VISITORS!

VISITORS!

No, its not the Visitors of South Park fame, but we're very excited that we'll be having some visitors from home come to see us in April / May this year. Firstly, Niki's longest friend Julie is coming with her daughter Hannah for a 10 day visit over the Easter period and that will be good for both Niki and the girls.

Then we also found out yesterday that my Mum & Dad have booked themselves a flight in late April and will come to stay with us for three weeks through to mid-May.

Having moved here nearly a year ago (my first anniversary is only a week or two away) we have really enjoyed the lifestyle and have been very happy with the UAE and what it has to offer. But the problem is that it is very hard to translate that into words and convey that to our friends and family back home.

We had Niki's parents come and stay with us last October and since then it has been alot easier on us and them. They have been able to understand and see for their own eyes what life in the UAE is like and why we like it. They understand that we're safe and that the girls have a great school and lifestyle and in addition have an appreciation of what our house is like and what the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are like. It has made the conversations on Skype alot easier and there is a greater sense of comfort.

But for everyone else, and for our trip back to Australia last Xmas, it is hard to "explain" and we also have had to deal with the various stereotypes of what the Middle East is like.

So now we have two more sets of visitors to host and we're excited to have Julie & Hannah and my Mum & Dad. Yes, we'll do the "touristy" things but in addition, it's more about seeing how we live, the circle of friends we have here and the lifestyle that we enjoy.

So to all our other relatives and friends - get yourselves booked! We'd love to have you over too!

Lets Go Shopping

We have a big weekend next weekend.  We have the Australia Day Ball on Thursday night, which is an annual event hosted by the Australian Business Council of Dubai.  The theme however is "Underbelly"... I am not sure why we need to sully the national day with a reference to drug lords and prostitutes, but there you go.

But nevertheless, we are going but one issue was that I dont actually own a "dinner suit" or a "black tie".  Never have and thought it was useless to buy a whole ensemble for one night and in Sydney I would rent one given I would only go to a Black Tie function once every 2 years or more.  But they don't have "formal hire" places in Dubai and it is de rigeur that one should own such a suit here.  So we went shopping...

Was recommended the Pierre Cardin store here in Dubai and we went in.  I was expecting big dollars (or dirhams) to buy this thing and I hate shopping at the best of times so I was not in a good mood to start with.  But my mood turned alot better when once again I was in a specialty store with a 75% off (second time in a fortnight) and with alot of trying on and and trips in and out of the change room I ended up picking up a Pierre Cardin dinner suit for the princely sum of 550Dhs.  Thats about A$180!  That included the tailoring.

For another 300Dhs I also picked up a shirt and bow tie and a black regular shirt and a black regular tie (we may do the Underbelly thing) on top.  A$325 for a suit, two shirts and two ties!  Bargain.

Niki then went to the local department store and was able to find a nice flowy cocktail dress for just 220Dhs and we were set!

We also have a birthday party on the Friday and a wedding on the Saturday so we went shopping for a Barbie Doll for the former.  Whilst we found that clothes are cheap, a basic Barbie Doll in the toy store was 150Dhs.  I am not sure why toys here seem so much more expensive and yet clothes are dirt cheap... I guess its an import / branding thing with Mattel I guess...

Still, we can't complain, we've both got new gear for the Ball. Now I just need a pumpkin and some mice!

Brunch This Weekend

We're off tomorrow for a big brunch with our friends at the Jebel Ali Hotel & Spa to celebrate the weekend.  After a very busy week and a short and jet lagged weekend last weekend, I am very much looking forward to it.  For 300Dhs for adults and 150Dhs for kids, you can eat and drink as much as you want but in addition we get to make use of the hotel facilities (read pools and spas) all day.  Bargain!

And better still, its just 15mins from our house!

Speaking of our house, I should point out that Google Earth have refreshed their maps of Dubai and the UAE and our housing estate now magically appears!  Previous maps had the area half constructed and under the shadow of clouds and hence you couldnt see anything.  Now however the maps are clear, our estate is in full view and even my white Toyota is in the driveway!  In addition, Dubai shows the second palm island - Palm Jebel Ali - which is bigger than the original Palm Jumeriah but has zero building on it.  You can also see a good shot of the Burj Khalifa and you can get a good perspective as its shadow is significantly larger than any other building.

Also got an odd taste of homesickness this morning when I arrived at work and found that overnight that they had laid wood chips all over the garden beds.  There was a real strong smell of wood chips and I instantly thought of Australia... exact same smell.  I presume they're not Eucalyptus wood chips, but still...

Missed My Weekend

Well, I went to London for business on Thursday night for a Friday meeting. Friday of course being our weekend, but when dealing with a UK project on occasion I guess I have to work "western hours". It meant however I spent Thursday night and then Friday night coming back on a plane and as such probably only had 6hrs sleep all told.

I just cannot sleep well on planes... I doze I guess, but I just feel like crap when I land and as a consequence my Saturday morning was spent sleeping and then in the afternoon I was yawning whilst vegging out on the lounge playing PlayStation (Dragon Age for those who care) and then we went for an early (5pm) dinner with neighbours. In addition, Kate had spent the weekend at a friends place and by the time I drove out and collected her at 8:30pm, I was absolutely exhausted.

This morning, I woke up early and had to get ready for work... and I feel like I just left the office.

This week though wont be a normal week as the World Future Energy Summit is on and I will be attending that both as an interested spectator but also for work. I will be manning our company's stand and greeting people from all around the world. Whilst I work in the "renewable energy business" it is actually a product that I feel enthused about as it a new frontier and also trying to do a good thing for the world in general... much more so than any other company I have worked for.

I also have to still go to get that Police Report (see last weeks post) and also, my leased car needs changing over because the registration is expiring and also starting to contact my landlord as would you believe the 12mths lease expires in about 6 weeks and I need to renegotiate for another year. We're very happy with our place so, we're very keen to stay on!

Dubai Hospitals - Thumbs Up

Yesterday, Niki slipped on the staircase and hurt her ankle / foot.  She was in quite a bit of pain and by the time I got home from work she was basically stuck on the lounge with her foot strapped and up on pillows.

Whilst we thought it may be broken and we should get an X-ray, we left it until today after the kids went to school.

But we had never been to a hospital here before and were a bit unsure of which one to go to.  The closest one has had a number of poor reviews from people around here and is known more as a "labour camp hospital" and is a bit run down.  Instead we opted to go up the road further to the "MedCare Hospital" which had a good reputation as being clean and efficient.

And it certainly was.  We turned up at the Emergency at 9am, we filled out the "first timers" forms and soon enough Niki was seen to by a triage nurse, and then straight away an orderly came out with a wheel chair, took her to x-ray, then took her to the doctor (who cleared her of a break, just a bad sprain and gave her a prescription for pain relief).  The orderly then took us to the "cashier" and I was happy to say that the x-ray was free under my insurance and then to the pharmacy.  He then wheeled Niki out to the carpark, stood with her whilst I got the car and then helped her from the chair into the car.

All up, we were there for less than 2hrs and home by 11am.

Great service and far better than a Sydney Hospital... we are now a bit more relaxed about where the hospital is and the quality of care.  It was "fortunate" to be able to go to the hospital for a "check up" via x-ray rather than for any serious emergency, gives us a great piece of mind.

You just have to laugh...

For those of you who I saw in Australia, you may be aware that I lost both my work Blackberry and my personal mobile phone.  Lost it, last seen on Xmas Day at my sister in laws, never seen from again despite extensive searches by all the family.  To me, it was annoying and at the time very frustrating, but to be honest life without the CrackBerry has been fine.

But, work expects me to be available on email virtually 24x7 so I made arrangements here at work to get a new Blackberry.  Spoke to my boss about it whilst in Australia and upon my return got his and my bosses boss to signoff on me getting a new one.  They had no issue at all.

Then the secretary pulls me aside yesterday and says that for the IT department to give me a new Blackberry, they need a "Police Report".

Huh?!

I said, I lost it in Australia and in Australia, we don't report missing phones to the police when we misplace them.  We probably wouldnt even bother if it was stolen, let alone simply "lost".

So she went back to tell the IT department that...

Today however, I have been told that it is "impossible" to proceed with the issuance of a new BlackBerry without said report and that I need to go to Abu Dhabi Police to get the report.

So to summarise, I "misplaced and lost" my BlackBerry in Australia but I have to report it missing to police in Abu Dhabi to authorise my company, a company with turnover measured in billions of US$, to spend approx A$1000 on a new BlackBerry device.

Apparently yes, that's exactly the case.

Upon investigation and asking around, I cannot go to any police station, I have to go to the General Headquarters in downtown Abu Dhabi in which I have to take a number and wait to explain my situation to a government employee (who will in all cases will not be an actual police officer) and have that person issue the report.  I have also been told on the quiet that I shouldnt say it was lost but rather stolen as they will tell me that if its lost, then they cannot actually verify that I didnt simply sell the said BlackBerry for cash and am now making it all up.

So, I have been told that I should report the BlackBerry "stolen" as that is more believable...

I am tempted not to bother and to continue living a "BlackBerry Free" life...

Well, we made it!

We're back home in Dubai after a great three weeks in Sydney.  The trip back was exhausting and some 36hrs later I am still feeling jet lagged, but it was great to see all of our families and friends.

It was difficult too though with so many appointments and we had to keep to a pretty tight schedule which was also very demanding.  The other difficulty too was each time we saw someone for the first time, we had to relay the standard answers to the questions that everybody asks... over the 3 weeks, I am sure I lost count and probably bored someone silly by repeating myself.

Adding to this was the business of Christmas and we had to fit in our shopping as well but on reflection, I am glad we arrived a good 2 weeks before Xmas day.

So overall, a great trip!  We have also taken a large number of photos, many of which will eventually make their way onto Facebook and the best ones I will post up on here soon.

The other thing that was interesting was how we felt about Sydney.  Whilst I missed everyone greatly whilst away, it was really fantastic that I was able to pick up with everyone pretty much where we left off and it felt like I was away for a weekend and not 10 months.  I put this down to the power of the internet, skype and facebook which help tremendously in keeping in contact with people.

Outside of the people however, I must say that Sydney as a whole has lost some shine in my mind as I really struggled with the traffic, the costs (conceptually, not monetarily) and how much more intense a lifestyle it is to live in Sydney.  Everyone is busy, everything is rushed and I really missed the relaxed lifestyle we lead here in Dubai.  I know that it was Christmas etc, but really Sydney is alot more "intense" and I have fallen out of step with that.

For me as well, I felt like I was visiting on holiday and not "home" and it crystallised how I now consider Dubai to be home.  For the girls, I asked them both when we touched down in Abu Dhabi yesterday as to whether they felt that they had come home or not.  Brooke agreed that the UAE was now home and Kate was a bit 50-50 so that was interesting.

Now, looking ahead, its 2010 and we will be getting some visitors in the coming year.  Niki's girlfriend Julie will be visiting in April with her daughter Hannah and also my parents will make the trek as well.  We were also happy to hear other people indicate that they're thinking of coming over and I hope thats the case.  We're experiencing a very different but enjoyable life here in the UAE and I want as many people to come over and experience it as well :-)

On top of that, we're looking to plan our next holiday to Europe... I am thinking Paris / Rome and perhaps driving between the two but whatever we do, we're looking forward to doing some more world exploring this year.  Some quick breaks around the Middle East too would be nice.

Its going to be an exciting year!

Merry Xmas, Happy New Year

Well, I am back in Australia (and have been for 2 weeks!) and we've had our first Christmas home since our big move to Dubai.  Firstly, the Xmas celebrations have been excellent and we had a lovely Xmas Day and Boxing Day with the families.  Both of the days being probably some of the best Xmas get togethers we've had.

Other than the Xmas events themselves, we have been incredibly busy catching up with family and friends.  We have seen as many people as we can and we still have some meet and greets to go before we head home on Sunday and whilst we are very tired, it has been well worth it.

Unfortunately, the Sydney weather hasn't been too kind on us with lots of rainy days, but we have ticked off most of our things to do before we head back to Dubai... I know that I am yet to get a Chocolate Thick Shake yet :-)

Its also been odd coming back to Sydney.  After being away for 10mths, I thought that things might have "changed" but the reality is that we have slipped into Sydney and it doesn't feel like we've been away.  The people are here, our friends and family haven't really had any dramatic changes in their lives and everyone has welcomed us warmly.  We have the "what's it like?" spiel down pat but its still enjoyable to tell people about Dubai and the great life we're having over there.

Also, as it is customary at this time of year, you do look back on the previous year and what happened and you look forward to the new year and what you want to achieve.  For me, and for all of us, 2009 has been probably the biggest life changing year for us and it also has been incredibly rewarding.  2008 was a horror year in which the dam burst but I am very proud of me and Niki and the girls because we have really changed tact in a huge way and have made alot of changes that have all been for the better.

And I don't just mean the physical move to Dubai, but that in itself would also be the biggest thing we have ever have happen to Niki & I since the birth of the girls.

We have made many new friends in Dubai, but we have also retained the good friends of Sydney and in short 2009 has been brilliant.

So, what for 2010?  Well, we are over the "hurdle" of the move and have settled into our new life... so I guess 2010 will be the year of travel and enjoyment.  I personally want to drop the 25kgs I have added over the past 3 years and spend more time bettering my health but also as a family, we're looking forward to the new experiences that the world can give whilst still keeping the home roots of Australia close to heart.

I know that this blog has suffered a bit in 2009 and perhaps its a sign that the therapeutic need I had to vent my spleen has dropped a bit... but Lime Kettles will enter its 7th year  next year and will continue on.  I hope that the readers of this corner of the Internet, both friends and strangers, continue to read and post the odd comment that you're out there :-)

So to you readers, I hope your Christmas was also great, that 2009 was kind and that 2010 will be better than any other year!

Cheers
Clay

Apologies

Sorry for the lack of posts... i have had a few comments on "arent you updating" so, just as a placeholder, yes this is still a live blog but I have been busy.

I did actually make a post the other night summarising our Eid / UAE National Day holiday last week complete with pics, but for some reason Blogger crashed and I lost it all.  It was late at night and I didn't get back to it.

So, yes... I will try and post some pics up of our Ski Dubai experience, our first Greenfield Community Xmas party, some latest pics of our house etc.  We are however flying back to Sydney on Thursday morning UAE time for our Christmas Holidays in Sydney.  Will be in Sydney Dec 11 - Jan 4.  We're all very excited about heading home.

C

Cat Update

Weird!  After less than an hour after posting the post below, Charlie the Cat returned!  I took the garbage out and he was sitting by the garage door.  A bit skinny and very hungry, but he is back home with us after 4 or so nights away.  He must have got locked in something and was let out... thats the only explanation we have.

Missing cats and dollars

We're on Eid Holidays at the moment... I am not sure what the second Eid holiday represents (the first was the end of Ramadan) but we're off for a week with a combination of Eid holiday and UAE National Day public holidays.  I am not back at work until Dec 6.

However, we are a bit upset at the moment because Charlie our cat has gone missing.  He's been gone I think 4 nights now... he ran out the door to go to the bathroom on Tuesday night and he never came back.  He has been outside before, he wasnt a completely housebound cat, but he has never done anything like this before.  He was always outside in Australia as well... So at this stage, we cannot help but think the worst.  We have posted flyers at the supermarkets, pet stores and vets and also around the neighbourhood and the area we live in has alot of gardens but is flat and the traffic is minimal and slowed by alot of speed humps.  So I can only think someone has nabbed him.  Its very sad.

Also, there is at the same time alot of press about the government owned Dubai World defaulting on its debt payments and sending the world financial markets into a spin.  Alot of people seem to be thinking that this is a bad thing for us here in Dubai, but its actually a bigger problem in the western world as many of the US and UK banks are geared to the hilt in the property development here.  For me personally, I am employed by the Abu Dhabi government, who's liquidity is not in question, and am probably going to benefit from cheaper rents when my lease is up for renewal in March.  The real issue is that Dubai World owns alot of Australian assets including nearly all of the Australian Ports and there was even talk about the Ports being impacted and that the end result could be industrial action again in the Stevedoring industry (who remembers the Patrick / Chris Corrigan strike issues of a fair few years ago).

But back to Dubai, we're doing OK... its always a worry in the back of the mind, and this article is very applicable to me.  Traffic to work is getting heavy!

Expat Survival - Friends Required

When I came over here in February, one thing I was very surprised (and grateful for) was the generosity of new friends who were basically strangers.  New country with archaic ways of getting things done meant that to get simple things sorted (power connected, cars, furniture etc) you had to ask people "How?" and also on many occasions those same people physically helped me out.

Initially my only contact was a fellow Australian family (Catherine & Peter + kids) who I was aware of via Niki because they had lived in our Sydney suburb and our daughters were in the same class... and they helped me out tremendously in those early days from everything to giving me a home cooked meal on occasion through to lending me a drill.

Well, its come complete circle as tonight I am helping out a new expat at work who has been here for a little bit and his family are coming over from the USA next week.  He was telling me how he is struggling to get a bed sorted for his daughter and that he needs to pick it up and put it together... he of course has nothing other than a leased Toyota and some kitchen utensils.

So, I am tonight going with him to pick up the bed from the furniture shop in our 4WD and I am then lending him my drill, alan keys and shifting spanner so that he can put the thing together.  It was only 6 months ago that I had borrowed Peter's drill and tools to do the very same thing.

When you relocate countries, its surprising what small details (like having some basic tools) can bring you unstuck and you have to rely on the kindness of other expats to help you out.  In turn, that results in people being very generous, giving and social.  I am continuously amazed at how we have been able to meet and socialise with people when in Australia, making friends is a much slower process.

It's kinda nice....

Golden Boot!

Well, as posted in my last post, Kate made her debut for her school soccer (or football as they call it here) on the weekend and to my great surprise, Kate's team won the 4 team tournament with 2 wins and a draw, didn't concede a goal and she herself scored 3 out of the 5 goals her team scored and scored the most goals in any of the teams!

We were very surprised but also very happy!

Of course, as a proud dad, I snapped the following pics of her in action:

Warming Up

Throw Ins

Lining up her first goal!

Giving Coach Ben some tips ;-)

Trying to round the Al Raha keeper...

One on One with the Keeper...

Happy with the trophy!

Back in the UAE

Got back from London after a pretty intense but successful business trip... and its one day back in the office and then its the weekend!

A pretty relaxing weekend on offer with the only commitment being Kate's debut for the school football team.  She has apparently got her way into the side as a deft striker, so I will be very keen to see how she goes this weekend.  Apparently its a bit of a round robin tournament running from 8am to midday.

Otherwise, we're free spirits this weekend... not sure what we'll do but we'll make the most of it I hope.  I am thinking beach...

Then we have a short week next week (4 days) and then its off for the Eid break and then the UAE National Day Holiday.  These things run concurrently and I think I have 10 days off!  So we'll try and do some touristy things as well... things like Ski Dubai and another crack at the sand dune 4WDing.

Also, this morning, saw another truck over turned on the highway... was carrying a shipping container, the truck was upright, its rig on the back was on the side and the container was skewed across the sand, dented but unopened.  Glad that didnt happen to our furniture!!

Off to London

In a mere 30mins, I will be whisked away and driven to the airport and am off on a 2 nighter to London.  Etihad airlines really is classy in that its business class travellers get picked up from home and taken to the airport, are then taken by car to their hotel and then back again on the way home.  Its a really great service that I wish Qantas could emulate.

The trip in itself is not terribly exciting... more meetings on the London Array windfarm project.  Its a really exciting project, but this trip in itself is not terribly interesting.

The girls though tonight were very jealous of me going in a plane and even though we're flying to Sydney in 4 weeks, they want to fly to London with me.  Very sweet.

Also, speaking of the girls, Kate & Brooke both made the school girls football (soccer) squad and Kate got picked in the starting XI this weekend in the first game.  So, we're off to see her game representing the mighty Greenfield Community School against some other mob!  Apparently their strip is blue and green vertical stripes... nice!

Weekend!

The weather in Dubai has been improving every week and we're having beautiful weather at the moment.  I went out this morning for a walk before work and the weather was cool without the chill and the early morning sunlight was really nice.  We have massive parkland around our place and I walked along there until I got to the end of my estate and saw for the first time the next stage of the estate development.  Workers were already busy installing palm trees at 6am this morning and its coming along.  The area has really filled up and is very popular.

This weekend is going to be a good one too.  We're off to the mall this evening for a bite to eat and a look around.  Ibn Battutta is our local mall and we'll go for pizza or something... maybe even check out the movies.

Tomorrow, is D&D game day and I will be nerding it up during the day which is always a good bit of fun.  No plans for the evening, but we'll see how it goes.

Saturday will be quiet... I have to go to DEWA (the local water and power company) to sort out some bill issues (I am not getting them) and then we'll relax around the pool.  Have a couple of work colleagues potentially coming over as well (trying to convince them to move to the Green Community) and other than that we're doing nothing but "chillaxing".

So, all is good! 

London Calling... again

Am off to London again next week.  The joint venture project I am involved with over there is getting increasingly busy and it seems to be that I am expected over there every 4 weeks.

But on top of that, we're having the corporate accountants trying to "minimise" costs and I have been asked once again to fly out of Abu Dhabi on the 2am flight, land at 7am London time, work a full day and then come home on the 9pm London flight (1am body clock time) and land at Abu Dhabi at 7am the next day and go straight to the office.  In addition, I live in Dubai and would have to get home from Abu Dhabi and there is no way I want to do that.

I did this once before and I got a cab home at 7am and "worked from home" but was virtually useless the next day and slept for half of it.  There is no way I can be functioning in the office... but that's what is expected... Sit up to 2am for two nights in a row, sleep 4-5 hrs on a plane, manage the time shift, work a full day and come straight to the office from the airport.  All for the sake of saving a hotel cost for 1 night.

I have though managed to argue this and have got my one night, but fly out in the early morning the next day.  Much more manageable and humane.

Crazy Drivers...

Was late home last night once again... my 50min drive turned into 90min as once again, a semi trailer found itself on its side and across the 3 lane road.  This is increasingly being a normal event lately.

It seems to me that the trucks in this country travel incredibly slowly when compared to Sydney as they stick to the slow lane and convoy along at no more than 80km/h and yet they seem to end up on their side more often than not.  Again, a truck turning around a round-a-bout rolled and lost its load last night and I think I have seen approximately 10 vehicles (mostly trucks or vans) on their side since arriving here in February.  I did also see a car on its roof once, but that would have been excessive speed.

I find driving in the UAE a breeze now... people cruise at 140km/h, trucks stay in their slow (right) lanes and everything seems fine, but BANG and suddenly the traffic backs up because something has gone wrong.  I have never seen these incidents live but always seem to end up behind them in the traffic.

I presume that its because trucks are being overloaded, but the one last night was a big truck with a shipping container on its back... really difficult you would think to overload such a defined cargo?

Fan(s)

Wow, surreal experience today...

Went to Festival City today (yet another shopping centre) and whilst we're walking around, this lovely young lady comes up and says "Are you Mr Clayton?".  For a minute, I was thinking "ooh, I dropped my wallet or something" and I said yes.  She then said that she reads my blog all the time and really enjoys it.

I was stunned... and I was really stumped as to what to say to that, and I probably came off a bit rude because I was trying to comprehend how a complete stranger can recognise me in a shopping mall from my blog.

But anyway, we went to lunch and I was still trying to comprehend it all as I was sure the only people who read this are friends and family... but I guess, I must have some regular readers and I am quietly pleased someone recognised me!

So, thanks for the hello Mystery Lady, you made my day.

Its a long way to Dubai...

Well, went to the F1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit yesterday.  Niki & I went on Sat night for the Qualifying and then saw the Kings of Leon concert which was excellent!  And yesterday I took my father in law Geoff who is visiting to the race itself.

In the build up to the weekend, the media has been warning everyone to leave themselves plenty of time to get onto the island at Yas Marina as this was the first ever Abu Dhabi F1 GP and in addition everyone I spoke to said it was "going to be hell!".

So, when I was invited to get myself and Geoff onto a privately hired bus from Dubai to Abu Dhabi that would take us in and pick us up, I jumped at the chance.  The alternative was to drive myself and then park at a place called Al Shahama about 10kms from the track and then ride the government supplied buses.  With rumours that there wouldnt be enough buses and long queues, I took the private bus option.

Niki and I however took the public park and ride option but in all honesty, it worked extremely well!  Suprisingly, we had very little waiting and were straight in and out.  The bus after the concert was packed, but we waited just 5mins and got on the first bus that came along.

But with the promise that the crowds would be massive on race day, I stuck to the option of the private bus for the Sunday.  With an 80yr old father in law in tow as well, it was the better option for sure...

Well, on Sunday the bus down was fine... no problem, the organisers had two buses in convoy and we trekked down the highway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi's Yas Island which was about 80kms.  We went straight in and the bus parked in the car park close to my grandstand and we were told that the bus would be here at the same spot at 8pm to take us home.  The race was scheduled to finish at 7pm at the latest, so no worries there!

Had a great day... the GP was fanstastic and all was well.

Got back to the car park well before 8pm and no bus... I called the organiser who was in a different grandstand and she said that the bus was running late in traffic and would get there at 9pm.  So we hung around the car park.... and waited and waited.

By 9pm, still no bus and there were now 9 souls looking for a ride home.  The deal was that there would be an 8pm bus for the people heading home and then another bus at 11pm for those who stayed for the Aerosmith concert... Geoff's not a big fan of Aerosmith, so we were keen to head home.

The organiser (Katie) rang the bus company and it was pretty heated.  Aparently the bus now wasnt coming at all and we were stranded... and now looking for a taxi amongst the throngs of people.

We walked out of the car park and asked the parking attendent for the nearest taxi rank.  Fat chance in my mind, but the guy said "15mins walk that way" and pointed down the road... which had no foot path and was choked with traffic.

But then Katie's husband (who was Finnish and had a couple of Finnish friends in our group) had talked the driver of a rickety labourers bus (think a 1970's school bus fitted to carry 60 Indian workers on a construction site) to open his door.  We all piled in and asked if he could drive us to the taxi stand.  This thing was a driving mechanical health hazard and we crawled through the traffic for ages and for at least 4kms (15mins my arse!).  We tried to bribe the driver to get us to Dubai and after 600Dhs we gave up... and then the Finns started singing and the driver turned up the Sitar music to 11 to drown them out...

Soon enough we reached a massive on grade carpark chock full of taxis.  Waving 100Dhs notes in her hand, Katie started calling for someone to take us to Dubai but all the drivers kept pointing us away to the far side of the carpark... here, there were taxis on the driveway out of the carpark with their engines going waiting for passengers.  Given that they were 4kms away from the circuit, not sure how much passing traffic we got, but we piled in to taxis and Katie handed out the 100Dhs notes to cover costs.  I can only assume this was the money for the bus driver, but he was long forgotten.

And then we were away with a happy Pakistani cabbie and we were home... we walked in at 10:30pm... some 4hrs after the end of the race!