Chris Saul's Blog

Saturday May 30, 2009

Wo ist mein Transit van?

It's in Lagos.

Ok, you'll have to trust I'm telling the truth, as there's nothing in the picture that suggests the van is anywhere other in its native Hamburg, but that's where I took the picture.

A lot of the second hand cars and lorries you see around in Africa and the Middle East still have the names and logos of their original owners on them. I found myself doing a doubletake the other day, wondering why a lorry apparently belonging to a German pig farmer from Westphalia was driving around the outskirts of Dubai.

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]

Thursday May 28, 2009

A strange way to show affection

Who says the Taliban aren't caring, sharing softies, deep down?

"We love the people of Pakistan, and because of this love we politely ask the citizens of Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Multan to please evacuate their cities because we have marked out government targets there against whom we will carry out attacks as have never happened before," he warned.

Article here.

Wednesday May 27, 2009

Bringing up boys

I am behind on blogging at the moment - lots of things on my mind, but not getting around to posting them!

One of the topics I wanted to mention was this excellent article in The Times from the other week, discussing the problem of badly behaved adolescent boys in the UK - the lack of role models available to them, the way the education system ignores their needs, etc.

I was very lucky growing up. I had two loving parents at home and teachers who were able to take the time to give me the necessary kick needed to make sure I got the best results I could at school. My mother and father encouraged me to go to scouts and Air Cadets and made sure I didn't give up if things got a bit tough. They were also quite happy for me to take on part-time jobs, go off on my own, cycling around the area, skateboarding in London, taking part in school trips and so on. I had no lack of role models, either male or female, as well as plenty of fun things to do in and outside of school, with plenty of responsible adults keeping an eye on me.

Not everyone is so lucky.

Here's an extract from the last page of the article -

"For the sake of the next generation, it really is time to get over this fret about gender. Admitting that boys still need mothers, fathers and male mentors is not a denial of sexual equality. It’s a recognition that men and women bring different strengths to the enterprise of raising their young. The achievement of sexual equality shouldn’t make acting like a competent adult any more difficult than it ever was — 21st-century men and women are still human beings with the DNA that makes them “good enough” to take on their part of the task. But before they can get down to work and sort out the mess, men have to rise above the graceless feminist scorn and cynical commercialism that have made them doubt their better nature. And women have to recognise that, in terms of raising boys, there are some things sisters just can’t do."

Changing the topic to that of the world of male adult behaviour, after living here for a while I've noticed a marked difference between what South African women expect or tolerate from their boyfriends of husbands, as compared to British women. Saffer blokes seem to be allowed to get away with a lot more laddish antics than their British counterparts. The Saffer girls seem to be happier to let their blokes do the blokeish things that blokes tend to want to do - within reason of course. They seem to accept that boys will be boys from time to time and that letting the guys let off steam every now and then is ok if it makes them happy and more tolerable around the house. Obviously there are limits, but I see more resignation than resentment when it comes to 'the things men do' than I see amongst British women. Those things might be watching sport, going off to play golf, the odd boys' night out, that kind of thing.

This observation is hardly the result of scientific research - it's simply based on what I've seen over the last few years being surrounded by South Africans in Dubai and visiting Jo'burg and Cape Town for work.

As a Brit with a British wife, I'm glad that Mrs Saul is so tolerant with me!

Hari's post banned!

Johann Hari tells us that his article on the dark side of Dubai has been blocked here.

Except it isn't blocked, actually.

We can still read the story of Karen and her Range Rover dwelling in all its fact-free glory.

Hari also informs us that he has been 'told' that he will be arrested or turned back at the airport or arrested. Sadly, he provides no more information than that - no clear statement of who told him what. To do so, I suspect, would be a transgression too far.

If he does turn up here again, at least there'll be one place he'll be welcome to stay - he can kip down in Karen Andrews' Range Rover for the night for a realistic expat experience. If she's no longer in Dubtown, he's welcome to drop me a line and we'll let him stay in the back of our Range Rover, as long as he tidies up after himself.

Wednesday May 20, 2009

Hari gets it sort of right

I don't really like Johann Hari, based on his usual rantings in The Independent. We are polar opposites on most subjects, from Dubai to Somali pirates/eco-warriors.

This article really spoke to me (in parts), however.

Perhaps what binds us together most, whatever our views, is the fact that we both get to say what we want and that neither of us has to worry what the other says, as long as we can both say it. And we like listening to Radio 4 and appreciate the importance of The Queue.

Tuesday May 19, 2009

Surgical masks in the Sun office!

The Sun Dubai office has just been sent a load of disposable face masks to protect us against swine flu.

At the risk of tempting fate, I do think this is a bit silly (see my post on this a few weeks ago).

I am hoping that I find some of the systems engineers wearing one when I am next in - you can tease systems engineers about this kind of thing.

If you're calling anyone from Sun Dubai over the next few days and find their voices strangely muffled, it'll be because they're wearing their mask when they answer the phone.

Monday May 18, 2009

So what's the point of social networking?

The usual comments you hear about Facebook and the like is 'what's the point of connecting via the internet with friends you see every day in the office or socially?'.

A fair point - if you see someone every day, you probably don't need an internet relationship with them.

I like Facebook or Twitter or blogging for three particular reasons -

- They keep me in touch with people I like but never get to see that often, if ever.

- They keep me in touch with people I often see, but usually don't as I travel for work all the time.

- They keep me in touch with people I like and used to see all the time, but now won't any more, for one reason or another.

With the recent redundancies at Sun or with people moving on to other jobs, the latter reason has become more poignant.

Sunday May 17, 2009

Ripped

On every trip I do, I always take along at least a pair of chinos and some 'backup' jeans in case I need them.

On this week's trip to Jordan I didn't bother with the jeans, for some silly reason. Climbing out of the taxi this evening was a bit problematic, as I had to have my suitcase with me on the back seat, as the cab's boot wasn't working. Whilst trying to clamber up and out, case in hand, I suddenly head a ripping sound - my rather old chinos had decided to use that moment to give up the coast and rip in a rather embarrassing location.

I now have three days with nothing but a pair of suit trousers to wear. Bother.

The moral of the story seems to be to have what you never need with you at all times - that way you'll never need it. If you don't bring that spare pair of trousers, shirt, cufflinks, toothbrush, etc, etc, you're bound to regret it!

Kuwaiti ladies elected to parliament

An interesting article here from the BBC.

It's not all burkha clad women shut up at home in the Middle East, despite the general impression people have in Europe - an impression which a good PR company should be hired to counter.

In Kuwait, which is one of the stricter Gulf states in terms of not allowing alcohol, pork or much in the way of public entertainment, you can often see female Kuwaiti nationals dressed in Western clothes, walking around unveiled.

Perhaps the biggest surprise when you first arrive in Kuwait, slightly nervous about your trip to somewhere 'exotic' that you've only ever heard about on the news, is what you see when you come out from passport control. A visitor from the US might think he'd landed back home - Burger King, McDonald's, Pizza Hut and other cultural icons await you. After you've had a quick burger you then usually jump into a Crown Victoria, or similar beached whale simulating American car, to head off to your hotel.

Ambassadors

The Pakistan Boys' Under 15 football team were walking around Dubai airport this morning - nice lads, smartly dressed in blazers and chinos, neat hair, behaving themselves.

I wonder what impression the England boys' team give on their travels?

Thursday May 14, 2009

Mrs Saul's Luxury British Car Trip

Thanks to a friend of ours who is a senior features writer for one the Middle East's leading publishing powerhouses, Mrs Saul will be spending a weekend at the Six Senses Spa in two weeks' time.

The last time she and I drove there was when the area, known as Zighy Beach, was only accessible via a treacherous, extremely steep and rocky mountain road. It was incredibly exciting to drive up and down it in the Jeep. Since the hotel was built, the road has now been improved and made private. No chance to test out the RR's offroad skills, sadly.

I have a small video from 2003, when we first drove up there - I will try to dig it out.

Mrs Saul spending a weekend away from me in a luxury spa is fine, as far as I am concerned. After all, I am away a lot of the time on trips to other five star locations - Lagos springs to mind. But taking an Aston Martin out?!

Tuesday May 12, 2009

Death by circuits

Mrs Saul and I went to 'circuits' on Sunday evening - running around a gym room doing press ups, tricep curls, squat thrusts and so on, accompanied by the music of Def Leppard and Scooter to encourage our efforts.

Some friends of our have been going for years and are all super-fit. I am not a sporty person, but I do enjoy exercise. Having some kind of regular training session make it all a bit easier to stick to, so we thought we'd give it a go.

I managed slightly better than I thought I would, even if I was totally exhausted by the end. Sunday's session happened to focus more on the muscle side of things and whilst my press ups towards the end would not have impressed a sergeant major, I did enjoy the experience.

All that changed on Monday morning however, when I woke up hardly able to move. It's now Tuesday afternoon and I am still aching, with another session later on today. I was thinking of giving it a miss, as I am finding it hard to sit down properly, let alone jump around a gym room, but was persuaded to continue.

Tomorrow I may well be 'working from bed', unable to move at all!

Sunday May 10, 2009

Gun toting Dads

There's a nice article here in the National, talking about the role played by guns and shooting in the history of the UAE.

Pieces like this help to reinforce how the region has changed in such a short time.

If my father had grown up at a time where carrying guns for self-defence and to feed yourself was the norm, I expect my attitudes to certain things would be rather different. Certain things I get het up about would probably seem rather less significant.