Eid Mubarak!

Eid ul-Fitr is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan! It's a national holiday and most people are given a few days off work. So I managed to get a 4 day weekend..GET IN!!!...

So in true Matt Wilson Styleee I made the most of it and relaxed for the whole time!! Well other than BBQing, Partying, Swimming, Gyming, Sailing, Day trips to Hatta and the usual stuff - Like Cinema, Ultimate, Socialising and shopping.. It was very quiet and relaxing *grin*

I hope the camping crew really enjoyed themselves, It was a shame that we all couldn't go - but there will be many more opportunities and soon I hope.

Now 73?

Matt: Eid - when will they announce it!! Don't they know I have plans to make??
Plans of camping with the crew, but it all depends on the new moon!! Damn I hope everyone has tomorrow off!!

Anyway, Bought me a new toy that will mean I will always have a semi decent camera on me at all times!! It's the new Nokia N73!! What does the N stand for?
So I should be able to blog even more mudane aspects of my life from now on, YAY!! I hear you cry! Watch out those around me, I'm always gonna have it! Muhahaha - photo-proof!!
Alessia chills in the Jacuzzi
Claudia & Alessia in the kiddies pool at The Waves
Car hunting with Fiona, looks like it might be anothe Pajero Purchase - Wa-hooo
"He's coming straight for us - sedate him!!!"

So I guess that show it works! They were all taken with the N73, be warned it also does movies, music, radio and you can even make phone call on it!! ;-)

Fun Times - Weeks Out

Matt: A little saddle sore, but surprisingly not walking like John Wayne, I came away from Polo wanting more!! Luckily we have 9 weeks of intensive training before the season starts!! Must remember to avoid clubbing the horse! Boy can they run when they are in pain!!

The weekend came around rather quickly, but plans were in place for fun and games: Thursday night marked "A Boy's Night Out" - The guys got together and had fun primarily at Longs bar. It was a good night, but a few of the girl ended up in Longs too as it was the only place to go during Ramadan. We'll let them off! Just this once!

Friday we had an impromptu Bar-B at 911 - Which turned out to be lots of fun. Thanks for your hospitality 911 Team.

JQ and I decided to attempt a surf on Saturday morning, but the sea was like a mill-pond and although we were primarily thinking of this as a paddling exercise, when it's that flat you'd feel a complete burk waxing down the surfboard. So we chilled by the pool with Alessia, Claudia and Steve instead.

The evening bought an introduction to XMA - Extreme Martial Arts gym, it was good fun and good exercise. Ramie, Doina and I are going again tonight. Then Ultimate - although only 6 of us turned up, it was still a great session and really knackering. We even made things more interesting by playing left-handed for fun!!

Lets see what this week brings!!

View from Souk Madinat Jumeirah

The Mint with the Hole

Matt: What an eventful week, it was kick started last Monday with a "jolly good time" - The alarm sounded at 5:30am, my eyes refused to open without a fight, it was only just getting light and the sun had yet to breach the horizon!! "What the hell am I doing" rang through my mind as a struggled into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

The roads were pleasantly clear at this time in the morning as I made my way to the Arabian Ranches - There's a clue! - As I arrive at the clubhouse a few of my blurry eyed friends step from their respective vehicles - we were greeted by Fran, who is far too spritely for 6:00am and follow her through to where we suit up and await our lesson!!

We're each handed a hat, a club and a pair of half-chaps and then make our way onto the field. Balls are laid out before us and our mounts are being warmed up at the far end of the pitch!! Here we go then - Our first Polo Lesson begins!! Tally-Ho!!

Lining up for the Lesson

There are horses involved? you could have warned me!!

Sandy Beach

Matt: We took to the road and drove to Fujierah over the weekend. We went to the Sandy Beach Hotel, went snorkeling around snoopy island and basically loafed on the beach. It was great - We swam all around the island (Snoopy Island: you work it out from the pics) which was teaming with aquatic life, large and small. I had an amazing experience too - snorkeling along over the coral a shark zipped past me on the sea bed.. It wasn't a massive one, I would guess about 150 cms and surprisingly I wasn't scared in the least. It was very elegant and moved so effortlessly through the water, completely ignoring me. I found this reference:

Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)

Black tip to second dorsal and lower caudal lobe anal and pectoral fins colour varies. Young less than 70 cm have unmarked fins. Inshore reefs, offshore structures. Opportunist predator, scavenger. Small, blacktip reef shark are found on coral reefs and around rocky headlands and islands. 200 cm.

Amazing. Sadly no-one else in the group saw it. I hunted around for it for a while, but never saw it again!!
Must start my Diving Lessons, I got a kick out the depths!!

Enjoy some pics taken by the lovely Fiona Piper.

What a ride!!

And what a sore backside.. Naomi, Sami and I hooked up with the Dubai Hot Cog's team and hit the mountains out near Shawka on Friday. It was one hell of a ride..

The barren rocky landscape of teh Hatta mountains is a very challenging environment for pedal-power. We traversed gravel tracks, wadi bed's, rocky escarpments, boulder valleys, you name it!! Up and Downhill..

It was a long, hard 4 hours of rugged terrain in the searing heat. I had a few technical issueswith the bike, the chain came off a number of times and I got a flat. Luckily the flat was only a few Kilometres from the end so I ran and walked the bike back, by which time it was dark.

It was a very interesting and rewarding day all in. I might just do it again!!