Believe it or not, we don’t get much snow in the UAE; however sometimes, usually in early January, the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah do get a slight brushing of the white stuff. It disappears pretty quickly and has brief curiosity value only. Until recently I hadn’t seen real snow for a long time.

In mid-December I decided to visit my wife in Russia (she was there on family business) for Christmas and New Year. Lana is from Russia and we own a flat (apartment) in Voronezh, which is located about 600 km due South of Moscow. So anyway, I bought the ticket, obtained the visa and was set to leave Dubai at about midnight on 23/24 December. Having checked in, and done the duty free bit, I was nursing a drink in the Irish Village, happy that I was going away for a few days, but with a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something. Oh well, the flight was called and off I went.

I duly arrived in Voronezh the evening of Christmas Eve and was quickly reminded of what was nagging at my memory whilst waiting for my flight; I was seriously underdressed – jeans, street shoes, a cotton shirt and thin ‘hoodie’ kind of thing just doesn’t cut it when it’s well below zero and snowing heavily. My wife bundled me into a waiting cab and we got home an hour or so later, where I was revived by a good helping of the well known local ‘firewater’.

Lana made sure I got kitted out properly of course, and I did venture out into the cold occasionally. But to be honest, I have lived in the Middle East for a while now and enjoy the weather here. Russia in July sounds a little more appealing. But it was a great break and I returned duly refreshed, as breaks are supposed to do for you. Strangely though, it didn’t snow again until I left, after ten days in Russia – dressed in the same garb I arrived in! After all, I was going back to the sun.