The Blog of Rob Eaton » Abu Dhabi http://www.robeaton.org Tales of an Englishman abroad Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:21:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Directions http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/07/03/directions/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/07/03/directions/#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:10:08 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1225 I Have spent the day researching the Tokyo trip and posting updates from the holiday a couple of weeks ago.

I was also waiting for the Satellite TV guys to call and replace my box for a new one.

The Satellite guys eventually rang at 7pm. It’s not unusual for people over here to be working late

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/07/03/directions/feed/ 1 Abu Dhabi (Holiday Day 2) http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/06/28/abu-dhabi-day-2/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/06/28/abu-dhabi-day-2/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:51:20 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1221 Not too sure what time we got back last night but we started late with the corona breakfast. We headed to the Grand Mosque here in Abu Dhabi. It is a fantastic piece of workmanship and just imply stunning.

Afterwards we drove to Jebbel Hafeet which has a great viewing point and a fantastic windy

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/06/28/abu-dhabi-day-2/feed/ 1 A Day in Dubai (Holiday Day 1) http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/06/27/a-day-in-dubai/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/06/27/a-day-in-dubai/#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 05:43:16 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1216 Andreas arrived late just after midnight. It was extremely humid out and we were fortunate for the quick drive back to my apartment. After couple of Gin Tonics and several hours later it was 3.30am. We got up early to have our usual Corona Breakfast and then hit the road to Dubai.

We got to Dubai

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/06/27/a-day-in-dubai/feed/ 0 Lawrence of Arabia Country http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/05/15/lawrence-of-arabia-country/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/05/15/lawrence-of-arabia-country/#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 18:07:17 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1205 So what have I been up to recently I hear you cry!?Well I have recently been finalising a two-week holiday that I have planned for the first two weeks of June.

Andreas (of www.ginfan.com fame) my great friend from Iceland was originally going to come over for two weeks and we were going to drive over

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/05/15/lawrence-of-arabia-country/feed/ 2 and finally…. my Sonos Rocks! http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/04/08/and-finally-my-sonos-rocks/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/04/08/and-finally-my-sonos-rocks/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:37:55 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1197 Okay so the first question I hear you shout is what is Sonos?

Sonos is quite simply a mesh wifi network sound system. I can have a device in any room and have it linked throughout the apartment and play music via a computer or the remote.

I have had the system for a while now, but

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/04/08/and-finally-my-sonos-rocks/feed/ 0 Photo Wizardry http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/03/24/photo-wizardry/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/03/24/photo-wizardry/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:28:27 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1192 Just been playing with Microsoft Photosynth.

Here is a shot from site looking towards the AF2 building from the Library (LIB)

Share and Enjoy: ]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/03/24/photo-wizardry/feed/ 0 A Lost Ark? http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/03/03/a-lost-ark/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/03/03/a-lost-ark/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:15:24 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1157 Having flown back into Abu Dhabi at 6:40am on Sunday I was going to head straight to work.

It looked like it had been wet and I discovered how much when I got back to my apartment.

There was water downstairs in the entrance, on my landing, in my hall and in my bedroom. It’s a bloody

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/03/03/a-lost-ark/feed/ 1 All Drugged Up http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/02/06/all-drugged-up-3/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/02/06/all-drugged-up-3/#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:06:47 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1148 Since I got back from China last Sunday I have had a pretty vicious sore throat. This was not helped by the really bad dust storm on Thursday either.

It did however make some of my early morning conversations quite entertaining as I was as husky as a husky dog eating husks (or should that be

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/02/06/all-drugged-up-3/feed/ 0 May the Force be with You! or Driving in Fog UAE Style. http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/01/20/may-the-force-be-with-you-or-driving-in-fog-uae-style/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/01/20/may-the-force-be-with-you-or-driving-in-fog-uae-style/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:42:15 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.org/?p=1109 Fog…. it is an interesting weather phenomena!

Fortunately for me driving to work is a very short affair.

This morning with a slight chill to the air I jumped into my car for the five minute drive to work. It was not long until I came over the brow of the expressway when I hit the fog.

There

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2010/01/20/may-the-force-be-with-you-or-driving-in-fog-uae-style/feed/ 0 Charging Ahead! http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/12/12/charging-ahead/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/12/12/charging-ahead/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:58:09 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=1065 Tuesday was spent sorting out the car insurance and signing paperwork. Several copies, numerous signatures & copies of ID later, I was in receipt of the insurance. I duly took this to the Dodge showroom as it was nearby.

Later in the day I was told I could finally go and collect the loan forms or as they call

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/12/12/charging-ahead/feed/ 0 Show Me The Money! http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/29/show-me-the-money/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/29/show-me-the-money/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:21:04 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=1022 A week ago last Saturday the 22nd I had my test drive in a Dodge Charger R/T.

I’d been logically been putting it off until I’d got my UAE driving licence and besides Saturday was a quieter day for me. Anyhow the showroom did not do test drives on Fridays.

I eventually got to the show room

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/29/show-me-the-money/feed/ 1 The Cost of Living in the UAE http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/25/the-cost-of-living-in-the-uae/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/25/the-cost-of-living-in-the-uae/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:14:59 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=1018 The cost of living in the UAE, is quite interesting – after all there is no vat/gst on purchases.

So for those curious types here are some price comparisons. Very loosely there are 6AED to 1GBP or 3.4AED to 1AUD.

If you look at the table below you’ll see that 9l of water cost 1.08 GBP or

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/25/the-cost-of-living-in-the-uae/feed/ 0 All Drugged Up. http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/15/all-drugged-up/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/15/all-drugged-up/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:33:24 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=1015 It’s 6pm Sunday. After a short while you get used to it being the first day of the week.

I digress slightly.

I’d been looking forward to having Friday off work, as I’d been feeling sick most of the week.

Being sick in a new country is difficult at the best of times – but generally easier

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/15/all-drugged-up/feed/ 0 Hazy Days http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/09/hazy-days/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/09/hazy-days/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:34:45 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=1012 So today is Monday, some two days since I arrived back from our trip to China. I am still feeling a bit rough and am not sure if it is to do with fatigue, having caught the flu or something I ate. Having the window open in my office to warm it up is getting

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/11/09/hazy-days/feed/ 0 Home Sweet Home http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/27/home-sweet-home/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/27/home-sweet-home/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:42:28 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=997 I moved into my new place last night. For 100,000AED it’s not bad value. Even better was the bargain price I paid for all the furniture (bed, fridge, washing machine, sofa, satellite tuner, two flat screen tv’s, dinning table, lounge seats & coffee table). What I’ll do with two tv’s is even beyond me though.

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/27/home-sweet-home/feed/ 0 Fantastic news! http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/26/fantastic-news/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/26/fantastic-news/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:25:26 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=992 I got my passport back today with my residency visa. Not a bad turn around as it only took a week from the time of the medical to getting it back. That is an impressive turn around here. Some of the tales that were being told were of up to six week turnarounds.

The PRO or

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/26/fantastic-news/feed/ 0 That’s settled then! http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/25/that%e2%80%99s-settled-then/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/25/that%e2%80%99s-settled-then/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:14:45 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=990 This is the start of my third full week. It is Sunday but after a while every day merges into one… everyday is ground hog day here!

Today was like any other day – non stop email overload… It was only broken by the anticipation of dropping my apartment rental cheque off.

By the time we got

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/25/that%e2%80%99s-settled-then/feed/ 0 Briefly… http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/12/briefly/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/12/briefly/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:22:08 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=988 So how am I doing I hear you all cry?

Well yesterday was busy, the jet lag is getting me and I have no idea what the day is… but I am guessing that it is Monday today?

I currently don’t have an internet connection so am connected to the net with a bluetooth connection on my

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/12/briefly/feed/ 0 So Long – Farewell? (part III) http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/11/so-long-farewell-part-iii/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/11/so-long-farewell-part-iii/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:14:41 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=986 So I have finally arrived in Abu Dhabi. It’s now 7am Brisbane time – I have no idea what that is locally, but I am guessing 1am.

Earlier on, after stopping in Singapore for an hour we jumped back on the same plane. I asked to be moved and was relocated to the seats on the

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/11/so-long-farewell-part-iii/feed/ 0 So long – Farewell? http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/10/so-long-farewell/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/10/so-long-farewell/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:15:07 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=982 So it is 12:15. I am sat at Brisbane airport waiting for my flight to be called.

Brisbane international airport is in fact one of the better airports to travel through. It’s fully air conditioned departure lounge is great, quiet and comfortable. In fact it is one of the few airports where you can turn up

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/10/so-long-farewell/feed/ 0 Pack it all up http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/01/pack-it-all-up/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/01/pack-it-all-up/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:39:56 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=978 So it’s Thursday nine days before I get on the big bird in the sky yet again. Abu Dhabi & UAE here I come.

Since I wrote last the Project has achieved it’s practical completion and all in all I think it looks pretty good. I am hoping the client actually likes it, as it

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]]> http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/10/01/pack-it-all-up/feed/ 0 Mayhem! http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/09/15/mayhem/ http://www.robeaton.org/index.php/2009/09/15/mayhem/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:44:26 +0000 Rob http://www.robeaton.com/?p=931 So it’s very busy at work recently, what with the job nearing its end whilst the long hour have cut into the social time.

Anyhow I am amidst some frantic packing and the token throwing out of junk as I am again on the move! As I head off to Abu Dhabi in less than four

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