The Pool That Saved My Life

Plunging into a little water pool won't kill. In fact, it saved my life! Read on to find out...


A rock pool in Wadi Shawka, UAE, Dec 2021

We’ve started camping again. Twice now this year. Both at Wadi Shawka. Wadi Shawka’s about the only place we camp in, for some time now. It’s become our favourite campsite. We’re like locals now at Shawka! But we’re running out of time. Camping season’s real short. January, and sometimes February, is usually too cold, while April would become too hot. Then, we’ll have to wait till the end of Oct for it to cool down again. Plus, this year has been really busy for me at work. I am ‘helping-out’ at a new Project, a bridge connecting an old part of Dubai, i.e. Bur Dubai, to a reclaimed island called Dubai Island (which was originally part of the ambitious Palm Deira development). (All that Palm Deira dream is gone now, scrapped during the 2009 Financial Crisis).

Anyway, back to the story, Wadi Shawka was also the place where I got the biggest fright of my life, on a camping trip. I lost my balance while clambering over some rocks, and fell. Into a wadi pool! (This one, in the photo below).


The pool where I fell, Wadi Shawka. See where Justin was in the photo? That’s where I fell from. Thank You, God for protecting me from harm, and for always looking after us.

Luckily, it was deep. Up to my neck, so I escaped unhurt, thank God. But not without completely destroying my RedMi7 phone, and my boots. I had 2 mobile phones in my pockets, Anu’s Samsung S20+ and my RedMi7. The Samsung S20+ was waterproof (luckily), and it continued to work. Can’t say the same for the RedMi. It just started heating up, with a black screen, and I can’t take out the battery (bcoz the silly phone designers decided that detachable batteries aren’t cool…). Can’t cool it down, can’t switch it off (because I didn’t know how), and then it eventually died, a slow death. RIP RedMi. I nearly lost my designer sunglasses as well. I needed to wade into the pool again, and slowly searched the pool bed with my toes. Yes, I found them, amidst all the pebbles, and God knows what in there! Everything that was leather started rotting, my boots, my belt and my wallet. Managed to somehow saved my belt and wallet, but Anu threw away the boots, since I’ve worn them enough times. She said Paisa Vasool. Bye-bye boots.


There, that’s the boots that I wore. At the top of some hill near our campsite, Wadi Shawka, Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE, Dec 2021

The time I fell into the rock pool, was the 2nd time we visited Wadi Shawka, and the first time we actually spent a night there. We visited Shawka Dam earlier, and discovered that people could actually drive into the wadi, bypassing the dam, thru another route. So, I did my homework, checked out the route, and there we were!


Entering Wadi Shawka! Our first time driving into the wadi! Dec 2021. Gotta hurry up, coz the sun’s setting and we’ve gotta find a place to put up camp!


That’s where we eventually camped, in between 2 trees beside one of the dirt roads. (Our tent was behind the car). It was full of rocks, so we spent a good amount of time clearing out the rocks! See the buildings in the background? It’s the Wander Retreat, some sort of paid campsite, I suppose


This photo is from our 3rd visit to Wadi Shawka, in Feb 2023 (more than a year after our 2nd visit). We camped at a different location, but came back to our old spot just to have a look. The Wander Retreat has wigwams now! Our spot, which we cleaned more than a year back, was still nice and stoneless. See how rocky the surrounding is!


Back to Dec 2021, here was our breakfast. Instant Noodles, the boys’ favourite! This was Justin’s only trip to Wadi Shawka. All the subsequent trips we made, were when Justin was in Singapore… We’ll bring Justin back here one day, since it’s quite fun


A climb up a hill. Near our campsite, good for digestion. Some of the spots down there would eventually be our camping spot. Could see one of them clearly, see the 2 trees just left of the bend on that road? That’d be one of the spots


This was yours truly, at the end of the trip, after the fall. Shaken, but unscathed. Whew! At the Kurtosh Café at Isfini, Dec 2021. We decided to drive out the other way, thru the back of Showka… Is it Shawka, Showka or Showkah? I have no idea, it depends on how people transliterate its Arabic name...


We’re back in Showka! Our 3rd visit to Showka, Feb 2023. But at a different camping spot. This time without Justin (who’s started studying in Singapore)


We camped beside the wadi, a dried-up wadi, by the way, as you can see. The hill on the right of the photo, was where we were, in the photos above in Dec 2021. Our 1st campsite location is behind that hillock, in the middle of the photo


It was full of flowers on our 3rd visit! A delight for the missus! That's one of the reasons why we kept coming back


We’re tackling the wadi again. Rock pool, here we come! We’re taking the high route this time, to bypass the rock pool!


Anu at Wadi Showka, RAK, UAE, Feb 2023. This is the high route, which bypasses the rock pool below (on the left). Ooh.. it's high! But no scare is gonna defeat me, ahem. I’d end up swimming in that same rock pool, eventually, in 2024 (but that’s for another time to tell)


Jayden having a dip in one of the pools in the wadi. No, it’s not the one that I fell in. It’s one higher up, I think the one in the first photo of this post!

See ya! Ramadan Kareem for those fasting! (It's supposed to start tomorrow, let's see... the moon tonight).

If Flowers Could Buy Love

Yeah, if only love were that simple! There’d be some much less tension in the world, hehe. Anyway, Happy Valentine’s Day everybody! Here’re some flowers to brighten up your day!






The park at the centre of CityLand Mall. It even comes with flamingos!


And here’s the missus, my lovely Valentine, for the 19th year and counting! At CityLand Mall, last year

I love you, Anu. You’re the light of my life, the pulse of my heartbeat, the inspiration to everything that I do, and the reason for me to live. I thank God for bringing us together. This is our 19th Valentines together, and I wouldn’t want it to ever end. Happy Valentines to the love of my life! Here’re some photos of you and flowers, which you’re so fond of, in the last few years! Mmmmmmmmuahhhhh!


2021, Wow, you’re super slim then! Near the Jebel Ali Recreation Club, Dubai, with the now banned flowering oleanders! (Coz they’re friggin poisonous, don’t you know?)


2022, with bougainvillea bushes all the way. Near the Me’aisem City Centre, IMPZ, Dubai


2022, OK, they’re artificial, but look as good as the real thing, don’t they? Bloomr, Dubai Festival City Mall


2023, a whole field of flowers, in a forest, at night. Dubai Expo City


2024, CityLand Mall (yes, another photo!) on Chinese New Year’s Day!




2024, our Valentine’s breakfast, Tara Café, Dubai Business Bay


2024, a night at the opera. Downtown Dubai, near the Dubai Opera House, after watching a ballet performance by the National Ballet of China


And finally, all this décor just for a simple tea for the 2 of us? At home?!? And for no occasion? (No, it’s just for the sake of some fun! It was mid-Sep, 2024). That’s Anu. I love you, you’re the best!

All About Speed

Justin, on his 15th birthday, at the Dubai Autodrome, Motor City (which is walking distance from our house). See, he’d rather spend his birthday watching a race in the autodrome, than doing other birthday things that normal people do, sigh. We didn’t even know there was a race happening, until he told us about it, a Formula 4 race, if I’m not mistaken

Did a recap of Jayden’s 10th year recently, now it’s Justin’s turn. A recap of his 15th year (he turned 15 in December). He’s in Secondary 3 on a scholarship in Singapore. That means a whole lot of pressure on him to do well, …or he’d lose his scholarship, and more. Does that bother him? Not a bit, from what we see! We’re the ones worrying our heads off, while he dreams of racing, and skiing, and mountain-biking, etc… but mainly, racing. Justin, STUDIES COME FIRST! REMEMBER THAT! Oh God, please help.

Here's the recap.


Starting off with Dec 2023, right after we celebrated his 14th birthday, we were off to Central Asia! It’s the first overseas trip we did with Justin, after he started his schooling in Singapore. At the Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Why do all the minarets have flat tops? Somebody chopped ‘em off? Or they dropped off, or something, bcoz of earthquakes?? Some little domes, or spires on them would be nicer, wouldn’t it? But what do I know?


Next stop, Bukhara, Uzbekistan. That’s the Ark of Bukhara. Friggin frigid cold when we were there, as you can see… (-13C, real feel -21C). Brrrrrr…


Next, Khiva, Uzbekistan. In our guesthouse inside the walled Inner City of Khiva. Hey kids, mind the place, OK? The owner’s a bit of a stickler for orderliness… Boyjon Ota, Itchan Kala, Khiva, Uzbekistan


Crossing borders now, into the closed-off ‘hermit kingdom’ of Central Asia, Turkmenistan. With our tour guide from Owadan Tourism, Ms Aygul who met us at the border. (Everyone, and I mean everyone (from whatever country you’re from), needs an Invitation Letter and a Visa to enter Turkmenistan. Don’t believe me, try going! It’s fun!) At the Bay Town Restaurant, Dashoguz, Turkmenistan. She doled out a lot of friendly and wise advice to young Justin during our lunch there… Which we hope didn’t fall on deaf ears


Back to Uzbekistan. Skiing in Amirsoy Mountain Resort. His first skiing trip. And he loved it. He nailed it on his first try (alright, he couldn’t stop, but he managed to ski all the way down! By the second round, he could already stop!) (Unlike, yours truly, who rolled himself down, literally. I lost count of the number of times I fell, and got back up. And it ain’t easy to get back up, OK? With the stupid, long skis sticking on your feet! Even on a friggin beginner’s slope!) At the end of the day, he was crying on why we didn’t let him go on a more advanced slope! Duh, how would we know that he’d like skiing?!? So, we took only a half-day package!


Time to go, on a train in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, heading to Samarkand, to catch our flight back to the UAE. This was the first trip which we used trains as our main mode of transportation! We tried all the different trains in Uzbekistan, the Afrosiyob (the fast train, the best), the Sharq (slightly slower, older, which is the one in this photo), and the night-trains (for long distance, buy in advance, or you may have to share cabins, or sleep 3rd class, which we did on one of the legs of our journey!)


Back in the UAE. At a sand pyramid in Abu Dhabi’s Fahid Island’s Kite Beach. It was a temporary art installation by US Artist, Jim Denevan, who created hundreds of sand pyramids and cones arranged in a concentric pattern in the barren beach. It was made with natural, available materials and was meant to disappear over time… This was right before, he flew back to Singapore to start Year 8 (Sec 2), Dec 2023


It’s the mid-year break already?? Back to Dubai for a holiday, Jun 2024. A treat at the Dubai Indoor Kartdrome, Motor City, near our house. His second time go-karting (after the time at the RAK Track, in Dec 2023). (He’s been bugging us ever since to let him go again). How you doing, son? Can you please stop thinking about racing for a while, but study hard, and stay focused?


Back to Singapore. Here’s a photo I nicked from his phone. One of his outings with friends in Singapore. I only recognize the friend on the left of Justin in the photo, Garren Tang, a fellow Malaysian scholarship recipient


Another outing in Singapore, this time with family (a photo I got from WhatsApp, hehe). In the middle, is my uncle (in blue, dad’s youngest brother) and Aunt Betsy, his wife (with walking stick). On the left, is Carol, their daughter, my cousin, whom I’ve not met for more than ermm… 20 years, at least. She and her family (white man in the middle, daughter and son) reside in Adelaide, Australia. (I’ve never met them, by the way). They were in Singapore to visit Carol’s parents. Flanking Justin is my brother Jason, and his wife Fang. Jason and Fang’s daughter, Stacey (with glasses) is on the right side of the photo. On the far right, is my cousin June, who was in Singapore for a short visit. Accompanying June, was her son, Mark (behind Stacey) and daughter, Jamie, who works in Singapore


Receiving a visit from his parents, Aug 2024. Here’s Justin with Mommy in front of his hostel, St Andrew’s Hall (the building on the left), beside the Kallang River, Singapore, Aug 2024. “Your exam’s coming up son (in September & October), study hard, we’ll see you back in Dubai soon, OK? Love you.”


Justin’s finished his year end exams! Back in Dubai, just in time for Diwali! Oct 2024. He nearly missed his flight, because he only remembered about his passport at the last minute! The night before his flight, he was on an overnight school camping trip, and he got back to his hostel after midday on the day of his flight (which was at 9pm that night). When he was about to head to the airport from a restaurant where he was eating with his friends, he suddenly remembered that he had to get his passport from the hostel administrators. It was all a rush from that time on, and we kept praying… and waiting for his updates (what else could we do? Jason was in NZ). But he managed to get back to his hostel, get his passport (after a bit of a wait), and got to the airport’s check-in counter, just before it closed, exactly 1 hour from departure time! Whew, nearly gave us (and himself) a heart attack!


Racing again! First time in the Outdoor Kartdrome, near our home, Nov 2024. He was so much looking forward to this! "It ain’t cheap, OK? Next time, bring back some money!" (he didn’t, because he nearly missed his flight, so he travelled with whatever money he had in his wallet & pockets…)


A bit of tea at home with his little brother, Jayden, Nov 2024. No, it’s not his birthday yet. There’s no big occasion actually. His mom just like to do treats like this, once in a while!


And this was his 15th birthday treat, which he arranged himself! A go-kart race at the Dubai Kartdrome with his Dubai friends, ex-schoolmates Shaun (left) and Matei (middle). He asked us not to get a birthday cake (but we got one, anyhow, hehe. What?? We also wanna have some fun, duh?)

Anyway, we wish you all the best, Justin. Stay focused, study hard, play hard, always be kind, righteous and brave. (And put that racing away for a while!) Love you!