Chris Saul's Blog

Wednesday July 01, 2009

Take the 200 bus to Victoria, then get off in the desert

When I was picking the Jeep up from Triple AAA Garage today, I noticed these cool photos on the wall (and snapped them via my phone, so apologies for poor quality).

How do you get a London bus into the desert, for a Dr Who episode?

You use a large rescue truck from Triple AAA -

Pretty cool!

Triple AAA appear to have everything you need for when you get stuck in the desert. This Hitachi caterpillar thing looks quite cool. I just hope I never have to use it.

One final picture.

This is Zighy Bay, which now hosts a 5 star spa and is no longer publicly accessible. It used to be one of the scariest drives in the area. I used to love driving up and down - very steep and very rough. Although I gave myself a fright several times, I'm glad to say I came nowhere near this sort of a situation -

Monday June 29, 2009

Hurrah for our Air Outpost in Hot and Desolate Sharjah!

The National has a super video from 1927 up on its multimedia page.

Watch it here.

I'm often teased for speaking posh, like, but the commentator's cut glass accent on this short film is wonderful.

Jaldi chellow, the aircraft's on its way! Fetch the Persian petrol boys, the Arab guard and the Indian servants straightaway!

Sunday June 28, 2009

Ouch!

I am going to have to pay 4,800Dhs (1.300USD) for a new clutch assembly on the Wrangler after it failed on Thursday.

Ouch.

Oh well, it's done 137,000Kms and has otherwise never let me down in over 6 years, so I suppose I can't complain.

I don't like it when things 'just break' though - thank goodness it didn't happen when I was on a main road or in the middle of a dodgy turn in the desert.

I hope this is a one off and not the first symptom of needing to replace a car that's had its time. It's in otherwise excellent condition and I know I could sell it in minutes, based on other Wrangler owners' experiences, for about 20,000-25,000Dhs. I don't really fancy doing that right now, however!

As usual, these things all come at once. It'll be due a full service in about three weeks - as will the Range Rover, although I may be able to delay the Rangie getting done till the end of the summer.

The most cost-effective option for future vehicles seems to be to get a Taliban Tank (Toyota pickup) and hire a Chad based 'Toyota Army' rebel mechanic to keep it going for the next twenty years, using nothing but sticky tape, hammer and a can of WD40.

Some chaps in Chad on their reliable steed/Chris drives to work with some friends, having given up on American and British cars, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Monday June 22, 2009

Surrounded

It's a fact of life for most areas of Dubai that if you have a nice view from your balcony or front window, something will be built nearby to alter it in some way after not too long.

We've been lucky in the 'Old Town' for a while now - everything you see around you was built by the same developer and it all fits together well. Naturally, that wasn't going to last much longer.

We've now got towers coming up that we can see from the living room and bedroom, or when walking up to the front door of the apartment block. Each of these new buildings will probably look striking on its own, but as often seems to be the case here, won't really match with the general surroundings.

One tower in particular seems to be going up right next to a newly completed Emaar built block, so close to its neighbour that you'll be able to lean over from one balcony to the next to borrow a cup of sugar.

We'll have to wait to see the finished articles, but it does feel like the open vista from our apartment windows, as well as the open feel of the area, is being encroached upon. I also wonder how the roads are going to manage even more people in such a small space.

It's a shame really - there are lots of good buildings that look fine in themselves, but which don't match what's next door, or nicely designed developments that have 'third party' buildings popping up amongst them, rather like shiny weeds in an otherwise well planned garden. I presume that there's when planning permission is granted, the aesthetics of an area aren't really taken into account.

Driving in Dubai

Unusually for a Dubai blog, it's been a while since I last had a whinge about driving standards here, bar a quick moan the other week.

I believe that standards here have definitely improved compared to when I first arrived in 2002, but there is obviously still a long way to go.

My personal, layman's opinion, is that simply putting up speed cameras is not enough - active traffic patrols need to play an important role. Yes, speed kills, but most of the bad driving I see is usually under the speed limit.

Despite the fact that things could definitely improve further, I was surprised to see the UAE's roads being listed as worse than the other Gulf countries. I would have thought that Saudi would have gained that dubious honour.

It would also be interesting to see some statistics about who is involved in, or causing, accidents here. That would probably go a long way to working out which section of the public to educate and 'encourage' to drive better.*

* Yes, Mr Nissan Sunny driver who randomly pulled into the middle lane of the Sheikh Zayed Rd this afternoon and then pootled along at 80Kmph, forcing me to swerve into another lane, I'm talking to you!**

** And I'm talking to you too, pickup truck driver who forced his way in front of me near Safa Park junction this morning, nearly hitting me, when all you had to do was slow down a little and pull in behind me!***

*** I'm not forgetting you either, Mr Lexus 570 driver, who sat behind me on the way to Dubai Internet City, flashing his lights at me to get out of the way, even though there were hundreds of cars in front of me and the lane on the right was full of cars, leaving me nowhere to move even if I wanted to!

Sunday June 21, 2009

Sheikh Mo at Ascot

Well, I like these kinds of pictures.

Gulf News.

Arabian Business.

I wonder who Sheikh Mohamed's tailor is? That's a nice suit.

The dapper gentlemen next to Sheikh Mohamed on the left of the first Gulf News picture is his son, Sheikh Hamdan, Crown Prince of Dubai.

Once again, I'd love to hear what he and the Queen chat about whilst riding along in the carriage.

Wednesday June 17, 2009

Mohammed meets Elizabeth

I love these kinds of photos.

I wish I could be a fly on the wall - what do they chat about? Given their fondness for equestrian issues and regular attendance at horse races, the Queen and Sheikh Mohammed must know each other quite well by now.

Thursday June 11, 2009

Too much burger!

Interesting comments from one of the UAE's star players on why they failed to qualify for the World Cup.

It sounds like they need a dietician keeping an eye on them.

That said, I'm surprised at their alleged fondness for McD's. As professional athletes, I'm sure they know that eating fast food shouldn't be a daily occurrence, even if their diet wasn't being particularly controlled by anyone.

I'm disappointed the UAE won't be in the World Cup - football related celebrations are one of the few times that, as an expat, you get to see local people out on the streets and enjoying themselves publicly.

Untitled 1 ( Jun 11 2009, 02:59:05 PM GST ) Permalink Comments [0]

Sunday June 07, 2009

Shameless self-promotion

I have an article in this month's Arabian Insight, available at all good magazine shops.

The article's online here as well.

Thursday June 04, 2009

100 years since Zayed the First passed away

In Abu Dhabi for work yesterday, I noticed adverts commemorating the 100 years that have gone by since Zayed the First passed away.

There's a great website here that has some info on the man. The video's well worth watching.

At the very least, look at this picture here!

Interesting stuff. I would love to read some contemporary accounts from the local British political agents who would have worked with him.   

Tuesday June 02, 2009

Dear drivers in the Old Town/Downtown area of Dubai

Hello there, people who drive around where I live!

Apologies for the intrusion, but I just wanted to talk to you all about something rather important.

You really need to understand that just because a road has two or three lanes, no speed cameras and little in the way of speed bumps or general traffic calming, it does not mean that the road is a racing track.

You may have noticed all the apartments around you when you're whizzing along through the Old Town - they are full of residents. This makes the area a 'residential' area.

'Residential' means that people live there. They need to cross the road occasionally, they might enjoy taking a walk around the place and certainly need to sleep at night.

So, there's no need to rev your Nissan Patrol so hard that it backfires at eleven at night. Testing whether Toyota's marketing brochure was telling the truth when it said your FJ Cruiser and do 0 to 60 in 8 seconds is also something you should do elsewhere. My suggestion would be to do this sort of thing somewhere else - the street you live in, for example. At midnight.

Taxi drivers - testing your Camry's braking distance, or its ability to accelerate hard towards pedestrians is also a bit silly.

Why not use your off day to drive to an empty road in the desert with your friends and get it out of your system there? You could spend the morning racing towards your colleagues as they try to cross the road, indicating left but turning right and slamming on the brakes at the last minute so as not to miss the entrance to an imaginary hotel. After you've had your fun, you can then drive calmly through Downtown to Dubai Mall or to the hotels there. Guess what? You'll arrive at pretty much the same time! Astonishing, I know, but it's true!

Finally, a top tip to drivers picking up customers in branded vehicles belonging to leading airlines, or to delivery men working for local businesses. Cutting people up, flying over the three speed bumps we've been blessed with or generally pretending you are Jensen Buttenstan or Lewis Hamilreddy is also a bit twitty. There's a big sign on your vehicle, so when you endanger people's lives, We Know Who You Are and can call the company you work for to complain about your Formula 1 antics.

This is just a friendly 'heads up', as they say in the States. Carry on as you are and the next time it'll be a friendly 'heads off' as the axe-wielding residents of this residential area chase you away.

Thanks guys!

Chris

Monday June 01, 2009

Single visa for GCC travel?

This would make life a lot easier.

Although you can get a visa on arrival in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, the process can sometimes be time consuming and involves yet another stamp. Saudi visas always seem to be for three months only, take three or four days to be issued and take up two passport pages.

My passport's just over a year and a half old and has only one double page left, shortly to be used for an Algerian visa. Anything that can help me get through immigration more quickly and which keeps my passport pages as empty as possible is most welcome!

Saturday May 30, 2009

Kerala

Some of Mrs Saul's best pics from our trip to Kerala earlier this year.

These guys are herding ducks!

( May 30 2009, 06:46:22 PM GST ) Permalink Comments [2]

Wadi Madha

We had a great drive to Wadi Madha yesterday - one of the few routes in the Dubai Offroad Explorer we've not already done.

Next time I'll take the Range Rover - a lot more comfy than the Wrangler, even if the Wrangler offers a more 'authentic' offroad experience. It also tends to be somewhat more reliable...

My Jeep.

Emmett.

Even the Wrangler has to give up at some point...

A week or so ago we did the classic Wadi Assimha/Tayibba route and I was able to have a quick drive in Emmett's new Sahara.

You instantly feel the extra comfort - a much updated interior and huge wheels make for a much smoother drive than mine, both on and offroad. The car looks good too.

What I liked less was the reduced visibility - the new styling seems to mean much smaller windows and windscreen, restricting the driver's ability to see what's around him.

A colleague of mine recently sold his 1999 Wrangler and bought a new Sahara. He says he's been regretting it ever since - despite the extra comfort, it isn't quite so much fun to drive in the desert. Not underpowered exactly, just missing the extra oomph of the older version.

Even if I had the money, there's no reason for me to trade mine in for a newer model just now!

( May 30 2009, 06:31:12 PM GST ) Permalink Comments [1]