Chris Saul's Blog

Getting the car washed is still great value in Dubai. It costs 35Dhs (about $10) to have it cleaned inside and out, including having the engine air blasted to get rid of sand and dust. An extra 100Dhs gets the car a full wax as well.

I was obliged to get the car cleaned properly as Mrs Saul needed to drive it for a while and she refuses to use my car in its normal state.

The whole thing took just 30 minutes, during which I went to a nearby cafe to read the paper and contemplate the excellent value I was getting for my car wash. The Coke cost nearly 15Dhs, whilst having 6 people clean my car for half an hour next door cost just 35Dhs.

Semi-forgiveness

The Range Rover has been back in action after its failure the other week. A broken fuel pump was the culprit, so it has been semi-forgiven. I simply had a bout of bad luck, it seems - failed ignition coils and fuel pumps are rare, but they do happen. These sorts of components are the same across various car brands, so are just as likely to fail in a Lexus as in a Land Rover built car, I am told.

To apologise for letting us down, the car's happily been floating us all over the UAE. With in-laws in tow, we've been to Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and across the East Coast in total comfort. The ride quality is simply amazing - quiet, smooth, wonderful.

Our trip to the East Coast gave me a chance to take it offroad, through a fairly bumpy wadi. This was a revelation. The Wrangler will go anywhere, but it'll bounce you around in the process. With a flick of a switch I was able to raise the car's air suspension up to give me better ground clearance, swap between low and high range as appropriate and roll down steep, rocky hills with ease, thanks to hill descent control, all with four people in the car and noone being bounced around in the slightest. Incredible.

On the motorway, cruise control has stopped me speeding and risking more tickets, but we could easily have rolled along at 180Kmph without breaking a sweat.

I've also managed to get an extended warranty for the car, which seems to cover most things that can go wrong. It lasts for two years or 50,000Kms - I hope I won't need it, but experience shows that I'll be needing it.

Near work the other day, I spotted this Kuwaiti registered Range Rover Sport. Whizzing down from Kuwait to Dubai in this thing must have been a real driving pleasure.

Wildlife

At a partner's office in Casablanca, a cat keeps guard at reception.

A small tortoise clomps through their garden.

Meanwhile, back in Dubai, a peacock takes an evening stroll through a residential area. I am guessing that a sheikhly palace was nearby.

Some nice photos...

My colleague, Stepen Geyer, may have a haricut that resembles an upside down hayrick, but he does take some excellent photos, when his hair is not falling over his eyes, that is. Or when he is not cleaning his MacBook with baby wipes.

You can find his pics here. Well worth a look.

The UAE's new superhero!

You often see labourers standing in the middle of the road, waving flags around, warning you that there's some construction work going on. Sadly, they usually stand right in front of whatever it is they are supposed to be alerting you to, effectively giving no warning whatsoever and leaving you to swerve out of the way at the last minute.

In Dubai these human traffic cones have recently had a major upgrade - their small red flags have been replaced by battery powered LED torches. Very swish.

I'm not sure if this sign, spotted in Abu Dhabi, is an upgrade - is it warning you that there is a flagman, or is it playing the role of a flagman? Or is there a new, flag-waving superhero nearby, ready to swoop down and stop cars from driving into the latest freshly dug ditch?