Only in the UAE: 3 randoms

This is what I love about living in Abu Dhabi: over a period of three days I mingled with three people I can guarantee you my paths would never have crossed were it not for my decision to leave Canada.

They were: an ex-US military guy who is over here fixing F-16s, the new Mexican ambassador, Francisco Alonso, and the wife of one of the Canadian doctor inventors of the Banana Guard.

Only in the UAE would a flea market be held in a five-star hotel ballroom

The above photograph is of strangers sifting through my belongings. It's hard to believe, but I have accumulated a lot of stuff over the last four years living in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, living in small spaces and in such close proximity to people who do so much with so little (labourers etc) I have been thinking a lot about my consumerist ways and how they have nothing to do with true happiness and becoming a lot more interested in changing them. The decision to pare right down like this, happily,  coincided with the announcement that the Sheraton Corniche would be holding its first "night" charity flea market, so a friend and I decided to split a table and get rid of our junk. (Her junk was a little bit nicer than mine; it involved Jimmy Choo shoes)

Only in the UAE: Have you met my monkey?

The best thing about my encounter with this guy and his pet monkey on the Corniche tonight was not that he had a monkey as a pet, or that the monkey was wearing trousers, a striped T-shirt and (I think) a belt to pull is all together. The best part was that the monkey was chewing gum. Look closely, he's playing with it just like an 11-year-old girl.

Only in the UAE: Valet parking edition