Dubai Day 17

:( Only 5 more days left....

Today was a lazy day of sleeping in, cleaning house, doing laundry and watching James Bond on the TV. I was quite tired after yesterday, so I took an afternoon nap.

Finally in the late afternoon, we made it out of the house. Allan was in search of a barber and so we walked to the Lamcy Plaza area - yes another shopping mall - and I looked around while he got his hair cut. It's a small mall, but nice to have close-by with a Starbucks, Daisou on the top floor, Coldstone Creamery (didn't have any though...) and other necessities for a quick mall fix.

We didn't stay too long and then moved to the Movenpick Hotel to watch the first half of a soccer game with a few drinks. I found it ironic that we went to a bar to watch soccer when it can be watched in Allan's living room. He claims it was just because it was on the way home. ;D

On the way home, we ordered a pizza for delivery from Papa John's and then watched another game at home. It was a relaxing evening and I was passing out by 9pm...sad, but true!

Until next time,

-T

Dubai Day 16

Once upon a time, a dude named Juha and his friend Sinbad got stranded on an island and the beautiful location seemed a great place to make an entertainment zone for people to come and enjoy the water rides they had created. Thus, is the condensed legend of Wild Wadi - Dubai's famous water park!

If it is too hot to do anything outside and the beach is still a bit too warm, what is one to do in Dubai? You can go skiing or if you don't ski, you can go to Wild Wadi. Since Allan doesn't ski and we had a whole day of fun ahead, it was time for the slides and rides.

The first ride we did after finding a place to drop our towels was hit the big rides. The first up was a 33 meter high slide called Jumeirah Sceirah. I was a bit nervous as we climbed up the stairs to the top and not knowing where the bottom was sort of freaked me out. However, once I began the descent and came to a very bumpy halt, I determined it wasn't that bad. Sadly, Allan got a bit of a skinned elbow since he didn't cross his arms quite enough on the way down.

We then went on to enjoy the waves, intertube slide rides, body boarding zones and the view of the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel for the rest of the afternoon.

On the way, I got to get an upclose photo of the Burj Dubai - slated to be the world's tallest tower. It is still incomplete, but when it is done, I imagine it will be quite amazing.

After six hours at the water park, we headed home and got ready to go to a house-party in Sharjah of one of Allan's colleagues. She lives in a medium-sized villa, which means large house in my world! Amazing accommodations are provided here....

Anyway, thus the day in the water was ended.

Until next time,

-T

Dubai Day 15 (Week 3)

Sadly, I have no idea what I did all day. I did not leave the apartment, not even for the pool. I did shower around 1pm. I did watch Li Na beat Venus Williams in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tennis match with Arabic commentary. I did make spaghetti sauce. I did talk to J for a while. I did not work. I did not read. Oh, I did finish postcards that need to be mailed. Hm...

In the evening, we did go out. I wanted to check out the Bur Dubai Souk. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures. Why? Because the taxi driver got us lost and we had to walk an extra 10 minutes and by the time we found the souk, I was hot and sweaty. Then, it wasn't very lively and we walked for ages through all the textiles, but I didn't need to buy any fabric that I could think of. So, by the time we found some jewelry places I only went in to cool down in the air conditioning. Since I am not much of a jewelry wearer or buyer, it wasn't so interesting. I am looking for gifts.... Another time. Finally, I called it quits and we headed for drinks at Waxy O'Connors, which was mercifully nearby as I had hoped in the Ascot Hotel.

So, we had a few drinks, danced a few dances, people watched and relaxed. It was a good time out despite the heated walk through the souks without any purchases and the lack of productivity of the day. As I have been told - I am on vacation, after all!

Until next time,

-T

Dubai Day 14

Today was my biggest day out and probably the last for the trip, but it was a good one.

After my run-in with the Emirati fellow the other day, I decided that doing a tour might not be a bad idea since it is $36 for a four hour tour. So, they arrived and two of us were taken around in a mini-van to see bits of Dubai.

We started with a stop at the Dubai Creek Dhow Wharfage to see the Dhow ships and bldgs lining the Creek on the Deira side. We were on the Bur Dubai side, which is the side I am staying on as well.

Then, we moved on to see the Dubai Museum, which used to be Al Fahidi Fort to defend Dubai on the sea. This was a small museum, but big enough for me. More pictures will be available back on my Photo Journeys section when I get back, but for now you can enjoy just a few.

We drove past the Bastakia, which is a historical neighborhood. I will have to go back at a cooler time to walk around. We also drove past the Bur Dubai souk and gold souk areas, where I want to drag Allan back to for an evening out since the locals seem to do their shopping at night and I want to see a local nightlife in action. I will bribe him with a nice place for drinks! :D

We went past a few neighborhoods with textiles, fish, wholesale cosmetics/bath items, where I think it would be fun to shop or know to shop if I were to live here. (Taking notes!)

Then, we were off to Jumeirah Road to see the Jumeirah Mosque, which is claimed to be the most beautiful, but not the largest. It seems to be the only mosque that visitors can enter on certain days. Further along the road, I saw another mosque and I thought was just as beautiful.

Along Jumeirah Road there are a lot of large villas where expats or rich Emiratis live. These residences are absolutely huge. The tour guide claimed that real Emiratis don't like to live in these kind of places.

We continued to see the Jumeirah beach and Burj Al Arab building - shaped like a sailboat. We passed the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which was apparently the first 5-star hotel in Dubai and is shaped like a wave.

Then, we drove on to the Palm Jumeirah. From above, the shape of the construction in a palm tree. The residences on this island are going for about one million dollars for a 49-year lease contract. It is actually quite reasonable considering the fame and location of the place. This area of town is still under major construction. So, the office buildings are nearing finished and the island is nearing finished, but like much of Dubai, everything is under construction.

Finally, the trip ended with dropping me off at the Mall of Emirates where I had planned to ski, but decided to shop instead. I will probably try to go back for the skiing/snowboarding since the costs seemed better for longer, though the slope is small, so I wonder how much I can take. :D

After I finished wandering the mall, I headed to the Madinat Jumeirah to meet Allan and colleagues at a bar called Bahri Bar. It has a lovely view of the Burj Al Arab, but sadly my camera died and I still haven't worked out how to get my iPhone photos online yet. So, those may have to go with the other photos on my Photos Journey section when I return to my beloved Mac. ;D

Thus ends my big day out!

Until next time,

-T

Dubai Day 13

True to the pattern I have been keeping, Tuesday was a pool/work day.

The morning was a bit lazy, I admit and I spent the usual working time before the pool updating my blog, emailing, etc. Sometimes these things must be done!

I enjoyed the pool and realized I am getting a good tan without having burned myself yet, so that is a bonus. Probably doesn't matter for the eventual skin cancer possibilities, but hey whatever.

After cleaning up, having lunch and settling in to get some work done, I decided to check my online courses to see what postings I needed to do for the week. It became clear to me that one of my courses had Tasks that should have been done last week for the first unit and I had no idea they even existed!!! WTF??? So, I frantically began working. Well, 4 hours later when Allan got home, I was still typing away with a headache and pure frustration at the system of NOT telling me that these assignments existed beforehand. Luckily, I finished shortly thereafter, took a bit of a rest and tried to calm myself. Now, I seem to be ahead of the game and know what I am suppose to do. So, I guess at least I didn't go the whole course clueless. ;D

Allan's Showtime TV setup saga continues. It's a long story, but he still doesn't have TV connected and it has been a bit of a stressful event with that. After finding out that they still weren't coming out, we decided we needed to get out of the apartment. So, we went to Carter's in the Wafi Center for a few drinks and snacks. It was definitely nice to get out, have a few drinks and try to forget about the stresses in our lives.

The pains of settling in to a new apartment, new job and all within a new country takes a toll. It's a wonder that we continue the jobs that we do, but at the same time, the stress from the new-ness and change is only temporary until other ones take over! So, that was the day.

Wednesday promises to be much more interesting!

Until next time,

-T

Dubai Day 12

It seems that every other day I get out and try to do something....

Monday, I made up my mind to see some souks (markets) on my own. Not too far away from Oud Metha Rd, where I am staying, is an area of town called Karama. The travel book mentioned a section of town with lots of shops for tourists and locals, so I thought it sounded like an interesting venture out.

Setting out by 10am when shops are meant to be open in the morning, I easily snagged a taxi and arrived in a short 5 - 10 minutes. The taxi driver dropped me off in the middle of a 5-block shopping area, which is like a strip mall only smaller. There were a lot of clothing items for sale with a few touristy-type stores, where I did manage to buy a few gifts for people. It must have been far too early for locals to be up as the only people I saw were the shop attendants trying to get me to go in their stores and other crazy tourists like me. As I wasn't looking for knock-off clothes, bags or sunglasses, I wasn't their ideal client. Still, I was enjoying the walk through until...

I was nearing the end and thinking about going to another section of town where they have a gold souk and other highlights, when a man came up behind me quickly and said "Excuse me". I went to the left of the walkway since it was easier and as he passed he said, "No, it's the right side". I simply said, "Sorry" and let him carry on. He appeared to be going to his car, so I continued on and stepped into a shop. About a minute later, the same man entered the shop as well and seemed to know the shop clerk. It made me a bit suspicious, but I ignored him and continued looking at the item I wanted to purchase. The man pretended to look at some other things and sort of got in my way, but I ignored him. After about 5-minutes, he took his leave and I happily finished my purchase. When I left the store, I saw the man standing outside, but I continued to ignore him and completed my circuit through the shops and began considering what to do next.

I knew there was a larger mall in the area or I could try the other part of town. So, I began to look for a cab. As I stopped to ask one, the driver shook his head that he wasn't available. I crossed the street and a white car came up beside me with the man from before inside. He said, "Get in, where do you want to go? I'll take you wherever you want to go." WTF?? I thought and politely refused, continuing to look for a real taxi. He followed me along the road trying to get me to get in his car, but thankfully there were cars lining the street keeping him away from me on the sidewalk. I looked for a store to jump in to if necessary and slowed down ignoring him. Finally, he left saying "I'll be seeing you." So, feeling flustered and irritated that he had disturbed my adventure, I quickly got a cab and had him take me to the BurJuman mall.

While it wasn't my plan to visit another mall and I did want to see more of the local sites, I enjoyed just walking around this mall. It had more style and ambience than the other malls I have seen so far. So, it wasn't a total waste of the day or experience. The BurJuman was quiet with very few people, higher-end stores (Saks), and interesting design.

In the middle of the mall was a model of the city of Dubai with a night-scape setup. So, I got a land and aerial view.

Still, I made a couple of realizations: 1) There are very few women outside walking alone during the day - a. there are just very few women out and b. if they are out they are generally with another woman or a man. 2) People basically do not do much shopping in the mornings, so for a real non-mall shopping experience, it is better to go out at night.

Thus, ends my adventure in Karama. Tomorrow will probably be another pool day and work day. ;D

Until next time,

-T

Dubai Day 11

It is still weird to think of Sunday as the start of the work week, so I pretended it was still the weekend and decided to do nothing in particular. In fact, I have learned to sleep in a bit (though still up by 7am).

After a short hour and a half at the pool side, I did a full sweep of the house and tried to do some household things that I might do at home on a Sunday or Saturday. Strange, but true. Then, I enjoyed the afternoon on the internet just checking stuff here and there and avoiding any thoughts of work. he he he.

In the evening, we decided to join Pam (another colleague of Allan's) on a car ride to the Deira City Centre again. I swear this place is going to be the bane of anyone's existence if you live in this area, just because it is always crowded and seems to be the place to go for anything. Since we had forgotten to do a couple of things there the day before, we thought it was a good chance to do that and to get an iron since Allan's travel iron seems to have died - not from overuse, let me be sure to point out!

Since driving is a new experience still for everyone, we got a bit lost in trying to ensure that we did not end up in Sharjah and a two hour detour trying to get back. Instead, it took us nearly an hour to get there when it should have only taken about 15 minutes tops! oops! We had fun anyway...well, I did. We only managed to get the iron - good for me. Struck out on getting the wireless kit for the surround sound system and trying to upgrade the internet to wireless (why did the man not listen to me from the beginning???). Oh well... it was a way for me to get out of the house, experience more of the city and convince me that despite the crazy crowds during rush hour, I do believe I can drive in this city. I admit I would still get lost and road rage could become an issue.... :P

Until next time,

-T