Motoring, The Dubai way

Matt: Spent Saturday motoring around in Dubai with Steve, James and Lindsey, we even traversed the M4, no road works or jams here though.


We spent the morning on Steve's Speed boat, was great fun. I tried my hand at Wake-boarding, which it has to be said I was rubbish at!



Lindsey had a great time when she took the wheel and drove us around, I didn't know you could rally in a speed boat!! :) I think James might have to start saving to buy Lindsey one of her own now!

We had with us some funky little fun camera's too one FishEye and the Other a MultiShot - Here are some of the results.. Pretty cool I reckon!

Buster..

Matt: Morning All, Well it's another bright sunny day here in the Middle-East it's 9am and it's already 32°C. I had a lovely email from my Nephew, Kalani, just the other day and he sent a photo too, so i thought I would share it with you all. Please excuse the food round his mouth, he takes after his Grandpa.

Musandam Camping

Matt: I'm back from the camping trip to the Musandam, which was great! We had lots of fun and there are a few funny stories too! A great Adventure, if not a little hot! The weather here is really hotting up, averaging 38 degrees daily now! Scorchio!!
Here are some pictures I promised.


The Ladies..





The Camp Site..

For the full compliment of Photographs Click Here.


Had a nice day yesterday, went shopping in Ikea AGAIN, Geez Naomi is a keener!! Then went and chilled on the beach for the afternoon, which was nice!
It didn't take to long to infiltrate the mind of my Roomie, she's a would be geek already! Proof?? Click Here

Right - I'm Off

Matt: Surprisingly I've been given the day off tomorrow, for no other reason that the whim of the boss, He said it's gonna be a busy week next week and we deserve a rest!!
So.. as luck should have it, some friends are heading out on a camping trip and have invited me along. Vanda and Säma have organised a trip to Musandam, The Musandam peninsula is an exclave region of Oman that is separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. We're taking a boat to a beach which we should have completely to ourselves. I'll take photo's and post them upon our return.

See ya'll soon....

More Desert Fun

Matt: Got together with a few friends yesterday and we all went for a drive in the desert! Lindsay tried her hand at desert driving for the first time in her Pajero, she did brilliantly. Drove with a lot of confidence, spurred on by Naomi and Vander giving guidance. We had a lot of fun, 4 Pajero's and a Nissan Partol in the end, had a couple of "cars stuck in sand" issues, but that is all part of the fun.

James, Sämi and I climbed up large rock escarpment, whilst we waited for the other. Was good fun climbing around the rocks and taking photos. Speaking of which.. here are a few now..



Stuck on a steep dune...

On top of the world (Well small hillock really)

See the little dots in the middle? that's our convoy!

*cough* posers..*cough* did someone say Catalogue man??

Flip-flops!! Not the best climbing footwear!!

Sense of Scale!

Steve in the "go Anywhere" Nissan Patrol!

James and Sämi conquered the mountain!

May the 4th be with you

Matt: Sorry, Couldn't resist! Well the weekend is here again for us in foreign parts, which is great! Should be a good one.
On a slightly diverse note, I have been messing around again with some digital art, painting in photoshop. This piece, inspired by the desert and my photo collection, took about 6 hours start to finish, so thought you might like to see it.



















Sayyida Shamal

Busy Weekend

Matt: The weekend has come and gone once more, but I certainly made the most of this one.

Thursday Night: I went to James and Lindsay's for Dinner, we have Thai take-away with a few other friends, then we all went to Buddha Bar at the Grosvenor House Hotel in the Marina for a few drinks, then on to Double Decker a very British Style pub/club.
Friday: I already posted a few photo's from our trip to the Hatta Pools (see below), The we went out for Marie-Ann's birthday to Barasti.
Saturday: Went Sailing in the Morning with my friend Rami and a few others, then messed around on the beach and had some lunch, played a bit of Frisbee and went for a swim. Then went Snowboarding with Scott and Kelly, which was great, we were teaching ourselves to jump, hitting the ramps in the freestyle park, yes we all wiped-out a number of times, but its the only way to learn. In the evening Naomi and I went to meet Jo and crew at the Agency in the Madinat for a quiet few drinks... See? Pretty busy.. Need time off to recover... Nah!!! Of to the climbing wall tonight! :P you know me....

And here are a few photo's from Amanda's Leaving Do for you to browse through!
Click Here

Welcome Erin

Matt: Congratulations to Mark and Margaret and welcome to the world little baby Erin Hailey Dew. Born on the 26th April 2006, at 5:25 am, weighing 6lb 11oz.
















I wish you all the best with your new family life guys, you'll be great and Erin will grow up to be a lovely girl.

Taking the Plunge

Matt: Waking up after a late night out tends to leave you feeling tired and lethargic, not really wanting to do much. Which is why after getting home late Thursday night, I dragged Naomi out for the day, Impulsively I decided that we needed to get out more, so with Naomi and her slight hangover in toe I went and bought a Off-Road Explorer (book) some pic-nic food and drove 2 hours out of Dubai for a mini off-road adventure.

With Map in hand, we made our way to Hatta, a peaceful town in the middle of the U.A.E. Peninsular and from there wound our way off-road to the Hatta Pools,naturally formed pools of water with great views of the rugged Haja mountains. We swam through the narrow gorges in the pools and explored the ravines. It was a great day out!

The Buzz, The Bob

Matt: Had a great weekend, Naomi has returned from the UK and all is well. Went to a concert on Friday, it was a great show by a little known British Artist, Pictures below..

















Yeah - we were pretty close to the front of the 25,000 crowd... and those flame were VERY hot.

Home Again

Matt: Been back in Dubai for a week now, the new place is fine, although I get the feeling my new House mate is avoiding me. Naomi has left and gone to the UK for a week. Trying not to take offense yet! Been doing some furniture shopping. Ikea, what a hateful place! But great to furnish a place on the cheap! So I spent the weekend being a bit domestic constructing the new furniture.















Naomi and Me.

Had a good Easter weekend, Went to see Jamiroquai in concert on Thursday night, spent Friday chilling and went out in the evening for a few drinks, Ended up on a Yacht till 3am. Went for a picnic on the beach on Palm Sunday with some friends, got a bit burnt and swam about 14 miles.. ok bit of an exaggeration, but it was not a short swim out to an island which looked closer than it was. Then I had to swim back too.. Arse!!

Fun in the Alps

Matt: Well I'm here in the French Alps as I type, been snowboarding and larking around in the snow for a good few days now and having a fab time with my cousin and her family!! They are all so cool and amazing, especially the youngest of the 3 daughters, Maddie!... You may or may not have guessed that Maddie just hi-jacked my laptop to add that little bit herself!! But I guess she's OK!
Here are a couple of pics to keep ya going for now..














the one with the snowboard and un ra bum-ting face is...me, matt! (to understand the un ra bum-ting thing you either have to have been there or come from Birmingham!) <-- Maddie again!!!














Right time to go eat... Laters..

Mixed Emotions

Matt: Today is a sad day and a happy day, Amanda, a great & true friend, leaves Dubai to make a new life back in England! She has been a real inspiration and a great support since I've been here and will be a friend for life. I'm gonna miss not having her around but I wish her all the luck and love in the world back in the green and pleasant land! I love you lots AD..




















On the Happy note, I'm off to France to try my hand at Snowboarding on the real slopes!! Can't wait... flying out tonight at 3am so I'll catch up with you all in a week.. be safe..

Eventful

Matt: This weekend proved to be an eventful one, even if its outcome wasn't the best!!

A few of us took a trip into the desert, giving me my first experience of driving in the dunes myself. There were 2 Jeep Wranglers, and 3 Motorcross bikes, The plan was to drive to fossil rock have a bar-b and then return.
The first hour went smoothly, Amanda and I were in one Jeep and took turns driving, it was great fun. We laughed a lot! Bounching over dunes, sliding in the sand..But then disater stuck!!



























One of the Bike riders came over the top of a dune, caught his front wheel in the sand and was sent over the top of the bike.. the bike flu over him and continued on down the dune for 20 yards or so. The rider, Christian, landed badly and ended up in a bush. he was in a lot of pain -and it soon became clear that getting him to hospital was a priority. The sun was blazing, the sand blowing about us, we couldn't keep him there for long.

Off went 1 Jeep - full, Christain lying out in the front seat. Jeep 2, went completely full - with one person perched on top of all the cool boxes and bar-b stuff. Leaving 3 Bike and 3 Guys.. Me being one of them!! Never ridden a Motorbike before I have a quick lesson!! Now I pepare to not only ride a bike for the first time - but through rolling dunes and sand!!

But it wasn't to be, the bike turned out to be damaged and not rideable safely! That left one choice...For the others to go and get one of the Jeeps and a trailer.
Leaving me in the desert, miles from anywhere, the wind blowing furiously, sand scouring me, no shade and a bit of water!! It was a odd experience, nothing to see but sand, small desert creatures and insects...I felt pretty safe knowing that the guys would be back

I was resued from 2 hours later. We got the bike and me safely back to civilization. At the hospital, it turns out, Christian has broken a bone in his wrist and fractured a supporting bone in his back. A month off work and 3 month till fully healed!!

The Next day was work (again) and the Dubai World Cup.. the richest horse meet in the world...

Busy Busy

Matt: It's been a hectic week at work, in fact I in haven't had a day off, the weekend has been and gone, plus I've been working late every night!! Fun - NOT!

Still, I did go camping on the beach the other night, which was fun, sadly I had to get up early to go to work the next morning and when you don't get to bed till 3.30, sleep on the sand and then wake up at 5.30 and have to go home to get ready for work - it isn't ideal!! and you tend to feel a little tired!! lol
We cooked steaks and ribs on the bar-b, had an wood fire going and sat around drinking and chatting till the small hours. It's great to be able to do that! I recommend it if you come out to visit!! 4x4 Required..

It's been a warm day, but now the wind is picking up and we have a shamal on our hands (wind that carries a sandstorm across the desert)! where ever you look it's like a thin yellow fog has settled, sand and dust are being blown into your eyes and if you step outside for too long - you feel you're being exfoliated!! So the car will need a damn good clean again!! Arrgh!!!

Dubai, Desert, Duning and Dinner

Matt: Obviously there was a lot more to it than that, but my friend Lesley has just be out for a weeks Holiday and we had a fabulous time!! It's amazing what you can cram into 7 days!!!

Here are a few Pictures for your perusal.

Update and About Time

Matt: February has been a very busy month, what with the new job, finding somewhere to live, buying a new car, recovering from my shoulder injury, having a visitor for a week, did I mention buying a new?? My Camera has returned to me, been out socially a lot and I bought a new car!!

I've gone and bought a new Mitsubishi Pajero (Shogun to you lot).

It's a beastly thing of beauty!! But typically no seen a spot of rain in the 10 months I've been here - the day after I pick up my shiny new pajero - it hammers it down!! and that's not good when the roads are covered in sand - it's filthy!!!

I will get around to taking some photos soon, and I'll post them when I can.
Hope you are all very well!! Might head out to go snowboarding shortly - Hmm how bizarre is that statement when living in Dubai?!!

Riding it out

Matt: Decide to have a bit of an adventure the other day and went Quad-Biking in the desert, in the dark!!! It was great fun, for some reason they presumed I could ride a motorbike and gave me a manual where as everyone else had an automatic, ok I stalled it a number of times and the screaming of the engine could be heard in Abu Dhabi at times, but I got used to it eventually!! Although I was hindered somewhat by my choice of chunky footwear - made it difficult to feel the clutch let alone change gear!! That being said I highly recommend trying it out, I think I would prefer to do it in daylight, but it did add an extra element to the thrill when you couldn't see what was coming.

I start me new job on Sunday, which is all pretty exciting! Can't wait to get stuck into it now, had a few meeting with the new team and they seem like a good bunch and they are all very enthusiastic about the projects we will be working on - so that is encouraging!

I have a guest coming out to stay from the UK toward the end of next week, so that'll be nice and take my mind of work in the evenings!! Remember you are all invited - anytime!!

Off out to Barasti now, hope you are all well.

Oh now that has gotta hurt

Matt: It's now official, I am the IT Manager for one of our companies, great news. This could lead to quite a few opportunities in the future. Manager? all sounds a bit serious doesn't it? Well it's not - it's just a title, I'll still be the one plugging cables in and clearing paper jams!! but it's pretty exciting and it seems like I'll be working within a good team!

You know I said before that I was still in one piece after snowboarding, well I am kinda - but I did have a breif visit to the hospital to ensure that I hadn't broken my shoulder!! ouch!! had a pretty nasty fall just the other day which renedered my right arm pretty useless as it was so painful to move! Nothing was broken so that's all good! Slowly feels like it's getting less uncomfortable now, so I'm hoping to be back on the slopes next week!! Also chucking a frisbee has become tricky too!!

Good news: My camera has been repaired! Yey!! Now I just have to get it back from England? Anyone fancy flying it over for me??

New Opportunities

Matt: Some good news from the Middle East, I'm changing jobs!! I've been offered a position with another division/company within the Sovereign group of companies that I currently work for. My official title hasn't yet been finalised but I'm sure it will be a step up from "Tea Boy". I'm pretty excited and nervous about the opportunity, a change is as good as a rest right?? and this new path has no strictly define route, so it could go one of many ways with my influence!!
Wish me luck..

Snow fun

Matt: Well we are getting there!! Kelly is really looking confident on the snowboard now. She comes flying down the slopes and rarely wipes out. Me? Well I come flying down the slopes too, on my arse, my elbows, my head...I've done some pretty spectacular falls but i'm still in one piece.



Here we are Geared up and ready to go.
(Rochelle, Moi, Kelly,Jo)



Kelly looking Board!! See what I did there??

Having great fun learning, even if it does sound a bit painful, Afterwards we had a debreifing at Barasti Bar on the beach, Where else could you Snowboard and lap up the sun?? Fantastic!!

Eid Again

Matt: It's Eid again!!! This time kelly and I have both got the next 4 days off work, marvelous. So Jo and Rochelle have come to stay with us for a few days from Abu Dhabi. Please help me - I sware these 2 are trying to kill me - death by shopping!!!

Well as an escape today Kelly and I are taking them to Ski Dubai, well we're going to dump them in the kids play area while we go practice snowboarding!! Excellent - a camera may be involved so I'll be sure to post some pictures when we return.

After the snow, guess what? yep - Shopping!!

But I have booked Kelly and I into the Al Aqah hotel in Fujairah for a period of relaxation and recovery once the have left. I Can't wait!

Out of date, but never out of time

Matt: As I was rubbish and I didn't manage to put any pictures up when Julia and Tim were here, I thought I ought to. So here ya go.

In case you Didn't know, Tim asked Julia to Marry him whilst they were on holiday here...Ahhhh and she said yes. The whole thing was cunningly planned all week and finally executed at the Burj Al Arab.


Tim on his Knees...


Dinner at the Burj..

Kelly and I..

Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum dies

Matt: The UAE has entered into a period of mourning today with the sad death of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. He was a much loved and respected ruler and tragically died at the young age of 62.













See Gulf News for more info.

This does mean that many offices and businesses will be closing out of a mark of respect for up to 7 days.

Happy New Year, I'm Rubbish

Matt: Does it seem like the millennium celebrations were 6 years ago?? No, nor to me, I can't believe it. Well I will take a moment to wish you all a Happy and prosperous New Year and hope that any resolutions stick!

I admit I've been a bit rubbish at updating the blog over the past few months and even worse at taking photo's for it. So I will be making more of an effort to keep you all informed as to "What's going on my world" - And as soon as I get my Camera back from the service centre I'll get snapping too.

So, I'm back in Dubai now after a holiday in the UK and things are in full swing already. Best get back to it and make some news for the blog, or I could make it up!! Hmmmm interesting thought!!

Get happy people!!

Ju poo and Timmy too

Matt: Julia and Tim have come to visit. They arrived safely on Saturday morning at Abu Dhabi airport. They were a little tired after the long journey but that didn't stop us from keeping them up all day and running around everywhere. We managed to show them the Mall of the Emirates, The Madinat Jumeirah, The Creek, An Abra ride, A Shawma meal, The Souks and then finally we let them sleep.. Pheeeww! And that was just day 1.

The Earth quake in Iran was felt here in the UAE, in fact we were evacuated from our building when the tremors were felt. It was a very odd sensation, being 9 floors up probably accentuated things considerably, the whole building swayed at first I thought I was having a funny turn and feeling motion sick.. then when we realised the building was the one in motion, everyone headed for the emergency exit.. 9 flights of stairs later we were out in the sun!!!

Hard work

Matt: Well it's not quite a pay raise...but!!!! Work have just given me a new 4GB iPod Nano as a thank you gift for my hard work!!!



It's pretty cool and very small, nice sleek design like the other iPods too. That's the Important news out of the way. Now onto less interesting things - I've been offered the Position of Network and Security Specialist. Could be a great move, but there is lots to learn. I'll keep ya posted, but I happy to have been offered it!!!

anyway - back to listening to my iPod Nano..