London Rat Race!

What are you doing tomorrow from 3pm to around 7pm? There’s this challenge race that’s on and my friend is looking for a team member – would you be keen?

So I agreed. Come 2 pm Saturday I found myself surrounded by hundreds of competitors who were about to embark on London's Mean Street Rat Race. The rules are as follows. Each team is a series of challenges that must be completed within a certain amount of time. A map and a list of clues are given to each team one hour before the start of the race where you have to decide which route and which tasks you can complete. Failing to get to the finish line by 19:30 would result in a penalty.

So for the next 2 and half hours we ran around London. We decided to take the route down from Tower Bridge, down to the Bermondsey Tank, Imperial War Museum, up through Waterloo and through the streets of Soho, up to Farringdon, via Monument. We sung, danced, played pool, foozeball, climbed, jumped our way through the challenges. We must have covered at least 15 miles in the 150 minutes. Both my quads cramped up and my legs and body feel absolutely ruined. Don't think I've had quite so much fun in some time and managed to see so much of London. Placed 25th out of 125 teams! Not bad for a last minute call up.

"I'm coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine" - The Killers, Mr Brightside

Oktoberfest: 2010 release

It was billed as the rematch. 12 months ago I had passed out after a gruelling 6 hour drinking session. I had become another statistic of the 16 day event known as Oktoberfest. This time round I was determined, experienced and better prepared and I had grand ambitions to last out an entire day of drinking. Confidence is one thing, being delusional is another.

I, like many, suffer from the common problem of Asian Flush. This enzyme deficiency leads to the embarrassing situation of turning bright red after a handful of drinks. I decided I would attempt to remedy this problem at the world's most famous beer festival. Again, this was unsuccessful.

The Opening Ceremony of the 200th Anniversary of the most famous beer festival was exactly as I remembered - Plenty of drinking, the price of a stein had jumped to €9. Plenty of eating, it still amazes me how they manage to churn out quality food for the masses. Plenty of shenanigans, ass pinching, tobacco snorting, Europeans with yellow fever. Plenty of causalities. Plenty of memories, managed to catch up with my old Dragon Boat coach from Canada. Excellent times! Prost!

End of Summer. Go.

A tapestry of stamps and visas litter my passport like tattoos. A catalogue of my travels, over the last few years. Certain pages, resemble what appears to be the outcome of an infant with ADHD and a stamp; indiscriminate and purposeless. Others look more orderly and less interesting. The EU entry and exit stamp make regular cameo appearances, some bold with fresh ink, others starting to fade with time.

I have roughly 4 whole pages left in my passport. Hopefully, I can fill my passport by the end of the year. There's still so much out there that I'd like, nay, want to see. It's time to start finalising the remaining Europes trips for 2010!

Dubai

The Emirates Airline website states, 'Pets are not permitted in the cabin, with the exception of falcons between Dubai and certain destinations in Pakistan'. Strange yet true, this is one of the traditions that remains true in the present day; falcons allowed in aeroplanes. My visit to the United Arab Emirates, or more specifically, Dubai has been one of the more enjoyable trips this year. This is a somewhat partial comment as the agenda was to visit my sister on her last weekend in Dubai.

Not reknown for the sites, it was drastic change in scenary and culture which made this one of the more memorable trips of 2010. I have been meaning to swing by Dubai but given the nature of her job and the unpredictability of her whereabouts it's always a challenge to be able to meet her. The August long weekend proved to be ideal, she had no passport and I had nowhere to go. So with my stand by tickets in hand I headed to Heathrow after work in hope to catch a flight into the Middle East.

Arrived at Dubai International early Saturday morning, the flight had been comfortable but sleep was hard to come by. Greeted by my sister in the 'meeting area', also known as the pavement outside the Airport. It was hot, insanely hot. I could feel perspiration developing on the top of my feet. A short 30 Dirham cab ride and we were soon signing into one of many Emirates crew lodgings in Al Garhoud.

Plenty of activities to keep me busy. Lunch at Pier Chic, accessible by a simple cab, a gondola ride and a golf buggy down the wooden pier. Sister was cunningly encouraged by the restaurant to make the lunch time agenda my birthday which meant I had to pretend I was celebrating my special day all while enjoying the wonderful view of the Burj Al Arab. Being Ramadan, meant that majority of restaurants were not able to serve food until after sunset.

Managed to see most of the sights. At The Top - Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (100 AED). Ski Dubai the indoor ski slopes at The Mall of Emirates (180 AED) . Dinner at Atlantis at the Palms and the dancing fountains of the Burj. Plenty of international food: Bobotie, Sushi and the traditional Iftar buffet.

Great trip overall. Don't think I've experience such a culture shock in a while. From the rules governing Ramadan. To the way people present themselves outside of the walls of their houses. Public Displays of affection aren't a common site, where even married couples don't hold hands. Yet you'll see grown men holding hands as a sign of friendship. Then there's the mash up of old and new. Men will sport the traditional Thwab or Dishdash, but you can't help but notice the Rolexes, Ipods and Blackberry accessories. The women are far more influence by western trends. Burqa clad women women littered with the latest array of Jimmy Choos and Chanel handbags - the only form of visual individualisation. Then there's the transient lifestyle of Flight Attendants, remarkable. Had to leave Dubai early, but the trip was definitely well worth it. It's opened a new desire to explore more Arabic/Middle Eastern destinations - there's so much out there!