Day 7: Gee I'm glad I'm riding on a camel

Today was Desert Safari Day! With camels!



We were picked up at a nearby hotel by our safari people. Dave, Deidre, Ashley and I were in one vehicle with a couple from England. Terry, FX, and Kathy were in another vehicle with a family from Poland. We convoyed outside of the city and drove for about an hour to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, which was the site of our safari. It was really interesting to watch the city fall away and desert emerge. Once again I was struck by amount of construction in Dubai.



Once inside the reserve, the tires of our vehicles were deflated, and we ventured out into the sand for some dune riding. Our driver took great pleasure in repeatedly sending us up, down, and all around these huge heaps of sand. It was like a giant roller coaster! One Land Rover got stuck along the way and the people inside had to abandon ship...





Our vehicle got semi-stuck at the top of one hill. Fortunately, we were able to back away slowly and take another run at it.



My favourite stop along the way was the Camel Farm! With camels! Lots of camels! There were camels everywhere! They were just walking around for people to look at. This one took off across the yard in search of a snack.

Hehe. Camel toes.

We also saw a real live dung beetle. And a camel carcass. And sand - lots of sand. The sand in this desert is really neat - it has two shades - red and gold.



We ended up at a "traditional" Bedouin camp for 350 people. We were able to ride the camels around the "parking lot", which was also quite enjoyable. It's rather tricky to mount a camel. When they tell you "hold tight and lean back", they really mean it. While Ashley and I were riding, we couldn't help but sing a happy little tune - "gee I'm glad I'm riding on a camel!".


Once inside the camp, we had Arabian tea and dates, following by a very filling buffet meal of Middle Eastern cuisine. There were henna tatoos for all and sheeshah smoking as well. The post-dinner entertainment was belly dancing, followed by exactly five minutes of stargazing. Then it was back into the Land Rovers for the drive back into the city. This time we took the short way out of the desert, with minimal dunerolling. I'm really glad we got to see the desert - I'm not used to seeing so much sand!

Dung Beetles Have Right of Way

Day 5: Souks, mosques, and abras

Sorry for the delay in this posting. We have been getting a bit lax with all this sun and swimming. On Wednesday, Lynda, Dave, Ashley, and I decided to go on an adventure. First off, we went for a guided tour at the Jumeira Mosque, the only one in the city to give such tours. It was extremely informative and interesting. We all really enjoyed it and took lots of pictures. We ladies were given scarves to cover our heads, and all three of us looked rather elegant.

Next on our stop was the Gold Souk. I thought that I would be immune to the Gold Souk--since I don't wear gold--but I wasn't at all. We saw some very beautiful pieces that would have set us back a pretty penny. We walked through the Gold Souk to the Spice Souk. That was where things got interesting. Lynda was on a mission for sapphron, so we decided to try our hand at bartering. We were invited into a spice shop by a friendly shopkeeper who explained all his wares to us. Once inside, he started offering us pretty much everything in the store. He tried to sell me breast enlargement soap and Dave, four bottles of libido augmentation serum. It was quite funny! Lynda and Ashley both made purchases, while Dave and I left empty handed.

We decided to take an abra across the Creek to Bur Dubai because the market stalls were starting to close for siesta. We walked through the Old Souk and the Textile Souk to Bastakia, where we went to lunch at the Basta Arts Cafe. We sat in a lovely courtyard and sipped on fruit cocktails. Lunch was tasty and refreshing, and we were ready to take on the afternoon. On the way back, we stopped at the Dubai Museum and learned a lot about Old Dubai. I practised a bit of Arabic on the Emirati working the admission window, and he seemed quite tickled by it, which made me happy. I'm sure that my horrible accent had nothing to do with the small smile that flashed across his face.

After the museum, went back to the Old Souk and busted out our bartering skills. We all made quite thrifty purchases and were proud of ourselves for our bargaining abilities. Since it was nearing rush hour and we didn't want to get caught in the madness, we decided to cab it back to Jumeirah after the Old Souk. On the way, we stopped at the Jumeirah Beach Resort to book a desert safari for Friday. Unfortunately, Friday was sold out, so we had to book Saturday. We went back to the villa, went for a swim, and greeted the newly arrived FX and Kathryn when they got back from the Mall of the Emirates. BBQ followed, and everyone went to bed rather early, exhausted from a very busy day.

"Not I - not anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself." Walt Whitman

It's a tricky thing describing life in a Middle-Eastern luxury villa -on an Island touted as the eighth wonder of the world. One is tempted to to say "You have to be here", but that is taking the easy road and would imply that I am a poor raconteur. Before proceeding, I have been pondering how I ended up here. Not as in, "Emirates via Heathrow", but the circumstances and means. This is a necessary aside. When informing of my plan, I often receive inquisitive and often bewildered looks. I want to ensure all that I am not here due to the ill-gotten gains of selling crack to school children.

I suppose it is a combination of hard work, good fortune and a lot of luck, but mostly this: My father taught me how to save money and my mother taught me how to spend money. I remember being given a calf as a child and told if I would care for and feed it, a tidy profit could be achieved upon sale. Even at ten or eleven years old the possibility of such a thing intrigued me. I don't recall a whole lot of caring and feeding; I left that to the professionals. The odd visit to the barn to check on my investment was enough to allow me to sleep at night. Nor do I recall if I named the calf. I do remember I had a pony named Jimmy, but to this day my father claims amnesia of this.

The months passed and the next thing I know Dad presented me with a check. A very nice check. This all happened in the late 1970s when interest rates were above 20%. The miracle of compound interest kicked in and I was hooked. I still have my first bank book.

I negotiated my first wage like a New York Teamster. I believe the opening offer for helping unload a wagon of hay was twenty-five cents. Although I was young and scrawny, and because I could imagine a million things I would rather be doing, I could smell Dad's desparation as a rain storm loomed, so I negotiated the insulting offer to somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.25 per load.

My job was essentially to kick, push or otherwise move the bales to where my father could place them on the escalator to my awaiting brother in the stifling loft. My previous reference to my hard work embarrases me, because Dad's and Brian's pictures would be in Webster's under "hard work". The same could be said of any farmer. However, I would like to point out I am the one with a villa in Dubai for a month and they are still unloading wagons of hay. But we are all happy so everything has worked out.

I won't bore you further with the financial details, like how I would have become a stock broker had I not been stoned on Gravol for my interview, but let's just say I got a good running start and it has all been up hill from there.

To arrive at a villa on the Palm Island and be greeted by your house boy is just about as good as it gets. To share that with friends cranks it up a few notches. Until you step outside, the villa could be anywhere - Sea Cow Head or Summer Haven. It's just bricks and mortar...and a lot of marble. The first indication that we aren't in Kansas anymore is the heat that hits you like a tsunami when you step out from the villa's air conditioned comfort.

Then there's the view. To the South, another row of villas with the iconic sail-like Burj Al Arab peeping behind them like a mother goose watching over her goslings. A glance to the left are the construction cranes running twenty four-seven, manned mostly by Asian workers.

An early morning coffee on the linen room's balcony reveals the maid across the street sweeping the front step. Other workers are cleaning the already immaculate street of Frond E. In the distance - Atlantis. Not yet open for business, it stands like a crown at the top of The Palm.

A journey beyond The Palm reveals a world like no other. It is as if Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas hooked up one night and the result: Dubai. Never has the word "kingdom" been more apt. Part fairy tale, part fiefdom, a Sheikh with a vision and more money than he knows what to do with, it is a city and an Emirate, sourrounded by conflict and war. Yet it is safer than Charlottetown on a Tuesday night.

It is a place where Emirati women wear head-to-toe "burkinis" to the beach. The men wear immaculate white robes and either white or red-checkerd head scarves, all flowing gracefully as they sweep through the malls, holding hands with their male companions. And if you run out of gin, you need to book a flight out of the country and re-enter.

There is a sense that the development cannot continue. Twenty-five percent of the world's construction cranes are in the city of Dubai. The Guiness Book of World Records must spend a lot of time in this manic city to keep track of it all - world's tallest building, world's largest land reclamation project, and the world's largest airport (still under construction, it will be five times the size of Charles de Gaulle in Paris). The list goes on and if anyone threatens to knock them out of their prize standing, no problem. The Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, can be 'topped up', as required.

Yesterday, the gang went to the Palm Jumeirah Mosque and to the Souks. The souks are one of the most authentic Emirati experiences. It was Thursday, so the locals were doing their shopping for the weekend. Friday is the Muslim holy day. They bartered for souvenirs, spices and Dave was pleased to finally purchase his straw hat. Upon their return I demanded to see their wares. I asked what the opening bid was and what was the final sale price. Good deals were made by all, especially as they were barter virgins.

Tweny years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Dream. Explore. Discover. - Mark Twain

Day 4: Arabian Adventures according to David. Amen.

Today marks the beginning of the end of our lazy days around the pool and villa beach. While we will have a little more time to do some lounging around, we (Lynda, Ashley, Dave, and Deidre) are feeling as though we have done enough "chillaxin'" and have to get down to business with the sight seeing. And even though I will be returning for a five day stay at the villa, I feel like this is my week to experience Dubai and see all of the sights.

To start off our five day wirlwind camaign of activities, sight seeing, and middle eastern experiences, we spent the most of the day today at Wild Wadi Water Park--an amusement park that runs on the theme of a cool dude named Juha and his friend Sinbad (the heroic sailor...not the socalled "comedian")! The park consists of eleven different rides that range in extremeness from mild (level 1) to extreme (level 4).

Upon arival through the gates of the park we were greeted with a simulated thunder shower, which consited of pouring raind and a large and powerful waterfall that increased in intensity as the storm continued and created a small rushing brook over the pathway that leads to the rides. It was quite an impressive effect. The rides were pretty fun too. They were mainly up hill water propelled rollercosters that required us to be seated on inflatable tubes. These rollercoster rides all emptied out into a lazy river that went all around the park and led to resurants, gushing fountains, or other rides. The jets for the rollercoster would launch you up the steep slide with enough force to easily remove, or at least partially remove, baithing suit bottoms. --A note to future visitros of Wild Wadi...wear a baithing suit that has a draw string or is at least one that is very secure because there were some extremely close calls. In fact, there was a moment in the wave pool in which a particular member of our group was hit with a wave so powerful that it knocked her baithingsuit bottoms down exposing her buttocks to a small group of 8-12 year old boys behind her. I don't know what was more hilarious, the fact that it happened or the non stop laughter of the boys. Embarrassing as it was, there is always joy and happiness that can be found in the laughter of children. Right Ashley?

Speaking of baithing suits, there was quite a mishmash of swimwear styles. For the men there was everything from capri style trunks that go from above the belly button to just above the ancles to speedos that do everything but cover the wearer's shame. For the women, the simwear ranged from berkinis that covered everything but the hands and face to something that appeared to be a little more than dental floss. I certainlly didn't expect to see thong bikinis there, as it is a primarily Muslim country, but I'd say the amount of skimpy style baithingsuits outnumbered the more conservative style by quite a bit.

The two favorite rides of the day were the Jumeirah Sceirah, which was pretty much a free fall at, supposedly, 80km/h for 33 metres...and resulted in quite the wedgie..., and the flowriders, which were the surfing rides where you pretty much just ride the intense flow of the jets on boogie bords. These rides had very long lineups but they were well worth the wait--the flowrider in particular. Once you got the hang of the flowrider surfing, the ride attendants would blow their wistles and give you a pose or a move to attempt while on the board. Deidre, Lynda, and I tried the flowrider ride, and I must say...for being first-timers we did very well. We got to do superman poses, sleepy poses, pushups, and knee riding. This ride was a bit of a spectator event, drawing in many onlookers who wanted to glimpse our displays of natural tallent. They were very positive, though, and cheered and wistled when we successfully struck a pose or did a move well. They also cheered and wisteled very loudly when we wiped out and were thrown 2-3 meters by the jets of water.

All in all I'd say it was a pretty awesome day. And I expect that there will be many more to come.

Cheers for now!

-Dave.

Photo Gallery

Haven't visited inside the Mosque yet. Just drove by on the Big Bus

Handsome fellow, no?

At the Souk Madinat Complex. Turned a corner, and there it was!

We should have an album of just Dave sleeping

Day 3: Limes...like lemons except green, yes?

Today was a busy day.


Jason was out running errands and topping up our groceries for us so we were left to deal with the myriad of visitors we had at the villa today.


First, Deidre took a water delivery. Then, the plumbers came. How many plumbers does it take to fix a leaky tap? Evidently four, then a fifth gets called in. There was a lot of leaning and looking around going on. At one point I went upstairs and one of the five plumbers was leaning casually against the wall, arms folded, enjoying the view. But, as Deidre point out, her bathroom only holds 2 plumbers at best. Mine could accomodate a cricket team.




Then the pool boys came. Then, praise Allah, luggage delivery boy! One for Ashley and one for Terry. I would like to point out that I left PEI with 2 bags. This whole luggage fiasco is getting too funny. Let me recap, because I need to vent into the ether. If you are not interested in my ravings, proceed down to END OF STORY.




I arrived on Saturday. It is now Tuesday. There are about 6 direct Emirate flights from London every day to Dubai. When I sat down with the trainees at Dubai International upon arrival to file my report, the boss said upon consulting the computer, "Oh, Mr. Terry, it is now on its way on the 2PM flight that departed Heathrow". Again, that was Saturday. It is now Tuesday. I waited patiently for a day and then decided I would call Sunday night, "Oh, Mr. Terry, it is on the midnight flight. We will deliver it at 4 a.m. tomorrow morning." Now, I am on vacation so a 4am wakeup to receive luggage was not too damn appealing. And Jason is a fine house-boy, but I didn't think this would go over too well (we weren't aware of this late night carousing at this point either). I asked if it could be delayed a wee bit. "Oh, Mr. Terry, we would certainly do that for you." Finally! I should point out that at this point we were focussing on one of two bags. I sort of thought they would be travelling together so I didn't get too fussed. I notified Jason to stand ready to receive the bags upon his return from dropping us off for our Big Bus Tour starting at the Mall of the Emirates.




Our return to the villa after each outing is usually started by Jason greeting us with a bashful head shake and "No bags yet". And that's how it went yesterday. Apparently, though, they called on the villa cell while we were out which I did not hear on account of the windy open bus ride. He said I need to call them to get an e-mail address to e-mail the contents of my bag to 'identify'. I guess my baggage tag from Charlottetown, my name tag, and the contents description I gave trainee wasn't enough. Becoming a pro dealing with Emirates Baggage Services, I called and simply started with "Hi, This is Mr. Terry. My reference number is...."


"Oh, Mr. Terry, we are so happy you called. Your bag is here at the airport. We will send it out with a driver tomorrow tonight at 10 or 11. but we need your mobile number." OK, so I am not giving them my Canada cell as that would just confuse the hell out of them. I couldn't find the villa cell and was becoming tired and frustrated so I gave them our land number at the villa. This didn't impress them much even though I assured them I would be here and didn't plan on going anywhere on account I have no clean clothes. To keep them happy I gave them Jason's mobile number. Not wanting to confuse them....further confuse them...I hung up and handed the phone to Ashley to start all over with her bag. In the meantime I found the villa cell and asked her to have them update my file with the all important mobile number. So Ashley calls and hers AND MINE will be delivered the next morning at 7 or 8 the next morning! This is was THREE minutes after I spoke to them. When Ashley gave them the cell number for my file, they advised her that they already had Mr. Terry's cell number. I know drugs are totally forbidden/banned/inaccesible here, but I think they are on crack. Anyway, Ashley set the alarm and was in bag receiving mode at 6:30 a.m. Somewhere throughout all this Emirates called Jason at 10PM while he was out and about as well with assured delivery times.



I awoke this morning at 8:30 (on account that I didn't get to sleep until quite late as I was worried that the villa would burn down on account of a bit of an incident I had in the kitchen involving sparks, flames, tripped fuses, and a slightly sizzled electricity adaptor. Aren't you glad that you got the long story short on that one!) expecting to find my luggage. Silly Mr. Terry.But one bag of mine and Ashley's one and only arrived at about 2p.m. Still not second bag. I think I will call now.



"Oh, but Mr. Terry, your other bag was delivered last night."



END OF STORY (for now). Thanks for listening.



Jason drove us to the Souk Madinat Jemeirah which is a very cool mall in Arab architecture. All the stores are in a souk/alley style, but very nice and prices are fixed (albeit inflated). It was a gorgeous browsing experience and allowed us to get a sense of what prices are as they are not marked in the real souks. Some things were actually quite reasonably priced, but decided to go to the real souks to see what deals we could barter.

We rounded a corner and there was the Burj Al Arab - the closest we've been yet! It was a fantastic view, framed by the palm trees and the Arabic Architecture. Then Deidre spotted an Abra tour. An Abra is a small boat used frequently used in the region. I guess i forgot to mention that the Souk Medinat is a whole developement including fancy hotels - all connected by canals fed by the waters of the Arabian Gulf. If you are staying at one of the hotels or villas, you get to and fro by the Abra. For 50 dirham ($18) we had a 45 minute tour, captained by Sebastian from India.

Our return to the villa involved naps, snacks, internet, and swims. A stir fry ensued and Jason lit the tiki torches outside for us. We intended to observe a well-publicized earth hour at 8PM, but that was pretty well a bust. I guess we could have turned off one of the umpteen mood lights he turns on for us each evening, but we did turn out all the lights once supper was prepared as we dined al fresco...as we have done each evening.

We had been intending for a long time to walk along the street of the frond and tonight was the night! It was a gorgeous warm (not too warm) still night. Of course, we commented on each villa - it's size, landscaping, style and the vehicle parked in the drive. We played the license plate game. In this part of the world, the lower the license plate number, the more prestigious. So, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has number 1. I read in the Gulf Times that number 9 is up for auction. The lowest on this Frond was 778, but on our travels yesterday we saw 64 and 87.

A little pool, outdoor stereo and Bailey's on ice brings us to the present time -1AM. Lynda just went to bed, Ash sitting next to me on the Net, Dave is playing boxing on PS3, and Deidre is reading. We've realized that we have been intending to do laundry for three days now. Maybe tomorrow...after we return from Wild Wadi.

Some photos so far...

Terry awoke early and surprised us all ith photos in our cameras. This is from his bedroom window.




Same photo, just framed in the window.




PS3!



View through the glass at Ski Dubai in Mall of the Emirates.



Lynda very happy to be on the Big bus.




Dubai skyline.



World's tallest building, the Burj Dubai




Chatting with South Africans



Covering up from the sun on the Dhow cruise



Jumeirah Mosque



From the dhow cruise.




Home for a rest.



Canal in the very pretty Souk Madinat complex.



Venice, but warmer with fewer tourists.



Cheating on Dave



Just lovely.


Beautifully framed, no?



Having tea on the 27th floor on Sunday. Deidre dropped the hint that it was Terry's birthday.

Day 2: It's 12 o'clock. Do you know where your houseboy is?

Today, we went on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Dubai. We picked up the bus at the Mall of the Emirates at 10 a.m., and we didn't get back until after 6 p.m. We drove all around the city and saw all the development. It is really insane. The tour guide told us that 20% of the world's construction cranes are in Dubai. It's totally mind-boggling to drive through all the construction. The tour guide gave us lots of juicy tidbits of information, like the fact that the Burj Dubai is going to be at least 810 metres tall when it is finished. We can see it from the villa, even though it is way across town.

We walked through a couple of souks today when we "hopped off", but it was in the middle of the afternoon when everyone was sleeping. It's really funny, because there are men sleeping everywhere during siesta. Good luck finding a bench or place to sit, because there are brown men sleeping on them. It is a sight to behold. So we didn't really get to practise our bartering skills or find any souk treasures. We are going to go back another day.

We did a dhow cruise of the Creek as part of our tour. A dhow is a traditional boat used for cargo trade in the UAE. We sat on cushions on the top of the boat and tried to not get sunburns. I was successful, but I ended up having to wrap a scarf around my head to protect me from the sun. Linda did the same, and we both looked very stylish if I do say so myself.

I went swimming in the frond today. I was hesitant to do so before today, because there was this big pipe in the middle. At first, I thought that it was an oil line, but that didn't really make sense. Why would they build the Palm on oil reserves? We figured out that they were probably dredging out the sand. Anyway, they removed the line this afternoon, and the frond is back to looking the way it should. So Dave and I went swimming, even though he has a strange paranoia about sharks. Go figure. There is coral starting to grow in the water. Dave and I found a piece yesterday, and it was full of fish eggs the size of marbles. It was cool/gross.

On the way home from our tour today, we got a ride in a pink taxi, which was exciting. Pink taxis are driven by women, and they are a different colour because unaccompanied females can drive only with a female driver. The taxi driver was kind of shy but still very cool. I think that the pink taxi was the highlight of my day.

We are headed to Wild Wadi waterpark tomorrow. It will probably be impossible to prevent sunburn during eight hours in the Middle Eastern sun, but we are all going to try our damnedest. Update will follow.

P.S. Jason the houseboy stayed out all night and didn't get in until 8 a.m. today. Shy little Jason obviously knows how to par-tay.

Day 1: How Many Men Does it Take to Dispense Ice?

The villa overlooks the turquoise Arabian Gulf. Iran is 200 km to the North, Saudi Arabia surrounds the United Arab Emirates to the East and South, with Oman to the East. The Arabian Gulf juts between the fingerlike fronds of the Palm Jumeirah. We can see the iconic Burj Al Arab Hotel, shaped like a giant sail, in the distance. It is the tallest hotel in the world, built on an island. In the distant haze, we can see the Dubai skyline, including the tallest building in the world--the Burj Dubai.



All the island fronds are completed, with about 1/4 of the residences appearing to be occupied. The buildings on the trunk and the crescent surrounding the frond are still under construction, but we cannot not hear any of the activity from our villa. The exterior of the beautiful Atlantis Hotel appears to be mostly complete. We will attempt to walk towards it in the relative coolness of the evening.



Ashley and I met Lynda in Montreal to board our overnight flight to London. We had very little time in Heathrow to catch our departing Emirates flight to London. As we were running through Heathrow Lynda remarked that it was an "Amazing Race" moment! We were winded. We flashed our boarding card to security to alert them of our soon-departing flight and were advanced through the queue. Another dash took us to Gate 7 to find that they were just beginning to board, even though it was our scheduled departure time.



Our first landing was aborted at the last minute. Emirates provides you with a live camera view of both the pilot view as well as a downward view. This only heightened the thrill of the aborted landing as we quickly pulled up at the last minute with the evening runway lights ahead and below. Our second approach took us directly over the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai. This was quite a thrill to see the Burj from the downward view of the aircraft camera. As we passed over Iran, it felt like a spy mission with camera's intact--flying over the mountains of Pakistan and the deserts of Persia.



As expected, Ashley and my luggage did not arrive at Dubai International due to our short connection in Heathrow. For the first time ever on my travels, a baggage official approached me at the carousel, concerned we had not received our luggage. He confirmed that it had all been unloaded and we should file a report with baggage services. This turned out to be quite a humourous experience. I knew we were doomed when I saw two staff standing behind the seated staff, indicating to me that we were in trainee zone, as was confirmed by their Trainee badge. Well....an hour later we got out of there. It could have been filmed for some sort of comedic customer service documentary. It was more humourous than painful. God love them. As we attempted to file our report, there was a man flipping out at the baggage manager. It all added to the atmosphere. Lynda sat quietly outside the baggage office, taking in the atmosphere of Dubai International. This included her first "call to prayer", which I find memorizing.



Given our late slightly late arrival and ordeal at baggage, we never expected to see Dave and Deidre, who arrived directly from Emirates via Toronto. They were scheduled to arrive within 5 minutes of our scheduled arrival time, and we scanned for them, but, alas, assumed they were compfortably situated next to the villa pool. As we went out to the taxi area...there they were. Allah intervened! We grabbed a taxi van and set off on the first evening of our Arabian Adventure. Our taxi driver was Zayad, originally from Syria. He had been here for 7 years and was discussing how nuts the city is. I dazzled him with my Arabic, and we sped down Sheikh Zayed road. I commented to the others that we could have been in New York City with the skyscrapers on each side. I made enquiries about taxi hire for the rest of the trip, and he was none to shy to give me his mobile number. He navigated the Palm like a pro, and we easily found Villa 29, Frond E. A mention of the location and the villa owner's name got us an easy wave through the two security checkpoints.



Jason greeted us at the door and gave the tour. The villa and the outdoor area is larger than the pictures depict (for anyone new to this site, go to the archives on the bottom left and select "January" for photos). I was conflicted by which room to take. The "Linen Room" with the nice decor and large balcony that overlooks the street; the huge Master Bedroom with no balcony (go figure) but a view of the Arabian Gulf, and a three-room bathroom including jacuzzi; or the "Red Room" with balcony overlooking the Arabian Gulf. Liz, the villa manager, had picked the Red Room for me, but the decor had a little too much going on for my liking. I selected the cool, relaxing Linen Room but changed my mind and opted for the massive master bedroom.



Once we organized ourselves in our rooms, we couldn't let the pool sit unused. Jason turned on the pool lights, and the water glistened against the adobe wall. It was lovely. We showered and turned in for the night after raiding the welcome pack of food.



I awoke at 8 a.m. I thought I heard the TV in the entertainment room at about 3 a.m., and indeed, Dave was too wound up to sleep, so he played PS3 and then watched the sunrise from his and Deidre's ocean-view balcony. Lynda and Ash rolled out of bed around 9 or 10 to find us all in the pool. Dave and Deidre took the sea kayak out at 8 a.m. and were met by jumping fish!



It was 29 degrees when I got up. The back of the villa (Ocean side) gets the morning and early afternoon sun, so it was cooking. I popped my head out the front door to find the Sunday edition of the Gulf Times so we enjoyed that and the Globe and Mail that I took from the plane on the patio.



Deidre (clad only in her bikini!) made us all breakfast as we got up and delivered to the patio on a tray. I've asked for some fresh flowers to be cut and placed on my tray tomorrow. It was great! Then, more swimming. Alas, we thought there was an outdoor jacuzzi, but the only one is in my bathroom.



Jason--our live-in houseboy--has been very helpful especially with technical things such as firing up the PS3, working the ice machine (which Dave managed to break at supper tonight), and the Opus sound system. Our drink glasses seem to continually disappear, as he is a keen cleaner-upper. Except for the Heineken can on Ashley's window ledge from previous guests. He does take the odd PS3 break. All work and no play makes your houseboy a dull houseboy.

Dave and I took the sea kayak out later in the morning. I wore a life jacket on account of my issues with water, but it was not really needed, as it is a wide kayak and tipping is not much of an issue. We kayaked out to near the end of the frond for spectacular view of the Burj Al Arab as well as the haze-cloaked Dubai skyline. It was too hot at this point for jumping fish.

Jason then drove us in the seven-passenger SUV to the Mall of the Emirates (the one with the ski-hill). We browsed around, checked out Ski Dubai and then went to Carrefour for a major grocery shop--600 dirham later ($200), we left with our cart brimming full of groceries. The irony of my buying Atlantic Smoked Salmon did not go unnoticed. A short taxi ride later, we arrived home. A few naps were in order.

As I was having my pre-supper swim, Jason checked in to say he was clocking off for the night. He's gone for the evening, so we are left to our own devices--lubed up on wine, gin and tonic, gin and vodka, and diet pepsi (Lynda). The gang provided a lovely supper of fresh salad, mango-chutney chicken, olives, bread, Boursin cheese. This was followed by two very large chocolate bars (shout out to Daniel). I found the Boursin cheese went nicely on the chocolate, but it was probably the booze talking.

We are now chilling in the entertainment room, listening to British Invasion tunes. Lynda is having the time of her life. Deidre is on the other laptop, Dave is playing Ps3, and Ashley is loaded on the bean-bag chair.

Tomorrow, we are doing the Big Bus Tour of Dubai. That's all for now. A big hug to all our family and friends home and around the world.

"I haven't a clue as to where my story will end. But that's alright. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, that's when you discover the stars." Nancy Willard

Confused on What to Wear?

So, I booked a trip to Saudi Arabia for the fall and we have to leave from Dubai as a group to get into Saudi as the country is so hard to get into. They included in my package a little on UAE and thought this summed things up nicely:

"Please note that you will be travelling through a predominantly Islamic country and so will need to dress conservatively throughout. We strongly suggest that you wear full length trousers/skirts and that your shoulders are always covered. Women should bring a headscarf for possible mosque visits.

While on tour you will likely see other foreign tourists wearing shorts, but we strongly suggest that you wear full lenght trousers/skirts and that your shoulders are always covered. Philosophically, "Adventures Abroad" prefers to be sensitive to local social conventions. The local population will respond more positively and welcome you more heartily if your appearance corresponds with local mores."

Having said that - capris or skirts/sundresses below the knee are not too bad. Also, note that this is just 'out and about'.

Just for context and a hoot – here is what it says about Saudi Arabia:

“Saudi Arabia is probably the most conservative country to which one can travel, and a strict code of conduct is enforced. Passengers not complying with Saudi conventions of dress and behaviour will be refused entry even if their passports/visas are in order.

Upon arrival to Saudi Arabia, women should be conservatively dressed with a headscarf and ‘sealed’ shoes (no toes showing). Once at our hotel in Riyadh, our agents will provide each female traveller with an ‘abaya’, a full-body covering that all women in Saudi Arabia are required by law to wear. Headscarves should be worn as a gesture of respect to the local population. You do not need to cover your face as Saudi women do. Exposing bare arms and legs, however, is always against the rules. Shorts and short-sleeved tops are always unacceptable.

Sandals are not acceptable for men and love sleeve shirts and trousers must be worn and ankles cannot be exposed.

Video cameras may cause delays and problems upon entry. Video cameras generally attract the attention of police and may be confiscated.

Do not expect your cellular phones to work while in Saudi Arabia. Many internet sites are blocked and do not expect WIFI in hotels or elsewhere.

Do not bring inappropriate literature, especially Western magazines with ‘decadent’ images, ie fashion magazines with revealing photos or indecent behaviour and/or interactions between men and women. Novels with provocative subject matter may also cause problems.

DO NOT even think about brining alcohol into Saudi Arabia. If caught you will be imprisoned.

A visa will be refused if your passport contains evidence of travel to Israel. This is not confined to just an Israeli stamp in your passport. You will be refulsed a Saudi via if there is and Egyptian entry or exit stamp from the Egyptian/Israeli border or a Jordanian/Israeli border in your passport.

When completing the visa application forms, do not complicate matters unneccessarily by stating that you are, or ever were, a journalist, politcian, militay officer, or any profession that sounds controversial as it can lenghten the process and jeopardize the application process. It is better to simply incate something less controversial such as nurse, teacher, or retired. We regret that passengers with 'Jewish-sounding' surnames will likely be refused, even if they indicate a different religion on their application”

WOW….can’t wait. Note that many internet sites in UAE are also blocked…including sites like FLICKER for photo uploading (at least when I was there last year).

Beverages

The villa owner has kindly agreed to hook us up with some extra alcohol given the archaic rules of the feifdom. Knowing that once you clear immigration, you can get the following at duty free, please let me know my posting a comment what you want. You just pay the actual cost which will probably be similar or less than here:

The current allowance is 4 items per person. This could be 4 bottles of Scotch (for example), 4 bottles of wine or 1 case of 12 cans of lager counts as one item (48 cans in total for 1 person). Of course this can be mixed to suit your taste, but you get the idea.

Meals

The fridge and cupboards will be well stocked, but I am not the personal chef for the villa.

I was thinking that Breakfast is on your own as you get up, relax on the patio with your shreddies and coffee. First one up makes the coffee. Lunch, fix as you will.

For evening meals we will do a rotation or something and all eat together.

Money Matters

You will require Emirati Dirhams. Pretty well the only place you can get these is at the cash window of the Royal Bank on Queen Street (cash window is in back of the bank). They will order the funds in and call you when it arrives (usually a few days). For you off-Islanders, not sure, but try the largest Royal Bank in your city. The exchange rate is approximately 1.00 AED=
0.28 CAD. I have not had a problem using my bank card in UAE just like here, but you may want to take some dirhams to start you off. Remember everytime you use your bank card over there you will be charges about $5 CDN per transaction.

For this portion of the trip, there is no need to take any other currency. US dollars don't mean much there. The dirham is a stronger currency. For those travelling on, you can change any unused dirhams (less those for souvenirs) into Euros, Pounds Sterling etc. You can also get this beforehand too. Those going to Egypt should order their funds here before leaving, as well. Ask the bank to give you as much currency in small denominations as they can. Try to get at least 10-20% in the smallest denominations as it can (or used to be) very hard to find small denominations and a lot of smaller vendors will not have change (or at least they say they don't) so if you pay $8 with a $10, you may not get change. It is very easy to convert funds into Euros and Pounds in Dubai. Egyptian Pounds, perhaps less so. Therefore get those before. There are bank machines in Egypt too.

If you plan on using your credit card in Dubai (and elsewhere) you may want to call your card company to tell them this. Sometimes unusual activity out of a pattern will trigger a fraud alert and they will put a hold on your card. Just push the appropriate buttons to get to "report lost or stolen credit card" and tell them you will be travelling overseas and the dates.

As mentioned previously I will cover all basic groceries. I am going to renew my International Driver's license, but I am unsure if I can use the SUVs at the villa. Regardless, probably plan on about $75 CDN for taxis for your ten days. This should be more than enough. I recall that a taxi from the Mall of the Emirates (near the Palm) to Dubai Creek (downtown) was about 30 - 40dh which is about $10. So this is very reasonable, especially if split amongst a car load. I'm saying $75, but it could be $30. Taxis are by the km, not the time...which is good, cause that trip from the mall to the creek was about 45 minutes as it was rush hour.

Jason will drive us to nearby sites if between 8am and 8pm. Nearby sites include the Mall of the Emirates and Wild Wadi.

See previous posts for amount of tip for Jason.

Sites/excursions $ up to you. See 'things to do' on the side. I'd say $250 would allow you to do just about all you want (excluding tea at Burj Al Arab which is about $100 with tip).

Meals - I imagine we will breakfast at the villa (poolside) and most evening meals will be at the villa, but perhaps we will go out once or twice. Depending where we are we may have a handful of lunches out. This can be $3 for a kabob or $7 for a combo at a fast food in the Mall. You could always pack a lunch from the villa too.

Shopping $ - up to you. I will conduct a bartering seminar the first day at the villa. The first day or so of each group, we will go to the souks (markets) have a shopping list - dates, lamb, arabic coffee, rice, spice, fresh fruit - I'll give you each an item, some money, and we will have a ball shopping for our groceries. We will also go to a real grocery store for the other essentials.

I think that is it...you can spend as much or as little as you want. If funds are tight, just put a shopping limit on yourself and pick your outings accordingly. We will do lots of stuff that doesn't cost anything like the camel track for practice (I wrote 'rehearsal' first...), souks, window shopping, and just soaking up the culture of this amazing place. Not to mention vegging poolside at the villa. I am going to buy one of those pool blow up floatey lounges with a drink holder. Which reminds me...remember your booze $ at Duty Free. That will be your only opportunity.

Any questions, let me know.

What to Pack!

If you have any tight connections, particularly in London or Frankfurt, 1 1/2 hours or less, then I would put your essentials in your carry on - including bathing suit! If your checked luggage doesn't make it with you, it should be there the next day and we can pick it up at the airport.

Pack the usual stuff, but here are some tips for clothing. When we are 'out and about' you will generally be wearing long pants or skirts well-below the knee. It will be warm to hot, so the lighter the better - don't just pack denims! A couple light, long sleeved shirts for both guys and girls will be very useful for cover up. A scarf/pajmina is very useful to cover up when necessary. A good suggestion is to buy one there as they are cheap, authentic, and beautiful. Even the guys may want to pick one up for anyone wanting to do the day trip to the desert to keep sand, sun and wind at bay - a la Lawrence of Arabia. It can get very cool in the desert so defnitely take a sweater or two. There are no issues with footwear otherwise. Sandals etc are fine. Toes aren't offensive.

If you plan on going to the Burj Al Arab for tea, take something NOT casual. A skirt and blouse for gals is fine and khakis etc and a shirt for guys is fine. You shouldn't wear sneaks, but even nice sandals will do. Worst comes to worst we can go on a shop for some nice, cheap shoes etc. It's not formal, but not casual. Think protestant church!

Still take your summery shorts, t-shirts etc as around the villa and Wild Wadi anything goes.

Some Miscellaneous Details

If you haven't sent me your flight details, please do. Barring something weird, I will meet you at Dubai International. I have information sheets for everyone with villa details (location, hints, suggestions etc) that the villa owner sent. Just fun and exciting reading and makes it all seem real.

Once you clear customs you can buy booze at the duty free at Dubai International so you don't have to worry about getting it prior to that. The villa details will have what the limits are, but they are quite generous - like 4 bottles each.

I am killing the grocery kitty. I will cover all basic groceries. If you want something unusual or special (diet Pepsi for Lynda!), then you can get that one your own, but I will cover the basic meals stuff.

You should each plan on about a 100 - 200 dirham tip for Jason upon departure to say thank you. That is about $35 - $70.

Colin suggested the Dubai day trip. It is one of those hop on hop off deals and is a great way to see the city and get around. I was talking to someone who said it was very good and even suggested the two day pass.

I will do more posts on what to pack etc., but if you have any questions, just shoot.

Excellent Dubai Story on CBS 60 Minutes

60 Minutes did an excellent story on Dubai last night. It is probably the most accurate depiction that I have seen. The story is on this page in two parts.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/12/60minutes/main3361753.shtml

There is a clip taken from our Palm Island. It details all the empty villas that were bought by speculators. I can't wait to see if it is still 'deserted' and we can play street hockey undistrurbed or if folks have actually started to move in!

You really will be visiting 'the new "Centre of the world', in my opinion.

This story was a good balance of the good and the bad.

Things To Do - Day Trips

There are lots of day trips that we can take that will help us experience the UAE and Oman. This link is a good one and shows approximate prices etc. I definitely want to do the Dhow Cruise through the Fjords of Oman. So, if you are interested in any of these, budget accordingly. The day trip to Abu Dhabi would be very worth while as well. There is also a day trip to the desert which includes, dune bashing, dune surfing, and all sorts of Arabian adventures.

http://www.expedia.ca/pub/agent.dll?qscr=tshw&stat=1&flag=e&locn=Dubai%20(and%20vicinity),%20United%20Arab%20Emirates&date1=25/04/2008&date2=26/06/2008&rfrr=-54298

A tour of our villa

the entrance lobby...



The villa's front doors open directly in to the entrance foyer lit be a magnificent purple chandelier and guarded by a gold leppard! The lobby is decorated in a square theme with polished and rough plaster squares, studded with gold discs, covering the main wall and square rugs leading down to the lounge. To the right of the hall is the entertainment room where the big, as well as little, kids can entertain themselves away from the other guests!

the kitchen...



It doesn't matter how nice the beach, BBQ, breakfast terrace, pool or lounge are, there are times when people always congregate in a kitchen; and should this happen to you, this one is just perfect. In addition to all the modern kitchen equipment, double fronted fridge/freezer with ice and water dispenser and seperate wine fridge, this kitchen benefits from an independent music zone, Nesspresso coffe maker, marbled breakfast bar and funky metal tiling; and of course a decent set of knive for the chefs!

the lounge and dinning room...





The lounge and dinning rooms are both decorated in antique cream stucco, giving amazing effects as the sun reflects off it in the morning. The dinning room seats eight and is decorated with 'The man' oil on canvas by Vladimir Efeminov. A patio door leads directly to the terrace breakfast area, and the dinning table is eluminated with a brilliant shell globe, complimented by dinasaur egg lights, mood cove lighting and corner latice floor lamp. The room has its own opus music system zone, which is also linked to speakers on the breakfast terrace.

The lounge of this luxury holiday to Dubai has an eight seat Natuzzi white leather sofa facing the beach and frond. The shell lighting theme is carried over from the dinning room with a shell mobile celing light in the centre of the room. The views are spectactular, and the room has three sets of patio doors; the first opening directly onto the terrace and the steps leading down to the beach, and the other two sets of door opening onto the pool and bbq area. The artwork is a creation by Bonita O'Donnell, interior designer, and Sue of the Art House Dubaiand hangs on the main wall, its difficult to resist touching it as you pass!

the entertainment room...


If the sun, beach and temperature controlled private pool don't keep you occupied, then the entertainment room of this Dubai villa will. With a 50" TV, 2 high spec PC's for your games or web surfing, PS3, and a stack of DVD's you can slump into one of the mega bean bags and blob!

For the more traditional, there is a selection of board games, and for those not quite able to escape work, the house has full wireless internet facilities. With 3 wireless zones that extend the wireless coverage throught the house and onto the beach, you can even put your feet in the see while answering those work emails!

For the music lovers, the Opus Multi-room entertainment system has a broad collection of music, and if you prefer to bring your own, then just dock your ipod! For those that are too lazy to use one of the wall mounted music points, there is always a wireless PDA that allows you to change tracks while on the sun bed!

the bedrooms

Each bedroom has been individually designed and styled to develop a character of its own. Whether you are sleeping in the fresh master bedroom, the sleek red room, the calm linen room, the cool caramel room, or the zanny kids room you are assured of a comfortable and relaxing holiday. Of course, all bedrooms have individual a/c control, a full complement of towels, hair dryers and dressing gowns. Individual artwork has been placed in each room as part of the theme.

the master bedroom...



Decorated to a metal theme, the master suite comprises of a king sized bed, dresser, walk through wardrobe, and master en-suite bathroom with seperate shower room, toilet and jacuzzi.

The master bedroom has views across the frond from its bay window, and enjoys the sunrise every morning. For those guest that like being woken by the sun, you can use the voil curtains; whereas those that have had a late night can also use the black out blinds!

the red room...

With its Chinese theme and private balcony, guests will always fight over who get this room! The bedroom comprises of queen sized bed, Chinese screen, red crystal chandelier and, as with all the rooms, its own en-suite bathroom.

the linen room...


Calm and cool, the Linen room offers beautiful views towards the Atlantic hotel development, and has a balcony / patio that extends round the front of the house offering sunset views for sunset drinks!

the caramel room...


Caramel and blue - warm and soothing, with a great view over the pool and frond. The room has a double bed, chest of draws, built in wardrobes, bathroom with shower and mood lighting!

the kids room...

Ideal for the kids, but with two standard size beds it can easily accommodate the grown-ups, this room is decorated with funky lights, pictures, and giraffes.

and the ensuite bathrooms



All the bedrooms have individual en-suite bathrooms, with baths and shower facilities and all basins have Molton Brown hand wash and hand cream products.