My first blog post

Been threatening to do this for a while, but finally got round to pushing the button and creating a blog. Life is so COLOURFUL in the UAE, every day is a new adventure, and I hope you will enjoy reading about the best of them here.

It’s been a busy week, a few of us had a super easy drive in the sands between Sweihan and Al Ain last Saturday, and on Sunday I was in the sand again as we scouted for a route for my friend Bruce’s trip which he will lead later today (this is the first one he has led/organised). At the end of the drive we aired up and went to Al Khatim for some food, and there I dropped my purse out of my handbag on some waste ground – and in it were a small amount of cash, my debit/credit cards, my driving license and my UAE ID card.

Needless to say, I didn’t get too much sleep that night, and when I finally did get some slumber I was woken up by a phonecall from someone who had my purse – with the contents intact! I travelled back to Al Khatim in the evening, expecting to collect it, and being dressed for, meeting a local gentlemen at the ADNOC (gas station), but instead was directed to his home where I spent a lovely evening and enjoyed a delicious dinner with Mr Khadim, his wife and grandmother.

Turns out that one of their farmworkers had gone to the shop for some provisions, had found my purse and handed it to his employer, the grandfather, who in turn gave the job of contacting me to Mr Khadim, who speaks excellent english. The farmworker who handed in my purse will no doubt earn less than £50 a week, so I am very impressed at his honesty, and will call in with a thank you card with some cash in it to reward him.

My good friend Terryl is no doubt thinking “It could only happen to Marina…..”