Who Dug ‘Em Canals?

What’s this salt canal doing in the middle of the friggin desert? Who knows, man? But, it’s worth an adventure anyhow! Here we go!

We’re back! From our Malaysia home trip. Hectic, as usual, with the number of stopovers, we (or more accurately, yours truly, ahem) slotted into our trip… (Nope, the missus didn’t think it was funny…)

While I sort out the photos of our home trip, here’re more desert oddities to keep the blog alive.


Where the hell are the Wathba Salt Lakes? We’re gonna find out… Here, off we go, into the desert…


Whoa, what’s this? A salted-up canal filled with turquoise water…


Looks like we’re not the only ones interested in looking for strange things in the desert. Mind you, this was in Sep 2021, during the COVID times, when we’re still stuck from going just about anywhere…


That salt will last you a lifetime, …if it was edible. Izit? I dunno, I’m not gonna try


Jayden, has other ideas, though! NOOOO! DON’T PLAY WITH IT! Who knows what's in it!?!


Awww… What the heck, might as well… What’s some salt gonna do to us, anyway?


Where’s Justin?? There, he is!


More canals…


Fancy a swim?? No way man!


A 💓 G! Awww... Love you, Honey!

That’s all for today! From the Wathba Salt Canals, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sep 2021

Strange Things in the Desert

Yippee, we’re going on a break again! Back home to Malaysia, this time. (With stopovers, of course, hehe).

Here’s a quick photo post to go. Till we come back.

Since we’re on deserts, here’s a desert closer to home. And the strange things that you can find there.


What? This ain’t a desert, it’s a lake! Yeah, of course, but if you look at the map, this lake lies in the middle of a friggin desert. And it’s shaped like 2 interconnected hearts! You don’t get that, unless it’s manmade! Welcome to Dubai! Where they make land out of the sea, and seas out of the land.


This is Love Lake, aptly called, what else? When it’s already made to look like hearts (from the sky)!




The gates, the décor, you name it, all are love/ heart-themed


Errgh… The sun’s in my eyes! We went early in the morning (reached at 7-ish), and lo, and behold! It’s like a village of tents, with tents and campers all over, just waking up, brushing their teeth, doing whatever people do when they wake up (you know what I mean, ahem), etc


Awww.. Wassup? Nobody loves you?? Bet some carps will cheer you up! (Jayden’s a fish lover, and there’re carps in Love Lake. Koi? Carps? What’s the difference?)


The Al Qudra Lakes, which adjoin Love Lake. See the parked cars? They’re campers!


We went early because there’s a cycling track in Al Qudra where the kids (and the adults, if you fancy) could cycle your butts off… and it’s just nicer to cycle in the cool morning, than later. Go, Justin, go! (That speck of black, on the cycling track, is Justin). Hmmm… What’s that strange structure in the background??!?




There, we found it! It’s the Sustainability and Innovation Centre of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, a solar power plant in Dubai


OK, gotta go. Sending some love from Love Lake, Al Qudra, Dubai – Dec 2020 (the COVID times…)

See you when we’re back from our trip!

20 Years of Blogging

The dark days are upon us. Israel has bombed Iran, our northern neighbour, and there will surely be retribution. What is it with this world? Since I started blogging 20 years ago, (yup, it’s already 20 years, as of March this year, believe it or not!), the world seems to have grown colder. Calculative, manipulative, power above all else. That was how it was like in the medieval times; every country for themselves. Now, we’re starting to feel it all come back, the age of empires. I thought humans would have evolved to be kinder to one another, more concerned for others, regardless of their views, beliefs, nationalities, ethnicities and social standing. But no, we’re back to square one, our basic instincts. We’re humans after all. God help us.

One fundamental problem, is that we, humans, tend to choose the strong to lead us. That’s what you call leadership qualities, you know? Well, from looking at what’s happening to the world today, I’d say, to hell with the strong and forceful leaders, I’d prefer the kinder and more compassionate leaders that’d not make my country great again, but make my country kinder, to all. 20 years ago, we seemed to be on the right track, …no more Cold War, countries opened to trade, travel and cultural exchanges, behaving lawfully and responsibly, respecting one another, with an international body overseeing the rules. Where did that all go?!?

Anyway, I am no God to correct this. We’ll rely on our great and mighty ‘leaders’ of the world, who want to shape history, leave their mark here, win, and show who’s boss. Why can’t they understand that we’re merely visitors to this world.? We come here for a few decades, and then we die, and leave the world. Why not make it a better and happier place for all when we’re here?

Also, prayers and blessings for strength, perseverance and hope to those affected by the tragic airplane crash in Ahmedabad. May God strengthen and bless you all through your difficult times.

To commemorate my 20 years of blogging, I’m posting some older photos of our time here in Dubai, circa 2019 – 2023. Photos that I can’t seem to fit anywhere, but are still interesting. See you in my next post!


Some family in Dubai – Anu’s eldest sister Manju, and her son, Kunal, at Zabeel Palace, Dubai, UAE – in the COVID Days! (Jul 2020). They were stranded In Dubai due to COVID-19, they were in Dubai to visit Karishma (Manju’s daughter) and were supposed to be back in India by March 2020!


Hey, there’s a peacock! No, Jayden, they’re not so easy to catch – Zabeel Palace


And then, there are friends! Anu with Madhavi (middle) and Jasna (left) at Da Vinci’s Italian Restaurant, Millenium Hotel, Garhoud, Dubai – Sep 2019. They’re the mothers of Justin’s former classmates Aria and Mashel


Here’re the kids. Justin and Jayden with Mashel (middle), Aria (right), and Viva (between Mashel and Aria). Viva is Aria’s younger sister. Mashel and Aria are the same age with Justin, while Viva is the same age with Jayden. At the Jebel Ali Village Recreation Club, Apr 2021


We meet again, kids and their mothers at Bounce X, Dubai Festival City Mall, Jul 2021. Bounce X is a trampoline park. Hmmm, where’re the fathers? Well, who’s gonna look after all the stuff, and snap the photos? And old men don’t really jump, do they? Wouldn’t mind sitting around, having a beer or two, haha!


Pizza time! What better way to wind down after jumping, then pizza!


Another meeting, Anu and Madhavi at Zinc, a café in Sports Society, Dubai – Nov 2022. The kids were ice skating at the ice rink. This time it was for Justin’s farewell, just before he moved to Singapore for his studies. Jasna and daughter, Mashel had already left for Canada, a few months prior…


Best thing to do before ice skating, is to learn some roller skating. And skateboarding, while you’re at it! Justin’s a quick learner. Jayden took a li’l more time, but he’s OK now. At the NShama Town Square Skate Park, Dubai, May 2021


Not content with one skate park? Here’s another free one, haha! – the Damac Hills Skate Park, June 2021. No, you don't skate on the grass, the skate park is just on the horizon towards the left of the photo!


The NShama Town Square Skate Park also features a Battle Park, surfing pool (a pool with waves for you to learn surfboarding), trampolines, sports courts, etc. Justin looking at some players at the Battle Park. Next time, OK? When you’re a li’l older!


Going around town, shopping and visiting friends (very rarely, we prefer friends visiting us, hehe) make up most of our activities in the city. We prefer the mountains, but you can’t do that in bloody summer. So, it’s malls, until saner weather comes around. Here’s us watching a movie with Danylo, Jayden’s Ukrainian friend, who stayed in the same apartment block as us, until he moved to Germany. VOX Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates, Mirdif City Centre (Jayden, corrected me, ahem) Sep 2023. (I remember it was Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning)


Going back in time, Anu at Mankhool, Dubai, outside a building (Badri Building) where a friend stayed, Feb 2019


Another retro photo. Yours truly, in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, Mar 2019. This hotel was the location of our company’s first and only annual dinner in 2010 (or the only annual dinner I knew about), in my 14+ years working for them!


Sometimes we end up in places like this library! The Al Twar Public Library, May 2022. We were waiting for Justin to finish his World Scholar’s Cup event, in the school next door (Cambridge International School)!


Finally, here’s mommy and son at Ghantoot, a Nepali Restaurant in Bur Dubai, Sep 2023.

An Expo Opens Its Doors

Expo Osaka 2025 opened its doors last month! When Dubai Expo was taking place in 2021-2022, Justin suggested that we, our family I mean, visit every World Expo whenever it happens (it happens every 5 years). That would mean going on a family trip every 5 years, to a place where the Expo happens! We thought it’s a really cool idea! Especially, since we like travelling. It’ll take us to destinations we’d never planned on going. And so, we set our eyes on Osaka, Japan, for 2025.

Come 2025, circumstances and priorities have changed. Justin now studies in Singapore on a scholarship, and his school holidays do not match Jayden’s. His summer holidays happen in June, and he has to get back to Singapore before the start of July, while Jayden’s school holidays start only in July. (The Expo, by the way, runs only for 6 months, and in the case of Osaka, it takes place between mid-April and mid-October). Besides, Justin’s interests have also changed. Now, he’s fully immersed into motor racing… so he’d rather spend his free time racing (Malaysia happens to have Asia’s largest karting track!) Also, we’ve decided to visit Malaysia more often… the old folks are getting older, you know… Therefore, we’d be giving Osaka a miss… It’s OK, we can always visit Japan another time. And restart our Expo visits when the kids are older! Sis, Kim was there though, in Osaka, just yesterday!

Here're some (more) photos of Dubai Expo 2020 for memory’s sake!


Welcome to the Japan Pavilion, Expo2020, Dubai, 2022 – This was the only large pavilion that we did not manage to enter. Thanks to the diabolically difficult booking system! It’s the only country pavilion, where you’d have to book a place in advance in the app, to enter. No queues. In the first few months, when the crowd was still less, we thought Japan was closed for the day (we never bothered checking to find out how to get in). While you could just walk up to any other pavilion and enter, or queue a little and enter, there’s strangely no crowds or queue for the Japan Pavilion! Only in the later months, when we’ve visited ALL the other large pavilions, that it piqued our interest for get in, and by that time, it’s too late. All the slots were filled to the brim! Definitely, not a good system! For goodness sake, it ain’t a friggin passport office, or something like that… You’re basically limiting your pavilion to only a very limited number of visitors! For me, that's a big minus point for an Expo pavilion!


This is Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion, Expo2020 Dubai, where all things sustainability are shown (it has 2 main sections 'Under the Ocean' and 'Under the Forest'. Dubai’s Expo had 3 main themes – Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility, and in line with this, it has a main pavilion for each of these themes, in addition to other features


And this is Mission Possible, the Opportunity Pavilion. It doubles up as the United Nations Pavilion, and featured, among other things, an address by António Guterres, the UN’s Secretary-General, to save our world… Sadly, I don’t think the current leaders of the world are paying much heed to the UN…


Alif, the Mobility Pavilion, Dubai Expo2020, where history meets the future


Among the 3 main thematic pavilions, I liked the Alif the most. It had some cool features, such as humongous figurines (I mean giants, who could gobble you up if they were real), an elevating hall (the entire hall was an elevator) … and more


The main theme of Alif… where history meets the future...

And here’re a few big pavilions that I’ve not shown before in my earlier Expo 2020 posts.


The Saudi Arabian Pavilion, one of the more memorable pavilions in Expo2020


A little bit of home! Performers at the Malaysian Pavilion. Malaysia is one of the few countries that has consistently put up large (self-built) pavilions in World Expos. They did it in Expo 2015 Milan, and in Expo 2020, and they are there as well in Osaka 2025. As you can see, the performers are all with face shields, a hallmark of the COVID-19 days… (this was 2021 after all)


Our neighbour’s pavilion – Singapore, using the rainforest as their theme (no surprises there). (6 ASEAN countries out of 10, had big pavilions. ASEAN seems to be a big supporter of Expos)


This is from our second home, India. This is a display in the Indian Pavilion showcasing their advance space technology. The pavilion’s building itself isn’t so remarkable, just a cubical block, like any other office building…


And this is their rival, Pakistan. Quite some impressive architecture, huh?


The Spanish and New Zealand Pavilions in Sustainability District


Since there’s so much hype on the election of the new pope recently, here’s the Italian Pavilion (I’ve posted the Vatican Pavilion in my earlier post)


Here’s one from South America, the new pope’s adopted country, the Peru Pavilion…


And finally, the only big pavilion from the entire sub-Saharan Africa, is the Angola Pavilion (all the other sub-Saharan African countries only had small pavilions)

And that’s it for this post.