WOMAD in Abu Dhabi

We attended the three day WOMAD (Peter Gabriel's World of Music, Arts and Dance) concert on the second day.  It was good but sadly security was being selective in allowing people in.  Beside us just as we entered were a couple of guys from Indai, Pakistan or Bangladesh.  An events guy held up his hand to them while we proceeded.  It had nothing to do with them being bachelors as we saw a few single male Europeans inside.  So the laborers were forced to watch from the fence outside.

The first group was The Dhol Foundation.  Details are here.   The second group we saw was Abdullah Chhadeh & Syriana. Details are here.  The last group that we saw was The Kamkars.  They had ten performers.  We saw all five performances on the third and last day and seeing Robert Plant was great!  Heck of a deal considering that it they were all free.  There were more non Westerners in attendance yesterday which was nice to see. 

I had today off and worked out and then I met Darcy for lunch.  I then walked home (only took 30 minutes but it was bloody hot out.  However, it's nice to work four day work weeks.  Below are some interesting stories....

WOMAD festival opens with a bang

UAE laws translated into English

Sharjah's tour guides put on right path

Emirate to close its bars and nightclubs

Mubadala issues first annual report

Personal odyssey into wilderness

Dubai's dark side - other stories about the UAE produced by ABC news are available

WOMAD is coming

Last week was the Red Bull Air Raee along the Corniche.  This coming weekend it's WOMAD!  The performances are free and they are about a 30 minute walk from our apartment.  Temperatures will get close to 40 Celsius or about 100 Fahrenheit so it will be hot!  The last performance will feature Robert Plant!  It would be nice to see him even though it will likely happen late on Saturday.  Luckily I have Sunday off.  Since I have a lot of vacation time to use I've decided to work four day work weeks until the end of June.  I'll still have over 30 work days to use up in the fall.  What to do....
Democracy wrong choice for UAE

Canada to recruit more Gulf students

Libraries Undergo a Sea Change

Global crisis is behind us says Sheikh Mohammed - that's a bold statement!

Pull the udder one - male goat produces milk

Dazzling start to daredevils' season

The view from inside the camps

Arabtech pledges to improved its labour sites

Arab societies should be more proactive

Abu Dhabi wildlife center opens its door to the public

Giant labour camp to house 32,000

Elongated oyster shell hotel for lulu island - we live very close to the island

Capital district plan celebrates identity

thinking about more vacations

Darcy and I had a wonderful time at the new hotel on Sir Bani Yas Island for her birthday two weeks ago.  It will rank as one of our special places along with Jasper and the Everglades.  The weather could have been better but it was interesting to experience tremendous lightning storms.  It rained a lot but apparently not as much as in the northern emirates.  We still managed to do four outdoor activities: archery; wadi walk; game drive; kayaking.  The hotel opened only six months ago so they are still hiring staff and developing the island's infrastructure.  The conservation efforts are impressive since the island is really just a big area of salt and minerals.  A majority of the plants need watering from miles and miles of connecting hoses.  There are many gazelles and other animals that have been brought from Africa (ostrich, cheeta, peacock, oryx). 

Other news is that the Formula One race to be held here on November 1 has been selling tickets briskly.  They went on sale a week ago.  Construction noise in our neighborhood and Darcy's work is bad.  We hosted a baby shower for a friend on Friday and Darcy did a great job.  There was a lot to eat!  Finally, I'm in an unusual dilemma of having to use up 45 days day of vacation by the end of the year or risk losing all of it.  That's excluding time off that I've booked for our summer vacation and 15 days that I can carry over into 2010.  Guess I've been working too hard and not taking enough time off!  Darcy doesn't have as much time off and I don't want to have to take vacations by myself.  Hmmm.....maybe I can work four day work weeks the rest of the year!

Can Abu Dhabi be a pedestrian city?
 
City retains essence of centuries-old culture
 
Women-only bus service for Dubai
 
Expats gloomy on property value
 
Identity concerns over marriage rate
 
Jewellery sale evokes romance of Umm Kulthum
 
When pavement turns to jungle
 
Abu Dhabi motorists face paid parking