An Occasional Blog

Bangkok Blogs

Bangkok Pundit - politics

Bangkok Metblogs - city life

Thai-blogs.com - rather serious

2bangkok.com - not really a blog but always up to date on Bangkok news
Bangkok City Photo Guide
Thailand Voice promoting blogs from Thailand
Thailand Golf

Dubai Blogs
UAE Community Blog - uniting all UAE bloggers
Dubai informer - news and events.
The Grapeshisha Blog - commentary  on a changing Dubai
One Big Construction Site - a long term expat on life in Dubai
Secret Dubai Diary - rather disillusioned expat commentary
Momentary Musings - another expat commentary

Hong Kong Blogs
A Big White Guy in Hong Kong - self explanatory
Ordinary Gweilo
Hemlock's Diary. And people think I am opinionated - try this!
SimonWorld - Hong Kong commentary and great links to other Asian blogs
EastSouthWestNorth - commentary
Glutter.org - Greater China democracy news and many great llinks

In China

Danwei - media and advertising news from China

Shanghai Diaries - self explanatory

In Macau

My Olive Tree - Macau blog

In Singapore:

Xiaxue - self-confessed mean, bitchy, sex goddess who says "wah" a lot!

Mr Brown - colourful commentary from Singapore

Asia Travel

Circle of Asia a useful commercial site

Tales of Asia perspective and commentary on Cambodia and Thailand and other Asian travels

Visit Laos a useful guide on getting to and traveling in Laos.

Smart Travel Asia useful tips and destination guides. Maybe too  up market.

Aviation

Amadeus (airline schedules)

Airline meals - see it b4 you eat it !

Airliners - aviation forum, trip reports and pix archive
A Captain's Blog - the routine of a California based 767 captain
FA Uniforms - interesting collection of the old and new

News

The Guardian - UK

BBC World News

CNN Asia

Bangkok Post

China sites

LivinginChina.com

Bangkok info sites

thailand.com

learningthai.com

sawadee.com

bangkokmouth

thailandstories

bangkok a-z

Worthy Sites

Rconversation - from Rebecca MacKinnon, ex-TV reporter-turned-blogger.

Fun Sites

Penguin baseball

Useful Sites

World Time Clock

Technology Ideas
Loose wire

 Author

Robert Scott lives and works in Asia; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

I am now spending most of my time in Dubai; job hunting and personally very happy.

If you want to know more you only need to ask! ask.

The drilling started at 6.10am. And it is loud today. Tai was not off duty until 1.15am so it was 2am before we were in bed at Falcon.

But I fear the drilling will wake her and that will hurt after a long, busy flight and and only a few hours sleep.

There are times when I hate living here. Why do I have to wake to so much noise? My big concern is that the noise is unfair to Tai when she is resting between flights. The noise may get so intrusive that she is unable to stay at Falcon. Friday is a holiday so at least we should be able to sleep properly later tonight.

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Tai is still on standby; they have used her a lot this month with over 90 hours flying in three weeks. And they have already given her a Tehran overnight turn on Friday night/Saturday morning. Friday was originally an off day for her. I had such a nice plan for spending the night a Dubai's desert resort at Bab Al Shams.....another time.

29 August 2007

Busy day working. Not a great deal else to write about. Except that Tai is back tonite.

I did make some brownies in case she comes back hungry. Had one; surprisingly good!

28 August 2007

Dina is Alex's domestic helper back in HKG and has been looking after him and his mother since Alex was a few months old.

When you are living on your own you realise just how much work there is to do. Cleaning; shopping; laundry; cooking. And in her case helping to look after the wellbeing of a very active 10 year old. And she does a great job with him.

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I get lazy when I am the only one at home; freezer food.

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A few more phone calls later and Orbit is now working - still nothing worth watching - but at least I have a working TV now! And it is good background noise!

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Tough night last night. We ate at Millennium; Tai was on Standby from 11.00pm and got her call at 1.15am for a flight to Johannesburg. But the flight was delayed until 5.10am so we went to the airport at about 3.10am. Back to Falcon for a rest before work.

Hope Tai can get a little rest on the flight. And I should get a proper night's sleep tonight.

27 August 2007

Orbit may be installed - but it is not working. They seem to need a further 24 hours to activate the service. They have had our money for a week and we still have no television service. Calls to Orbit are a waste of breath. Customer service at its most inept.

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The pneumatic drill started at 6.22am this morning. Dutch foundations are rock breaking at the site behind Falcon Tower. It is very intrusive.

Tai does not want to sleep at Falcon because of the noise. I have to get up at 6.30am anyway for work so it really only upsets me  on a Saturday. But Tai is tired from her New York trip and has standby 4 tonight (from 11pm) so needs to sleep well into the morning and se cannot do that at Falcon. And I cannot stay at Millennium.

In theory Dubai's regulations state that noise average should not exceed 55 decibels from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and should not exceed 45 decibels in the period from 8 p.m to 7 a.m.

26 August 2007

The September schedule is out and EK crew everywhere are pouring over hot computers looking to see where they are going to next. Tai seems to have a lot of flying but it includes Nagoya, Hong Kong and Bangkok so she is smiling.

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We have Orbit satellite tv now operating at Falcon Tower. Something to watch at last. It has been a hassle getting it installed. It is not exactly Sky TV. Choices are limited here and each satellite carrier offers different choices of programming.

25 August 2007

Made the scones - had to add a bit more flour to the recipe - the dough was too moist! They smell and look good; maybe they will be a bit too dry and dusty - appropriate for Dubai.

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Took a long time to get to sleep last night and woke at 7am to the noise from the surrounding building sites. It really is too much for a Saturday morning. Strangely as we approach 10.00am here it is quieter now. I guess much of the heavy work is done when it is cooler in the early morning. But it is very intrusive. Not enough sleep.

24 August 2007

In the office on a Saturday waiting for Tai to come back from New York. It is Alex's first day of the new school year today - I hope he had fun and that he has a teacher who will stretch his inquiring mind and bring out the best in him.

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Buying writing paper is almost impossible in Dubai. No one writes letters anymore.

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I subscribed to Orbit on 20 August. They promised installation in one or two days. Four days later they still have not contacted me. I have already phoned them twice to ask what is happening. Is it really possible that Orbits' customer service can be worse than Showtime?

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I am going to make scones tomorrow !

22 August 2007

Last night Tai and I had perhaps our worst evening since coming to Dubai. And she is flying to New York this morning. We are Ok. We always will be. Sometimes I am too sensitive.

I don't want to write more here. This is not the place to be too personal.

Last night I felt like I was on the edge of a high cliff. I can be pulled back or I can be pushed take a step forward. But I need and want to be pulled back from the edge.

I am a bit tired and distracted today. And my heart is somewhere on the way to New York.

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Love is a complicated thing as this report today from today's Bangkok Post in Thailand shows:

"A 43-year-old Thai man was found dead wearing 15 bras and a mini-skirt belonging to his estranged wife, news reports said Wednesday.

Jaran Khadphano was found dead Tuesday from a suspected heart attack at his home in Roi Et, 400 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, the Thai-language Khao Sod newspaper reported.

Relatives of Jaran, who formerly worked as an optician in Bangkok, told police he had been suffering from depression since his wife left him for another man and had been taking painkillers washed down with coffee several times a day.

Doctor Thanakorn Klangsaeng of Roi Et Hospital said he suspected Jaran had died of a heart attack. There was no immediate explanation as to why the deceased was wearing his wife's clothes, which he had brought back with him from Bangkok after the couple's separation."

Poor guy.

21 August 2007

Dubai's population growth may be explained by the following rather strange story in today's news from Duabi: A one-legged Emirati father of 78 offspring is lining up his next two wives in a bid to reach his target of 100 children by 2015.

Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman, 60, has already had 15 brides, although he has to divorce them as he goes along to remain within the legal limit of four wives at a time.

"In 2015, I will be 68 years old and will have 100 children," he boasted. "After that I will stop marrying."

20 August 2007

Tai's Bahrain trip was an easy turnaround. But she is happier today. She has been begging crew scheduling for a New York flight; about the longest possible distance to escape from Dubai. And to their credit they have come up with a flight on Wednesday morning for her.

Don't forget those of us who are left behind in the sandpit!

19 August 2007 - Referendum Day in Thailand

Tai had a busy Karachi turnaround on Friday night and was a little late back into Dubai which was a good excuse for a Saturday morning lie in.

I spent part of Friday night in the gym - good for me. I bought a little i-pod shuffle so that I can listen to music when i am on the treadmill. Amazing how less dull the treadmill is when you can sing along at the same time.

Saturday was a nice day and we had a late lunch at a new Chinese restaurant in Upper Mirdif, south of the airport. The shopping complex is newly opened but very quiet. The surrounding homes and apartments are low rise. By Dubai standards it is an attractive looking part of town.

The food was good. But why build a brand new open air shopping mall. It was 45C; no one wants to walk around in that heat. On a winter's evening it will be a nice place to be. But yesterday, despite it being a weekend, the place was empty.

The big (literally) excitement came as we left Mirdif There in the sky on approach to Runway 30 and flying almost above us was the A380 (MSN 007) whihc is on hot weather testing in Dubai. Airbus were flying four flights over the weekend (with Emirates Group employees as passengers) to test the facilities at Dubai airport for the A380. The plane is still in Airbus house colours. We stopped the car at the side of the road to watch its approach DXB. It is so low Tai said. Good job - as it was on final approach!

We went from there to the joys of aircon in the Diera City Centre mall and did our usual walk around Zara, New Look, Forever 21 etc. And of course a very busy Carrefour.  Had some coffee and headed home to make Tom Yum Goong. It was a nice day.

And Tai is back on 10am to 10pm standby today. Where will she be tonight? No one knows. 

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Tai was called for the evening rotation to Bahrain. Just over an hour each way and home by 9.30pm.

17 August 2007

Tai and I went out for Japanese food lat night. Dubai. But the question was what to do after dinner.

The temperature is still over 40C. There are no street markets to explore; it is too hot to walk outside anyway.

But the new Lulu hypermarket is open until midnight. They have mangosteens! And that was another exciting summer night out in Dubai.

It is sad how little there really is to do on a mid summer evening in Dubai! It is too hot and dusty to even go for an evening walk. And that is something I miss.

Today has been peaceful. Tai has an evening turnaround to Karachi; returning after midnight. My excuse of some time in the gym in the evening.

A glass of wine would be nice. Maybe tomorrow.

16 August 2007

The Dhaka round trip went well and was on time; but Tai came home to be greeted by the unwelcome message from scheduling that she has another turnaround, this time to Karachi, on Saturday. Something to look forward to. It all led to a rather late night and I have not had a lot of sleep.

15 August 2007

Tai was on home standby today and drew the ultimate short straw - a round trip to Dhaka in Bangladesh. Almost 5 hours flying time each way this is a long turnaround. It is another new destination; her 41st in less than 9 months of flying.

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I have been reading about Sunday's constitutional referendum in Thailand; it is hard to know what to recommend people to do.

A yes vote effectively endorses the military coup and allows the country to move on towards a general election; however much that is rigged to ensure a strong role for the military.

A no vote effectively endorses Thaksin - not a great idea. It also sends a message to the coup leaders. But it has little effect as the coup leaders and the military government can simply revert to and amend any previous charter.

Rather like the old witches ducking stool. If you drown you are innocent. If you don't drown you are guilty and will be executed anyway.

The campaign is so one sided it is embarrassing. Police shut down printing of no vote leaflets. The military control TV and radio stations etc.

Which leaves only one alternative - register your total dissatisfaction at the whole process by not voting. The lower the vote the more bizarre the whole process appears.

There is no deserving winner.

14 August 2007

Today's big discovery - rascott.co.uk is a manufacturer of sushi making machinery...splendidly known as Robot Sushi. This is what a sushi robot looks like:

It can make and wrap up to 1500 pieces of Sushi per hour and can be operated by just one person. Wrappings protect from the dust and dryness allowing longer display times. Every home should have one. :)

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Tai has a 6am home standby for 12 hours tomorrow - it will be the first time that I have left for work not knowing where she will be or whether I will see her in the evening. How strange this life can be.

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We had a nice evening last night eating Japanese food at the Ascot Hotel; close to Bank Street and the dreaded MidWest Apartments it was interesting to back in older, commercial Dubai.

13 August 2007

The answer to Tai's standby came even before 7pm. A turnaround to Bombay; not exactly the most popular flight for EK crew. A 10.30 pm departure and 5.40am scheduled arrival into Dubai.

On vacation I was sleeping 8 or 9 hours a day. Back in Dubai I seem to be getting about 5 hours of sleep on weekdays. Not enough.

12 August 2007

It must be at least 45C outside today.

Yesterday was not the easiest of days; an early start as Tai had a 6.00am airport standby. She was called out immediately for a 7.25am turnaround to Amman, which, dear reader, is the capital of Jordan.

By the time she was back we were both tired. And there is home standby from 7pm tonight so at some point during the night she come be summoned to  go anywhere.

11 August 2007

Then it was an early start this morning as Tai was on airport standby from 6.00am. A rush to get to the airport. And then she got a very early call up for an Amman turnaround. Tiring. Three hours each way and 90 minutes on the ground in Amman.

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Yesterday started as a disaster and turned into a really nice day.

After picking Tai up at the airport at 1.30am on Friday morning we parked the car at my apartment and must have run over nails from the building site as I parked - puncturing both offsied tyres.

The Mercedes emergency service was hopeless - they don't work on a Friday.  I found another recover service who came to pick up the car on the back of their truck and take it and me to a tyre repair shop in Ras Al Kor where the tyre punctures were quickly repaired and I was back in the road.

We ended up having a nice afternoon at home; both still tired and then going out for an authentic Chinese hotpot. It must have been real as there were so many Chinese eating there. It felt very authentic.

There is even a small Chinese mall close by - Chinese supermarket, shoes, clothes etc.

9 August 2007

There are some new pictures from London and Devon under the Our Pictures pages.

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Heathrow was not as ghastly as the English media are writing. It is unpleasant; but not a disaster.

Check in for the EK flight was quick. Mind you we were three hours early.

Then you walk through a gauntlet of staff who want to give you plastic bags for all your 100ml (no bigger please) toiletries.

You are only allowed one carry on per person irrespective of size. That means stuffing your laptop into a carry on bag - and then removing it for the security scans.

There are far too many people who still discover lipstick and toothpaste in their bags as they get to the scanners.

Then take off jackets and all metal items for the scanner. Get your carry on; re-dress yourself. You think its all over; it is not.

There is then a separate scan just for your shoes. So you see people lined up to take off their shoes; put then through the scanner and then putting them on again.

This takes you directly into the shopping mall. There are more and more shops and fewer and fewer places to sit.

There is no free wireless access. One pound ofr ten minutes is extortion.

Emirates has its own dedicated gate (no7) - a short walk from the duty free mall. It is bright and spacious and has a good range of reading material.

But the whole experience makes you pine for Singapore Airport, even for Hong Kong. The difference is remarkable. Singapore is a genuine pleasure to fly from. 

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The car is clean again - and driving nicely - it still needs a name....suggestions.....??

8 August 2007

We are one year away from the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympics which will be formally opened at 8 minutes past 8pm on 8 August 2008. Very auspicious timing for the Chinese.

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Tai is on her way to Casablanca; it sounds exotic but if she is as tired as I am it will be a tough flight. A little jet lagged after the UK trip and not a lot of sleep last night.

7 August 2007

Back in Dubai. Updates to the web site over the next few days. Had a great time back in England; my mother was well and in good form. Such a contract between a few days in London and our six days by the Devon coast in Newton Ferrers.

1 August 2007

We are now in Devon; the sun is shining. The British weather forecasters are telling us how hot it is going to be - at least 23C. About one half of the Dubai temperature.

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We went shopping in Harrods yesterday. The Dodi Diana shrine is still there and in remarkably bad taste. Which is a shame as the rest of Harrods is really rather nice and the food court is terrific. We bought a picnic lunch for Stonehenge. But we could not find anyone to sacrifice!

Drove down the A303 to Devon; a road that has hardly changed in the last 30 years. Parts of it are still single carriageway.

31 July 2007

Another note from England - gbp6.50 to enter the precinct and the cathedral in Canterbury. Now you have to pay to go into a church.

And there is no two tier pricing. Locals pay the same as visitors. Which means that what used to be a working church is now effectively a museum. A tourist site. Sad.

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We went from Canterbury to Folkestone on the bus - Folkestone used to be such a lively harbour town; with cross channel ferries to France. The beaches used to be busy; there were fun fairs and bingo halls and the old high street had gift shops and even a shop that made sticks of rock candy with Folkestone written through it.

None of that exists anyone. This is a town that has died. There are no ferries. The old high street is empty; stores have all been closed down. The fun fair on the stoney beach has gone. The funicular railway to the Leas cliff was not working. And even the bingo halls have gone. 

30 July 2007

Places to avoid in London - Papageno restaurant - near Covent Garden. The interior is fun and suggests a fun place to eat. But it is way to expensive for such average food. And the 12.5% discretionary service charge is automatically added to your bill.

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London Eye - gbp 15 per person.

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Went on the River on Saturday with my brother; Sunday was a visit to the Portobello Road and a long afternoon in Primark, on Oxford Street. This place is packed and the check out queues are frightening.

It is an interesting business model. Sell vast amounts of clothing at the cheapest possible price with an army of staff all earning the minimum wage and a building that is as basic as it can be.

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We were in Canterbury and Folkestone today. I think this was my first visit to my old university since I left sometime back in the dark ages.

We flew to London on the 27th arriving late in the evening and meeting up with Alex.

A few updates:

The biggest shock arriving in London is the gbp60 tax ride from Heathrow - that is US$120. And is just an early sample of how expensive the UK has become for anyone on a US$ or US$ pegged salary.

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Getting a Salik road tag card in Dubai is still a problem I had to go to five garages on Friday before I could find a tag.

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This is Dubai airport and there is no escape from the dreadful Modesch - the symbol of the Dubai summer sales. He does look a little like a yellow version of the old Michelin man. He is the one on the left of the picture!

Tai is still thrashing me at Reversi. Here is the inflight evidence!

26 July 2007

Here it is - Tai and I with Sam Knight - the Mercedes sales guy.

25 July 2007

Its 3.30am and Tai will be home from Nagoya soon. I am off to the airport as the official welcoming committee. Nice time of day to drive. No traffic!

24 July 2007

How hot is Dubai - well this is the weather news for today:

Weather forecasters have warned that yesterday’s hot and uncomfortable conditions are likely to be repeated today. High level of humidity is expected to combine with temperatures of more than 43C to create unpleasant weather.

23 July 2007

I forgot to mention the other big event of the weekend. I have a new hairdresser - or at least a hair dyer! And here we are about to start out on my surgery! Actually it looks very good. A bit darker than I am used to - it was rather darker than the light brown that was promised on the box. But it will probably fade a little.

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Tai is in Nagoya - her first ever visit to Japan. Lucky girl. And a nice easy flight with a light load on both flights.

22 July 2007

Sunday morning - and back to work. Tai and I had a good weekend - even bought our first car! This colour and with the sunroof as well!

But I am tired this morning ! It was a good weekend. And nice for us to be together for the weekend.

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Some retail therapy at Deira City Centre yesterday evening - as though buying the car was not enough!

20 July 2007

I feel like having a rant. Some things in life always seem wrong or profoundly unfair. But this is not the place to rant.

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From the novel Bangkok Haunts:

Inspector Sonchai to his female FBI colleague from the USA - "Do women experience extreme passion the way men do?"

She replies: "Total psychic dissolution, identity annihilated, ego shot, not sure if you are one person or two, no sense of security when you're not in bed with them, precious little when you are? Sure."

That just about sums it up !!!

19 July 2007

Two years ago, in that amazing summer of cricket England won the Ashes series with a bowling attack of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones. Now all four are out through injury and England play India with a seam attack of James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Tremlett; the only class act being the exuberant spin of Monty Panesar.

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Have not felt so good today - headache and a dodgy stomach....and not a great start to the morning either. I hate anything, however insignificant, that can jeopardise the present and future with Tai.

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Must remember to clean out my ears - yuck !

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And Tai is due to land at DXB at 5.03 am so I had better have an early night!

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Dad would have been 75 today. I wish he was still with us.

18 July 2007

I am tired. But it has been a busy week. Tai and I took her flatmate to Madinat Jumeirah on Sunday night and had a good dinner at the Meat Factory  steaks for everyone.

Then on Monday Tai and I were back at Salmontini at the Mall of the Emirates. I want to go skiing there again. A 2 for 1 voucher made the cost of dinner less painful!

And yesterday was an early evening of sleep before we went to the airport for her flight. Though I did not sleep so well when I came home. Was back in the gym tonight - so should sleep better - subject to the building site noise !

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Work is busy and one day I should write more about that. I am not very productive at 7.30am. I find getting up is not too bad. Getting focused take a while.

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Sorry I have been quiet. Tai is on her way to  Perth - I am always a bit down when she leaves. It is quiet when she is away.

15 July 2007

I thought that maybe I should find a Thai language school in Dubai so thought I would start with the Thai Consul web site in Dubai.

It is 15 July 2007 - here is the web site's list of upcoming events: there are no 2007 events and certainly no upcoming events.

Upcoming Events in Dubai for Thai Community

Friday, 17th November 2006:- Takraw matches

Friday, 24th November 2006:- Bowling matches (13.00 -17.00 hrs) at Dubai Bowling Centre opposite Safa park Badminton matches (15.00-18.00 hrs) at the Royal Thai Consulate-General

Friday, 1 December 2006:- Celebration of Thai National Day in Abu Dhabi, Thai Ambassador residence from 15.00 - 20.00 hrs

Friday, 8th December 2006:- Celebration of Thai National Day in Dubai, Royal Thai Consulate-General office from 12.00 - 18.00 hrs.

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Yesterday was also an anniversary date for Tai's family. There are times when she will say something to me that I do not expect - and it touches my heart. July 14 has taken on a new significance.

There are people that will always be in our thoughts and whose memory remains a powerful force in our lives.

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We had a nice dinner last night with EK's finest crew....and debated many of the rumours that inevitably circulate around an airline the size of EK. Like many big companies it is the lack of transparency in salaries and benefits that can cause the most frustration.  

14 July 2007

It is Bastille Day in France - someone should consider storming the French consul in Dubai.

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It is also the birthday of my Bangalore reader. Happy birthday.

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I am a bit out of sorts - it has not been much of a weekend - too much time on my own. Not really in the mood to go back to work yet. Next weekend will be better as Tai and I will have more time together after she gets back from Perth early on Friday.  

Did at least get to the gym last night - that felt quite good. It is just too hot outside to run around the building sites.

13 July 2007

Trawling around for videos on the web....thinking about the start of the new football season...and here is John Barnes - a Watford protege who moved to Liverpool and was probably the best footballer of his generation; at Watford he was a raw and special talent; at Liverpool he could be mesmerising. If only he had done the same for England - some of his best moments are her:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1034468560910239001

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Does anyone miss my golf reports? I have played once in seven months. And I used to be playing or practising a couple of times a week. Strange how priorities change.

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With Tai in Beijing I hope she does not use the hotel toothpaste or eat the pork buns: from the South China Morning Post:

Add this to the list of baby milk formula made of chalk dust; toothpaste containing antifreeze and Thomas the Tank Engines with lead paint. And China has a problem

Embarrassed authorities this week executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog yesterday for approving untested medicine in exchange for cash.

The occasional firing squad is unlikely to stop profitable counterfeits.

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Meanwhile it is a lonely Friday in Dubai. I don't enjoy weekends on my own. Have come to work as there are things that I can usefully do.

12 July 2007

Tai is on her way to Beijing as I write this. She is excited - and so she should be. My first trip to Beijing was in 1994. I was expecting greys and browns and Mao suits.....and it was reds and greens, people flying likes and couples walking in Beijing's lovely Behai park.

Now as the city rushes to build in time for the 2008 Olympics much of the city is changing but it is still one of the world's great cities.

Meanwhile I have another weekend on my own in Dubai. We don't have enough opportunities to spend a whole day together - and a holiday in two weeks will be good for us.

11 July 2007

Going to have to get through today on less than 3 hours sleep and with a headache before the day starts.

A good day yesterday all seemed to go wrong at the end of the day.

No more entries until later tonight. Laptop will stay at Falcon for now.

Tag-board appears to be down today - apologies. It is a third party site so I cannot fix it.

10 July 2007

Tai and I were up late last night watching "The Joy Luck Club." I had not seen this movie for many years.

I still find it a very touching and quite emotional film.

The movie is based on Amy Tan's 1989 best-selling novel and tells the story of four mothers who meet once a week to play mah jong, and compare stories of their families.

All have made harrowing journeys from pre-revolutionary China to the comfortable homes in San Francisco where they meet.

But those old days are not often spoken about, and sometimes the whole truth of them is not known.

The film gradually unravels how they grew up in a time and culture so very different from the one they now inhabit. Theirs are stories of tragedy, sacrifice, humour and survival which contract so strongly to those of their four American born daughters.

It is hard to comprehend just how a mother could abandon her first-born twin girls by the roadside? Suyuan, starving and sick, was sure she should die, and felt her girls would have a better chance of survival if they were not linked to the "bad luck" of a dead mother.

While the film does let us comprehend why, it never lets us forget how the memory haunts the mother for life. At the end we celebrate the survival of the twins and their meeting with their American born half sister.

It is a film that with great dignity celebrates our ability to overcome adversity and how families bond in love and respect through generations.

It is a film that makes me grateful for all that I have. It is a film that says we are stronger if we understand and share the stories of our families and the choices and sacrifices that they made to give us the opportunities that we enjoy now.

09-07-07

Tai made me close my eyes before putting this on my finger when she came back from BKK on Saturday:

It is simple, elegant and every time I look at it I know that I am where I want to be. Thank you hon. I know you are always with me as I am with you.

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Tai had a Tehran turn today - early start - we were on our way to the airport at 5.45am. But it was a pretty sunrise; the traffic is light and the drive is easy. Back to the airport at lunchtime - it was hot ! but the salik toll is keeping traffic off garhoud bridge and it was an easy drive.

07-07-07

Triple seven day. The next set of numbers like this will be 08-08-08 - the opening day of the Beijing Olympics - a very auspicious date for the Chinese.

You can follow the Live Earth concerts here:

http://entimg.msn.com/i/ExperienceData/p1-7/en-us/x.htm?sh=LiveEarthLive&g=fd3116b3-ebc3-439e-a9a0-2bb5dbf305cb

This is the live MSN feed. But the website is sponsored by Chevrolet - who make big gas guzzling SUVs. It is a funny old global warming world !!

Some easy suggestions:

Don't fly in private jets - see 30 June. Enviro-Boy is of course quite right about this !

Bath or shower with a friend. Save water.

Use energy efficient lightbulbs.

Turn off appliances.

Pay your bills online.

Don't print unless you really have to.

Recycle and reuse. Make your workplace green.

6 July 2007

Friday is the weekend in Dubai - and when Tai is not around it makes for a fairly lonely day.

It was a busy day of housekeeping. Cleaning and laundry and some shopping.

I have started car searching. Been to the Mercedes showroom - both new and used - and went to Toyota and Lexus today. Someone to talk to !

Watch this space for car updates !

Tai is a little late out of Bangkok - a 4.00am departure is tough on the body.

There was a nice blue sky today. Made a change from the dust and smog of the rest of the rest of the week.

5 July 2007

Feeling very out of sorts this morning. The building sites at the back of Falcon Tower both seemed to be working flat out through the night. Sawing and hammering. Woke up too often and am tired this morning.

The only restriction on overnight construction is that noise levels may not exceed 45 decibels. That increases to 55 decibels in the day. Trouble is that the restriction relates to each construction site. Take two sites each putting out 45 decibels; and sandwich my Falcon Tower apartment in the middle and the noise level must be higher than the supposed official limit.

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Not sure if you have seen this picture before- this is the Burj Dubai and surrounds of the future. Executive Tower is at the far left of the picture. The Old Town is at the bottom and the Burj Dubai is that big phallic thing in the middle!

4 July 2007

And a happy independence day to my usa reader(s).

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I am so tired this morning. I did not sleep well....work started on the building sites outside my apartment at 5.30 this morning. When you dont get to sleep until nearly 1am this is not a good way to start the day.

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Alex is in Geneva on a four week camp. Although he is there with one of his friends from Hong Kong this is a brave thing for him to be doing. Effectively a four week summer boarding and activity school in a foreign country a long way from family and his friends.

He will adapt to it very well.

3 July 2007

Tai is on her way to Bangkok today - and has an 80 hour layover; a nice time to see family.

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I did my medical for my UAE residents visa this morning. But it was not much of a medical. Firstly the application form has to be typed - AED 10 at any of the local typing shops. It shows where everyone comes from when the automatically typed my nationality as Indian.....

Then a 45 minute queue for the cashier. And another AED 410. Then go to the XRay room where they take one look and decide if they want to do a chet XRay or not. Not. And then join the queue to give a blood sample. They must take over 1,000 samples a day. It is quite a profitable little business!

Large crowds there; mainly Dubai's construction workers. And me, standing out as the only person there in a suit. 98% of applicants are male. Says a lot about Dubai. But nothing that we dont already know I guess. Strange place.

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Honestly - wish i was sitting on EK386 and heading for a few days in BKK. I miss the colour, smell, energy, food, buzz, noise.

1 July 2007

Sunday and back at work after a nice restful and generally sociable weekend.

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Events in London and Glasgow over the weekend are alarming; and security will become ever tighter through the summer months. Expect the UK airports to be even more miserable than usual.

30 June 2007

Life on an executive jet! This is the Dassault Falcon. I preferred the Gulfstream. Bigger windows!

End of the month today - and half way through the year. So much has changed. Mostly for the better but I do miss Bangkok.

It has been a nice weekend - have not done much but it has been a very sociable and relaxed weekend.

Ten years ago I was in HKG watching the British hand back Hong Kong to the Chinese. It was a wet, gloomy and uncertain day. The fireworks all got lost in the clouds and rain that had enveloped the city.

It is a vivid memory. As a child growing up it was one of the few future events that I was curious about - where I would be and how it would be. The Millennium was one, the HKG handover another and my xxth birthday another.

For so long I thought of HKG as somewhere that I would stay. It is a great city and I was fortunate to have been able to live there for as long as I did. My memories of it are now very mixed. But Alex is still there and part of me will always be with him.

But this year was the year that I moved on; that I made a real commitment and made promises that I know I will keep.

Dubai may not be the greatest place to live; but my heart is here and there is no where else I would rather be.