The Desert Yeti

IMMINENT ZOMBIE INVASION!!! OCT 28th 2010

2010-10-25T13:17:00.007+03:00

If you're in Dubai and want to get freaky...

We've decided to throw a Zombie Invasion so get the gore and fake blood ready.
Expect to hear some heavy Zombie afrobeat, electro, funk, hip hop and brain guzzling breaks!

The best dressed Zombie of the night will WIN A BOTTLE!!!

We'll also be playing an assortment of the best zombie films we can lay our hands on so VOTE NOW on the FB event page for your favourites to be screened!

Heres a taste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbOmCUWm25w

DJs on rotation from 10pm:

Mr Yeti (Ten Thousand Yen)
DJ Lobito (Zulu Nation Middle East)

Lets get bloody!!

All Go.

2010-09-29T21:54:00.005+03:00

Its been a busy day in TTY HQ today..

TTY003 is getting very ready to hit the streets - Julio Bashmore' s anthem that is Footsteppin as the flip to Chazm - another ice-cold monster is available to pre-order here.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://tenthousandyen.bandcamp.com/album/chazm-footsteppin"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Chazm / Footsteppin' by Ten Thousand Yen&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Also the ball has started rolling on our Super Ltd Edition Ten Thousand Yen Tee's...
Only 30 made by the fine hand of: ambitionispitiful

And if that wasn't enough to keep the people of the world happy, the good folks over at FACT magazine have started a competition to win a copy of Julio's Test Press for the upcoming release..ultra rare - only a handful in existance and you could get one..

Click ont image for the jump. But be quick innit!

And if you're in Dubai tomoro night - 30th Sept 2010 then come down and shake your rump to the man that is JDilla in a Freshly Laced Dilla Special. Its gonna be sick..

Baduka / Bump 10" Advance Copies Out Now at TTY HQ!!

2010-08-17T13:06:00.008+03:00

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://tenthousandyen.bandcamp.com/album/baduka-bump"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Baduka by Ten Thousand Yen&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Baduka / Bump - Double A side Purple 10" from Chesus x Diverse Concepts / C.R.S.T. is out on physical and digital through the Ten Thousand Yen store now.

It's at least a week in advance of all good record shops, so go grab yourselves a copy of these two heavy bass riddims from the current hotbed of Welsh production talent.

Both tracks have had Radio One support from Mary Anne Hobbes and Gilles Peterson as well as love from Greenmoney, Martyn, Oneman, Brackles, Seiji, Ben UFO and more.

The release is number two in a five part series of coloured 10" vinyl, strictly limited to 350 copies each. All vinyl are coloured and numbered, with hand screen-printed sleeves.

Each vinyl order includes a download code for instant MP3 / FLAC / WAV format.

Quotes:

Mary Anne Hobbes – "*Love* this..”

Ben Ufo –" This is wicked. Proper rowdy vibes. Tuff!"

Oneman - “Absolutely amazing, sick tunes both of them..Wicked release”

Jackmaster – “Massive Release!!!”

Shortstuff – “Woooiii...These bits are great!”

Fawaz Worldwide - “Real nice old skool sunshine vibes with a future edge.”

Warrior One – “Loving it”

TRG – “Both sides absolutely FIRE, loving Baduka!”

Martyn – “Love that Bump one! will play it :)”

Seiji – “Both are wicked. Bump is huge..”

The Boogaloo Crew – “Sik Tune”

Freshly Laced is a Toddler...

2010-07-19T20:12:00.003+03:00

I may be on a bit of a catch-up tip right here...

So its been a wicked few months since Freshly Laced was born.

We've had some awesome nights, sick music and incredible visuals and drawn folks from Ras Al Khiamah to Abu Dhabi in droves - getting their fix of the finest funk, afrobeat, brasilia and proper hiphop & being keen to build the scene and community with us.

The bboy workshops have been going strong at Shelter and we've had Web, Radio, Print and TV support for FL and its only gonna keep growing - bigups Andy @ DJ Mag, Mo and crew, Zahra Soar, Simone @ Discoballbreaker, Lubna and the CWrap crew, Pecha Kucha, Infusion & Time Out Massive, Analect and Nile Rhythmik (who even dropped a custom beat for us!!)

Freshly laced by Nile Rhythmik

And if you haven't already copped it pickup the Spring Collection for the last time here:

Tracklisting:

1. Grand Wizard Theodore 'Can I Get A Soul Clap'
2. Bibio 'Jealous of Roses'
3. Oddisee 'I'm from PG'
4. Flying Lotus 'Astral Plane'
5. Ulysees 82 'Easy to Find, Hard to Lose'
6. Esther Phillips 'Disposable Society'
7. Dee Edwards 'Why Can't There Be Love'
8. Ghetto Brothers 'Got This Happy feeling'
9. Joe Quarterman & Free Soul 'This Girl Of Mine (She's Good)'
10. Fubura Sekibo 'Psychedelic Baby'
11. 14 Bis 'God Save The Queen'
12. Alice Russell 'Let Us Be Loving' (KidKanevil Remix)
13. El Michels Affair 'Walk On By' (short version)
14. Dimlite 'Rump Studies w/Ketepica'
15. Daniel Wang 'Free Lovin'
16. Ohmega Watts 'The Platypus Strut'

I'm about to leave for the summer so swing by Casa Latina in Ibis Al Barsha this Thursday to wave goodbye to a yeti.

Have no fear though - DJ Solo and DJ Lobito will be holding it down up until our Closing Party on August 5th.

Keep em peeled in September when Freshly Laced is gonna drop the next level on Dubai...

To be in with the know come join the FB group.

Peace.

Kuwait City is Aiiight.

2010-06-19T17:33:00.000+03:00

For a city with no legal alcohol or dancing - Kuwait City is pretty sick.

The first night we had there we got to check out some hush hush, little-promoted Rooftop Cinema Anime - catching Paprika up in the hot breeze.

I gotta say this blog was what hooked me up with a few juicey gems in Kuwait so bigups to the 2:48am fam for putting in the effort.

I've felt pretty graph deprived by the UAE's squeaky clean policy, it was cool to see some bits and pieces dotted around - and a decent lil skate park too..

The city's even got some MIB style camoflaged UFO's dotting about:

Wifey nearly turned reptilian in the Aquarium thingy:

yeti vs trex:

orbs:

astral travelling:

they even had giant test tubes for giants to carry humans:

Kuwait has one of the dopest resteraunts I've been to: Slider Station - a burger bar, themed like a car workshop, serving really tasty mini burgers via the medium of a yo-sushi style conveyor belt.

Great staff (complete with mechanics jumpsuits), Awesome food, Sweet little vibe.

AND....

HIGHLIGHT of the TRIP....

They seem to still love the old school arcades over there.

I found this little gem upstairs in a Lulu centre.

The keen eyed and 80's children amongst you may recognise Yeti getting his youth back with a blast on Stryder:

...and wifey doing damage in whats gotta be the only Ninja / Dog partnership game in history - Shadow Dancer:

Both ultimate classics - and the "built for dwarves" factor of the machines only added to the fun.

All in all - worth a detox trip to search out the gems.

Venom & Damage - Deeper OUT NOW!

2010-05-25T21:58:00.004+03:00

Go head over to www.tenthousandyen.com to get yourselves a copy!

Freshly Laced Launching Weekly Club Night!

2010-04-29T17:41:00.004+03:00

Loads of stuff on at the moment - i'll start with what's closest to home:

Launch night is Thursday May 6th, to promote it I gone done a mix:

trcklist:

tm juke & the jack baker trio - spread it on (feat. alice russel)
the bamboos - my baby's cheating (i sure got the feeling)
hector riviera - a chance for romance
james brown - people get up and drive that funky soul
googie rene combo - smokey joe's la la
pearl dowdell - good things
freda payne - unhooked generation
willie bobo - evil ways (karriem riggins rmx)
commodores - i feel sanctified
sam irl - keep talking
zerodb - samba do umbigo
cela - i'm in love
nicole willis and the soul investigators - if this aint love

download the mix: here

If anyone fancies some real music, good vibes and cheap drinks - come down and say hallo.

Peace,

Yeti

Mr Yeti's Big Room Mix OUT NOW!

2010-03-06T22:18:00.021+03:00

Ok peoples,

It's that time again!

This is the first of three mixes in the "Big Room, Little Room, Cardboard Box!" Series.

Taking in sounds from future hiphop, glitch hop, basement house, uk funky, electro house, garage, and nu disco, it's a collection to get you amped: dancefloor rough edged bangers, old school vocals, filthy beats and deep bass nuggets - boom!

Tracklist:

00:00 :: notorious BIG - suicidal thoughts (lorn rmx)
(cdr)
02:06 :: lunice - out of touch
(self released digiEP)
04:26 :: mosca - nike
(night slugs)
08:52 :: venom and damage - deeper (doc daneeka rmx)
(forthcoming ten thousand yen)
11:44 :: rox - my baby left me (arms rmx)
(rough trade records)
15:10 :: uffie - pop the glock (felix da housecat's pink enemy rmx)
(ed banger / because music)
18:11 :: sekta ft. spoek mathambo - peter pan (doc daneeka rmx)
(top billin)
21:09 :: sully - in some pattern
(keysound recordings)
24:04 :: damage - 808 rhythm
(unreleased banger)
26:12 :: donaeo - riot music
(forthcoming digital soundboy)
29:10 :: C.R.S.T. - ultra64
(forthcoming no hats no hoods)
32:48 :: kingdom - you
(fool's gold)
36:33 :: brackles - rawkus
(planet mu)
40:14 :: crystal castles - i love london (brackles rmx)
(kitsuné)
44:50 :: rudy currence - christmas card (buckmaster's love dub)
(white)
48:20 :: C.R.S.T. - bump
(forthcoming ten thousand yen)
50:31 :: soil and pimp sessions - popkorn (doc daneeka remix)
(forthcoming brownswood recordings)
52:31 :: breakbot ft. irfane - baby i'm yours
(ed banger records)

to download right or ctrl click by here

Keep em peeled for Ten Thousand Yen - it's gonna be a big 2010!!!

Doc Daneeka in FACT Magazine's 10 Hot Tips for 2010

2010-03-05T14:22:00.005+03:00

Bigups to Doc D - big stuff on its way from my homie:

"Doc Daneeka Loves his Ice Cream"

Check his feature in FACT online here.

Keep those eyes peeled for an official mix for FACT coming up..

in fact here it is: click me fool!

Not to mention Ten Thousand Yen Zero Zero One! Woooop.

We Survived The Rickshaw Run 2010!

2010-03-05T09:31:00.008+03:00

Yes yes!

We all survived with limbs and lives intact!

4 guys, 3400km, 18 days in a 3wheeled 150cc Auto-Rickshaw.

We travelled the length of India squeezed in to our trusty ricky: Raul Bajaj

"The Mighty Raul Bajaj"

From Pokhara in Nepal to Cochin in Kerala, India, via Raxual, Patna, Varanassi, Agra (and the Taj Mahal & Akbar's Fort - complete with impressive 5000 strong hareem storage facility), Mumbai, Goa and Munner.

View Indian Adventures with a Rickshaw here

It was an epic journey of intense contrasts; beauty and ugliness, wealth and poverty, friendliness and hostility, and slaps and kisses!

So far we have managed to raise over AED10,000 for Maiti Nepal and Mercy Corps.

So many stories:

Being chased by local bandits with sticks in Bihar

Living off thali’s, breakfast, noon and night

Being seen as celebrities in small villages – (attracting a crowd of 20-30 curious people in under 2 minutes was our record)

Breaking down on the side of the road – often

Being genuinely concerned for our lives on a daily basis on some of India's most dangerous roads

Blasting NOFX's "the decline" at full volume for joe's birthday with a large blow-up sheep looking out at several confused Indian faces at 7:30am

"Every Day i'm Hustling"
Man's holding down Raxaul, the only place in Bihar you need in your life.

"Another Day, Another Thali"

"Crowds"

"National Highway 17"

"Joe's Birthday Friend - Our Co-Pilot"

"Have music, will travel the length of India"

But the lasting memories would be the countless folks that went out of their way to help us at times when we literally had no clue about what to do next:

Big up's to:

Rajeev and his family in Patna (the best auto rickshaw dealer in India);

The family who sold fuel out of their house in coke bottles in the middle of nowhere when we were running on vapours;

The guys outside Calicut who helped us in arranging the 17km tow in the dark to civilisation and a Bajaj dealer - come and give me a shout in RAK gents!

The hundreds of guys that stopped to help teach us the common fixes to many a Rickshaw drama.

The Oy's La Family - the best guest house in Fort Cochin ready to take you in at midnight if necessary!

"Rajeev's Posse"

"Bajaj Calicut's Finest"

"Fort Cochin Rickshaw Walla Crew"

Big thanks to Jani for giving us a heroes welcome, feeding us and providing the victory beer to wash it all down.

And if anyone ever wants to know the best place in the world to have a cup of tea, you could do a lot worse than searching out this place in stunning Munner.

www.theadventurists.com is where you need to go to if you fancy giving the experience a whirl.

I recommend.

i loves the sea.

2009-12-12T04:34:00.001+03:00

okok!

2009-12-12T04:04:00.006+03:00

hello hi hey to one and all!

peace to dubai crew, swansea massive family and friends coming through with us!

http://www.aboombapcontinuum.com/

please peop this delicious mix from our mans kper and co....

sickness in the mix.

dubai is rolling, ras al khaimah rolling, everybody on the beach keep building!

mumtaz!

x

Mr Yeti Soundcloud Pages

2009-11-04T10:07:00.006+03:00

check out me sound cloud page for beats and mixes

more to come very soon.

x

Mr Yeti's Desert Podcast Part 2 OUT NOW!

2009-10-12T17:14:00.006+03:00

I got a new podcast out.

Here you gooooo:

to download right click by here

Tracklist:

00:00 :: sa-ra creative partners - jus like a baby

02:08 :: rustie - bad science

04:03 :: harmonic 313 ft phat kat & elzhi - battlestar (rmx)

06:45 :: shoes recordings - afta lafta (comez tearz)

08:35 :: mos def ft slick rick - auditorium

12:36 :: the jackson 5 - i am love

19:40 :: pigbag - sunny day

22:20 :: doc daneeka - bumblebee riddim

24:02 :: florence & the machine - drumming song (boy 8 bit rmx)

27:50 :: ame - setsa

31:45 :: isolee - albacares

35:49 :: lifelike - LOVE is what you need

37:50 :: amadou and mariam - ce n'est pas bon (bullion rmx)

39:09 :: mesak - sony

41:29 :: j-wow ft aloe blac - off with ya head

43:11 :: gladys knight & the pips - use my imagination

46:20 :: nancy wilson - all in love is fair

www.slamonthebreaks.com

hope you enjoy.

peeace.

For Prepare!

2009-10-11T20:55:00.001+03:00

to download press here

yo sound bites and some yeti beats.

The Haps

2009-07-17T08:49:00.007+03:00

yes yes desert watchers.

It's getting hot out here!!

Most days are 45 - 50 on the heat index at the mo,

With high temps above 45C and humidity between 30 and 60% depending on weather!!

Hahaa!

We went to Barcelona and saw the sonar festival, the city and Montserrat which was stunning.

carl craig last set

barcelona streets

Bec's been super busy artisting - heading to Berlin to set up an Emirati exhibition and having her own work shown in two exhibitions at the moment.

anian dau 2009, rebecca rendell

anian 2009, rebecca rendell

Works rocking - the groups are coming through now and we're all slowly getting used to getting up around 03:15 to start work for 04:15 :(

Gotta beat the heat.

OK - thats me for now.

Lots of sandy sweaty love to the homelands.

E

photos courtesy of me, mial, darwin and melissa gueverra.

A Slice of Video Pie.

2009-05-19T17:06:00.003+03:00

Oh yes, oh yes.

A Promo Vid I did for Al Shahizzle.

Powered by Animoto - lovely stuff.

Kayaking = Flamingoes, Flying Fish, Turtles and SHARKS!!?

2009-04-28T16:19:00.004+03:00

Yesterday I went Sea boating with a great group of emirati youngsters and I saw my first Black tip reef shark on a session!

That lovely little (with the emphasis on the little) dorsal fin was just poking around - the thing couldn't have been more than 1.5 m long, it was a real treat to be honest..

However...

Today I had a group of numpties.

Midway through the session I realised we were quite near a load of turtles and the group asked if we could get a little closer, "healthy enthusiasm for the local animal life" i thought...

We stopped in the middle of at least 10 - 15 turtles, all coming up for air at different times... what i didn't realise was my group were paused - ready to pounce and catch one of these badboy's if they got close enough!

So we moved on a bit.

And then we came across a grey reef shark, the biggest damn fish i've ever seen - 2-3m in length and our position was pushing it back into very shallow water - so when my hungry and insane Emirati group started trying to hit it with a paddle, it started to fight back - a scenario I previously never imagined encountering in the chilly "break the ice off it" waters of Wales.

Needless to say my, "Get the hell away from that bloody shark!!!" Got translated pretty quick - and we gave it a bit of space to vacate - crazy shiznits..

The usual flamingo posse were around laughing at us and about ten minutes later a fish in the shallows we continued into started jumping around the whole group - in and out of the water - doing two full laps of us.

I didn't think about it at the time, but i'm pretty sure he was saying:
"Thank you God!! You crazy fools just stopped me from becoming lunch!!! Woohoo!! I'm Alive!!"

the one that got away......

Top 5 Spot the Difference's between UK & UAE Driving!

2009-04-06T13:52:00.007+03:00

1:
UK: In a 10 hour car journey I only swore at 3 other drivers on the road!
UAE: In a 3 minute car journey you could easily swear at 10 drivers, albeit through gritted teeth as you get deported for rude words or hand gestures!

2.
UK: When people flash their lights at you it means, "After you kind sir, feel free to go ahead of me.."
UAE: When Emirati's flash their lights at you it means, "I'm approaching your car at double your speed, get the f@ck outta my way before I ram you off the road!"

3.
UK: Drivers usually overtake in the outside lane.
UAE: Lane, what lane? Expect incoming vehicle strike from any angle and they'll overtake in the hard shoulder if you don't move after flashing!

4.
UK: Driving on a spring day you'd be looking at lambs dancing, green grass, daffodils, bluebells, leafy trees and a cow or two.
UAE: When driving in a desert expect to see camels wandering, sand, sand, some dust and a bit more sand, the odd ugly goat and if you are lucky a donkey!

5.
UK: You get in a taxi, get to your destination, pay the meter bill. Happy days.
UAE: You get in a taxi, sit down and the driver asks you, "How much you pay me?!"

aaaaarrrrgggggghhh!!?

Desert Yeticast

2009-03-17T23:13:00.006+03:00

It's been a while, its been emotional.

I got marriaged.

I gone done a podcast.

Mr Yeti's Desert Podcast

to download press here

Tracklisting:

intro: Dilla - It's Dope

Panthers - Goblin City (Holy Ghost! Extended disco dub)
Q-tip - Man Woman Boogie ft. amanda diva
Pitbull - Bojangles (Tittsworth Remix)
Eclier - Boxon Say Hello
Ratatat - Mirando
Blaq Poet - (Primo Beat) - aint nuttin changed
Madlib - Anthenagin
Hudson Mohawke - Overnight
Ghislain Poirier - Blazin (modeselektor rmx)
Radiohead - Nude Remix ft Too $hort&MC Zumbio
Dela soul - JPeriod's Excursion version
Rustie - Zigzag
Jamie Lidell - Another Day (rustie rmx)
Lyrics Born - I Can't Decide
2 Live Crew - Party (2 Bit thugs rmx)
Diplo - Way More Brazil
Database - Ritchie Got Me Dancin
Menahan Street Band - Home Again
Eric Lau - Dont Let Them
La Roux - In For The Kill - skream rmx

will be back soon with a "here's whats been going down" update.

Take it breezy.

ups and downs

2008-09-16T00:20:00.005+03:00

Been moving house folks - photos to follow.

So been a bit manic over the last few days...

And its actually baltic!
The air conditioning is playing up so its been chilly and loud at night.
I actually put a jumper on inside today...

dawnies UAE style.

this whole area was covered in rubbish...typical.

did some more camel whispering here too.

sending love to all.

Five Steps to Getting a Camel in a Headlock

2008-09-02T20:06:00.004+03:00

STEP 1:
A camel is spotted and the vehicle is stopped, mans get out.

STEP 2:
Yeti scares off one doctor camel but begins making friends with bob, our friendly looking fella.

STEP 3:
Yeti starts the camel whispering process, using lip smacking sounds and the mysterious rubbing of the middle finger and thumb technique...

STEP 4:
Bob cannot fail to be suckered in by this approach and once the hands are on, all it takes are a few well placed scratches of the itchy spots and....

STEP 5:
VOILA! a CAMEL in a headlock!!

Big thanks to Professor Phil for the Photography:

First Day of Ramadan Today

2008-09-01T21:33:00.001+03:00

oh yeah and Ramadan Kariim!!!

Camels, Goats and Mountains

2008-09-01T21:17:00.005+03:00

this is as close as i've got to a camel so far...

he aim is to get one in a headlock...

and this is the ugliest goat i've ever seen.
i'm sure its a warlock or something, must have had a curse placed on it and its doomed to walk around in goat form forever....

we went for a walk today.
classic crack of dawn start, up to this ridge

...and then take forever coming down some dodgy gulleys in the baking heat with 20ft drops to nav round.
thats what comes from only having google maps to navigate with...

A small bit of news and shots of a BIG Gig: Talib Kweli & KRS ONE

2008-08-28T17:57:00.003+03:00

Well, another week's gone by and no crazy new news really apart from i'm slowly getting there with becoming a resident - got my employment card sorted and just waiting for some final bits.

Its gonna be a mad scramble for houses soon as there's a shortage of em in RAK and 5 of us looking at the same time - madness.

I figure i'll post this wee snapshot of what a real hiphop gig is supposed to look like courtesy of Loud.com

Enjoy, as i'm still struggling to convert my MP4 videos into an editable, watchable peek into Yetiland UAE style.

Watch this space.

e

Reptilians!

2008-08-25T20:55:00.003+03:00

went on a full day hill walk today - saw a mahoosive lizard and i think one of these badboys!

horned viper.

lovely boss.

still no scorpions but I'm not complaining...

Sweaty Yeti

2008-08-23T15:55:00.007+03:00

owhats up homies?

its been another warm un here in desertland and I think I have definately sweated out at least 2 litres a day for at least 6 of the 7 days in this week (mostly before 10am).

When i sit down on activity there is a big wet patch when I get up...and water literally drips off the body on a regular basis.

Its been all good apart from eating some dodgy chicken and making meself sickybad for a day.

This week it's been mountain biking, climbing and today I got up on a day off for a ridge scramble:

On the downside my immediate boss has has quit/been sacked in a wee minor incident that noone can talk about, which has been a little odd.

In other news we found the only surf shop in Dubai this week and it does sell smurfboards.
Its true.

Hope the world is still turning in other places and everyone is doing well.

Peeeace,

E X

a photo update

2008-08-18T12:11:00.009+03:00

ok: lots has been happening and i've been trying to get this badboy up and running so forgive me if i cover lots of news in a couple of posts..

Getting much more into the swing of things here, learning loads and trying to get out to get a taste of the sites and activities we'll be providing.

We've been sea kayaking in a massive area with mangroves everywhere - kept expecting a swamp boat like in Skippy to pop out from round a corner!

Saw loads of flamingos and got attacked by crazy flying fish - one of the boys got hit 10times in a row!!

which was funny.

we've been 4x4ing a couple of times, and been to some of our climbing sites too.

had an excellent day climbing a ridgeline then descending into a really steep gorge and abseiling our way down the gorge and back out - 6 ab's on the trot, tidy boss.

Had a quick explore of Dubai too:Was just a brief visit - but it does look like we've transmogrified into the future here...
Just really did the Malls thing - saw their crazy ass indoor ski/snowboard centre - real snow!
Looks absurd.

In contrast Ras Al Khiamah kinda looks like a frontier town:
Its not all like this honest - these are the areas on the way to our place and to work..

Apologies for the "point and click" low quality photos.

I'm gonna finish with some shots of where we're laying our heads:

Dr Phil, surveying the wastelands!

Our fly rides plus a bit of Paul the manor! (for the keen eye'd can u spot the thermometer?)

OK - thats me for now, take it easy all and i'll be aiming to update this much more often now.

e x

photys

2008-08-12T20:50:00.004+03:00

ok time for a couple o shots:

local area of workness: the crazy heat, view from the office and the Ras Al Khiamah hills... more to follow innit.

cheers to Phil D for the snaps.

alright or wha?

2008-08-12T16:38:00.001+03:00

originally written on:
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2008 17:22:24 +0100

Well what can i say?

Incredible 24hours.

Firstly got into country no trouble – woohoo! Always a good start.

Wearing a shirt helps these things no end i’m sure.

It is hot here, but i’m assured we’re having a “below average” day – 35degrees C!!!

And yes that does feel kinda warm – but there’s a cool sea breeze and air con is a godsend.

All the other boys are really tidy: all English apart from a Scot and me, a vast variety of ages prob mid 20’s through to 35-40ish – not sure if i’m right at the bottom, but i’m def down the bottom end!

Met our boss and big boss today and been to the bases they are using – quite work in progress but got big plans and what they have is pretty swish – drove into mountains to see their mountain camp base – its this absolutely mahoosive tent totally decked out with carpets, hanging drapes and chandeliers about 30ft up and 100-150ft long.

Sounds like first months will be spent reccy-ing areas and figuring out what/how/where we are going to deliver. Incredible scope: mountain/climbing work, mountain biking, kayaking, sailing, canyon exploration, diving on the cards too.

Ras al Khaimah is ok, pretty basic – but all good, everywhere is dusty / sandy and buildings are going up/half built everywhere – pretty similar to the sights in Kathmandu but with less people.

The locals are seem cool and the reports are that emiratians(?) are extremely honest if slightly lazy folks and they definitely work on a different time zone to us stressed brits. So i should fit in fine...

Our villa is pretty good, massive and air conditioned i’ve got a room with an en suite toilet/shower, 2 beds and a few wardrobes all to myself..! and they have made us very welcome with bits and bobs already here to get us started, including a fridge full of beer. Which is nice.

We went for a swim as soon as we got here (a channel to the sea is a 200m sandy/muddy/broken glassy walk from our front door!) and i have never experienced sea temps like it..its like a mild bath, absolutely barmy. If there was more surf it would be awesome.

Still settling in and figuring out what i’ve got thats useful/what else i need to get kit wise for this crazy climate and what i’ve left behind by accident (lead for my phone) no pics for a little bit sorry..

OK – just a quick round up, i’m here, i’m alive, the place and people seem great and i’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks.

Hope this finds you well, sending you all much love, take care,

E the sandy yetiboyXXX