New Car

This is my gift to Bianca for her birthday.  It’s a 2001 Mercedez Benz SLK 230 Kompressor with a convertible hard top.  It only has about 80,000 kms on it and full service history.

Off-road modifications

I had a few modifications made on the Expedition to better deal with the sand dunes.

• Truxxx 3in front, 2in rear body lift kit
• Custom aluminum front bash blate
• Custom 3in diameter bull bars

These pictures were taken during the Independence Day Motorcade in Dubai.

La Riviera, Dubai Marina, Dubai

Pics of the new apartment in Dubai Marina. We’re on the 22nd floor. It’s a 2 bed and 2 bath flat.

 The Master Bedroom (By Masters I mean the boys)

View from the Master Bedroom

The Second Bedroom (i.e. the Slaves’ Room)

View from the Second Bedroom

View from the balcony (facing Jebel Ali side)

The rooftop healthclub

The infinity pool

 View of the Marina

Dubai Mall Fountain - World’s Tallest Dancing Fountain

Just a bunch of pictures.

Desert Birthday Party

Our friend Ibrahim and his son (he’s Filipino despite the name) had a birthday part in Lahbab last weekend. 

Area 53 and my battered car

We went on a desert safari last weekend to this place called Area 53.  The place is riddled with countless sand dunes and I would guess is the extreme dune bashers dream location.  As soon as you get off the road and on to the desert, you are greeted by some of the largest sand dunes in the area with steep inclines and jawdropping cliffs.  It’s not for the faint of heart and the inexperienced.  I would not suggest this place for drivers who are very new to the sport, or are not keen on getting some damage on their vehicles.

That black car at the top is me.

Here’re some pictures of the damage my car sustained during the trip.

The rear right bumper 

The front right bumper

The front left bumper

A larger view of the front left bumper.  Notice that the license plate has been crumpled like a piece of paper.

Lahbab again

For the past month and a half, I have been in the desert pretty much every weekend.  I’m actually getting some modifications done on the car.  First, I’m getting a Truxx 3″/2″ Leveling Lift Kit to increase the ride height.  Second,  I’m having a bash plate and light bar fabricated to protect the front and bumper.  Finally, after all the installation is complete, I’m going to replace the stock tires with larger all-terrain tires, possibly adding another 2″ to the height.

Got stuck again, had to be towed.  Forgot the name of that guy.

Nice view of the dunes. 

Overnight Desert Safari - Lahbab

Went on my first overnight desert safari with Bianca.  Brought the car along to test out it’s off-road hardiness.  It performed quite well and I was fairly comfortable managing the ups and downs of the dunes.  But, I got stuck in a dimple on the way up a really high sand dune, and someone had to drive it our for me.  Good thing there was that we didn’t have to tow it out.

The camp site

Damage to the front bumper - which popped out quite easily

Here’s a semi-dramatic picture of me walking up a sand dune

Here’s where I got stuck. 

Posing. har

The troop

Dhow Trip at Dubai Marina

Our weekends in December and January were jam-packed with activities.  Partly because my sister was staying in town for a month and partly because I felt that I needed to have more activities.  I’d already listed several things including go karting, paintball, airsoft, hot air balloon, desert safari, quad bike safari, scuba diving, etc, etc.

Anyway these pictures were taken on a Dhow, a traditional Arabian boat.  There’s a lot of places where you can go on a Dhow but this one specifically starts from the Dubai Marina, goes out into the ocean just outside one of the fronds of the Palm Jumeirah and then back.  It takes about 45 minutes to an hour and costs about 30 dirhams per person, I think.

You don’t really do anything but sit down and have a few drinks.  For the price, it’s something I would actually recommend if you’re just looking to pass the time and relax.  Would have been great if they had sheisha on board.  The Dhow trips on the Dubai Creek may be more worthwhile though if you want to actually see something other than buildings and water.  There’re also night trips which cost about 150 AED and come with a full dinner.

Sean happily pointing

Orin with Bianca and Sean in the background

Family Pic

Orin again

Another Dhow

This is probably Jumeirah Beach

A speedboat hauling some tourists

Parasailing - I’ll do this some day before leaving Dubai

The latest victims of the real estate bubble?

The Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina

Here’s another trip, this time to the famously posh Dubai Marina, which at one time was also infamous for its sewage-infested waters.

Here just a smidge of that sewage I was talking about.

Part of the Marina skyline around dusk 

The same skyline in the early evening

From another angle 

Just some fountain

The following are pictures of Sean and Orin being all giddy about the fountain.

Souk al Bahar

This is my only my second trip to Souk Al Bahar in the Old Town, right next to the Burj Dubai.  There’s really nothing to go there for except for some very limited shopping and eating - especially with the Dubai Mall literally just next door.

As usual, I took the opportunity to take some pictures of what currently is the world’s tallest man-made structure.  I envy the photographer, who just today, was featured in the papers for being the first one to take pictures from the summit.

The Burj Dubai

 The leaning tower..

Sean looks like he’s just coming out of the pot

A lot of construction is still under way, the Burj is set to open at the end of the year

I hope they have a viewing deck

New Year 2009

Just some shots of our New Year celebration in Dubai.

The boys in their cool outfits

Orin giving Sean a hug 

Orin kissing Sean 

The Vidals and Lancins

2008 Year In Review

Leah’s yearend post inspired me to do some sort of a review of the past year myself.  I’m also doing a round up of the first sentences of the first posts of each month.  Who knows, it might magically paint a vivid picture of what I’d gone through the past year.  The sentences are preceded by the title of the post.

January 2008. Choices:  If given the choice, where would you rather live and work?

I guess this was around that time I was weighing the pros and cons between HK and DXB.  I had two competing offers and, at the same time, was also speaking with a Singapore-based headhunter.  If one could only turn back time.

February 2008:  System Solutions will not address Personnel Problems:  unless, of course, if it totally replaces the people amen

I don’t really recall what the specific issue was but this sentiment still holds true.

March 2008: So there was another rally:  For Filipinos, it’s just one of those things that happens on an almost daily basis in the Philippines.

This was my first photographic coverage of an event. Hehe

April 2008:  First Week in Dubai: I’ve been in Dubai for 5 days now.

My hopes were still so high then.

May 2008:  A Country of Excess:  Dubai is a capitalist state much like any other capitalistic country. 

I guess this was an attempt at an objective look at Dubai.

June and July 2008:

Nothing.  I think this was around the time when I had very limited access to the net.

August 2008:  Major Update:  It’s been three months since I last blogged.

There were enough words in this post to make up for those three months.

September 2008:

Nothing.

October 2008:  Telephone:  We call the television a “TV” then why don’t we call the telephone a “TP”?

One of two posts for the month, wasted on ridiculousness. Hehe.

November 2008:  What to Buy?  I just got my driver’s license today, after several months of waiting and days of waster effort at the local driving school.

A major positive change that drastically uplifted my spirits - in general and towards Dubai. 

December 2008:  New Car Pics:  Here we are picking up the car from the showroom.

You can tell how happy we were from the pictures.  We really got into the materialistic side of Dubai.

It’s pretty disappointing.  I thought this round up was going to result in something more poignant, that it would offer some insight that I could only see by looking back at the past year as a whole.  Oh well.

Anyway, here’re some of 2008’s highs, some with their corresponding lows.

• Highlight:  Got married twice (to the same woman!) - one a civil wedding the other a church wedding.  Had a rocking time at the wedding, reception and afterparty with friends and family - many of which will concur.  Lowlight:  Reminds me of how good I had it in Manila.

• Highlight:  Moved to Dubai.  Lowlight:   Moved to Dubai.

• Highlight:  Moved to a higher paying job.  Lowlight:  Realised some things are simply not worth the money.

• Highlight:  Moved to a higher paying job.  Lowlight: Moved to a high cost location.

• Highlight:  Bought a massive new car.  Lowlight:  I feel guilty when I drive.

• Lowlight:  Gaining more weight than ever. 

• Highlight:  Moved my family to Dubai.  Lowlight:  Can’t afford a two bedroom apartment.

• Highlight:  Took a risk.  Lowlight:  Paid the price.

Karting at the Dubai Autodrome

The Dubai Autodrome features a professional karting track complete with straighaways, long bends, up and downhills, tight turns and even a small tunnel.  You can get a 15-minute crack at the track for AED 100.  No reservations needed, just “arrive and drive.”

Don’t remember if this was before or after the race. 

My fastest lap was 1:18.  I’d previously done 1:14 I think.  Bianca did almost 3 minutes.

 With my evil sisters.

Za’abeel Park

Za’abeel Park has a small man made lake where you can rent electric boats that can carry up to four people.  For 40 AED, you can spend 30 minutes going round and round the lake like a goldfish in a bowl. 

The fountain in the middle of the lake

Part of the Dubai skyline.  The Etisalat Building on the far right.

 The whole gang on the boat - Orin raring to get away and play with his cousin

Emirates Towers Mini Park

We usually bring the kids to the Dubai Creek Park or Za’abeel Park during the weekends so they get to have some really physical playtime.  Dubai isn’t really one of those places where your kids can just go downstairs and play on the streets.  In fact, you can rarely see kids on the street (old people too).  They don’t get to go out too often when we have work so it’s really important that they are able to enjoy the outdoors.

There’s quite a few parks around Dubai, and they’re all very popular destinations during the weekends for families to have picnics, couples to stroll around, friends to get together over some grilled food and even just workers looking to relax after a long week of work.  It’s no wonder that they’re really packed on Fridays, which is the common weekend for most people (some work 6 days a week with Friday off).

One Friday before Christmas, we decided to bring our kids to the Dubai Creek Park but couldn’t find any place to, ironically, park.  Several cars had already been ramped onto the sidewalks, while others were using the waiting/pick up/drop off areas.   This is completely illegal in Dubai, so I don’t know why these people insist on doing it.  Most of the cars already had tickets plastered on their windshields. 

From the Dubai Creek Park, we went to Za’abeel but also couldn’t find any parking.  We eventually ended up at the Emirates Towers, owned by the none other than the ruler of Dubai, which had a circular patch of grass surrounded by trees no larger than a basketball court.  We were the only ones there but at least the kids were able to have their fun while I was able to take some pictures.

The Emirates Towers

With Sean

Skyline with the Emirates Towers.

 With Orin.

First Christmas in Dubai

So, we had our first Christmas in Dubai.  It was nothing fancy and could not be co mpared to the celebrations and general atmosphere that you would normally get in the Philippines.  It wasn’t a holiday or a non-working day so I had to take a few days of leave but my wife had just started work so she took the 24th off but had to go back to work the following day. 

We settled for a simple dinner at home with my sister and her family.

From Left to Right:

Yaya Cez, Bianca, Sean, Me, Orin, Ricel, Elvin, Darien and Yaya Cathy.

New Car Pics

Here we are picking up the car from the showroom. It’s a little dark but you get the picture.  It was an occassion by itself.

And here’re pictures of it parked in the garage as well as the interior.

Final Car Decision

We spent Friday and Saturday test driving some cars.  First it was the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4-door.  It was a very comfortable ride, as opposed to everything I read saying it was not really built for the road.  However, visibility was very poor because the dashboard was placed very high.  I would say it’s almost as if you were driving a truck, but I’ve never really driven a truck before.  Otherwise, it was a very decent car and the price wasn’t so bad either.  The major turn-off is that the second row seats don’t have that much leg-room for such a massive vehicle, and the seats backs could not be adjusted.

We weren’t really planning on checking out Volvo but since it was just next door to Jeep, we decided to look at the S40 which was advertised at 99K AED on the newspapers.  At first we were unimpressed with the size but the overall sporty design and the interiors changed our minds.  They only offered the car in the R Design format, which is intended to cater to people who liked aggressive and sharp looks, as well a sportier performance without compromising the level of safety that Volvo is know for.  The agent was also very cordial and emphatic so we arranged for a test driver.  It was very smooth and accelerated very quickly without really giving you that bumpy sports car feeling.  It quickly became one of our top choices simply because Bianca liked it plus the fact that it was relatively cheap, and a bargain for a Volvo.

We had to return to Volvo on Saturday because I apparently left my driver’s license.  The agent claimed that he was trying to call me but that I might have switched my phone off.  That’s bullshit because I never turn my phone off and I always make sure that it’s charged.  And as far as I know, that day I never went any place where there was no signal.  I don’t know what it is with people here in Dubai but they always tend to do stuff like that - claiming to have done something but not.  I mean, I experienced it before in Manila - sort of like saying you’re already in Buendia when you’re actually still in Ortigas.  But here it’s just too much.  Anyway, I digress.

Fortunately we were scheduled to test drive the Merc C180K around the same area so it was no issue passing by Volvo before to get the license.  The C180K was absolutely gorgeous but a lot less luxurious tha I expected, and less roomy.  As with most German cars, it needed a little getting used to such as which lever is used for signalling since there were two levers on the left side of the wheel.  The emergency brake, which is normally a hand brake, is a small pedal on the left side.  That’s something I’d actually like to see on all cars since it’s really convenient, but I guess that won’t work for racers and drifters.  And the light switch is a knob on the dash instead of turn switch on the signal lever - something which I think MB should change since it’s easier and maybe even safer to be able to switch the lights without removing your hand from the wheel. Anyway, we found out that they didn’t sell the basic model in Dubai and they only had the Elegance range which is disturbingly a lot more expensive than the basic range.  That’s another thing with Dubai, it’s not enough that they’re selling a luxury item, that luxury item should be in the luxury level or range for that particular item.  So it’s actually double luxury!

On the way home, feeling a lot more confused about what car to buy, we passed by a Ford showroom which was again not on our list, and thought that we should just check it out anyway.  The Ford Flex and Edge didn’t really interest us so we went straight for the Explorer and Expedition.  Next to the Expedition, the Explorer looked really really small but only because the Expedition was so big.  It also didn’t look quite as aggressive and intimidating as  the Expedition.  There were also some additional perks with the 2008 Expedition.  It came with free first year insurance which is about 5% of the total price of the vehicle, plus free maintenance for three years or the first 60k KMs, whichever comes first.  That’s a real great value considering you could pay up to 1K AED for maintenance costs every 5k KMs.  To cut a long story short, we chose the Expedition right then and there at a cost of 135K AED minus 2K AED month end discount.

Getting Ready for the Weekend

One often overlooked fact about the Middle East is that the work days and timings here are very different.  In the UAE specifically, work days are normally Saturdays thru Thursdays, but some companies will work Mondays thru Fridays because they’re customers abroad follow that schedule.  Most offices will have 5 days of work a week but those that have 6 days, such as Banks and the Government, will let you have a comp-off or compensation off day of your choice depending on the workload.  It depends on the department whether they want to have some sort of shifting for Saturday or to have people follow permanent schedules.  Other countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia sometimes follow a Saturday to Wednesday week.

I’m looking forward to test drivig the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited on Friday, and the Merc C180K on Saturday.  Hopefuly I’d have made a decision by Sunday.  I’m now using a rented Chevrolet Aveo which handles like a real schmuck.  Getting up to 60 KPH takes about a minute or so, and you’ll know you’re at that speed because it starts getting really wobbly.  It’s not so bad but the car I got is always having problems with the transmission.  In fact the other day I had a bit of a scare in the basement the Burjuman Shopping Center.  I was with the entire family and I had to turn the ignition several times before the car started.  I had to keep pumping the gas to maintain the RPM, and that’s quite difficult with an automatic.  I was afraid we’d stall in the middle of the street, which is not the safest thing to happen in the UAE - the country has one of the highest traffic-related deaths in the world.

It’s also getting a lot colder especially in the mornings.  It’s quite odd knowing we’re in the desert but it does get to a point where you really need to be properly insulated just to go out.  Right now it’s gets a little nippy once in a while but otherwise the weather is great.  I’ve already bought the kids their jackets some weeks back, and mine just this month.  I’m really looking forward to those really cold day when you can pile on the layers.

Here’re some pictures of the kids in their new attires: