2009

Shuwaikh port has seen its fair share of financial crisis, economy slowdown and even war.  I love this view of the imported cars, containers in the middle and the city in the background.  I hope 2009 is a year of recovery for the world economies, bringing back a sense of reliability and trust.  

Whatever your field of work, this is going to be a tough year.  Personally I’m happy it’s not “just another year” but rather a year when changes will be seen.

To all of you and your loved ones - HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Murder

This blog is as far away from politics as I can get.  The recent attacks on Gaza are as far away from politics as one can get.  Regardless of the reasons, whether it’s the Palestinian groups or Israel’s over-reaction, the murder of innocent civilians on this scale - and in the front of the whole world - is unacceptable.  We fight terrorism around the world.  We can’t understand terrorists because of their methods.  The last thing we need is governments applying the same tactics!

I pray this is over soon.  May God rest the souls of all the victims. 

Photographs of the massacre are in abundance, so  I kept my lens cap on and took the shot above.

Wheels

I’ve always found Harley people to be friendly - especially here in Kuwait.  We were having lunch at the Free Zone earlier this afternoon when a group pulled up for a break.  I didn’t hesitate to take the children out to say hello and have a look.  It turned out even better when one of them recognised me.  He’s a good friend and owns the impressive bike photographed above - Mashallah.  He even lent his helmet and sun-glasses for Yousef to pose in.

Thank you Bu AbdelAziz.

Merry Christmas Everyone

I would have tried to get a Christmas in Kuwait picture for this post, but intlxpatr has done a great comprehensive survey.  I took the above photograph on Carnaby Street earlier this month.  I think they had the best and most original decorations I’ve come across in quite some time.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.  I hope your presents are not all disappointing :)

Life is a Bitch

She’s all we talk about.  

We’ve named her Sandy and she’s officially the newest resident in Mangaf.  She made me walk for an hour last night.  Today is her first day out in our garden - and what a day for it.

Roly Poly

This bird is an aerobatics genious.  Whenever we see him, he’s up there showing off his flying skill, and what a skill.  He flies as high as possible - my guess is around 20-25 metres high - and would turn on himself by rolling in the air - head first!  The  children would say the RolyPoly pigeon is up.

This was taken just before sunset.  It doesn’t look particularily difficult, but this photograph was a challenge.  I wanted to show the movement of the bird - illustrating this using an atypical flying position.  The low light and his high altitude made it a little tricky.

Good Morning Mangaf

Home sweet home.  Our short holiday is over.

Half the times I tell friends that I managed to spot a landmark from the air they give me this look that says: we believe you but you need to get a coffee… Well, today was special.

This was Mangaf during our landing this morning, shortly after sunrise.  At the bottom of the photograph are the gardens and chalets of the Hilton Kuwait Resort. In the distance, highway 30 and Subiya are visible.  Zooming in I can even point to our house.

Postcard from London

I was standing in the cold trying to get the right settings on my camera; and without a tripod, I had to use a flat surface nearby to keep the camera steady.  While doing all of this to get “the perfect shot”, this guy stops walking, takes out his camera, points, shoots and walks on!

When I looked at this photograph later, I really liked it.

Eidkum Mbarak

My warmest Eid greetings to everyone from a frosty cold London.  I wanted to have a photograph of sheep today, but a frozen meal of theirs will have to do.

Eid Mubarak to everyone.

Postcard from Ealing

On a frosty morning like today, one of the best feelings is to wrap up well and go for an early morning walk.  To be the first person across the crunchy frosted grass is a privilege worth waking up for - even during a holiday.

It was -5°C last night.  This was taken at our local park when there were only three other people there, all with dogs.  It was dry, crisp and there was no wind.  

Within an hour, the park was full of its usual Sunday traffic of rugby and football teams and their small crowds.

Winter Wonderland

It’s freezing, it’s raining, it’s dark and it’s a week-night.  Let’s have a party!

I think all we need is an excuse and they’ve found a few and put them together at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.  This usually forgotten part of London during winter - especially at night time - came alive.  Lots of fun for children aged 1 to 80… Lights, skating, rides (including a roller coaster) and many little novelty shops.  The food and drink places looked good too - but we didn’t try any.

If you’re in the area, I recommend a visit.

Shadow Over West London

We’re spending the Eid holidays in London.  A cold, wet, freeeezing London.  Great…

During summer it always feels like a holiday being here.  Even when we lived here. For some reason, I associate the summer weather with all the tourist attractions.  It has been a few years since we spent more than a quick stop-over in London around this time of year.  Winter-London feels like I’m back home.  Many old memories of frost, coats, scarves, hats and numb toes.

During our final approach into London’s Heathrow, I saw our 777 perfectly drawn onto the clouds.  For those familiar with the area, you can just see the GlaxoSmithKline building in the centre left.

Turning My World

Saturday afternoon - a house full of toys, a bike in the garden, and Noor turned my office chair into a toy.  We had a great time spinning around and I couldn’t resist pausing a little to take this photograph.  This is the kind of photograph I can never plan…  The setting seems to get itself together and offers me the opportunity.  I’m always grateful when my camera is near-by at the time.

More than two years ago, I was playing hide-and-seek with Yousef (two years of age at the time) and again I was able to capture the moment.  Have a look here.

I pray for happiness to all children around the world :)

Work Work Work

Busy with travel, meetings and management visits last week and this week!

Special Cargo

I try to ensure that I only add my better photographs on this blog.  Although this is not a technically nor artistically good result, I’m sure you will agree its subject makes it worth posting.

I was flying from Manama to Doha earlier this week, on a Gulf Air flight, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I’m sure it’s not as rare as I imagine, but I’ve been flying for many years now and it was a first for me.  

The lovely young bird was the best behaved passenger on this very short journey.  I didn’t hear a sound from it and it made very little mess on the newspaper covering the carrier’s lap…

Postcard from Bahrain

Even though I don’t spend much time here, I feel at home in Bahrain.  The people are lovely and the place is really well manicured.  I always notice the attention to detail that places like Muscat and Dubai place on their appearance - something we definately need to work on in Kuwait - and Bahrain is great at it.  Beautiful landscaping and lots of care for older buildings.

I have many Bahraini friends and I manage to meet some of them during my visits. This time is even more special.  I received an email from an old classmate in the UK, who tells me he had relocated to Bahrain with his family a few months ago.  I’m reading this email as I’m checking in at the hotel in Manama.  He had seen many cars with Kuwaiti number plates and wondered if I ever visited.  I haven’t seen him for four years, so imagine the surprise when I called him - minutes after he sent the email - telling him I’m actually in Bahrain today!  We will have lunch in an hour.

The buildings in the picture are my new favourite modern building in the whole Gulf. Previously the top of the list was the tower in Dubai on Sh Zayed Road.  

Back in May, I read a post by Mahmoud Al Yousef about Bahrain being ranked number 8 sin city in the world!  Mahmoud doesn’t blog any more, but this is a link to the post.  

I can’t help imagining these twin buildings as the horns of the devil…

Blogs of the World

Last month, I got an email from the authors of Pocket Cultures to include BuYousef.net. Their Blogs-of-the-World blog aims to show people around the world different countries and different cultures. It’s a very interesting website and nicely put together.

Find the blog here.  Bookmark it and have a look now and then.

Kuwait Airport

I took this from a Gulf Air flight out of Kuwait this morning. The weather was beautiful and clear. The plane was banking to the right and I found myself staring at this view of KWI. For the first time, I noticed the name “Kuwait” written on the ground in that huge lettering. I wonder if they’re lower beds? It seems too big an area. Have a look at the larger version by clicking the photograph.

I fly through many airports around the world, and I still think Kuwait’s is one of the best.  Even though I now associate cigarette smoke smell with the lady’s voice calling the gates, and that KWI doesn’t have good shops and restaurant, it scores high where it counts.  For me, the most important factors are world class: Good highway connection, close/cheap long term parking, short distances to walk between gates and lounges, and most importantly it takes less than 25 minutes to do everything - whether departing or arriving.  

This will change, and soon, with all the planned expansions and runways.  We currently have 8 million passengers coming through Kuwait, the new airport will have a capacity of 20 million.  I have a friend working on this project but he’s unable to share with me anything confidential. Al Watan Daily had an article on 6th November about the new plans.  Read it here if you’re interested.

It looks like this small airport luxury will be gone soon, so enjoy it! Even with the Hajj rush starting soon…

I Love the Smell of Alyssum in the Morning

That wonderful scent of honey filling the space around this plant is what makes it one of my favourites for this time of year.  I’m not sure why, but I seem to do better with the white variety and not so well with the purple.  Great clusters of little white flowers contrasting with the bright green foliage means they’re always a nice addition wherever you choose to place them.

If you have empty pots lying around, or if a neglected bed is looking at you every time you’re in the garden, this is the perfect friend for the next few months.  It grows beautifully, smells like a breeze from paradise and is very easy to care for (water it when it doesn’t rain).  You shouldn’t pay more than 1KD for 7 shrubs.  I only have little space and above are my 7 which joined us last Saturday.

Enjoy.

The Road to Dhahran

Well the photograph is obviously of the road back home.  Instead of flying to Dammam - bad - I decided to try driving.  I wanted to have my meetings and return home the same day.  It works!  but I have to say that I had a wonderful journey, so that may have something to do with it.

The weather was perfect and the cloud shielded the sun most of the way there and back.  No camels and it was a day off for road idiots - though some did come in to check emails.  Immigration and Customs were great on both sides of the border.  I stayed in my car for the whole routine and the queues were only on the way back, when I saw all of three cars ahead of me.

For my meetings in the East of Saudi Arabia, here is a short comparison for me:

By Air: Packing, driving to airport, checking in, waiting, flying, driving to hotel, unpacking, sleeping, waking up, changing, driving to meeting, lunch, driving to airport, checking in, waiting, flying, driving home.

By Road: Wake up, change, drive to meeting, lunch, drive home!

President Obama’s Red Sox

Late last week, I heard a funny fact on BBC Radio; If the Washington Redskins win in the week of the election, the incumbent party would win… Apparently this has been true since 1936! They lost - so the rule still applies.

The International Institute of Economics spoils the fun saying there were gaps. However, with a bit of magic, they add the Boston Red Sox to the equation and everybody is happy. Article here if you’re interested.

Speaking of everybody being happy - I really think everyone is!

I have to admit, I was not expecting Obama to win, not even two hours before the final result was announced.  I am so glad I was wrong. Well Done America - and congratulations to the World.

It’s Beautiful… Starting Now

The weather must be the most talked about subject in polite conversation and small talk, but what we’ve had for the past few days should be headline news… worldwide.

From the dusty unbearably hot days, to the ridiculously humid, we are now experiencing what in my book is perfect weather.  Bright days and pleasant evenings - what more do we want?  This beautiful blue sky was captured yesterday.

Last night was 24°c and I had to wear a long-sleeved top!  My Danish and English friends will probably want to kill me when they see me next.

Heavy rain expected tomorrow.

Homing

After months of reading, learning and planning, today was the day!  This morning we walked just under a mile away from our house and released three homers.

The weather is much better these days and we all took part which made it feel like a special event.  Yousef opened the basket and Noor held it in place.  Um Yousef and I watched and I managed to take these three photographs.

The first bird out was a little reluctant (see photo on the right), but all three were soon high in the sky.  I am yet to see them back home.  I think they’ve been and gone again.

Overall I’m happy to announce a success.  We have lunch with the whole family at my father’s every Friday.  My intention is to build up the distance until we reach a release from there (10km away) some time in February. Watch this space.

Take Me Home!

I had meetings in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.  I usually stay in Bahrain but this time I had no meetings there, so I flew direct to Dammam. It was prayer time when I arrived so we waited twenty minutes before the immigration guys returned.  One by one.  There were four queues by then and they chose to open the windows where no-one was waiting.  I think they enjoy seeing the scramble.  I did.

Unfortunately I didn’t see Al Khobar but I hear from everyone that it’s a beautiful city especially by the Corniche.  

Departing from Dammam airport is also miserable.  It’s a beautiful building with good size halls and check-in desks - but it lacks any life.  Once you go through to the gates, there is one shop (like a large Baqala) and a sign for a restaurant that I couldn’t find.  I thought Kuwait airport was bad until I saw this one.  The photograph is of the aeroplane I took back.  This was the only clean spot I could find on any of the windows.  Compare this with Bangkok!

Get Mr Brown a Cigar

Meet Mr Brown, Noor’s favorite pigeon.  In this photograph he looks a little evil, but he’s actually a lovely and friendly bird. My camera lens is invading his space, hence the temper.

You see, today he is a proud father of a new chick (if you look carefully, you can just see a bit of baby Brown) and tomorrow the second egg will hatch.

Personally, I only want to keep a few homing pigeons.  I don’t race but I am fascinated by their amazing navigation and flying skills.  The children however have other ideas - and of course I have to listen :)  On days like this, I’m glad I do.

Good Morning

 

The weather is finally breaking.  I spend ten minutes now and then feeding our pigeons on the roof.  This was the first sunrise worth photographing.  I took this last Thursday.  Today started off as a lovely morning with some drizzle, but unfortunately it turned into a very dusty day.  Patience Kuwait! A few more days and we will get there.

A few of our pigeons are lazy.  They spend most of their time inside the loft - and only step out for a sun-bath and a stretch.  The homing pigeons on the other hand are like little athletes.  Three of them are on their morning sprint before breakfast. They fly for about ten minutes at lightning speed. They are now getting used to our house and will soon be ready for their first trip! Can’t wait.

Landing Home

It was a clear night and while I always try to get a window seat on the right hand side, I couldn’t check-in online for this KLM flight from Muscat.  I couldn’t choose my seat and this was the result!  I know it’s not the sharpest image, but I had to share this great view.  

Kuwait City’s skyline is changing by the day.  So many projects in a relatively small concentrated area. Many of the new buildings have a little more inspiration behind them than the old usual peach/beige cubes. My favorite is Al Hamra.

Postcard from Muscat

Time seems to stand still in this beautiful city.  So much pride is taken in this place by the people in it that nothing, and I do mean nothing, is out of place.  It all sits together wonderfully and the whole country has a very relaxed atmosphere.

I no longer have a free afternoon tomorrow but I managed to steal an hour earlier this evening.  The above photograph was taken outside Souk Mutrah.  Um Yousef would love this place.  It’s very old with ornate ceilings and lanterns.  It has many shops selling everything you can think of.  One could spend hours walking around the shops. Unfortunately I had only 15 minutes… This time…

It’s hard to believe the above four were taken within one hour.  People are so nice here.  My taxi driver was cleaning his car windows while waiting for me to take these photographs - “In case you shoot something from inside the car” he said :)

Drive to Sur

For the second time, I’ve managed to get to Sur and back to Muscat without seeing anything in Sur!  My meeting was at the harbour outside the town and we drove back immediately after.

The journey, on the other hand, was a different story.  Driving this route needs constant attention to the road, conditions, bends, goats, taxi drivers, and sane drivers.  Luckily, I wasn’t driving this time so I enjoyed the scenery.  Unlike Kuwait, Oman really is decentralised.  There were small towns dotted around all the way to Sur.  That’s four hours through the mountains!  The towns are different but they have common factors.  They sit around Wadis - small valleys with water running through it during heavy rain - and there is always a cute (I honestly can’t think of a better word) mosque visible with small houses surrounding it.  It’s such a pretty sight that keeps repeating in a different composition each time.

The way back was shorter.  We took the new coastal route which is still under construction.  It’s almost completed and was only delayed because of the damage sustained during hurricane Juno.  With construction traffic still on the road and many diversions, it still saved us almost two hours!  I should mention that Oman has excellent roads.

I will get an afternoon free tomorrow.  I will finally get a chance to at least see Muscat properly.

Muscat Direct

My travel agent had told me that the only direct flight to Muscat yesterday was KLM. I arrived at my gate and saw an Oman Air flight parked at the gate next door.  It was bound for Muscat and even taking off a few minutes before the KLM flight!

While waiting for my blood pressure to drop back to 3 and 2 digits, I asked the suit by the gate entrance, and he assured me that I had made a better choice.  The Oman air flight stops at Dubai on the way!

The national carrier of Oman doesn’t have direct flight to Muscat from Kuwait - but the Royal Dutch Airlines does.  Crazy world!

Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty

The advice from Blog Action Day is to keep this post related to the blog’s topic.  My blog is about finding an excuse to take an interesting photograph of travel, gardening and more.  I tend to steer away from debating issues and current affairs.  I do enough of that outside this arena.  However, I really wanted to join this wonderful effort and I registered with them early last month.

Whilst we are truly blessed here in Kuwait not to have absolute poverty to speak of, we do have relative poverty - a term I learnt recently.  Monthly salaries for so many people living and working in Kuwait are around 30KD.  That’s 1KD a day!  With many employers, these ridiculously low salaries are not even paid on time, nor in full.  

Please help the Blog Action Day effort by donating here.  The recommendation is a day’s income!  Please give more if you can.

See other bloggers’ contributions here.

Abu Dhabi

I haven’t had a chance to see Abu Dhabi.  This is my second trip here and the photograph sums up my experience of this changing city.  I zoom around from meeting to meeting and back to the hotel in the evening for a flight the next day.

I am so impressed by how much is happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  In Kuwait, we have new towns and towers being built.  In these two cities, cities are being built within them.  I am a little concerned about who will fill these buildings? but impressive is too weak a word to describe the progress.

Driving out of Abu Dhabi, I saw Khalifa City.  This is four phases of houses after houses and more.  The other side of the highway has office blocks and apartment buildings.  Malls and leisure facilities are all around.  Huge road bridges connecting the two sides are being constructed.  Reem Island is another massive development with everything that you can imagine (and some that you can’t).  Good luck Abu Dhabi.

My absolute favorite sight today was the Grand Mosque.  The driver was going fast so I couldn’t get a good shot.  It’s definitely on my list of photographs for my next trip. I hope I get more time.

Very Foggy

This was taken on my way to the airport yesterday.  Most (if not all) early morning flights were cancelled.  Mine was only delayed by an hour.  I couldn’t believe how low the visibility was - nor how it was concentrated only around the airport.  When I left home, it was almost 100% clear!

Sharq Sunset

Sharq actually means East - so this is a bit of a silly title.  It was taken yesterday from the parking of Souq Sharq.  I have wanted to take this particular photograph for years!  Bad luck with weather coupled with unbelieveable laziness meant I never got round to it.

Intlxpatr’s sunrise posts are inspiring, and last week she posted about a Sunset Challenge.  This gave me the kick I needed and yesterday was the perfect opportunity.  The weather was a little dusty, but the result was as good as I could get it to be.  Yesterday, this was probably one of the most relaxing places to be in Kuwait.

New Greeters

With the weather conditions finally changing, I have made my biannual change to the front flower beds.  Previous heroes have been marigolds and patunias.  This year I’m trying these beautiful Zenias. 

They come in red and pink but this yellow/orange is, in my opinion, the brightest.  As long as the heat doesn’t return, and we don’t get frost in the winter, these should last until spring. 

  

I love the mini flowers within.

Non-Coffee Latte

When did you start drinking coffee?

I remember when they started serving it in high school and I started my tradition of the morning cup.  During university years, I lived on Arabic coffee made at home.  I was in London at the time and the endless lines of coffee shops had not yet began forming.  When I moved to Denmark, I recognised what real coffee should taste like.  Instant coffee was no longer acceptable.  I shiver as I write that horrible word “instant”.

Noor is having what they call a baby-cino (Starbucks’ slang for frothed milk).  They don’t recognise the name at Starbucks in Kuwait… So don’t bother. I think it’s a rather clever way to get the children involved when you’re at a cafe - and all they’re having is a cookie and milk.

The reason I chose this photo is Noor’s guaranteed excitement whenever I make coffee at home.  The sound of the grinder, the machine beeping to say “ready” and me appearing out of the kitchen and into the dining room - Noor always greeting me with a wonderful smile.

Hand Picked by Hajji Haider

I always thought local green vegetables came from Wafra or Abdali. I guess I never questioned how “local” they meant.  The supplier for the co-ops of Fahaheel and Mangaf is a based in a small farm in Mangaf. This morning, Hajji Haider was harvesting for the evening shift at the shops ready for Futoor time.

More pictures available here.

Back to School

I finally managed to get a photograph of this bus. The British School of Kuwait BSK brought it over from London.  I feel it’s underutilised and wish they would use it a little more… Maybe in spring when the temperatures are more bearable. 

Next week is Eid and the three-day holiday will be complimented by two extra days. This is the case for all government schools and most private schools.  Noor will join us on holiday even if her school will still be open.

Kuwait is not really quite back to school until after Eid.

Good Morning Kuwait

The good news is I woke up on the flight to catch this beautiful moment; the bad news is that I didn’t wake up early enough to have a glass of water before sunrise.

City by Night

It was time to test the high ISO capability of my camera.  This was taken last night shortly after take off from LHR.  We were high up, it was dark and partly cloudy.  The result was not perfect - but I hope you will agree it’s worth sharing.

The river Thames meandures around the Financial District in London.  The dark clouds above tell a story of the financial troubles the world is facing.  Hope it’s a clear day soon for all.

Sunday Reading

 

I love the Sunday papers.  I personally buy the Sunday Times, whenever I’m in London.  All this reading material, which takes me at least a week to finish, printed in high quality for two pounds!

You get the usual paper with the day’s news, a weekly news review, business, money (personal finance), fashion magazine, another magazine in very high quality, culture, sports, a gadget suppliment (my favourite), a free short book, property and travel.

I want to buy it in Kuwait but I shall for ever refuse to pay 3.5 KD for something I know costs 1 KD plus shipment.

Paris to London - Via Rome

 

Ok, not quite that bad.  However, this 40-minute journey was delayed by 40 minutes!

Air traffic control were having some fun with this pilot.  Two and a half circles after flying into London’s air space, we made our final approach West into Heathrow.

 

I didn’t have a window seat but managed this photograph of the screens :)

Miss Spellt

 

Sometimes it is different languages that cause variations in the way we spell particular words, other times it’s people with silly phases and fashions.  The younger generations spell using more numbers than characters, q8y, i8u etc.  Dis may tk ls tm 2 typ - but bloody hell it takes me ages to decipher.

We often find ourselves typing Arabic using latin letters, again with the aid of numbers.  Who came up with 6 and 3 to mean what everyone knows they mean.  In Kuwait, beoble have their own way of spelling almost every word.  I had a nursery near my house proudly named “Little Angle”.

I’m reading a book about punctuation - Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss - and it warms me to know I’m not alone.

Spelling and punctuation aside, the different meaning of the same word between languages could cause wars.  When I first moved to Denmark, I was looking through the leaflets at the hotel lobby for things to do. On the rotating stand was a huge poster, proudly announcing the FART TIMETABLE.  I couldn’t believe it. Just how organised are the Danes?  The morning after, I was told that “fart” means “speed” and that this was the timetable for the ferry between Copenhagen and Malmo.  I decided to stay :)

Paris Blue

 

I love taking photographs of this truly elegant city.  I’m here on business so not much free time - actually none - but I managed to walk out of the hotel after dinner this evening.  The blue coulour symbolises Europe.  In fact the other side of the tower even has the yellow stars.  It looks very different and, I think, stads out a bit more as a result.  When it glitters on the hour it looks spectacular.

France currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union July to December 2008.

No Lounge

Since moving back to Kuwait I am flying less often with BA.  My frequent-flyer card changed from Gold to Silver and this week back to BLUE! Only two days ago!  I know it’s only fair, but it sounds crazy that after all the money I spent with BA over five years, I now have a card that one can get by simply filling in a form :)

I have to admit that T5 is wonderful.  You don’t need to have access to a lounge here.  I had to kill three hours.  However,  a nice meal, good coffee (I’m travelling!), a newspaper and a walk around the shops, made it feel much shorter.  The views, from inside the terminal building, of the runways and taxi ways, are the best I’ve seen from many airports.  

Now that I fly around the Middle East more than I do around Europe, I have to make a new friend - Emirates.  

I already miss BA.

Mangaf.net

new Mangaf.net by you.

I have been using my other blog in a similar way to this one.  I find excuses for good photographs, attemt to take them and then I post them on the blog. Today, I am making a distinction.  BuYousef.net will remain as it is today, my photographs etc.  However mangaf.net is changing.

I want it to be more interactive and informative.  I will post any news I have on Mangaf, the construction, events, notices and more.  Readers can also add their comments and discussions. It’s still under construction.  Have a look anyway and let m