ups and downs

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

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

oh yeah and Ramadan Kariim!!!

Camels, Goats and Mountains

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

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!

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

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

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

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?

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