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!