Duabi – A Crazy Meeting with some Crazy Guy’s from another World

Date: 8th April 2013 Waypoint 139 – 25klm from Dubai border

We make our last camp in Oman near the main road which was just relentless traffic noise, I should have known better and driven another few kilometres off the road but it was late when we found a spot to hide off the road, just as a huge lightning storm had come to greet us and the rocks just kept getting bigger as we tried to push into the wide Wadi which we were worried about if it flash floods during the night.

All we heard all night was flapping truck tyres and rumbling exhaust notes which eventually faded in the early hours, but not until the all night noise had done its damage.

It was a clear fresh morning we had survived the night, no flash floods had threatened our Wadi, we were still in the land of the living and the scenery was beautiful. Elayne cooks up breakfast and we contemplate our last few hours in Oman

Victor rumbles back to the main border road heading for Dubai joining the endless stream of trucks heading in either direction.

We surly know what we are doing when it comes to borders …… well you would think so…… …..BUT….we did not see any Oman Immigration Customs checkpoint, the border control guards/army just smiled and waved us through in that delightful friendly Oman way….BUT then it was too far, we arrived at the Dubai border????…Well done 10 out of ten we should of known better and yes we had to return once again to the Oman border to be stamped out ……what idiots we are, but we just missed it completely another very Arabic convoluting road design which is confusing to say the least….and as for the Omani final check the solider just waved us through…so not all our mistake, but we should have known better.

Eventually all was done after our brief return to Oman, I managed to skip the Dubai insurance and use our International cover, which saved us a few dollars, but again could not find a Dubai Customs check point to stamp our Carnet, so again we just drove off….will we ever learn.

Elayne and Victor our first night in Dubai ………construction site camping.

Our construction site Camping in Dubai…….not bad for free …..considering how much a square metre it would cost to buy….lol…Elayne finds the perfect toilets and Shower on the 52 floor of a nearby skyscraper…well done Elayne.

3 days of Malaria with my temperature hitting high forties my sleeping bag and sheets were soaking wet.

Dubai…..wow what a change …and I was pretty scared driving with all those luxury cars whizzing by and was that another Ferrari breaking hard directly in front of me…YIKES…I should have brought fully comprehensive car insurance we would never be able to afford to pay for any damaged we cause to any Dubai car…lol

Dubai is just an AWSOME architectural wonderland it stops you in your tracks as we drive with our heads near vertical looking out of Victor’s tiny windscreen, and we still can’t see the tops of these monster skyscrapers ….just amazing.

From desert tracks around the Horn of Africa this is a far off world which does not compare in anyway. It really is a cultural shock and we feel as if we have landed on another planet, it feels pretty uncomfortable, we look so out of place as endless streams of luxury polished cars pass with immaculately dress occupants at speeds we only dream of.

Dubai looks like a futuristic Gotham City and navigating our way round these multi-level fly-overs is just impossible for us, I have no option but to just pull over and stop amongst the towering skyscrapers and rest up.

Burj Khalifa Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

In March 2009, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of the project’s developer, Emaar Properties, said office space pricing at Burj Khalifa reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m²) and the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, sold for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m²). He estimated the total cost for the project to be about US$1.5 billion.

Some info on an amazing Dubai (Thanks to Wikipedia).

Elayne and I sitting in the Shade while eating our fried eggs somewhere in Dubai.

The small office just outside Sharjah Port Dubai where I can’t get our old South African phone to work………just before we meet Ian and Henry in his white GMC

Gulf seafood

Henry on his beautiful Motor Cruiser.

Ian and his passion’s……….. Cooking and boats…..

Even if it’s a humble snag Ian cooks them to perfection…..well done Ian yummmmmm.

Elayne enjoys the fantastic boat and cruise the backdrop just amazingly beautiful at night.

Dubai and its amazingly beautiful architecture at night even more impressive.

Blue highlights Dubai.

The passion of the Gulf region Falconry and its hunting scene.

The Falconry centre a must visit thanks again Ian for the tip.

The Emirate passion Falconry.

MOS offices Ian hard at work 24/7

Ian, Elayne and Me at the fantastic offices of MOS.

Henry’s House and his fantastic Huge white GMC rocket ship….Elayne loved driving the big white GMC……..Victor getting ready for India washing and cleaning out our old faithful tent.

Victor on his way to India………..thanks Henry what can we say.

Victor’s  new home for a week or two????….see you in India Victor xxxxxxx

The graceful buildings of the Abu Dhabi.

A job I will pass on ….no thanks……..yikes.

Beautiful  Abu Dhabi buildings …well I like that stuff.

I had not been feeling well for the last few days my temperature was hitting 40c and Elayne was worried, I was pretty wacked, so wacked in fact after driving into the outskirts of Dubai I just crashed. I could not go on the traffic ,heat, and modern motorways, and trying to keep my distance from all those new shinny luxury cars just zapped what energy I had left. I just hit a wall and could not move another metre, Elayne was pretty sure I had Malaria. I had opted NOT to take our anti Malaria medication (DEMAL 200) for the last few months through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somaliland, it was the dry season and I thought I would be ok……idiot.

Elayne was keeping a close eye on my temp which was all over the place. I had a pretty nasty head ache which is not like me. So Elayne decided I needed to see a doctor, but my stubbornness was in full flight and I was so knackered I could not even make a move. I had pulled off the road onto a construction site, I knew full well we were never going to be able to find a cheap hotel around the Burj Kalaifa (the tallest building in the world) which was standing beautifully scraping the clouds about 3klms away nestling amongst other outstandingly beautiful buildings reflecting the setting sun, the dust haze changing the mood.

Our construction zone camping in downtown Dubai would have to do. It was not long before (20-30) Indian / Pakistani foreman and workers strolled over to see Victor camped in the outer car park of the construction zone area. Elayne approached them and told them I had Malaria and needed to rest trying to keep the inquisitive crowd away…but this failed and once again the posing pictures with Victor and me sitting in a chair were snapped on their mobile phones.

Well they all wanted to take me to hospital or at least I could see the construction zone Doctor(from their building site which was a huge multi-story car park)  come and visit, or we could supply you with medication for Malaria….wow and we had only just arrived.

Well at least we were able to get permission to stay in the construction zone car park and camp the night. My temp was still soaring so Elayne decided to treat me as a Malaria case and use the DEMAL 200 accordingly.

Elayne squirted the Demal 200 under my tongue every 15minutes for 2hrs and I hit the sack crashed out in the tent, still shaking and feeling cold even when my temp hit forty plus.  I could not tell you how wet my sheets were the following morning even my sleeping bag was soaked around my head I must have sweated a few litres, but I felt much better, and my temperature was normal and stable, good enough we said .

Elayne was in need of a toilet and I was a little wacked to scout around, so off Elayne went searching for a toilet not wanting to use the construction workers loos Elayne set off on her mission. I sat watching the amazing morning Dubai traffic roar past.

It was clear we could not stay in construction zones for the rest of our visit to Dubai, but our friend Xavier we met in Salalah Oman (While we were unable to leave the Port) had offered us accommodation in Dubai but he was not available, his yacht had suffered some engine problems sailing from Salalah to Dubai and they had only managed to make it to Muscat for repairs and would not be in Dubai for a week or two. We knew nobody else in this heaving metropolis and it was not that easy to find a suitable place to camp near the centre of the City.

Elayne returns thumbs up and feeling much better she had found a wonderfully clean loo, Where did you go, Elayne points to a nearby skyscraper, The gym has everything you need she said, and we can take a shower, it’s on the 52 floor, I asked the Pakistani security guard who maned the desk at the entrance, and he said you can take a shower anytime you need…… Well done Elayne.

HOW DO THESE CHANCE MEETINGS happen????…..a mobile phone doesn’t work when you need it the most….blast and bugger…I hate these things????

Victor rumbles out of our construction zone car park around 10.00am we had both showered in that wonderful gym on the 52 floor me opting to take a good hour boiling in the steaming hot water…FANTASTIC…….. I felt almost human once again.

We timed our departure according to the traffic which is a constant 6 lanes of cars and trucks, following either way from fly-overs bending across the sky line, it is just staggering, and as soon as you enter the fast flowing traffic it’s impossible to change lanes in poor old slow Victor without having some exotic car weave past millimetres from our beaten up pipework. I am not too fussed if they hit me …but if I hit them …well our bank account would not cover the damage.

I have never paid much attention to Dubai before as a Country, but what I can say for sure, if there was nothing here 40 years ago it’s pretty impressive the amount of work achieved in this short space of time the architecture mesmerising.

Whichever way you look you see buildings deify logic some twist like propellers some just lean over then twist 40-50 levels and more, and then the Burj Kalaifa which towers above already sky scaping Obelisks.

Google the Burj Kalaifa and see for yourself what engineering feats where achieved with that little building. It is a beautiful building and for those who have seen it you surly must agree especially at night with its light show. Dubai’s skyline is jaw droopingly fantastic…….well that’s what I think.

But alas we are not well healed tourists with hotel packages and budget for this City we could never stretch our funds to find something in our budget, Dubai City is not well suited to roof top tent camping…lol

I am feeling much better after my 3 days of soaring temps, I still feel wacked so decided to pull over on the main road somewhere in Dubai. There was a supermarket just across the road so Elayne decides to head off and top up some needed supplies while I wait snoozing in Victor.

Elayne returns 40minutes later with 6 eggs and 4 bread rolls. Chris I had to put the tomatoes and bananas back, why I ask…… we can’t afford them…….yikes it is expensive. Well I am afraid we had been in another world for too long and the Gulf wealth had come to great us, all its grandeur comes at a cost…….. Way beyond what we can afford.

I was too pooped to drive on so we pulled over alongside the main road finding some shade under a small tree next to immaculate gardens and beautiful manicured grass. Elayne open’s Victor’s food boxes I grab our camping chairs and we cook our eggs on the side of the main road and enjoy our fried eggs, much to the amusement of passing joggers, cyclists, and the luxury cars.

We sat for several hours waving to inquisitive motorists but we still were unsure what we were going to do, I really was at a loss and our shade was moving….where to camp here??, my mind trying to work out what option we left.

Elayne reckons we should push on to Sharjah Port to see if we can get a Dhow to India. Lal (Our dear friend from the Salalah cafe) had asked us to contact him when we arrive in Sharjah as he has many Dhow contacts in and around the port.

Well this was the plan and we fired Victor up packed our camping chairs, and said our goodbyes to the Indian road sweepers  to whom we had made friends during our roadside camp, and pushed on to Sharjah Port.

It was 2 hrs driving through the most hectic traffic before we eventually found the entrance to the Port. It was a mayhem of trucks all trying to enter the port, Indian and Pakistani drivers all over the place I even felt as if I was already in India so bad was the congestion and diesel fumes.

I drove to the end of the road to the port weaving in and around trucks and more trucks all heading for the Port entrance, I pulled off the road just before the port entrance knowing full well we would not be able to pass security, We pull over  into a small clearing with several other vehicles parked. There was a steady stream of vehicles arriving at the small office their occupants collecting some forms/papers which looked as if they were some gate pass for the Port.

Maybe we could get a gate pass for the port Elayne exclaims….Yes I reply maybe this is where we could find some information on the Dhows who knows, I was still pooped my energy levels still pretty low after 4 days of sweating I felt reluctant to move from my driving seat, so sat observing the outside mayhem.

Let’s wait and see what happens I tell Elayne …something will happen for sure  …….What do you mean Chris  ….I’m not sure I reply, I am really not sure….but something will happen, my body still not wanting to move, Elayne can see I am pooped…..we need to phone Lal I tell Elayne he is our only hope to arrange something.

I sit motionless for a few minutes until I pluck up enough energy to climb out of Victor, we had already several enquiring visitors around us again taking pictures but everybody was polite enough to ask permission before they did.

I sit on his fuel tank trying to see if we could enter the port, trying to turn on our old South African mobile phone so we can contact Lal in Oman.  A huge GMC White truck pulls alongside and 2 men in their late forty’s exit the monster truck and make their way to the small office.

I take no further notice my own thoughts roll round my head… what do we do now? I had planned to phone Lal our dear Indian friend from Salalah Port he had told us he will arrange a Dhow we just needed to get to Sharjah Port and call him, but I could not turn our phone on, the main switch for our old South African phone was only operating with our Leatherman forcing the contacts at the top of the phone, but nothing, and I was getting more frustrated by the minute. I tried and tried to get our phone to turn on but nothing worked….Just when we needed our phone it failed, we have rarely used a phone on our trip but Elayne purchased a Dubai sim card along with those 6 eggs and bread rolls so we could contact LAL in Salalah Oman to see if Lal could help us with his Dhow contacts, and help get Victor and us to India.

Nothing Elayne …my frustration peaks …….it just won’t switch on, we had never had problems before when we used the phone in Oman turning it on with our Leatherman , but I just can’t get the phone to turn on just when you Bloody need it the most……I can’t believe it Elayne this phone is stuffed.

But strange things are about to happen and now I look back on our situation some weeks later while I try to compile our Dubai story ……was it meant to be…was our phone letting us down at a crucial moment in time who knows??….you will need to read on and make your own judgment on these strange meetings in time.

The 2 men in the huge white GMC truck returned from the small office with some paperwork in hand, One guy takes a second glance at Victor and heads towards me while I was still sitting on my fuel tank, …G’day mate the guy exclaims…G’day mate I reply…..Is that Vic plates on your car I can see……and goes on to exclaim…… your along way from home….Yes I chuckle but you are one of a few people we have met around the world which have spotted our Victorian number plates and know where they originate from.

What are you doing he asks me……We are driving around the world in a homemade car hoping to raise money for the Epilepsy foundation and Cancer for Kids when we return to Australia……I’m Ian and this is Henry. They are both in their late forties I guess, Henry is pretty tall with short cropped red hair and green eyes, Ian looks slightly older balding and greying but built like a solid pack of dynamite.

Glad to meet you we reply, Elayne still in Victor pokes her head over to my side to see our new acquaintances.

With that Ian pulls out his wallet from his trouser pocket, and opens his wallet, Here Chris take this and hands me a Aud 100.00 note………Elayne and I have tried to make it our policy not to except donations as we cannot show where we have placed the monies and feel a little uncomfortable, It’s not like we have a closed Charity collection box with us.

I try to explain to Ian we cannot accept his kind offer to help us with our fundraising efforts and return the AUD S100.00 note. I am sorry Ian it’s too hard for us and we feel we have no way of suppling you with a receipt which you are entitled to. Ian reluctantly takes his money back.

With that Ian tells us they will be twenty minutes and to stay where we are until they return, as they are very busy with a work issue. I shake Ian’s hand and thank them both for their kind offer to help us with our charities, and say our goodbyes…..see ya……Just stay there Ian calls out we will be back.

The huge white GMC truck roars off and Elayne and I are left in the dust as the GMC disappears into the docks where we had tried to enter.

It was great to hear some Australian accents and I could see Ian was greatly interested in Victor’s construction. If they could direct us to some area we could camp for the night until we can fix the phone that would be great Elayne exclaims. Sure I reply a warehouse or truck parking bay near the wharf would be great…they might  know where we could stay as it looks as if they know their way around Elayne exclaims……..yes I reply  fingers crossed they will point us in the right direction.

I sit on the fuel tank my energy still not up to scratch but it looked like there was some hope with these guys that we could find a place to camp.

Sure enough Ian and Henry arrive back after some twenty minutes. Ian jumps out of the White GMC and Henry calls out “follow Ian Chris, he drives like Miss Daisy so I will see you guys later”…….Ian has a silver truck still of immense proportions and tells us to follow him as they could not help us directly with our shipping request but they will be able to sort something out…….wow great I reply and jump back into Victor. Henry’s white GMC has already disappeared out of sight and I explain to Ian we are not that fast….don’t worry Chris I will keep an eye on you.

40minutes later we arrive back to a villa Henry’s home the white GMC standing outside. Henry had phoned Ian telling him we can park Victor in his garage. It was really hot and everything on Victor was cooking in the hot afternoon sun.  Ian stepped from an ice cold cabin of his Silverado truck……park in the garage Ian exclaims, I manoeuvre Victor into his new cool home, but no power steering,, I look as if I had entered a sauna the sweat running down my face as I finally park Victor…..wow that air-con is something we could do with here in Dubai I exclaim, Ian nods his head …yeah mate when it hits fifty and you are stuck in the traffic it comes in handy…..lol

Henry comes to greet us and tells us you can stay here as I have heaps of room, so go and park yourselves upstairs and make yourselves at home…..WOW Elayne and I find ourselves in a beautiful marbled floored on-suite bedroom with its own balcony…..YIKES we are pinching ourselves as the bedroom is huge, and our new on- suite just as impressive. Take a shower guys Henry calls out, we will be back in an hour we are all heading out to a restaurant so will come and grab you guys to join us.

It was a massive 4 bedroom house with a huge double landing staircase leading to a sunken lounge, Tiles and marble everywhere with a huge flat plasma screen. Victor parked in his own garage off the street in the shade……WOW we could not believe our good fortune. One hour ago we had nowhere to go and our future looked pretty bleak, the prospect of camping on another construction site could have been our only option……………..a chance meeting and a phone which would not turn on…… 40 minutes later we are in Paradise.

Elayne takes the first shower and then we wait downstairs for Henry and Ian to return. It wasn’t long before Henry arrives back with some friends to join us for supper. It was all a little like a movie as Elayne and I were whisked away in a chauffeur driven people mover to the Desert Palm Resort……..where we entered the restaurant called “Rare” what an experience for us…..Henry, Ian and seven others including us were sat at a beautiful table the setting mind numbing in every detail real white orchards stunning cutlery the food was to die for and all this overlooking the polo field.

Elayne Henry exclaims …I think you need the Australian sirloin with 2 lobsters tails for your mains ok…..yikes …Elayne just nods her head and says whatever you think is best Henry………I look and don’t believe the prices of the Australian wine Usd 150.00 a bottle and seven appeared throughout the evening and the Australian steaks where Usd 120.00 plus…WOW ……… had we died and arrived in Paradise…..??????

The menu was to drool over and the Champagne with a frozen flower was a taste I will never forget. I would hate to think what the bill totalled, Henry not blinking an eye when he signed the bill, the meal was exquisite, our new company very kind and gracious to have taken two strangers literally off the street to join them in a world class restaurant……pretty incredible we thought.

We arrive back to Henry’s home in the early hours of the morning, fed to the brim and sleeping on a luxury bed with our own on-suite …we still could not believe our good fortune to meet Henry and Ian at the port entrance, it all felt like a strange dream surreal, and when I closed my eyes in that beautiful soft bed I really did not want to wake up in our tent the next morning still with Malaria and a roaring temperature camped in a construction site. I creep down stairs the following morning still trying to believe it is all real. I find Henry perched next to the kitchen sink….Morning Love Henry exclaims….sleep well…Yes I replied.

Nothing bothered Henry we were to feel at home but we need to go shopping at the local Spinneys store Henry exclaims, we need a few top-ups for the larder, and fridge, this was a complete furphy as we were later to find out Henry eats nothing for breakfast and eats only when absolutely necessary…it looks to us as if Henry just runs on coffee, cigarettes, with the occasional cold beer thrown in-between….????…..but I was very happy I had woken up in a real world and not our tent with a raging temperature……sure enough Victor was where I had parked him all looked good…lol

The huge white GMC fires up and Elayne and I are whizzed off with Henry not having much patience with the local traffic, the GMC hits speeds which do not reflect the speed limits signs. I see 150klm register on the speedometer and that’s in the first few hundred metres …YIKES this GMC Denali is a rocket on wheels and Henry doesn’t drive slow anywhere passing everything on the road, I grip the leather seats we have not travelled this fast for a very long time.

We arrive to the local supermarket in a semi-comatose sate the GMC air-conditioning snap freezing us, like birds-eye peas. Dubai malls are huge in dimensions dwarfing any Australian Mall  I have ever seen….Elayne is in her element  checking out all those food luxuries we had not indulge in for very long time, and there were plenty of them.

Henry’s idea of shopping is unique never to just take one item but opting to grab several packets,

(Saying if you don’t get them now they will be gone tomorrow) and then telling us to grab what we need.

Elayne had returned the tomatoes and bananas on her last shopping spree and this Trolley of food packed to the brim with all types of goodies costing thousand Dhinas

It was a very different world Henry lived in flying to-morrow to Singapore not to return for a few days. What is all this food for I ask Henry….It’s for you guys while I am away you will need to eat. The shopping basket had several packets of Tim –Tams my favourite chocolate biscuits Henry had noticed I had picked up a packet and returned it to the shelves, Henry opting to add several packets to his shopping basket while I was not looking.

This was Henry all over a fast lane guy nothing bothered him always joking with the check-out girls, they loved him and his banter it was like following a Cyclone. We were just about to head back to Henry’s home when….op’s nearly forgot …Henry exclaims…. as we about turn and head for a small shop in the Malls complex.

You will be needing one of these…as we head into a mobile phone shop…..can you believe it Henry buy’s us a new mobile phone….best throw your old phone away Henry exclaims…the meaning of this rings in my head, it was because of our old phone not being able to be turned on we met Ian and Henry…..and now we are getting a new phone.

You can’t say no to Henry it’s impossible, he just doesn’t listen and we are given a brand new Nokia mobile phone.

The funny thing was when we returned home from the shopping Mall all the instructions for the Nokia were in Arabic and we were unable to activate the phone, the following morning Henry buy’s another phone….I got you this phone its better and the instructions are in English. Cricky Elayne had just jumped onto the internet to sort out how we could active the Arabic Nokia from their website when Henry gives us another new phone, telling us don’t waste your time these instructions are in English…. ..we now have 3 phones…well 2 new phones , one new Nokia in Arabic, One new Nokia in English and one Old Nokia from South African which still doesn’t turn on…..lol

Henry left the following morning for Singapore but first making sure Elayne had enough cash for shopping or anything else….And don’t forget guy’s Henry calls out just as his courtesy car collects him for the airport….I left the keys for the Truck don’t forget use it when you need…..yikes ….we nod in a silent response …Henry disappears …Elayne and I are left in this huge home still not sure what has happened in the last few days.

It was a different world in every way, Henry’s world a constant link to his phone and computer something we had been isolated from in our world for 6 years, it really was a world of meeting deadlines,  commitments  and International flights around the world. But nothing bothered Henry, he was never flustered or panicked about anything he just carried on in a cool calm way.

Henry company hires out oil rig’s which have been fully re built into floating hotels for the oil industry requirements. These floating hotels have to meet strict international specifications to be able to draw alongside a fully operational drilling rig to accommodate all the operational personnel while schedule maintenance takes place on the operational drilling rig. These rigs are identical the only difference is they do not drill, helicopter pads and all the generating equipment, cranes and life-boats all have to match the required specifications…it’s a complex business which operates around the world day and night.

It is a multi-million dollar business and Henry’s expertise is required 24/7 around the world, his phone is always ringing, Ian and Henry never stop even when we are sitting in the kitchen drinking Ice cold Coronas in copious amounts they are working away, talking to guys on rigs around the world supplying parts and equipment to some of the most isolated places you could ever find in the world. Baku, the Gulf Countries, Singapore, Australia, East Timor they might look as if those places are easy to get to…… BUT……….

These rigs are in the middle of Oceans, off shore and you need to supply parts services when things break, you may need to move the rig a mere 1,200 tonnes…plus you are building others to meet the Oil business demand’s …….yikes that’s hard…..and you better believe it….these guy’s don’t stop ever.

We are left in a beautiful home while Henry fly’s to Singapore for a meeting, back to Amsterdam, then London….well something like that.

All the food which Henry had brought in the local supermarket was for us….not for him…….what could we say we were very humbled by Henry’s kind gifts, ……..what words could express our gratitude…..’’Don’t worry mate ‘’Henry would tell us…………’’ it’s not a problem relax and enjoy.’’

With Henry away for a few days Ian would take over his roll of chaperoning us around Dubai with more hospitality, Ian has a passion for food and cooking which Elayne loved ….a man which can cook…yikes I really was out of my depth……and what a meal Ian cooked up we gorged ourselves on beautiful marinated New Zealand mussels and perfect BBQ Nile perch which melted in your mouth.

Henry had told us to stay as long as we liked it was no problem for him…suit yourselves he exclaims don’t hang back on whatever you need. We have a Company driver call him whenever you need him and he will take you anywhere you want to go…..yikes we have our own driver which arrives when you call him…..we really have died…we are pinching ourselves every day, nobody is going to believe this adventure…nobody.

If that was not enough we feel pretty choked up words have failed us this time, it was only a week ago when we were stuck not knowing what to do, our phone was broken, Malaria for 3 days, and camping on building sites trying to find a Dhow to take us to India…..then a huge white GMC rolls up.

Henry has arranged all our shipping for Victor to Mumbai India…we are blown away. Not only has he arranged all our shipping but business air tickets to Mumbai and 4star hotel accommodation for us when we arrive, plus a car to drive us around……….it just doesn’t stop Henry finds out our journey home to Australia will take us to East Timor our last stop before Darwin and home soil…….You know Chris we have a rig in the East Timor sea which we service from East Timor and Darwin….Henry is now arranging to facilitate our hop across the Timor sea putting us up in their Company house in Darwin……we are blown away completely, how did this chance meeting happen…we will never understand but we are truly grateful it did.

What can we say ……’’except this was the start of an unbelievable adventure for us, just a chance meeting and a broken phone…….the two biggest hearted guys we could have ever wished to meet stopped to help us’’. ….

To be continued….it just gets even more unbelievable ………yes Henry and Ian have a beautiful luxury boat…and WOW what a boat. We meet our best friends from Swaziland. A party where Henry fills the house with sand…..yes metres and metres of sand, a boat full of beer and Palm trees……..lol

Elayne sees a fantastic Australian doctor (Dr Gordon Bland) who treats Elayne free of charge…thanks so much Gordon for your kind generosity.

Our dear friends from Swaziland we meet them in Dubai while they take a short vacation….thanks again Henry without your help none of the above and below would have happened.

A great time had by all John SJ Sjon and Joelle visits an old restaurant in Deira …….after 8 years the restaurant owner remembered John after years.

A PARTY WE WILL NEVER FORGET…….well I don’t remember all of it….lol

Filling the lounge with beach sand……Yikes.

Yes a boat in the lounge full of Coronas

Palm trees and sand and a Shark….getting ready for a party which we will never forget…..well I still can’t remember everything….lol

Topping up the Zodiac with ice yes 45 ltrs of ice for the beer.

A real Beach party in your Lounge…..yes the sand is real, 4 cubic metres of the stuff.

The Australian cocktail makers…..did a fantastic job…..35 ltrs of spirits were used to make some fantastic concoctions.

Yes that is me…sorry…..Johnny grabs the bottle opener …yes 600 beers go down for the evening…..200 shots….25 bottles of pink champagne, 20 bottles of red wine,35lts of spirits,25 cases of Coronas…yikes for sixty people….mmmm that’s a lot of drinks.  Oh I nearly forgot the jumping castle and the swimming pool for all the children.

Thanks Johnny for all your help you will always be welcome wherever we land up…..

Ian and his beautiful daughter Christina. All the children had such fun digging and playing in the sand.

Alame our magical driver who appeared when we called…..wow we really do miss that Henry.

About Adam

Site admin and son to Chris and Elayne Clash. :)
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2 Responses to Duabi – A Crazy Meeting with some Crazy Guy’s from another World

  1. Eugene says:

    Chris and Elayne.. had been wondering how you guys are doing and I stumbled upon this post. What a great tale.. you must be getting close to being back in Aus now. Christine and I are now in the US studying for our MBAs

    Good luck!

    • Elayne says:

      Hi Guys, yes we are home now and after 61/2 years and 128 countries and over 350,000klm it was time to take a break…….do send us an email at: adventurebug@gmail.com and please know you are always welcome to our home anytime, look forward to hearing from you again, and there will always be stories as Chris is planning our next adventure……….LOL
      take care love from Chris & Elayne and poor old Victor

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