Those lazy, hazy days of summer
Today marks the end of my summer of 2024. Not because it's any special day in the calendar but simply because I have marked it so. ( These days, I mostly do as I please! ) Today I do nothing but simply look back.... I am not a fan of summers normally - especially given that I have been based in a sandpit for the last 20 odd years. Like most of us expats who live here in the Middle East, I have always found summers a good time to escape - either travel back to India or to visit other countries that have, or used to have, cooler temperatures. This year, I stayed put, mostly :) And it was different. Yes, it was very hot and one had to stay indoors almost all the time but there was a sense of quiet and peace in and around Dubai that I quite enjoyed. Over the last 2 months, almost every expat had left the country, there were less cars, less traffic, less noise, empty malls and restaurants and generally a sense of slowing down every where. Even less socializing! So one...