tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31051830867321542162024-02-07T22:13:44.628-08:00DiVa in the Sandboxdianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-50893296445565002002017-05-31T09:56:00.002-07:002017-05-31T09:56:40.254-07:00miss thisAs I wrap up my time in the UAE, of course I'm thinking a lot about what I will miss once I'm stateside again. The number one thing will be the people. I have been lucky enough to meet great friends and to work with remarkable colleagues. It's hard to leave them, but I will carry them with me in my heart. In addition to missing the individual people, I'll also miss the internationalism of them as a group- the values, experiences, traditions, food, humor, songs, and phrases they share every time we interact.<br />
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The second big thing I'll miss is the travel and time off. Of course I'll keep traveling, and I have a decent leave policy by US standards at Pima Community College but there's something about being situated in a tiny country with a big fat airport in a region that includes "middle" in the name that has led to some really excellent journeys to unexpected and sometimes exotic places. It'll be hard to keep up that pace and style of travel out of Tucson. It's OK, there's another kind of travel- the epic road trip- that the US lends itself to perfectly and I'm due for a bit of that.<br />
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Then there's a list of smaller things that I'll miss when I leave and some things that I'll be happy to leave behind (or maybe more accurately, a list of things that I've missed all during my 3.5 years here).<br />
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I will miss the specific soft purple color of the sky near the Burj Khalifa right after sunset as best (but not only) viewed from the garage rooftop pool at my apartment tower. I will miss having a guy who will wash my car overnight where I park it home 2 times a week for less than $30 per month. I will miss ladies' lines, fresh Arabic breads, moutabal, desert dune camping, camels- especially camels in trucks, don't know why but the sight of them lifting their heads up over the truck side to see where they're headed always makes me smile.<br />
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I will miss the way the flame trees burst into glorious orange bloom right around the time that the heat outside becomes unbearable- a kind of visual consolation prize for losers in the weather game. I will miss intricate and geometric Islamic design touches in the architecture around me, dates (the fruit) like you've never had dates before- so sweet and soft, the call to prayer sounding (when you're not right next to it but you've got a little distance), the free white sand beaches being enjoyed by all kinds of people in spring when it's snowing in other parts of the world. I will miss carpet shopping, but it's probably good for my pocketbook that I'm getting out now!<br />
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I will not miss the limited drying options on my combo washing machine/ dryer, namely "spin some water out" mode or "run for 3 hours at such a high heat that your now tiny shrunken shirts are too hot to touch" mode. I will not miss the guesswork connected with moon-sighting-dependent Islamic holidays, I am too much of a planner to ever become totally relaxed about not knowing which day a vacation will start. I will not miss the crazy and changeable road system with it's round-abouts and highway exits where there are no re-entrances and I'm constantly getting lost. I will not miss humidity. I will not miss so much mall-centric entertainment.<br />
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I am looking forward to being able to open the windows in my bedroom especially at night, to having outlets in the bathroom, and easy access to candy corns, haunted houses, pumpkins and pumpkin ale in the fall. I am looking forward to having an address and home mail delivery- though it has been incredible, I must admit, to not get junk mail. I am looking forward to pork carnitas and bahn mi and grilling in my backyard- I look forward to having a backyard!<br />
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I am so lucky to have had the chance to be here in this rapidly changing young country at this point in time and with the amazing people I've come to call my friends. It has been every bit the adventure I hoped for.<br />
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-9705783925370478262017-05-20T07:07:00.001-07:002017-05-20T07:07:35.907-07:00Inspiring architecture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the most striking things about Dubai is its skyline, the elegant needle of the Burj Khalifa double the height of any tower around it, the planes and curves, the geometric, futuristic or neo-classical facades...<br />
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Any one single building along the 12 lane highway of Sheikh Zayed Boulevard might be noteworthy but the striking skyscrapers, each with completely original features line up by the dozens and I can barely keep up for gawking. Since I moved here, I've wanted to do a post on the architecture but I've put it off again and again, waiting for the perfect photo or to learn more about an especially iconic building. I have picked up some tidbits, and have gone to some lengths to get shots of favorite examples, but I'm still daunted by the sheer numbers of remarkable buildings. <br />
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There are actually several different skylines in Dubai. Skyscrapers are clustered in a couple of areas. The area I'm most familiar with is anchored on one end by an Etisalat (telecom company) tower with a golf ball full of telecommunications equipment perched atop it (they have buildings all over the UAE with golf balls atop) and by the Dubai World Trade Center, the first skyscraper built in Dubai in the late 1970s.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">golf ball atop an etisalat building</td></tr>
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This bit of skyline makes a kind of "canyon" with a single row of towers on either side of Sheikh Zayed Boulevard (which is actually a highway rather than a boulevard.)<br />
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After the World Trade Center Tower, you pass hotel, business and apartment towers. There's a London clock tower knock off, a building with a kind of maze detail, the <br />
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iconic slant roofed pair of Emirates Towers beside the Dubai International Financial Center (more commonly just called by it's initials, DIFC). At the DIFC there's The Gate which is covered in a mesh curtain and behind, some funny buildings that resemble penguins.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slant roofed Emirates Towers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gate at DIFC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do they look like penguins to you?</td></tr>
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There's also the Dusit Thani, a Thai hotel building supposedly designed to evoke hands pressed together at the palms in the Namaste pose.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZwPAjHVa1zR3IQ0N4iC0PfN7hdbqOiyor1JfM2cAeuEAUBwUlMBTLyrBSMJ5N4QhUw7lTHM_iE5m36MwKmKOcdIZkKyuwROzyOiPjD5-8BDaRL7E1VgtOIe4Q1a9jLK-TUEOG2NVgG0/s1600/IMG_3971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZwPAjHVa1zR3IQ0N4iC0PfN7hdbqOiyor1JfM2cAeuEAUBwUlMBTLyrBSMJ5N4QhUw7lTHM_iE5m36MwKmKOcdIZkKyuwROzyOiPjD5-8BDaRL7E1VgtOIe4Q1a9jLK-TUEOG2NVgG0/s320/IMG_3971.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dusit Thani- Namaste</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Right around the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa, the skyline spreads out. The Burj Khalifa has some space around it as the mall and fountain pool are quite low. A few hotel towers reach 50 and 60 stories but they seem tiny in comparison. Business Bay, where I live, has towers following the line of the canal into the "bay" area. Highlights in this area include the Swiss Cheese building and the Ubora Tower which is narrower at the bottom and swoops up and out in a curve.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbkmakPDnp4_9EZChl8eqONpA3kX7CSnET7MCs8rW4TsDWdLziqbI8Gk5BRj3uhnbetrLz1lLV-BQhxjTIhRGcAcl_kPqY6oy4uqPsme6VsyZukpL6D57G8IG7Mum_jWtshGkpYHJ_sY/s1600/IMG_3543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbkmakPDnp4_9EZChl8eqONpA3kX7CSnET7MCs8rW4TsDWdLziqbI8Gk5BRj3uhnbetrLz1lLV-BQhxjTIhRGcAcl_kPqY6oy4uqPsme6VsyZukpL6D57G8IG7Mum_jWtshGkpYHJ_sY/s320/IMG_3543.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">have to find my much better pic of the swiss cheese tower (white on right)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FXxOxIE6sSkeJKvkRpObBUOB-EweYcV2iT74vWMOWCnrs5eKctkH0-CQH2k0LmZu6jOdR8bdwq3VSTlld6LAo4ydvucFKCKr3L_2Lppyt05GLzFUUGNaPFUJxuC4eba3z-DCXdT9n8c/s1600/IMG_3550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FXxOxIE6sSkeJKvkRpObBUOB-EweYcV2iT74vWMOWCnrs5eKctkH0-CQH2k0LmZu6jOdR8bdwq3VSTlld6LAo4ydvucFKCKr3L_2Lppyt05GLzFUUGNaPFUJxuC4eba3z-DCXdT9n8c/s320/IMG_3550.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Business Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Heading south, this skyline area peters out right around the Marriott Marquis twin hotel towers. The Marriott towers have "knobs" on top that twinkle, I always thought of them as being like Marquise cut diamonds but I've learned that the towers structure is inspired by the date palm so maybe they are supposed to be clustered fronds or dates? Either way, it's the worlds tallest hotel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40c1D6nzW5kOD_DKhIrduyEYSczkgwvQNINmWfql-xLZEIUj4tpPCMcFSpn6fDRIBIW3x-UgwKQKQAwbT2qNsqkYNG8iaqZrK4MwxLYgKka2C9GoCWIkwvPzcxFkejp-g6iCeqYDoimM/s1600/IMG_0483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40c1D6nzW5kOD_DKhIrduyEYSczkgwvQNINmWfql-xLZEIUj4tpPCMcFSpn6fDRIBIW3x-UgwKQKQAwbT2qNsqkYNG8iaqZrK4MwxLYgKka2C9GoCWIkwvPzcxFkejp-g6iCeqYDoimM/s320/IMG_0483.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World's tallest hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Also in my area, they are completing one of the last buildings designed by Dame Zaha Hadid, the famous British- Iraqi architect. It's got a very cool cut out design and curved glass walls....<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/construction-of-zaha-hadids-the-opus-in-dubai-a-challenge-for-engineers">http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/construction-of-zaha-hadids-the-opus-in-dubai-a-challenge-for-engineers</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa0Jc6k0Gqg60u3mJUq5Fa3r6Sm5rccHr_NuNwRHfA1vao4VaagGSQ-gqso3cxL_G-7YctOdrDBHGsCgn3VbzQ0hP43uzlZMpeD4kSPjFdbdurulwqQqJCsln4Q51l1RpwUz_MWEzrw/s1600/IMG_3542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJa0Jc6k0Gqg60u3mJUq5Fa3r6Sm5rccHr_NuNwRHfA1vao4VaagGSQ-gqso3cxL_G-7YctOdrDBHGsCgn3VbzQ0hP43uzlZMpeD4kSPjFdbdurulwqQqJCsln4Q51l1RpwUz_MWEzrw/s320/IMG_3542.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kWxHp1HJwDu52w0juq5FxTTBmmgjn_LH1PwCuDXex3w9KeiValgwbMthqJH0Gq3a2iLt4Wnvh_JoWRTdzxSN0uQ84PRrfYXIb7mkV7RJfIhHz5HyT6-0CDbPl2daFQSg9KxcXGKy9Ss/s1600/IMG_3545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kWxHp1HJwDu52w0juq5FxTTBmmgjn_LH1PwCuDXex3w9KeiValgwbMthqJH0Gq3a2iLt4Wnvh_JoWRTdzxSN0uQ84PRrfYXIb7mkV7RJfIhHz5HyT6-0CDbPl2daFQSg9KxcXGKy9Ss/s320/IMG_3545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you head south a bit further you come to other clusters of skyscrapers. The most notable grouping in the Marina area. In the Marina they have the twisty building which was designed by the same architectural firm who did the Burj Khalifa and the Trump Tower in Chicago. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxdRkpmUej8gTr106ESIdIXLayfQlWqL5ejIdWAkELBpNBIV0CwdGaxh7Amt4ZKrNLcpYa-ycHnh-QaX3JiKsB406-UmWo1A76cBqOkjCqfvOJaubrgncSwoSKF24FCnkw2WtpRt7gbU/s1600/IMG_3986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxdRkpmUej8gTr106ESIdIXLayfQlWqL5ejIdWAkELBpNBIV0CwdGaxh7Amt4ZKrNLcpYa-ycHnh-QaX3JiKsB406-UmWo1A76cBqOkjCqfvOJaubrgncSwoSKF24FCnkw2WtpRt7gbU/s320/IMG_3986.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">twisty tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-Tovg6pci8d6gL1wJyra9hNbkKBvnECocFtWHgMMMjIF6DmgutpOpKIv5QGmEgof8UYNpIui0V3EHk9lq9UAKsvsK0pp8HuIZJ1Rg3m1L3IuaNWTiLwn07gkENTXQ_fJ7QIXPcu06iM/s1600/DSCN5012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-Tovg6pci8d6gL1wJyra9hNbkKBvnECocFtWHgMMMjIF6DmgutpOpKIv5QGmEgof8UYNpIui0V3EHk9lq9UAKsvsK0pp8HuIZJ1Rg3m1L3IuaNWTiLwn07gkENTXQ_fJ7QIXPcu06iM/s320/DSCN5012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marina skyline at night</td></tr>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-20060223385848611802016-12-18T11:00:00.002-08:002017-04-30T05:16:56.791-07:00Doing Al Dhafra<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzZ6VoQVseu90uOW2YTjFJiJp_e7Lyvp8gEuY1RyBwiqByR79iRBdyBJByzvwLNHkcUREQdHzGF2zTP7JOancswzb0cvwJQGfbr6k4zVoG78PpKEfZqgjgM-rQ0Nj4lu8xTq_4sZFeac/s1600/IMG_4035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzZ6VoQVseu90uOW2YTjFJiJp_e7Lyvp8gEuY1RyBwiqByR79iRBdyBJByzvwLNHkcUREQdHzGF2zTP7JOancswzb0cvwJQGfbr6k4zVoG78PpKEfZqgjgM-rQ0Nj4lu8xTq_4sZFeac/s320/IMG_4035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">judging pens from the grandstand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yesterday, I went with some friends to check out the Al Dhafra Festival (famous for the camel beauty pageant) and I highly recommend the <br />
experience! I'd read that you could find the festival by plugging the coordinates to the Tilal Liwa hotel into your GPS but I didn't realize just how close it is to the hotel which can be spotted as you drive to and from the main event spaces. There are also the following coordinates from the festival brochure: N23*33'44.01 E53*45'4.00 One way or another, you should aim for the purpose-built Heritage Souk- it's pretty easy to spot as flags announcing the festival lead toward it- there's a paved parking lot which stands out from all the high-activity stuff going on on random dirt/ sand roads on the way- and a couple of towers making it resemble a fort.<br />
<br />
Enter the central courtyard and look lost! Look like a visitor! It seems you'll likely be approached by a tour guide wearing a badge on a red lanyard. If you're not approached, seek one out. We had a weird experience with a newbie tour guide at first who didn't seem to know what to do with us so it took a bit of time for us to hook up with the program. We wandered around the souk looking at some nice handicraft products- including some baskets that I vaguely regret not buying, they'd be nice for hauling camping or beach gear- and we checked out the classic car show before wandering toward the grandstands where we thought the beauty contest stuff seemed to be scheduled.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1f1kNzFO8ngvI0uHjtsl32m4o-rIOQ72HSxi4Xp2MW03d_36C2Ue-nMTNybZTuipoStQmWgdoD37VthQIFJaLMsdqn_Yt6ttIn85nXhSThbMHOjuShvt3XVoTU5sdZfMXSwnHBPIjUIU/s1600/IMG_4042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1f1kNzFO8ngvI0uHjtsl32m4o-rIOQ72HSxi4Xp2MW03d_36C2Ue-nMTNybZTuipoStQmWgdoD37VthQIFJaLMsdqn_Yt6ttIn85nXhSThbMHOjuShvt3XVoTU5sdZfMXSwnHBPIjUIU/s320/IMG_4042.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">umm. not sure we're supposed to sit here...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We entered the backside of a grandstand, climbing a set of stairs which revealed camels in pens out front, and in the stands, all local guys seated not in anything so pedestrian as bleachers, no they were all sitting in stepped rows of gilt armchairs. It looked VVIP, like we had wandered in somewhere we shouldn't be. We backed out and tried the next entrance and at first thought it was the same deal, but no, here we spotted a few other touristy types in the fancy chairs, including my friend (and boss) from Abu Dhabi. She told me about how she'd been met by a tour guide who took her down to the camel pens and over to a royal family camp for lunch! We grabbed some seats and started to chat up our neighbor who <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bPOMQD8TFn7I30WPcj1IcZ4c0fmtzp2X37xAFzG3z-qCVfmAUR-s-yKGpRvsIcT4DgmLWVPJz4FhpJZXlQDXJrYx9ZUUWFDiuU2QxjMX4ooOH1LXmNB53dNXL_CGuC7ui5Yh3Eq9JRs/s1600/IMG_4039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bPOMQD8TFn7I30WPcj1IcZ4c0fmtzp2X37xAFzG3z-qCVfmAUR-s-yKGpRvsIcT4DgmLWVPJz4FhpJZXlQDXJrYx9ZUUWFDiuU2QxjMX4ooOH1LXmNB53dNXL_CGuC7ui5Yh3Eq9JRs/s320/IMG_4039.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">actually, we CAN sit in the golden armchairs with the local guys</td></tr>
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turned out to be a guy filming for the BBC so watch out, maybe you'll spot the festival on the international news channel. Here's where we connected with the guys with the red lanyard badges. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAGtlqIfeCWGy5XuPs77a6BCn3UfOgHHPOY0ABgI-6rwQs8Z7fs-Z_mxrEFnZMB37THZzGq7oWtb5uSwuF7S2gQTL-VmaKKA52RQvcEdrdaJFXrKWr4tLnCx3FBrCydOR9m1Zgn679Iw/s1600/IMG_4057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAGtlqIfeCWGy5XuPs77a6BCn3UfOgHHPOY0ABgI-6rwQs8Z7fs-Z_mxrEFnZMB37THZzGq7oWtb5uSwuF7S2gQTL-VmaKKA52RQvcEdrdaJFXrKWr4tLnCx3FBrCydOR9m1Zgn679Iw/s320/IMG_4057.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hump bling!</td></tr>
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They took us down into the pens out front and explained a bit of the beauty pageant business. The camels in the pens that day were being considered for their appearance of strength and muscles. So far as I could tell they were being judged as racing camels but judged on their look rather than performance. Our guy pointed out a camel that had been shaved and said that she won't win. If you shave them, it has to be long enough in the past that it's all grown in and natural looking. I was reading as well that the camels are checked and eliminated from competition if there's evidence that they've had lip injections! Floppy lips are good but they'd better be naturally floppy, no flop-enhancing drugs allowed! He told us about the buying and selling of winners that goes on every night on Million Road. Later we saw the back up of cars and had we planned/ known better, we could have come on an evening where we could stay late enough to go down and watch the buying and selling of camels for millions of dirham. Our guy told us about an American lady who had bought and sold one winning camel and made a tidy profit. I envisioned her taking her purchased camel home to a farm or something for training or at least grooming, but no, she did her buying and selling in one or two days <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyVjYo1A-CrowLdE6hMH07A77lJiMGEwsx7Q9V_Fv2c9A5HZOQHjE2dndRx-If2ji2TBmsePH9wYaRv4u-xh33rFVTu1u31OGSWNutdzyyCMsByZYGA_9iQyCcCC5H7JDjb4Vs0VJuYU/s1600/IMG_4063+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyVjYo1A-CrowLdE6hMH07A77lJiMGEwsx7Q9V_Fv2c9A5HZOQHjE2dndRx-If2ji2TBmsePH9wYaRv4u-xh33rFVTu1u31OGSWNutdzyyCMsByZYGA_9iQyCcCC5H7JDjb4Vs0VJuYU/s320/IMG_4063+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">camel spit hair do</td></tr>
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from the sounds of it. The camels were decked out in hump bling and necklaces. Winners later would be draped in a special blanket and I read that there's also a handicraft competition to make the best camel blanket for the final winner of the whole festival. Daily winners get SUVs and skyrocketing values on their camels in case they want to sell. Or if they'd rather keep their winners, they can also charge stud or breeding fees but not to members of their own extended family/ tribe. These camels all seemed friendly and into being photographed. They'd nuzzle our hands or hair with floppy lips and call out with some pretty fantastical sounds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJYxyH9nWhoPvJHP2_TVYDfRtUEljtmN-aIASdGznJMRZVXIi14RMs-Ph9PQOXiazvG6e4JVy_7zolSjRc4dkvtNMx5tHDbxRyyOTfyt9_GseJj2Tvj5nPaxcE2nUQlXCLyHWGy0trxU/s1600/IMG_4071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJYxyH9nWhoPvJHP2_TVYDfRtUEljtmN-aIASdGznJMRZVXIi14RMs-Ph9PQOXiazvG6e4JVy_7zolSjRc4dkvtNMx5tHDbxRyyOTfyt9_GseJj2Tvj5nPaxcE2nUQlXCLyHWGy0trxU/s320/IMG_4071.JPG" width="320" /></a>After a bit, we headed back to the grandstand and made plans to meet up with our guide in a bit to go to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's camp. He's the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and, according to the brochure, the patron of the festival. First we watched the Feathered Saluki Beauty Contest- new this year! Saluki's are Arabian dogs that look a lot like greyhounds. We obviously don't know anything at all about judging Saluki beauty because our top pick was eliminated right off. Oh well. There are competitions on other days for the best dates, the best date packing, falcon beauty contests, Arabian horse racing, and, last but not least, the sour milk (laban) competition!<br />
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Speaking of sour milk, we were getting hungry and were drawn to an enormous BBQ smoker. Big enough, it turns out, to smoke huge hunks of camel if need be. This was less of a local thing, I learned it was owned by an Aussie and the BBQ guy was from North Carolina, but I did have a taste of really excellent camel meat that he told me still had about 3 hours left in the smoker. It turned out we shouldn't have ordered food just then, if I were going to suggest an approach to others I'd say arriving at the festival in the afternoon around 2-3pm like we did is pretty good and if you want to try some excellent camel meat, maybe check out the BBQ but just get one serving to share among a few people because there's more food ahead!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bJuTHLxrox-6z0QScT4VG_CEk_EizdQKEa03FQ7cDKGIwIDuyKU1CFb0pq4qNfVq7n0PBOyqAyWQl1RXUMnYQKiq_FIaF35Ej5lxpkOoQ3i4duTN9DIkR64iI1rjaoELs3YhUjQudNI/s1600/IMG_4074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bJuTHLxrox-6z0QScT4VG_CEk_EizdQKEa03FQ7cDKGIwIDuyKU1CFb0pq4qNfVq7n0PBOyqAyWQl1RXUMnYQKiq_FIaF35Ej5lxpkOoQ3i4duTN9DIkR64iI1rjaoELs3YhUjQudNI/s200/IMG_4074.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">camp entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JEq4ir5leYWLLTMCG5h37kvzjBvwTYUCLfSOBdgdxoQ7KikZCIsAQ14DKnaOSUAuX6azBCv6gh24VPbGs8siHX7WY7bp8qwAOrBzaYqQ8Dn9uy9IdIFPm23qT37v9jsVHHLuwGG7Dfs/s1600/IMG_4077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JEq4ir5leYWLLTMCG5h37kvzjBvwTYUCLfSOBdgdxoQ7KikZCIsAQ14DKnaOSUAuX6azBCv6gh24VPbGs8siHX7WY7bp8qwAOrBzaYqQ8Dn9uy9IdIFPm23qT37v9jsVHHLuwGG7Dfs/s200/IMG_4077.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">majlis tent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We followed a host/ guide to the Sheikh's camp but they will also drive you if you prefer. Talk about glamping! There was a giant majlis where we were served coffee and tea and dates while traditional dancers performed in the courtyard. Seems that there was henna on offer over in the ladies only section but since we were a mixed group, we were in the main area. We were enjoying the dancing and sunset light, the big campfire and a steady supply of tea when one of the men invited us to stay for dinner at 7:30pm, a few hours away. As we had a long drive, we had to tell <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjOoqjVMLU1lAl8KmVdciN-mwB1QUm9eUU9MDGskYsNY91ICSf3FjC3eR64y-7U7pQFLqgV-K-p6KEyW4Kvy52qVJKmhEAXin3LrAWp2G-DeU56L8oCgXMFcYGrJOGNGFnzzk7N8C1k8/s1600/IMG_4079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjOoqjVMLU1lAl8KmVdciN-mwB1QUm9eUU9MDGskYsNY91ICSf3FjC3eR64y-7U7pQFLqgV-K-p6KEyW4Kvy52qVJKmhEAXin3LrAWp2G-DeU56L8oCgXMFcYGrJOGNGFnzzk7N8C1k8/s200/IMG_4079.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inside majlis tent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
him we couldn't stay. Then, after a moment he said, "come, eat." <br />
<br />
We were led into a tent with carpets, fountains, tables and more gilded chairs, they sat us in front of giant silver tureens full of lamb stew, a sweet bread dish that was kind of like dry dessert stuffing and that I really liked, there were fatayer (stuffed pastry things) and fried sweet dough balls, crepe like things, and a dish called harees (kind a thick gravy/ savory pudding) that i am not a fan of. it was explained that local ladies made all the food and that it's the late afternoon meal, not dinner.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifukbXSC36_bZdEG9DNQJQxv9KDlGUalA7jo1XNkajZcwcKYZEOpHUul_ALEQ5lOVCL8fPoYcjtj9aUtE9v2vxKA4pLg_MW062ur1xPRCjmhQKzwBe1l-gDy5p3u8gzwuJA9JRSCugygg/s1600/IMG_4099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifukbXSC36_bZdEG9DNQJQxv9KDlGUalA7jo1XNkajZcwcKYZEOpHUul_ALEQ5lOVCL8fPoYcjtj9aUtE9v2vxKA4pLg_MW062ur1xPRCjmhQKzwBe1l-gDy5p3u8gzwuJA9JRSCugygg/s200/IMG_4099.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">afternoon meal set up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The sun set, the fire was fed, lights came on making the camp twinkle. It was time for us to leave because of the 2.5-3 hour drive ahead. It had been a surreal experience being treated as a VIP guest but also as a tourist at the same time, enjoying access and free, delicious food in a way that had us interacting with locals on one level but also just spectating as total outsiders at this very local event. Strange and wonderful and if I weren't headed off on a trip in a few days, I might consider going back on a day when I could stay for dinner, or when I could go watch some camel buying and selling on Million Road. I'd talk to the guys with winning camels, ask them how they came to have winners- any special feed or grooming? I'd learn more about how they pick the winners and see if I couldn't be around to try my hand at a little camel milking. People we met seemed proud of the cultural event and proud of their heritage, happy to talk about it and show us a taste of that famous Bedouin hospitality. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhb39or76758wg5OgfzaXmjf_uBy7GKIoiKWqxXC_9AGw1hPZrReHfYzqnJwg3YNwlvV9f6T00ef2TxfWEacZbBCTSu26o8KUoiEwisfgm-34PjwHR7Pif7sTFLvAVwsBGAmO6-xiu8s/s1600/IMG_4093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhb39or76758wg5OgfzaXmjf_uBy7GKIoiKWqxXC_9AGw1hPZrReHfYzqnJwg3YNwlvV9f6T00ef2TxfWEacZbBCTSu26o8KUoiEwisfgm-34PjwHR7Pif7sTFLvAVwsBGAmO6-xiu8s/s320/IMG_4093.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">traditional dancing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAr1-ZnghWm1hyphenhyphenNXJaA5kW7YTVEO6dB-S2jAffJO0BY6iaiVj0MoEK7KHbtA6FSiYm2hht4glFZHxZ-XhhoEknE1QqrASHwDuHdLb35DdW_zdWmhbegnOJSMFc3elTGHa44E-RYNCkqo/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAr1-ZnghWm1hyphenhyphenNXJaA5kW7YTVEO6dB-S2jAffJO0BY6iaiVj0MoEK7KHbtA6FSiYm2hht4glFZHxZ-XhhoEknE1QqrASHwDuHdLb35DdW_zdWmhbegnOJSMFc3elTGHa44E-RYNCkqo/s320/IMG_4098.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">camp fountains, of course</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTCQA5TZoMPpTH1vvK9_jaULevuYB_JkqHh7GRUoFM_F_1XFGFeNgyjOHe8SFxlouCX0AJQOkHvlF-5hPLvCOUdOQ3CNABCix1VAgJxj1JWXlZQpSH0DrZOl3oWJcetUFDIc3TJbWcwc/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTCQA5TZoMPpTH1vvK9_jaULevuYB_JkqHh7GRUoFM_F_1XFGFeNgyjOHe8SFxlouCX0AJQOkHvlF-5hPLvCOUdOQ3CNABCix1VAgJxj1JWXlZQpSH0DrZOl3oWJcetUFDIc3TJbWcwc/s320/IMG_4101.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the dancers dine with us, late afternoon meal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_hyQ4nu0_MGTzxZ4Miozav_kmlulZmZW8rdBQ7LkO9N_DEQ917U9ADYVWNOBlvaLM2ykAH0SxI7dUhKnd233ck1MOHHNWrAGbpNDfz0-XI2KrJaiXu3x2_3juE59U_3ekFhfLLgOj6g/s1600/IMG_4103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_hyQ4nu0_MGTzxZ4Miozav_kmlulZmZW8rdBQ7LkO9N_DEQ917U9ADYVWNOBlvaLM2ykAH0SxI7dUhKnd233ck1MOHHNWrAGbpNDfz0-XI2KrJaiXu3x2_3juE59U_3ekFhfLLgOj6g/s320/IMG_4103.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">twinkling camp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsC0xUnxO9SqdUIrck9Y8RrrtJ2SZuTf4Leo_fy2HlOtu3E6o-VXEZ2nxd9ZL7IuVPnlN4GXIy9v15-kAQ91fF4e21cBjbjHobxrmdvbsauPinSSPBrvAArsjraAdjnbmnRg0O2Ph6lfY/s1600/IMG_4112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsC0xUnxO9SqdUIrck9Y8RrrtJ2SZuTf4Leo_fy2HlOtu3E6o-VXEZ2nxd9ZL7IuVPnlN4GXIy9v15-kAQ91fF4e21cBjbjHobxrmdvbsauPinSSPBrvAArsjraAdjnbmnRg0O2Ph6lfY/s320/IMG_4112.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">other camps passed as we were leaving the festival</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I found this video of the festival from a few years ago- the gal who is featured in it annoys me a little, she can slip into being patronizing and doesn't seem to totally get some of the Arabic humor because she doesn't bother to get stuff translated, at least not for the viewers- but she has some great footage of stuff i didn't get to see like the vet area where they check for doping and all!<br />
<a href="http://www.vice.com/video/miss-camel-beauty-contest">http://www.vice.com/video/miss-camel-beauty-contest</a><br />
<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-52349075344244478182016-12-08T11:16:00.002-08:002017-04-30T05:14:10.857-07:00Here comes the bride<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8533">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8532">Quite
unexpectedly, I had the chance to attend an Emirati wedding a few weekends ago.
'Reception' probably does a better job of describing the event. 'Wedding'
calls to mind a kind of ceremony with vows and an officiant. That part
of things happens privately, at another time completely. There is a
contract signed by the bride and groom, usually some family help set the
terms, and there's an imam (like a priest) to make it official. The
thing I went to is the public party which can happen quite a bit later
than the contract signing (weeks, months) and for most of the "wedding"
men and women are celebrating separately.</span></div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p2" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8539">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8542">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8541">Maybe
I should jump back to how I came to be at the wedding of a young lady
I've never met. The bride is a ZU student, an advisee of my friend and
neighbor, Jess. Jess had plans to to take another colleague, Yulia, and they stopped by on their way around 9:30/ 10 in the evening- things start late compared to most wedding celebrations in the US. Learning that I hadn't yet been to a local wedding, they insisted I throw on a dress and come along. No chance to glam it up and when we got there, I felt decidedly dowdy.</span><span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8552"> But
is this rude? Jess bringing a random plus 2 to the celebration?
Apparently not. The dinner (at 11pm-ish) was family style, a heaping
excess of biryani and more than enough kebabs. Seats weren't going to be
a problem in the hall. We were actually seated
relatively front and center. I guess there's some cachet to having your
teacher come to your wedding and if she brings friends, bonus! The more
the merrier, demonstrates how many people want to celebrate with you.<span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8547"></span>
</div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p2" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8556">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1"></span><br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYTwatvyahOJOWXICF3jtjgWuoTsyMo9Xmx1g4EfubwsYGGWeH5gKGRaAcUoD_3O-CffSpinnWPSgP8Yu5x_GAzPs6bx6nwPrEO5OWoMGDb6bBatS-QHGF9bOzNbwCU332VjqCB3SyOw/s1600/IMG_3600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYTwatvyahOJOWXICF3jtjgWuoTsyMo9Xmx1g4EfubwsYGGWeH5gKGRaAcUoD_3O-CffSpinnWPSgP8Yu5x_GAzPs6bx6nwPrEO5OWoMGDb6bBatS-QHGF9bOzNbwCU332VjqCB3SyOw/s320/IMG_3600.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">couch on the stage where the bride wound up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8559">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558">The
hall - a place for weddings and other events- had tables around a stage and on the stage, a white couch sat
amidst faux trees covered in cherry blossoms. As soon as we were seated,
waitstaff came with trays, offering tiny cookies or chocolates and a seemingly unending array of beverage courses: karak tea (chai), mint tea, heba hunbra (a custardy drink with some sort of seeds, like chia or something), strawberry milk, Arabic coffee, black tea, pistachio drink (milky and sweet)...<span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space"> There were also appetizers on the tables when we got there- salads, dips- and ladies milling about, talking, visiting, and dancing.</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8559">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8559">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space">It is the current custom and fashion for most Emirati women to wear abayas away from home. Some <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtpF5WvAWVm_LX6sEbRAgZ41switZFs7nNP5Rpv25WzvkhmsDfEvXi7_ms9T8M7E50prgRk53cbfDVI8YGCKQqsSrkqOyDX6lUWecOFuBkA5PPFVeKa1eVHmFNCGKvyF6ZxJOdCIeQ1js/s1600/IMG_3603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtpF5WvAWVm_LX6sEbRAgZ41switZFs7nNP5Rpv25WzvkhmsDfEvXi7_ms9T8M7E50prgRk53cbfDVI8YGCKQqsSrkqOyDX6lUWecOFuBkA5PPFVeKa1eVHmFNCGKvyF6ZxJOdCIeQ1js/s320/IMG_3603.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">milky pistachio drink</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
of our students let their abayas flop open at school revealing jeans,and long sleeve T shirts or maybe leggings or pants that look suspiciously like PJs with a tunic or something. Fairly modest clothing even under the abaya at least in terms of coverage. Apparently for a wedding, all bets are off! The ladies were in formal club wear, skin tight, cleavage-showing evening gowns. Make up and hair, done to perfection. One especially striking fashionista had a gown that was tea length or longer in back but cut up shorter in front revealing a gorgeous henna pattern down her shins that looked like exotic stockings. These were the younger and almost middle aged guests. The grandmas and older aunties wore caftan-like dresses with traditional colorful trim designs made of braided metallic thread. A few ladies just wore everyday abayas too, but most seemed to use this as an opportunity to dress up.</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8559">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8559">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space">So around the time dinner made it to all the tables, the already loud constant music went up a few notches to signal that the bride was coming out. She wore a poufy white dress with a big train and took mincing steps to the stage while professional photographers snapped pictures. She made her way to the couch on stage where they arranged the dress around her for more photos. Then guests- friends, sisters, aunties, Jess- took turns going up to sit beside her on the couch for a bunch of pictures. There seemed to be a bit of a pecking order as to who went up for their photo with the bride first, second third... Some of the bride's fellow students came and took Jess up when it was a good time for her to go. </span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vCYauERTHOuRmXAXG93ORDTZuj-TA3y-v8jkTxkYLL47ckoRV3ivwX5Z6QrhhrxYXkwvXnHaUrBY6FjX52AuIpiqVH9xg2Bk4zsRx0078vJAWjmcJVXRWunJUHErA6GElxMj-Y8C_Q0/s1600/IMG_3601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vCYauERTHOuRmXAXG93ORDTZuj-TA3y-v8jkTxkYLL47ckoRV3ivwX5Z6QrhhrxYXkwvXnHaUrBY6FjX52AuIpiqVH9xg2Bk4zsRx0078vJAWjmcJVXRWunJUHErA6GElxMj-Y8C_Q0/s320/IMG_3601.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tea, cola, strawberry milk with gelatin bubbles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="yiv9598717718p1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8559">
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space"></span></span><br />
<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space"></span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space">After about an hour of this, there was another swell in the music and the DJ (who must have been behind a curtain where he couldn't see the ladies but could be heard) shouted Hamid! Hamid! Hamid! (seems this was the groom's name) Nearly every woman in the place grabbed up their abaya and shayla (hair covering) and threw it on- all the glitter and skin covered in a flash! A couple of women arranged an elaborate veil- more like a hood really- over the bride's hair and face. And then the groom came in escorted by about 5 other men. Maybe his father, some brothers or friends? Photographers took a million pictures and grandmas and aunties, older women, tossed fistfuls of 5 and 10 dirham notes (about $1.50 and $3 values) in the air and the kids there went crazy collecting them. Then all of the guys except the groom left and the bride's veil was removed. The couple held hands and together used a small sword to cut the wedding cake. The old ladies tossed more money in the air for the kids and more photos were taken.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The groom is in brown- photos of the men were no problem</td></tr>
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<span class="yiv9598717718s1" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1481217809777_8558"><span class="yiv9598717718Apple-converted-space">The taking of photos was interesting. I don't have very many because I'd been warned, it's not appropriate. There seemed to be a bit of a divide. The table in front of us included about 5 younger women who were not shy about snapping lots of pictures of the bride and each other. When one swung her camera around to our table- there was a speedy reaction. One woman pulled her shayla over her face and held up her hand to block it, another yelled at the young lady, a third walked over to the young photographer and scolded her somewhat intensely. Probably one of the most interesting things I witnessed was one of the photo gals took a snap of the bride and groom holding hands and in the picture, she captured their outfits, but she cut their heads off in the picture. Her friends liked her shot so much, they were taking pictures of her picture on her phone. My best guess was that this is a way to share photos of the dress without being disrespectful or oversharing face and hair which are kept more private.</span></span><br />
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Fairly quickly after the cake, the bride and groom walked out of the hall holding hands and setting off on their adventure together. Abayas came back off for some, there was a bit more dancing, but the action was basically over at that point. I think there were another few beverages on offer, but the party was wrapping up. We danced our way out the door and that was that!dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-27810856425285079962016-05-11T08:39:00.006-07:002017-04-30T05:13:37.140-07:00Bucket List<div id="yiv8673090818">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sKQ360ql0g2hyphenhyphendz1je9zR0eRASltQ5CgxRjIUXNXrGF40ObNW0kRH0dLQnANhV-pebYoZQ6w-0K8M93v4GNhbshMdseYU0kajhs2wNmgjEGVmwDIFmHNySrpQCVViOjqZ4ZAP_QPoZ0/s1600/10418949_10152717666593143_6559246492220293117_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sKQ360ql0g2hyphenhyphendz1je9zR0eRASltQ5CgxRjIUXNXrGF40ObNW0kRH0dLQnANhV-pebYoZQ6w-0K8M93v4GNhbshMdseYU0kajhs2wNmgjEGVmwDIFmHNySrpQCVViOjqZ4ZAP_QPoZ0/s320/10418949_10152717666593143_6559246492220293117_n.jpg" width="234" /></a>I started on my 2015 holiday letter on my way to Germany for the UAE's National Day long weekend in early December. In case you missed it, my 4 day trip to check out the Christmas markets in Munich turned into a 6 week long stay in the hospital. It appeared to be simple appendicitis at first but turned out to be a much more serious and complicated ruptured colon. I'm recovered now but I was there right through the Christmas and New Year's holidays and I never got around to completing my letter and sending holiday cards but I liked where I was going with it so I thought I'd pick up where I left off and make it a blog post... </div>
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So... Happy Holidays!</div>
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Now that I've passed the halfway point of my contract, I get
asked a lot about how long I think I might stay. "Not sure" is my answer
but I'm always living as though time is slipping away, I don't want to
save my bucket list items for a rush at the end. This year (2015) has included
some Dubai-life bucket list items starting with ringing in the New Year
watching the fireworks shot off the world's tallest building from my
comfy and traffic-free apartment balcony. It's the Times Square of the eastern hemisphere and I can enjoy it from the guest bed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiF6urSKJchoTrwzx83AO0C987xkHys7_soedNp37TwMqjANjpWYg5txU_Qrix4BjFVoEViiFLJFmJBjIPiw0WsG36tYPsGK-Gz7qf0AjUVlS2gEWzxjcoO7K5wgwDT2olP0KvIt5ziT8/s1600/10945618_10152778532268143_5124045089575069061_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiF6urSKJchoTrwzx83AO0C987xkHys7_soedNp37TwMqjANjpWYg5txU_Qrix4BjFVoEViiFLJFmJBjIPiw0WsG36tYPsGK-Gz7qf0AjUVlS2gEWzxjcoO7K5wgwDT2olP0KvIt5ziT8/s320/10945618_10152778532268143_5124045089575069061_n.jpg" width="234" /></a>When my sisters came to visit a few weeks later, we went to the Emirates Palace which is a tres swanky hotel in Abu Dhabi famous for serving gold cappuccinos, There's a dramatic shot of the Emirates Palace in the movie Fast and Furious 7 as well. So yeah, we drank some gold dust and then you know we checked the next couple of days to see if it was still glittery post-digestive tract. the answer is nope, it's not. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBIphK9gxO60cV3pPAGel6GI_FLwmwxW8JxYrT9Lraui7QIvp-q75CZl65ODVyZdlloPHs2Y8IUQ6RG9BXaIunpUxy4U9bONRpjJhh1wq_TCy_m9miUtIeGNS6EZakRQ3KSvePxTItEM/s1600/17191_832736748449_5583948556442088707_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBIphK9gxO60cV3pPAGel6GI_FLwmwxW8JxYrT9Lraui7QIvp-q75CZl65ODVyZdlloPHs2Y8IUQ6RG9BXaIunpUxy4U9bONRpjJhh1wq_TCy_m9miUtIeGNS6EZakRQ3KSvePxTItEM/s320/17191_832736748449_5583948556442088707_n.jpg" width="240" /></a>Dubai
does things the largest/ tallest/ fastest and in this case, most
expensive in the world! I'm talking about the World's Cup of horse racing, largest prize- won by a sheik who turned around and donated it.
No local betting but there were plenty of people wagering online in the
UK and there were hats! I went with my friend Amanda and we made our hats. Well, OK, I made mine. There were some pretty amazing hats on display, it was quite the scene.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NSwSRPMXe4zsC_U3ahIwPVA6ZxE5ry4MnYyzt-TPg6SMwtKMpXV9ZAZcUiI2O2UCQD1l4xLGX6NNO0jpJTqVUkA-8aLHNFAJr82cL-lTP85oXGqqFhquQcHgfKEbv3EJYv5Fi985P1k/s1600/DSCN5739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NSwSRPMXe4zsC_U3ahIwPVA6ZxE5ry4MnYyzt-TPg6SMwtKMpXV9ZAZcUiI2O2UCQD1l4xLGX6NNO0jpJTqVUkA-8aLHNFAJr82cL-lTP85oXGqqFhquQcHgfKEbv3EJYv5Fi985P1k/s320/DSCN5739.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
I had dinner in the dark- an experience at a place called Noire- it felt
very Dubai to me though I know they host similar events in other
cities. I guess because, like Dubai, it was a bit artificial but also kind of genuine and it was a lot of fun. Artificial in construct- we were escorted into a pitch black room by waitstaff wearing nigh vision goggles. We felt around for our utensils and water glasses. They brought each course, with a wine pairing for those who drink and then genuine flavors and textures took center stage.it was disorienting to start but we adapted pretty quickly. After the meal, we came back into the light and met with the chef to review what we'd had. I didn't guess the snails in the carrot soup, I kept thinking they were maybe unusual scallops. We also got to go back into the dining room trying out the night vision goggles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzqylZxnRbH2qcLWPt9krxn1Eh8KKwIoU4FQ10X2__kvU58hA7IinEgDLav-tyN0oQyWkwVOSDvX3mjK4kmmZv-YENCiIyCrH5XqH2TpG3mUswFns_hR8-3F0-hnZhU96TAp3p1mEMgw/s1600/IMG_0904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzqylZxnRbH2qcLWPt9krxn1Eh8KKwIoU4FQ10X2__kvU58hA7IinEgDLav-tyN0oQyWkwVOSDvX3mjK4kmmZv-YENCiIyCrH5XqH2TpG3mUswFns_hR8-3F0-hnZhU96TAp3p1mEMgw/s320/IMG_0904.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our waiter at Noire</td></tr>
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I was in the UAE for a bit of Ramadan in 2015. I wrote that up <a href="http://divasandbox.blogspot.com/2015/09/very-very-belated-ramadan-kareem.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I didn't know before I experienced it that that was on my bucket list. What makes an experience bucket-y for me? i guess it has to be either one of a kind or especially iconic. It should capture something of the essence of a place or moment in time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtMNNnXvkDIU33sQ6KvTo3tXUqMHBz0GP5n-HRH-Jzc8MDQdBmzO2zE2JloWatIYAOSblb3mq244ukjyAVpxuFg-1KMzfXxNB9I0ZBdUXkP016UIxBBiFaUkH12HpM7eSJcpHPXtFBGU/s1600/DSCN5674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtMNNnXvkDIU33sQ6KvTo3tXUqMHBz0GP5n-HRH-Jzc8MDQdBmzO2zE2JloWatIYAOSblb3mq244ukjyAVpxuFg-1KMzfXxNB9I0ZBdUXkP016UIxBBiFaUkH12HpM7eSJcpHPXtFBGU/s200/DSCN5674.JPG" width="150" /></a>I've now been a couple of times to sunset drinks at the rooftop lounge at Bab al Shams Desert Resort- not that the lounge is so original or fantastic- but the whole business of plonking a luxury resort down in the desert is so wonderful and oasis-y and gets to the essence of the Arabian peninsula's long history of hospitality in a harsh environment.. Still to-do on my bucket list is a splurgy overnight, maybe at one of the resorts where each room has a private pool and a dune view stretching away. Maybe I'll overnight at the Qsr al Sarab resort- the one in the Liwa desert, an area called the Empty Quarter.<br />
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I made it to the Empty Quarter in 2015- high on my list- for the first, but not last time. And even made it to the resot but only for breakfast, not for the whole luxury experience. This trip was about the desert. This is where they filmed the desert planet scenes in the latest Star Wars movie. This is where the UAE's tallest dunes are. This is the scenery you think of when you think of the Arabian desert.We spotted gazelle, heard little<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fly tracks</td></tr>
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mice or gerbils, saw tracks of lots of critters. The "track" of a housefly landing on the sand is surprisingly beautiful.<br />
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I tend to work too long on these posts, trying to cover too much at once so I'll wrap it up now and just keep working my way through my remaining UAE/Dubai bucket list items...<br />
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dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-11468129510137461922016-04-11T08:43:00.001-07:002017-04-30T05:12:04.804-07:00Matters of Life and Death<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPrFCvPFv4NJSdOuFL6ZDERmXSOI11QOgkXRK-nErXq2vsBBMMSWEcCiWPTzGHbslAAh59L_wdMc-vaB8f0nUkIuhu6VPZ9oBdEF6Tc2_tOv_GI_-OQFHJxFYBi7uro1cVGl3R8SS4U4/s1600/IMG_1344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPrFCvPFv4NJSdOuFL6ZDERmXSOI11QOgkXRK-nErXq2vsBBMMSWEcCiWPTzGHbslAAh59L_wdMc-vaB8f0nUkIuhu6VPZ9oBdEF6Tc2_tOv_GI_-OQFHJxFYBi7uro1cVGl3R8SS4U4/s320/IMG_1344.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">piles of foil wrapped chocolates to bring to a new mom</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcBw3T1ud1x5NCB9gAOrGBttkc0Bg-ZEPEcFG7r9Cpq8EqpK2dFzg5G5ik5bX1z9ZcTrZXML86Wp5doB8jiTd1wFCVRIzV8trU3Lls4-e1AGM07e-dsYzergcZxQoQYhqRa5vqtSsaHM/s1600/IMG_1346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcBw3T1ud1x5NCB9gAOrGBttkc0Bg-ZEPEcFG7r9Cpq8EqpK2dFzg5G5ik5bX1z9ZcTrZXML86Wp5doB8jiTd1wFCVRIzV8trU3Lls4-e1AGM07e-dsYzergcZxQoQYhqRa5vqtSsaHM/s200/IMG_1346.JPG" width="149" /></a>Those of you who know about my holidays in a Munich hospital may think,
based on the title, that this post will be about that. Actually, I
wanted to write a little about my secondhand experiences of how
families, friends, and even, now and then, the Nation, deal with those
most major experiences- life and death- here in my host country.<br />
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First
birth. A couple of colleagues and friends have had babies in the 2
years I've been here. Both locals and ex-pats. I hosted showers for a
few of those ex-pats last fall. When I asked around to see if there was
any similar local tradition of hosting a party for the mom to be or
parents in advance of the birth, I learned the answer was no. And I got
the sense, though no one explicitly said it, that it might be seen as
premature or even flaunting your luck to celebrate before the birth. Now
after the birth, like right after the birth, in the hospital, it's
another story. While in the US I think the norm is to let the new
parents be alone or with just a small collection of close family in the
hospital after the exhausting but exhilarating ordeal, the norm here is
to flock to the hospital bedside of mom and baby and to come bearing
chocolates. Giant, pretty piles of foil wrapped chocolate! You can find these pyramids of be-ribboned sweets at chocolate shops or some grocery stores as well. And now is
when the new mom is lucky if she is close to her sisters or female
cousins or someone who can take on the job of making sure all of the
many visitors are offered food and small mementos celebrating baby- like
wedding favors. The craft stores have supplies to make these on your own or, I saw this bouquet of lace covered blue baby bottles each with a few Jordan almonds in the same section as the gift platters of chocolates, near the florist in the grocery store.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxhOuDx83wUPwt7vJVGKHQajLr1f3aDFGnB_UqaC7QrAFd0OdstbdCtkK5JbRsWfG9R1WaO1ndbt6fklNdJwin2j9mdzQjNndudBMWexlJ9SS7ec-SF1dQ8AuGffVhQdPY_P0RcS0Urg/s1600/IMG_0923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxhOuDx83wUPwt7vJVGKHQajLr1f3aDFGnB_UqaC7QrAFd0OdstbdCtkK5JbRsWfG9R1WaO1ndbt6fklNdJwin2j9mdzQjNndudBMWexlJ9SS7ec-SF1dQ8AuGffVhQdPY_P0RcS0Urg/s320/IMG_0923.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
Then death. Last fall, the UAE suffered a tragic
loss when over 40 soldiers serving in Yemen were killed at one time in a
munitions explosion caused by Houthi rebel air strikes. Remember this
is a small country if we're talking about Emirati citizens- under 1.5
million, about the same number of people who live in San Diego- and all
of the soldiers were Emirati citizens. The country felt the loss keenly.
A period of public mourning was declared with flags flown at half mast ,
public events and celebrations cancelled, and radio stations compelled
to switch regular broadcasting to either recitations from the Quran or
quiet, contemplative, classical music. I'd first run into the radio
programming change when the Saudi king passed away last January. I
thought someone had been in my car messing with the radio buttons at
first. We were without DJs, commercials and pop music for. 3 days that
time and I couldn't really see how it connected to mourning. But then
last fall, the mourning period continued for over 2 weeks and I found
myself thinking of the soldiers every time I got in the car and heard
the lack of regular radio. It actually was quite effective in causing me
to stop a moment and consider their service or their families or the
impact of their loss on the country. I think the quiet nature of the
music that played may have even made me drive a little less impatiently.
The newspapers were full of reports, the country's leaders, the Crown
Prince and the VP visited every single family who had lost a soldier. Not just the newspapers, but colleagues in the library lost cousins and talked about the rulers coming to their homes.
And the families rallied, just like for births. They come, the cousins
and brothers and sisters, kids and elders. They come and settle in for a
few days to help keep the family company. dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-1466583398264924532016-02-23T09:50:00.000-08:002017-04-30T05:11:12.511-07:00Bargain hunting in the Gold City<div dir="ltr" id="yiv3692504846yui_3_16_0_1_1447243609544_13401">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GqKITVQ6GvqgH0Y8NUjqPmriS_HF_4AU663CRT1lFCt5G2WaJLXPV4ldrvJrtR_bcsw-0f48VPEoHowAE1J798ALmaSqkN8pzXZpo5hCFi1Xur2Ac_dKZ_mKEVqYGfNLaZ9Q8JwQ04Y/s1600/IMG_0822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GqKITVQ6GvqgH0Y8NUjqPmriS_HF_4AU663CRT1lFCt5G2WaJLXPV4ldrvJrtR_bcsw-0f48VPEoHowAE1J798ALmaSqkN8pzXZpo5hCFi1Xur2Ac_dKZ_mKEVqYGfNLaZ9Q8JwQ04Y/s320/IMG_0822.JPG" width="240" /></a>I'm
the weirdo visiting the secondhand shop instead of the designer stores
or custom tailor shops, I get more excited about the crafting supplies
at Daiso, the funky Japanese dollar store (or, since it Is Dubai, the
7Dhs or $2 store), than about the latest Micheal Kors handbag. This is
never more true than during Halloween season! I take it as a personal challenge to see what I can craft or recycle to make
things hauntingly delicious without breaking the bank.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTJJAi_12zr41Yv553MInMT7eB7SVMVpmZZ5PhQZAVsMpxqtAK3JgLdgSZzpcDx9mcULZiZFgEfBGxjuLYLgTvmuQOgyfqdNWR6B2JYvx_IcRVqzcp5Amk_7lj4LKkNG7OhObz4WNpEA/s1600/IMG_0640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTJJAi_12zr41Yv553MInMT7eB7SVMVpmZZ5PhQZAVsMpxqtAK3JgLdgSZzpcDx9mcULZiZFgEfBGxjuLYLgTvmuQOgyfqdNWR6B2JYvx_IcRVqzcp5Amk_7lj4LKkNG7OhObz4WNpEA/s200/IMG_0640.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">daiso variety</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8U0u3iux0D8XK4ll_VbXAVlJfUtMLebjExCQHlivYxzi89CYFQdJjES0SJea8Us7brcVkDHQijRK898diBgII-4-BFJInCEU2wVQwNwwyI1Em9tHLuGmgKFDRhyphenhyphenoAuE42ew7K85Z5HA0/s1600/IMG_0641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8U0u3iux0D8XK4ll_VbXAVlJfUtMLebjExCQHlivYxzi89CYFQdJjES0SJea8Us7brcVkDHQijRK898diBgII-4-BFJInCEU2wVQwNwwyI1Em9tHLuGmgKFDRhyphenhyphenoAuE42ew7K85Z5HA0/s200/IMG_0641.JPG" width="200" /></a>For my costume this year (well, last year, 2015, I mean), I wanted something with a regional flavor. I've long been charmed by the uniforms of the Emirates Airline flight
attendants and they are super iconic and recognizable around here. My
apartment tower and the building next to me actually house a ton of
Emirates employees, my neighbor is a pilot with them. So I decided I
would be an Emirates flight attendant but that I'd zombie-it-up to keep
it Halloween-y. The hat was the most important part.And one of the the
most challenging to create. I made it from a cardboard lid to a cheese
round, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, red felt and a swatch of
gauzy white fabric. The red felt I got at Daiso for 7 dhs (about $2) and
the gauzy fabric from a Satwa fabric store, I can't remember for sure,
but I think it was 5-10 dhs (less than $3). <br />
<br />
Before I get into the rest of my bargain hunting, let me tell you about Daiso! Apparently there are a few Daiso shops in the US in CA and WA, but they're mostly in Japan, South Korea and the Middle East. Nearly everything in the store sells for 7 Dhs and the "everything" that you can buy there is dizzying; disposable underwear, tiny erasers shaped like sushi, cat toys and traditional craft supplies like felt and ribbons and then things I re-purposed into craft items like cheap plastic gloves for food service workers and masking tape. Daiso is great! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCf7AaZ-YNwPxLukDtOWHHh3skIGKMMuk7CutBD8sBKaosRRxHb8JqCcEWaU-yU99D_p4HpwJ0LUlCfhBNMk0jxN40yqs_lf40ZIcu7_TQu8OgaTjebT96iznLBypdXkWy3sRXtq87ks/s1600/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCf7AaZ-YNwPxLukDtOWHHh3skIGKMMuk7CutBD8sBKaosRRxHb8JqCcEWaU-yU99D_p4HpwJ0LUlCfhBNMk0jxN40yqs_lf40ZIcu7_TQu8OgaTjebT96iznLBypdXkWy3sRXtq87ks/s320/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">disposable gloves and masking tape</td></tr>
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Next
I needed to find a beige suit or at least a blazer. I'd read about the
Dubai Center for Special Needs charity shop in the Karama
neighborhood.The webpage listed their usual weekday hours and then
included a line that read " Please note that on the first Friday of
every month we also have a Sale at the shop from 9am to 12:30pm. "
Coincidentally it was coming up on the first Friday of the month and I
thought what better time to try to find a parking spot in Karama than
the usually sleepy Friday morning (remember our Friday mornings are kind
of like Sunday mornings in predominantly Christian countries.) Turns
out I was right on about parking but I hadn't expected the crowd I met inside the shop. There was a line wrapped around the entire first floor and there wasn't really room for a line between overstuffed racks of cloths and kids toys and household items.The people in line had trash bags stuffed to the top with items for purchase. I struggled to find a cast off tan blazer that wasn't South East Asian sized (aka petite) finally had some success with one that would work well enough, I<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-nnhfpG8TKWjtqdWM4360uPQryDxBGOUM9AEeNIK9R7tb9dtW2HHXr-bDchyaUXMWAKQLpDUY-h4RmRZttI18H3M763hFtMTPu3D1Hx1shd9iPAa4VloNbJlF7rwHSsFHoONuuwzo9Y/s1600/photo+1+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-nnhfpG8TKWjtqdWM4360uPQryDxBGOUM9AEeNIK9R7tb9dtW2HHXr-bDchyaUXMWAKQLpDUY-h4RmRZttI18H3M763hFtMTPu3D1Hx1shd9iPAa4VloNbJlF7rwHSsFHoONuuwzo9Y/s320/photo+1+%25281%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in line at the charity shop-out of my league</td></tr>
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was going to tear it and smear fake blood all over it after all. The marked price was 15 Dhs (under $5) but after spending easily half an hour in line behind trash bag hauling shoppers, I learned that the first Friday sale was everything in the store for half price so I got the blazer for 7.5 Dhs. Here I thought that the charity shop always enjoyed this frenzied buying and that they must be bringing in some nice funds. Turns out, as I learned form the talk around me in line, that there are pros who go from secondhand sale, to flea market, to bag sales, buying and selling, wheeling and dealing. It was an education in a whole life in the city that doesn't show on the surface. I might make my way back to the store on a non-sale day to be able to actually check out the goods. They had some amazing Indian saris dirt cheap that could be cut up to make fantastic pillows or something. As for the first Friday scene, I was out of my bargain hunting league with that crowd!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi299-y0lWWKTFvLg8YCbScIVM902g9-Ddu8LYUJ3NnuoPf5bGT7Gei9JJ6Njh-nuwl06KjKrl1A1bnmp32CKkMrBkEGDePju5nbujDrCuVZIFobgBHdMOEYCA2o5byN7XXb9L-GEEPqSQ/s1600/IMG_0791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi299-y0lWWKTFvLg8YCbScIVM902g9-Ddu8LYUJ3NnuoPf5bGT7Gei9JJ6Njh-nuwl06KjKrl1A1bnmp32CKkMrBkEGDePju5nbujDrCuVZIFobgBHdMOEYCA2o5byN7XXb9L-GEEPqSQ/s320/IMG_0791.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the chubby cucumber-o-lantern</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Next year I'm excited to check out a lead I got on visiting the wholesale Fruit and Vegetable market for cheap local pumpkins. Due to a lack of affordable options in the grocery stores, I've spent the last 2 years carving all manner of fruit and veg. This year my colleague Melanie picked up something at a Satwa corner market that looked a bit like a gourd on the surface but once we started cutting, I swear that thing was a mutant, chubby cucumber based on its smell and the look of the seeds and inner flesh. Once again, the "pumpkins" posed on the balcony- though after the photo shoot, it was into the fridge with them until party time because if they sit out, even in the AC they tend to droop, rot and then turn to liquid!<br />
<br />
In general I find that stuff in Dubai is priced on par with or more expensive than in the US but I've heard it's quite the bargain compared with prices in both Hong Kong and mainland China. It's all a matter of perspective. And then there's the quality and prestige issues at play as well. It's one thing to buy a secondhand, ill fitting blazer for a costume and another entirely to try thrift store shopping in earnest in Dubai. It's fun to dabble and to learn about the option though.<br />
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-38050039842348106342015-10-18T11:42:00.000-07:002017-04-30T05:08:58.661-07:00Home Sweet Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's a bit about where people live in Dubai. Some ex-pats who work white collar, professional type jobs live in high rise apartments in the Marina area or Downtown like me. Some, especially those with school aged kids, live in villas (like condos) in semi-suburban areas- there's one area called Mirdiff and there's a stereotyped stay at home ex-pat mom referred to as the "Mirdiff Mary", a bit like the Stepford Wife".<br />
<br />
Service sector employees- sales gals, cable guys and so on- might live in more low rise apartment buildings or even one story units that aren't exactly apartments or villas in tightly packed neighborhoods near the older part of the city.<br />
<br />
The guys who labor on road crews and in construction are housed by their companies in rough barracks with shared facilities.<br />
<br />
Emirati families- from what I can tell- tend to have compounds in neighborhoods where two or more generations might live. Some in the same suburban neighborhoods as ex-pats though there doesn't tend to be a whole lot of hanging out in the neighborhood if you're a National. Chances are you've already got a pretty busy social life with hordes of cousins coming and going at the house. Good fences (or tall cement walls) make good neighbors as the saying goes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tHB7-mzCfscXH6FMvbFhn-ZxKfWoJ5HFCb4i9vuPxXc0ldx5KRbQwhkI-N1o-xh1AJJIKd05W5I_3P2eJYssBCY0ExMuENRscd1pDCPSRRbBCEe3xjY0OjYeF0CkY3chqy95v25ViIY/s1600/DSCN6137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tHB7-mzCfscXH6FMvbFhn-ZxKfWoJ5HFCb4i9vuPxXc0ldx5KRbQwhkI-N1o-xh1AJJIKd05W5I_3P2eJYssBCY0ExMuENRscd1pDCPSRRbBCEe3xjY0OjYeF0CkY3chqy95v25ViIY/s320/DSCN6137.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">standing in living room looking back toward front door</td></tr>
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Here are a few pictures. First, my place. I know I've posted pictures of the view before so I won't re-post here. I'll just mention that from 14 stories up (there are 54 stories in my building) I look out onto Sheik Zayed Blvd which is a 10 lane highway that runs through the downtown area. From the guest bedroom, I have a great view of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. My floors are marble, my walls are concrete (that's the main reason I don't have more things hanging on the walls- it's a small construction project to get stuff up.) There's a small independent grocery store (mini mart) on the ground floor of the building <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuK-_v87FCVWnIe7xt7kP73zLoqlRF2vonguJrW44vC8WpAdADxIsH02Vz0lVJokBRVYKKOi2CJwn8hCBEclj4TRtTexN5HUT0JkMXtZoHjE4M6Qf3e5td4rKjmJu0W8h1ljC0DfmLAZ4/s1600/DSCN6139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuK-_v87FCVWnIe7xt7kP73zLoqlRF2vonguJrW44vC8WpAdADxIsH02Vz0lVJokBRVYKKOi2CJwn8hCBEclj4TRtTexN5HUT0JkMXtZoHjE4M6Qf3e5td4rKjmJu0W8h1ljC0DfmLAZ4/s320/DSCN6139.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kitchen is a separate room- no open plan here</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtg5wyUz_LSojbu4A1QW-GlVSyJnZZm1Scz_bAulwEtvTWZ_ool3rsHf4voo-kFEF8i2G__2FM9G5TAf1ap4ujWcz3vS6Gx8p1iDjGVbtwNlrUwqQn79smrTD4MOqgyIIye6mqA6vVuxc/s1600/DSCN6143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtg5wyUz_LSojbu4A1QW-GlVSyJnZZm1Scz_bAulwEtvTWZ_ool3rsHf4voo-kFEF8i2G__2FM9G5TAf1ap4ujWcz3vS6Gx8p1iDjGVbtwNlrUwqQn79smrTD4MOqgyIIye6mqA6vVuxc/s320/DSCN6143.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">master bedroom. standing by the built-in closets/shelves</td></tr>
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next to mine if I run out of milk . Every door in my house locks including the kitchen and a hallway door. I understand that this is in case I want to lock my live-in maid (which I don't have!) out . Fridges often come with a lock for the same reason. My fridge does not have a lock. I had to get a vanity for the bedroom to dry my hair with a mirror because there are no outlets in any of the bathrooms. My place has 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It's over 1600 square feet (that's bigger than my house in Vegas.) I'm seriously lucky to have this particular unit as it has a balcony and those views- not all in the building do. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLl5BV-6tetpn6dui9PsZNzdLHJv0EvXduZAr56ccM5sH2ZokMw0M7h5LhhyOy8_9GXK2iIfVfO2IuE0s-zorw2d0xcPghug7_kBnNDWRBISHM4ZFZui4TOXwjm1nJb1vaTxS0SjYI3Zc/s1600/DSCN6089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLl5BV-6tetpn6dui9PsZNzdLHJv0EvXduZAr56ccM5sH2ZokMw0M7h5LhhyOy8_9GXK2iIfVfO2IuE0s-zorw2d0xcPghug7_kBnNDWRBISHM4ZFZui4TOXwjm1nJb1vaTxS0SjYI3Zc/s320/DSCN6089.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the tattoo couch with the "bedroom" past the wardrobe</td></tr>
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In June, I had the chance to visit a place far more modest that my set up or the apartments and villas of my colleagues. A guy Amanda met who falls into that broad range of "people in various service jobs" is also a tattoo artist. He invited Amanda and I over so she could get a small tattoo. His house is set up for his hobby in a major way so it's probably not exactly like his neighbors' places but they're probably pretty alike in terms of general size and amenities. His place is a single story cement construction that shared walls with the units on either side. He has a kind of unfinished front room with concrete walls and floors but the roof was canvas, I think. Or there was no roof? I forget. No AC, no windows, a side room had a spigot and if I had to guess, a toilet of some kind or another, and there was a built in counter opposite with an electric 2 burner cooktop. there might have been a fridge. We walked through the front room pretty quickly because of the lack of AC and hung out most of the time in the only other room in the place- a combo bedroom, living room, office, hobby studio. Cement walls, floor, ceiling with an AC unit in the wall. One window into the unfinished front room. He had put some linoleum down and split the room with a wardrobe. His couch doubled as a place for friends getting tattoos to spread out, his laptop with an extra wall mounted screen served as TV/ entertainment. There was room for a couple of small chairs, while a bunk bed on the other side was both for sleeping and storage. He managed to really make it work.<br />
<br />
Like any city, the range and nature of the accommodations is pretty broad. I am ever grateful that ZU set me up with a really great place. Visiting a very different kind of situation was a really good opportunity. I hope I have the chance, in time, to visit others in their homes and to experience the whole spectrum. Here are some random neighborhood shots.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSnZiJTrAwOTCwwi-yhGj7QJVj6_gsdzLW12MMTIYS_23UJNokQPN2BrXHSSkFCWh015a-MvYewPYneo9RvWSiiWg5xipgZTEEs9Ly9Q2kHuz32uZLPakW9XGeRdXvOolozYGCDTjfQ0/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSnZiJTrAwOTCwwi-yhGj7QJVj6_gsdzLW12MMTIYS_23UJNokQPN2BrXHSSkFCWh015a-MvYewPYneo9RvWSiiWg5xipgZTEEs9Ly9Q2kHuz32uZLPakW9XGeRdXvOolozYGCDTjfQ0/s320/IMG_0331.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">an example of a kind of compound for a large family</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyJseUPLgePn6XWBUwkwn-Nckkfd9-Pppght8gJQBX9EWsFAepPk8Q2KFBoJsBuZ3u0VxFUoh7zfL4Rsr249OEnvXb4tGf1Z8wgoUZOfWIUNeCwrb-mHLJdL9VQ7rayjElL8Bkhbvz_o/s1600/IMG_0333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyJseUPLgePn6XWBUwkwn-Nckkfd9-Pppght8gJQBX9EWsFAepPk8Q2KFBoJsBuZ3u0VxFUoh7zfL4Rsr249OEnvXb4tGf1Z8wgoUZOfWIUNeCwrb-mHLJdL9VQ7rayjElL8Bkhbvz_o/s320/IMG_0333.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">probably an Emirati family home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3iN7l2-F1SoweZP8WiezSpfK4fZCOpg87FkWRPnTz9XYKCKbpz4MkHALCHlicuEKTBlX96u-D2Gv6GAUYrE8pcj9t0pgaijQEHskdilZNkoqDsemTHx8hWaqRWDRc2zyMIZR9I7gFdU/s1600/DSCN5661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3iN7l2-F1SoweZP8WiezSpfK4fZCOpg87FkWRPnTz9XYKCKbpz4MkHALCHlicuEKTBlX96u-D2Gv6GAUYrE8pcj9t0pgaijQEHskdilZNkoqDsemTHx8hWaqRWDRc2zyMIZR9I7gFdU/s320/DSCN5661.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of the low rise apt cluster areas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakJjqmzzY9OYhj7ww2P-C0k5PpsMpM6PGSGGCE7aMskJ1mau1p4uPX1v3SICkUxqwu08CgPIVV0pe8YBRvM_imFF5hzxR8DQE3orQkpW8VmchxOPQ1uDFnNDKI5dLhYwtSvJGpdtzLUM/s1600/DSCN5662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakJjqmzzY9OYhj7ww2P-C0k5PpsMpM6PGSGGCE7aMskJ1mau1p4uPX1v3SICkUxqwu08CgPIVV0pe8YBRvM_imFF5hzxR8DQE3orQkpW8VmchxOPQ1uDFnNDKI5dLhYwtSvJGpdtzLUM/s320/DSCN5662.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in the older part of Dubai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-67966881774782230492015-09-05T10:12:00.002-07:002017-04-30T05:06:17.134-07:00(VERY VERY belated) Ramadan KareemI wanted to reflect on and write a bit about being in the UAE for part
of Ramadan this year back in June. "Ramadan Kareem" is a greeting, used
like "happy holidays!" But I think it's lovely that the more literal
translation is something like "have a Ramadan season full of charity and
generosity." That's one of the elements of the month-long season as we
learned at the Ramadan 101 session we went to sponsored by the Sheik
Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding. The big public obvious part
of Ramadan is the fasting. No food, drink (not even water) from first
light until after sunset. Exceptions for the aged, the young, travelers and menstruating women. At Ramadan 101 class, we also learned that
smoking, being a rude driver, thinking uncharitable thoughts and
engaging in sex are no nos at this time. But Ramadan isn't all about what not to do, it's also about what you ought to do during the season- namely pray more, enjoy family time, be selfless and generous.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnuuq2OkXjMvLu96KrKEdHx7CHMPOL6lJO5zgGDFw8VdWFqJm65gAcEPh-0RtkAce3Z2bGPbD9QRZdjTtURQ0PF24U3O9cjN2EAwlQjKmHN01BFOfVlHhjPJvWcMugSwTSEkyL8k1Rvs/s1600/photo%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnuuq2OkXjMvLu96KrKEdHx7CHMPOL6lJO5zgGDFw8VdWFqJm65gAcEPh-0RtkAce3Z2bGPbD9QRZdjTtURQ0PF24U3O9cjN2EAwlQjKmHN01BFOfVlHhjPJvWcMugSwTSEkyL8k1Rvs/s320/photo%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">click on the pic to read- temp walls blocking the food court</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
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My friend Amanda had a go at fasting- it's actually made easier by the many rules about not eating or drinking in public during the day time and by the slow pace of things. Many cafes and restaurants close during the day, the ones that stay open cover their windows or put up temporary walls to block the view of people enjoying lunch for passers-by. At work, there is a special dining room with drapes that close where employees who are not observing the fast can go- I mostly just had water and light snacks in my office behind a closed door. Because there's no lunch break and because people are running on empty, work days are shorter. Everyone heading home early to relax, pray, or prepare for the iftar. Iftar is the Arabic word for breakfast and also describes the lovely meal that breaks the day's fast during Ramadan.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG7rV8CodSiIhtNc4tCS7-ACuwnv6LlsEEKW5Ih_3uoj9p9OLAkDBstwfHvofFy4uNPa7uO3iaeHoAR4H5SVwlacpKtgtrwN_WlGx72upjQuwUUKz4EuKe43Uqt26ixzW525Ex-xi3rE/s1600/IMG_0729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG7rV8CodSiIhtNc4tCS7-ACuwnv6LlsEEKW5Ih_3uoj9p9OLAkDBstwfHvofFy4uNPa7uO3iaeHoAR4H5SVwlacpKtgtrwN_WlGx72upjQuwUUKz4EuKe43Uqt26ixzW525Ex-xi3rE/s320/IMG_0729.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our iftar at the Oberoi hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We were lucky enough to join several iftars, all with a different feel, each one really great. On the first night of Ramadan, we shared iftar with my friend and colleague, Shaimaa, and her family. We had traditional Egyptian dishes and strawberry shortcake for dessert- our contribution! It was a sweet and homey meal where we learned about their family traditions and favorite iftar treats. The next night, we went to an iftar hosted by my South African friends in Abu Dhabi. While they, like me, were not fasting, at least half of their guests were. As the evening call to prayer sounded, people broke their fasts with some juice and dates, something small to not overwhelm the system. Some went to pray right after while others ran outside to have a long anticipated cigarette, and then on to pray. There was more silliness at this iftar, and a mix of great foods including a South African ground meat dish that I'm hooked on (bobotie)! We went out one night to a special iftar set up in a hotel ballroom. This is pretty typical, hotels set up tents or deck out the ballrooms to look sort of tent-like and offer a big, luxurious buffet spread. There are all kinds of iftar deals and offers- I guess it's kind of like hotels and restaurants making a special Christmas dinner, just doing it every night for almost a month. They set aside places for prayer and serve traditional foods and drinks: dates and juices are pretty much required.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm562uWm_YKT1d7PKTYSe7v1E2miaJrEkIVbVMLy9cW318p7QJ3pxTf-bI306SBF7X3nn9pv22HzCl-U5dVl8Aot7mbHqgcySnkM9BnstUKR2YTNfwzCmE_o9CLplbyDVoQ3_NIEvlPHw/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm562uWm_YKT1d7PKTYSe7v1E2miaJrEkIVbVMLy9cW318p7QJ3pxTf-bI306SBF7X3nn9pv22HzCl-U5dVl8Aot7mbHqgcySnkM9BnstUKR2YTNfwzCmE_o9CLplbyDVoQ3_NIEvlPHw/s320/IMG_0731.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">box packing assembly lines</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
While I wasn't up for the fasting (especially from water! It was June in Dubai!), I was pretty into the idea of doing some service for the season. We volunteered for a few hours one night packing boxes of foodstuffs for distribution to needy families. I got a kick out of the items included. Some staple goods like flour, sugar, rice, pasta were not so unusual. I also think many places in the world would find lentils, tea, canned tomatoes and a vat of cooking oil pretty normal. The regionally specific items were cans of foul (a yummy dish a bit like baked beans) and a bottle of Vimto which I just learned (from the Wikipedia entry on it) originates in the UK but is a big tradition at Ramadan. It's a bit like a fruit soda, I guess. I worked the lentils loading area mostly and because the workroom AC couldn't begin to deal with the open loading dock door and the hordes of hard working volunteers, I had a number of stray lentils from burst bags sticking to my sweaty arms!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOloU56o_ZQOfHkBAOp9TY_4TaCMqAI0kp6J0P2ZWv_gilKwp0lZUt07qW2Jh_VSpGD7FKHx2CQZFuOmjn-EpvM0Ra9240pN3R-v1qwhBwsEU7UvQXX_WcLmDgzupuPXpi3iEy_cFCdfM/s1600/IMG_0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOloU56o_ZQOfHkBAOp9TY_4TaCMqAI0kp6J0P2ZWv_gilKwp0lZUt07qW2Jh_VSpGD7FKHx2CQZFuOmjn-EpvM0Ra9240pN3R-v1qwhBwsEU7UvQXX_WcLmDgzupuPXpi3iEy_cFCdfM/s320/IMG_0730.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chairity box top- Ramadan Kareem</td></tr>
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I was only in the UAE for about 6 days of Ramadan this year before heading to the US for a conference and vacation, but the date changes and I suspect I might be around for a bit more of the holy season next year. The dates coincide with the Islamic calendar which has lunar months lasting approximately 28 days instead of the 30 or 31 most calendar months run so Ramadan moves approximately 10 day earlier each year. The actual start date, however, can't be known until it happens. There is an official Moon Sighting Committee whose members must actually see the moon in the proper phase and point in the sky in order to announce the first day of Ramadan. Cloudy weather can postpone things, luckily, there aren't so many rainstorms around here so there are some pretty good guesses about the start date before it's official but in the end, it's not about official moon timetables, it's dependent on actual sightings.<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed learning more about Ramadan and I liked the slow pace and reflection on sacrifice that was a part of the experience for me. I might even try a modified fast next year to feel even more in the spirit of things. <br />
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-78012697591782368182015-05-25T08:44:00.000-07:002017-04-30T05:03:52.882-07:00Kathmandu<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnr5j23q9wnxVl0mbdUW1x-8EAdbQxxR3mQvoX6QwoMWnzdtnAgseJzgteNTyfG5xa8s3PJtop5H7BXnNZp3mFWIEreveLjlfBWAuOA_3UcYjP73zDo5dREjDsOmb8Szz01zOmvtsIrA/s1600/DSCN5313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnr5j23q9wnxVl0mbdUW1x-8EAdbQxxR3mQvoX6QwoMWnzdtnAgseJzgteNTyfG5xa8s3PJtop5H7BXnNZp3mFWIEreveLjlfBWAuOA_3UcYjP73zDo5dREjDsOmb8Szz01zOmvtsIrA/s320/DSCN5313.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thamel - morning street scene</td></tr>
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Nepal has been on my mind of late with the devastation caused by the earthquakes all over the news. I was lucky enough to have visited Kathmandu for a long weekend last December. It was supposed to have been the first of many trips to enjoy this nearby (normally a quick 3 hour flight from DXB), laid back city with a lot of good culture, cheap beer and fun shopping but now I wonder when and how they'll be able to support a return of tourists. I heard that the airport runways were damaged by the heavy cargo planes full of relief aid and supplies. We spent A LOT of time in that tiny airport. There had been fog earlier in the day of our arrival which led to a back up of planes. Nepal's only international airport has just one runway and, apparently, no "instrument landing system" which I think means the pilots really have to be able to see where they're going. We circled, along with some other planes, for about half an hour before we had to divert to Lucknow, India for a refueling stop. This is one occasion when you're not especially excited to hear the pilot say, "You're in Lucknow!" (luck now... get it?) When we finally did land in Kathmandu, it was with a string of other flights that had been due to arrive in well spaced intervals but instead, all hit at the same time. Baggage claim monitors were not working, and if you've ever seen ex-pats returning to their home country from places with greater opportunities for <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8F6F6CDLM9dKnHvdBhiv8u8rtXWuGEGYXcbU9K4-G_jAhBh91iSnMT7EcT757MQSie_IYxAaQYbfkJ8Zd__e-JCnaAVLr5dRF5w2YRCyxrpJqiYp80-6drTTRDxYbHoTnfgAvI-MeZkA/s1600/IMG_0546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8F6F6CDLM9dKnHvdBhiv8u8rtXWuGEGYXcbU9K4-G_jAhBh91iSnMT7EcT757MQSie_IYxAaQYbfkJ8Zd__e-JCnaAVLr5dRF5w2YRCyxrpJqiYp80-6drTTRDxYbHoTnfgAvI-MeZkA/s320/IMG_0546.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">guesthouse breakfast courtyard</td></tr>
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consumerism, you can, perhaps, envision the chaos. Hundreds of returnees each with luggage trolleys hauling washing-machine-sized boxes of stuff, giant saran-wrapped pieces of luggage, and 52 inch flat screen TVs collected off of straining baggage carousels. One of our bags hadn't made the flight but our delays were so significant that we really only needed to wait an additional 30 minutes or so for the bags off the next Dubai flight which had left several hours after ours. Gave us the chance to watch the chaos and note the tractor printer at the claims desk- where does one get tractor printer paper in this day and age? When we finally made it to our guesthouse in the Thamel neighborhood (Ambassador Garden Home), everything was pretty well closed up for the night. Kathmandu hits the hay around 10pm or so and it was easily midnight. Our host, the hotel manager who had arranged for our airport driver to wait on us for 6 hours, also magically procured some cheese sandwiches and cold beer for us. Perfect.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOotw5I86OHBS8btc_KZRljcGXvV24LTgZdltoFa_mQklz-Q8gjPHbz35tZSxqO7S46bitXUs5eiQu3VEJ1NcbPlKXNuy-BEvgYBHZXGSyToyOr-RWTdGaYWXAA1IFBqyQlEZRnYz7TJE/s1600/DSCN5317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOotw5I86OHBS8btc_KZRljcGXvV24LTgZdltoFa_mQklz-Q8gjPHbz35tZSxqO7S46bitXUs5eiQu3VEJ1NcbPlKXNuy-BEvgYBHZXGSyToyOr-RWTdGaYWXAA1IFBqyQlEZRnYz7TJE/s320/DSCN5317.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">monekys at the main stupa</td></tr>
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After a rough start that first evening, everything else was smooth sailing. As I mentioned it was December, the UAE's National Day holiday weekend and the weather in Kathmandu was perfect for walking around, about 70 by day, a bit cooler at night, light jacket weather. Somehow I had it in my head that all of Nepal was cold and snowy, like Everest, especially in winter, but nope. After breakfast, we grabbed a driver and guide to set out to see some of the gorgeous temples, stupas and historic buildings, some of which now, no longer exist. It's heartbreaking. First up was the monkey temple (complete with holy monkeys, fed both by the tourists, and also by the local monks), Swayambunath, right in the city. The stupa is the big domed structure with the eyes of Buddha (including the third eye and the number 1 in Davanagari script which looks like a nose) painted on each of the 4 sides. From post quake stories, i understand that <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/05/03/403982304/in-nepal-efforts-underway-to-salvage-ancient-sites-damaged-by-quake" target="_blank">some parts of the complex were destroyed</a> though it looks like the main stupa held up. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIt6zB8sLxa9nYTicDO48J6iEPAkv4gA7u92vAnTL68oMH2W7Ko23jskRVPOOZRICX9Ejs6u6iyo2iTBatbyXtmuSAeoJzWwvwgKw4_4kuXCarFB7yox3YHQ9J3lMCHSc5yRIBbqb6bE/s1600/DSCN5339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIt6zB8sLxa9nYTicDO48J6iEPAkv4gA7u92vAnTL68oMH2W7Ko23jskRVPOOZRICX9Ejs6u6iyo2iTBatbyXtmuSAeoJzWwvwgKw4_4kuXCarFB7yox3YHQ9J3lMCHSc5yRIBbqb6bE/s320/DSCN5339.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this temple may no longer exist</td></tr>
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Next we headed a bit further afield in the Kathmandu Valley to the UNESCO site, the city of Bhaktapur. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/04/29/lok-watson-nepal-bhaktapur-damage.cnn" target="_blank">This video footage</a> really shows the damage the quake did, especially, ironically, to a temple to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. The video also mentions something that I noticed and appreciated about the towns and squares and monuments we visited in Nepal, while they are centuries old, they are still very much a part of a contemporary and living culture. People of all ages and multiple faiths (Hindus and Buddhists mainly) visit the shrines and temples in Bhaktapur and Durbar Square or tucked into the narrow side streets on a daily basis. Bhaktapur also had craftsmen- pottery and hammered metal bowls with alloys rumored to heal and energize, stylized Thangka paintings depicting Buddhist life lessons... We wrapped up guided-tour-day at Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world and one of my favorites for its <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i like big Boudhnath and i cannot lie</td></tr>
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big round curves, splashed with saffron and the hundreds of colorful strings of prayer <br />
flags dancing optimistically in the wind. Maybe size really does matter. Reports are that this site did not suffer much damage at all. So nice to hear a bit of good news among all the terrible reports.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">felted wool slippers</td></tr>
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On our second day, we took to the streets on foot. It was a Christmas shopping frenzy given the many options for dramatic jewelry pieces, handmade felted wool items, paper crafts, knit hats, embroidered bags.... all at reasonable prices and all in different sizes, colors, styles. Tourism is one of the biggest contributors to the Nepalese economy (the biggest is "remittances"- money sent home by Nepalese laborers who work in other countries, like the UAE). We were trying to do our part! I hope that the tourism sector can recover quickly, after the aid slows to a trickle, there are still going to be huge infrastructure needs- they existed before the earthquakes, now after, the situation is even more problematic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Kumari's palace</td></tr>
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We walked to the historic Durbar Square (also quite damaged now) and lucked out on catching a view of the Kumari, or living goddess, in her palace window.The "job" of Kumari goes to a young girl, selected from among the traditional Newari families of Kathmandu. She is usually around 3-5 years old when she is selected and made the goddess or incarnation of the goddess Durga. She stays in a palace in Durbar square with her attendants and participates in grand ceremonies several times a year and smaller appearances, like leaning out the window so her followers and tourists can gaze upon her (but no pictures allowed) for a few minutes most days. She wears dramatic make up and bright red ceremonial clothing and looks quite serious sitting in her window. She remains the goddess until puberty when a new girl is chosen for the position. At that time, she returns to her family and tries to resume a normal-ish life. I'm happy to learn that the Kumari and her palace were unscathed by the quakes. Our walk back was through tiny streets congested with motorcycles, rickshaws, cars, pedestrians, bicycles... colorful fabrics, pashminas, bright pots and pans, all manner of stuff burst from the store fronts and little temples or ornately carved doors were dotted along the streets. The place was just jam packed and <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Durbar Square</td></tr>
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bustling and fun.<br />
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We wrapped up our Kathmandu weekend with a morning stroll through the serene Garden of Dreams and an early afternoon leg and foot massage before a last taste of momos- tasty dumplings with various fillings- my favorite was the "buff" (water buffalo) done "combo" style. Momos can be steamed or fried or, for those of us who can't make our minds, "combo" style where they're steamed and then pan fried on one side. We went to the Momo Hut, which I am convinced could be a wildly successful international franchise operation. Who doesn't love dumplings? We had veggie, pork, chicken, buff and even some non-traditional dessert momos!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">colorful wares for sale on the steps of a shrine</td></tr>
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Dubai is home to thousands of Nepalese ex-pats. Our plane home was mostly full of eager seeming young men sporting matching hats with a construction company logo and clutching work visa papers. Their jobs in Dubai are likely to be pretty tough and their working and living conditions not-enviable but they come by the hundreds all the time because despite all of the drawbacks, the earning potential is here and not at home in Nepal. A couple of the guys who work the desk in my apartment building are also from Nepal, thankfully their families were not injured, they are struggling, however with damage to homes and such a major hit to an already weak infrastructure. I'm rooting for Nepal and am so proud of the out pouring of support and aid, both governmental and personal, from the US and the UAE. I'm hoping for the chance to revisit this lovely place soon!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spinning prayer wheels at the monkey temple complex</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the handmade hammered alloy bowl energizing water in Bhaktapur</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">doorways on a street near Durbar Square</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">keeping up with the news in Durbar Square</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">school girls doing pooja (like a prayer/ blessing) at a temple in Durbar Square</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the Garden of Dreams</td></tr>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-10217677474464792062015-05-02T11:20:00.000-07:002017-04-30T05:00:12.775-07:00Umm al Qwain<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscHJOK1bU91znD-PPE08nWwsH6jTt4Aa2R-I8PzzxAvQUnZqlqF3mK1I2vt2q3KDzmmWjnish7ANSIYselvCdDSgN0cSBhH3eKh9TgbSo9ZRrcsKoc1LUBjQFtIyZmrbt01D-uU_eaqQ/s1600/uaemap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscHJOK1bU91znD-PPE08nWwsH6jTt4Aa2R-I8PzzxAvQUnZqlqF3mK1I2vt2q3KDzmmWjnish7ANSIYselvCdDSgN0cSBhH3eKh9TgbSo9ZRrcsKoc1LUBjQFtIyZmrbt01D-uU_eaqQ/s1600/uaemap.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BBC article map- check out the horse head shaped north</td></tr>
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Recently a colleague shared this brief <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31986651" target="_blank">BBC article</a> about the 5 lesser known Emirates. The thing <br />
about it that most caught my eye was the map at the end! I look at maps, mostly online, to figure out how to get from point A to point B, not to see assigned boundaries between Emirates. I knew there were a few enclaves- completely encircled bits of land managed by a different government that that of the surrounding area- but wow! There's giant Abu Dhabi, taking up the whole south and then the horse head shaped north which is a crazy patchwork of the other 6 Emirates. Not to mention Oman. Oman is the grey stuff- the horse's eye, under the neck. behind the ear- all bits of Oman that are surrounded by the UAE. I've explored a bit of 6 of the 7 but have only, really driven through Ajman so I need to do a little more there. Here's a bit about Umm al Qwain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UaQ Museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">playing dress up at the museum</td></tr>
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The article describes Umm al Qwain as a sleepy backwater with a lassez faire attitude. That jives with my experience and contributes to making it probably my favorite Emirate- at least right now.We went to the Umm al Qwain museum one day last fall and quite enjoyed it. It's housed in an old home/fort with some of the rooms set up essentially as they were when the Sheikh's family would have lived there- not all THAT long ago, they lived there until the late 1960s. It was built originally in the late 1760s. Some rooms had displays of quaint things like the first telephone that was in service in UaQ or the passports of residents when UaQ was a British protectorate. a trucial state and eventually, part of the UAE. There were documents listing the damages a family could expect if an employee was injured while working for the British Petroleum Company (not much) and an opportunity to dress up in a colorful local dress! After we toured the fort, we thought we were done but the guy at the door gestured for us to follow a security guard across the street to a modern, official looking building. The guard unlocked the building and we had the local archeology museum to ourselves- special showing. It was really impressive. They had beautiful pieces of pottery and metalwork from the Bronze Age all collected from area digs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rare cloudy day- looking out the back door of my room at Imar</td></tr>
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UaQ is home to Imar Spa- a sweet little ladies only spa that does a brisk business with locals and ex-pats alike.Often when we're there there is a group of local gals getting wedding ready with elaborate blow drys and up-dos with big bun enhancer donut things under piles of curls. There also seem to be plump older Russians having exotic facial treatments.We have to wear bathing caps in the pool which is a bit of a drag but good for a laugh at ourselves in our weird cheap pink lumpy caps at least. They have half a dozen rooms where you can spend the night. A group of us will often pick up groupons for an overnight stay with a huge, tasty breakfast, a 60 minute massage and a mani-pedi all for just over $100US. We book all 6 rooms and after 9pm they lock the doors into the spa area and the staff retires to their nearby accommodations (each room has a back door out to the patio and tiny beach area, so we're not locked in in some kind of spa horror movie plot) and we have the place to ourselves. Last time a hallway card game went on until late fueled in part by a recently arrived care package of Girl Scout cookies. <br />
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UaQ also boasts the Barracuda, a hotel that frankly, looks as tho as it has seen better years. But people don't flock to the Barracuda for the "resort"- they come for the Costco sized warehouse of adult beverages. The choice is kind of staggering, especially in spirits. I had no idea there were that many variations on rum. People stock up, the prices are reasonable and the service is great. Purchases are boxed and bagged both so as not to be obvious and disrespectful of laws and customs in the country more generally.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at the UAE's largest pool bar- or so they brag</td></tr>
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Near the Bararcuda is Dreamland Aqua Park- the latest reason for me to love UaQ. Went there this weekend. Dubai and Abu Dhabi boast some very swanky water parks with some seriously intense slides and rides. I haven't actually made it to any of those yet- I'm sure I will. I was excited to visit Dreamland as my first UAE water park because it's a little low budget, little less glitzy- totally my speed. Virtually no lines, lots of shade trees and greenery, views of the sea as you climb up the (only slightly dodgy) stairs to get to the top of the water slides, a pool bar that manages to have both a party feel and simultaneously, a fairly family friendly vibe, opportunities to smoke shisha (hookah) seemingly anywhere (Dubai is cracking down on shisha smoking in open air places like parks and beaches- I get it, it's a public health issue and I see the rationale- but I personally prefer the more relaxed attitude in UaQ, let adults, be adults and manage their own health risks.) You can camp overnight at Dreamland, I think that's just been added to my UAE bucket list! We had a blast, mostly on the tame water slides though we did at least one that was rated thrill level: "aggressive". Got some water up my nose on that one.<br />
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Umm al Qwain has more delights in store, I'm sure. Simply driving around the Emirate is enjoyable (well, it's a little speed trappy so you have to chill). The dunes are a lovely warm orange, there are frequently camels quite close to the road and guys sell fruit out of the trunk of their car near the highway on ramp! It's really lovely.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lazy river- or rather- the Dreamstream!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">see family friendly pool bar!</td></tr>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-63062839734631110052015-03-16T10:38:00.000-07:002017-04-30T04:56:57.190-07:00tent time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my piece of heritage gear- a kind of leaning seat </td></tr>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And now for a topic
near and dear to my heart: camping! Camping in the UAE, especially desert
camping, is part of the local history. They even have a section of gear in some outdoor shops labeled "heritage camping". Heritage camping goods
are things like heavy canvas backed carpets, glass and. china tea or coffee
sets for 10 or 20 people in clever carrying cases with space for the dallah
(traditional coffee pot). I bought seat I haven't taken out yet (maybe next weekend) because I'm always so conscious of not bringing too much gear since I rely on others for rides. More on that below. I was talking to an Emirati woman at work- she's in
her 20s. She says basically: Our parents lived in the desert. They like to go
back to go camping, it's how they used to live. She told a story about driving
around with her aunt who was pointing to one part of a big indistinguishable
dune landscape and saying it was called this and then to another area- looked
the same as the first- to say it was called that, but to the younger
generation, it's just all one desert.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIm9p6vEQHHggupIfr0GScCUVWZrpnRmrVFg0BpQN4LGNYQ5-38WwcFc4lIhivgsTxWFatqOzb6SQKbSFdtoty6aXeMgVIQEvY6Drizi1JtXA9WT_JCBlwkq8W72rjg3OSoGfe_ZXAOeQ/s1600/DSCN5619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIm9p6vEQHHggupIfr0GScCUVWZrpnRmrVFg0BpQN4LGNYQ5-38WwcFc4lIhivgsTxWFatqOzb6SQKbSFdtoty6aXeMgVIQEvY6Drizi1JtXA9WT_JCBlwkq8W72rjg3OSoGfe_ZXAOeQ/s1600/DSCN5619.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of our desert camps- my favorite so far</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Camping here for me is both more difficult and also much easier than the sort
of camping I do in the US. Here, there's never a shortage of places, no need for reservations or permits or fees. There are
no elaborate rules about where you can go, when you can burn fires, how many
cars you can have at your site. This is because you can camp pretty much
anywhere that isn't obviously someone's yard or an official park. The
challenge, however, is to get to a site that pleases you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I'm nuts about the
desert camping that I've been able to do but I'm also totally reliant on other
people to get me there and back. You need a 4wd vehicle, you should air down
your tires, you need to confidently keep moving over dunes even when you can't
see what's over the next crest because as a driver, if you slow down, scream a
little and cover your eyes, like I tend to do as a passenger, you'll probably
get stuck. You can't really go alone unless you've got some kind of back-up help on call. But once you find your place in the dunes, it's nothing but fine, soft sand in ripples and crests, taking on golden colors at sunset. It's nights full of stars and silence or maybe the sound of the campfire crackling... Well after all your loud friends go to bed, that is! I just love it all. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlQC3B222V9_StTMBlMFHJ8ZOF9Q4EBQCzE6uZdx05FEgwfHTqXjGJAG7soMzAO6KV-XjehDk9Yaz5tVT_-0hT01vOMogHIRv9d7iub4PDThoqk7Qs12LMOPJVPUNyp-E4JyPhEpnT4fQ/s1600/DSCN5612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSweey2hX3-8SjRyGjQilY3MD0jyTpiC6qfKcPbx_niqhGWm3zO9K3i6c1jaBIwA1N3n7G09ub6R1QKRZRdjSmTJiGkWADa6FzylEilDY146LMe_LbTDY4V_66vja-6PGw-ejRqayPCJs/s1600/DSCN5026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSweey2hX3-8SjRyGjQilY3MD0jyTpiC6qfKcPbx_niqhGWm3zO9K3i6c1jaBIwA1N3n7G09ub6R1QKRZRdjSmTJiGkWADa6FzylEilDY146LMe_LbTDY4V_66vja-6PGw-ejRqayPCJs/s1600/DSCN5026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this flat spot in the mountains had once been some kind of farm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Then there's the mountain camping,sometimes near the wadis or valleys and ravines. Once
again, 4wd is likely to be important as is some knowledge of a flat spot. Much
of the mountain terrain is quite rocky and the nice, wide, flatter spots have been snapped
up by local farmers. My only night in the mountains so far was weirdly misty and damp but everything burned off in the morning and we explored the nearby foundations and rock storage structures.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was just introduced to a beach camp spot this past
weekend, over near Khorfakan, in the eastern region of the country. While there
was a traditional sandy beach part, tides this time of year made it a little
small for our group and we knew it was slated to get even a bit smaller before
the tides turned again so we set up on a little rise, just 20 or so yards/
meters away from the beach and above a shore area of cool, surf pounded rocks
harboring crabs and the occasional sea urchin. There were a lot of nice things
about this spot but it was plagued with one of the big problems in the <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiKDnZbGzMH6bIg3yP4UZM4MHEvnP6orDYVFYhMW0mhSFqYDYEE58cAA35JNaJwvglvPAecNbYYBLNbJPV26MWeaATMd-l95xJ5GIsQj2kjeygK8UmAK1yBgdhZNZ3tWjlPE69PoGF-w/s1600/DSCN5677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiKDnZbGzMH6bIg3yP4UZM4MHEvnP6orDYVFYhMW0mhSFqYDYEE58cAA35JNaJwvglvPAecNbYYBLNbJPV26MWeaATMd-l95xJ5GIsQj2kjeygK8UmAK1yBgdhZNZ3tWjlPE69PoGF-w/s1600/DSCN5677.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the trashy (foreground) and the sublime (that sea!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
country:
garbage/ litter/ dumping. There were parts of this lovely cove where people had
dumped broken ceramic toilet bowls, old tires, diapers, broken glass, plastic
sheeting. You name it. Luckily we could set up camp largely away from the worst
of it but even where we were the clearing was ringed with mesquite trees,
giving us a good place to wander off and use "the little camper's
room" in private. But the trees were also a magnet for no end of plastic
and cloth trash. I wanted to start picking up like mad, but I also felt
overwhelmed, and like I needed way more trash bags and room to haul out trash
than we had. I also wanted to gloves, some of that stuff was nasty- next time I'm going prepared. But one of
my favorite bits about this site is that I can drive there myself without 4wd
and big off road skills and I guess that's attractive to others too, leading to
the trash. The Gulf waters, all blue green beautiful were another huge bonus. So refreshing to float a bit among tiny (seemingly non-stingy) jellyfish in the morning before packing up for the 1.5 hour ride home.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46PKKw-Jo43URIqFVr_8OyPBql3TwWdkTnH2rZ58cEw8VQuxpxLhvknLlbeArHqfYB0HnVFRaP0iCcThD3UC54Bx08mcJPp9PXp7BQWzTN1WDHShYC_Jy87H06lL_g4tqE1c_amZxdMA/s1600/DSCN5718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46PKKw-Jo43URIqFVr_8OyPBql3TwWdkTnH2rZ58cEw8VQuxpxLhvknLlbeArHqfYB0HnVFRaP0iCcThD3UC54Bx08mcJPp9PXp7BQWzTN1WDHShYC_Jy87H06lL_g4tqE1c_amZxdMA/s1600/DSCN5718.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
I think there's a market for some entrepreneurial Emirati to offer up a semi
developed campground, reachable in a sedan but with the beautiful
seclusion and starry skies of the desert or maybe a rustic, mountainside
campground, with a port-a-potty and a hiking trail, a couple of fire rings and
picnic tables, I think expats with tents and coolers would flock to a place
like that. Or would pay good money for a laid back sandy beach spot where
they could throw up a tent with a cement block bathhouse and a little non- salt
water to rinse off after a swim. I guess that might take away some of the adventure though, and there'd probably have to be rules... for now, I'll keep bumming rides in 4x4s or finding the non-trashy corner of the beach to enjoy one of my favorite ways to spend a night.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdzdZ8JflEtCpxMqk_KEhMpJhiMphoSOKD3srqLunyqQJITClOg7V8FVLCsFFeEi3cph9-966jnGHKSBHi9X7RaveiF_PPI1FAltJe9SctQWGo4HTmjbSd0uMLHhItjrOhIfF_mFml9I/s1600/DSCN5705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdzdZ8JflEtCpxMqk_KEhMpJhiMphoSOKD3srqLunyqQJITClOg7V8FVLCsFFeEi3cph9-966jnGHKSBHi9X7RaveiF_PPI1FAltJe9SctQWGo4HTmjbSd0uMLHhItjrOhIfF_mFml9I/s1600/DSCN5705.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at beach camp- the view from the water looking back was pretty nice too</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0D5vE6VT3tqPWbluKdgYQ3To6cgfZecQf7AzBaxzKX3_iTA2bNMzIItp9MQXuU-HtuqNt-Nz2HPaiwyac6AglWYIwEgigUTcKq2BSBri7JU68p3gpWrbZAyK59bpLFmrRTHcOABd7qQ/s1600/DSCN5713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0D5vE6VT3tqPWbluKdgYQ3To6cgfZecQf7AzBaxzKX3_iTA2bNMzIItp9MQXuU-HtuqNt-Nz2HPaiwyac6AglWYIwEgigUTcKq2BSBri7JU68p3gpWrbZAyK59bpLFmrRTHcOABd7qQ/s1600/DSCN5713.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of the beach camp shoreline was rocks with these creepy-cool barnacles</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7Ud2_TBZ7gVWAUauEunl4qGX8QZpkRpNfnvQQ1SyEXuDGPUA75jC0FkfCAnE5ZJ3xMCBcZx5GEiuLCWJH1UCSU46a4yBQDlUstluF7lsEtWTza83N9mpHalJVr2fBEuBC0dIriDwP2E/s1600/DSCN5626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7Ud2_TBZ7gVWAUauEunl4qGX8QZpkRpNfnvQQ1SyEXuDGPUA75jC0FkfCAnE5ZJ3xMCBcZx5GEiuLCWJH1UCSU46a4yBQDlUstluF7lsEtWTza83N9mpHalJVr2fBEuBC0dIriDwP2E/s1600/DSCN5626.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one more from sunrise desert camp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-43605166780142024262015-03-08T11:13:00.000-07:002017-04-30T04:54:16.796-07:00Friday around town<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczPKSWWKZTAgxck9DWGKOR-X76Zbbj-jqSo2Grrqfhsy0zM_VUDPrOMCnC9kDt_pRc4__FLXt-UK1VWHSKUYuUm8dqBuqR7O1-IOCih1lUFVtyZw29lkiZstlp7gxjcsRfNsya5LcPDs/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczPKSWWKZTAgxck9DWGKOR-X76Zbbj-jqSo2Grrqfhsy0zM_VUDPrOMCnC9kDt_pRc4__FLXt-UK1VWHSKUYuUm8dqBuqR7O1-IOCih1lUFVtyZw29lkiZstlp7gxjcsRfNsya5LcPDs/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">scraping bubbly cheese onto my plate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1425835611903_3216" style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">
Did
a little exploring this weekend. First up was the Ripe Market at Zabeel
Park. While it's advertised as an organic farmers market, after
visiting, I'd describe it more as a single
veggie stand surrounded by a lot of craft and food booths. That said,
it had a nice vibe- a big mix of nationalities all out enjoying lovely
weather and a nice park and some really yummy food choices. I sampled
homemade honey nougat, a cheese I can't pronounce,
a dark chocolate and banana snack food that may be the thing that
brings me back, houmous, olive oil, pickles... And then, I settled on
raclette for breakfast. It's a Swiss delight, kind of in the fondue
family if you're not familiar. They heat a hunk of cheese using a clever device until it gets brown and bubbly and then scrape that cheese off and on top of something like crusty bread and salty meat. I paired it with a Pakistani
mango lassi (yogurt shake) from the Moti Roti booth- and learned that
Moti means fat and Roti is a flatbread, they make their flatbreads fat
by wrapping them around some sort of spicy filling. I could have
selected grilled sausages from my favorite Australian
butcher, poutine or crepes from the Maple Leaf, the Canadian place, all
manner of Lebanese street food, burgers, and I can't actually remember
what other choices. All in all, produce-wise, it's not going to hold a
candle to say, picking blueberries in Michigan
or getting the first, perfectly ripe Brigham City peaches at the SLC
Downtown Farmers' Market, but once I let go of my hopes for abundant
fruit/veggie options, I enjoyed people watching, sampling and eating on a
bench in a pretty park quite a bit.
<br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1425835611903_3231">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WmlnMxysy56FGvi5PTNFrqJreqJMtQ304HR66fJn48uGSaBy53yeOqUILy8PuZwQL7ydZu5tTsCKkwbBnc-k0CHzp3QN6Ep69-X6byqKKOr1bDiX_-ftx96W3jrVOq8hfGNTIipgT0Q/s1600/IMG_0626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WmlnMxysy56FGvi5PTNFrqJreqJMtQ304HR66fJn48uGSaBy53yeOqUILy8PuZwQL7ydZu5tTsCKkwbBnc-k0CHzp3QN6Ep69-X6byqKKOr1bDiX_-ftx96W3jrVOq8hfGNTIipgT0Q/s1600/IMG_0626.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my weak sketch of the bit of my daily drive between 2 palaces</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1425835611903_3232">
On my way home, still fairly
early on a Friday morning, the perfect time to take a "Sunday drive" as
it were, I cut through some back streets surrounding the royal palaces,
stables, and a whole neighborhood (Zabeel 2) that I can only guess is
full of people
with some "wasta" (aka clout/ connections/ prestige). There were signs
indicating that photographs are not allowed which is a shame, it's a
lovely neighborhood and the palaces are awesome looking- the one has a horse drawn chariot rising from the roof, looking rather like Il Vittoriano in Rome and behind/ beside the other there is a large and elegant mosque. My daily
drive to work takes me past an exit marked
"Private Access" and then under a roundabout that shoots off to giant palaces- residences for the extended family of His Royal Highness, VP of the nation and ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid, on either
side of the road- clearly off limits
for me. I can see them down long, landscaped entry roads, however. And in driving around the neighborhood that is semi in the shadow of the palaces, I spotted a peacock and a random pen of well groomed long-haired sheep or goats in amongst the lovely homes, most flying the UAE flags high and proud.</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1425835611903_3232">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxSVl2Rcg0afwmwq_t2wW1r6TzwIprkY6O8iYRO-T0szwrXHtMgwN8te7Obuxkb44ME_DHHW_R6OcgksFn-VA5S-zg7yDsQBw74MhZinsuvsOhxUt7z_TX68t-GVJtWE4_0cUskfeaCQ/s1600/IMG_0622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxSVl2Rcg0afwmwq_t2wW1r6TzwIprkY6O8iYRO-T0szwrXHtMgwN8te7Obuxkb44ME_DHHW_R6OcgksFn-VA5S-zg7yDsQBw74MhZinsuvsOhxUt7z_TX68t-GVJtWE4_0cUskfeaCQ/s1600/IMG_0622.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1425835611903_3232">
In the afternoon, I took my new foldable bike to the nearby former camel
racecourse turned cycle <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
track. I chose a fold up bike in part for easy
transport since I think it's likely
that I'll often drive to the places I ride to avoid trying to navigate
the street traffic. there are rumored to be several tracks set aside for
cycling and I'll be checking them all out in time. This one, Nad al
Sheba, has the grandstands left over from camel
racing days at 2 different places along the path. The first near where
you park, also features changing rooms and a small park and a tiny kids
track. I was a little unclear of where to <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnX4JBZbzdcbQgLQ3Y77leXTBYBdxjZfOvY5LQF4OXcfNuUU5Ao2VcF0X5veAsuarRhDz7G7NttuP8Qp7iEps3KeoVou4MHDK3gNrEwe5h5_x-GxFhGpr6yx9ODayIzihvJMbhSrCjDU/s1600/DSCN5664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnX4JBZbzdcbQgLQ3Y77leXTBYBdxjZfOvY5LQF4OXcfNuUU5Ao2VcF0X5veAsuarRhDz7G7NttuP8Qp7iEps3KeoVou4MHDK3gNrEwe5h5_x-GxFhGpr6yx9ODayIzihvJMbhSrCjDU/s1600/DSCN5664.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">skyline view from abandoned grandstand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ride and so at first followed
some pavement out into an area where there
were about a dozen cricket matches in full swing. I realized I was not
on the main tracks at that point and veered toward another biker until I
spotted the purpose-built paved path with solar lights and painted
kilometer markers.There are a couple of loops of various lengths- 4, 6 and 8km, I think. It feels a bit random, cycling
a loop in a flat expanse of desert. There's some nice views of the city
skyline in one direction and of the fancy new horse racing complex in
the other direction, some very ugly power lines, some temporary walls
blocking a construction site (and the wind, handily
enough), and the second empty grandstand which I stopped to checkout. I think if I start riding the loops with any regularity I'm going to wind up coming up with some sort of "grandstand passing moves", I'll ride like the stands are full and cheering me on!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjg30t8DVRKb2UGF2E1STSdv_HLQJGRee2dIYf-X-BaNlSTTZ7Wz_w0qgtd9fmHtKBcaPBfwDBw0sAd1N7TcUvSFX_f-Y1u41x_7Jn0WGvcjSOh3_valNUQU2FGVC3IYAygJQt7fIPgc/s1600/DSCN5669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjg30t8DVRKb2UGF2E1STSdv_HLQJGRee2dIYf-X-BaNlSTTZ7Wz_w0qgtd9fmHtKBcaPBfwDBw0sAd1N7TcUvSFX_f-Y1u41x_7Jn0WGvcjSOh3_valNUQU2FGVC3IYAygJQt7fIPgc/s1600/DSCN5669.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">solar lights, ugly power lines, nice track </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1425835611903_3232">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE54UBxo1FvXJfNmdZ68U48gqYUnPgFVd5S26ayI4liDWvaXFrdMzkZGyZMJGRnPh9qVwZO9zw5XdzQlEwZomIsFELqhPNPm0JnJWoejfD3kP4O-7KgfWmmb8cwuHLwQ1t86PDlLm29E/s1600/DSCN5665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE54UBxo1FvXJfNmdZ68U48gqYUnPgFVd5S26ayI4liDWvaXFrdMzkZGyZMJGRnPh9qVwZO9zw5XdzQlEwZomIsFELqhPNPm0JnJWoejfD3kP4O-7KgfWmmb8cwuHLwQ1t86PDlLm29E/s1600/DSCN5665.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">new horse racing track view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-71299961158312797832015-02-22T10:21:00.000-08:002017-04-30T04:51:40.068-07:00Going Gold at the Movies<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWgjTLtdrZheKmAaBpFUqauMBeTj9MPerAtocroQKshzBr-T0zAQYg2jtwywVE2nU4JK8NQo5sNUvwjtbbDeqDLlsK1qIXqJZfIY3xn2Rp_ldrRitwFb9kNEDDXkVggFL0Di8YVEbh6k/s1600/IMG_0629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWgjTLtdrZheKmAaBpFUqauMBeTj9MPerAtocroQKshzBr-T0zAQYg2jtwywVE2nU4JK8NQo5sNUvwjtbbDeqDLlsK1qIXqJZfIY3xn2Rp_ldrRitwFb9kNEDDXkVggFL0Di8YVEbh6k/s1600/IMG_0629.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in the Gold Lounge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since we're suffering a yucky multi day sandstorm (for those of you who
haven't seen pictures on FaceBook, I'll put comparison view pictures at
the end of this post), I opted to explore one of the things on my Dubai
bucket list: going Gold at the movies. I understand that movies with
extra nice seats and a full restaurant menu on offer are not exclusive
to the UAE but the way they infuse the whole experience with status and
luxury here seems to match up nicely with the designer handbags and showy
sports cars that are symbolic of a high profile Dubai lifestyle.<br />
<br />
We
went to see the comic action spy blockbuster, The Kingsmen. Bought
tickets online ahead of time. When you show up at the theater, just past
the garishly lit popcorn and candy counter for the regular movie goers, there's a smoked glass wall
with a simple hostess podium bearing the word <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9O01u5HE3nJMfAfuc8_aDa3VitrQtyexQ1BToRd5ONyDBnXGMenGCREKnePZGI1xjfjZdorqPoze07N5gQXrYYvPHwkUz0yEeNq0bhIGMfJ7KXhfAliZHHpECfF8XTvGks9Dh9ExYbk/s1600/IMG_0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9O01u5HE3nJMfAfuc8_aDa3VitrQtyexQ1BToRd5ONyDBnXGMenGCREKnePZGI1xjfjZdorqPoze07N5gQXrYYvPHwkUz0yEeNq0bhIGMfJ7KXhfAliZHHpECfF8XTvGks9Dh9ExYbk/s1600/IMG_0630.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">perusing our menus- I guess we could also have been reading magazines</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGD0RrUBbq72gZNVDivx4lHPII1Ku4OoKYRNCmwt_7XcrwcyVZmo46yGe-7O_8se_GA02w5TJn1GLpUJXV8GXSAbiNsCsVyc3VFw9et87kKfNyzxPkq63A1eZw8zG7rW3b8vt4HSJ_Ac/s1600/IMG_0635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGD0RrUBbq72gZNVDivx4lHPII1Ku4OoKYRNCmwt_7XcrwcyVZmo46yGe-7O_8se_GA02w5TJn1GLpUJXV8GXSAbiNsCsVyc3VFw9et87kKfNyzxPkq63A1eZw8zG7rW3b8vt4HSJ_Ac/s1600/IMG_0635.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my mini food on slate- served to my recliner</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Gold, in gold, of course,
on black. We presented our tickets and the glass doors slid open to reveal a
lounge. We were invited to have a seat and peruse the menu. I picked a
selection of two mini burgers. I could have gone with a mini hot dog or
mini potato skins or no end of other bar-food like items classed
up by serving them in miniature on a slab of slate with an accompanying
mini basket of fries. We also got a popcorn, of course, because it's
still the movies. It's just regular popcorn, because why mess with a
good thing? After we placed our order in the lounge, we went on into
the theater. Oh, except I ran to the loo first and, of course, there were cloth hand towels in a little basket.<br />
<br />
There were maybe 40 recliners, stadium seating
style so no sight lines are blocked. We took our recliner seats and got
our blankets (movie theaters here are just like the ones in the US, always chilly) and shortly they brought our sodas (yes, in other places-
heck, even Utah, you can get cocktails, but I am in the Middle East,
remember. So no booze, just dry luxury.) We settled in to watch the previews and commercials before the main event and my food arrived (on my personal armrest table) just in time for me to sneak a quick photo before the movie began.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jvsO-Sy1Dt8d2NEuIEG816k_5nJic18XnrfGUpU14y12sxUdDgIgsaFLU1sh1gSneM5nGzRJ705uCwO47BpfEfB09nm1KxlvS4p9oL5Qv8ab4OK-__U0Fn3tj92RRk1viMW8gkF8IFU/s1600/IMG_0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jvsO-Sy1Dt8d2NEuIEG816k_5nJic18XnrfGUpU14y12sxUdDgIgsaFLU1sh1gSneM5nGzRJ705uCwO47BpfEfB09nm1KxlvS4p9oL5Qv8ab4OK-__U0Fn3tj92RRk1viMW8gkF8IFU/s1600/IMG_0633.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cozied up- blanket and recliner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some of the naughtiest bits of movies are censored/ cut here. I heard The Wolf of Wall Street was 45 minutes shorter in the UAE. ( I also heard from some people-not fans of the movie- that they wish the film's editors would have made at least 45 minutes worth of cuts if not more.) Pretty sure nothing was censored in this one- there wasn't much nudity or on screen immoral behavior- a bit of overt suggestion and some violence, but it's a spy action movie after all. <br />
<br />
I was a fan of the Gold movie experience! Not sure it was entirely worth the price tag (about $30 per ticket, another $15 or so per person on food) but it was a great splurge for day when being outside was not so nice and I'm pretty sure I'll splurge again in the future because, well, it's all part of my high rollin' Dubai life!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6ekK2A7c3ZxofVG-K6AqD4HYtlOcgzhKU5luk0RzXq70Y2j0QQ92XjEXN9qFhIRJReuo81zvOotLxSGXBwCERRwr7svcwqhH_xez-opL6Jtl0gAt8CT-_Ns1b0rcwRwl-baaUioj9Kc/s1600/10454485_10205100102489871_3650257404033397903_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6ekK2A7c3ZxofVG-K6AqD4HYtlOcgzhKU5luk0RzXq70Y2j0QQ92XjEXN9qFhIRJReuo81zvOotLxSGXBwCERRwr7svcwqhH_xez-opL6Jtl0gAt8CT-_Ns1b0rcwRwl-baaUioj9Kc/s1600/10454485_10205100102489871_3650257404033397903_n.jpg" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from balcony post rain in January</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBSUUCeL2rKNNYFBdRt86K-0_o2sWt21EnIKY09iC4vajN2fu_4L-s-DY18Wdii420HZAaKngSg9VchHNjjzIgUtMRfH4z4tkEpRN0-2PXW-y60y3G6ytJbA8NjY_bu3Ky4me84CLJGQ/s1600/14723_10152842931018143_4723219764435471236_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBSUUCeL2rKNNYFBdRt86K-0_o2sWt21EnIKY09iC4vajN2fu_4L-s-DY18Wdii420HZAaKngSg9VchHNjjzIgUtMRfH4z4tkEpRN0-2PXW-y60y3G6ytJbA8NjY_bu3Ky4me84CLJGQ/s1600/14723_10152842931018143_4723219764435471236_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">same view mid sandstorm yesterday</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-54645351163899672862015-02-05T11:56:00.000-08:002017-04-30T04:49:56.478-07:00an apple a day...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyokFzSqfVVq2_DCBr6i8VBxagppZ06NAvqCXZvJJ3KQ9YiaQyUrO00dKTwFHl1JFUwpFxZv_4zdLhCIfBieoMLOT2kNy0OdQ4mA2tJatsf_y9IeDVX-v6YDhM-3BIH_TlCQOL2k4JhIg/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyokFzSqfVVq2_DCBr6i8VBxagppZ06NAvqCXZvJJ3KQ9YiaQyUrO00dKTwFHl1JFUwpFxZv_4zdLhCIfBieoMLOT2kNy0OdQ4mA2tJatsf_y9IeDVX-v6YDhM-3BIH_TlCQOL2k4JhIg/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" width="238" /></a>My arches have fallen and they can't get up, at least not without fancy
orthotic shoe inserts that Sebastian, the German orthotics and prosthetics guy, will have custom made for me Tennessee. I learned that on my consult last weekend at the mall. Yes, I go to the mall for
my healthcare. Not <br />
everyone in Dubai does, there are hospitals and
clinics all over. On one occasion, I went to see a specialist in a converted home (mini
mansion) where limited parking means required valet service. But for most of my healthcare needs, it's the world's largest mall for me, because that's how I roll (or because it was one of the places near my house I was sure I knew how to get to when I first had to make an appointment.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOM4JpsZuxHbInUrW0jU5QoZDkxOAEUNc9RO6PFnqAZ7VAOeMWmPZNFQM4hxsLmO26PvVVvjzsN0YTqeQrWNSHFae16GGDcigYmUkXvoMuSNFCRSfc3yB6cfxkTiBhczRKjQYTyh-zqS4/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOM4JpsZuxHbInUrW0jU5QoZDkxOAEUNc9RO6PFnqAZ7VAOeMWmPZNFQM4hxsLmO26PvVVvjzsN0YTqeQrWNSHFae16GGDcigYmUkXvoMuSNFCRSfc3yB6cfxkTiBhczRKjQYTyh-zqS4/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" width="320" /></a>Healthcare here isn't especially different from healthcare in the US
from a consumer point of view- outside of the mall business. I suspect
it may be a bit different for the doctors. Talking with a podiatrist
last summer, she mentioned that there weren't enough podiatrists in the
country to have a society- I guess you need at least 12 practitioners and they couldn't muster that many.
Anyhow, I have an insurance policy, provided by my employer. I find a
clinic or doctor or hospital that does direct billing (or if I don't I
can submit claims for reimbursement) and I go see doctors and have
procedures and labs done and whatever.<br />
<br />
I just read an article about a
phase-in plan to require employers in small companies to provide
insurance in
Dubai. Larger companies already must and in Abu Dhabi, apparently, they
already have mandatory universal insurance coverage. All over the
country, Emirati citizens can avail themselves of free government
provided healthcare though from what I understand, most prefer a private
insurance provider for the greatest choice and highest quality care.
It's the many ex-pat laborers who will be covered as this new law becomes
mandatory. It's already the case that you won't be refused emergency
care at a hospital. <br />
<br />
A few
things are different though. For any ongoing prescriptions, the max a
doc can prescribe at one time is a 3 month supply so I have to go see my
doctor every 3 months. It's a bit of a pain but at the same time, when I
call for an appointment, I can usually get in within 24-48 hours of my call if I'd like and the doctors tend to have some
evening and weekend hours available too. Though I took advantage of that
last week and it led to a small act of rebellion- I parked in a spot
that was clearly not designed to be parked in. This is widespread and
obnoxious behavior, this wedging your car into any blank space, something I wasn't keen to participate in, but I'd
spent 20+ min stuck in traffic inside the parking garage. I was about to
be late and was feeling desperate. It was the last evening of the month-
long shopping fest and on a weekend evening, that was part of the problem. In the end there were no ill
effects (I didn't get a ticket, no one backed into my car and I got over feeling bad about being one of the jerky parkers.)<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-R-7R1VNgxnojVfrE_WBJTFl2_2BmPDm9cWr-toBeWIWZ65qiLshE2tyhWdBkOBQl8WQCO0lG_GPYDDl-nFZiqMJ68qkzKFFbj86pRQ4JpQPeO_5x-zXj0j00sypH1GDXxNR4OwKY5A/s1600/IMG_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-R-7R1VNgxnojVfrE_WBJTFl2_2BmPDm9cWr-toBeWIWZ65qiLshE2tyhWdBkOBQl8WQCO0lG_GPYDDl-nFZiqMJ68qkzKFFbj86pRQ4JpQPeO_5x-zXj0j00sypH1GDXxNR4OwKY5A/s1600/IMG_0607.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blurry pic of the space age waiting area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I've also had a pleasantly international array of medical professionals.
My primary care physician is Spanish, her nurse assistant is Filipino,
there's the aforementioned German orthotics guy and the podiatrist was
Scottish (ingrown toenails sound nicer with a lilt). I can fill my entire prescription right there at the mall clinic
(seems to a number of Indian pharmacists) after my appointment. They never seem to have quite enough in stock to
cover all 3 months at once, but they write me a note and call me when
more stock comes in and it's back to the mall.<br />
<br />
The whole process is
simultaneously super high tech, efficient and advanced (I get a text
immediately after I schedule an appointment, the billing people are in
regular real-time contact with insurance people to approve stuff while I
wait) and also very small town and casual (the little handwritten note about the
extra meds the pharmacy owes me, the fact that my doc will call me after
she gets my labs to chat about them.)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7eWf8UfrR_BAWgp8JpxkpuyhEjd4nHkIFdtcdk6Vxy908fdu4Anf7QsNHSQRFkTktaKJWcLXvouYk8J32KIeGIXucHmgWPDbKlSSMX4fzv6eRtzI0brlo0v39RSU286FkL9i5Xc7rIs/s1600/IMG_0605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7eWf8UfrR_BAWgp8JpxkpuyhEjd4nHkIFdtcdk6Vxy908fdu4Anf7QsNHSQRFkTktaKJWcLXvouYk8J32KIeGIXucHmgWPDbKlSSMX4fzv6eRtzI0brlo0v39RSU286FkL9i5Xc7rIs/s1600/IMG_0605.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">could be a hallway at a medical complex anywhere in the US, huh?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-85590888677239614972015-01-28T10:22:00.005-08:002017-04-30T04:46:19.064-07:00Doing Dubai<div style="color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Wo6C_RQdZlQySbIkaHznIMlVTCQuP2PJdeK_kD8EbHLedqxY1zAdrF1hV-U-ENPFPxEuvuizA91qGAg_qwqwN06IVQccGnXg6QKky9CzU-THWjLEIaenPPCtSndQJT225rS9VDmv37s/s1600/10896942_1006110879400798_6612227208351645752_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Wo6C_RQdZlQySbIkaHznIMlVTCQuP2PJdeK_kD8EbHLedqxY1zAdrF1hV-U-ENPFPxEuvuizA91qGAg_qwqwN06IVQccGnXg6QKky9CzU-THWjLEIaenPPCtSndQJT225rS9VDmv37s/s1600/10896942_1006110879400798_6612227208351645752_n.jpg" width="200" /></a>I haven't been keeping up with the blog very well, but I'm going to
manage at least one January 2015 entry (this one) and hopefully can get
back in the habit of writing and reflecting about things here every
couple of weeks going forward. I've been busy
planning for and then hosting my first full fledged visitors since I've
been in the apartment. Andrea came for Christmas within my first month
when I was still in the temporary housing and was little more than a
tourist myself. That said, we did a pretty good
job of exploring and checking out many of the "must do" sights and
experiences and I happily re-did many with my sisters last week. Here
are a few of my favorite things to enjoy with visitors:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7BQkaF25qzV7t5hT4u21BvwqQaxwghm-olC8UaaYo95p8L4EzGwC0NAqvJds4FczCJnOSOiHdK8IdCPobh8DNukT2D8vyAQ2lTaugVNZaZyzsESV8Ev0XI5QUAw-1wmZdpdbWHZoYX0/s1600/DSCN5531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7BQkaF25qzV7t5hT4u21BvwqQaxwghm-olC8UaaYo95p8L4EzGwC0NAqvJds4FczCJnOSOiHdK8IdCPobh8DNukT2D8vyAQ2lTaugVNZaZyzsESV8Ev0XI5QUAw-1wmZdpdbWHZoYX0/s1600/DSCN5531.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
1. The desert safari: Have to take these things with a grain of salt,
they're a little "packaged" but still, I think they're a lot of fun.
This time we went with the company Arabian Nights and
they picked us up at the apartment around 4PM.
We shared a land cruiser with some ladies from Saudi Arabia (one of
them lives in Abu Dhabi). The safari headed out to the dunes somewhere
near the Sharjah/ Dubai border off the Al Ain Road, after letting some
air out of the tires for better traction, we dune
bashed. This entailed some racing, cresting, dipping and swaying over
and down the sides of dunes- some pretty steep- and some squealing and
gasping from Sarah and I and the Saudis. Meanwhile Becky sat up front
wondering if maybe she could take a turn at driving. We
roller coastered our way to a high point to enjoy the golden light of a
desert sunset. Next down to the "camp" where<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDbpOSafMvhD5qoqWomHvadMdqlZHMR6bWgDi0dPilE2NS7J-fDgtd_7q4oxx8-t-S2AuuV4s9Eiuh48MGB5NiiuFm40mwVuosfRBAeJCDP3nBXj1zXnpNhX4H8DaPYrTWRG1wtMyNSQ/s1600/10931143_1006110849400801_8105382255401486810_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDbpOSafMvhD5qoqWomHvadMdqlZHMR6bWgDi0dPilE2NS7J-fDgtd_7q4oxx8-t-S2AuuV4s9Eiuh48MGB5NiiuFm40mwVuosfRBAeJCDP3nBXj1zXnpNhX4H8DaPYrTWRG1wtMyNSQ/s1600/10931143_1006110849400801_8105382255401486810_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
there was an opportunity
for a quick camel ride in a circle (mostly just a photo op). One camel
was kinda photo bombing Becky and Sarah and
seemed to be interested in a little head scratch or something, but no,
it turned out that he was interested in trying to take a bite out of
Sarah's arm right through his little knit mouth/nose cover. She had a nice camel-tooth bruise going! Following that
excitement, it was on to grab a cocktail and get a little henna design
applied and take a few puffs of shisha before the tanoura dance show (slightly campy guy who can spin like mad wearing a skirt covered with LED lights) and
dinner. Talking with the Saudis over dinner was fun, especially the
young woman in 10th grade. She was pretty vocal
about the fact that she saw no reason to have to <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8Yh8KYva5goq3wfAbkl_GdEMOvQe7Os6oEVN7CSl8rsrdxkcFkITKJE936rnYkITpRHVOV7VV09nYK04YPfVFowIjvuQlFvghw5fi6bj6YhzBzTdcZzg1j7KwtzUQlWW_R7OZf-03Y0/s1600/DSCN5538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8Yh8KYva5goq3wfAbkl_GdEMOvQe7Os6oEVN7CSl8rsrdxkcFkITKJE936rnYkITpRHVOV7VV09nYK04YPfVFowIjvuQlFvghw5fi6bj6YhzBzTdcZzg1j7KwtzUQlWW_R7OZf-03Y0/s1600/DSCN5538.JPG" width="200" /></a>wear an abaya all the
time at home (she was not wearing one on the safari, nor was her mom. Her
mom, however, did have her hair covered) and she was pretty bothered
about not being able to drive. It sounded like
the trip to visit her aunt in the UAE had her feeling pretty envious of
some freedoms the ladies enjoy here. After the whirlwind sampler of vaguely bedouin activities, tidied up for tourist pleasure, they took us home before 10pm. An added bonus, our driver had scored some fresh camel milk from the farm by the camp and he gave us a little bottle to take home and try!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5iZWguPM1E-1ZOsvdsyRXWWSsnq2jcagLoFpvjgYHSqlpvRErJT_4B4d0VhrJloZvejnqnuAQDHTNjOzlhSGJii44NiIhI-LiHVXKekmAPF5gRqGWQ5lF_b1tDeaz10obayoZ4lj5ac/s1600/DSCN5590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs5iZWguPM1E-1ZOsvdsyRXWWSsnq2jcagLoFpvjgYHSqlpvRErJT_4B4d0VhrJloZvejnqnuAQDHTNjOzlhSGJii44NiIhI-LiHVXKekmAPF5gRqGWQ5lF_b1tDeaz10obayoZ4lj5ac/s1600/DSCN5590.JPG" width="320" /></a>2. Camel races: I wrote an entire post on this after Andrea and I went, it's <a href="http://divasandbox.blogspot.ae/2014/01/off-to-camel-races.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I'll just add that the sisters and I got there too late last week to see any racing. We arrived just after 8:30am. There were training runs going on though, and all the camel handlers took a big interest in 3 yellow haired tourist types taking pictures and looking curious. One group called us over to take pictures and then insisted that the sisters jump atop a camel for photos. Sarah cut her hand a little on the hump handle thingy- she really developed a bit of a camel aversion on this trip.<br />
<br />
3. An abra ride across the creek: If you're in the neighborhood, of course, a visit to the souks is also in order, but really, my favorite part is climbing the little beat looking flat bottomed wooden motor <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzYqDFeQ_BzhHmDClR8M50Zdd5tvJfHERfdJNGj17xvK_aCD3_12cDBUe-zyASESCy30H-0OaKdjqYMP_rAkA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>boat with a roof, paying 1AED (roughly 30 cents) and putting across this bustling waterway past the dhows (bigger wooden boats that haul freight throughout the gulf- you can see tall stacks of boxed fridges and washer dryers alongside the moored dhows waiting to be loaded up) and other abras and tour boats and more. The ride is short but lively. I could go back and forth over and over, people watching and boat watching.<br />
<br />
Turns out this post could go on and on if I had more energy. There are more "enjoy with visitors" things on my list than I anticipated. I see more posts ahead on maybe some of these<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YjyLvqALD4tm7nAYNueDswIHMWf0h22LdA5VW7K2EKC2ad-T-XoD2hjJ2P6XnRaljAUx0_2-9xeuBqmEDhmFbUXs3y6i64pf1WnIe_Rm26XykRImgv3NI0lYQiaMRADGBN3_J4NjvKw/s1600/DSCN5513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YjyLvqALD4tm7nAYNueDswIHMWf0h22LdA5VW7K2EKC2ad-T-XoD2hjJ2P6XnRaljAUx0_2-9xeuBqmEDhmFbUXs3y6i64pf1WnIe_Rm26XykRImgv3NI0lYQiaMRADGBN3_J4NjvKw/s1600/DSCN5513.JPG" width="240" /></a>4. Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi- breathtaking<br />
<br />
5. Frying Pan Food Tour- not for the picky eater or those with dietary restrictions though <br />
<br />
6. Sheik Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding meal or tour- mentioned in the food post but they are so much more than the meals<br />
<br />
7. Something luxurious- a spa treatment, gold cappuccino at Emirates Palace, high tea- I've dabbled in luxury adventures but this is a bit of a weak area for me, will have to work on up-ing my Dubai high life knowledge, it'll be research, right?<br />
<br />
8. Burj Khalifa observation deck (sunset, or now they also do sunrise) combined with seeing the Burj from my apartment and seeing the fountains at the base- one of my favorite viewing places is from Souk ah Bahar or from the walkway between Souk al Bahar and The Palace hotel (which proved to be a decent place to watch for over the top cars in valet one of the nights we visited.)<br />
<br />
9. Beach!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVO2EyOhcCzua5Or4R9KaK6dBg4COPrz8AzhMbqDe48uDl2GJPjY4SkOCTDE-0UpBUU3LxvWHyJZE3QDVdD2InEbj5EP8w93UAmkPmLQzm3DRq4jG2-Q2ja5L4WTKqNPDup5Ux4iZ6YLc/s1600/10704121_10205102789597047_3506353956424596589_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVO2EyOhcCzua5Or4R9KaK6dBg4COPrz8AzhMbqDe48uDl2GJPjY4SkOCTDE-0UpBUU3LxvWHyJZE3QDVdD2InEbj5EP8w93UAmkPmLQzm3DRq4jG2-Q2ja5L4WTKqNPDup5Ux4iZ6YLc/s1600/10704121_10205102789597047_3506353956424596589_n.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
10. Falcon Hospital in Abu Dhabi- a neat new-to-me thing we checked out last week...<br />
<br />
Yes more posts are needed.</div>
dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-46586976982536381622014-12-15T10:06:00.000-08:002017-04-30T04:43:36.960-07:00The Tale of Two Trees<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFC6OLPU82W7QAWqqI1gmHthsFsvvNuro07acPiqlEvWdfreAX72QHNVM_sX8_AgjsLmQY7YHHvGnJ0bodbMFqaWpK3dLSF6TBH3SxvCfEhFWhLcf74VWx7Hs0B-2xMto3uDQjzP3hpc/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfFC6OLPU82W7QAWqqI1gmHthsFsvvNuro07acPiqlEvWdfreAX72QHNVM_sX8_AgjsLmQY7YHHvGnJ0bodbMFqaWpK3dLSF6TBH3SxvCfEhFWhLcf74VWx7Hs0B-2xMto3uDQjzP3hpc/s1600/photo+2.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plant Street Canadian imports</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO0p5AitE6GFEkYs5imY4R-Wx3r8mSPMEieImKLXHS5aDYZJfFeLC6dkSUsy0jIbxjis1Z-bcGMSc-uhyIKyGziUeUA9xCjGfMlwACaGgyJExOU8wBIQOQM1qIgsV7qx3XPxluHu0Kx8/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO0p5AitE6GFEkYs5imY4R-Wx3r8mSPMEieImKLXHS5aDYZJfFeLC6dkSUsy0jIbxjis1Z-bcGMSc-uhyIKyGziUeUA9xCjGfMlwACaGgyJExOU8wBIQOQM1qIgsV7qx3XPxluHu0Kx8/s1600/photo+3.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coulda been a contender!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The "tree trek"- to fetch a Christmas tree- is a time honored tradition for
me. Last year, my first Christmas season in Dubai, I took the metro to a
trippy garden store and bought a leggy local plant to stand in for a
pine. This year, I heard that there might be trees worth checking out on "Plant Street" in the Satwa neighborhood. I mentioned Satwa in a recent
post, declaring it my new favorite neighborhood for all of the fabric
and trim shops but I hadn't yet seen this "Plant Street"- in quotation marks because while that's what people call it, that's not it's name on a map, it's Hubaida Street near the Iranian Hospital, which is, by the way, partially covered in beautiful tile work. So off I went.
The one major drawback to Satwa is the lack of parking and the metro
wasn't going to be an option here. I found a place on a side street and
walked on over. There were trucks of cut pines all the way from Canada
mostly. They were selling for roughly $100US and up and we're pretty
uniform in size and shape ( about 5-6 ft tall and <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa28iIcd8vHPAFWxWfJ9ZG8qXtJuI3xN55tNOUYuZExxZdhraJjJhbgSFuuTUlAvdCF7NewDfM1vON2XSxrjn6i6SqnncK1OdXaai5HhaUL8U3UUyo_1nIQlh8itEOP75iBzH_q30ReY/s1600/DSCN5402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJa28iIcd8vHPAFWxWfJ9ZG8qXtJuI3xN55tNOUYuZExxZdhraJjJhbgSFuuTUlAvdCF7NewDfM1vON2XSxrjn6i6SqnncK1OdXaai5HhaUL8U3UUyo_1nIQlh8itEOP75iBzH_q30ReY/s1600/DSCN5402.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">loading up the tree, city skyline</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
very triangular).
There were takers for sure but I didn't want to go that route. I
considered a pomegranate sapling because I loved my pomegranate tree at
my house in Vegas, but it was really a baby and I didn't think a pot on
my 14th floor balcony was going to be an environment where it would thrive and
fruit. I did ask if they had any other pomegranates, just out of
curiosity, and learned that if I wanted say, a dozen, anything would be
possible. Bulk buying can be customized. For one, nope, they had what
they had. Might have something different in a few weeks. The bushier fig
plant was a contender but for similar reasons, rejected. An
interestingly woven lucky bamboo plant challenged me to think about
where I might hang ornaments but in the end, I couldn't resist the
little table top pine in a pot. Also, I had no clue how I would have lugged the heavier potted fig back to my back street parking spot. As it was, it was pretty funny to stroll down the block, past the Indian cafe, hugging a tiny pine. As the sun set over the city, I packed up my tree. I needed to stop for gas on the way home and I had a nice exchange with the man working at the pump. He shyly asked,<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGJKsgS1zKbwGi2cWi_etiisdC0I-hTH2ZJRiXKJaxhWtWfRZpU3kRQkPSnucJ5ylRJoyM0DmFmn1EswfpLV5d_XKe6hjhcZF0e8d6wSZEsryUZKYMdZ85RQCu5fElHkO-LRlOQD7mK4/s1600/DSCN5404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGJKsgS1zKbwGi2cWi_etiisdC0I-hTH2ZJRiXKJaxhWtWfRZpU3kRQkPSnucJ5ylRJoyM0DmFmn1EswfpLV5d_XKe6hjhcZF0e8d6wSZEsryUZKYMdZ85RQCu5fElHkO-LRlOQD7mK4/s1600/DSCN5404.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding with a fir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Madam, is that a tree for Christmas, I ask because I have just yesterday also found one tree for Christmas...<br />
<br />
Me: Yes, yes it is. So you celebrate Christmas? (many people here are Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim and don't)<br />
<br />
Him (earnestly, with hand on heart): Madam, I am Roman Catholic<br />
<br />
Me: Well let me wish you a very Merry Christmas then<br />
<br />
Him (extending his hand to shake): And to you as well, and in advance, may I also wish you a happy new year!<br />
<br />
<br />
With that happy wish, I brought my little tree home, set it up near my faux
fireplace, made of cardboard wine and small furniture boxes. I created it in a fit of maniacal craftiness.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoTTHbOsvIQeCLENtyYiaAfSwU82tlbh7uwHL8qr0zYIJlPgEFMkVtUOMIxs71oda7KkPWz0WM-ksViA5RtOeJukogRC4nnappejcLq6EerKucqeBBEg5iWeV4u4C1mRyn0JU0Pptga4/s1600/IMG_0550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoTTHbOsvIQeCLENtyYiaAfSwU82tlbh7uwHL8qr0zYIJlPgEFMkVtUOMIxs71oda7KkPWz0WM-ksViA5RtOeJukogRC4nnappejcLq6EerKucqeBBEg5iWeV4u4C1mRyn0JU0Pptga4/s1600/IMG_0550.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">both trees</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The very next morning in the elevator I ran into a fellow ZU faculty
member with an apartment a few floors up but only until February when
he's moving on to new things. <br />
<br />
Martin: Right then, have you got the holidays sorted, tree and all?<br />
<br />
Me: Just picked up a tiny table top pine last night!<br />
<br />
Martin: Rubbish,
you must have the posh 6 foot tree I've got. I'm getting rid of everything. Fancy a set of golf clubs too? <br />
<br />
So
I am now the proud owner of a used faux evergreen that came with a set
of fancy lights that cycle through all kinds of twinkling patterns and a
truly ridiculous amount of tinsel garland. And a table top live pine (quite a relief that now the pressure if off to
keep the little table top pine alive until next December). It's beginning to look a lot
like Christmas, the halls are decked, fa la la la.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the cardboard fireplace</td></tr>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-87340544870712463672014-11-25T08:18:00.001-08:002017-04-30T04:41:25.761-07:00the end of bad hair season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AwcJx4Czu3fNSdaFbbrV5qk0Z8scFt4lOFnf62MZdL81c6EO8_PeUyKm53wCkyyBDevked92r4LhHYiqOsXIu9M0pP-v8jTsBenh20V6MHepTuuM3wRQhjG3n8uQbJt8u7OK9YFlaC4/s1600/IMG_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AwcJx4Czu3fNSdaFbbrV5qk0Z8scFt4lOFnf62MZdL81c6EO8_PeUyKm53wCkyyBDevked92r4LhHYiqOsXIu9M0pP-v8jTsBenh20V6MHepTuuM3wRQhjG3n8uQbJt8u7OK9YFlaC4/s1600/IMG_0119.JPG" width="320" /></a>I've started seeing pictures and hearing stories from friends and family about snow and freezing temps in the US. Meanwhile here in the sandbox, it's become glorious outside after a long sweaty summer. I'm not trying to gloat (much). This is our reward for surviving months of swampy heat, humidity and bad hair days. Most people are pretty surprised when I mention the humidity. I was surprised when by it when I started looking into living here. I guess it's due to living on the Arabian Gulf. We get so much humidity, actually, that sometimes we have fog.</div>
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We also get rain, kind of infrequently, but it's not unheard of and actually, rainy days are on the rise due to a program of cloud seeding. I'd heard of cloud seeding schemes only as a hoax used to swindle desperate farmers out of the last of their money during the dust bowl days in the US but apparently the technology has come a long way. The UAE has a Cloud Seeding Operations Section at the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology and, for the past 15 years, has been using primarily salts and/or trace amounts of silver iodide to make it rain up in here (more often out in the emirates closer to the mountains where they have dams and reservoirs to fill.). They need a good shaped cloud to start with and the right updraft conditions, then they send the pilots up to shoot up the clouds. Kinda cool, even if I don't much like precipitation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NFGsDkuH82lZKogt3Xpo7C19wldilsxNDHnyeU_yU1P5ZTFuJFSq2ymTmfB1s4PUfMYqUNELh-40FfRQ-8npoBIUE5SVjD7te8_Qnewou5tRyHdyrb8NDO0SyLXMgEEYrnjNxpyM63Q/s1600/10526034_10152389529808143_218857008898730315_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NFGsDkuH82lZKogt3Xpo7C19wldilsxNDHnyeU_yU1P5ZTFuJFSq2ymTmfB1s4PUfMYqUNELh-40FfRQ-8npoBIUE5SVjD7te8_Qnewou5tRyHdyrb8NDO0SyLXMgEEYrnjNxpyM63Q/s1600/10526034_10152389529808143_218857008898730315_n.jpg" width="146" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWywpTZWGGDXL1Hyy7XZGayyZTIa6bSrotoOAKyGgstyfw5chQrj6uExYbK4KG_D5uvOIjw22qaUbjyc9lQS0wK2RvZ47ywa17TUB07MtUJR57qmJrHdtSY9o3lEyW8F4Fmxrq_Lga4L8/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWywpTZWGGDXL1Hyy7XZGayyZTIa6bSrotoOAKyGgstyfw5chQrj6uExYbK4KG_D5uvOIjw22qaUbjyc9lQS0wK2RvZ47ywa17TUB07MtUJR57qmJrHdtSY9o3lEyW8F4Fmxrq_Lga4L8/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG" width="149" /></a>Another weather-ish phenomena we get is the sandstorm! Now I've seem Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, and the Mission Impossible movie set in Dubai and I expected a Hollywood style wall of sand, roiling it's way toward the city. I was both relieved and a little disappointed to witness my first sandstorm. I had to clarify with several people, "So is this a sandstorm, then?" when I looked outside and the sky was kind of yellowish green and gritty looking. I did see one sort of roll in from the desert from my apartment balcony one day. It wasn't a wall but there was clearly blue sky in one direction and not in the other... and then the not-blue-sky bits just kind of expanded. The picture on the left is more or less the same view as the picture on the right, just in the middle of a sandstorm. Looks a little like the fog, huh? It's thicker and dirtier and leaves behind more of a mess.</div>
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But this past month, no rain, no fog, no sandstorms and big drops in humidity. It's beach weather by day, sitting out by the creek weather at night. This is the season to visit, my friends!</div>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-18539998176491631982014-11-11T11:09:00.000-08:002017-04-30T04:40:19.292-07:00Halloween<br />
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For my first Halloween in the Middle East, I wanted to go for a bit of a local flare so I decided to dress as Cleopatra and to try to evoke a little "curse of the mummy" spookiness. I knew, from arriving last year in early December, that Christmas gets a lot of play, the shops are full of twinkling trees and Santas, there are events featuring fake snow and real penguins, and so on. But how was a made-in-America holiday featuring witches, ghosts and devils gonna fly in a fairly religious country? There were no bags of candy corns showing up on shelves in August, even 3 weeks out, in early October, when I went in search of a plastic skull for my meathead, I was told to come back in a week or two for Halloween items. I knew I'd have to improvise.<br />
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First, I made a cat mummy. I was going to just shape him out of plastic grocery bags, pillow filler and packing tape, but then I kinda liked the look of the packing tape and, it turns out that they don't really sell gauze strips here. Gauze pads, clever gauze tubes to slip over all kinds of wounds, ace bandages, but no rolls of gauze to wrap a mummy cat. so his final outer layer is packing tape.<br />
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I had a sheet I was prepared to tear into strips to make my larger human mummy project but it was going to take way more grocery bags than i had on hand to shape this guy. Water bottles, milk bottles, a plastic bucket that had been filled with candy, a shoe box, a packing box, a thin synthetic IKEA comforter that didn't fit my beds... my mummy is a regular recyclers dream and is about the size of a 10 year old.<br />
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I did find some Halloween decorations in stores- a surprisingly good selection at the Choithrams which is an Indian owned chain? We made canoptic jars (for the storage of organs in the mummification process) from Pringles cans and salt dough, I covered boxes with craft paper and hieroglyphics for bricks, used crumpled pieces of brown paper bags (covered with more hieroglyphics) to finger paint out messages in blood red paint from the cursed, taped spiders and webs to the wall and called it decorated.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JI3jeY0-u_MartDhwZXXpVolKJu5XQRijby6Kqav1psv5xB3rcM3xC6SAexegeQQC0EDsdVkF2tw6WghFVi0FIYkp_x_f5L2qvXzgRKXLKmhL6JKsOm2sSWCmjjvDGN34xEuxG724tM/s1600/IMG_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JI3jeY0-u_MartDhwZXXpVolKJu5XQRijby6Kqav1psv5xB3rcM3xC6SAexegeQQC0EDsdVkF2tw6WghFVi0FIYkp_x_f5L2qvXzgRKXLKmhL6JKsOm2sSWCmjjvDGN34xEuxG724tM/s320/IMG_0455.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXEkuJyjiJDp5QOUpILB0ZAZUeeIgRAAjx0XFZCO3EfXlDNO75IaZc9MWGFT1Vge3jnY_ese9wP609si6mDrM861q5WPFhZ1eIi5PeN2GvYwAqLdngSb9DNIee_7Zpp1x703vNqUIwxs/s1600/IMG_1743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMXEkuJyjiJDp5QOUpILB0ZAZUeeIgRAAjx0XFZCO3EfXlDNO75IaZc9MWGFT1Vge3jnY_ese9wP609si6mDrM861q5WPFhZ1eIi5PeN2GvYwAqLdngSb9DNIee_7Zpp1x703vNqUIwxs/s200/IMG_1743.JPG" width="200" /></a>A few grocery stores sold traditional bright orange jack-o-lantern style pumpkins imported from the US but they were going for about $5 per pound, and pumpkins are pretty heavy fruit. I decided to take advantage of some other more local produce options and to try out carving a papaya and pineapple. Also, we picked up a few local pumpkins, kind of a yellow/ green color and typically a bit smaller than US jack-o-lanterns, but pretty good carvers. The papaya was a nice surprise- the orange flesh inside glowed really vibrantly. And the pineapple stem made for cute "hair". And we could eat the "guts" as we scooped them!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDnCTfSmsh11IVZOOvBdOAIxg5lVcWBuayXTIke31KBPG5TLlClKynavoSd6YXsCy2r45EztvoZNGUViIZMWXOYN-0Obm8oXnac91JzsU3Q_3ihXnd3QghAdCJ7FQIJVDdOvTkQVQZzw/s1600/IMG_0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDnCTfSmsh11IVZOOvBdOAIxg5lVcWBuayXTIke31KBPG5TLlClKynavoSd6YXsCy2r45EztvoZNGUViIZMWXOYN-0Obm8oXnac91JzsU3Q_3ihXnd3QghAdCJ7FQIJVDdOvTkQVQZzw/s320/IMG_0470.JPG" width="239" /></a>I did my usual food spread with the meathead (in the end my sister sent a plastic skull which arrived just in the nick of time!) and a watermelon brain and the stuffed date roaches (scarab beetles this year). I also added a pyrex dish full of "intestines" (brie and chutney in puff pastry tubes, coiled in the dish in a creepy way) and a friend made witch finger cookies.<br />
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Bringing my favorite holiday to Dubai went pretty well! Just wait until next year.<br />
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dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-62925297052358794842014-10-11T11:30:00.000-07:002017-04-30T04:38:08.793-07:00it's a colorful day in the neighborhood!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXb1XTbPoiP1YI0S5otYG2_PaChjZifDV3quIiRmwcjJ3eCy3wxI4Yp_VOBZQs1kB885Ru4QhDzPBqJ-G_nhKWJTvX4UbQCiJ33qNb7jskZT_7l_3WeXjtFqMlaolLkFPWj08UZB8bv8/s1600/DSCN5044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXb1XTbPoiP1YI0S5otYG2_PaChjZifDV3quIiRmwcjJ3eCy3wxI4Yp_VOBZQs1kB885Ru4QhDzPBqJ-G_nhKWJTvX4UbQCiJ33qNb7jskZT_7l_3WeXjtFqMlaolLkFPWj08UZB8bv8/s1600/DSCN5044.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Satwa</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZldaiyW-LTFHhyphenhyphenvFsnLTM565FTIxpFH8yt4eLHnLl2e2VsI5lU7JHWvdLBcAgjRduiZ3HymeL92K3QgZnju8KJYkgsSXEQAEEhHInmczM_p6md9eA4ugnMLAJ1wSSnTp-MwxpDbOr0p4/s1600/DSCN5045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZldaiyW-LTFHhyphenhyphenvFsnLTM565FTIxpFH8yt4eLHnLl2e2VsI5lU7JHWvdLBcAgjRduiZ3HymeL92K3QgZnju8KJYkgsSXEQAEEhHInmczM_p6md9eA4ugnMLAJ1wSSnTp-MwxpDbOr0p4/s1600/DSCN5045.JPG" width="200" /></a>Al Satwa is my current favorite Dubai neighborhood and I haven't even had dinner at its hallmark Pakistani restaurant, Ravi. More goodness to look forward to! This funky 'hood is packed full of fabric and notions shops, not to mention tailors and the ubiquitous "General Trading" stores. There's a lively vibe- unless you come in the middle of the day as places close up for a long lunch between about noon and 4PM- but without the hard sell, pushiness of Karama (another neighborhood with fun goods on offer, mentioned in my previous post about the gold facial.) I've gone twice recently as part of my Halloween costume preparations.<br />
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I needed a drapey, flowing dress for the costume base. I decided to give the tailors a try. I brought along a dress with a good fit and style but with flowers all over (Cleopatra is not workin the tuber roses) and then we went into Regal Fabrics, one of the bigger fabric shops. The choice was overwhelming. Luckily we got help and keeping to a budget and a solid color also made it possible to walk out of there without my head exploding. So many rich and varied fabrics!<br />
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The fabric store guy walked us down the street to their recommended tailor for a "same same" job. I handed them the fabric and the model dress and they quoted me the price. It was a little more spendy than I expected but I guess it's because the dress is full of gathers and folds and the necessary drapey-ness. And really, upon further consideration, I realized, it's a custom made, floor length dress for under $50 (not counting the material cost) so really, not bad. And I intentionally chose something I can wear again without golden and bejeweled accessories when I'm just being me and not a long-dead Egyptian empress. They were a little busy with the Eid holiday but I wasn't in a big rush so we agreed, two weeks later I'd pick it up. And that's what happened. It's crazy how exactly it matches the model dress. When I went in to pick it up there was a woman with pictures from magazines having her measurements taken. I could really see this becoming a cool but expensive habit: pick some of the amazing fabric, pair it with a magazine photo of a dream dress, have it custom made...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik67gXM_0CuySWgN5G9kWA23jiKp4tuyp2BF4s7HaW7EegsvEdmmYGe3KbtoE7YdyftmoaK7iPnvGE3_fKwV0os_XcC2udBdhG5qXpOPb8uCyhk1MUsqeTcFzcHdu6LxKUwVSzqWQYcEs/s1600/DSCN5043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik67gXM_0CuySWgN5G9kWA23jiKp4tuyp2BF4s7HaW7EegsvEdmmYGe3KbtoE7YdyftmoaK7iPnvGE3_fKwV0os_XcC2udBdhG5qXpOPb8uCyhk1MUsqeTcFzcHdu6LxKUwVSzqWQYcEs/s1600/DSCN5043.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">trim!</td></tr>
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We also visited the "notions" shops. Ribbons and beads, trim and buttons. The trim, though! I have to come up with some project to make with this stuff. I think I may just glue strips of it to a board and call it art. It's fantastical- embroidered and sparkly, brightly colored... <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESdcYH__Dao03tsxKvs9EyDDv2iWq-4LsInj9VkOHr96NCLC6tVoSxChr-QOjKql17F2gP4_wLAm4ujwL5Vk1a8zPmpRv8wSzBtdyZjJPChXFWMQDi1OKhr4t07LbqDRK6Bs88kUSfmE/s1600/DSCN5046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESdcYH__Dao03tsxKvs9EyDDv2iWq-4LsInj9VkOHr96NCLC6tVoSxChr-QOjKql17F2gP4_wLAm4ujwL5Vk1a8zPmpRv8wSzBtdyZjJPChXFWMQDi1OKhr4t07LbqDRK6Bs88kUSfmE/s1600/DSCN5046.JPG" width="320" /></a>Another thing they sell in Satwa is majlis seating. A majlis is a kind of traditional sitting room/ receiving room characterized by low cushions and armrests- I really wanted some majlis seating for my apartment both so there'd be more places to hang out and because the cushions can double as comfy spare bed set ups for party goers who opt not to try for home. They typically feature a lot of red. With the red couches in my living room, I wanted something a little less bold. We met a shop guy, his name is Mohammed, who'd made a little Barbie sized version of the majlis. I may have to go back and see if he'll sell me a mini version to go with my full sized one. We negotiated (OK not really, I took his price because it was reasonable and he was such a smiley guy) and then Mohammad's nephew ran us around the block to the workshop to load up the car and then later at my apartment, Michelle helped me cram it all in the mini shopping carts we have in the building. It's a fold-able couch! <br />
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dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-79261918962101870152014-10-09T07:44:00.000-07:002017-04-30T04:36:16.213-07:00got gas?Just a quick post on a bit of everyday life: fueling up. The price for
gas, or petrol as it’s often called here, is cheap. It’s quite the story
problem to calculate, converting liters to gallons and dirham to
dollars but I think I figured
out that it hovers around $2 per gallon. What was it when I was in the
US last summer? About $4 per gallon? Despite the great prices in the
UAE, we still suffer a little pain at the pump. Here, the problem is the
lines. All stations in the UAE are full service
stations, there is no pump-your-own choice. The pumps tend to look like
they were installed in the 1970s but that’s unlikely as most of the
stations I visit probably didn’t exist in the 70s. Heck, the road that
the station is on might not have existed in the
70s. But still, slow, non-digital pumps without credit card readers are
the norm in this otherwise tech-mad environment. Turns out, the vast majority
of cars have the gas tank on the driver’s side. And these old style
pumps have short hoses that will only reach the
tank on the near side of the car. And the station flow of traffic is
very regulated, no flipping a u turn to come at the pumps from the other
side, everyone must enter one direction and drive through in the same
direction. So those lucky so and sos with a
gas tank on the passenger side rarely have a wait while those of us in
the big majority sit in a line, waiting while the digits on the pump
slowly flip to fill the tanks of the other half dozen people ahead of
us…<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzt8RzyNumfSj0LTmuV5wXg6MJtzAIJD6r85UvvbzqllxSuLnjHJaPSiu-o3Z_3mgdaRLQ19jzdHsQ59KLOhqnTvON-10zyqWQX2qNBXGN55q4ZeEA1QHZY9oJsOtYgXkJBhC2hyebyE/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzt8RzyNumfSj0LTmuV5wXg6MJtzAIJD6r85UvvbzqllxSuLnjHJaPSiu-o3Z_3mgdaRLQ19jzdHsQ59KLOhqnTvON-10zyqWQX2qNBXGN55q4ZeEA1QHZY9oJsOtYgXkJBhC2hyebyE/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gas lines</td></tr>
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dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-1062189449121085882014-09-23T11:56:00.000-07:002017-04-30T04:35:09.715-07:00Critters<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHROiki1GTZtXtH2SJdh9-tUSd1tphhSf3h60CWKpPK2BDpIyfBw-MppmGS7Xk11Ll3NvG5cQBZxvem4d7tKNfQhDDznEvGwJaFwHU1AfzsJtExPfowciExit5BMM0IXNapQbilFuPSZs/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHROiki1GTZtXtH2SJdh9-tUSd1tphhSf3h60CWKpPK2BDpIyfBw-MppmGS7Xk11Ll3NvG5cQBZxvem4d7tKNfQhDDznEvGwJaFwHU1AfzsJtExPfowciExit5BMM0IXNapQbilFuPSZs/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">baby mynah fueling up before flying lessons</td></tr>
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During my first week of work at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, I
was chatting excitedly with the Provost about having seen a real live
moose in the woods while hiking the weekend before. He was kind enough
not to roll his eyes at me, but as I learned later, moose were regulars at his place in Park City. They were pesky eaters of young trees
and would wander into garages in his neighborhood.<br />
<br />
I've seen
people in parks take dozens of pictures of chipmunks, the same little
rodents that my mom catches in a trap to release across
town to try to mitigate the damage they do burrowing up the lawn.<br />
<br />
It's
funny how the critters you see all the time in a place can start to become
less impressive.It hasn't happened here yet though! Much like in the desert around Las Vegas, wildlife
sightings here are a little less ubiquitous and still exciting
and impressive.<br />
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Birds are by far the animals I see the most of.
There are the pigeons and- one time a baby mynah and parents- on my
14th floor window sill, the flamingos In Ras Al Khor (translates, I think, to Head
of the Creek)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqte7ghyLCY3v09L6c-3LsFV4H37Sh3DIQyzJj4-M8bDnp_nFUO1MbAOpFCW1yvL9ylvKXznmAL5RJDFwu8EO4t11JCJ4BioStehjvg7xmeu00TbaodgGtHKyTt5r8asC7xCgWtXkRag/s1600/DSCN4172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqte7ghyLCY3v09L6c-3LsFV4H37Sh3DIQyzJj4-M8bDnp_nFUO1MbAOpFCW1yvL9ylvKXznmAL5RJDFwu8EO4t11JCJ4BioStehjvg7xmeu00TbaodgGtHKyTt5r8asC7xCgWtXkRag/s1600/DSCN4172.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ras al Khor flamingos</td></tr>
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that I pass on the way to/ from work everyday and the
fantastic variety that I see on the ZU grounds. In he courtyard there
are little white cheeked bulbuls with bright yellow or red under-bums.
On the lawns at the entrance I often see water birds like white egrets or along the sandy road side, little chukkar-like game birds. Every now and again I see this crazy awesome bird strutting
around on the ground. It looks a bit like a woodpecker but apparently
it's a hoopoe- and instead of pecking at trees/ wood, it pokes its beak into the ground to pull up tasty insects, and if they're a little large to swallow, it bashes them against the ground or a <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yVJpMAqLSsbnSeq3Ks4Pt4BIb8duGlfebZJIn40LYRfyt5FfT9REMLeVabrzzvVpW0aIU4cm968jZwgOotFq7oW7H2MPKCT2GlymnsJLqvz5Cs1FNbDi8zZoAorxpA4ynzi9pT0Nu0A/s1600/hoopoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yVJpMAqLSsbnSeq3Ks4Pt4BIb8duGlfebZJIn40LYRfyt5FfT9REMLeVabrzzvVpW0aIU4cm968jZwgOotFq7oW7H2MPKCT2GlymnsJLqvz5Cs1FNbDi8zZoAorxpA4ynzi9pT0Nu0A/s1600/hoopoe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">must confess, not my photo, but a great shot of the hoopoe</td></tr>
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rock to knock off wings or legs. I just love how dramatic its crown and coloring. Apparently they can spread open those crown feathers in a fan- got to catch that kind of preening at some point!<br />
<br />
A few weekends ago, Michelle and Layla and I went to the Arabian Wildlife Center in Sharjah Desert Park to learn what other critters are in the area. This place was great- it's an indoor zoo! In a climate like this, what a concept. And it was surprisingly large and also had a very modest entry fee for the whole Desert Park which also includes a Natural History Museum, a petting zoo and a botanical museum- but the Wildlife Center was the star attraction. I figured being indoors there'd mostly be rodents and reptiles- <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhDKxyK6WHWP1-sMOWvrHX1yobi_QK2QZVH8eCAsNn7ZGldhRRfWQyfswppdF84NtECNrODD0ZO5KmX4VE6w6MuOOScgGDH8jXV0PSYp_neBDoXLF1K7hgBM9rJE6NqSvvqJePYn9Uh8/s1600/DSCN4979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhDKxyK6WHWP1-sMOWvrHX1yobi_QK2QZVH8eCAsNn7ZGldhRRfWQyfswppdF84NtECNrODD0ZO5KmX4VE6w6MuOOScgGDH8jXV0PSYp_neBDoXLF1K7hgBM9rJE6NqSvvqJePYn9Uh8/s1600/DSCN4979.JPG" width="240" /></a>which they did have plenty of! But they also had wild cats of various types and sizes, even a cheetah (the cheetah was outside, but we viewed it from inside), and jackals and foxes, porcupines and bats, an aviary room, some ungulates (mostly oryx- also outside), an Arabian wolf, orangutangs and a little cafe. All the animals at the center can be found (or could be found before they were hunted to local extinction) on the Arabian peninsula. The sheer variety of subspecies of gerbils was pretty staggering. My favorite reptile was this weird creature called the Sandfish (or <i>scincus scincus</i> for the biologist types) that burrows, or swims under the surface of the sand, we weren't allowed to take photos in the wildlife center, sadly, but you can see a really quick video of one diving under the sand here: <a href="http://youtu.be/d4hEhgosKfg">http://youtu.be/d4hEhgosKfg </a><br />
<br />
As it starts to cool off and I get to do more camping, I'm guessing I might spot a few of the reptiles, rodents and insects we saw at the wildlife center. On my one overnight in the Abu Dhabi desert so far, I didn't run into anything but in the morning, it was clear they'd been around! <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOna-7Vsub5Xlp1uZZKAA4Gm0IC2xdp9lBv6mkAU3QbIa8L9aXXv7ieq1A7HOK2y01HvYeuB4OUUGjmxkcjTH5yh37jG-EOPi1a46LQp1YRCWHNRu0N0LcYYslp1alnG0jC8YBUfULGU/s1600/DSCN4619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOna-7Vsub5Xlp1uZZKAA4Gm0IC2xdp9lBv6mkAU3QbIa8L9aXXv7ieq1A7HOK2y01HvYeuB4OUUGjmxkcjTH5yh37jG-EOPi1a46LQp1YRCWHNRu0N0LcYYslp1alnG0jC8YBUfULGU/s1600/DSCN4619.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">camping: morning after tracks. gerbil?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-57064808566596485102014-08-26T09:25:00.000-07:002017-04-30T04:33:08.844-07:00Travel Happens<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANIzNpm2qVtTlm-SFNXFoo9XZ6AsXu5wpcaW3OwsFjI6yID-6D5e8gPkgnT7ITBSZvZMTVIGg_r9XRF4z8YfhzgTvlr5xiWgKQoknhlkP2shKp2BUtnw2GoXlmgB1ZD5BuUKxswAgyGU/s1600/DSCN4751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANIzNpm2qVtTlm-SFNXFoo9XZ6AsXu5wpcaW3OwsFjI6yID-6D5e8gPkgnT7ITBSZvZMTVIGg_r9XRF4z8YfhzgTvlr5xiWgKQoknhlkP2shKp2BUtnw2GoXlmgB1ZD5BuUKxswAgyGU/s1600/DSCN4751.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0DTpFs5fwbYeRHqR59c4Ld2ursBzZWre0L6vModt5ueIBkHTlRunynYWYWEAvQkGL5Yupvw84LrJ88SKZjHqS_aJBA1W67_L4BRneBfpkEcU6E-Qbh5klsRwgFoQSmyH3_LxQxyY0WQ/s1600/DSCN4675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0DTpFs5fwbYeRHqR59c4Ld2ursBzZWre0L6vModt5ueIBkHTlRunynYWYWEAvQkGL5Yupvw84LrJ88SKZjHqS_aJBA1W67_L4BRneBfpkEcU6E-Qbh5klsRwgFoQSmyH3_LxQxyY0WQ/s1600/DSCN4675.JPG" width="320" /></a>Before I moved to Dubai I read the blogs of several strangers and
acquaintances. I always skimmed or skipped over the bits when they wrote
about their holidays in Istanbul or Washington DC, their visits to
Petra and the Taj Mahal. I didn't want travelogues, I wanted
day-to-day-life-logues. I've got to admit, however, that travel really
IS day to day life here for many, including me. I've already blogged
about my travels to Muscat and Socotra Island, so far I've let the Doha
and Beirut trips pass without writing but I'll partway remedy that with
this post, but first, a word on my first trip back to the US.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiTqHFBK3BgD7PLKfjLyMNRN0xrJzmd0LUmPayadE5dMsdGnf-K3Q5x3mEmuQ5cyudLM58XLNRqZUUBgomlHcZp6Laq9eUIodv0FHekMOmK_jv22oIdfUz32Velg6eGZuptudmomtF4U/s1600/DSCN4871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiTqHFBK3BgD7PLKfjLyMNRN0xrJzmd0LUmPayadE5dMsdGnf-K3Q5x3mEmuQ5cyudLM58XLNRqZUUBgomlHcZp6Laq9eUIodv0FHekMOmK_jv22oIdfUz32Velg6eGZuptudmomtF4U/s1600/DSCN4871.JPG" width="320" /></a>I won't
detail my itinerary, many of you readers got to enjoy part of it with
me. Suffice to say I was lucky enough to do a full western US ramble
with camping, friends and family, exquisite slot canyons and
neighborhood BBQ, geysers and kayaks, ferris wheels, neon and mountain
picnics, oh my! And I got to laze away another chunk of time in the
Midwest: beaches and berries, more family, all manner of farm critters
and sweet corn and pork! There was shopping more familiar sizes and less
rhinestone covered shoes, stocking up on Trader Joe's treats and random
OTC meds. There was, most of all, a sense of comfort that is still
lacking in the UAE. I'll get there, I think, but now, doing the business
of living- things like grocery shopping and finding an address- is
still not entirely normal. But I'm figuring it all out, little by
little. I've got the art of the weekend trip in hand and have been
checking out regional cities, north and south, east and west of here.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6nzHlPNiXfQoiqDa7oH8BfpXTjr7sWy-YR18kgCQIkkjzdaHxbdCTxkYBTQZO9vbTVGT7bBHJbpxobHtvGxVKCf-TRoAceV0cyik0be74K60Trpu5a4-DghHuxOEEd67RPBS4pyPSn0/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6nzHlPNiXfQoiqDa7oH8BfpXTjr7sWy-YR18kgCQIkkjzdaHxbdCTxkYBTQZO9vbTVGT7bBHJbpxobHtvGxVKCf-TRoAceV0cyik0be74K60Trpu5a4-DghHuxOEEd67RPBS4pyPSn0/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">empty airport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkL3WsQaCRi_DOCcZFX-5RBJ93iq3bYrH5fahP8RhAQYobKi6gM8DG19TsQnJEMKJdhd8v3TcImPyTGoozBOXPIW0UMbbns2RmhkWRSV_CqC6-q937iJnFCy4L-q-i-iQ2enLeAjSH5k/s1600/IMG_0238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkL3WsQaCRi_DOCcZFX-5RBJ93iq3bYrH5fahP8RhAQYobKi6gM8DG19TsQnJEMKJdhd8v3TcImPyTGoozBOXPIW0UMbbns2RmhkWRSV_CqC6-q937iJnFCy4L-q-i-iQ2enLeAjSH5k/s1600/IMG_0238.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">performing arts venue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back in May, I went to Doha, Qatar to
visit my friend Carol who is library director for VCU's campus
there. We flew into Doha's shiny new, slightly unfinished airport. We
were the only plane on the many runways, the only passengers in the very
high
tech, top of the line passport control lines. This experience set the
tone for the rest of the weekend for me. My overall impression of Doha
is that it is <br />
still becoming... We visited a gorgeous cultural village
with a Coloseum-like performing arts venue and well laid out art
galleries. It was a ghost town. We went to an intimate jazz club for a
show by <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-zc-luDZOtGsPY6tsx_sZUz9lWtuqiqXbXlxo0Pr56hnazrLG2G2DIVz_l2zwqzCh6UBLc9PXRhng4zBeAv64aXCxXNjB4Rylzv3-iSgHaL5uIo3Q9DlHhqBdKLZp4Ei5kRxUuaoC1g/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-zc-luDZOtGsPY6tsx_sZUz9lWtuqiqXbXlxo0Pr56hnazrLG2G2DIVz_l2zwqzCh6UBLc9PXRhng4zBeAv64aXCxXNjB4Rylzv3-iSgHaL5uIo3Q9DlHhqBdKLZp4Ei5kRxUuaoC1g/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carol's view with dirt island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
world class musicians and the very small room didn't fill. Carol
has an apartment on an island complex with a fantastic balcony view of a
man made harbor full of yachts and a funny dirt island that is rumored
to be the site of a future low rise, high cost hotel but for now is
nothing, unused, gated off. Walking around the shopping arcades on the
ground level of Carol's building we saw dueling luxury car dealers (was
it Maserati and Porsche?), some haute couture, and a lot of empty
spaces, available for lease. <br />
<br />
There seems to be an interest from Qatar's ruling family to make Doha a center for arts in the region and some of the investment toward this <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacTMCgSic_g5UaovJ_DxddEcSa9-IdHKQI9W37264x0MB4d390iYS-j0YZ0ZIVoZsSxsCE_cftM54Aei-9SfugIjW_psmSiPqPHOBBX7sKxJJvFuM-cda-T8qsqpVcP4Q4Rwy4AYI2Eo/s1600/IMG_0243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacTMCgSic_g5UaovJ_DxddEcSa9-IdHKQI9W37264x0MB4d390iYS-j0YZ0ZIVoZsSxsCE_cftM54Aei-9SfugIjW_psmSiPqPHOBBX7sKxJJvFuM-cda-T8qsqpVcP4Q4Rwy4AYI2Eo/s1600/IMG_0243.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum of Islamic Art</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
goal is remarkable. The Museum of Islamic Art had cool collections, a great gift shop, and was housed in a striking building designed by I.M. Pei. We took a ride out into the desert to see an installation piece by Richard Serra that is massive in scale is is only one of several of his pieces in Qatar. The artworks, the jazz, the cultural village and more... there's this investment of money, but they seem to be still teetering on the brink of the whole "if you build it, they will come" phenomena. Will "they" come? And who is the target anyhow? Qataris? Ex-pats? I couldn't get a handle on it. I liked Doha, other than some crappy traffic problems, it seemed very live-able. I found it lovely to look at, well done from a design stand point, but maybe lacking in a little liveliness or spark. Maybe still poised for full launch, with just one <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A814CqIlEKb_CnnwGmusCoLk-SqfeKrLQqi6J_7gezxrSOFry0hHFeX9rC8EjRbmVVf6LeWez5h4TpRpuQscGeVmthj110VfHqf7-8Mdow4eqAPDSATQ1KtcNLAVSNsVHByUGL63Jqo/s1600/IMG_0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A814CqIlEKb_CnnwGmusCoLk-SqfeKrLQqi6J_7gezxrSOFry0hHFeX9rC8EjRbmVVf6LeWez5h4TpRpuQscGeVmthj110VfHqf7-8Mdow4eqAPDSATQ1KtcNLAVSNsVHByUGL63Jqo/s1600/IMG_0226.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serra's piece in the desert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
airline on the runway for now....dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-59781137426685656762014-06-14T00:15:00.002-07:002017-04-30T04:31:11.490-07:00all that glitters...A colleague and I took a chance on a groupon for gold facials, it seemed a very Dubai kind of thing, super bling. The photo with the groupon made it especially temping. But it was a groupon after all and we paid less than $20 and it was at a place called the Boutique Beauty Saloon, nope, not a typo on my part, not Salon, Saloon, in the Al Karama neighborhood. Karama being known mostly for its sprawling market selling knockoff designer handbags and watches. More on that in a bit, suffice it to say, we headed off for the facial knowing it was likely to be a bit of an adventure.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7SXryK3KVMCqsTZn3-h3ozp6G96na3X09W2bWhn4Q-sC2zEQ4W_hRzWsDxViQ2IMHppeIYIK7_eSvxcQBxLuzL2o2C344zn0ru0Zf9PBA4nHQZ3wvKPzLM3F8NOKQwFUixrocFdt54k/s1600/1397369783797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7SXryK3KVMCqsTZn3-h3ozp6G96na3X09W2bWhn4Q-sC2zEQ4W_hRzWsDxViQ2IMHppeIYIK7_eSvxcQBxLuzL2o2C344zn0ru0Zf9PBA4nHQZ3wvKPzLM3F8NOKQwFUixrocFdt54k/s1600/1397369783797.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">picture from ad for the facial</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It's hot now. Really, really stinkin' hot and the humidity makes it unrelenting. Actual temperatures are reported as only right around 100-105 F but with 60-70% humidity even a breeze or moving into the shade doesn't provide that much relief.<br />
<br />
[A quick side note on measurements: I'm doing well with the miles to kilometer conversions and I love my weight in kilos! But I can't get my brain around the Fahrenheit to Celsius thing. Just a few degrees difference in Celsius converts to bigger differences in Fahrenheit- or bigger differences in my perception of how hot it is at least. It seems to me that since I came in December, I've experienced highs between 75 and 105 F but I swear, on the radio they've only reported highs between 28 - 38 C. I hear that there's some general agreement toward rounding down the high temps in the broadcast media...]<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjn-u1kI5BmxeOfPNIWvkNlTsw5XQXCtotA0IjTFvYryAVOKP98hEBENMV5WJYEragklUZgMHMlAGjStITlft3cjFCL6tyH5nTqXJDfjwoiA0vj6JuVtgaeCa1F8Zh6Rq_fQ5iTHwtrlM/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjn-u1kI5BmxeOfPNIWvkNlTsw5XQXCtotA0IjTFvYryAVOKP98hEBENMV5WJYEragklUZgMHMlAGjStITlft3cjFCL6tyH5nTqXJDfjwoiA0vj6JuVtgaeCa1F8Zh6Rq_fQ5iTHwtrlM/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">entering the Saloon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3XslMzFwzwU3z1NfdauO_B2g_JvFUQn2vZw6Fz_H-DsGi2CUCqZMdmP9pDfSVozhLHRZ7wj2zsuGVor5ynOvR2Y6SFVlUW1oVQOVTNI3PFDTFt8cJJx00ZgAwlvaeQl2LMkdthFOpfI/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3XslMzFwzwU3z1NfdauO_B2g_JvFUQn2vZw6Fz_H-DsGi2CUCqZMdmP9pDfSVozhLHRZ7wj2zsuGVor5ynOvR2Y6SFVlUW1oVQOVTNI3PFDTFt8cJJx00ZgAwlvaeQl2LMkdthFOpfI/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">do we look golden?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgbPUUfZoWfZ0i00RUHgw9HUSRpgsdo6PTGO8v5zVK519wl3AyBh0iyepKHdzN_9C8UE6yGzO2ehspjBAnjdzKqGsrtlLQCN3zahUUkUowa57ySKEH3KBbFuRULqSX7oc7FswwnBp1hk/s1600/IMG_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgbPUUfZoWfZ0i00RUHgw9HUSRpgsdo6PTGO8v5zVK519wl3AyBh0iyepKHdzN_9C8UE6yGzO2ehspjBAnjdzKqGsrtlLQCN3zahUUkUowa57ySKEH3KBbFuRULqSX7oc7FswwnBp1hk/s1600/IMG_0211.JPG" width="149" /></a>So it's only a block or so walk from the metro station to the Saloon, however, we turn it into a bit more of a walk because there are no addresses here, things are described as being near other things and if you can't spot those other things easily... anyhow, we arrived dripping sweat at the weird little hole in the wall that was our destination. The staff handed us elastic waisted skirts that we were supposed to put on hitched up under our armpits instead of our tops and we were herded into a room with an unused pedicure station and no door to change. OK, now on to the treatment room which consisted of a couple of massage tables draped with plastic and a contraption on wheels that was combo steam wand, lighted mirror, make up table. A little low on the whole spa atmosphere and vibe. The Saloon ladies were pleasant and really, so was the facial, if a little goopy (the facial, not the ladies.) Lots of products applied and massaged (nice massage techniques employed, pressure points and all of that) into our skin, wiped off, and steamed in. They used ice used to cool down the application of some products. Finally the gold! Which was a peel off mask. We took many selfies as the mask dried, hoping to capture that golden bling look but we mostly just looked shiny and slick with goo with maybe a touch of sparkle or jaundice, depending on the angle. At least wearing the armpit skirt thing gave our shirts a good chance to dry before heading back out into the soup.<br />
<br />
Next it was off to the Karama market. A little more aimless wandering through blocks of low rise apartment buildings with lots of laundry on balconies and dripping aircon units hanging out over the sidewalks. Very different from the sleek glass and metal highrises where I live or the walled suburban villas of Mirdiff where Sarah lives. We knew we were getting close to the market area as we were approached by guys offering "handbags? watches? Coach? Louis Vuitton? sunglasses?" I learned last week at DragonMart about how there are knockoffs and then there are knockoffs. How the really good fakes are not on display in stores but are stashed in nearby apartments because selling fakes that real is not totally legal. It was way too hot to consider a foray off to some apartment storehouse and I wasn't energetic enough for the haggle and game and process involved in finding a great fake today. Another time. [Another quick side note, this time on safety: people think "oh scary Middle East" when they hear you're living in a Gulf country but I swear, the biggest danger about life in Dubai is the danger <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFWiQ4XmqLPqbPPW8_3eF055R1QpynNMabzCzZ3WsRwT3Lv2XHTJX8ovZ3vdExR5Sl0uh_NkuKi4E8-cH-z_ptrFdeLoaGn5O4UK3nd43rfJF_il8-jvQ0a6OGlv7lkN0B0ahnbSNThE/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFWiQ4XmqLPqbPPW8_3eF055R1QpynNMabzCzZ3WsRwT3Lv2XHTJX8ovZ3vdExR5Sl0uh_NkuKi4E8-cH-z_ptrFdeLoaGn5O4UK3nd43rfJF_il8-jvQ0a6OGlv7lkN0B0ahnbSNThE/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i had ice cream with unidentifiable fruit. wikipedia tells me it's sapodilla</td></tr>
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of getting fat from brunches and inactivity and of growing too accustomed to cheap housekeeping services. It's not really dodgy to head off to random apartments, or to walk through lower income housing blocks alone. In some places you might get stared at, but personal crime is remarkably low and if the newspapers are any indication, most violent crime takes place in the home between husbands and wives or maids and employers.] We shopped a few souvenir joints and browsed some others mostly for the AC in the shops before decided we had to go try to find (more confused wandering, this time down an alley that required a scramble over a small wall) an Indian ice cream place I'd heard of in Karama near Burjuman Center. Flavours is a little shop selling tasty and unusual ice cream, I had two scoops of ice cream with names and tastes I couldn't really identify: rajbhog (which when searched in google generates links to several sweet shops or companies making sweets and pictures of fried Indian dough balls in syrup but, in ice cream, tasted a bit of saffron) and chicky chikoo (which featured chiku which seems to be a fruit called sapodilla but tasted of dates or raisins.) We agreed, Karama would make a great neighborhood for a longer wander in cooler weather but that this sweaty adventure was a good preview!<br />
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<br />dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3105183086732154216.post-66216756897497867842014-06-12T10:31:00.005-07:002017-04-30T04:28:10.306-07:00carpets!I moved to the middle east with a little Arabic carpet buying experience under my belt from travels in Morocco, Turkey and Jordan and I knew that being here in the middle of the Arabian peninsula, I'd be feeding a lovely, if sometimes spendy, addiction with some regularity. And so it has come to pass that in the 6 months I've been here I've purchased 9 carpets! Two were gifts and one is only borderline considered a carpet- I currently have it on my dining room table- it's a delicate little embroidered thing that won't really spend time on my floor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN94yMxzkEnUgVNWNdXxBSMQSn8drbLCsR4MQF7ADfBsDVw-HCelU447Xbp44nDOMZesqU61u7RXOJVGy-NWjMJoGBqidq9kp6-_5L81dAk4tJmmCD5qDS-izonQvuk-0Wg6LeNIu9I8Y/s1600/photo+1+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN94yMxzkEnUgVNWNdXxBSMQSn8drbLCsR4MQF7ADfBsDVw-HCelU447Xbp44nDOMZesqU61u7RXOJVGy-NWjMJoGBqidq9kp6-_5L81dAk4tJmmCD5qDS-izonQvuk-0Wg6LeNIu9I8Y/s1600/photo+1+(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">souk is 2 buildings connected by bridges</td></tr>
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I've purchased the vast majority of these from a great Yemeni vendor named Rashed who operates the Sheeba Iranian Carpets shops in Sharjah's Blue Souk. It's good to have a carpet guy. And it's good for the carpet guy to have us- a handful of expat shoppers with friends and colleagues we'll bring along for the experience of buying. And it IS an experience.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6hRxVU-L7JK1Wkm7XDkExECHs2lL36igvI5iWoSB2ScEGHpVZnzsnXQ9K6Y8v7F9bhpM3daAYcBxqJCFtH5cZ5OfduC9YoeBnOnVW-9Ph8VexOuTWSmE_pBoBiq304oNqpiW6e8NQE4/s1600/photo+2+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6hRxVU-L7JK1Wkm7XDkExECHs2lL36igvI5iWoSB2ScEGHpVZnzsnXQ9K6Y8v7F9bhpM3daAYcBxqJCFtH5cZ5OfduC9YoeBnOnVW-9Ph8VexOuTWSmE_pBoBiq304oNqpiW6e8NQE4/s1600/photo+2+%25282%2529.JPG" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gold shop window</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ695-KyJ1mpBW49JBqK-QKQlMrE2sCDsSqpkUk4mGiNfoVh4HsI9JivTFpoMUbFfhdqSStNxis2erxzvA5pvyGKEPp6v2Pd5Y3_7PuakTd4UcslYCcO3GnDU-b2navAtHfIzbTseIjlk/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ695-KyJ1mpBW49JBqK-QKQlMrE2sCDsSqpkUk4mGiNfoVh4HsI9JivTFpoMUbFfhdqSStNxis2erxzvA5pvyGKEPp6v2Pd5Y3_7PuakTd4UcslYCcO3GnDU-b2navAtHfIzbTseIjlk/s1600/photo+4.JPG" width="200" /></a>The Blue Souk is a pretty building designed in an older style, plunked down in modern Sharjah (the Emirate/city just to the north of Dubai.) It's featured on the five dirham currency note. Carpet shops abound there, as do shops for pashminas, souvenirs and gold. The carpet shops hang beautiful knotted carpets, often in silk or sometimes wool, with fantastically intricate patterns in all colors. The hanging carpets conceal tall stacks of folded and rolled inventory which doesn't stay hidden for long when shoppers come looking.<br />
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We arrived fairly close to opening on a recent Saturday, around 10AM. I'd called to let Rashed know we were coming so he was there to greet us. These things start out a little slow... we sit, are offered a <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieO8Cr8MK-bbvxnSRXXFPExMIlgHDARFFngkCf87ald3C-9neB8FOERKnUu0cLzckeb_oxYHp7NutVBwVol6c9HmCRP0pvs9k04HerVwYK_zq_64dhZ7nu-7_as0CzkYk5gvameZlPNzk/s1600/photo+3+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieO8Cr8MK-bbvxnSRXXFPExMIlgHDARFFngkCf87ald3C-9neB8FOERKnUu0cLzckeb_oxYHp7NutVBwVol6c9HmCRP0pvs9k04HerVwYK_zq_64dhZ7nu-7_as0CzkYk5gvameZlPNzk/s1600/photo+3+%25282%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">knotted wool</td></tr>
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tea or water or soda, we start talking about what we might be looking for in terms of size, style or color and then the rugs start flying. Over the course of a few hours 2-4 people look at dozens of rugs, I should keep count some time, I wouldn't be shocked to learn we'd looked at over 100 rugs, over 200. Some it's easy to say, "No, not that." Others get draped around the sides of the room as "maybes" for awhile, sometimes later being taken down and put in a "no" pile, sometimes getting buried under other, more likely "maybes". Meanwhile, on the floor, the piles get thicker. This last visit we started with knotted wool carpets and I had a couple of strong contenders draped on the sides. Then Rashed suggested we consider some kilim (woven wool) or hybrids with carpet and kilim in one rug. I found the one, or OK, I guess the two, among those selections. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fNB62qJDEfXFajeNRs9eMiTFQaAdsg1yR2sD_TSXGUrvxwDlGxg3QPFk2Y2Ww3K3Vb6cxFPMFlP2ezGv8C-ONzGBSykck080f6reNx2r6Y2x61UDG51CqDni_k23teLCjSSG0nqVapc/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fNB62qJDEfXFajeNRs9eMiTFQaAdsg1yR2sD_TSXGUrvxwDlGxg3QPFk2Y2Ww3K3Vb6cxFPMFlP2ezGv8C-ONzGBSykck080f6reNx2r6Y2x61UDG51CqDni_k23teLCjSSG0nqVapc/s1600/photo+3.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rashed standing on a hybrid maybe that became yes</td></tr>
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While we were there, a couple from Europe came in. They were interested in some of the larger, finely done, knotted silk carpets. We were waiting on a guy to come back from the remote storage with a few carpets featuring a certain shade of blue and so we sat around and watched a bit of their carpet shopping as well. The colors on the silks are so amazingly rich and the designs so delicate. Also, it's really lovely to walk around barefoot on the silks. The wools are quite pleasant as well, don't get me wrong. Actually, my last trip to Rashed's netted me the rug under my dining room table which is a lovely soft soft wool taken from the necks of camels!<br />
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Carpets selected, deals made, extras (like getting a channel of cloth sewn on for hanging smaller carpets on a rod) negotiated and it was already lunchtime. Rashed invited us, the European couple, another random American guy who hangs out at the shop now and again, and an Irish woman who does a little PR work with him out for lunch<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the silks</td></tr>
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at a traditional sit-on-the-floor Arabic place. It was fabulous and it's just that kind of impromptu and deeply ingrained hospitality that makes me love the people of this region. Yeah, there's commerce and good business sense in building relationships with repeat customers who bring others in but there's something else too. Just a genuine sense, I think, that it's a pleasure doing business together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfVfaGLYz3wT48z_LkxxG9s8ne2kZ2YV-FeQlzo6C1PU-Mfsc8uVegsWfh0DCE6U96bHmbNp6NUNIGrm88ZdlPGZvumHGuk2794L2fGX0EfFuGxQ8LqRA4cVeC-eT0Uv0B7ghWvB5Jvs/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfVfaGLYz3wT48z_LkxxG9s8ne2kZ2YV-FeQlzo6C1PU-Mfsc8uVegsWfh0DCE6U96bHmbNp6NUNIGrm88ZdlPGZvumHGuk2794L2fGX0EfFuGxQ8LqRA4cVeC-eT0Uv0B7ghWvB5Jvs/s1600/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lunch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_HVd3MiYxUanMnIqmousBa8M-37Cs77rW1dDPSRereCYRB_r-P87OFrFNRSokdqZihjCAgLfthA5GQBTPQuaTLYJkwekJMwidYOq_R7RSdqABRuP7HBmV_x2QWnlcXf2Y85ZGzLzjQg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_HVd3MiYxUanMnIqmousBa8M-37Cs77rW1dDPSRereCYRB_r-P87OFrFNRSokdqZihjCAgLfthA5GQBTPQuaTLYJkwekJMwidYOq_R7RSdqABRuP7HBmV_x2QWnlcXf2Y85ZGzLzjQg/s1600/1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all carpets require the butternut seal of approval</td></tr>
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dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09408118754526213325noreply@blogger.com0