Building Railroads in the Sand

Etihad Rail Package 2A, Ruwais, Al Dhafra, UAE

What the heck! Might as well post these railways photos also! It’s a Project I sort of hitchhiked on. Didn’t do a thing, except gave some advice and attended some meetings, and in the process learned from it. So, you could say, I gained more from the Project than it gained from me, ahem.

What happened was that the management put the responsibility for this project’s closeout on the Close-Out Department, of which yours truly was a part of. (This was despite the Railway Project’s Team's insistence that they had the resources to close it out, and that they would close it out themselves). So, my good ‘ol Project Manager (of the Close-Out Dept) decided to assign this to me to follow up. (Well, it was sort of, out of the way, you know?) Umm… actually, it was, WAY OUT of the way, in the desert, at the tail end (or the head end, depends on how you see it) of the UAE, the part that connects to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Nobody from Dubai or the Northern Emirates, goes there, except if you wanna drive to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and beyond, or if you need to build a friggin railroad. The start of that Project is about 330km from our office in Dubai (3.5 hours drive there, and another 3.5 hours back, good thing that the speed limit in those parts are 160 km/h). And that’s how I end up being connected with this Project.

Anyway, those railway guys successfully closed out the Project at the end of last year, without much help from the Close-Out Department, frankly. Kudos guys! Here’re a few photos of the Etihad Rail Package 2A Project, from Ruwais in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi (aka Al Dhafra) to Ghweifat on the Saudi border, for your pleasure.


The Etihad Railway, Package 2A, from Ruwais to Ghweifat


As you can see, it’s surrounded by desert sand, for as far as you can see… One of the main challenges was ‘sand mitigation’ i.e. how to stop the sand from getting onto the railroad. And as you would’ve guessed, it’s next to impossible. You could only ‘mitigate’ it, by putting some preventive measures, and doing a lot of maintenance (which isn’t our job)… Those bunds and channels are part of the preventive measures


A culvert below the railway


And here’s a railway exhibition in Abu Dhabi’s ADNEC Centre… where our company was one of the presenters. (ADNEC by the way means Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, duh). That’s Kamran Taraz, on the podium, the Project Controls Manager of the Project. He’s left the Company. I heard he may be in the US. (He’s an Iranian, who isn’t a supporter of mullah-rule)


A train! That’s just a model… ADNEC Centre, Abu Dhabi. Hmmm, when will we be able to travel by train to Saudi or Qatar…?

That’s It for the Desert Road

The Sweihan Military Road Project, Sweihan, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Last week, we received the final payment of the Abu Dhabi Airport Project which yours truly was in charge of. We’re expecting our client to return our Performance Bond of the Project anytime soon. And that’ll be it, for the ADAC Project.

At the end of last year, we received all the payment for the Sweihan Military Road Project, another Project which yours truly was in charge of closing, which closed the project once and for all.

My two other ‘low-profile’ projects (due to them being executed completely by a partner/ specialist subcontractor), the ITS2020/1B and ITS2020/1C Projects are still running, in the background. But management is getting curious as to why we’re still having these 2 projects, which they know have been completed, umm… 3+ years ago, but are still generating income! That’s the beauty of maintenance projects! (The ITS2020 Projects have a separate construction phase (2 years) and maintenance phase (5 years)). They want them closed. OK, am on it, anyway.

This week, yours truly was transferred from my temporary role in the Dubai Island Bridge Project (building a new bridge across Dubai Creek), to another temporary role (or maybe permanent, which the company doesn’t seem to be able to confirm) in The Island Development Project, a mega-building project, aka the ‘biggest project our company currently has in the Middle East’, the construction of 4 ginormous luxury hotels, villas, spas and entertainment parks on a manmade island near the Burj Al Arab.

So, you could say that I’m in transition. Which I hope will be for the better. Fingers crossed. Pray for me willya? To be in a better position…

Meanwhile, here’s what the godforsaken Sweihan Military Road Project looks like. It’s a road in the middle of the Abu Dhabi desert, far off from all else, long neglected (and conveniently forgotten) by all, except yours truly (because I was entrusted to close it), with no one from the original team remaining (I think there may be some, but they’re all lying low, pretending not to know).


The starting point of the Project, (its western point, connecting to the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Truck Road or E75)


The Sweihan Military Road Project, or more accurately, ‘Internal Roads and Infrastructure for Military in Sweihan Area’ is a road project which started construction in 2013. I inherited the close out of this Project in 2019…


The problem with this Project is that although most of the stretch of this Project lies inside the area of Al Ain Municipality, the Contract was signed with Abu Dhabi Municipality. And it lies in a desolate area which serves only the odd camel farmer or two! As a result, none of the 2 municipalities seemed concerned with this forlorn stretch of road… Who’s gonna clear this sand away??


Oh, here comes some inhabitants! Hi, camels. It’s camels, or speeding cars (who come here to try out their drifting skills and stunts like that…) Yup, you guessed it, no police cameras!


And this WAS the ‘borrow area’ we ‘borrowed’ material from, for filling any low-lying areas to bring it up to the level needed for the road construction. I don’t know why we, construction people, call them ‘borrow pits’ as we never, ever return the materials. What? Dig it back out? They basically form the friggin base of the roads, OK?! I had to search for this friggin ‘borrow pit’ in the desert, 8 years after we were supposed to close them, and get our security bond back from the municipality. Yeah, we (my predecessors) forgot all about it, until our Finance Team asked about it! Somewhere in Al Ajban, 2021. I had to take photos for proof that we’ve tidied it all up! That’s why I was there!


Closing out this project sometimes felt like a scavenger hunt, in the vast Abu Dhabi desert. It brought me to places like Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Ajban (see photo above), Sweihan and Al Hiyar (which I found out, was the municipality in charge of the borrow area). The road between Al Hiyar and Sweihan, 2020


Oh, what’s that? Ziggurats in the desert??? On the E14, between Seih Al Sedeirah and the E75 Truck Road, Abu Dhabi Emirate, 2021

That’s it for now. Till I find time to post again. Super-busy, due to the multiple roles I’m doing!

A Ramadan Without the Perks

A mosque near our home in Dubai Motor City, the Hassan Abbas Sharbatly Mosque. (How do I even know its name? There’s a thing called Google Maps, you know? Hehe)

Ramadan Kareem everyone. It’s my favourite month of the year, …Ramadan! Except that this year, it’s almost like business as usual. Thanks to my company for asking me to ‘help-out’ at a new project we’ve just obtained, a new bridge across the Dubai Creek. Although, I am not officially in the new project team, ‘helping out’ means I have to comply with the project timings, which means working on Saturdays, and not getting shorter Ramadan working hours. Unless I’m fasting, which I’m not… (Shall I fast?? Since it’s also Lent. Nah, why commit myself to something I don’t think I can keep??) I sure hope my company remembers my ‘sacrifices’.

Meanwhile, here’re photos of some local mosques for the season… May you have a blessed month of reflection and spirituality. Ramadan Mubarak, Selamat Berpuasa…


Another mosque next to our home, the Union Properties Mosque. (Union Properties is the developer of our building and community)


A mosque in Dubai’s Business Bay (the Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum Mosque according to Google Maps), where I looked at, and drove past, every weekday, for 4 months!


That’s the same mosque viewed from my office, The Opus Tower, aka the office with a view! Too bad, it only lasted 4 months (Nov 2022 – Feb 2023) before we were kicked off to a site office once again…


The same view, on a drizzly night, Bay Avenue, Dubai Business Bay. Yeah, sometimes, when you gotta work at night, you gotta work at night!


Another mosque from work… let’s see Google Maps… there it is! The Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Mosque… (Wow, long name, can’t help it, the royal family is big…), Al Quoz 1, Dubai, 2019. I drove past this mosque every day, for nearly 2 years, while I was in the ITS2020 Project. Witnessed it being built, till it opened to the public


A mosque at the Dubai’s Nursery Area, Warsan 3, where Dubai’s residents shop for plants and garden stuff… the Masjid Amina bint Wahab. This is only but 1 of the many mosques in this area


The Ibn Battuta Gate with a mosque in front (Al Rostamani Mosque), at Jebel Ali. A view from Dubai Festival Plaza


Oh, and this little mosque. This isn’t in Dubai, but in Shawka, our regular campsite, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE


And finally, leaving again (this is the second time I’ve posted photos of this), a photo of one of the more unique looking mosques in Dubai, …Al Salam Masjid in Al Barsha, Dubai, UAE.

That’s it for now mates. Quick post finished. Enjoy your Ramadan!

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!