Lazy me

I'm procrastinating. I'm good at that, I could even call myself an expert. I've got work to do, grocery shopping to do, phone calls to make, emails to write. The issue is I just don't feel like doing any of it. So here I am uploading my photos and playing with them after spending time reading a very good book. I'm feeling uncharacteristically lazy.

That could be because it's 40c+ outside, could be that I've had an excellent weekend and I've got that Sunday afternoon feeling. Well, here it's a Saturday afternoon feeling. Womad in Abu Dhabi was more upbeat than in Al Ain. The beach and corniche were packed with people. The two stages meant that people circulated. It was hot and very sticky, fun to share with friends.

We sat on the sand and enjoyed the Persian drummers as well as Abri and others. The photo is of Abri performing in Al Ain. The skill of the drummers was amazing, I'll have a look on YouTube to see if I can add a clip here soon. For now enjoy these photos, two of the few that worked from Thursday night.

Driving

One of our male colleagues told Hana and I something he shouldn't have earlier in the week. Another confirmed that this was true and gave an example. Hana and I believed them, mostly because we wanted it to be true. The truth is, apparently and until it's proven not to be, that the speed cameras on the Al Ain - Abu Dhabi road in the 120kph zones are set at 160kph. In the 100 zone they are set at 120, there's actually a sign that says this.

Our two colleagues have obeyed these limits for some time with only one ticket for 161kph. Certainly on the trip home where we learnt this important information, we traveled at around 150 most of the way, safely in a flash 4wd with no flashing cameras. Hana and I checked. Hana and I both are bad at mornings, we both have small cars and have been both commuting to AD for the past fortnight. The lads laughed when we told them we got our small cars up to 160 on one of the trips, running late of course and between the cameras.

Today as I traveled confidently along at 140 I was passed by a police car who was tailgating a Merc who was racing a Prado. All good really as they sped past and ignored the small Yaris flying inside them. The police seem to ignore the speeding cars but I did see some busy with a BMW that had kissed the armco and didn't survive the contact. I just hope the driver did.

The travel is over for the week. A few of us stayed at the Al Raha Hotel last night, a girls gathering. It's a flash place, 5 star luxury set in a building site. At least it was quiet inside. I'm feeling a little jaded now after a late and social night. Think I might need an early one tonight. The photo is of the pool as the sun set. There are others, might need permission to use them.

Construction TV

I suspect there are reasons for pouring concrete from a great height down a metal tube in the early hours of the morning, reasons other than to keep me awake. Maybe it's too hot during the day, maybe it's because of the trucks on the road. Who knows, all I know is that last night there was no sleep to be had in Sue's Abu Dhabi flat where I was staying.

We have a laugh about construction TV at Sue's place. Her large living room window looks out onto five building sites, yes five, so we get to see the cranes criss crossing each other with their heavy loads, amazing that they don't get tangles up like kite strings might. Construction TV has a continuous show, a show of young men mostly from the Asian subcontinent busy on scaffolding, busy climbing up the crane structure and along the beam, busy dropping things that clang and crash in the middle of the night. A show of crane ballet and hard hats.

Sue thinks that the construction company have hired someone to come in at 6am on a Friday just to bang metal on metal, not so good with a hangover. And tonight sounds to be no different given the level of the noise outside. I wonder what time they'll start pouring concrete.

Staying in Abu Dhabi is preferable to the other option, driving daily from Al Ain. The road surprises are even more surprising in Ramadan as people speed home for their rest and then their Iftar meal. Driving in a small Yaris is not that safe so I can't wait until I can organise my 4wd.

Iftar, or the end of the fasting day, is a special time. People gather together to share a meal, a social time. We were in a taxi when Iftar was called and the driver shared his pack of dates with us, he smiled and was really happy that he could drop us off and join others to feast the night away. We gave him a lot extra, he deserved it. He was taking us to the Iftar meal at the Sheraton with some of our colleagues, a great night out in a festive atmosphere.

Another upside to staying in AD is the ability to get down to the sea, something I miss in Al Ain. I wandered along the corniche in the steaming heat, soaking in the golden sunset and the smell of the sea. One of the photos captures the golden air, the other is of crane ballet.

I'm sure the Qatar crew can relate to this post. Sleeping with the iPod on to drown out the noise of concrete pouring in the night was a regular occurrence there too. I missed you all when I was walking along the corniche, not nearly as much fun by myself.

Sorry, having trouble uploading the images. Will try again a bit later.