H.O.T.

OMG. Summer has arrived. Yesterday, we were out and about and the temperature was 41 degrees celcius by 1030!

It has been said that because we had an unusually cold winter here this year, we can expect summer to be hotter than normal. Ugh. I didn't think it'd be arriving this early though. It's still only April and I'm not looking forward to July or August!

Also, instead of having a central hot water cylinder for the whole house [as we do in NZ], there are separate cylinders for the kitchen and each bathroom. By the light switch, is the water heater switch you can turn on or off to heat the water up. Because it's so hot outside, the cold water is actually now warm, so we don't even really need to heat the water up before a shower.

Wet, wet, wet.

Winter's here. It's been raining off and on the last couple of weeks. The day we got back to Dubai from Europe it was raining all day and we've only really had the odd day of sunshine since. The temperatures have also dropped a fair bit and the mercury's down to as low as 16 degrees C.

While this may seem mild to most, it's cold enough for me to have switched the air-conditioning off and don my sweatshirt and track pants! I remember it getting cooler around this time last year, but it certainly wasn't as wet. In fact, many of the veteran expats here are saying it's raining more this year than it has in the last 2 years combined! Ah well, enjoy the nice change in weather I reckon.

The last 10 days.

I've been a bit slack with posting lately partly due to laziness, lack of motivation to post, and I guess it's been a little busier than normal.

The most exciting thing I guess was throwing a surprise party for Gypsy Boy's Birthday over the weekend, and getting my first piece of work completed.

Gypsy Boy's little party was fun, thanks to all our friends who came over to celebrate, and special thanks to Joy who helped so much with shopping, preparation and organising all the balloons! For some reason, I didn't take any photos which is a real shame so I'll have to post some when I get the photos from Joy that she took with her camera.

I also got delivered my first piece of work last week, and as it was urgent, I found myself working hard to get it finished by the deadline. I was pleased to find that it's not far from the sort of work I had to do as part of my previous role in NZ, and I really enjoyed it as well as being able to work from the comforts of home!

Today, I'm digging up some of our old winter clothes and starting to pack for our trip to Brussels and Istanbul. I can't believe we leave tomorrow already!

Oh, and as I type it's raining outside! I thought I could smell the rain, so I ran out to the balcony with Gypsy Dog at my heels to find grey skies and a light but constant drizzle. I haven't seen the rain in Dubai since January!

As summer ends

Summer has come to an end in Dubai and we survived the heat!

Ok, so we cheated a little with our European Escapade but we did stick out 2 of the 3 months. It did get as hot as they said it would and also extremely humid. We're talking temperatures of up to 50 degrees C [unofficially, probably higher], and humidity levels of approx. 80-90%.


It basically felt like we were in an oven, but surprisingly we didn't find it unbearable or even all that unpleasant as almost every other expat we met had warned us it would be. Admittedly, we did not have to work in the heat - I still don't know how the thousands of labourers and construction workers do it - and most of the day we did spend indoors in air conditioning.

Anyhow, we are fast approaching winter and the temperatures have cooled off a little. The evenings are most pleasant when the mercury hovers around the high 20's while day temperatures are currently in the mid to high 30's.

You know it's really hot when...

1. You meet Malaysians that have just arrived and they are complaining about the heat
2. Your sunnies/glasses fog up everytime you step outside
3. You see cars with curtains hanging on the inside?!?

It's getting hot in here...

Summer has officially started. What can I say, the rumours were true. Eversince we arrived in DXB, just about everyone we've met has 'warned' us about how unimaginably hot and humid the summer is here and how we'd need to 'escape' by travelling out of the region for at least the month of August.

8 days into Summer, and the mercury is consistently hitting the 42-45 degrees celcius mark everyday and humidity levels are also rising. So far, we're coping ok with the heat just by trying to stay indoors with air conditioning most of the day. It's hard to imagine it will only get hotter and even more humid towards and for the month of August, but I guess the human body adjusts.

That said, we are planning a trip to Europe for a month leaving mid-July...can't wait!!!

A stormy weekend

The weather over the weekend was dreadful, most unusual in sunny Dubai! We had a sandstorm and a thunderstorm so we took the opportunity to pay a visit to our local DVD store.

Pleasantly surprised by the rates, it costs just 10dhs to hire a DVD [$2.70USD or approx $4.30NZD]. Regardless of whether it's a new release or The Sound of Music, it's all 10dhs and they all have to be back within 24 hours. That's simplicity for you!

We decided to get Crash. It's no wonder this won Best Motion Picture of the Year. In my opinion, it was fantastic.

Drip, drip, drip

It rained all Thursday night and most of Friday. This is the most rain Dubai will probably see until this time next year. It's not a city built for rain, so when it's wet things tend to go awry. There are puddles and small ponds everywhere, some residential areas are flooded and even experienced loss of electricity and water! It's no surprise that leaky building syndrome is also alive and well here, given the rate whole areas are being developed.

The driving here reminds me of bumper cars, except the slightest bump requires you to call the police by law. Add a little water, and the result was 513 car accidents on Thursday.

It's raining,

it's pouring!

I woke up this morning to the sound of raindrops. I've had false alarms before, but today it's for real. I can hear it and I can smell it. Heck, there's even thunder rolls. We're having a storm here in Dubai, and I'm enjoying every second of it.

Sandstorm!

We experienced our first sandstorm today! Caused by strong winds of about 20knots, sand gets whipped up into the air and the city is blanketed with a fog-like appearance. In conditions like these, it's best not to go out into the desert and to try and stay indoors...

Sand sand everywhere! Driving on Sheikh Zayed Road

View of the skyscrapers on Sheikh Zayed Road during the sandstorm

...so, we spent the day with friends having brunch then browsing the shops in the Souq at the Madinat Jumeirah - an amazing resort.

Beautiful architecture inside the Souq Madinat

One of the shops inside the Souq Madinat
selling Arabian treasures
Persian carpets for sale

There is also a 1000 seat outdoor ampitheatre that overlooks a man-made creek that runs through the Madinat Jumeirah where you can catch an abra, or water taxi. This is very different to riding in a traditional abra across the Dubai Creek to Deira.

The ampitheatre at the Madinat Jumeirah

Set around the waterways in this beautiful resort, are bars, restaurants and cafes. Some even offering a view of the neighbouring Burj al Arab, the only 7 star hotel in the world.

Madinat Jumeirah

It was also amazing to see 4 or 5 turtles swimming in the waterway. If you look near the bottom of the picture below, you'll be able to see them! (Click on the picture for a larger view).

Looking towards the hotel resort's private beach