>>> Views from the Top <<<

Thursday, May 27, 2004


Para ver fotos vá ao blog das fotos no http://vfarefotos.blogspot.com

mudança nos planos

Estava tudo muit bom para ser verdade. Chegar do Brasil e para nao ficar aqui choramingando de saudades eu tinha um vôo de dois dias para Xangai. Hoje dormi o dia todo, arrumei a mala, jantei e dormi ainda mais um pouco para estar totalmente preparado para voar.

Eis que saindo do chuveiro, já às 23:00 horas toca o telefone. Crew Scheduling dizendo que tinham colocado gente demais no vôo (comissários) e como sou o mais junior fiquei de fora. Agora tenho amanha, dia 27 de folga, dia 28 para descansar (já estou até cansado de descansar) e vôo para lá no dia 29 de madrugada. Um saco pois indo hoje eu teria 2 dias inteiros para passear e agora vou ter apenas 24 horas. Mas o problema nao está aí, a coisa é que quero ver o que eu vou fazer para dormir hoje depois de quase o dia todo de sono! Se ficar insône durante esta noite vai ser horrível!!!

Ossos do ofício. Vou desarrumar a mala, assistir aos Normais e esperar o sono chegar!

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

A melancolia da volta

Gente, cheguei em Dubai depois de horas e horas voando e esperando em saguoes de aeroportos. Estou outra vez na mesma escrivaninha de antes, vendo o pôr do sol no Golfo Pérsico, longe de todos vocês e digo uma coisa: é horrível!!!

A saudade aperta a garganta. Já fiz isto umas mil vezes (ir e vir) e nunca aprendo, sempre fico com este buraco dentro, com vontade de chorar e ficar pendurado com todos ao telefone!

Na verdade é um ótimo sinal. Sinal que vale a pena ir ao Brasil, que adoro vocês e que me adoram. Ruim se nao sentisse saudades, nao é mesmo? Mas vai explicar todo o racional para o coraçao irracional!!! Tudo é uma questao de tempo!

Tenho um vôo hoje a noite para Doha. Bate e volta. Espero amanha estar melhor e sei que em uns 10 dias vai estar tudo 10 outra vez!

Adoro muito todos vocês aí do Brasil!!!
MUITAS Saudades
Vicente

Monday, May 10, 2004

On holidays!

Dear blog-reading friends,

I am currently in Brazil for holidays and will fly back to Dubai on the 23rd of this month. Since I will try and enjoy this time here to the fullest, there will be no updates until I am back to the Middle East!

Sunday, May 02, 2004

Long news at last!

It has only been a week but many things changed over here. All of a sudden I don´t live at the 21st Century Tower anymore. Sure I was dying to move out of that cage but in a way I felt at home there and there were many friends I used to visit easily. Now home is accross the road, Sheik Zayed Road, and it takes a good 15 minutes walk to get to the other side.

The moving out was very stressful. I had to pack all of my stuff (which is not much but still occupies a lot of suitcases) and bring over by taxi to the White Building. 3 trips in total. However it has been worth it. The flat is huge and has plenty of natural light. The flatmates are nice. Miquel from Barcelona, whom I met on a flight to Düsseldorf and we got along and became good friends. Most of my days off we do something together so it will be easier now that we live in the same place. The other is called Faz. He is Australian from Perth with Persian (Iran) origins. He is nice and easygoing so I believe it will be nice to live with them.

Straight after unpacking I left for 3 days in Shanghai, China. Came back amazed by the place. It is simply FANTASTIC, the city to be, where everything is happening! I had been there almost 12 years ago and the shock to see what happened there just made me speechless. There are super modern high rises, great shopping, amazing architecture (both modern and old), gorgeous restaurants, fashionable bars, Chinese feel everywhere. Great! The best thing of all was to meet Tony Chao, an old friend from my days in Switzerland. He quit his job with Acer in Taiwan and went to Shanghai for a few days to check out the place. His parents have also moved from LA to Shanghai and his friends were visiting so at the end there were lots of nice people around.

On the first day we went on a mini van to visit a few cities in the countryside. It was amazing to be in China again and it was funny that they all talked Chinese to me. Thank God Tony was patient enough to be translating all the time. And I cant tell you how nice it is to go eat Chinese food in China with Chinese friends!!!

On the second day I woke up early and toured Pudong and Old Shanghai. Met Tony later in front of the famous Peace Hotel (Empire of the Sun) and went to the market to buy fake DVDs (1 dollar each), fake Puma shoes, fake Pashmina and the lot. Sooooooo cheap!!! And because we saved money at the market bargaining like maniacs we splashed out on a nice dinner at 3 on the Bund, a very fashionable restaurant facing the Bund and Pudong were the beautiful people of Shanghai meet. No words to explain how nice it was!!! After dinner we went to the Jazz Bar at the Peace Hotel in honour of Lisa and Antonio, our jazz adict friends.

Last day in Shanghai I took it easy since had to fly in the evening back to Dubai. Went to the Shanghai Art Museum to see a photo exhibition and later to have lunch at the Grand Hyatt on the Jin Mao tower, the tallest building in China. Amazing again!!!

Got back to Dubai really tired and did not remember were all of my stuff was since I had to unpack in a rush and had no time to get used to the new room! But most surprising is that I had a 10 hour sleep and had to fly again, this time to Cochin in India. It just felt so incredibly unbelievable to be landing in one of the greenest areas on the world, with palm trees, rivers, little huts and stuff not even a day after coming back from Shanghai. Needless to say that once back in Dubai again I was DEAD!!! And have been ever since. Today though after going to the gym and the pool I came back home and took a nap and will sleep early as tomorrow is rest day again for my flight to Perth in Australia.

Will soon be going to Brazil. Still dont know the day for sure as I have a flight to Bombay on the 9th. I am trying to swop it for a day off so I can leave as early as the 6th or 7th of May but we shall see. Guaranteed to be in Brazil on the 11th of May, staying until the 23rd.

Well, time to post this on the web and go to sleep before the prayers start once again at the mosque just in front of my balcony. This is life in the Middle East.