Sanuk's

Having owned a pair of Sanuk's for over a year and used them thouroughly I have to say these are one of the most comfotable and practical pairs of footwear I have owned.  Being a cross between a trainer and a sandal means they are both very lightweight and easy to wear! featuring an antibacterial material they keep feet fresh and smelling good.  They have stood up well to the usage and still look presentable... I have therfore decided to have a look at purchasing another pair.  I have since reasearched the Sanuk site and narrowed my choices down to a few pairs:



Sanuk - Hybrid

Sanuk 'Hybrid' : A very slick design made with a mix of Canvas and Suede... Casual yet smart. Tempting!

Sanuk - Scurvy

Sanuk 'Scurvy': A casual and practical version of the ever popular 'Decker' style shoes, made from suede and can be worn with laces or without.  Comes in a range of colours i.e Black, Red, Green etc...



Sanuk - Pick Pocket



Sanuk 'Pickpocket': This particular design features a small hidden pocket within the shoe to hide/store small amounts of money or a key etc... Great for when you are walking in the streets of Durban lol!

Lebanese Feta Cheese Mix



Ready for spicing up our pasta..!



Whilst we were stumbling thru Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi I happened to notice a small stall selling some perculiar looking jars of what seemed to be Achar/Pickle... Ofcourse I naturally had to stop and enquire about them.  The polite gentleman pulled out a little plastic disposable tea spoon from a box and offered me a taste of what was a vibrant Lebanese style mix incoperating a blend of Eggplant, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, olives and low fat white cheese... I was sold from the first hit! Wow, Its hard to describe the flavour, its a very vribrant, vivid, mediteranean style flavour, with a strong olive tasting body and a creamy lucious ending! 

This gets the taste buds rockin'!

Since purchasing this jar, we have been utilising this in our pasta's and even alone with warm Lebenese style bread...Yum!  Highly recommended!

Manufactured in the UAE by Lebanon Palace for 'Feeling foods'.

Rasasi - Faqat Lil Rijal

Only For Men by Rasasi, 50ml bottle.

Rasasi Faqat Lil Rijal...Eau De Perfume

I stumbled across this scent on my quest to find something suitable for daily use, something that is reasonably priced, lasts long but is not to overpowering... I was looking for that masculine scent with a touch of the Arabian Oud Flava and here it is Faqat Lil Rijal aka 'Only for Men' by Rasasi.

"Faqat Lil Rijal signifies 'Only for Men', its an absoloutley masculine and inspirational fragrance that potrays power, independance and dynamic personality with a ready to wear fashionable image.  The woody flavours create a luscious yet robust aura which are both enchanting and enticing.  It makes you feel zesty and distinctley aromatic, to leave a delightful trail.  It has been conceived for the present day man who yearns attention and desires to be appreciated.  It reflects man's indepth personality and surges his dynamic lifestyle with a feeling of aristocracy...Enjoy the pleasusres of Faqat Lil Rijal - Only for Men."

The packaging

Rubicon - Passion fruit juice

1 litre of goodness!

Rubicon Passion fruit juice...I have been downing these by the carton load! It's that tangy, zingy, sweet/sour taste that really gets your mouth watering! A 1 litre carton seems to be lasting me a day or two at the most?! Ohhh well off to Lulu to buy another one then. Priced at 0.825 OMR these aint cheap, but hey its made from the finest hand picked passion fruits.  No preservatives, artifical colourings or sweetners.

"Passionfruits have a tangy finely balanced sweet/sour taste and fragrant aroma, as well as boasting a wealth of natural health benifits.  The fruit is packed with vitamin C and provitamin A which all help support the body's immune system.  All this goodness from a single fruit"

Papa John's Cheese Sticks



Only 1.7 OMR at Papa John's.

When it comes to simple, cheap n' cheerful fast food I think these Cheese Stick's from Papa John's get first prize in Muscat!  Easily accessible from our friends in Lulu, Ghubrah Branch... Our version comes extra loaded with cheese because we are regulars, it also comes packed with Garlic Butter sauce and Tomato dips! From the time we order we have precisley 10 mins to grab an icecold bottle of 7up and we are off to the carpark to feast!!! Ahhh.... I'm feeling for some Cheese Stick's...Are you? ;)

My new E52



My new Nokia E52! Fresh from the box...!



To follow up my post regarding the Nokia E52! Here its is... Purchased from Nokia, Mirdiff Mall, Dubai. Feels great in the hand! Easy to text and drive ofcourse (joke!).

I've already nstalled a few grreat programs:

Athan - Islamic finder: A great program which gives azan direct to your phone for over 6 million cities world wide!

Thasbeeh Counter: A simple java application to help one keep productive reading Zikr when you have a spare moment.



Whatsapp: A great chat program that keeps you connected...The reason i chose this particular program is because it denotes when the sent messages are received by the recipient i.e like delivery reports.

 One thing that I find excellent is the free ovi maps feature which utliises GPS for accurate navigation in the car or by foot! What more do you need?! IMHO a great phone!

Unpacking, phone includes free car holder!

Loading day...




The container....20hq

 

So it was time to move...The ME was a great experience, places we liked, places we learnt to like, and places that will always be in our memories.  We will InshAllah return oneday to relive those memories...Until then its a whole new world for the next 5 years! New adventures! New memories and new dreams, may Allah swt grant us success and make it easy for us...InshAllah Ameen.

This post outlines the trials and tribulations of loading our 20ft container with all our personal belongings.  I had been quoted some seriously high prices! in excess of $4000 to move this container from the UAE to South Africa 

There are several stages when organising a shipment of this sort. Having done extensive research I found the easiest and most economical method of doing things...

Having inititally spoke to several removal companies I found that I was getting charged excessively for various stages in the loading process.

In order to gauge the price of a shipment one must first phone a shipping line, a shipping line is a company that actually has ships sailing from destination to destination, rather like airlines having planned destinations/flights shipping lines have specified routes and vessels that travel those set routes.

I phoned up 'Maersk Line' and spoke to a helpful gentleman who gave me a quote for a 20ft container on the shipping line Dubai, Jebel Ali to Durban, ZA.  He quoted me $800 for the container alone, he also gave me some shipping dates to choose from... On my particular route there are approx 3 sailings in the month, so i choose the 17th Jan 2011.



So with that figure and date in mind I started to find out what other costs where involved.  The first being paper work and fees etc that needs to be produced for the container to be shipped:

BL (Bill of Lading) - The official legal document representing ownership of cargo.

CI (commercial invoice) - a rough estimation of the shipment value

Packing list - a rough list of items in the container

THC (Terminal handling charge) - A charge of carriers for recovering the costs of handling FCLs at container terminals at origin or destination.

Customs documentation & service fee - Dependant on goods being shipped to/from country of origin/destination.

Transport - local - fee for local delivery of container from place of loading to port.



For this task I contacted a Freight forwarder, I had been recommended a reputable company from the gentleman at the Maersk Line office.  With the Shipment quotation in mind I contacted the freight forwarder to quote me for all the neccessary paper works, customs charges and local delivery etc.

I mentioned I was going to be stuffing/loading the container myself since I knew that companies tend to make their money in this area, overcharging for labour etc.

I was quoted $1400 all inclusive (shipped to port of Durban) which was alot cheaper than the $4000 I had orginally been quoted!



The only thing I had to do was get the container loaded!

We had decided to load on the 11th Jan 2011, to leave enough time for clearing at port etc and sailing on the 17th Jan.  It had been noted that I would not pay any money until the BL was issued.

When it came to loading the container all our items where packed and ready in storage, I had arranged for the container to be unhitched outside the storage location where I met the driver and instructed him what to do the night before loading.

In the morning we were hyped up and ready for loading! Initially I had planned to take 3 men at the charge of 100 AED per hour with a forklift if required! I then had a change of plan and decided to do it the hard way....! I had requested for 1 man to help me at the negotiated price of 150 AED for 1/2 a day! Optmisitc since we had to load the full container just me and my helper!



In the morning I met Jamal and alhamdulillah this brother was terrific! He never stopped from the moment we started! We lifted all the items with ease into the container, Allahu Akbar...It almost seemed as thou the items had lost their weight?! I had been imagining difficulty in lifting the items into the cointainer etc and needing to hire a forklift etc but Alhamdulillah it was so easy! My duahs where answered, thanks to Allah swt. We loaded the container in 2 hours flat!!! SubhAllah. Doors closed...Ready for shipment!

So there is the story and some pictures for memory...

Hopping up into the cointainer!



Last minute packing at Lulu Carpark, Al Barsha... Lol!







 

The main man! Jamal from Waziristan working up a sweat.