The People Who Graced Our Lives 2023

Hello people. This is my annual post of the people who graced our lives in the past year. These friends, acquaintances and family (but there weren’t any who visited us in Dubai last year, although you could say that Anny (see photo below) is family, as she’s Anu’s eldest sister’s husband’s sister’s daughter) make our lives so much richer and memorable. Thanks for your time, and for bearing with us. Here’s a toast to all of you. Salud!


A reunion, after 17 long years! Anu and Anny in Dubai – (Orchid Vue Hotel). The both of them arrived in Haulawng, Mizoram, in the beginning of 2006, to work in the project that I was in. At the end of 2006, Anu and I left Mizoram, and we’ve never been back since. Here’s a picture of the girls in 2006.


They’ve gone a long way since. While we’ve mostly been in Dubai, Anny, her husband and son live in Tanzania. Here’s Anny and her son, Kiann, visiting us, in Jul 2023


Anny and husband, Dipak, at our home. They were in Dubai for the handover of their Dubai apartment, which they purchased for investment. Business-savvy people, huh?! They’ve invited us to visit Tanzania! That will be an awesome adventure! But Africa’s not really Anu’s cup of tea, and it’s expensive! And kinda scary (coz we dunno much about it). Let’s see, hehe


Meet the Agarwals – Bhavna, Umesh and Dyuti, Diwali, 2023. Our normal circle of friends now mainly revolves around our neighbours… Many of the friends whom we’ve been closed to before, have moved away. That’s how it’s like in Dubai, unfortunately


Another neighbour, Abha, KP Singh, and their 2 daughters, at their apartment, Diwali 2023. Here we were, with a visiting couple and their son


Our immediate neighbour, and Anu’s adopted godbrother, Milind Pandhare and his wife Rajeshri, at our home, Diwali, 2023. Diwali’s the time for photos, as most people (I’m talking about Indians, of course) would be dressed up nicely. That explains why most of the photos here are of the Diwali times!


The Pandhare’s kids, Mihir (left) and Aru (right) with Jayden. This is another way we’ve made friends in Dubai in the past. The kids’ friends, and if we meet up for playdates, their parents…


Jayden’s friend from Ukraine, Daniel (I think it’s actually Danylo), but we just called him Daniel. He was a good, well-behaved boy. He was here in our apartment building, staying with his aunt’s family, but only for a few months. Less than half a year, I think. He was learning English at that time, and sometimes we had to communicate with sign language. He’s moved on to Germany, to join his parents there! All the best Daniel!


Jayden’s started to be more social… Bravo! When his elder brother was in Dubai, Jayden didn’t seem to have any friends. Here’s he at school, with Sofian (with glasses), and Jad. Sofian is the son of the school’s principal, by the way.


Jayden, with classmate Yusuf, holding their Junior Duke certificates. Junior Duke is an award scheme that promotes the development of life skills, like cooking, swimming, patching a punctured tyre, managing time, etc… (which basically means, …a whole lot of extra work, for the parents. Sigh…) It was inspired by the Duke of Edinburgh Award


Jayden with his best friend at that time, Hardit (I don’t know whether they’re still best friends, because his friends change all the time…), at Xstrike, an indoor laser tag park, in Al Quoz, Dubai. This was Sofian’s (see photo above) birthday party, the first birthday party I remembered that Jayden attended… (Whereas, Justin had been going to birthday parties since he was in kindergarten…) Thanks Sofian! And Mr Nav Iqbal and missus, for inviting Jayden. (They’re British of Pakistani descent).


Two of his friends/ classmates at our home for Jayden’s birthday last year, Hardit and Omnia. Another friend, Callum would later join this party.


And here’re big brother’s friends, Yiro (left) and Sean Linz (right). Although Justin doesn’t stay here, he seems to be keeping his friendship pretty well. They’d hang out whenever Justin’s back for the holidays – Jun 2023


Moaaz (or is it Moaadh?) (centre) and Yiro (left) at our home when Justin was here again in Dec 2023. Moaadh made the trip all the way from Abu Dhabi where he and his family stay now!


And now for some colleagues, as always. Hmmm… doesn’t seem to have any photos of colleagues last year… Wait, here’s one. Yours truly, with a colleague, Andrew Battershill (left), Project Manager of our company’s NEOM Tunnel Project, and an acquaintance we met, Marcus Pathan, from the Association of Project Management, at the IPMA Global Awards Gala, in Seville, Spain – Sep 2023. The IPMA (International Project Management Association) Global Awards are an annual function organized by the IPMA that celebrates and gives out awards for achievements in Project Management. Our company participated in the awards in 2023, and 2 of our company’s projects were finalists in the category of Large & Mega-Sized Projects. As luck would have it, the awards were held in Spain, and most of my colleagues (who’re Chinese, Egyptians, Indians, etc), including my bosses, needed a Schengen Visa, while yours truly, being a Malaysian, could just fly, haha! (And Schengen Visas, for some inexplicable reason, takes months to apply, here in the UAE!!! Europe should really get its act in order!) And so, there I am, with a British employee of our company, to represent the Company in 2 Projects which we had no involvement in at all! And We WON! Gold & Silver! - Hacienda Azahares, Seville, Spain

That’s it for now. See you!

5 Years of Oia

Good morning, Motor City! (This is the park just next to our apartment, Oia Residence, which is the building on the right in this photo)

Just a blink of the eye, and it’s 5 years since we moved to our current apartment in Motor City. (We moved in in Aug 2019 from International City, along with changing the kids’ schools).

Here’s a picture showcase of our last few years in Oia Residence, Motor City. Enjoy!


Oia Residence, with a view of one of its 2 swimming pools, and the park/ field (aka Windsor Park) beside it. This photo was taken from one of the many vacant units in 2020, when occupancy was low. Now, the whole building’s chock-a-block full! No chance of getting into any empty units now, ahem…


Stretching our legs in Windsor Park (the semi-circle shaped field beside Oia Residence). The row of houses in front is called Windsor Crescent. Guess whose legs these are? (Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out…)


Temporary resident, niece Sweety. Sweety squatted with us while looking for a job, Jan 2020. “How’s this for an interview, huh?” She moved out soon after she got a job, working for a hotel in Deira. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, COVID-19 came soon after, and she lost her job, as the hospitality industry in Dubai took a huge hit. She returned to India when travel restrictions were eased


Motor City in pandemic times. We were lucky, we moved to Motor City before the COVID-19 pandemic. Motor City Uptown (which Oia Residences was connected to), has a big expanse of greenery, trees, parks, etc, for us to walk around. Imagine, if we had been stuck in International City! We’d be marooned in our apartment, with COVID cases rising through the roof there. Notice Jayden with long hair? That was his pandemic-look… Jun 2020


Durga Puja 2020! Oct 2020. The kids have gone back to school, but with all the social distancing measures in place. See how the money tree (left) has grown, compared to the photo with Sweety above


Buddha in a flower pot. All the paraphernalia in the house, decorations, plants, furniture, fixtures, what-have-you, are the hard work of the missus. She has an eye (and hand, and leg) for these things!!! Thank you, Anu for being an expert home-maker. You make this place just incredible!


Anu’s balcony garden… Nov 2021. If it was only me, I think this place would be an empty space filled with a year’s (or two) heap of sand…


New Year’s Day 2022. At the corridor outside our apartment, Oia Residence, Motor City


Doves in our garden. Anu’s not only a giver of life to plants, it’s birds (and bugs) too. I’ve lost count of how many generations of doves, and sunbirds, that had been born in our garden. There were bulbuls too, but on both occasions, crows raided their nests and took their chicks! Pity. Shoooo, bloody crows! Mynas and sparrows are also common visitors, and there have been parrots, a hoopoe and an Indian roller (who’d knock the bejesus out of any bird that dares go near its nest, mainly mynas. I heard that they scare crows off like that also. I’d vouch for an Indian roller anytime, over a pesky crow). The roller’s nest wasn’t inside our balcony, but was in a hole just below the roof of the apartment building. It was the parrots’ hole, which the roller chased away, and took over. By the way, the parrots have reclaimed it now.


Some table décor – Diwali 2022. See, Anu’s a wizard at these things. Nobody taught or told her to do it, she just loves doing it by herself. This is the Diwali just before Justin leaves for Singapore


Here's a little outdoor fun! The playground at Motor City Uptown. The good thing about Motor City Uptown is that many of the kids who stay here, also go to the same neighbourhood school, GEMS Metropole School, which is just opposite our apartment. And so, many of their classmates and friends are within walking distance from each other, through some nice parks, no need at all of getting out to the busy roads around! Here’s Jayden with his classmate (and crush of that season), Varvara, from Ukraine. Jayden has considerably fewer close friends than Justin. But after his elder brother went abroad, he has no choice but to get out and mingle. There you go, Jayden! What’s with the shades, Varvara? It’s night time!?!


Autumn, Motor City Uptown. As if there’s an autumn season in Dubai, haha. It’s Feb 2023, ummmm… Izit winter? Spring? But leaves are falling, what the heck! In the UAE, there are 3 seasons, according to me, ‘Cool’ (Winter …Nov to Mar), ‘Hot’ (the transition months, Oct, and Apr) and ‘Very Hot’ (May to Sep)


More decorations! Happy Diwali, 2023!!!


And finally, Anu’s balcony garden in Mar 2024, don’t even know what the occasion was, but those roses were for International Women’s Day, and my birthday, ahem! Thanks, honey. You’re the best!

And the answer to the question in Photo No.3 above is: …Anu and Kunal, our nephew. Kunal and her mom, Manju, were stranded in Dubai during the pandemic, and stayed with us till the travel restrictions were relaxed.

Rotating Offices

And the award for the office with the best view goes to... – The Opus by Omniyat, Business Bay, Dubai! Nov 2022. Alas, we were only here for 4 months?!?!

Here we go again. Shifting offices. Just shifted my office to a different container. But in the same compound. Yup, I’m in a container office. Nothing new, seeing that I’m in construction, but starting from 2018, I’ve changed offices so many times that I’ve lost count. This is my effort at trying to recall the offices I’ve changed since 2018.

I’m gonna use the Abu Dhabi Airport Project Manager’s Office, which I’d been based in since the start of 2018 as base. Ground zero. Here goes.


Change No.1 – Al Gurg Tower, Baniyas Road, Deira, Dubai, Jul 2018. This was the ITS2020/1B Project’s first office i.e. Scientechnic’s office in their corporate group's building (Scientechnic is part of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group). Fantastic view of Dubai Creek's dhow wharves. ITS2020/1B was a project I was assigned to as the Project Manager under a JV agreement between our company and Scientechnic, a local company specializing in traffic signal controllers, etc. They basically have a monopoly in Dubai on Siemen’s products and many other specialized systems, traffic, lighting, automation, etc, etc, etc. The ITS2020 Projects were a project for the supply and construction of intelligent traffic systems all over Dubai city. Basically, under the agreement, Scientechnic would finance and run the project, while CSCEC provided the project management. Part of Scientechnic’s responsibility was to establish the Project Site Office. They were not as quick as CSCEC in setting up, and we had to temporarily squat in Scientechnic’s head office, while the premises were being sourced and set up.


Change no.1.5 – Same Scientechnic Head Office, different tables. I wouldn’t call this a big change, just a change in table, due to more staff joining… Still, fantastic view, but not very conducive for parking, nor commuting, as it was right smack in the city!

Change No.2 – ITS2020/1C’s Project Site Office, Al Barsha South. (Sorry, no photos). No more views, but better parking. Traffic still sucks (because I gotta travel from International City where I was staying then), but it was, OK. This was the office of the ITS2020/1C Project, a ‘sister’ project to ITS2020/1B, operating under the same JV agreement with Scietenchnic, but under a different Project Manager. 1B had to squat here while we got our own Project Site Office done. Later, the 1C team also had to shift as this site office's location was rejected by the Client, RTA. Better luck next time!


Change No.3 – ITS2020/1B’s Project Site Office, Al Quoz, Dec 2018. We finally got our own office!!! But I wouldn’t stay for long… I wasn’t approved as the Project Manager by the Engineer or Client, despite being the ‘Acting Project Manager’ from the start of the Project. I was approved only as Deputy Project Manager. Therefore, my company had other plans (there was no budget for a Deputy Project Manager’s post)…

Change No.4 – Close-Out Office, Al Quoz, May 2019. (Sorry, no photos again!) Ahhhhh… Bliss! The intense pressure which yours truly was subjected to daily in the ITS2020/1B, was suddenly all gone! I completed a smooth hand-over of my responsibilities to the newly appointed Project Manager of the ITS2020/1B Project, and I moved to the Close-Out office to close out two Abu Dhabi Projects, one of which was my old Abu Dhabi Airport Project! The Close-Out Office was a mere 5 mins drive from the ITS2020/1B Office, by the way, 1 km away.


A cement factory near the ITS2020/1B Site Office and CSCEC’s Close-Out Site Office in Al Quoz. Al Quoz is an industrial area in Dubai, surrounded now by nice neighbourhoods. Strange that an industrial area lies here. A remnant from the past when Dubai was smaller, I think…

Change No.5 – CSCEC Civil & Infra Head Office, DIP (Dubai Investment Park). Dubai Municipality suddenly asked our company to vacate the Close-Out Site Office land in Al Quoz to make way for a new petrol station that'll be built there. The only place available for the close-out team to move to, was a ramshackle site office, used by the stores of the Dubai Hills Mall Access Project, in the Dubai Hills Area… with dirt roads for access. I had a look at that dump and decided to move myself to our company’s Civil & Infrastructure Division’s DIP Head Office instead. That was my old office before I moved to the Abu Dhabi Project. And DIP was much nearer to Abu Dhabi than Dubai Hills was (plus there was ample office space and parking, and OK traffic). Luckily, my bosses didn’t object, hehe. (Little did I know at that time, that I would eventually end back up in the ramshackle close-out office!)

Change No.6 – Back in the ITS2020/1B Office, Al Quoz, Oct 2019. SURPRISE! SURPRISE! I was told, at short notice, to report back at the ITS2020/1B Office, to be the Deputy Project Manager, again! It seemed that the Engineer and Client were really annoyed with the Project Manager, and just before the recall, there was a road accident related to the 1B Project which had a fatality. They used that excuse to recall me. The Engineer’s intention was to replace the Project Manager with yours truly, which eventually happened in Jan-Feb 2020.


Celebrations at ITS2020/1B! We completed the 112 nos. new Dynamic Message Signs. Only 8 more refurbished ones to put up before we complete the Project! – Jul 2020. As you can see, it was deep in COVID era! People I recognize here – Ayush Agarwal (left), Engineering Manager; Devansh Raj Kanchan (in blue, walking away), Assistant Project Manager; Nizar Makdissi (right), Project Engineer. The others? I can’t really tell with their backs facing the camera.


Change No.7 – Scientechnic Maintenance Office, Jebel Ali, Dec 2020. That’s it! We finished the ITS2020/1B Project. Now we have to close it out, and also ITS2020/1C. The show must go on, but not at the site offices' premises, which had to be vacated. So, it’s another shift. To one of Scientechnic’s many offices in town. This time, it’s their maintenance office in Jebel Ali!


Jebel Ali is another industrial area in Dubai… This is Jebel Ali, on a normal, dusty day, cough, cough! Scientechnic’s office is the building on the left. – Jun 2021


Jebel Ali Industrial Area, on a nicer day, with clouds. Just bearable, haha. – Sep 2021


Change No.8 – Close-Out Office, Dubai Hills Area, Sep 2021. We received the Taking-Over Certificates for both the ITS2020/1B and ITS2020/1C Projects. No more Project Manager required, sez Scientechnic. I guess it’s back to the Close-Out Office I go. Ramshackle dump, here I come!


Whoa, this place is so cut off, that it even has gazelles in our yard! Who would’ve known?


Change No.9 – The Opus Building by Omniyat, Oct 2022. This was a building designed by the late renowned architect Zaha Hadid. It looks like a melting friggin ice-cube, to me. This was the best office move ever, in my opinion. Beautiful view. Ample parking. A little traffic woe being back in the city, but bearable for being in an iconic building. But, alas, this wouldn’t last, as only a few months after we moved, we were told by our head office to vacate the office. Apparently, this property was to be given to a party our company owed money to, as part of the settlement. Incidentally, our company had also received this unit from the developer, Omniyat as settlement for some unpaid dues. What a waste, especially considering the time that our company took to have the office fitted out in the first place for us to move in, more than a year I remember, and we had to vacate it in err… 4 months??


Change No.10 – CSCEC’s Al Awir Site Office, Warsan 3, Mar 2023. Back to a site office. Near International City. Not bad, I had my own shaded car park, plus traffic's usually smooth between Motor City and this office, both ways. No complaints at all!

Change No.10.5 – Same Site Office, different rooms, ummmm… May 2024, maybe. I had seen 2 occupants moved in and out of the room I was sharing with, before I, myself was told to move to another shared room to make way for some new people. That’s life, when you’re in Close-Out, and had no project to house you in… Beggars can’t be choosers…

Change No.11 – Same premises, into a container, Sep 2024. And that brings me to this current office. The wonky office (it was sagging on one side) with the quaint Chinese lights. Feels like a dingy Chinese restaurant, hah! But this I’m told was just temporary. The old site office that we were sitting in was supposed to be shifted to a new Project which we’ve just obtained, to be its site office. Till that happens, chill!

So, it’s 11 friggin changes in 6 years. Beat that!


Ending the post with a photo of us in our tree-planting campaign for World Environment Day! CSCEC Close-Out Office, Al Awir, Dubai – Jun 2024. From left to right are: Prathap, Contracts Manager; Ren Bofei, Deputy Project Manager; Eyad Alkhaligy, Project Manager; Qiang Lianhe, Project Director; yours truly; and Nishad Chengot, HSE Manager