Aussie boys take on Bahrain

My football pursuits began again when the Aussie boys, the Socceroos, took on Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier...brother Michael joined me in travelling to the Bahraini capital, Manama, for the game...

Oddly, when the Aussie travelling fans turned up to the stadium in a clutch of mini-buses, they were shepherded into the bowels of the stadium and then right onto the ground allowing us to observe, at arms length, the warm-up of the Aussie footballing lads...it wasnt until an Australian football official politely asked us to go back to the stands that this bizarre situation concluded...

This is the national stadium of Bahrain...


Mark Schwarzer, the Aussie goalkeeper warming up...


Michael Petkovic, back-up goalkeeper warming up to sit on the bench...



Marco Bresciano, Aussie mid-fielder also warming up...this practice shooting from this distance was actually very important...Bresciano scored the winning goal in the final seconds of the game from almost this exact spot!!!...


This is just after than final minute moment which caused delirium among the Aussie fans numbering about 200-300...that's me on the left hanging on to the fence (credit to esteemed GG Army member Mikey R for the photo)...


And the lads coming over to the faithful fans after the match...


So off it was back to a pub...which was also the pub of choice for the players and team management....

Tim Cahill of Everton FC (left) and me (right)...


Marco Bresciano of Palermo (left), VB stubbie (centre) and me (right)...


Jesus of Karlsruhe (alias Josh Kennedy, left) and me (right)...


Lucas Neill of West Ham decided to get up and karaoke with the Philipino band...


Dutch guy Pim Verbeek, manager of the Aussie team, and my brother, Michael...


The next hazy day a tour of the Manama streets was in order...


The newish World Trade Centre building of Bahrain...



with window cleaners who do work...


but wind turbines that dont work...


And, finally, the concluding stages of a sunset over the Manama metropolis...


More travels are planned...can't wait!

Roadtrip to Oman...

With it being so close (relatively speaking), the lure of neighbouring Oman couldn't be resisted for much longer. So, when an old friend, Rosabella, visited from Edinburgh, it was time to get the car loaded and take a road trip to the nation to my immediate left...

It's about a 5 hour drive from Abu Dhabi to Omani capital, Muscat (taking into account border crossing red-tape). Here are some of the sights of the older part of the city which is dominated by government buildings including the Sultan's palace...









A day trip to one of the better sights of Oman, Wadi Shab (translated Shab Valley) was slightly interrupted by driving down a few cul de sacs...but nonetheless some fabulous sights were come across...

This is the actual Wadi that we finally got to towards the end of the day...unfortunately we didnt get to explore the entire sight...




On the way, we came across a village that seemed to be invaded or even infested with goats...




The sunsets were beautiful in Oman...




The national flag against a typical mountainous backdrop in Oman...so many of the mountains look like nothing more than very large piles of rubble...



The ruins of Wadi Tanuf village...I am informed that this was bombed by the British airforce in the 1950s as part of a civil war between the Omani rulers and rebels situated in the mountains. The rebels apparently used this village to hide-out hence its downfall. The villagers obviously decamped and re-built their village literally next door...


The small city of Nizwa...




From the very impressive fort at Nizwa...



A typical view in Oman of the mountains...


Next stop: Bahrain

The Wild Wild Western Region

The Western Region (or Al Gharbia in the local speak) of the Abu Dhabi Emirate is my 1/2 home for the last month and the next couple of months. This area, commonly known as the Empty Corner, is a land of surprises. You never know what might pop up from behind a tremendously large sand dune...

Before we get there, I have taken a couple of pics of the amazingly beautiful and hazy Autumn sunrise that can be experienced around these parts. This is on the road out of Abu Dhabi...



This is our home for 1/2 of the week...the Liwa Hotel...a lovely hotel, though a little bit spoiled due to some architectural misgivings...the poolside has amazing views of endless miles of sand dunes (which are possible to see in this pic)...the design is roughly based on a traditional Emirati fort...


Another sunrise...this time from the hotel balcony of a morning...



This extraordinary sight was spotted on our first drive to Liwa, the town of our hotel in the Western Region. Despite this being the middle of the desert, you can see lots of fodder farms and hay baling...with huge sand dunes just hundreds of metres away...the reason being that the Liwa area is surrounded by an oasis allowing the local to grow fodder, tomatoes and lots of other horticulture...


The highway into Liwa...


A typical series of enormous sand dunes, symbolic of the area...


Sunset in the Empty Corner...


The place is also dotted with camel farms...with camel racing being a hugely popular local pastime...






One of the roads into a mountainous sand dune area...




An absolutely glorious desert sunset...the sunsets and sunrises here are amongst the best I have ever seen (well, on a par with southern Tasmania)...


A favourite photo...


A farm outpost...a common sight among the desert dunes...a closer look will show the presence of sheep, goats, camels, horses and chickens...


In all, this is an amazing place which gives a facade of nothing-ness, but is actually rich with excitement and surprise.