Heat in the Sandpit

[Glorified Donkey]

This question is for any pilots living in the sandpit. How can you stand the heat? Where I am its 35 with humidity feels like 40. Do you all love the heat, anyone feel sick from it, easily fatigued? Do you get used to it after a while?

[Herbsnspices]

Amstell light, mate, Amstell light 2 hours in the freezer.

[Warlock2000]

Dubai, the coldest place in the northern hemisphere this summer.
Just walk into any mall or movie theater and you'll see....;)

[ironbutt57]

I spent time in Yuma Arizona, and in eastern California deserts in the colorado river area, and it was worse than here by far...cold beer is the trick

[BigGeordie]

As my old Granny used to say, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". You do get used to it but I don't think anybody would call the summers here pleasant. Some of the expat wives and expat brats go back to Europe or Australia for 3 months each summer, which I think is funny. When I lived in Europe nobody went to Spain for 3 months each winter because Northern Europe was too cold....

[Andu]

Warlock has a point. Typically, every theatre and restauramt in the place has the AC wound down to 17 or 18debloodygrees all year round, so that you find yourself having to carry a *** jacket (and the women a pashie) to survive a meal out or a movie without freezing your butt off.

I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but I've yet to discover it. I feel like a dill carrying a jumper out to the car in 45 degree temperatures, but I'm invariably glad I did so before the first course is served.

[Desert Diner]

Some of the worst colds here are had in the height of summer. :rolleyes:

Don't know what it is today but its only 43C and about 20% humidity but it was hard walking around.:oh: I'd rather be in Jeddah where its only 31C right now.


As for keeping cool outside, all you have to do is be thankful its not Aug/Sep when its 45C+ and 100%+ humidity:ugh:

[ironbutt57]

desert must be having a heat stroke.....ok ok just pop into the local pub in jeddah for a coldie...humidity in jeddah is horrible just now....:hmm:

[Desert Diner]

Perpetual heatstroke. On the positive side, I'm off on a much needed break next week.

Gimme cold wind, rain and plenty of pints in between lashings of pork products. :ok:

I see Jeddah is at 65% humidty, but its only 32C. But it beats the sand ladden air we have at the moment.

[Dan Winterland]

No ice cold Amstel Lite in Jeddah though:eek:

[Desert Diner]

I guess I should have mentioned that 'the much needed break' was not only outside of the Magic Kingdom, but outside of the entire Sand Zone.

[Desert Diner]

Speaking of staying cool out here. Back when they introduced Murphy's in Bahrain (early 90's), they had a special promotion in which you were givena card and you would get a stamp for drinking a pint of the stuff in a different bar. Once you filled in and returned the card, you would be given a t-shirt with the Murphy's logo. I guess the anticipated timeframe for the exercise was a week or more.

Well, as it was a hot July wednesday evening, we decided to give it a go. At the end of the night, we ended up at a bar with a Phillipino band, not with one but two completed cards each. :\ The things one does to stay out of the heat:E

[ironbutt57]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes the good old days...according to the newspaper here...some officials are trying to shutdown the sale of alcohol in Bahrain.....:uhoh:

[PPRuNeUser0199]

What would the saudi's do on the weekend then?
Next thing you know say good bye to the pork.
:uhoh:

[Desert Diner]

The saudis have started breathelizing on their side of the causeway if you get stopped for speeding.

Sort of takes the fun out of popping across for a couple of pints. Moreso for those doing it from Riyadh:ouch:

[FlyingCroc]

Strange it is, now the ****** are alone :}

[FlyingCroc]

The guys are alone: Wife Away No Kids Eat Rubbish, and of course lots of beers:E

[Panama Jack]

Arabian summers are as much as a hardship (and as much to look forward to) as freezing Northern winters. The objective is the same-- stay indoors in climate controlled places as much as possible. The main differences are:

- I can still feel my toes.
- I don't have to spend 100's of kapufniks buying clothing that I will only use certain times of the year.
- The heat doesn't necesitate a visit (and possible revisit) to the deicing bay.
- Don't have "morning sickness" problems with the airplanes (or the car).
- Don't need two sets of tires for the car.
- Nothing to shovel every morning before going to work.
- Never came home to find the heating conked out and the water pipes frozen.

Neither extreme is pleasant and either is physiologically hard, but between the two I find the heat to be a lesser evil than the cold. In fact, no place in the world is perfect-- if not the heat or cold, you have to contend with earthquakes, traffic, rains, mosquitos, etc. If such a perfect paradise did exist on earth, there would be no incentive for people to want to still get into heaven.

[Desert Diner]

- I can still feel my toes.
- I don't have to spend 100's of kapufniks buying clothing that I will only use certain times of the year.
- The heat doesn't necesitate a visit (and possible revisit) to the deicing bay.
- Don't have "morning sickness" problems with the airplanes (or the car).
- Don't need two sets of tires for the car.
- Nothing to shovel every morning before going to work.
- Never came home to find the heating conked out and the water pipes frozen.

The alternative version:

- You can also feel the blisters (and 2nd degree burns) on your hands from touching anything metalic that has been in the sun for a while. Worse, I have personally gotten blisters from touching my plastic wraped steering wheel after the car has been out in the sun for a few hours.
- Still have to buy clothes for the heat. And unfortunately you can't wear shorts and a t shirt going into the suq.
- The car still suffers with a version of "morning sickness" from the heat and sand. Tyres bursting due to heat, batteries dying, windscreen wipers, etc.
- Also most heavies can only fly out at night during the "cool" period
- You just tend to buy more of the one set of tyre you use due to heat degradation of the rubber. Did I mention tyres bursting due to heat?
- Still have the pleasure of sweeping/shoveling the fine sand and grit after a shamal.
- Comming home to find out the electricity is out, or worse, the AC is broken. There is nothing like sleeping inside a house where the temperture is 45C.
I've also worked in Canada before and can appreciate both extremes, but I have yet conclude which one is worse: -40C or +40C (more like +45C)

[MTOW]

Diary of a Dubai Summer (by a Pom Expat)

April 31st
Just got transferred with work into our new home in Dubai, UAE! Now this is a city that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! I watched the sunset from a deck chair on the verandah It was beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.

May 13th:
Really heating up. Got to 35 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshiper.

May 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

June 10th
The temperature hasn't been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the pool. Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I missed Kitty (our cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car for lunch, Kitty had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and stank up the $3,000 leather upholstery. I told the kids that she ran away. The car now smells like Wiskettes and cat ****. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat.

July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant **** blow dryer!! And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the blink and the AC repairman charged 500 Dirhams just to drive over and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bloody 2,000,000 Dirhams house and we can't even go inside. Why did I ever come here?

August 4th:
It's 45 degrees. Finally got the ol' air-conditioner fixed today. It cost 2000 Dirhams and gets the temperature down to 25, but the bloody humidity makes the house feel like it's about 30. Stupid repairman. I hate this stupid **** place.


August 8th:
If another wise arse cracks, "Hot enough for you today?" I'm going to **** throttle him. **** heat! By the time I get to work the car's radiator was boiling over, my clothes are soakin **** wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

August 9th:
Tried to run some messages after work. Wore shorts, and sat on the black leather seats in the ol' car. I thought my **** arse was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and my **** arse. Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried arse, and baked cat.

August 10th:
The weather report might as well be a **** recording. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and **** sunny. It's been too hot to do anything for 2 damn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this damn **** place? Water rationing will be next, so my 5,000 Dits worth of palms just might dry up and blow into the **** pool. Even the palms can't live in this **** heat.

August 14th:
Welcome to HELL!!! Temperature got to 48 today. Now the air-conditioner's gone in my car. The repairman came to fix it and said, "Hot enough for you today?" My wife had to spend the $7,000 Dirham mortgage payment to bail my arse out of jail for assaulting the stupid f***er. F**k Dubai! What kind of a sick demented **** idiot would want to live here?

[ruserious]

Love the post above, moral of the story....
Buy a Toyota car and stay in company accommodation

Personally I kinda like the heat, its not that bad once you are used to it. Just takes about 3 years or so to adjust. The more time you spend outside the less it bothers you.
I think the people who have the biggest problem adjusting are those that hide inside with their thermostats cranked all the way down.
Set it at 23' and leave it there for the whole year.

[EK Pilot]

MTOW,

Absolute classic post!! Up there with The Caravan and The Alsoran Scrolls!! :}

[ExSimGuy]

MTOW, Someone ought to extract that post and make it a sticky :ok:

M2005, Lucky for you that you can "pop across the bridge" - No Way can I go over and drive back to RUH at night Have to stay the night with my friend ;) (on the sofa, that is:hmm: )

Of course, the plus side is that here it was 44 an 5% RH;) - which is "a lot cooler" (though it still has the car seats and steering wheels giving the burns)

Overall, I think I've got used to it after almost 20 years

Fantasy Island going dry? - I wouldn't have thought it - surely the economy severely depends on the Nationals from this side of the bridge going across at the weekend? Although, having seen the state of some of Magic Kingdom Nationals, I really wouldn't blame them. And my friend leaves her car at home if at all possible from early Wednesday evening until Saturday morning:=

[Earl]

Get another job and enjoy real beer everynight.
I know harder said than done.
Been there done that.
But worth the efforts!

[sandbar]

When the wrong bucket gets too heavy then it's time to decide whether to stay or go ... but then you get your cheque ... and you're a believer!!!
:)

[Expat Country Member]

...how to adapt (for those lacking imagination).

Europe: Kick wife(partner) out of bed:-
Run bath
Make tea
Warm loo seat
Start car and select heater

Self: snooze to recover energy from kicking wife out.
Enjoy tea
Read newspaper
Run to car to keep dry

Dubai:
(Wife has long disappeared to take kids to skool and her tennis morning)
Maid:
wakes one with a cup of tea and sandy 2 day old newspaper
chills loo seat
runs shower (cold tap is now hot and vice versa - think about it).
Starts car and selects A/C (10 mins before "Sir" departs).

Self:
tea, read, shower, dress and walk very slowly to car.

Other Pros and Cons;
Remainder of your Thermos Cup of tea is still hot enough to drink the leftovers on the way home after work.
Turn off Hot Water heater May - Sept (Water from cold tap is more than hot enough to shower, and water stored in immersionis chilled enough by House ambient to sub as cold)
Garden is full of colour - the same bl**dy bouganvillea
colour Jan 1 - Dec 31
51 w/ends a year are blue skies
Plan barbies months in advance
Wardrobe is 100% casual
Footwear only to insulate feet from being cooked
Speckled Hen, Abbott ale, Bishops Finger, IPA are all readily available - not quite the same as the real flat warm stuff, but still.
Dark at 6 or 7pm 365 days - no long summer evenings - my only regret

[alwayzinit]

sounds like Expat has got his sh#t all in one sock! (compliment)

Main draw back from long summer evening/nights in the UK is some t#sser sharing his/her taste in music..thump thump thump... whilst driving like a f###ing knob through the village with no exhaust.

Give me frosty winter nights to keep the bu##ers inside watching some rubbish on the tv.

Alwayzz:}