ABU DHABI // For days - months, it seemed - Salah al Habsi woke each morning with a thin coat of ice covering his eyebrows and moustache.
As he lay in his tent, his muscles aching and stiffened by the cold, the 44-year-old Emirati prepared himself for the next eight hours of his quest to reach the top of mount Cho Oyu in China, the world's sixth-highest peak. Once there, he would raise the UAE flag.
Now safely back in the country after last's month successful expedition, the police officer said he had a "new-found respect for the UAE's weather". "My worst enemy is the cold," said Lt Col al Habsi. "If anyone asked me then what was my one wish, I would say to be on the beach in Abu Dhabi in the hottest day of summer."
His preparations for the trip took 18 months. After quitting smoking, and taking several days off work each month to undergo an intensive training course, he was ready. With the UAE flag tucked in his backpack, he set off.
His 25-day trip started in the jungle, moving up to the black solid rocks, and then the snow. Each stage had its own challenges and "worries", he said.
Lt Col al Habsi was one of only three who made it to the 8,201m peak, barely 600m below the top of Everest, the world's highest. Eighty-one others on the expedition could not, with many suffering hallucinations at high altitude.
He, too, suffered hallucinations. "It would take me 30 minutes to pray, I couldn't remember if I had already said the Quran verses or not."
At one point his guide warned him that if he had any more, or started walk unsteadily, he would have to turn back.
"We were three hours from reaching the top. I was tired, my eyes were red. My guide then said we need to turn back, but I refused. Only when my walk is unsteady will I turn back, I told him."
But as soon as he reached the top, all feelings of tiredness, "and drain of energy" were gone. Before taking off his safety gear and without realising how close he was to the edge, he grabbed the UAE flag from his bag and waved it in the air before digging it deeply in to the mountain.
"I was so happy, I had faith in myself that I could do this, now I have fulfilled my desire for climbing," he said. "I want Arabs to see these pictures and participate in such expeditions, not many do."
osalem@thenational.ae
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ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions