The Dubai champagne brunch is now fast becoming a tradition as a popular way to celebrate a western expat’s birthday it would seem. I make that judgment as over the last two weekends I attended two of them for Birthday celebrations. They make for attractive venues - a set price, a wide variety of food, nice surroundings and of course the obligatory free flowing champagne.

Here are my thoughts on the two venues:

Yalumba

Where: Le Meridien, Dubai

When: Thursday Evening (also Friday Brunch)

Cost: 400 AED

This place is suppose to have an Australian theme, I did not really feel it. The atmosphere is somewhere between a nightclub and a restaurant. The staff were quick to re-fill my glass with Laurent-Perrier though how they managed later in the evening was amazing. I did not really sample the buffet while I was there as they also offer a restaurant style menu and I chose to order the delicious pork belly. (For some reason I felt bad drinking Champagne and eating Pork when two hours before I was in Kuwait). Later in the evening the DJ put on a playlist that appeared to have come straight from the Dubai Rugby Sevens i.e. Country Road and Hey Baby. I don’t really mind this music when I am at the rugby or a beer festival but I felt the surroundings deserved something a little better. Having said that the clientèle in that night (British Expats - lots of them) were enjoying themselves too much to really care.

Overall: 8/10 - A fun night with great food that turns into a bit of a cheezy disco after the free champagne ends at 11.00

Marrakech

Where: Shangri-La, Dubai

When: Friday Brunch

Cost: 335 AED

When you walk out of the lift on the Mezzanine floor you are greeted by the splendid site of some large bottles of Moet sat on ice. A promising start. We sat in the Morrocan restaurant Marrakech in a really nice private dining room which made our Brunch an intimate affair, especially when a magnum of Moet was left on our table.

You can actually help yourself to food in the the Amwaj sea food restaurant as well as the Morrocan cuisine where we were sat. Good job really as I did not want to miss out on the Oyster mountain or the tasty lamb cutlets. However, the walk between the restaurants is littered with drinks stations. A champagne section (of course), a vodka station, a mojito station (the strawberry ones are delicious) and the martini station.

The martini station is worthy of special note. The sour apple martini with a wafer thin slice of apple in it is simply far too good to miss. I think I will be researching the ingredients as I might have just found my favorite cocktail of all time.

It was certainly a more laid back affair and was populated by mainly British Expats and Emirates Crew however there were assorted other expats from around the region.

Overall: 8.5/10 - The food was pretty good though the walk between restaurants through arctic AC was not ideal but the wide selection of expertly made cocktails and generous amounts of champagne makes for a laid back and boozy afternoon.

June 28th marked my second anniversary in Dubai. I am amazed how quickly it has gone. I look back at making my choice to move to the Middle East and always in the back of your mind you have a time limit.

“Oh, I think I will give it a couple of years. Three maximum and I will go back to blighty” - I am sure is the thought a lot of expats coming over have. I certainly did as do a lot of my friends. The reality is, that if you are able to make a good circle of friends, enjoy your job and have somewhere good to live then I will call that place home. I am lucky. I have all three.

Over the last year this blog has undergone some changes. I like lists. So here is one about this blog:

1. Number of times it has been moved - Once (from blogspot to wordpress)

2. Number of hits across both sites - 87,118 (amazing)

3. Number of posts - 229

4. Number of comments - 566 (Thank you all!)

5. Number of domain names pointing to this blog - 4 (www.ronski.com, www.englishmaindubai.com,www.englishmaindubai.co.uk englishmanindubai.wordpress.com)

6. Most viewed post - Tailor Made (718 views)

I look forward to the next couple of years of living in Dubai and writing this blog. My life is certainly different from when I lived in the UK and overall it is for the better. Twelve months of sunshine and lots of things to do it a good place to start. Having said that, Dubai is a changing place. The soon to be introduced VAT on goods, the sharp rise in prices of food and property, the increase of traffic on the roads all adds up to give Dubai the challenges that other cities around the world have faced for some time.

I am keen to see how it fairs.

I recently had three of my close friends over for a vacation. As usual my idea of a good vacation involves not going anywhere near an airport. Though the weather had warmed up a lot towards the end of May and early June it was quite bearable as the humidity has only kicked in over the last few days which makes things extra uncomfortable.

We spent the week enjoying my new apartment and the excellent facilities the development offers as well as the usual Dubai treats including Wild Wadi, Souk Madinat, Friday Brunches and even an excursion out to the Hatta Pools. However on top of all these fun things they were fortunate enough to coincide their holiday with one of the now infamous “Casa Jumeriah” house parties.

The bi-annual fancy dress party is something savoured amongst my Dubai circle of friends as a highlight in the social calendar. With the previous themes of Circus and Rome going down well there is always some pressure to deliver something even better for the next one. This time around - we Rocked!

The boys did an excellent job in staging the villa with a whole wall of speakers providing a suitable backdrop for the carnage that was sure to unfold later that evening. For one night only - Kiss made a reappearance. All of the Casa Jumeriah boys both past and present donning the face paint and obligatory inflatable guitars:

With an iTunes playlist crafted over some weeks consisting of everything from AC/DC to Zeppelin it attracted a large crowd with 90% of people making a great effort in their outfits. Following the success of a little bit of catering at the last party we repeated the feat and got “Eat and Drinks” finest Chicken Shwarma man to make a appearance and they did a great job of feeding the masses through the evening:

I am not sure what it is - but for some reason the amount of alcohol one consumes seems to have a direct corelation with how tasty a Chicken Shwarma is. Still, even with the lashings of garlic mayo each one comes with the boys from Kiss found some AC/DC school girls for a fun photo:

The following morning we had to get up at a reasonable time as the main protagonists have a tradition of meeting for brunch at Carters. Here we recount stories from the previous nights, laugh at each others antics and review the all important photos.

I knew something was not right when I woke up and had blurry vision. I put it down to my hangover, but on exposure to outdoor Sun and as I sat in Carters my right eye started to hurt . A lot. Ten minutes later one of my good friends took me over the American Hospital and I sat patiently in the ER room with an ice pack over my eye.

In short order I saw the Doctor. He took one look at my eye and immediately administered some anaesthetic drops which was pure mana from heaven. It took my eye from a painful burning feeling to normal in seconds. Then he put some dye in my eye and with a UV light could see the damage. I was diagnosed with a scratched cornea. He prescribed me a patch for my eye, antibiotic drops, some strong painkillers and a visit to the Ophthalmic Doctor the following day.

I look back and think it must have happened when removing the face makeup and I more than likely did the damage with a towel. I have to admit to being worried - I was basically without sight in my right eye. I will state the obvious but sight is so precious and you don’t realise this till it is gone.

The rest of the day was very uncomfortable - I slept as well as I could. My eye was streaming most of the day and the eye drops were painful each time I out them in. The following morning I woke up feeling much better and there was a noticeable improvement in my vision. I went to see the Opthalmic Doctor that morning and he was pleased with my recovery and told me only to see him again if I had any further problems. I was amazed in the space of 48 hours it had cleared up and within 72 hours even I would never have known.

For about about 24 hours I had both my eyes closed, getting back the ability to look and see was a revelation. Colors looked so vivid and lush. I appreciate High Def TV even more and I doubt I will be wearing face make up in a hurry. But the moral of this story? Good medical coverage in Dubai is essential and don’t get blind drunk.

It has been four weeks since I got the keys to my apartment and things are not only settling down in the overall development but I am finally getting close to completing the decoration.

Not since I brought my first place about nine years ago did I put this much effort into getting a place “all sorted”. There were numerous hunter/gatherer trips to be made across Dubai and with the help of my Father we got there in the end. I thought I would compile a fun list of the highlights:

1. Time spent in IKEA selecting what new furniture to get - 7 hours

2. Number of arguments I had with my Father during the seven hours - 2

3. Weight of the IKEA furniture delivered - 1.4 tons

4. Number of IKEA guys to build it all - 6

5. How long the IKEA guys spent building it - 8 hours

6. Number of items missing from original IKEA order - 4 (forcing two repeat visits)

7. Number of dirhams to bribe the IKEA chaps to do some extra jobs (hang the plasma, mirror, shoe rack, wall cabinets) - 200

8. Number of removal boxes from storage and the villa - 112

9. Number of trucks to deliver it - 2

10. Number of removal men - 11

11. Items damaged - 4 (I was surprised at this low number)

12. Number of repeat visits to IKEA to pick up items we forgot - 5

13. Number of men to install blinds - 4

14. Length of time to install blinds - 6 hours

15. Number of house plants brought - 6

16. Time selecting plants - 3 hours

17. Delivery time of plants from purchase - 2 hours (Excellent service from Dubai Garden Centre)

18. Number of drawers in the kitchen - 2 (Deep ones for pots and pans - where am I suppose to put cutlery?)

19. New number of drawers in the kitchen - 6

20. Time to fashion four kitchen drawers from a kitchen cabinet door - 5 hours

I think you might get the idea! Everything takes it own sweet time from the selection process, to delivery and finally installation. I am loving the fact that delivery and installation is almost universally included in the price and if it is not it is only a small fee here in Dubai.

There is a reasonably well skilled labour force at very cheap rates here, however sometimes it can be hard to communicate exactly what I need. Leading to a few comedic moments of me acting like an extra from Celebrity Charades as I struggled with the art of international sign language.

On the whole though things got done and the couple of snags I had, got sorted out along the way. Here are a couple of shots of the close to finished product - (I need some pictures and the lamp shades are ready to be hung but you will get the idea)

The home cinema area:

The bar area:

and the Al Fresco area (taken on a hazy day):

To my mind it has been worth it and my father has pt huge amounts efforts into helping get the place together and I want to thank him for that. After all, on a weekend morning when you can enjoy the view below ,I look back at all the hard work and decide it was definitely worth it.

It has been nearly two weeks since I moved into the apartment. It has been a hectic time and I still have a lot to do in getting the interior “just right”. In the meantime I have been enjoying living back in Dubai Marina. It is certainly starting to mature with shops and restaurants opening on almost a daily basis along “The Walk” and on the promenade level of the marina itself. I always think that the Dubai Marina at night is very pleasing on the eye, as the night hides the construction.

I grabbed my camera and went walking around the development to grab some photos. However I am seem to have lost my tripod in the move so only a few decent shots came out without too much blur. Here is the main entrance to the development - I really like the neon blue back light:

The neon blue theme is continued through the development with the walk ways lit up. Leaning rather precariously over my balcony, I grabbed this shot which shows the landscaping on the podium really well:

Then looking across from the balcony is the view out of my lounge. This view will continue to get better as more towers get completed in Jumeriah Lake Towers and in the Marina, however this summer the yacht club will open filling the large bay of water with over 150 fancy motor yachts.

After a long hot day what better way to relax but to enjoy an ice cold drink while taking in this view. I think when it all sinks in, I will feel like very lucky man.

Hopping around the middle east for business nowadays is starting to feel like the travel I use to do out of the UK. You know - flights full of guys in suits playing with there blackberrys dragging their Tumi flight cases behind them.

I ended up getting a little surprise on a trip to Doha last week. As per company instruction, I booked into the Sheraton. When the taxi was not allowed to drive up to the reception and there were lots of police vehicles around, I knew something was happening. Upon entering the hotel there was a mass of security guards in amongst a lot of smart looking gentlemen in traditional middle east dress. I managed to put two and two together and thought to myself - I have ended up at the epicenter of the Lebanese peace talks.

I was a little dismayed to find that the Sheraton would not honour my room booking due to “Security Reasons”. I understand that these things happen, but I would have liked a call from the hotel to let me know in advance.

In a rather grumpy mood, I accepted the limo ride back over to the other side of Doha to the “Al Sharq Village and Spa”. I had never heard of this hotel but was assured it was a nice five star hotel.

On my arrival my grumpiness was soon removed with a refreshingly cool towel, the offer of a luxury date and Arabic coffee while I went through the check in formalities. Things got even better when I was taken to the room which was the definition of luxury in an Arabic style, simply great. This would be an excellent place to spend a relaxed weekend.

The pool deck and beach were special, and I found out today that they were designed by a good friend of mine Quintin. Here is a picture of his handy work, shame I had no time to have a splash around in this world class pool:

After a hectic day and an uneventful flight back to Dubai, I checked the news and was pleasantly surprised at the news that the peace talks had resulted in a way forward. If the price of getting world changing events to happen is a small bit of inconvenience - then call me Mr Inconvenient.

A combination of international travel, moving house and waiting for an internet connection at home as hampered my blog writing over the last couple of weeks. Last month before the current troubles in Lebanon broke out I was able to make my first trip to Beirut. Since coming to the middle east about two years ago I have really wanted to make a trip to Lebanon. I have many Lebanese friends and when they speak of home there is a longing deep within their eyes. I wanted to find out what they were missing.

I stayed in the very comfortable Moevenpick Resort and was fortunate enough to have a great room with an excellent view over the pools and out to sea. I understand that the pool is very popular at the weekends and in the summer is full. I would like to see that. Here it is at 7am in the morning:

I got to travel to Beirut with some Lebanese friends and they did an excellent job of looking after me and taking me to cool places to eat and drink. They also pointed out some of the local beauty spots including the famous Pigeon Island which was simply stunning:

In the heart of the city I was privileged to experience lunch at Lina’s cafe in the old square. It was fantastic, but it was eerily quiet in the late afternoon. I would put that down to it be a pedestrian only zone, however I was not one to complain, as we enjoyed the the ideal weather which made for a nice break from the searing heat of Dubai.

Travelling around the Middle East region you get use to the extra security around the hotels and airports. Car bomb checks, armed guards and metal detectors are all par for the course when visiting certain countries and I appreciate them being there. However in Beirut it is on a whole different level. Every street in the centre of the city appears to have concrete barriers forming a path, or anti-tank obstacles, or military police , or APCs, or regular army troops, or razor wire. However intermingled with all of this are people getting on with their lives. Be it enjoying a Zatar bread, or buying groceries or even getting spruced up ready to hit the town.

I admired the local inhabitants ability to be so resilient in the light of the history of the city. Even when I stopped in at the Hard Rock cafe to buy a t-shirt I queued behind a peace keeper from the UN. He had conveniently parked his enormous armoured vehicle outside while he loaded up with caps and badges:

I can see now why Beirut became such a popular tourist destination. With wonderful weather, mountains for skiing and beaches for swimming the diversity is amazing. All the time set in a culture of a curious mix of Christianity and Islam side by side. I am all ready looking forward to going back however with the current situation I am unable to travel there at the moment.

Over 20 years ago the famous 80s band “The Human League” wrote a song called “The Lebanon” in it there is the lyric:

“And who will have won
When the soldiers have gone?
From The Lebanon”

Twenty years on, it still holds true.

A little while ago I spent a pleasant evening in the (then) cool Dubai evening weather enjoying tasty pasta whilst being interviewed about my blog.

I must admit I enjoy being interviewed as it really is a situation where you have to think on your feet and when the subject is near to your heart then the more fun it is. It seems that the Editor of Viva (the biggest selling Women’s magazine in the middle east) enjoyed my blog and wanted to put a feature on it in their magazine.

The feature was published in this months issue and it brought a wry smile to my face. I enjoyed it throughly. Below is a scan from the magazine:

I want to thank Catherine Langley, one the finest new hounds in Dubai in giving me a chance to appear in Viva. To everyone else - go and pick up a copy if you live in the middle-east and see an Englishman in Dubai in print.

EDIT: You can download the pdf here

On a recent trip to Dibba I mentioned that my friend’s mesmerized the campers with an evocative display of fire poi. I do not think I really gave it the justice it deserved and I wanted to share the experience a little more. I took a video of one of the displays and my hat goes off to Ursula who despite performing for a crowd for the first time and getting burnt at one point, does not flinch at all and pulls off some stunning moves. Certainly this is not something for the kids!

Here it is “straight out of the camera” I was sat next to the stereo and the soundtrack fits really well:

My friend Rupert got in on the act and with the help of his nice camera, a tripod and a good measure of skill, captured a few stunning shots:

The rest of them can be found over at Rupert’s website here. I will now give a shameless plug to my friends, who are available to come and perform at your next special event for a fee. Their website wildfiredancers.com will be launched any day now.

For me, they are nothing short of sensational.

EDIT: This post appeared in Gulf News on the 13th May 2008

After 15 months of patiently waiting, form filling, making numerous calls to the developer, making numerous calls to the mortgage company and writing unfeasible big cheques I am now the proud owner of a Dubai Marina property. Everytime I made a trip from Dubai and I arrived back at the airport the first thing I saw when entering the country, after exiting e-gate, was an advertisement for Dubai Marina - it shows a nice rendering of where I will be living overlooking the yacht club. It was also a great motivator to remind me of what I was working toward:

The taster I got in February when I went for the snagging was enough for me to drive the process to conclusion today. Having spent a good deal of time at the cashiers and handover department I got the impression that I was not the only one struggling with the process. But over the last week I have learnt a great deal about completing a property purchase in Dubai. Here is my distilled wisdom on the subject:

1. Once the developer sends you the letter if the handover date - go and see the mortgage company to get details of the final payments

2. Make the final payments about 6-7 working days before the handover date

3. Save every document from the whole process in a safe place

4. Never leave home without your passport

5. Bring a book for the waiting

The overall process is reasonably straightforward once you have been through it once - I just felt a little confused first time around. Having said that the friendly call center staff are willing to good advice and guidance if pushed.

During the final stage of the handover when the nice handover agent handed my the keys - there was a slight pause and a congratulatory well done. It made me feel great.

Once I had the keys in the palm of my hand I shot down to the apartment in Dubai Marina and sure enough most of the major snags had been dealt with. There are a few things that need some attention and one good clean will see the back of the thin layer of dust that had settled.

I have a busy week ahead of me dealing with deliveries, removal men, curtain people and the cable guy. However I think I will need to go and see the developer again. The parking spot I have been allocated while protecting the car from both sides only allows me to exit the car through the boot - hardly ideal, but at least I am in the apartment and I can work on these things. I am looking forward to it. More on the flat itself and communal facilties soon. For now I am worn out, but happy.