Welcome to my photo weblog!
Hello, I’m Albert and I am Dutch. I used to live in The Netherlands but then I moved to Italy. I stayed in Italy for quite a while but I wanted to see a bit more of the world.
That more-of-the-world became Abu Dhabi.
Enjoy Abu Dhabi the way I see it. 
OK, that’s it. I’m done here in Abu Dhabi. I haven’t done much on my blog lately because things would have become slightly repetitive. I’ve spent a year in Abu Dhabi and now I’m off to Jakarta.
Nasi Goreng forever!!!
Exactly two days ago I got a phonecall from the home rental company that my landlord had given me notice. I had to be out before the end of this month. Finding a house and going through all the hassle of contracts, financial matters can take weeks and weeks so I took immediate action despite the promise of the home rental company to find me a new place. A colleague had already explained me how he had easily found a place after putting up a personal ad in the local newspaper, he got a flatshare: bedroom with his own bathroom. I wouldn’t settle for less but there was not enough time to have people calling me after I had put up the ad. Sharing a place was the quickest solution and I went to one of the expat supermarkets (Abela) to find some ads on the notice board. There was only one ad offering a room with bathroom. The place was still available. Yesterday I went to see it and signed the contract right away. I spent the rest of the day packing and moving the first things and today I finished moving, apart from some items in my fridge and my laptop. My new view is something like this: 
So now I live in a shared penthouse instead of having to fear being on the pavement. 
(By the way, Penthouse and Pavement is the title of the first album by Heaven 17 that came out in 1981. I first thought of Let’s Lynch the Landlord by the Dead Kennedys being the title of this blog but let’s keep things civilised.)
Expat desease number one: something happening to your lungs due to the differences in temperature inside and outside of buildings. In my case bronchitis.
It started with a standard treatment…
…but soon turned into a simulation of the buildings on Airport Road.
One more time they told me in the office. A final visa run to get my papers legalised…
I didn’t want to waste my time in Doha, Qatar, for I had made that mistake once already I made sure to be on the first flight back to Abu Dhabi again.
It was an early evening flight and late night arrival. In Abu Dhabi one can skip a night of letting yourself go wild in the non excisting nightlife, so in a way it was a welcome break, I guess.
In Terminal 1, the main terminal, I was told that Sri Lankan flies from Terminal 2.
On the inside it was just as exiting as on the outside…
I was the only one, it seemed.
I had a connecting flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Doha. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are favourite stops for airline companies.
Seat 1A was mine for the next 30 minutes!
I felt kind of piloty just before take off.
The highway to Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi itself with reduced visability due to some sandstorms. Not big, bad ones but annoying dusty ones.
Passing some beautiful skyscapes while eating two dry slices of bread with an interesting spicy spread. Sri Lanka could be interesting for it’s food, maybe I’ll find a restaurant in Abu Dhabi that can give me the satisfaction of trying out some dishes.
A ship and a coastline, approaching Doha.
I haven’t seen that much of the Middle East, yet, but most of it is the same throughout the region; airports, suburbs, sand.
This sequence was one of the most exciting moments of the trip. (How obvious is it that these visa runs are really a waste of time and utterly boring.)
After getting my stamp I walked from the arrivals to the departure and decided to get the British Americanised interpretation of an Italian classic named caffxe8 shakerato and some variation on a croissant to nibble at Costa’s.
To kill the boredom I had brought a book with me. No fiction but educative. While sipping my caffxe8 shakerato a pretty young woman wearing a security uniform walked up to me and asked me what I was studying. Studying? I played along and showed her the cover of the book and explained her I had to catch up on some subjects. She wished me all the best with my study and went back to duty. I felt strangely flattered. It’s been a while since I finished my study, a long while.
Waiting, again…
Same old routine.
Inflight entertainment that would have been bloody interesting if we were still living in 1982.
Back in Abu Dhabi I got some stamps on various forms, an iris scan and a 25 minutes drive home. Done.
In this nation they aren’t really aware of many international safety regulations.
Imagine being hit by this bus driver who believes he is Mad Max.
I had been looking forward to this event for some time. A concert by the British Philharmonic Orchestra. Last night I found a nice seat in the grand auditorium of the Cultural Foundation. It’s 250 years ago that Mozart died so it was a night full of his stuff. I had already missed the first night 2 days earlier which made me miss a performance of one of my fav Moz pieces; Symphony no. 40. This evening it was no. 41, also really nice!
The posterboards leading to the entrance.
I was early.
The orchestra checking the tuning of their instruments. I captured the official photographer flashing.
One, two. One, two, three, four.
The first piece was impressive; the overture from the opera Don Giovanni followed by Horn Concert no. 3.
This wasn’t really impressive but maybe that’s because I’m not such a horn fan. It looks kind of goofy to see a guy doing some horn solos. I believe Moz hated trumpets and maybe these horn concerts were his way of showing the sillyness of copper wind instruments.
After having played some unknown-to-me-stuff it was time for a break. I kind of like the black curtains instead of the predictable red.
Finally it was time for the real stuff: Symphony No. 41, KV 551, Jupiter.
A standing ovation at the end and there was that guy with the flash again.
The whole thing took like two hours but it really felt not even an hour had past. I wish more of these events would happen in Abu Dhabi.
A last glimpse of the posters before ankling off home.
What are you lookin’ at?
In our office I have the privilege of having my coffee on request delivered by the office boy. Usually it takes him around 10 minutes to put the cup on my table but today he did it in around 10 seconds.
When I asked him how he pulled it off he replied:
“When water hot, coffee fast. When water cold, coffee slow.”
Who needs Plato, Socrates, Machiavelli, Confucius, Descartes, Gibran, Sartre?
