Bye Bye Dubai

After eleven and a half years it's finally time to say goodbye to Dubai, something I probably should have done a few years ago. Tomorrow I leave for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and a whole new adventure.

I'm on my way to getting this waistline back. :)

I came to Dubai in June 2000 and it was a very different place to todays city and really if I'm honest a lot nicer place to live. It was more relaxed and friendly, there was perhaps only about 10,000 British expats here, now the number is more like 100,000. The Burj Al Arab and Emirates Towers had only just been finished and no Thursday night out would be complete without a visit to Scarlett's, Rock Bottom or The Alamo. Budgie and Flame roundabouts were still there and the army football stadium was still at defence roundabout. The Rugby 7's was still the biggest night of the year with its crowd of about 5,000.

Where are the other buildings?

I remember my first Friday which was spent at a beach barbeque near the Burj Al Arab. On the journey there we passed only a dozen or so vehicles on a near empty Sheikh Zayeed Road and after the BBQ went for drinks at Sheikh Mohammad's private barasti where Rod Stewart had been staying on his honeymoon only a few weeks before. We even went to the 'secret room' that could only be reached after an underwater swim from the pool.

Sheikh Zayeed Road

In my time here I've made a lot of friends and had a lot of memorable times... and some I don't even remember. Here's to the next adventure.