Once upon a Park

A park in Dubai… (Scroll down to the next photo for its name)

No ideas yet of what to post. So, here’s a little update. Nothing’s changed here except that COVID cases are going through the roof (like the rest of the world, from looking at the statistics). Work-wise, there's no new Projects yet, but I’m still pretty loaded, with the closeout of 4 Projects under yours truly, thankfully, ahem. On the world front, Trump is finally gone, so that’s one less distraction from work, at least, hehe.

I took the first dose of the COVID Sinopharm vaccine 2 weeks back (immediately, after I received a letter from the Client of one of the Projects I’m in charge of, that access to that site from Feb onwards would only be given to those who have taken the vaccine!) I’m taking the second dose next week. And it’s free! For us residents of the UAE. (Gonna take the wife along for her first dose when I take the second dose). My company probably took a hint from the Client’s letter because a couple of days after that, they issued a similar instruction to all staff to vaccinate ourselves, or submit COVID test results every 14 days, AT OUR COSTS! So that’s it. Vaccinate or lose.

The office I’m at (which is actually an office of our subcontractor / JV partner), is half empty (umm… more than half actually), due to COVID cases or direct contacts with COVID cases. Heck, come to think of it now, the majority of the subcontractor’s executive level staff have had COVID at one time or another!

School’s continuing as usual, with Justin at 50% online learning (alternate days at school) and Jayden full time at school (but with social distancing, meaning they just spaced the desks further apart). Our main entertainment in the weekends now is checking out the countryside of the UAE (except Abu Dhabi where we can enter only if we show a negative COVID test result, bummer). The countryside is safer than the malls, we reckon, and it’s winter now, perfect for picnics, camping and barbecue! And at home, we’ve bought a PIANO! Finally, after years of looking, and it’s a Yamaha (of course, it’s a used one, d’ya think we could afford a brand new one??)

I’ve decided to post some old park photos of Dubai. Might as well clear some backlog, since I’m expecting a huge influx of UAE photos when I download all the photos of 2020!!! (Coz that’s the only place we’ve been, for the whole damn entire year!) We used to be big fans of the parks here, but then we realized the countryside’s just as nice, if not nicer, and it’s free and less crowded. In winter, the parks can get so crowded with barbecuing crowds, that you’d come out smelling like smoked chicken. But after a few recent trips into the countryside, I’m starting to think that everybody else in the UAE has the same idea. (Just try driving to Jebel Jais or Love Lake in the weekends and you’ll know what I mean. Imagine, traffic jams and villages of tents, in the hills!?!?!)

Nuff said, here’re the rest of the park photos…








Last Exit (one of the many Last Exits in Dubai), Al Khawaneej, Dubai – It has something like a post-apocalyptic, Wild West theme, with old rusting cars, etc. That’s Jayden in 2018, 3 years ago. Wow, time moves fast, huh?


The park opposite the Last Exit, Al Khawaneej 2018 – Now known as Quranic Park (that might have been its name even then, but we were totally unaware of it)


Mushrif Park, one of our favourites, when we were in International City


There’s a cycling track all around the park (Mushrif Park). And that’s Jayden in 2016! He’s just turned 2 years old then!


Mushrif Park was where I taught Justin to finally swim… He’d been doing swimming at school since he started going to school in 2013, but till 2016, he was still scared of water – This is Justin in 2017, and he could at least swim a lap non-stop by then, Mushrif Park Swimming Pool


Safa Park, Dubai, the park which was nearly ‘destroyed’ by the Dubai Canal… The new Dubai Canal cut through Safa Park, taking up maybe half of its original area. It was at the heart of a colossal challenge my boss gave me at the end of Sep 2016. “This is going to be a car park (the car park in front of Safa Park, below our newly constructed Al Wasl bridge). We have clean up this pile of mess, complete it and open this car park to the public in 1.5 months’ time, whatever it takes”. (The area in front of Safa Park was occupied by our machinery, storage yard and stockpiles, and a major part of the eventual car park was the ONLY friggin access used by the entire horde of contractors involved with the construction of the Dubai Canal, and all were in a hurry because it is a do or die situation. When the King of Dubai sez he’s opening something on a date, he means it, OK?) When I took over, underground utilities (which were huge) had just started, the ground was in a mess, diversions were all over the place and even some design (retaining wall, etc) wasn’t completed. But we did it, after 45 days of non-stop working and a loss of 4kg (way better than a friggin diet). Anyway, here’re the kids in Nov 2016, when our Dubai Canal works were just about completed. I brought them to see papa's work place, hehe


This isn’t actually a park, it’s the grounds of the Address Montgomerie, a hotel with a golf course in Emirates Hills, Dubai. And NO, I don’t play golf, nor can I afford a stay at this place. I was just here for a seminar in 2018, ahem…


Ending this post with a picture of the lake at Marriott Courtyard, Green Community, near my old office in Dubai Investment Park… And the theme for this area …Venice!