A Place or Two about Horses

Meydan Racecourse, Dubai, UAE

Yippee. I just realized that I’ll get a couple of days off for Chinese New Year next week!! That’s the perks of working for a Chinese company, hehe! (It’s not a public holiday here, in the UAE, by the way). I’m now rushing to finish off some work here before the end of the day so that I’ll get a blissful, long weekend…, and ummm, should I slot in a post?

Here’s one superfast, filler of a picture post coming up. Have had these photos for an eternity now… What better way to ring in the Year of the Horse than some photos of a racecourse and a polo club!

Gong Xi Fa Cai to you all! Wishing you a super, terrific, happy & prosperous new year!


I don’t remember exactly what this function was… It was an invitation by Justin’s old school, the Royal Dubai School, and it was in 2019, February, about the same time as Chinese New Year in that year!




Look at how small the kids were! Justin was umm… 9, and Jayden was only 4!


Giddyup… Who won? Who cares, we weren’t paying attention… and there’s no betting…


Here’s another horse-related place, the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club – it’s in Dubai Studio City, the neighbourhood next to ours


Doesn’t this place remind you of a hacienda in Spain?!


Whoa… Diamond Man! Is he in anyway related to Emma Frost? (of X-men fame). Jayden was invited for a birthday party here 2 years ago. Thanks to the parents of Talia, Jayden’s classmate


The Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, May 2024


Yours truly, at the Meydan Racecourse, Feb 2019… I wouldn’t mind being that young again, haha

Anyway, wishing you a fantastic year ahead! 新年快乐! 恭喜发财!

A Successful Snow Mission

I’m back in action! But still recovering from that dratted fistula surgery, or you could call it, re-surgery (that’s the problem with fistulas, there’s always a chance for it to friggin recur!). Anyway, continuing on the snow theme, here’s a snow mission that succeeded, …in 2023! See for yourself!


The top of the Amirsoy Ski Resort, Chimgan, Uzbekistan

One of our main aims, when we visited Uzbekistan in Dec 2023, was to see snow and, ski! (If the kids wanted to). It’s the easiest (and cheapest, ahem) country to get to at that time, because they allowed UAE residents to enter visa-free!! And nobody (OK, almost nobody), visits Central Asia in friggin winter (it’s frigid! Parts of it was -21C when we were there) So, before the situation changed, I bought the tickets and voila! We were there! The catch is, that while Uzbekistan is pretty big, the mountains are all tucked up in one small corner of the country. The rest of the country is pretty much flat, with large areas of it, a desert… Luckily, the corner where the mountains are, aren’t too far away from its capital, Tashkent. Here’s our story in pictures!


Yippee, we’re on the way! On the road towards the mountains from Tashkent (this was one trip which we decided not to drive. Heck, the attractions are mostly in the cities, and they’re far apart, much easier to travel by train! For Chimgan, we took a cab from Tashkent)


Welcome to Chimgan!


Around our hotel… It’s called …something Apachi something something… (it’s in Russian Cyrillic, OK?!) This is when Google Translate, or Yandex Translate, can come in really useful!


Looking fresh… on the day we arrived (before all the falls I’d have. Darn! Look out when it’s sunny and nice, after a snowy day. The snow will melt and refreeze to become friggin ice!)


We tried to get to the Charvak Lake, but ended up in Chinorkent instead (that’ll happen, if you don’t know Russian or Uzbek). But we have no regrets. It's not bad at all, just look at the views! (Yup, Charvak Lake is visible from up there!)




There’s even Santa Claus and his missus! (I didn’t know Santa Claus had a wife?!?) I searched it up, my bad, it’s not actually Santa Claus, it’s Ded Moroz (Father Frost), the Slavic equivalent of Santa Claus, and the girl is Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), his granddaughter, not his wife! And interestingly, the Uzbeks, although they are 95% Muslim, celebrate the Christmas season, complete with Christmas trees, music, dancing, Ded Moroz, and what have you, as a non-religious winter festival! A nice legacy from its past Soviet communist rule, I'd say. I think this should be how society is, celebrating each other’s festivals, and respecting each other’s cultures and beliefs. Imagine how Afghanistan would have been, had the world let the Soviets take it over in the 70-s.


We’re in Amirsoy! Care for some skating?? Nope… Justin can't wait to ski!


And he’s a natural. Successful on his first try, ever! (This was our first ever skiing!) And on his second try, he could already bring himself to a stop at the bottom! (And me? Don’t talk about it. I fell, and rolled, and fell myself all the way down the beginner’s slope, twice!)


And that was what Jayden and mommy were doing, while we were skiing (or falling, in the case of yours truly…)






The Amirsoy Ski Resort, Chimgan, Uzbekistan, Dec 2023


OK, time to get back to the city… On the way, you’ll pass thru this strange resort, which features an aeroplane! It’s the Sevarsoy. I read that it’s a health resort…

That’s all for today.

Mission Snow 2025

Koksar Village, Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh, India

Finally, here’re some photos of our recent trip. Only a selected few, because there’re tons! (Hey, it ain’t easy, OK? Especially, when you have a family of trigger-happy smartphone photographers, who’ll take anything, and everything, that’s in the way. And that super-large smartphone storage isn’t really helping).

Anyway, here’s what we set out to do in December (to see snow), and errrrmmm… failed (mostly). (Hey, it’s the weather. I can’t control the friggin weather!)

Mission Objective: Take mother-in-law to see some snow.

Constraints and limits:
- Must be in India (heck, mom-in-law doesn’t have a passport);
- Must be in December (that’s when the kids’ school holidays are);
- Must be affordable;
- Must be comfortable;
- Must not involve strenuous walking or climbing (Ama has a walking problem).
Anymore? Hmmm… I think that’s about it.

And so, Manali’s our destination… (besides, I’ve never been there before, hehe. None of us have, actually. Oh, I’ve been to Himachal Pradesh. In my pre-blogging years, let’s see, 2003, or was it 2004? Toting a friggin ‘film camera’!! Yeah, they existed then. But only to Shimla… So, Manali would be nice!)


Meeting Ama in Chandigarh Airport! Our family of 4 flew from Jaipur (which was where we were visiting), and Ama and sis-in-law, Rekha, flew in from Silchar, Assam, on the same day.


The sisters and their mother, at a roadside stall, with a view point, by the Sutlej River (it’s just labelled ‘View Point’ in Google Maps, duh…). Our first stop in Himachal Pradesh, enroute to Manali, from Mohali, Punjab (where we spent a night in – Mohali is where Chandigarh’s airport is located)


The view point, from the ‘View Point’ dhaba (stall), Sunan, Himachal Pradesh…


Tucking into some Rajma Chawal… a popular local dish, featuring red kidney beans (rajma) and rice (chawal). Yup, that’s it! Rs 100 per plate! At the ‘View Point’ Dhaba


Good morning Manali! ‘Perfect’ weather, clear and sunny… But, didn’t the news say that it snowed here? Yeah, …in November, …a month ago!! Looks like it’s ummmm… all gone now. (I still see some! There, on the mountains). The view from our hotel, Hotel Hollywood, Vashist, Manali, HP


The Beas River… that’s where all them snow ended up in, I guess. The Beas River forms the valley where Manali and Kullu (one of the main tourist areas in Himachal Pradesh) are in… The Beas is a major river in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and will flow into the Sutlej River (photo above) further downstream in the Indian state of Punjab… A view from the Beas Sangam Restaurant, Palchan (see, snow high up in the mountains…)


Hello! From the Beas Sangam Restaurant, Palchan …this is near the junction to Rohtang Pass (a pass thru the Himalayas). (Our rented car ain’t a 4WD, and the authorities have blocked the Rohtang Pass Road for all, except for local rented jeeps, if you wanna get up there to see some snow. We decided against it. It’ll not be a comfortable ride, and not really convenient for our senior Ama…)


Dread not, let’s head further north, up the mountains… Approaching the Atal Tunnel (aka the world’s longest tunnel above 10,000 feet). It opened in 2020 as an alternative to the Rohtang Pass, cutting short the journey to the other side by 4 - 5 hours!


We’re thru the tunnel. Nope, no real snow here either. Exploring the hillside, near Koksar Village, Lahaul, HP, India


What the heck. It’s still a nice trip! Ama saw some snow… (OK, some old, dusty ones, that we scraped off the sides of the hills, hehe…) But, it ain’t my fault. Snow has been dwindling in the Himalayas, due to climate change (yes, here’s a report, and I believe it’s happening, unlike some doofus of a president who thinks otherwise), and we’ve always known that we’d have a better chance of snow in India, in January and February, but what choice do we have, when the kids have to get back to school!


OK kids, go ahead, you can zipline across to the other side… of the Chenab River


The Chenab River, Lahaul – this is the third major river we’ve seen in this trip alone, in Himachal Pradesh! 3 of Punjab’s 5 rivers! (Punjab’s name means 5 (panj) waters (ab) in Persian, didn’t know that, huh?)


Fancy some Siddu? It’s a Himachali dish, fermented steamed bread… (like the Chinese steamed bao, but with butter and spices. Honestly, I prefer the Siddu to the Bao, ahem, or maybe I was just really hungry at that time). At the BRO Café, between Solang and the Atal Tunnel


One last pic before I end, a hot air balloon at Biastar, Kullu. If you’re the adventurous type, there’re loads of stuff to do here… paragliding, hang-gliding, white water rafting, skiing (if there’s snow, duh…)

From a Wasteland to a Zoo

Happy 2026!!! I hope y’all had a really swell time celebrating the new year, before coming back to this dull, drudging routine that most of us have to come back to. I hope time moves slower, really. I’m a slow person. Time moving that fast, means that I’m growing older, fatter, duller, uglier… faster than I want it to be… But what the heck, that’s life! We’ve just gotta accept it.

Anyway, here’s another filler of a post. Haven’t sorted out any photo from our more recent trips, or times, so here’s a New Year from ummm, let’s see, …5 years ago! (It’s that long ago, huh?!!) When we welcomed in Year 2021 with a trip to the zoo! Or more appropriately, to the Dubai Safari Park! Here goes!


Dubai Safari Park, Dubai, UAE, Jan 2021

The Dubai Safari Park was built on a landfill. Yup, that’s correct, we could see it from far away, heaped high with waste like a hill, from the many trucks that make their way there (I think mainly from the many construction sites in Dubai).


All of this was a landfill??? Heck yeah, no kidding…


That’s the main building and entrance of the Dubai Safari Park


The sign says it all… Kids Farm!


Is this Dubai?? Looks more Indonesian (or Malaysian) to me. But the park/ zoo features places like the African Village, and the Asian Village, and… what have you. This must be the Asian Village


The central area that connects all the different villages features a nice park surrounding a man-made river


Rest areas and food kiosks! When you’re tired and hungry


And of course, its inhabitants! What’s a zoo without the animals?!? Don’t ask me what those are… I ain’t an animal expert


But of course, I know this. It’s a giraffe!


And that, is a very dangerous bird, the cassowary. It can disembowel humans with a single kick from its legs which features dagger-like claws… Don’t say you weren’t warned


And how can you not feature the Arabian Oryx in a zoo in Dubai?


The Grand Aviary!


A bird show! One of the many shows in the park. Go catch it if you can. It’s worth it, one of the highlights of our visit, I’d say. Special praise to that Bird-Lady in the front, (on the right of the photo). She did a great job entertaining us with the birds (she also featured in another show with the little mammals, I recall…)


That, in the distance, is Adventure Valley… a play area for kids, I think... I wouldn’t know coz it was closed on the day of our visit, bummer!


One last photo before I end the post – Here’s a blast from the past – a photo of the original ‘Dubai Zoo’ in Jumeirah, in January 2015! It was closed down for good in 2017, and all its animals shifted to the current Dubai Safari Park. Dubai Zoo was in a pretty small area, and received a lot of criticism for how its animals were kept in its latter years. That may be one of the reasons why Dubai built a much better zoo, and from landfill. Bravo Dubai, for making a beautiful zoo / park out of a wasteland!