Well, last weekend wasn’t what I had planned but very enjoyable all the same.  I was just planning on exploring the markets around the creek but on Thursday I got invited to dinner by a guy from work as there is a group of guys from the UK, most of whom are in their 20’s, who get together most Thursdays for a meal and they each take it in turn to host.  We had an amazing meal and plenty of duty free alcohol.  It was good to meet people from other companies as well as Khansaheb to get their views on working in Dubai and suggestions of where to visit and what to do. I could certainly get used to it but there has been talk of me hosting one in my last week, which I would like to do but may be a problem as I discovered my villa was missing one thing, pots and pans, so being a student and Scottish I splashed out and bought one of each!

The guys then invited me to brunch the following day, on Fridays’ most of the hotels and clubs in Dubai put on “all you can eat” menus with a huge variety of starters, main meals and sweets as well as canopies, pastries and a whole lots besides for a set fee ranging from fifteen to hundreds of pounds, depending on if you have all inclusive drinks etc.  Ours was nearer the former!  They are extremely popular over here with all the ex-pats - thus 95% of Dubai’s population. Some are more family orientated whilst others I hear tend to be rather more booze fuelled.  The “Irish Village” was the next port of call and we sat outside where fans are linked up to hosepipes so that they blow a fine mist of water at you, which actually cools you down surprisingly effectively. Then had Saturday off to recharge the batteries after a long week at work and it gave me a chance to clean up the villa and do some washing.

Back to work on the Sunday and I am now working with Tony Christian who is the senior quantity surveyor on site and I have been tasked with assisting with the preparation of this months valuation and preparing close out documentation schedules.  However, I first completed a subcontractor work package scope sheet for five of the subcontractors on site.  These allow any person at a glance to see what each subcontractor has been contracted to do, what they will be interfacing with, their programme of work and any requirements needed from Khansaheb as the main contractor.

Preparing the valuation involved getting out on to the site and having a good look at all the different areas to best guess the percentage of work completed to date so that the contractor, that’s Khansaheb can make an application for payment.  I went out at 8am by which time it was already roasting hot and I proceeded to check all areas under construction and I’m still amazed that the people on site here get so much work done.  Work on site continues all night as well because it is too hot to pour concrete during the day and after all the night time temperature does fall to a low of 30 degrees at the moment.  Trying to guess the percentage of work completed is quite subjective and something that comes with experience I guess but I’m going round with Tony next week to do the real thing and we shall see how my figures compare to his!

On Tuesday night I played football, indoor thankfully although it was still quite hot, and it’s going to be the start of me getting fit for a 10km run I’m doing in Glasgow on September 6th because if I continue to eat as well as I have been doing here for the next 6 weeks without any exercise then I get the feeling my mates who are also doing it might beat me and we can’t have that!  The aim is to build up to a 10km run over here so by the time I leave Glasgow should be a breeze.

This weekend was a proper adventure.  A friend from back home has come over for a short holiday and thus the touristy activities could begin.  On Friday we went to explore the souks of Dubai which are markets that are dotted all around the creek area and each has different things for sale, there is the gold souk, perfume souk, textile souk etc.  They aren’t like other markets I’ve been to where most things are for sale on stalls, over here there are just row after row of little shops crammed with merchandise that sort of spills out onto the street during the day and I suppose it all gets squashed back in at night ready to explode out onto the street the next day.

The gold souk is impressive as you pass shop after shop dripping in gold jewellery of all shapes and sizes.  In the spice souk the smell is amazing and every vendor seems to want you to buy saffron, I wonder why?  However, regardless of the souk you are in, guys come up offering “copy watches, copy handbags, Gucci, Burberry, Louis Vouitton” and all the rest.  The souks are on both sides of the creek and the quickest way across is on the really cool boats called Abra’s that blanket the water.  They only cost 1 dhiram (16p) each way and you just pay the boat attendant when you sit on one of the two wooden benches running back to back along the length of the boat, once it is loaded up your off, no need for life jackets here.  Our “captain” was fairly speeding on and because you are sat on the edge wherever you are we got the water spraying in our faces, which to be honest was most welcome in the 40 odd degrees of heat.

Once on the other side I felt it was time to do some haggling!  First on the list were some playing cards as my friend collects them as souvenirs, the first guy was wanting 40dhs (£6.50) for a pack, he came down an amazing 5dhs to 35dhs but I felt he was maybe taking the micky so on we went to the next one down where after some bargaining I got two packs for 25dhs.  As the day went on I seemed to be able to get things cheaper and cheaper, there were the two “cashmere” pashminas (they did at least feel really soft) for 35dhs or just under £6, the cuddly camel now named Humphrey, a snip at only 20dhs as the legs and neck have wires in them and are adjustable!  However I feel the best buy was when I was cajoled into a shop by an insistent owner after I had taking a mild interest in a fake Man Utd football shirt and I ended coming out of the shop with the full United Arab Emirates football strip for only 50dhs (£8.33) Later on though, I did ask myself what had actually happened?  130dhs lighter and a whole lot of necessary items later we had a fresh coconut for refreshment, there was a stall at the end of the market with a really old juicer where one old man was squashing oranges for fresh juice and another was chopping into green coconuts to make a hole for a straw that allowed access to lovely sweet coconut milk which was really nice and sweet, it was a little warm but what can you do in this crazy heat!  Some light evening mezze followed in a restaurant which overhung the creek and had a beautiful view of the sun setting over the horizon, not a bad life really.

On the Saturday we took it a bit easier as it seemed to be even hotter than the day before and we decided on going to an Arabic restaurant near the public beach as it had some good reviews.  The reviews were spot on, from the outside it’s location next to a busy road and HSBC branch was hardly inspiring but inside is like a little oasis from a far flung land, the fruity smell of shisha, the hubbub of conversation as people take time enjoying their food, men playing board games and puffing away, cushioned chairs, low light and authentic décor all led to a very nice three hours spent trying numerous dishes of delicious food, drinking water-melon juice and green tea and having a double apple shisha to finish off!  After dinner we wandered to the beach and watched the sunset whilst also staring in wonder at the Burj Tower, which although not quite finished, is the worlds tallest building.  As the sunset and the colours changed so did the reflection coming off of the cladding of the Burj, truly spectacular and I just thought how lucky I am to be here.

Just to keep things interesting though, as we left I managed to knock my camera off a rock where I had set it down on and it slipped down over a metre and out of sight between two rocks and I must have looked a bit daft, lying down on a rock frantically reaching around under the water feeling for the camera, whilst expecting to be bitten by a big crab at any minute.  After a plastic bottle raised false hope I eventually found it after about 30 seconds but the damage was done.  However, if ever there was a place it might dry out I’m thinking it would be in the heat of Dubai, either that or the microchips will melt together!  Either way it’s had a good innings and Dubai has really cheap electronics in comparison to Scotland so a trip to the electronics souk might well be on the cards.

Peter