Greetings from the desert

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Richard Moss
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Greetings from the desert

Post by Richard Moss » Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:26 pm

As-Salamu Alaykum, as they say around here.

As some of you will already know, I moved to Abu Dhabi at the start of april after being head hunted by a flying school out here to run their multi-crew co-operation courses and to help them gain European approvals. More precisely, I'm in Al Ain which is the second biggest city in Abu Dhabi Emirate and the fourth biggest in the UAE as a whole.

Having been here 4 weeks now, I finally got my residency visa though yesterday so that's the last major stumbling block out of the way and I can start making more permanent arrangements. By good fortune there was a party at the local Hilton hotel last night so I had a few pints with some mate by way of celebration.

I'm going to look at a few cars in the next day or two including a nice looking 2000 model year Discovery V8. I'll let you know if anything comes of it. Now that I've got my visa I can open a bank account tomorrow (the banks are closed on fridays) and then I can get paid which will be nice.

Things are shaping up well at work and I've been given a lot of freedom to make improvements in the department I'm running A few of the under performing, longer established managers have been eased out lately and new people brought in to raise standards - and apparently I'm part of that standard-raising process, which is why I was headhunted from my last job (which was good timing as it turned out that the place I was at was on its last legs).

We're working on getting european Joint Aviation Authority approvals which will be a first for this region and will allow us to market ourselves in the 29 JAA members countries, rather than just the Arabian Gulf. That would give us a distinct advantage over our competitors here.

Interesting times and the job is shaping up to be professionally satisfying as well as financially rewarding.

The city is quite an eye opener - it's basically a collection of oases about 100 miles inland from Abu Dhabi. It's hot but the humidity is very low and the city is surprisingly green. The roads are wide, smooth and relatively quiet and driving standards are a hell of a lot better than where I used to live in Spain. New cars are cheap and so there aren't many old ones and petrol is less than 25p/litre so there's little incentive to run an economical car.

This is the wikipedia entry for Al Ain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Ain

This is where I'm working: http://www.horizonuae.ae/introduction.php

After a couple of car-less weeks out here I hired a car so that I can get out and about - a Mitsubishi Lancer. Not one of those common as muck Lancer Evo turbo, 4wd nut jobs though, I've got the real road burning 1.3 litre auto saloon! Apparently it has an engine but upon looking under the bonnet I could only find a big sewing machine.

It's an inoffensive little thing but it's not a Sterling or XJ6. No wood, no leather, no power and no performance but it's cheap (under £350 per month with unlimited mileage) and has aircon.

Best of all though was filling it up from near empty and having change from £8.

I've added a few pictures pf Jebel Hafeet the 4000' mountain on the edge of Al Ain, our simulator, an Antonov 124 freighter at the airport and some camels (well, there has to be camels!).

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Finally, from my local Al Ain freebie newspaper:

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Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Post by BRG » Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:32 pm

Rich: It all looks beautiful! Though I imagine it's maybe a bit scary.

Hope everything's good matey.

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Re: Greetings from the desert

Post by CHR15E » Fri Apr 30, 2010 9:52 pm

Richard Moss wrote:Best of all though was filling it up from near empty and having change from £8.
Not much point in LPG then? :lol:
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Richard Moss
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Post by Richard Moss » Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:20 pm

Not really. It is available but only in bottled form for cookers. No-one drives diesel cars, either - that stuff's for buses and trucks only.

Gary - not scary at all (at least, not now that I have my visa sorted out). I've moved that often in my career (RAF and civilian) that I'm used to it by now. It's my third stint working overseas (4th if you count a detachment to the Falkland Islands for 4 months) so even that bit isn't really an issue now.

Pretty much everyone speaks some form of English and if they don't, the person standing next to them does. I've picked up a handful of Arabic words already, too but I doubt that I'll get the hang of the writing (apart from numbers).
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Post by BRG » Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:43 pm

Hey, I'm sure you'll be OK.

When I said 'scary' I was more scared by 'King's English School'. Is that Mister King in the photo, maybe? I'm perturbed by his inappropriate chumminess and wanton liberties with the Queen's English.

Bet you're glad you can still get a couple of pints though, eh?

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Post by PhilC » Fri Apr 30, 2010 11:55 pm

Richard

I'm sure you'll have fun over there. I've lived and worked in the Middle East for many years. (Now working in the Saudi MT quarter). Enjoy the tax free environment :wink: Stay safe on the roads mate. They make a sport out of speed related accidents over there. Its gotten worse year on year IMO.

Sim looks great. Interested to know what state GA is in AD. Is it growing?... Could I hour build? Appreciate any info

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Post by Richard Moss » Sat May 01, 2010 6:22 am

Phil, we do PPL work but I wouldn't imagine that we hire out aeroplanes. I know that there are GA schools at Dubai and, I think, some of the smaller Emirates. I also know that one of the former ground instructors here used to fly microlights in RAK or Sharjah (I forget which).

Google's your best bet, I would think.

If you ever find yourself in this area, give me a shout and I'll show you around.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Post by Manalishi » Sat May 01, 2010 6:37 am

Rich, I 've missed this totally. How long are you going to be down there? And I must say those petrol prices are so weird. Over here they are debating on increasing the tax on petrol with about 5p a litre, which means a price of £1.30/litre or something like that.
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Post by Richard Moss » Sat May 01, 2010 6:58 am

Henrik, it's intended to be a permanent move - with a minimum contract of 2 years to be extended year on year. The salary is pretty good, is tax free and the other benefits are pretty good (44 days holiday per year for a start!). I fully intend to do a minimum of 5 years which should set me up nicely financially.

I have been here a month but didn't want to tempt fate by saying too much about it whilst I went through the process of getting my visa sorted out.

The worst thing will be the fact of being so far from family, especially as my parents get older. I also missed my Gran's 100th birthday party on thursday.

I will also probably have to sell my last remaining 800 but plan to hold on to my XJ6.
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Post by Richard C » Sat May 01, 2010 8:59 am

Im not jealous 8)

Glad it's working out ok.
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Post by Yam » Sat May 01, 2010 9:07 am

Richard,
I am glad that everything is working out well for you.
I am somewhat envious, because I have been trying to relocate to NZ for nearly 2 years now without success.

I too found there was hardly any diesels in NZ and hardly any manual cars.
A typical Ford would be a 2.0 auto.....and then upwards to a 5.0 V8 !!!!!!!

We all know how much we get ripped off in the UK as regards Tax, so its no surprise that in other countries you can actually look at a car with a decent engine .

All I can say is.....all the very best, and embrace it with an open mind, which you obviously have.

Regards Yam.

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Post by The Flying Dutchman » Sat May 01, 2010 9:09 am

So we won't have a pint in Cornwall I guess?
Anyway, nice to hear you're able to have one there as well. Not alcoholfree I hope?
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Post by Nuts4my827 » Sat May 01, 2010 10:07 am

Long may good luck continue to shine on you.

Will be a pity if you have to sell the 800. No chance of you having it over there is there? I seem to remember an age limit on importing cars......

Glad you have beer too!!!
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Post by The Professor » Sat May 01, 2010 1:37 pm

Nice to see your settling in and good to know a bit more about the area and what life is like.

A full tank for under £8. Fantastic.
Any interesting older cars out there eg Aston,lambo etc?

I appreciate you have the concern of not being near to family but im sure it will be worth it all if its going to set you up financially and will make life easier for you in the long term.
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Re: Greetings from the desert

Post by Slamm » Sat May 01, 2010 5:58 pm

Richard Moss wrote: New cars are cheap and so there aren't many old ones and petrol is less than 25p/litre so there's little incentive to run an economical car.
25p a litre :shock: thou spawny git. That means something with a V8 is a minimum requirement, and you'd be able to enjoy driving it and not watching the MPG.

Raining over here again aswell just to make things worse :cry:
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