Malls

Apparently, Dubai has more shopping malls per capita than any other place on earth. That is a pretty impressive statistic. I wonder if it is only Dubai or if this fact could apply to the whole of the UAE.

I've visited 2 of the major shopping centres in Abu Dhabi since I've been here and they are quite impressive, in a weird kind of way.

Marina Mall is massive. It has a full size Ikea, Carrefour, and multiplex cinema, but the most impressive feature was the rain. Yes, rain. Sitting in a coffee shop-cum-restaurant on the first floor with some newly acquired friends, we were a little disconcerted to see the lights go off. The next event was even more worrying; thunder and lightning. Remember we are inside a shopping mall in August in the United Arab Emirates at this point, not outside in the street in the UK in winter. The ceiling was painted to resemble sky and there were lights behind it so that it can change from blue sky with fluffy white clouds to grey sky with menacing dark clouds. Excellent. Not only that, but there are holes in the roof out of which comes water. So, here we are sitting, having dinner in a mall and it's raining next to us. To top it off though, when we looked over the banister for the fountain below, we were disappointed. Instead, what we saw was a man from the sub-continent with a mop and bucket. What a masterpiece of design!

Arriving in Abu Dhabi

Here is the view from the gym in the complex I'm living in - Hilton serviced apartments no less! Excuse the rubbish photography. It's not my strong point!

Doing a runner

What better way is there of leaving a country than turning up at the airport, bags in hand and asking for the next available flight out of the country? Of course, the danger is that you just missed the last flight for a week, but if you can't go where you want to go, you can always choose somewhere else interesting.
Fortunately for me, I knew when the flights left and just had to follow my hunch that there would be seats available. I really do recommend doing a runner at some point in your life. It is very liberating!

Music mania

I've been doing a lot of musical things lately.
First, there was the Fête de la Musique, a yearly festival that is held in various traditional houses around the old city. Unfortunately, we didn't realise there is no way of knowing which houses unless you got a map from the French Cultural Centre before the event. So, we turned up at one of the main gates of the old city and wandered around, hoping to see a group of people looking festive! Eventually I got through to a friend of mine who pointed us in the right direction and off we set to a hammam that was hosting Latino music. I don't think I've ever been so hot in my life! After sweating profusely for about 10 minutes, we moved on to a rock venue which was basically a guy electric guitar wanking so we made a swift exit and moved to a jazz performance. Definitely the best of the night. All in all, quite a random experience.
Then, I got free tickets to see the most famous musician to visit Syria in 30 years - Enrique Inglesias! One of my students was raving about going to see him in concert and I was quite unashamedly teasing him about it. But then I got a phone call on Thursday night asking what I was doing…30 minutes later I was on my way to the concert myself. All cred out the window!
Last was a jazz festival at the citadel. The setting was pretty impressive, an ancient castle turned into an open-air theatre. The event was sponsored by the Swiss embassy so there were flags everywhere but that didn't detract from the music; some of which was pretty good.
I have to grudgingly admit to Enrique being my favourite of the three - oh the shame!

QBP

What do you say to the British Ambassador while celebrating the Queen's Birthday Party at their house? My line was, "What great posture you have, do you practise the Alexander Technique?" Although my line was way overshadowed by one of the guys I work with playing the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen" on his lawn. Now, that is class!

Danish culture

The Danes have been keeping a pretty low profile in the Middle East after the Mohammad cartoon fiasco of a couple of years ago. But the cultural centre in Damascus decided to get back into the scene with a DJ playoff between a Dane and an Arab. Pumping house music coming out of an old Damascene house, filled with an assortment of expats and locals.
Another random event in the life of Limebelly in Syria.

Dead Sea

What do you do when the hotel reneges on its special offer price when you get to the reception desk? Sneak in!
I spent a wonderful weekend floating in the Dead Sea, drinking cocktails, pampering in the spa and all while hiding out and having breakfast smuggled to me in the room. A most satisfying experience!