Dubai: Desert Wanderings

We were making only a short stop in Dubai but everyone had told me beforehand that a Must Do was to take the desert safari. Safari may be a bit of a misnomer; the adventure consisted of a drive up and down the dunes, followed by a pit stop at a compound in the conservation area where we had dinner and watched a belly dancer perform. There was an option to take a very short camel ride; aside from that the only live animals in sight were two big birds (turkeys? They ran off before I could take a good look).

How can one describe the desert? When we first arrived, it was about 3pm and the sun was blazing in the sky and reflecting off the sand. The wind swept the tops of the dunes - blurring the sharp lines of the ridges in my photos. So I needed my sunglasses both to shade my eyes and protect them from the flying sand.

We set off in our land rover to do our dune-bashing. Up and down, and around the slopes of the dunes we went. Jerky, jumpy, there were some uneasy moments especially when we saw other land rovers had gotten stuck in the sand or had problems in getting round the dunes. Fortunately our driver (Nasser) tackled the dunes aggressively and got us over without any difficulties. We stopped at a point in the middle of the dunes to take photos. Changing and unchanging, one dune looks very much like another but somehow as the wind blows, as the shadows shift with the setting sun, the landscape does seem to shift. On first impression, it appears to be two distinct types of sand, one yellow and finer and one redder and a little coarser. So the colours of the dunes seem to shift as well depending on which type of sand is more apparent.

We arrived at the camp for dinner and the bellydance after our dune bashing session. It was somewhat anticlimatic. There was a very short camel ride (one small round) and then we were invited to smoke hashish, wear Arab robes, or get a henna painting on our hand. This was followed by dinner and a performance by a belly dancer. Here, I am sorry to say that the gentlemen in our party held back and did not go near the belly dancer at all. They were reluctant to become the audience participants in her routine. The good sports who took up her challenge were (some of them) most capable. There was this Indian gentleman who really had the moves. I am not sure that what he was doing was the belly dance but he definitely had style. Reminded me of my Indian classmate who persisted in doing what I call the bangra-cha. By the way, there is a video of the belly dance on my Multiply site. I think it does her more justice than does this picture. Its the motion which is important after all.

People I meet here in Dubai tell me that they go out into the desert every now and then, to think and to reflect. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Pierre Wack, one of the early scenario planners, also believed in going to the desert to think. Hmmm.... I must admit that I have not had much opportunity to reflect today. Perhaps an overnighter would be better.

On another note, I recall a silly story which someone told me during our visit to the Middle East. A man went into the desert and got lost. So he walked and walked looking for civilisation and looking for water. Finally he found an oasis and there was an Arab there in traditional clothes with a tie rack next to him. The man said, "I need a drink of water"! And the Arab said, "you need to buy a tie". The man said, "I need a drink of water! I don't need a tie!" And the Arab said, "You need a tie". The man gave it up as a bad job and went on his way. He got to another oasis and there was another Arab man wearing a tuxedo and with a huge bar behind him. The man said, "I need a drink of water!" And the Arab said, "Sure, we have water, we also have coke, sprite, margaritas, etc etc. But there is a dress code - you need a tie."

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to the moral of the story?

Qatar - Taking Off

In Arab culture, it is polite to accept the hospitality offered - so whenever we have visited an organisation here, we have been asking for mint tea. Here, tea is served not with milk or lemon (though both are typically available), but with mint. The hotel buffet served the mint leaves in a little glass bowl on the side of the hot water dispenser and tea bags. At other places, the mint leaves are cut up finely and a strainer used to prevent the leaves from entering the cup. Either way, the sweet, hot, mint-flavoured tea, is both refreshing and invigorating to drink. Traditional Arab hospitality in modern buildings.

Qatar is modernising at a rapid rate. New buildings are coming up rapidly especially in the downtown area, and UK and US brands can be found in its spanking new shopping centres. In fact, we were (or maybe I was) most excited to find Applebees in the City Centre shopping centre. [Applebees is a US chain which has got excellent desserts, including my favourite Maple Butter Blondie, or a white chocolate brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top and maple butter poured all over.]

How far are the changes external, and how far have they changed the way of life of Qataris? There has not been substantial change in the way people dress. Men are in their long white robes and white/red-and-white checked headgear. The long robes are crisply ironed and immaculately white. Makers of detergent, bleach products must see this as a major market. Women on the other hand wear black, and their robes are made of soft flowing material. Whilst everyone covers their heads, some wear the veil over everything except their eyes and a few cover their heads completely. But I am told that 15 years ago, women would not have been allowed to drive. Today, they can be seen behind the wheel on the roads.

Incidentally, talking about driving, Qatar was the first country I'd ever been in where I could not read the car numbers. They are in Arabic, appropriately enough given that I believe the Arab numerals were the basis for the modern numbering system anyway. The "normal" numerals are included in a smaller font size, just below the Arabic numbers.

Al Jazeera is perhaps another sign of how Qatar is changing. The station has just launched a new English channel, in addition to its well-known Arabic channel. Of course it is not possible for me to make a comparison between the English and Arabic channel content. But the English channel was indeed far from what I had anticipated Al Jazeera to be. First, it seems to be a strange mix between CNN and BBC. Whilst I did not have many opportunities to watch the English channel, the coverage appeared to be on developing countries and development issues. There were features on crime in Guatemala, Siberian tigers in China, poor farmers in Kenya. Plus a feature on Saddam Hussein. I thought the coverage fairly balanced and objective; but obviously the fact that it covers developing country issues shows its editorial direction. Al Jazeera broadcasts out of a number of countries now, not just Qatar. In fact it broadcasts out of KL! But of course we in Singapore don't get it on cable. (I was to be quite disappointed in Dubai when I realised that I couldn't watch Al Jazeera in the hotel there).

The changes in Doha can also be seen in its downtown area. We were staying in perhaps a more sedate part of the city. But I had dinner with an ex-colleague down at Signal Ramada and realised that it was a far more exciting part of town, at least at night. There were two or three strips of restaurants including the Beijing Great Wall restaurant, Le Notre Restaurant, Pondarosa and Chilis'. Prices are not cheap but at least there are some places to meet up for dinner at.

On our last day in Doha, we finally found some time to go to the Corniche. It was a short visit and perhaps not to the most picturesque point of the waterfront. We did not see the old dhows, the traditional boats which used to ply the waters. Rather, a large container ship, small modern sailing boats and the occasional sight of an aeroplane flying ahead were the order of the day. The city skyline could also be seen from where we were. But at least the water was bright blue in colour and there was not a cloud in the sky.

We flew off from Doha on 24 Jan, after 5 quick days here. Next stop: Dubai!

Journey to the Middle East - Qatar

We arrived in Qatar on 20 Jan, on a work trip. It is the first time I have been in the Middle East and thus this visit was indeed much anticipated.

Our first morning was spent mostly in the hotel - settling in. We were staying at the Doha Marriot and our rooms overlooked the bright blue waters of the waterfront, called the Corniche. The Marriot is a modern hotel but it is telling that our car had to manoeuvre roadblocks and that we had to go through a metal detector upon our entry into the hotel. One of our party was also not too reassuring when she informed us that her hotel in Jordan had been bombed two weeks after her stay. In fact, when I got back to Singapore there was a report of a suicide bomber attacking the Marriot in Pakistan. Thank God we had a safe stay at the Marriot and in our whole time in Doha and Dubai.

After lunch, we spent the hot afternoon hours in one of the newer shopping centres of Doha- Landmark. It was interesting to see the mingling of US and UK High Street brands. There was Marks & Spencers, Zara and Mango, Mexx and many food chains such as Dairy Queen, Starbucks, Pizza Hut etc. The amusing thing about the clothes was the slightly different range offered - more long flowing skirts and caftan-type tops then one would get in Singapore :-) Guess this is what the women wear beneath their black robes. Sales people were largely foreigners - Filipinas mostly. There was also a decent supermarket in the building, with an aisle dedicated to international foods - Japanese, Thai and Filipino. Just goes to show what a large foreign population there is in Doha. What was really interesting was the large collection of sweet stuff including a goodly range of chewing gum.


After Landmark, we visited Souk Waqif, a more "traditional" shopping area. However, it had been newly renovated and hence had this slight air of unreality about it. The Souk is essentially a series of shops on either side of a wide pedestrian mall. The shops on either side of the mall were selling crafts, leather - there was also a fruit and nut shop. We went in the shop and there too was a large selection of chewing gum. Well, they certainly are attuned to the Singaporean market :-) Behind the first row of shops is a labyrinth of corridors with smaller shops; there were different sections for food, spices, hardware, etc. I liked the spice area best - their fragrant aroma wafted out of the shops and filled the air. However, the Souk was fairly quiet - wonder whether we were there at the right time? It was late afternoon but we were told that the Qataris generally come out in the later part of the evening. The merchants were not terribly excited about our presence either. Perhaps they recognised that the likelihood of making a sale was low.

Dinner was at Bukhara, a North Indian restaurant. Now I have been to Bukhara both in Delhi and in Hongkong. Perhaps it is a chain but the Delhi and Hongkong restaurants were both in the Sheraton Hotel whereas this one was standalone.

In general, it was a quiet day.

ByeBye, Blackie

It has been a few days but I have not been able to bring myself to write about it.

Our dear Blackie, sweet female mother cat, was knocked down by a car last Tuesday, just one week after we lost dear little Binks. Blackie was our beautiful all-black female cat. She delivered her last litter some time in December and disappeared for some time, only reappearing a few weeks ago. At which point, we started feeding her a little more to keep up her strength. But she did not trust us enough to bring her kittens over to us. Neither were we certain whether her kittens were still surviving, especially after the heavy rains. Whilst her teats were still full, we often saw the kittens from her last litter (Winks, and previously Binks) still sucking noisily away.


Blackie was never good at crossing roads. She tended to get nervous and distracted, particularly when the dogs next door barked or when car headlights shone at her. She would freeze and my mother has seen cars stopping or slowing down so as not to hit her. But at night, when the road is dimly lit, it is difficult to see a black cat crossing the road. So it is not surprising that this was how she met her end. But we will remember how she used to stretch out on our doormat, and sharpen her claws against its rough surface. And how affectionate she was, and the way she rubbed her head and body around our ankles when we appeared at the door. And the way she slept curled up next to Sootie, on top of the cat cage just outside our front door.

Bye bye Blackie.


One of my last photos of Blackie. Her teats are visible just behind her front paws.

Perils of Being a Cat

Sadly, we said goodbye to Binks yesterday. He was hit by a car and must have been killed instantaneously by a blow to his head. My father found him lying on the road. By the time I came home, his little body had been placed in a box which was then swaddled with plastic bags. This comes after Inks' mysterious disappearance a few days after Christmas. So of the 3 kittens only Winks is left. However, as mentioned in a previous post the 3 kittens had a fourth sibling (who I call Minx) who we had been slowly cultivating just before Binks' death. So we have now accelerating the socialisation process by bringing Minx and Winks into our back yard to begin to accustom them to living in a house (including the not difficult, but rather smelly task of potty training). This also means that we have to accustom Casey cat to sharing her territory with other cats!

Maybe just a few words about Inks and Binks. Inks was the friendly one who loved playing with toys and people. I remember him trying to understand the nature of a car windscreen - how it was he could see someone inside the car but something was preventing him from getting closer! Binks was the shy one, the reserved cat who it was harder to get to know. But the effort was worth it - I cherish the memory of Binks lying on his back with his four paws in the air, playing with a toy or waiting to be stroked/tickled. Although Minx is very like him in appearance, it is not the same. It is sad to think they are no longer with us, sadder still that we did not get Binks adopted earlier even though we had offers for him. Whilst some of his potential adopters had some hazardous circumstances about their home, I should have better taken into account that we too have hazards around us which make the environment here unsafe for the cats and even more so, the kittens.

Sad though it has been to say goodbye to Binks, it was no where as traumatic as the loss of Mandy a few months earlier. Mandy was the first little kitten after Casey we wanted to adopt. She was friendly, trusting and affectionate. Sadly, she wandered into the front garden of the house next door. The dogs were let out of the house and poor Mandy was mauled to death. Sadly, I have no photo to remember her by. So this blog shall have to be her memorial.

Goodbye to my little dears... Inks, Binks, and Mandy.

Back to Work

Well, it is the New Year and I am back at work. Not that it is that taxing or strenuous, it is a temporary job before I start my permanent appointment. But I started off the week feeling a little ill - nothing much, just a bad throat which has now graduated into a slight cough and the feeling of being drained and tired. That shall be my excuse for not keeping up with the discipline of blogging which I boasted about on New Year's Day.

On Thursday, I went back to the School to say hello and welcome to the next batch of incoming students. I say 'back' but they have now shifted to the new campus in Bukit Timah. It is really a peaceful and quiet place. Of course I could say that of the former school building but these beautiful old buildings exude a certain grace, serenity and charm. The white buildings, the green quadrangles and the spanking new interiors just make it the perfect place to study and reflect.

Of course a lot of work still needs to be done. There is a considerable amount of renovation work going around the place. I wonder whether it will be finished when classes start next week. The offices in the administration building still have the plastic covering on all the chairs, and boxes are still being unpacked all over the place. And the grass in the quadrangles still looks somewhat newly planted. It will take time to grow and take root in these new premises. As will the school.

I told the new students that they were fortunate to have a year's break, and that us outgoing students were now a depressed bunch as we were starting work. More to the point, to remember that anything negative which had been added to the curriculum was the fault of the preceding batches and not us. Whilst anything positive, was, of course, due to our great feedback :-)

It's 2007! Happy New Year!

It's 2007! And the motivational quote for today (which I reproduce here because tomorrow it will be gone) is:

"He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul's estate." - Henry David Thoreau

I have been given the opportunity to reflect on my Masters' programme in 2006 to the group of incoming students. I want to just recall some of my high points in 2006. I did a mini-listing in My First Post on this blog (learning to meditate, tidying up a lot of my old junk etc). So here are my top 5:

• Masters' programme. An opportunity to reflect on an attempt to consolidate what I have learned through my years of work. But also made a lot of new friends - both here in Singapore and overseas. Although it has actually been quite a fair amount of work at times (not the one year of playing golf which I was looking forward to) I suppose the cost-benefits come out positive.



• Buying my new car must surely count as a major high point! I really enjoy driving my BMW around. Someone just told me that it is a very different car for me to drive :-)



• Going to the US. The great open spaces of the US were stunning - the mountain tops of New Hampshire, the bright sunny beaches of Provincetown from which the sea stretches out to an infinite horizon, the strong sense of history in Lexington, Concord and Boston, the sheer majesty and splendour of Niagara Falls. Of course I managed to get interesting insights about the way the people in the US think and react by staying there and by visiting Washington DC.



• Visiting Mexico, the gateway to Mesoamerica. The Pyramid of the Sun was spectacular, and the shrine of Guadalupe a truly special experience (I would say spiritual but those who read the post on this visit will know that the spirituality was somewhat limited). But the visit was an introduction to a culture so different from what I know.



• Starting this blog?! Well, I have benefited from the discipline of having to think of things to write about my life and what I've been doing. It is a pity that I didn't start it much earlier in the year... well, it did not occur to me. And even if it did, I can't say that I would have started it up very much faster. But the activity of blogging also has made me more aware of what is going on in the internet world - maybe I will be less of a techno-bodoh (my friend's brother calls her a techno-bimbo but I really don't like the sound of that) than in the past. Because of the blog, I started a Flickr account (and today I reached my 1,000th view - not a very large number for some Flickr members but pretty good for me) and a Multiply account, and even starting printing photos on-line using QOOP! I know this sounds extremely rudimentary for all the techie folk out there, but to me it is BIG. Not to mention working out how to make all these lovely photo mosaics.

Looking back, I suppose it has been a slightly self-indulgent year - a year for Me. I've probably done more shopping this year than ever before (and my cumulative credit card bills will confirm this). Spent more days on holiday/ leave than in the past - even more than in 2001! But I have spent a fair amount of time just rejuvenating and reflecting - through meditation, through the morning walks which I started just this past month or so :-) and even through this blog. And I think I have managed to keep in touch (better than in the past) with friends old and new.

Now for my New Year resolutions for 2007. Resolutions inherently are about things one is not so keen about. After all, one does not need to resolve to enjoy oneself? So for next year, 2007, my resolution is to keep up a schedule for sharpening the saw - meditate, exercise regularly - say 3 times a week each. Now to work out how to meet this target!!!

I end this post with a sampler of photos to represent 2006: