After my childhood odyssey from Poland to Australia, I developed an insatiable thirst for travel and a deep-seated curiosity about our vibrant, diverse world. Now, with more than 140 countries imprinted on my passport, I am living proof that a rootless beginning can inspire a life of exploration.
Every three years, along with hundreds of thousands of other expats, I must renew my UAE residency visa — a process that’s as convoluted as it is archaic. Despite the fact that most of the bureaucratic grunt-work is done by somebody else, my family and I are still required to subject ourselves to blood tests […]
As a side benefit of being laid up in bed for the last few days, I’ve managed to catch up on the arguments being put forward to the U.S. Congress regarding military intervention in Syria. There were a number of well-polished speeches, feisty comments and even attacks on Obama. Nevertheless, I felt that that the […]
Turkey hints at ‘evidence’ that Israel is destabilizing the Brotherhood, the U.S. fleet is planning a fishing trip to the Med, NSA agents are misusing company resources to spy on their ‘love interests’ and the WikiLeaks Party is about to oust its leader, Julian Assange, if he continues to hide in Ecuador’s London embassy instead […]
The Middle East is changing, without a doubt, and Dubai is certainly one city that can attest to dramatic changes. Whether the changes are for good or bad, I’m going to reserve judgement for now. However, I would like to say that an infusion of new blood into any community adds a cosmopolitan feel to […]
I really don’t care for the Emirates Foundation, duty free shopping or the number of languages spoken by the crew, nor do I enjoy announcements that belch through the headphones at a pain inducing volume, override my preferences and pause my show. I care little for local time, the outside air temperature or that some […]
To say that I’m a fan of international roaming would be a big fat lie. Don’t get me wrong, I love the freedom of being able to take my mobile phone and SIM (subscriber identity module) card from my current provider, travel half way around the world and still be able to communicate as if […]
Multi-billion dollar Oil & Gas companies are being targeted by a new generation of intelligent and destructive computer viruses that are capable of collecting sensitive information and are capable of destroying entire computer ecosystems. On August 15, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest Oil & Gas producer based in Saudi Arabia, admitted that it was targeted […]
Millions of frequent flyers around the globe go through the pain of requalifying for the coveted Emirates Skywards Gold membership level. For some of us, this may mean being only a few thousand tier miles away from retaining Gold, for others, it could be 25,000 miles. So what’s the best way to ensure you keep […]
With the rising sun the stillness and peace of the night gives way to hammer-drills, screeching machines and a sea of fluorescently coloured construction workers precariously clinging to the most recent addition to Dubai’s skyline. A marriage of glass and steel, polished until the reflection of distant sea waves can no longer be distinguished from […]
Subscribe and receive email notifications the moment Dr.Shem publishes a new post.