Domestikatie

It couldn’t have been more perfect for us.  We arrived in Phuket just after sunset in the twilight glow. A soft, steady rain was falling and a cool breeze was coming off the water.  We took the time to pick up SIM cards in the airport, and then found the resort car waiting just outside the terminal.  Inside the car, the driver handed us each a bottle of water and cool towel to freshen up with.  The towels were scented with fresh citrus.  Between them on the tray was a purple orchid.

At the resort we checked in at the open air lobby.  I was given a beautiful bracelet of fresh local flowers and we were handed fresh juice to sip on while the paperwork was completed.  A golf cart took us on a ride to our room through the beautifully groomed grounds, the air scented with jasmine and frangipani.  We arrived in plenty of time to enjoy a delicious dinner at the open air restaurant.  Our table was front and enter, about 30 yards from the surf.  The drizzle and the breeze kept us comfortable during the meal and cocktails, allowing us the much needed time to unwind from the flight and transfer.  We got back to our room after turndown to find orchids on our pillows, slippers at our bedsides, and a printed Buddhist blessing on top of the duvet.

I don’t usually spend a lot of time on our accommodations when we travel, but I am going to this time. I booked this trip on pretty short notice.  Less than 10 days out, when we decided that we were not likely to have any other time for travel this summer.  It is slow season here so the choices were plentiful.  For this trip I was looking for a smaller place, with a private beach and a nice room.  Bingo!  With the rain comes very inexpensive rooms, and incredible discounts on services.  Living where we do, we consider the rain somewhat of a treat, and definitely not a bother at all.  The accompanying cool breeze is simply glorious.  Yes the humidity is high, but it always is here in the jungle, and it’s just as high at home without the accompanying greenery and aforementioned cool breeze.  So back to the point… I chose The Vijitt Resort as our local base of operations.  It is a small place.  There are 92 individual villas around the grounds.  None of the villas share a wall, and all are made private by an offset build and fantastic landscaping.  You may choose to have a private zen garden, a beachfront villa, or one with your own private infinity pool.  All villas have a huge tub and a separate (and private) outdoor rain shower.  Inside, the rooms are surrounded by windows and filled with light.  The high ceilings and the sound of the rain at night easily lulls us to sleep.

  

On our first day here we have scheduled nothing at all in advance.  There is a spa on site that is offering tremendous off season discounts, so we opt for a couples massage.  Before the massage they bring us tea and a selection of scented oils to choose from.  We each choose the one that is appealing at the moment, and then they exchange our shoes for slippers (well mine anyway, they do not have slippers large enough for the skis Larry calls feet) and lead us to a smaller villa down the hill.  They begin by giving us each a foot massage and salt scrub before leading us into the treatment room.   Have you ever had a Thai massage?  This is the one where a tiny Thai woman climbs up on the massage table with you and uses her full body weight and all 4 of her limbs to coax your muscles into complete relaxation.  It works.  Reeeaalllly well.  Both of us walk out 90 minutes later feeling like jello.  I get my shoes back, and a golf cart whisks us back to our room where we collapse onto a freshly made bed and promptly pass out.  Complete disclosure – Larry was snoring on the massage table.  He made the 3 women in the room giggle, which unfortunately woke him up.  It makes me laugh to think about it.  The man needed to relax and that was my focus this trip.  Here we are on day 1, mission accomplished.  YAY!

This is the second time I have traveled to Thailand, including here to Phuket.  The first time was a very long time ago, many years prior to the horrifying tsunami that many know this place for.  It has changed of course, as places, people, and things do over time.  It is still beautiful.  The people here are still smiling, warm and friendly, and eager to make your time here the best that they can.  The primary point of this DK entry is to say to our friends who have not traveled to this part of the world… DO it!  Off season anywhere is a bargain.  Off season in Asia is ridiculous.  It is a loooooong flight from the US, so stay long enough to make it worth your while, but come.  Your dollar goes a very long way, and you will be amazed.  You can vacation like royalty.  The Asian aesthetic alone is worth it.  The landscaping down to the design in the sidewalks is beautiful and created with an attention to detail unrivaled anywhere in my opinion.  The focus is on relaxation and happiness.  They truly want to see you smile.  The place I chose for us is not for everyone.  I wanted small and quiet.  We face sunrise, not sunset, and the ocean here is very shallow, with a tidal beach and limited swim time as a result. The pool here is fantastic and there are a couple of great bars and of course, the obligatory poolside service.  There are 2 restaurants on site but one is closed for renovation at this moment.  I think there are maybe 10-15 other rooms occupied and that is all.  For us, at this moment, it is perfection.  Your mind picture of perfection may differ, but if it involves a beach and beautiful water, you can find it here in Phuket.

We learned today that due to a delay caused by the requirement that we convince the French Government we are not trying to cheat them out of VAT on the boat we purchased, Tao 1 has taken another week delay.  It took us almost 10 days to work this all out.  They wanted proof we did not live in France or any of its protectorates.  A Resident ID card for the UAE would not suffice because they claim that many people avoid their taxes with such IDs.  US passports did not work because many US expats are living in the Mediterranean trying to avoid taxes.  Bank accounts in our names in both the UAE and the USA did not suffice.  They wanted bills with a physical address on them.  There are no physical addresses used here.  We have a PO box, we said.  No, they said, anybody with a resident ID can get a PO box.   Receipt for rent payment at a hotel apartment (where we are living now) also did not work.  I suggested the importer tell them that they could not pay us enough to be French.  He suggested that would not help. Finally we found that we could go to the gas company we had used at our previous apartment and get a copy of the final payment (made within the last 3 months) showing the building name.  That was our final offer and the best we could do since bills come via email or mobile here.  There is no actual paper mail.  Probably because as mentioned, there are no actual addresses for it to go to.  They finally released the boat 4 days ago.  Our hired captain made a race across the Med for the transport ship in Italy and missed.  Next ship arrives in 5-6 days.  So here we sit.  Once again in limbo as to arrival date.

Then we took a look at the calendar and realized all of this waiting is eating into any time we would have to escape this heat, even momentarily.  So we took a look at easy and cheap vacations from here.  From the US you can go to Mexico or the Bahamas for those quick escapes.  From here there are tons of choices.  We wanted a place where there is a beach but the water is cool, and we can go diving.  It has to be non-Muslim since it is still Ramadan time for a few more days, and we would really like to have a cocktail or two on said vacation.  This eliminated The Maldives and Sri Lanka and several other nice beach choices.  Then we wanted to keep the range at no more than 6 total hours of travel time…. thus eliminating any place that we had to change planes to get to.  So… we are headed to Phuket, Thailand.  Nonstop flight and super cheap stays, eats, and diving.  Yay!  We will get some cool, much less salty water to play in.

I am still trying to work out some India time amongst all this, but it is looking less and less likely that I will get there for any length of time.  I nevertheless keep my fingers crossed that at least a month from Mid-August can be fit in…  I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, the heat goes on.  The humidity levels are up here too as we head into the absolute worst weather from hell this country can produce.  For roughly the next 10 weeks the temps will run from high 90s to 120s (F) with average humidity between 80 and 95 percent.  Unlike in the Arizona desert, there is very little temperature swing between night and day.  It averages somewhere around 5-7 degrees total difference.

The water in the Arabian Gulf, which is always super salty, now becomes the temperature of a warm bath.  It does nothing to cool you down, and in fact you just feel sort of slimy and sweaty when you get out of it.  The gulf is very shallow, with a max depth of around 70 meters (in one specific small spot) and an average depth of around 45 meters.  It heats up very quickly.  Conversely, once the completely nasty heat starts to wane it cools down relatively quickly too, which is nice.  This is because there are supposedly fresh water springs in abundance at the sea floor, but I have not yet been down anywhere near deep enough to feel much temperature variation.  The bottom line is that this is not a fun place to be right now.  So maybe now you can understand why we feel the need to take a break while we can.

Those who have lived here in Abu Dhabi for a while make it a habit to take very long holidays over the summer months. Many of them leave for an entire month or even 2 and return home, visit family and friends, or whatever it takes to get out and away.   This is easy to do because most companies offer quite a bit of vacation time, which is nice.  We are considering that strategy in addition to ditching this place during Ramadan for next year.  It just makes good sense.  This year at least a portion of the vacation time needs to be spent with the boat once it arrives.  It will need a good thorough cleaning before we can set it up to our tastes.

With the heat here, comes the nasty air.  It seems to me that the humidity in the air holds and suspends the sand, silt, and dessicated camel dung that rolls in from the desert.  It becomes difficult to see across town, and breathing for many is difficult as well.  The air is heavy, the particulates hang near the ground, and wind does very little to alleviate it.  You can feel yourself inhaling it.  Which brings me to another point.  When I first arrived and saw it, I was concerned about breathing this air.  Years ago I was diagnosed with something my doctor called particulate induced Asthma, which is just what it says it is.  Asthma induced by breathing a bunch of crap into my lungs.  I was concerned because my inhaler had expired and I had tossed it before coming, without getting another prescription.  At the time I had no doctor here, and no insurance with which to go see one until my residence papers came through.  To be honest, I have used said inhaler exactly 3 times in the 12 or so years since this diagnosis (twice in LA and once in Phoenix.)  But here’s the point, I do not need a prescription to get an inhaler here.  Originally I thought it because the air here is so bad right now that they made them easily available.  Turns out that inhalers, and quite a few other things that require a prescription in the US, are available over the counter in many other countries.  In most countries even more so than here – the UAE is pretty restrictive about drugs in general.  That said, I am surprised at how many this is true for.  They are also significantly less expensive outside the US, here included, and that part I knew.  Gotta love big Pharma.  Or not.

That’s all I have this time.  Stay tuned for travel blog from Thailand!   Aaahhhh…. 

The original plan was to be gone for Ramadan.  We had a trip to Mauritius planned and I was going to get to knock #1 off my bucket list.  Then the boat purchase took forever, and the delivery is going to take a while.  So it’s Ramadan, and here we are.

To be fair I had been warned, but I thought how bad can it be?  So what if some (ok many) people are fasting during the day?  That shouldn’t have any impact on me.  Wrong.  Wrong wrong wrong. Geez.  The entire feel of the place is different.  Not only are many businesses closed during part of the day (much like siesta time in Spain or Mexico) but traffic is greatly reduced and people are simply moving more slowly.  (I would be too if I were fasting 15 hours per day and not allowed to take even a sip of water during that time.) This lack of food is making people grumpy and lethargic.  That is changing the energy of the entire city and country, and probably region.

Almost simultaneous to the beginning of Ramadan, taxi fares went up.  I guess since the oil workers have left town the drivers have been having a hard time making their daily minimums.  Answer?  Raise fares by 30%, and create a minimum fare.  Most of my rides are less than the minimum even with the higher flag fall, so this effectively increases my cab rides by almost half.  In addition to increased fares that people are grumbling about, many of the taxi driver are also fasting.  Their shifts are 12 hours or more and they work 6 days per week.  This is a tough schedule any time, but right now they aren’t able to take lunch or snack breaks.  They can’t even have a bottle of water in their car!  Many of them are grumpy too and I don’t blame them.  However, not one of them complains. In fact, I have not heard a single participant say anything negative about the process at all, even though we all know it isn’t easy. I asked one of the taxi drivers what happens if you are a Muslim living in Alaska or Sweden where the sun doesn’t set at all really these days.  How does the daylight fasting work there?  I was happy to hear that the timings are set to Mecca sunset and sunrise, so everybody uses the same hours as everybody else, which seems fair.

We haven’t yet gone to an Iftar meal. I may have mentioned this before, but Iftar literally means Break Fast.  It is the meal at the end of the day of fasting, after the evening prayer. There are huge tents set up all around town where people come together in the evening to share this meal and fellowship. 

The traditional meal begins by eating dates, and though not mandatory, it does appear that most follow that

tradition here as dates abound!  Even more than normally.  It is also tradition for the tables to be set up in long rows,or at least able to seat a large number of people since the time is all about community and sharing.  Though or recently as things have become more westernized, they are setting up smaller tables to attract a more diverse group.  Some of the more traditional meals will not have tables at all and the guests will sit on the ground and eat.  However they are set up, in the neighborhood or in the resort area, the tents are filled with people.  As you go past, you can see people inside are relaxed and smiling and generally appear to be enjoying themselves. It is a happy time of the day.

At this point we are a little over half way through Ramadan.  This year it will end the evening of June 24^th.  Overall it has been a frustrating couple of weeks for me, but it has created the opportunity to figure out where to go, what to do, and how to get there in the heat.  Ok really, the last question isn’t real.  I’m taking a taxi.  No way I am wandering around in the heat, especially when I cannot take a bottle of water along.  I have learned how much my daytime wanderings took me someplace for tea or coffee or a bottle of water, or to sit down with a friend over lunch.  None of these is available at most of my normal haunts.  The single exception is The Club.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Club, it’s a very nice place.  Just not all day long nice.  Even splitting time between there and home is not enough places to be.  My wanderings have not stopped altogether, but they are greatly curtailed.  I’m doing a lot more reading and writing than usual.  I get to catch up on movies, and binge watch TV shows on Netflix or Amazon.  So it isn’t horrible, it’s just different.  Maybe if we get to one of those Iftar meals it will be better.  I am making that a goal.

That said, next year we do not plan to be here for Ramadan.  I think the Seychelles are looking good…

It wasn’t supposed to take so long.  It definitely wasn’t supposed to be so difficult.  We looked at finding a boat as something between buying a used car and buying a home. It isn’t like either of those things.  The learning curve is steep, and a screw up is a very expensive screw up. Before we moved here we considered a boat purchase as something we could use not only while living here, but also into our retirement. Once we arrived, it became apparent that for many reasons it made a whole lot of sense. So, we started looking around a bit more seriously. There were and are so many options in terms of type and style and amenities on boats. For us it makes more sense to have a power boat. If we want to spend a long period of time on it, the boat would need things like a decent kitchen, comfortable living and sleeping quarters, and more than one bathroom. Range is also important. The more research we did, the more we came to believe that to meet all of those needs and in terms of bang for the buck, a Power Catamaran was the way for us to go.

So that narrowed the search. More research and more time spent trying to determine the right questions to ask and the right design to look for.  Still more to find an amenable broker to help in our search, and to walk us through the process.  We found somebody we liked to work with and we began the search in earnest.  Finding the right boat is not easy.  We considered and rejected 40-50 boats along the way for one reason or another.  Then we found one we thought we loved.  We asked questions, LOTS of questions.  We hired an expert to look it over for us, and flew to France to be there as he did his inspection.

She was a beauty.  Tons of storage, a cross beam master suite with king bed, only 600 hours on the twin Volvo Penta engines.  Very nice.  Except… that little part the owner was trying to hide.  The fire suppression system had gone off.  Our inspector discovered this and yet found no evidence of fire.  He did however, believe that the powder may have been sucked into the engines and advised us to have that checked.  The owner balked at that but nonetheless we followed the expert’s instructions and found that the port engine was seriously corroded and not likely to last much longer. The local broker claimed to have no idea and apologized for suggesting we come to look.  Yeah OK.  So… Strike One.  We turned our trip into just vacation play time, then came back home to begin the search again.

We added a few questions to our pre-trip list and kept looking.  Nothing suitable was coming up.  We were beginning to come into boating season, and the inventory was drying up. We even looked at a few monohulls, and found one we liked.  Just as we were beginning inquiries into it, the auto search request I had for Power Cats dropped a new listing into my email.  It was a boat we had seen before, and had initially shortlisted.  At the time (many months previous) our broker had inquired to find out that the owner had decided to keep her.  Boat brokers, like car salesman, often do not take down old ads, especially if the boat is nice.  They have been known to run them for years in order to pull in inquiries, and then point buyers at something else.  You probably know that tactic as Bait and Switch. The listing we had originally looked at was over 5 years old. That was early in the search and I had since then learned how to do multiple searches in order to determine – more or less – if a boat was truly available or not.

This listing I had was brand new (same day) and showed a different selling broker.  I reached out to our guy who immediately inquired about it.  After a week of back and forth we made a contingency offer, and arrangements to go to Tunisia for inspection. The inspection was very positive, and after a bit of back and forth on who was to do what etc, we came to an agreement. Fast forward to the past few harrowing weeks trying to close the deal. The broker we had hired and liked so much had left the company. Our deal was handed over to the managing broker who it turns out, is a complete A#* and no help whatsoever in terms of walking us through the final stages of this deal. I was at wits end, and called my dad for help.  At his insistence, we hired an attorney to help us cross the finish line. I haven’t ever before been so happy to speak with a lawyer.  I’d managed to get the paperwork done properly and in order. I just had no clue how to make it all formal and have everybody in the right place at the right time to get it done in a completely unquestionable way. There were people on 3 continents, 5 time zones, 7 locations that were involved in getting this done.  But now, as of last week she is ours.  Whew!

So let me introduce you to the newest member of our family, Tao 1.  Those of you who know my history will laugh at this name. Seems I cannot seem to shake the Tao! She is in great shape. She’s 45′ long with a 22′ beam.  Twin inboard Yanmars have only 800 hours, and the Genset is relatively new with only 86 hours. She has two 16,000 BTU air conditioners (mandatory for here) which are reversible into heaters should we take her anyplace cooler, maybe as part 1 of the overall retirement plan.

    

The layout is completely different from the first boat we looked at and we like it better. There is much more living space. The design offers 3 separate living areas (two outside and one inside) in addition to 4 berths and 4 heads.  The down side is that this boat has less overall storage space. The first one had copious amounts of storage, but that resulted in relatively cramped living space. We can deal with that difference, since the one place storage is greater on this boat is in the Kitchen. We have a full sized refrigerator and freezer, as well as more counter space, and an overall larger, better laid out kitchen (sorry – Galley.)  There’s also a bar area (looking at you SBA)!  We have fishing pole holder (and a few substantial fishing poles that came along with the deal.) The leather captain’s chair swivels and leans back, and comes with a footrest. So it can double as Larry’s easy chair.  Maybe. 

The boat has had only one previous owner, and comes with all original manuals, maintenance documents, and specs on the custom features he had put in.  These include the hood over the stove, an enlarged hard top flybridge bimini, and the fishing pole holders mentioned earlier. 

She is on her way here, sailing out of Tunisia for a port in Italy hopefully tomorrow. In Italy they will load her onto a custom made cradle on a specialty transport ship that will sail for Dubai on the 7th. Depending on conditions and the number of stops en route, she should be the here before the end of June.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you know why I was taking classes to get my Skipper’s license.  I am officially legal to drive this baby!  Larry is working with the school to try and make classes fit into his work or vacation schedule so he can do so as well.  The school is in Dubai, and the schedule I had was killer, especially when combined with the daily commute back and forth.  He is trying to create a more reasonable scenario, and it sounds as though it will be possible for him to do so by splitting up the classes.

There are a couple of things we have to do when she gets here.  Though she comes with a black “glare cover” that decreases the brightness from sun and reflection while you are at sea.  We need a full cover like this one… (same model but not our boat) in order for our a/c to be able to defeat the sun.  There is a guy here who custom makes them in 2-3 days that we are already in contact with.  No clue what that entails!  We DO have a cover like this one for the cockpit though… (Also same model but not our boat)

Clearly we have guest space.  Friends of ours are invited and in fact encouraged to come visit! The Reservation Books are now open and we already have takers in late October and Late November into early December. Before you say anything about the area, please read about the UAE (3rd safest country in the world) and in particular Abu Dhabi (Safest city in the world) and then decide to come see for yourself.  The best time to come is between October and April when the weather is spectacular, and there is a whole lot to do and see. So think about it. In the meantime, here are a few more photos.  All of these are our boat, even this staged one taken by the seller for his ad…

 

I apologize. It has been a while since my last post, and I promise to tell you more on that in a Tuesday post this week. For now I want to tell you about this time of year in the Arabic world.

Today begins my first Ramadan in the Middle East. I arrived last year at the end of Ramadan, during the period known as Eid. Ramadan in essentially the holy month. Working on a lunar calendar, the exact dates of it change every year, moving forward more or less 11 days on our calendar each year.
Ramadan is a time of fasting, self-reflection and prayer. It celebrates the time that Prophet Muhammad received the initial revelations that became the Quran. Muslims resist all food and drink during daylight hours for 30 days. In addition, they pray 5 times daily, refrain from all impure behavior, and increase charitable acts and donations. The belief is that by directing your attention away from worldly activities and into religious ones, this month of restraint and prayer will purify the body and spirit, and bring you closer to God. It is thought that by observing and complying with the rules, they will reap maximum reward at their Judgement Day. Detachment from worldly pleasures and reminding each other of the suffering of those less fortunate is believed to be recognized by God. I find this remarkably similar to the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when in the Christian world, prayer, charitable donations, and family time all increase. It’s very much the same thought process (without the timed and publicly broadcast prayer reminders.) The standard greeting when you encounter people is either “Ramadan Mubarak” meaning congratulations it’s Ramadan or “Ramadan Kareem” which means Blessed or Generous Ramadan.

During Ramadan, many restaurants are not open during daylight hours, everybody’s work hours are shortened, and allowances for prayer time that are not normally made, are for Ramadan. There is not a standard for Ramadan business hours, so each business creates their own. In Larry’s case, his work load will go from 40-45 hours per week during a normal work week, down to 30-35. Many people will work less than that. I cannot imagine another way to do this. Who could sanely and safely operate without food or water all day and still work a 40-50 hour week? Especially during a long summer day? We are talking about 14 hours of daylight right now, and we haven’t yet reached the longest day of the year! During the remaining 10 hours, they eat and sleep. Ok maybe they sleep some during the day too (I would) but not everybody has the schedule availability to do so. Time off work is spent preparing the evening feast (called Iftar – which literally translates to break fast).

The Iftar feast begins at the time of the evening call to prayer. The feasts are HUGE! The ones offered by local restaurants easily rival the decadent buffet brunches that the UAE is known for (but without the alcohol). The food is abundant and plentiful, and the meal can last for hours. Much like the American tradition of Thanksgiving, it is a time for family and friends old and new to come join in and share the bounty.

For an expat, Ramadan means you must remember not to eat or drink in public during daylight hours. So that translates to, no water bottles on your walks along the Corniche, no French fry snagging in your car, no popcorn at the movie matinee, and no mid-morning beverage with your book at the local coffeehouse. There are exceptions. At The British Club for example, there are indoor restaurants (where doors can be closed, curtains drawn, etc,) that will allow you to enjoy your morning beverage, or grab a full breakfast after the sun comes up. I am told by the old timers here that the rules have eased up dramatically in the past 2-3 years. Even as recently as 5 years ago it was not the case. Nobody was allowed to eat anywhere in public, and all liquor stores were closed. Expats had to find out which places they could very literally sneak into in order to have a meal in a back room. Expats who have been here for 10-20 years speak fondly of a Chinese restaurant here in AD in which they could order the “special” tea, and enjoy some wine with dinner that was “camouflaged” in a teapot.

These days, workplaces now have a designated room that can close off where non-Muslims can go and have a midday meal at the job site. Some public restaurants are open, especially those in hotels that cater to tourists. As stated above The Club has been granted permission to serve food in designated locations (still no booze until after sunset). These are all changes that the local government has made in order to acknowledge that not all residents are participating in the same religious beliefs.

A friend of mine pointed out today that during Christmas, one of the major celebrations of the Christian faith, the local malls, restaurants, and shops were highly decorated, and traditional western style meals were offered in order to make us feel welcomed and honored. I feel that as guests in their country, it is the least we can do to reciprocate, and honor their traditions as well. I will drink my morning beverage in the privacy of my own home. Or maybe at the club in a private room after yoga class. But definitely not in public.

Tune in Tuesday for exciting news and photos….

Ask any local what they like about where they live, and you almost always will get a ‘pro’ list, but you are also likely to get a ‘con’ list along with it.  Such is life here in the Middle East.  As with most things, I choose to focus on the positives.  Though to be honest the speed with which the weather has turned in the past 2 weeks makes it a bit difficult right now.  The good news is that with each day more and more faces become familiar to me and vice versa, so I am settling in to being a ‘regular’ in the places I frequent.  The upside of that is that I get invitations to see places and do things that I would otherwise not know about.  I get to learn more about this country we live in.

For example, in the past couple of weeks I have made 2 trips to Dubai just for fun.  The first Dubai trip was midweek into Old Dubai with a few women from yoga class at the Club.  We took a boat ride up Dubai ‘creek’ on a small covered boat called an abra.  These are the traditional style of boats that have been used to transport people and goods for ages there.  After our boat ride we had a nice lunch over the water and then wandered through the old souk.  I wasn’t in the market for anything in particular, but 2 of the ladies I was with made some very nice purchases for themselves and their families.  That was one of the last cool days I remember, and the breeze made it a very enjoyable day.

The following weekend I made the same trip, only this time with my husband.  He had seen the photos and wanted to get there before the weather got too hot.  I think we barely squeaked it in, though hot is really relative over here.  Truthfully it is already hot.  Way hot.  But not too hot to function hot… yet.  He and I shared an abra ride, and then opted for the air conditioned Dubai Mall instead of the souk.

Things to know about the Dubai Mall:  It is right next door and connected to the Burj Khalifa (the giant building from my previous Dubai post).  It is the 5^th largest mall in the world and houses the Dubai Aquarium, which is the biggest suspended aquarium in the world.  You can see the fish swimming through the glass as you are doing your shopping.  We opted to go inside.  Like many aquarium of this size, there is a glass tunnel you walk through that surrounds you with underwater life.  This guy stopped to say hello.

Our admission included a glass bottom boat ride and a virtual reality animal viewing.  This was my first experience with virtual reality anything.  Here’s how it works: You step up on a roughly 3 foot radius round platform enclosed by a metal guardrail.  You select what you want to see.  In this case, you got to choose 3 wild animals you wished to view and learn more about.  Then you press start. For the record, Larry chose sea turtles, manatees, and whale sharks.  (He did much better sticking to the theme.)   I chose meerkats, cheetahs, and spotted eagle rays.  I’ve been diving with a school of those rays before, and my goal was to see how realistic the experience was.  I was mesmerized.  I learned quite a bit about all three animals (the meerkats are hysterical) and really felt very much like I was right there.  I also learned why you wear a helmet and are surrounded by something you can hold onto.  I must have banged my head 3 times looking all around me.  Without the helmet I would have been down for the count, but what a kick.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  The glass bottom boat ride and underwater zoo take you to a different level of the aquarium and you get an idea of how large this thing is.  It’s pretty impressive.  I would call a trip to this mall a worthwhile experience.

Then for something completely different, I went on a day trip this week with AWN (American Womens Network) to Nurai Island.  (Some of you may have seen the pano shots I posted on my FB page.)  You reach Nurai via water taxi from Saadiyat Island (which is on the southeast side of Abu Dhabi.)  There is a secure parking lot and welcome center located just off the freeway, and the ride to the island takes about 15 minutes.  Upon our group arrival to the island, we were treated to fresh fruit mocktails, and given a tour of one of their water front villas. 

This one was a 4-bedroom model that goes for 20,000AED ($5,450US) per night in slow season.  It’s quite nice and really huge, with an amazing view.  You cannot tell by the time of day that I took these, but the view of the sunset would be spectacular from here.  The thing is, this place is only a 15 minutes boat ride and yet, there is no trace of Abu Dhabi.  You cannot see the high rises from here.  There’s really a sense of isolation and it feels great.

This place is truly fantastic.  Conde Nast recently voted it one of the most amazing private islands in the world and it’s easy to see why.  The gorgeous shade of turquoise water, and landscaping that is really well done and very unusually lush for the area make it something very different.  The resort on the island was purpose built for luxury in the typically Emirati over the top way.  If you want to stay, you can choose for a selection of waterfront houses or villas with 2-5 bedrooms, or poolside 1 bedroom hotel suites.  There are 4 restaurants, 2 swimming pool areas (including a surf pool) and multiple beaches with varying activities available at each.

The island itself was originally quite small.  The development company undertook a dredging and reclamation project to enlarge it.  Sand was dredged up from the bottom of the sea and moved to create a good sized breakwater island upon which this resort was
built.  You can see that clearly in the 2 photos I pulled from the net.

Day passes are available for anybody wanting to come out and play for a day at a cost of 420AED ($115US) per person.  They bill it as a “minimum consumption fee,” which means that amount applies to your food and beverage tab, or spa treatments, or… whatever else available that you wish it to apply to.  After 7PM there are no fees, and the restaurants on the island are open to the public by reservation, though I imagine the end result to be likely a bit more than the cost of a day pass.  I didn’t get any pictures of the wine storage, but the selection is very nice, and very little of it is low end.

Photos of a Beachfront house:

 

 

It is truly enjoyable to be able to live in a place that has such a variety of things to do and see that differ so much from home.  The next adventures will take us inland I think.  I hear that there is a city with some altitude and associated cooler temps just a few hours away.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

If you’d like to read more about Nurai Island, here’s a link:  http://zayanuraiisland.com/

And here’s one for Dubai Aquarium:  http://www.thedubaiaquarium.com/en/Default.aspx

 

This past weekend a friend of mine invited me to accompany her to an Emirati wedding.  I jumped at the chance.  Then of course I raced home and since I can’t help myself, began researching how to dress, proper etiquette, and so forth.  What I learned is that an Emirati wedding, any Emirati wedding, is quite a large production. Just like in the US the basic traditions are mostly the same, but each wedding has a personal touch put on it.  One of the traditions that differs greatly from the US, and most other places I think, is that every invitation includes an insert reminding everyone that no phones, cameras, or children are allowed.
I completely get no phones and no children, but can you believe no cameras?  I cannot even imagine.  That said, there is usually a designated photographer and/or videographer whose job it is to record the proceedings for the sole enjoyment of the family.  Also, specific family members are allowed to take photos as well.  Photos and videos are not generally made public.  I have heard that in recent years, some people have been allowed to bring their cameras and take photos of the food and the décor, but never, ever, the people.  However, that is not terribly common yet.  (FYI – The photo and couple of videos of the actual wedding entertainment that are below were taken by an aunt of the bride and shared with me solely for the purpose of allowing understanding of the culture and seeing the beauty of the process.)

This particular wedding was arranged by the families.  That is not always still the case, though often it is.  For some background it may help to know that in a typical and traditional Arab marriage, there are 3 main parts.  First, the groom must discuss and agree to the dowry with the bride’s father. The dowry can include gold, jewelry and clothing.  Regardless of what it contains, it’s usually of considerable value. After the dowry settlement comes the actual marriage contract, which can be conducted by either a legal or a religious representative. The bride is asked (without the prospective groom present) if she agrees to the marriage and then the same question is put to the groom. After agreement, the groom joins hands with his future father-in-law and, with two witnesses present, the marriage becomes official. However, there’s another stage before the couple actually meet as man and wife: the wedding party.  Or parties I should say.  Traditionally, all celebrations are segregated, with women in one place and men in another. In the case of this wedding, the men actually celebrated a few nights earlier.  There were also smaller parties held previously for family and close friends only.  On the last night of celebrations, the couple meet, accompanied by all their friends, and eventually leave on their honeymoon.  When they get back, they either set up home with the groom’s parents and become members of the extended family or – increasingly – set up home by themselves.

This wedding was between two relatively important families.  I am requested not to use names or titles, so I will leave it at that.  The bride and the groom in this instance knew each other and had played together as children.  They had not seen each other since childhood.  The actual contract of marriage had taken place weeks, maybe even months before (nobody knows for sure) so technically they had been legally married for a while.  However, as I understand it, this was the first night that they were to meet face to face since those childhood days.  I am going to do my best to describe my experience from the beginning.

Through the research I had done, I knew that Emirati wedding parties are a chance for the women to really dress up.  Makeup is perfect and the finest jewelry they have is on display.  If you are reading, this, you know that this is not an area I excel in, but I did my best.  Full makeup, hair done and sprayed into submission.  I wore an outfit I’d had tailor made for me here in Abu Dhabi just for formal occasions.  (There are quite a few here.)  I even had on sparkly 4-inch spike heels.  Yes I was able to walk and made it through the night without breaking anything.

Let’s start with something I AM able to share with you.  The absolutely stunning invitation.  My friend was very gracious and gave the entire thing to me (minus a few chocolates, ) so that I could share it with all of you. Everything came inside the bag, and the bag was hand delivered. The quality of the paper is exquisite and the invitation itself is printed on very heavy card stock, the size is just a bit more narrow than your standard letterhead. The embossed leaves, and the green hues of the invite were present throughout the wedding reception in both the decorations and in the entertainment as I will try to describe.

My friend drove, and as we approached ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, where the event was being held) we could see that the police had blocked off part of the surrounding roads in order to keep local traffic to a minimum and allow easy entrance for those attending.  There was an impressive show of considerable security around the building.  My friend had a VIP parking pass.  The men directing traffic took a moment to understand that.  They were waving us away and my friend was waving the parking pass.  For some reason it was not readily obvious that two expat ladies would have a VIP pass, as she had to continue to wave it through three more security checks.  We were laughing by the time that last guy got the same surprised look on his face but waved us through.  We scored an excellent parking spot and were transported via golf cart to the entrance.  In front of us was a sea of women in black.  Their abayas and sheihlas, covering the couture dresses they wore underneath, but not really hiding them.  My friend had on a lovely mid length sheath dress with short sleeve lace cover.  It was also in black.  That made my bronze and ivory silk kurta stand out like a neon sign in the forest.  In the middle of the night.  Fortunately, once inside many of the women shed their abayas and showed their stunning dresses of all colors and styles, and I was able to fade into the background.

At the entrance we were asked to place our bags on a scanner belt and pass through an airport security type metal detector.  If it went off, there were female security agents standing by with wands.  All cameras and phones were taken and put in lockers.  In return we received a claim check number so we could pick them up on departure.

We walked towards the reception line down a hallway that was painted as a replica of the invitation background.  I was in awe of the time and effort put in to make it match so closely.  After going through the reception line of family members, friends and others we did not know, we found seats around 8:40PM.  (I am guessing this because I was not wearing a watch, did not have my phone and there was not a clock.)  There was a live singer in one corner of the room.  I am told he is very popular in the Arab world.  His voice was very nice and the music was calm and melodic.  I took a moment to look about and try to wrap my mind around the amazing décor in, and the sheer size of, the room.

Any of you who have been into a major exhibition hall know the size that they can be.  I would estimate this one to equal approximately a football field, including sidelines and end zones.  I found this photo on the event center website that gives you an idea.  This is NOT the wedding I attended, but is another one of similar size at the same venue.  The room was set up with a stage on the opposite side of the entrance.  Both the entrance and the stage were placed on the long sides of the room.  The stage was centered on one side, and went most of the length of it, leaving room for a couple of rows of tables at either end.  Extending out into the middle of the room was a pathway that went in a half circle, beginning at one end of the stage and ending at the other, and making it’s way most of the way out into the room at its apex.  This would be the pathway that the bride would walk once she arrived.

The back of the stage and the pathway were lined on either side by columns and archways that were sculptured in detail from square chicken wire, including the keystone at the top of the arch.  I know this sounds terrible, but it was uplit with white lights and the effect was incredible.  There were also sculptured birds in flight.  In one corner there was a gazebo and another a columned patio all made of the same material.  There were trees and vines (some real, some not) placed all around.  The reason I am so happy to have this next photo is because there is no way for me to describe this well, and in the photo you can clearly see it.   The archway is behind the dancers, and if you look past the bird frame that she puts on all of her photos, you can see one of the sculpted birds in the top right.  This sculpture lined both sides of the pathway through the room.  You can also see some of the trees that were strategically placed throughout.  And yes really, those columns and arches are made from chicken wire.  The strong square hole kind.  No embellishment.  The up lighting is what gives it the ethereal quality.

So… back to the part where we are seated.  Almost immediately we were approached by one of many multiples of servers, each bearing something for us to eat or drink.  There were several types of tea, Arabic coffee, many different mocktails and fresh juices.  (This is an Emirati Muslim wedding, so no alcohol.)  The table we were sitting at was a round of ten with a centerpiece made of fresh jasmine on 6 inches worth of branch.  It was about 2 feet square.  Not all of the centerpieces were the same though all of them used fresh white flowers and lots of greenery at about the same height.  There seemed to be similarities, but no two exactly the same.  Also in the middle of the table were bowls of treats.  Pistachio crackers, black sesame star crackers, and chocolates.  Lots of chocolates.  At each place setting was a glass of water and a glass of Laban.  Laban is yogurt drink similar to Kefir.  It is unsweetened.  They drink it here like the midwest drinks milk, which means at almost every meal.  Laban is very cooling for the body and is said to replenish the salts and water the body needs in this hot climate.  At each place there was also an individual turrine of Omani Halwa (halvah).  This Halwa is not too sweet and is made with a hint of saffron.  This particular recipe did not contain nuts, but often pistachios or almonds are included.  It’s delicious, and very rich.

The room was set up with round tables for 20 set inside the half circle walkway, and on the outside were rounds of 10.  I did not physically count the tables, but I estimate easily eight hundred to a thousand.  It was one big party.  About an hour in, another singer began.  Again, I did not recognize the person but there were many ooohs and aaahhs in the crowd, and I found out that he was very famous, and most sitting around us had his CDs.  I liked his voice as well, though still could not understand a word being sung.

Dinner was served around 10:30PM.  Carts of food were rolled along the walkway and the absolute largest serving platters (complete with meat domes requiring 3 people to lift off) rolled by.  Multiples of them.  They were the size of small coffee tables.  If you have been in my house and seen the large brass tray I sometimes use for a coffee table or wall hanging – they were larger than that.  Underneath the meat dome was an entire roasted camel.  In the many multitudes of other serving dishes there was lamb, beef, chicken and fish (just in case you didn’t want camel).  There were a couple of types of pasta.  There was rice, potatoes, every kind of vegetable they have in these parts, cooked multiple different ways, as well as 15 or 20 different kinds of salad.  There was some serious food here.  I wanted to try a bite of everything as is the custom and the polite thing to do, but it was physically impossible.  Not only did my plate not hold it, but there is just no way I can eat that much.

Music during dinner came from a young women’s orchestra.  They filed in and stood along the top of the archways at the back of the stage.  They played love songs from Broadway and Disney productions and they were very good.

Some were still being served the main course when HUGE cakes – I counted 8 tiers – were rolled out (along with multiple smaller ones).  There were individual desserts of varying kinds as well.  Coffee and tea were once more (or again) offered as accompaniment.  It was really almost overwhelming.  Everything I tried had been delicious.  Including the camel.

As the end of the meal came, dancers came out on stage and performed a modern ballet type of dance, using large leaves and petals as props, as well as some lights.  They were dressed in three different colors, and initially the colors moved in individual groups, each staying in a separate part of the stage.  Then they started moving together, and split up again with multiple colors in each of the three areas.  The stage rose in three places, and those began to revolve.  The dance lasted 20 minutes or so.  It was quite a production!  (For those who can access them, there are links at the bottom to a couple of very short videos of the dance portion, the same young women’s orchestra is playing the music for the dance troupe).

Finally, just before midnight the women began to make this long wavering high pitched sound.  An ululation that signaled the arrival of the bride.  Head coverings were replaced, and the groom escorted his bride onto the stage from a rear door.  He turned and kissed her head, and left the room.  At that point she greeted her family (seated at the front) and began to walk the pathway between the arches that went around the room.  I wish I knew more about how to describe the dress, but it was stunningly beautiful.  I know it had been custom made in Paris and took months to create.  It is the type of dress that only a person with a tiny waist can wear.  The bodice was form fitting, and the skirt was wide, coming down in multiple graceful folds in back.  It was not white (that is not the tradition here) but a pale taupe color, with lots of stitching detail.  No bling.  (All the bling was in her jewelry.)  I estimate that she made that walk in about 25-30 minutes.  It was very slow.  She took a few steps and stopped to look at those ahead inside the circle, and then a few more steps, stopped and looked over her shoulder at those outside the circle.  If there had been cameras allowed I would have understood it much more.  My guess is that this walk is likely to acknowledge and thank those in attendance for coming, as well as to make public her marriage.  She met a lot of eyes and had a pleasant smile.  Her eyes looked happy.  I read that it isn’t polite to have a huge smile at your wedding here, because it signals that you are happy to leave your family.  Apparently you are not supposed to be.

Once the bride completed her walk it was a mass exodus.  I had read there was usually dancing but not in this case and really, thank God.  It was way past my bedtime already.  It as a wonder I was still coherent.  We recovered our phones and got out to the car in good time.  We headed to the exit but were stopped to allow the limousines out to pick up their passengers.  Nevertheless, all things considered, our parking spot had been quite good and we escaped in advance of most of the party into relatively little traffic.

I got home about 1:30 and crawled into bed beside a snoozing hubby.  My mind raced through the events of the night.  My friend had introduced me to a couple of the family members along the way.  They were very kind and happy, and wore incredible dresses.  Everywhere I looked there was fabulous hair, makeup and clothing.  The jewelry on display was unlike anything I have ever seen before.  Surprisingly to me, very little of it looked over the top for the setting.  I noticed that many of the older women, though they were wearing very nice dresses underneath, did not remove their abayas.  Almost all of the younger women did. I remain in awe of both the food and the way the room set up.  I have not seen anything that elaborate and that well done before.  I cannot fathom the amount of time and work it took to create that arched walkway.

I feel so much gratitude for my friend who invited me.  If you are reading this my friend, thank you.  It was lovely and I feel truly honored that you opted to take me along as your guest.  Let me know how I did in the descriptions.  I fear I have failed to get it across but it was just too much!  Thank you also for forwarding the photo and videos for my use, and for giving me the beautiful invitation.  Frankly though, I am amazed you saved any chocolates for me at all!

 

 

Tunisia is confused.  Or maybe confusing.  It bills itself as a Muslim country.  In fact, according to the most current census I could find, 99% of the 11 million + people who live there claim to be Muslim.  So you can imagine how surprised we were to see people drinking beer and wine in sidewalk cafes.  And alcohol for sale in the local grocery stores.  Oh and miles of vineyards along the 50 or so kilometres from Tunis to the port of Hammamet.  (Though this last is really not surprising if you know that some very nice wines are produced in places like Jordan and Lebanon.)

Side note geography lesson:  So, for those of you unfamiliar with the location of Tunisia…  It is on the North African coastline, situated along the Mediterranean, between Algeria and Libya.  It is a smallish country in size (at least compared to its neighbors) and like its neighbors Algeria and Morocco, it is a former French protectorate.

The primary spoken language is a dialect of Arabic which to my ear does not sound as harsh as literary Arabic that we hear in UAE.  That said, most of the inhabitants also speak French.  Though they gained their independence in the 1950s, French is still taught in addition to Arabic as part of the standard curriculum in schools.

Though truly Arabic in culture and tradition, Tunisia is a very liberal and tolerant Muslim society.  There are many equality laws on the books.  Divorce is legal and polygamy is outlawed.  Women can choose whether or not to wear a headscarf, can work outside the home without permission, can own and operate their own businesses and have access to birth control.  All of these things differentiate Tunisia from most other Muslim Countries.

All of the above lends to the distinctly European feel of Tunisia.  The French left their love of food as well.  The cuisine in Tunisia though decidedly Arabic, has a wonderful French twist and flair, and was delicious everywhere we went.

We went to Tunisia for a weekend to check out another potential boat purchase.  Our hotel was located city center in the capital of Tunis.  The boat was moored in the coastal resort town of Hammamet.  (Years ago there was a Club Med located not too far south of that town that has since closed.)  The coast of Tunisia is beautiful.  Though to be honest, I have not (yet) seen a coastline along the Med that I didn’t think was beautiful.  The color of the water is spectacular, and it hits up against white rocks or white sand it is stunning.  This time of year the weather is perfect!  High 70s/Low 80s during the day and down into the low 60s at night, with a light breeze coming off of the water.

The big picture is not entirely pristine.  The streets of Tunis give away the third world status of Tunisia.  They are narrow, crowded and dirty, and lined with people begging or aggressively hawking wares of dubious origin and quality.  In the Medina, we saw stands on the fringes of the old souk selling extremely used clothing and shoes.  It was packed with locals sorting through them.  The souk itself was fabulous.   There were so many fresh fruits and vegetables, all local, not one imported.  Eggs, meat and fish also available.  We bought a whole kilo of strawberries and ate most of them as we walked through the
market.  The cost?  6 Tunisian dinars for the whole kilo, about $1.20 per pound.  He threw in a handful of the jasmine blossoms for me to keep in pocket as I walked along too!  The artichokes had me wishing our hotel room had a kitchen!
Not so much the meats though…

  

For us, Tunisia was an extraordinarily inexpensive place to stay.  Our hotel, one of the nicest in town, was only $72/night for a suite, including tax.  Meals averages $4-5US per person.  Dinner on Friday evening was a starter, main, bottle of local wine and aperitif for less than $55us.  And it was reeeaaallllyyy good.

On the other hand, this status makes Tunisia an excellent vacation spot.  Our driver told us that the cost to rent an ocean view 1 bedroom apartment in Hammamet for a month would run about $400US.  There are other resort towns further south that are in more or less the same range, some a little more and some less depending on size of the town and popularity.  Tourism used to be a large part of the Tunisian economy, but has dropped off a lot since the revolution that resulted in the ouster of long-time leader Ben Ali in January 2011.  The revolution was more civil resistance than violent revolution (meaning protestors did not resort to violence, though police did) and the demonstrations led to a democratic government.  Tunisians do not understand why those who used to come regularly view the country as unstable as a result.  In the eyes of those who live there, the country is much safer and a better place to be.  That said, we were there on Easter weekend, and in Europe, the Monday after Easter is a holiday.  The traffic on the roads was horrendous, and the town of Hammamet was sold out for the weekend, so maybe Tunisia is making a comeback!?!?

I am sorry that I didn’t get photos of the hand painted tile work and pottery they make here.  It is outstanding!  Very detailed and appears to be high quality.

We arrived back in the UAE via a nonstop flight into Dubai, and bus transfer back to AD.  It was a quick weekend and the heat at home was a reminder of the impending summer weather.  Time to schedule India!

درس قصيرة (جداً) في اللغة العربية

Last fall, I saw the ‘Conversational Arabic” course offering at The Club.  I could not attend the all-important first 3 classes because I was in India, and have been searching for a class ever since.  I haven’t yet been able to find one.  I’m told it will likely be offered again at The Club, but I cannot be sure I won’t be in India again, and am keeping my fingers crossed timing works out.

That said, I am really confused about why there aren’t multiple courses available.  Other expats here have said that they believe the locals simply don’t want us to learn it, or they all speak English and it isn’t necessary, etc.  But the truth is they DON’T all speak English.  Those that do have varying degrees of mastery, and I find that very few have a full command of the language.  So why not offer more classes in Arabic for those of us willing to learn?

As I’ve said before, actual Emiratis are one of the largest minorities here.  Sure, there are people from other Arabic countries and that adds to the number of people who speak Arabic.  But really, if you want to be able to converse with the majority of the people here, it would probably be better to learn Hindi/Urdu, or Tamil, or Bengali, or Punjabi (or one of the other 20+ languages or hundreds of dialects of India.)  Knowing Tagalog, Malayalam, or Filipino would also allow you to converse with a large percentage of the population here.  However, we are in an Arabic country, and we should have at least some rudimentary knowledge of the language.

While saying it isn’t necessary to know, the locals always smile whenever I put forth any sort of effort.  Truth be told, I have found this to be the case almost everywhere I have ever been.  So I try to learn.  Here is what little Arabic I have learned so far:

Shukran (SHOOK rahn) means Thank you

Aafwan (AHF wahn) means You’re welcome

Inshallah (in SHAW lah) means God Willing (usually used when somebody is agreeing with you)

Alhumdalillah (al HUM da lil uh) means All Thanks goes to God

Hallas (hall AHS) means Enough, or Finished, or That’s all.

Naaam (Nahahm) is Yes.

Laa (leh) is No.

Maa Ismuk (meh isMOOK) means What is your name?

Seriously.  In my time here this is the extent of my Arabic vocabulary.  7 words and one phrase.  In 9 months.  It’s very sad.  I haven’t even learned Please yet!  In my defense, I have asked and nobody has shared.  I am not sure if that’s because they don’t use it much, or because it requires a larger vocabulary to actually have a need for it.  As in “Please pass the olives” or “Can you help me, Please”.

Sadly, there is no way I will ever be able to read anything.  The writing is beautiful, but I am told quite complicated.  Arabic (like Hebrew ironically) is written and read right to left.  That makes menu printing easy since everything can go on the same line.

That’s where the easy part ends though.  The shape of each letter depends on the tense, the gender, and what is being said throughout the sentence.   There is no ‘standard’ way to write.   In the example below, notice that Abu Dhabi Airports changes when the word ‘company’ is added to the script.  It is hard to discern the minute similarity.

At the top of this page is the Arabic writing translation of “A (very) short lesson in Arabic.”  I should add… Or so the online translator claimed.  It could say “This (really) big idiot thinks we translated for her.”  I don’t really know.

To confuse you more, numbers are written left to write, as ours are.  I have learned the numbers.  They aren’t hard to learn at all if you ever go to a grocery store here.  I can recognize and translate them, but have no idea how to say them in Arabic.  

I can only write them and give the corresponding English number to the symbol.  Obviously the dot mid way up the line is 0.  They do not use decimal points to separate whole numbers from partials.  Instead they use commas.

There are 3 primary forms of Arabic.  They are Modern Standard Arabic (or MSA).  This is the one that us taught in schools in all Arabic countries, and recognized as the official version of Arabic.  To a large degree it is also used in business dealings throughout the Arabic world.  The other two versions of Arabic are Classical (or Qu’ranic) Arabic, and Colloquial Arabic. There are also 7 major regional dialects, and even those are broken down more by specific location within the region.  So far, our experiences have been primarily within the Gulf States – UAE and Oman – which speak the Gulf Arabic dialect.  They claim it is closest to MSA, but I am not in a position to confirm that or not.  Day after tomorrow we are off to Tunisia, which speaks Mahgrebi Arabic.  This is supposed to be the dialect with the largest number of speakers.  I am told however, that the specific Tunisian regional use is unrecognizable (this from a local Emirati).  I have no idea how well I will do with my standard ‘Thank you.”  We shall see.

NOTE: Speaking of Tunisia, tune in next week for the continuing boat saga.  Will this be the one???  Our dialogue changed again after the last experience, and we think it could be.  I promise more photos if it is.

Yesterday I made my first trip to Dubai.  To be honest I had not actually spent that much time looking into how to get there, figuring it would eventually happen.  Yesterday I HAD to be there.  So I went on line to figure out how to go about getting there.  Though I recall having read about it before, I never considered taking a bus.  When you see the public transport system here in Abu Dhabi, it does not instill good feelings.  I know it runs basically on time, and is cheap, but nevertheless a bus filled with people who do not necessarily share the same hygiene habits is not exactly my idea of fun.  So initially I did not consider it as a viable option.  Until I had to go, and nobody I knew was headed that way.  It came down to taxi or bus.  Cost of the taxi – ridiculous.  Cost of the bus – 25AED (about 7 bucks).  So I steeled myself, prepared for the worst and headed for the bus station early yesterday morning.

There are 2 busses that run between AD and Dubai.  Each of them leaves about every 30 minutes beginning from 5:30AM and until about 9:30PM.  Then it switches to hourly until 1:30AM.  One bus goes to midtown, and the other to the western edge of town.  Not knowing my way around Dubai, I opted for the one to city center, rightly figuring I could find a taxi pretty easily and go from there.

What a pleasant surprise!  From the exterior, it was nothing special.  But once I climbed inside I immediately noted the a/c worked very well, and there was not a single unpleasant odor.  The seats were comfortable, and there were curtains to draw to block the rising sun.  Essentially I was in a tour bus.  Not the most modern and sleek one on the planet, but a very nice one nonetheless.  It was not full, I had a row to myself, and the 90 minute ride was very pleasant.  I even dozed off for part of it.

Coming up on Dubai you first see the Burj Khalifa (of course.)  ‘Burj’ means Tower in Arabic, and a tower it is.  It was originally called the Burj Dubai, but was later changed to Burj Khalifa after Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan (President of the UAE and Emir of Abu Dhabi) bailed Dubai out of some financial troubles.  You really have no concept of how
tall this dude is until you see it with your own eyes, but I am going to try to give you an idea.  I am told that you can watch the sunset, then get in the high speed elevator (3^rd fastest in the world) to the top, and watch the sunset all over again.  I wonder how many times your ears pop? At the top of this post, there is a current comparison of the tallest buildings in the world.  3 of these are in Dubai, and you can clearly see them in the photos I have selected here.  Note that the Burj Khalifa is over 835 meters or 2700 feet tall.  Up. That’s almost double the Sears/Willis tower in Chicago.  And for those of you keeping track, that’s over half a mile.  Up.  If you look at the photos you will see the ‘tiers’ that it is built in.  There are 159 occupied (or able to be occupied) floors.  These are located in the first 17 tiers.  There are an additional 10 tiers above that.  The last 10 tiers are all communications spire.  Those so inclined can go to the observation deck on the 125^th floor, about ¾ of the way up.  For the record, I do not have a fear of heights.  I am more than happy to stand at the top of a cliff, or on a mountain top and look over the edge.  That said, I do have a very healthy fear of tall manmade things.  These include roller coasters, ferris wheels, and really tall buildings.  So, I think I will pass on this.  Unless my husband (who is seriously afraid of heights) wants to go.  Then I will go along and hold his hand, and be afraid right along with him. (Note: I don’t think I will ever have to do that.)

The reason I had to go to Dubai was to complete a review and testing on the first portion in pursuit of my Sea Captain’s license.  The review began at 9 AM and ended with a lunch break at 12:30.  Theory test was given after lunch, and practical test once you completed the theory.  I had not made any plans for my time in Dubai because I did not know how long the day at the testing site would be.  I was finished before 3PM and had some time to kill.  The bus to midtown had taken me well past where I needed to be.  It let us off at a multi-use station that included a terminal for the above ground metro we had paralleled much of the way into town.  I went in and looked at the map, purchased a ticket and hopped a metro train back to where I needed to be in an area called Barsha.  Walking from the metro stop to the Marine Concepts office I saw this…

Only one thing it could be…  Yep!  The office was near Mall of the Emirates, and that my friends is what an indoor ski slope looks like from the outside.  Of course I could not let that go unseen given my proximity, so I walked the 3 blocks to check it out.  What a hoot!  There is a quad lift up to the top, and two runs.  One I would call a bunny slope, and the other a green cruiser.  The snow is really good quality man made though!  I spoke with one of the guys and he put a scoop in my hand.  It felt just like the morning after man made crusty groomed stuff, so I say well done desert dwellers!  No I did not ski.  I did sit next to this lovely televised fire and have a cup of cocoa though.  

After that I called it a day and headed for the metro stop there at the Mall.  This time I went to the bus station at the west edge of town, chasing the sunset home just as I followed the sunrise here.  Now that I know how easy it is to get back and forth, I think I will grab my husband and go hang for a day one of these weekends.

Hey!  Anybody need one of these?