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I’m back home (in Perth, Australia). Very tired. Very satisfied. A lot is on my mind to process. A lot of ideas, business ideas, a lot of opportunities to explore in Russia, Afghanistan, Dubai… Let’s see what comes out of it all.

This post it to say how impressed I am with Singapore Airlines. This was the first time I flew with them (PER > SIN > DXB and back) and I have to say, that they are very good. My flight from Dubai to Singapore was 2 hours late. Singapore Airlines gave us a free dinner at Saffar Restaurant at the Airport. Because the flight was later, I missed my connection to Perth in Singapore. When I arrived there, there were people waiting for me with a seat booked on the next flight (6hr wait). They also gave me a room at a 5-star hotel in Singapore, 3 free meals and free taxi transfer to and from the airport. It’s nice to be looked after. Cheap hotels

And here are a couple of photos from Singapore.

Today I had another day in Dubai. My flights from Moscow with Emirates didn’t quite connect with my transfer to Singapore/Perth, so I thought it would be a good idea to spend another day in the Emirates. I had no plans for the day, so I slept in and then went for a walk in the city. My two-start hotel is in the old part of Dubai and there are a lot of little middle-eastern-looking shops. The area must be known for its air conditioning vibe – every second store is selling air conditioners or parts for them. The rest has “Car Rental” or “Typing” signs on them. Not sure what they do. Surely not typing. I also didn’t see any rental cars.

Booze timing. The little “Panorama Hotel” (with a panorama view on a dusty street outside) where I stayed had something that looked like a bar. However I very much doubt people drunk there as they don’t sell alcohol in Dubai. When I arrived in the hotel at midnight last night (from my flight from Moscow), there was Arabic music blasting from the door and there were quite a few people sitting there inside. Must be drinking tea and smoking something. The interesting thing is that the bar was called “Booze”. And there is a sign at the door “Booze Timing”. As Borat says, “Ver-ry Na-a-ice!”

It was hot today (probably around 45C) and I caught a taxi to the “Mall of Emirates” – an undercover shopping mall, a size of Fremantle with a snow mountain inside. There shopping guides in Arabic, English and Russian. I didn’t think I’d buy anything there as most of shops sell label stuff, but I thought I’d just check it out. I stopped at a property developer’s stand to ask a few questions about Dubai market. With the city growing so fast, I was interested to talk to someone who deals with it every day. So, here I am, talking to Inga.  Where are you from? Ukraine. Oh, privet.. and we switched to Russian. Then after asking me why I didn’t just speak Russian to her (how would I know?) she called her manager (an Aussie bloke) who then took me for a drive to their office. I asked him how he was coping with those glamorous Russian girls at the stand. He seemed to enjoy it. He actually managers a team of 40 people – in a property development company – 40 of whom a Russian girls. Looked very much like a Russian brides store. Russian brides for everyone!

Today I also went through some industrial and building site of the city, visited the tallest building in the world – see some photos below.

Now here I am, again, sitting at the airport and typing this. Airports seem to inspire me and give birth of many of my thoughts, reflections and new ideas. Tomorrow I’ll be back in Perth. Welcome back, Australia. Welcome back into my life. It has been a great holiday.