Jebel Hafeet

Very hard to do Jebel Hafeet any justice at all in either words or pictures. You drive about 90 minutes from Dubai to another Emirate called Al Ain (which is a lovely place - ancestral home to the ruling family in Abu Dhabi, and quite green in many places). It's always less humid here, but often hotter. Anyway, you drive through the city of Al Ain and get to Jebel Hafeet - a simply huge (relative to the rest of the flat desert) rock mountain. There's something kind of Ayrs Rock about the place - it is so different and seems so out of place compared to the desert.
The drive up is actually pretty sedate - we had heard all sorts of horror stories about the road, but it's dual lane, well sealed and frankly 1000 times better than any ski road I have been on in NZ. I guess, compared to the 3,4, 5 or 6 lane each motorways you drive on here most of the time (with no corners) it could be a little daunting.
We stopped partway up to look at the view - with the dry air you can see for miles and miles, and see just how high Jebel Hafeet is compared to the rest of the place - it has been a stronghold for hundreds of years.

Jaime and Alexa posed halfway up - not sure what Grandad (taking the photos) said, but Jaime certainly reacted....

There is a very nice hotel close to the top, where we had a bite to eat, and walked around a bit to look at the facilities. Just a really interesting setting - similar to many of the resorts we have seen here, but the only one at the top of a mountain!

We had a lovely lunch there. And it wasn't just lovely because we had a kids table and an adults table...

Twins separated at birth?

When you get right to the top there is a huge cobbled parking area (big enough and empty enough that Ryan, Alexa and Jaime all got turns at driving the Land Rover - a long way from the edge I might add).

From that parking area you get a wonderful view of a private residence, right at the top of the Mountain (photo below taken from a parking area slightly lower down). Absolutely amazing engineering - makes some of the houses perched on Mt Vic in Wellington look kind of amateurish.

We think the house belonged to the late Sheik Zayed - the father of the Emirates, who pulled everyone together, and created the United Arab Emirates and set the programme for development in the region. It is very clear that it's a private residence - there is strictly "No Admissiton". I bet the spelling is right in Arabic.

Truly cool place, well worth the visit.

Beach (otherwise entitled Jaime's master stroke)

The beach just down from the Burj Al Arab is really lovely. We are very lucky to be able to just jump in the car, drive 10 minutes, and go to a beach and swim in water that you would be very grateful to have at most resorts you'd go to. The only downsides are that for 3 months of the year it's too hot to be there after about 9.30am (which makes getting out of bed on the weekend a challenge - at least for those over 6 years old) and the rubbish and cigarette butts. Luckily there has been a bit of a focus on this lately and things are being cleaned up.
Unfortunately, Jack and Jaime were supposed to be back at school while Ryan, Cailin and Alexa were here, so the three Broadleys were to go to the beach with Nana and Grandad without the Bodys. Jaime was having none of this so, in her words, she "did a bommit in the car park at school, so had to come home, but now I'm fine". Nice work - so she got to the beach as well.
Nana and Cailin in front of the Burj Al Arab

Sometimes there are no waves at all, but a few this time so Ryan got to show his prowess on the boogie board.

Jaime and Alexa. "See Jaime, white girls CAN jump".

"I am so stoked that I can bommit sometimes when I need to. That sucker Jack is still at school..."

Cailin - sometimes full of grace, sometimes not.

Oh - and if you have any questions about where Damian and Tracy were when everyone else was at the beach, try bed.

Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

Another trip to Abu Dhabi to see the Grand Mosque - this time to show the Broadleys round - and it didn't disappoint. An over zealous security guard tried to stop the women (Tracy mum and I) from walking into the outskirts of the Mosque without our Abayas. He insisted that our husbands must go and get them for us and we were to stay well outside in the scorching heat. I informed him that this being my third visit here I knew better than him and ignored him and carried on. Never did like being told what to do especially by a male (Andrew here - can confirm that). So - we got all dressed up and went off to explore this amazing place. Jaime and Jack wore their own clothing. School heritage day finally came in handy.

Cailin looked gorgeous.

Daddy and Jack looking the part. Both have had haircuts since then...

The 3 youngest cuddling up.

Looking down one of the corridors.

On the way to the Mosque there are some interesting sights. The bridge below was to be completed a long time ago - it is supposed to be a very elegant arched structure when complete. However it has taken years to work out how to get the arch up without it falling over during construction and we think it has gone to court now to work out who is going to front up with the money to pay for all the extra design work and scaffolding. Very funny. That's what happens when designers get too cute.

The building below is by most people called either "the Coin"or "the Lozenge". It is going to be Aldar's headquarters (Aldar is a big Abu Dhabi-based developer that Andrew's company does some work for). Very cool looking but probably not very cost effective.

The bridge and the coin are very close to the mosque. We had lunch with Tracy's old school friend Roy and his wife Nicky and son before we started back. It was a great day out, and the drive was a lot easier than the one back from Jebel Hafeet.

Fountains from TGI Fridays

The fountains at the bottom of the Burj tower are fantastic. Based on the Belaggio in Vegas but only bigger and better of course. There are a lot of vantage points to watch them from. We chose inside the Dubai Mall at TGI Fridays restaurant outside on the balcony. Good food and a great show. The kids loved them and I tried not to panic as Jaime leant over the balcony rail (note from Andrew - Jaime's head was perhaps just above the balcomy rail - certainly no leaning and no need whatsoever to panic...).

Sometimes they have to delay or even cancel the show, because the water goes so high that if you are sitting in the wrong place, with the wind going the wrong way, you'll get drenched. Was even more of an issue when they weren't filtering the water and were worried about the bacteria levels... all sorted now.

The 3 girls looking on with interest.

We went as a family again the other night to watch them and felt very lucky to live 10 minutes drive from them, able to go and see them whenever we like. The weather at night is now getting to where it's lovely being outside to eat as well.

360 Bar

On Viv and Ian's last night we went to the 360 Bar. It's out on a walkway past the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and has amazing views of the Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach, and the coastline. You are driven out in Golf carts from Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It was a mission to try and book a table and it took Del over half a hour on the phone to push our way onto a Platinum List (whatever that meant). Delanie did really well - she is better than her husband at pushing through some of the red tape you find wrapped around things here in Dubai. Anyway, she finally did it and then when we arrived we just walked straight through all the security and nobody questioned us. Murphy's Law. Was worth the effort - it really is a stunning bar with amazing views.

The place is generally absolutely full with "the beautiful people". The first time I went there I felt 10 years too old, ten kilos too heavy and about 10 million too poor....

The girls have arrived.

Getting giggly with a few cockatils.

Getting closer to the Burj Al Arab. Ian and Viv watching their last sunset with us for now. Ian reckoned the photographer got the proportions wrong, but I reckon it works!

"No - both drinks are not mine. But if she doesn't hurry up hers may be in trouble..."

The photgrapher finally on the other side of the camera for once. Looking staunch and serious too - very movie star.

Great spot - outdoors in the sea breeze, music going, couple of quiets. Really tough to beat.

Viv's birthday

We had a lovely evening to celebrate Viv's Birthday while everyone was here. Drinks at the Observatory, and then dinner at Azur. Wonderful views from the Observatory (and cheap cocktails - although that's certainly not why we went there...). Love the food at Azur too, and the service is always outstanding. Was wonderful to have Tracy and Damian here too - a nice addition to how we got celebrate Ian's birthday when Ian and Viv were here earlier in the year.
The lady of the hour...

And with her favourite sidekick. Nice shirt Ian.

Daughter #1 and her faithful sidekick.

Daugher #2 and her faithful sidekick and gracious hosts to all

The Munro girls - glammed up, on the cocktails and causing trouble. Typical Friday night really.

Creek Cruise

I took the troops on the creek cruise, all second time around for poor Viv and Ian. We drove a new route down there and I was happy to have found the place. You can hire this boat for a hour and it's cheap. Very good value. It was nice and calm also, so I didn't need to yell at this driver (in case you hadn't worked it out, Delanie here). Ryan got to drive this boat which made his day. The downside was that poison had been leaked into the river and there were thousands of dead fish floating. Quite gross really.
Ian took lots more photos of the place (just in case he lost the ones he took last time I guess).

Two generations - each as single-minded and determined as the other...


"This expat lifestyle is really tough isn't it? Do you reckon I can get Damian over here?"

"I must not fall asleep this time... Need to stay awake more often - get to do some cool stuff!"

Dhow Cruise

Del's Mum and Dad, and sister Tracy and her husband Damian, along with the kids Ryan, Cailin and Alexa came to visit us in late September and early October. Full house! Was interesting to see the kids together after nearly 9 months - seemed to just fall back together really with no dramas at all. Jaime being a little older made a difference - she was no longer left out of things, and got stuck in and had fun.
We went on a number of 'excursions' with everyone ... and you all thought we were nuts when we bought two big cars with 15 seats between them! With 6 adults, 5 kids, and the requisite beach gear, sunhats, drinks and snacks we were almost thinking about roof racks too!
One of the first things we did was a Dhow cruise - out from the Dubai Marina to one side of the Palm Jumeirah - which gave a great view looking back at the beach and hotels.
Started nice and calm in the Marina....

Although all Viv, Del and Tracy could talk about was how they'd rather be going out on one of the newer super yachts. No respect for tradition the Munro girls.
Nice and calm here too - everyone looking happy. Was a lovely breeze, because the weather is still warm - mid-high 30s.

It's probably about now that things started to get a little bumpy. Offshore wind got things wobbling a bit. Jaime and I loved it. Jack and Del not so sure - in fact so unsure that there was a (sort of) polite request made of the 'Captain' along the lines of "when the f*** are we going back in?" Or something like that. You can kind of see the waves below - although the picture doesn't quite do it justice - it did actually get quite rough with a big swell. The picture below shows the "Taj Mahal Hotel". Will be enormous when it is finished. The cranes still seemed to be moving (unlike a lot of Dubai) so I think they are making progress, and will be interesting to go and see when complete.

We headed back in after the Captain was given his instructions. White knuckles gradually relaxed.

Most relaxed was Ryan, who slept through the whole thing (this was the day the Broadleys arrived after the long flights from NZ). Wish I could have got Del to sleep alongside him....

Bahrain 0, NZ 0

Went to the NZ - Bahrain World Cup Qualifying match in Bahrain. 25,000 screaming Bahrainis and about 400 Kiwis. The Kiwis tried to make as much noise, but got drowned out any time they tried - every second Bahrain fan seemed to have a gas hooter, and a group had drums and megaphones! Lots of decibels.
The images below are a little lower quality - taken from my phone.
Great occasion, and very cool to have had the opportunity to be there. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. The game itself was perhaps a little disappointing - both sides a bit down on quality. If Bahrain had a strong finishing striker they'd have won 3-0. Their midfield had a lot more control than ours. We were a bit 'hit and hope' really.

The pitch was immaculate.

The NZ supporters - all down one end of the ground.

The All Whites come to clap the Kiwi supporters at the end of the game.

All in all 0-0 is a result that NZ can and should be happy with. Now we need to pray for rain, 10 degree temperatures, and a howling southerly with -5 degrees wind chill factor for the return in Wellington...... wish I could be there.