last minute to stop.

5. Cityscape Abu Dhabi - one of the biggest exhibitions at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Imagine half a dozen halls at the NEC full with developers showing off their latest developments, villas and apartments ..... and actually selling on site. The first day was that mad, it was like the start of the Harrods January sale, with a big rush as the doors opened. If you thought Urban Splash selling the whole Rotunda out in 20 minutes with people queuing over night was impressive, then multiply it by 100's and you still won't even be close. Some developers doubled the price of flats by lunchtime on the first day and there were even stories of fights breaking out over entire tower blocks! It was that busy, that HH Shaikh Mohammed announced the exhibition would go on for an extra day!

Something Britains got right

In the early weeks, it's very easy to get carried away and say how good this is and how good that is, and how great the whole place is etc etc, as everyday is just a new experience, however there is one thing that they have got totally wrong over here and Britain has got right, and that was introduced on the 1st July ......... the smoking ban!

Don't get me wrong, this isn't going to be a rant about how smoking is bad, smokers should not get treatment on the NHS, and how it's unfair on non-smokers that have to suffer from second hand smoke etc etc. I'm a smoker myself, have been for years, and to be honest I enjoy it and have no plans to give up. However, I know it's not exactly the best thing for me, so being able to smoke as freely as you can over here, compared to back home you invariably smoke more. There are days in England where I just won't smoke, and going out of an evening, it becomes antisociable to leave your friends for a quick fag, so cutting down, if not giving up is forced upon you, which isn't bad, especially for those that won't give up off their own backs. However, over here, it's everywhere, bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes, shopping malls, airports, shops, offices, you name it, it's there, you just can't get away from it, and subsequently you end up smoking more.

Also, they're cheaper, a lot cheaper. Most I've paid for a pack is 1.80, least is 70p (duty frees), which though it doesn't help the cause, it goes to show how much the tax man is getting from UK smokers.

Exploring the Gulf

Went on my first business trip while over here last week, to visit an exhibition in Bahrain, and it's capital Manama. Bahrain is a Kingdom in it's own right, just like Saudi, but was invited to join the UAE when it was formed, but declined and chose to be completely autonomous and independent. I was only in Bahrain for 13 hours, so it may be being a little unfair, however as I have mentioned in earlier posts, first impressions count.

So, I didn't really think that much of Bahrain, from the moment I got off the plane and the experience of going through passport control, which included being charged for a visa to get into the country, to getting a feel of the place in the 30 minutes taxi ride to the exhibition hall. Bahrain was a very dusty and bland place, there were redevelopments going on, but it was very much at the early stages compared to the two main Emirates in the UAE (AD and Dubai). Two things really stood out, firstly the quality and opulence of the cars was not as I've seen in the UAE, which clearly says a lot about the wealth each has, and secondly he virtual lack of greenery compared to AD.

I'm sure that there's a lot more to Bahrain and it is a nice place, other wise i don't think Bernie Ecclestone would have taken his roadshow there. However if they're finally spending, 560m doing up New Street Station in Birmingham because it's the first thing visitors see, then clearly first impressions count, and in my opinion Bahrain is years behind AD and Dubai and needs to continue it's investment.

The question EVERYONE keeps asking me .......

........ can you get a drink in Abu Dhabi!

It's not like many people think, drinking in Abu Dhabi is not really an issue. Saying that, there are no stand alone pubs, the only places that have licences to sell alcohol are bars in hotels. Also, stand alone restaurants don't serve alcohol, the only restaurants that serve booze are again in hotels, and there's enough choice of both in the hotels. You don't see drunk people walking around the streets, for 3 reasons, first it's too hot (even at night) to walk the streets, secondly a taxi ride in Abu Dhabi costs between 5 and 10 dirhams (80p-1.60) so you can go from one bar to another next to nothing, and thirdly, out of respect for local customs, you don't want to be seen to be drunk.

Getting booze for home is a bit different. You have two options, firstly duty free at the airport on the way in (if ever anyone visits me, two bottles of white and two bottles of rose please oh and 400 marlboro lights). Secondly, there's the off license. Now these are few and far between. I have seen 2 in the whole of AD so far, called African and Eastern, one (thankfully) round the corner from my flat. You can't tell from the outside what they are, the signs don't say off license, the windows have permanently closed blinds, the doors are solid wood and you can't see inside. However once you get in, it's just like a Threshers. To buy alcohol, you really have to have a your own alcohol license, but each time I've been so far no one has asked. However if you get stopped by the police carrying alcohol and you haven't got a license, then it's off for a few days at His Highness' Pleasure! When you get the booze, they put it in discreet thick plain black carrier bags, which defeats the object as everyone knows what you are carrying. Even walking back to the flat with a couple of bags, you feel a bit awkward, so it's advised to drive there and back, even if it is just around the corner.

To be fair though you can't really complain, the Emiratis tolerate our desire for booze, and in return the least we can do is respect their customs, and not flaunt it in their face!

A little story I heard yesterday .......

Apparently, one of the reporters from The National, the new newspaper over here, was driving to work last week and losing control of his car, flipping over three times, amazingly, survived without a scratch. As is the law over here, whatever accident you have and however minor, you have to wait for the police to turn up. So, what did the Abu Dhabi authorities do when they arrived? Investigate the accident? Send him to hospital for a once over, just in case? No, the guy got arrested, for not having a licence for a bottle of wine that was in his boot and ended up spending 3 days in jail!

The weekends

What do you do in AD on a weekend? As the temperature is already pretty high, hitting high 30s and low 40s, there is only one thing to do, wear smaller clothes and head for the pool/beach!

The first weekend we were invited to an all day beach party, at a private villa on a secluded island! What a 36 year old, "slightly chubby" guy from Birmingham was doing there I'm not quite sure, but it was fun! There were about 350 young lebanese guys, who really partied hard from 10.30am to about 6pm, and I mean partied hard. The tickets were for an all you can eat, all you can drink event, and some of these guys, in fact most of them, definitely got there monies worth! They were nuts (in a very good, fun way)! The look on some of there faces as we staggard back to the boats to bring us back was a sight!

The second weekend was a bit more sedate, with most of the company meeting at a lovely hotel complex for a day relaxing by the pool and enjoy a great lunch. It was a top day, where us "Brits" were able to get to know the other nationalities that we work with in a social setting. It's pretty easy to fall into a "them" and "us" kind of environment, where the Brits fall into a clique of their own, which I don't really like, so it was good to have a general chat, a laugh and a drink with the Egyptian guy, the Lebanese girl, the Sudanese guy.

A two day weekend is a Friday and Saturday, where the relaxing, family day (the equivalent of our Sunday), is the Friday. So Saturdays are spent doing the weekly shop, going to the malls, the stuff you would do on a Saturday back in the UK. They might be back to front weekends, but they still go very quickly!

The first couple of weeks at work

It's been nearly two weeks since I landed in AD, and it really has been non stop since I got here! Overnight flight from Heathrow, landing at 7.30am and literally in the office for 10.30. First impressions, (which always count) are very good. Abu Dhabi is a nice place, nice people, nice environment, just crazy driving! But more about that some other time. Somethings over hear will get a bit of getting used to, if at all possible, working on a Sunday for one, but then having a Friday off for another! It's like an upside down weekend, where Friday is the relaxing one and Saturday is the busy one.

Work wise, we got our latest issue of Gulf Interiors completed and off to the printers. It came back a few days back, and everyone seemed really happy with it. We also firmed up the plan for the next launch, a magazine alongside the jewel in the Turret ME crown that is the World Future Energy Summit. Talking of which, Turret ME are pretty pleased to have won two awards the other week at the Middle East Event Industry Awards, WFES won Best Congress in the Middle East and Taste of Dubai won Best Fair! Not a bad achievement for two launch events!

As if it's not going to get busy enough now with two mags, we are close to (hopefully) confirming a further launch, which when it happens will make us busier than the busiest people in Busysville! We worked on dummies this week and seem to be close to a finished product. Can't say too much now, a bit secret squirrel and don't want to jinx things, but hopefully soon. Personally, I'm really excited about this one!

The blog begins ..... a little late

Well, as I said to some people before I left the UK, I would set up a blog and keep some kind of record of this little change of working 3,500 miles from Brum. It's taken a couple of weeks, what with work, finding my feet, and as you would expect, the necessary exploring the city in the evenings to find decent watering holes and places to eat (the former taking up most of my time!).
So here it is, my little corner of cyber space, somewhere for me to write what I see, experience, enjoy and don't enjoy about being an expat in the UAE, and somewhere for, if people want, to keep in touch and up to date with what I'm up to.

Not sure exactly what type of things will appear over the coming months, it's a kind of suck it and see, but as the first couple of weeks over here have been pretty eventful, I expect a lot of variety. I hope you enjoy it, and keep in touch!!