Now this is a desert storm!!

I tried to post a video on Instagram of the storm we experienced on Friday night (you can find my Instagram feed on the far right side of this blog if your not an Instagram user), but my video could not do the ferocity of this storm justice.

Fortunately, some crazy locals were in the right place, at the right time, and captured this amazing video. Be patient and keep watching as first the Burj Khalifa and then the whole city just disappears under the intensity of the storm.

This will amaze even you hardened storm going Melbournites and South Gippslanders!

Summer is upon us so this is probably the last rain for the year!

Moving house and a sand storm

We moved house over the weekend, although we had removalists pack and relocate our furniture and goods it was still exhausting work.

The weather over the past week has been hot, hot, hot.... there is still no sign of winters arrival at all and this combined with a bored 4 year old, 7 and a 1/2 month pregnant me and stairs almost killed us.

But as you can see below, two kids quickly settled into their new surroundings. Who would of thought having grass would make us all so happy. Looking at our yard you would hardly believe we are now living out in the desert (my water bill will certainly reflect it next month though)

We are almost settled in and fully unpacked, with the exception of a nasty sand storm yesterday afternoon everything has gone well. I will write a blog post soon about our new community with some more pics of our new home.

Helping Dad build Ikea furniture



The sand storm hit from nowhere as Naz and I were driving home yesterday, thankfully Piper was at home with our nanny who had the good sense to get everybody indoors quickly.



Interesting drive home - this is just near the entrance to our community

This morning as we drove to school and work Piper commented 'did they just put the trees back up?',  we laughed before looking out the window and realising that in fact all 3 trees that had been blown over the previous afternoon were now standing back upright. I don't even know whether to laugh or cry at this stupidity, but given sand storms are predicted for the next two afternoons I will be staying well away from the roads and trees!
There are just some things that the words 'only in Dubai' describe all too perfectly.

Sandstorms, rain and the craziness of Dubai!

This weekend was like no other I have experienced in Dubai.

On Thursday local news reported sandstorm warnings for the weekend, not unusual for this time of year as the temperatures start climbing towards summer. The media was full of warnings to stay indoors and reminders of the effects on respiratory health.

Friday was pretty standard, lots of sand and dust in the air and the strange yellow haze that comes with it. But nothing extraordinary or alarming.

By Saturday morning however, the winds whipped up and heading outside the house was near impossible. Piper and I played indoors and cooked pancakes for lunch to pass the time, it was after cooking the pancakes I turned around and noticed just how bad the weather had turned.

View from our balcony early in the afternoon, on a clear day we can see the Burj Al Arab in the distance!

Taken from a friends apartment on Sheikh Zayed Road later in the afternoon (this was the only time we left the house, to briefly celebrate a birthday)

On the left is our usual view over Downtown and the Burj Khalifa from our living room. On the right is our view on Saturday afternoon.

That evening not long after putting Piper to bed the storm took a severe, turn. Although the windows and doors were all locked the wind was whistling through every crack and a layer of sand was settling on everything indoors. It was about this time out the corner of my eye I watched our large, balcony couch cushion base sail up into the air and over the balcony into the beyond. I then had to brave the winds and scramble to pull everything from the balconies inside (I had actually completed this the day before, and wrongly assumed I had removed anything that could fly away). On the upside I got a free sandblasted facial!

Everything not secured at the building site of the new mosque next door was bashing and crashing, visibility was non existent and cars on the road below were basically stopping and parking to wait out the storm.
Then the rain came, and with it all the drama when you combine water and Dubai (the once or twice a year that it actually happens).

Let's just say with Naz still in Australia I did not sleep a lot that night. The wind and rain eventually eased and so too the constant police sirens, honking horns and screeching car tyres navigating the wet roads around us.

I have to admit I was actually pretty freaked out on Saturday night, and I have been quite happy to read in the paper over the last few days that even hardened locals were concerned, while others have commented there hasn't been a storm like it in 20 years!

How was your weekend?

A timely reminder we live in Arabia....

This weekend we were pretty much house bound for the entire 2 days due to severe sand storms!
The wind whipped up on Thursday evening and by Friday morning it was horrendous.
I am still getting my head around the fact we are on the otherside of the world... when I read the weather report as strong southerly winds I expected a cold snap with freezing winds NOT nasty, dry, hot winds that bring sand storms!
It was so bad we had to get a taxi instead of the 5 minute walk to the mall for our groceries and that was the only time we left the house and Lily just completely refused to pee outside in the wind much to Naz's frustration!
The downside now is that we need rain to clean everything...... it has only rained once for 5 minutes since we moved here 5 months ago so that is not likely to happen!
I bravely wrapped a scarf around my head and ventured out to take some of the photo's below.

Looking out or window first thing in the morning.... the pool is still blue and not the sandpit it became later in the day

You can only just make out the buildings in the distance on the right

If you know this area at all you will realise all the buildings behind have completely disappeared