GOODBYE DUBAI.....HELLO SA

We said our goodbye to Dubai with a trip on a Dhow in Oman.............. This was a wow in a big way. Something to do with visitors when they come and see us in Dubai.

ARRIVAL ON THE DHOW IN DIBBA - The harbour town in Oman
In the background are our "staff" The main peanut was Muggan (we called him a Mc Gyver) and his side kick was Sheivla (I think) LANGUAGE IS A PROBLEM.....
Anything you want they will do........... You just have to be very careful in explaining what it is you want. Shower and change room are on board only down side is the water is always cold............
On arrival we could choose from fruit, tea, coffee and soft drinks.....
We had to walk over 5 Dhows to get to our Dhow.
We were so lucky as it was only Hannes myself and Dian on the trip. The Dhow can take up to 20 or 30 passengers. We also did a 24 hour trip.

THE TINY FISHING HARBOUR OF DIBBA WITH ALL THE DHOWS.
Some of the Dhows are used for tourists to dive and snorkel and other are working vessels. Our Dhow had carpets and cushions on the deck and an upstairs deck for better viewing or tanning and relaxing.
Music on the Dhow is Indian/Arabic or English. I preferred the Indian/Arabian as the English songs were from the dark ages and it just felt right to listen to authentic music.


A SMALL FISHING VILLAGE WE PASSED ON OUR SAILING OUT OF DIBBA.
It only has fisherman living there and a very LANI Hotel further up the beach. Look at the mountains in the background.....Totally barren except for a few funny bush like trees and goats...(The fricken Indian lamb variety...) and of course the mosque.
Muggan went into the bay at this village and we were taken to the beach by our own speedboat. We had a walk around the village and could hear the Muezzin (the man who calls men to prayer) and it feels so surreal to think we are walking in the middle east with all it's traditions. The people are very friendly but do not take photo's of the women folk at all. There image is purely for them and their men folk. One woman ran like hell toget away from me........................


This is the LANI Hotel....I think the name is the Sexton or something. 1000USD per night....... Do not think we will ever see the inside of this hotel at those prices. It is beautiful and very very private and secluded. Apparently it is frequented by movie stars and such. Cannot reach the hotel by road only by sea.

Dian on board with a cold one in the hand. We took our own booze on board. This was after a snorkel in another bay and he was so cold. He does not have a gram of fat to keep him warm.

The day on board is total leisure and the dhow motors up the coast. You can stop anywhere and fish and snorkel. All equipment is on board. You only have to seem interested to snorkel and Muggan and sidekick lower the anchor and get you doing what you desire...

Me on board and not behind the camera this time...... Just to prove I was there too.

It was so nice to cruise up the coast and see the Oman coast in the Musandam region (very north point of Oman. Strange thing is that Dibba the town has been built partly in UAE and partly in the sultan state of Oman. You go through a border post to enter the harbour. Your visa is not affected so on a Dubai visit visa you can enter this post of Oman and re enter the UAE again

The two men just chilling on board.

Another Fishing village we stopped at and got off. The people are all Omani and live like this and fish for a living. No I&J company. The men fish with nets every day and go to the market to sell their fish and return at night. Small speedboats are used as taxi's from Dibba to get the people to and fro. No car in this village at all. So no road coverage .....

I took a stroll into the village and was greeted by kids in very broken English. They do go to school by boat I believe.....

There is a lot of goats roaming around and the people are mostly indoors. I asked to be shown a house inside and it was no problem. First I had to trek myself up the mountain which is very stony and no foot path........ Th house is basically 3 rooms. One for sleeping ( on mats on the floor) another is the kitchen/wash house and another is the meeting room area. Very poor but so clean...........

I did not see toilets so I took the stroll down back to the beach very carefully..........................The Omani government delivers fresh water which is housed in big tanks to the people.

The view from the "veranda of the house I visited. The "river bed" in the picture is very active WHEN it rains........ The rain comes down from the mountains to the sea.

Our Dhow and speedboat in the picture. We spent the night there and it was magic. All you could see were stars and no Light. Muggan lit up the Dhow in colourful lights and played music and did a "barbeque" of fresh fish that was caught the afternoon. We also had chicken and salads and bread. It was Yummy.

They made beds for us on deck with mattresses and very warm blankets. It was an early night as we were bushed after all the water sports and action of the day.

Muggan, our personal Mc Gyver ,even made a bonfire on deck.... Before and after dinner. he loved the fire "fuel" Dian is having a laugh at the amount of fuel he kept on putting on the fire. We then realised if you laugh at anything he takes it as total enjoyment and does it again for another laugh. he was very sweet..... He is a pakistani and also kaniverstani BUT in another way as the taxi drivers.

A Beach in the Oman area which is the perfect camping spot. very clan and on the beach. It is also totally allowed with no permits and stuff. So all of u coming for a visit look carefully as we will pitch our tent in areas like this for a night or 2.

The Dhow trip was fantastic and worth another visit for sure but next time with family and friends.

My six weeks in Dubai flew past and we did so many fantastic stuff.

We went to GLOBAL VILLAGE which is a all year round "fair" of all countries in the world with small markets and stalls to buy their stuff. A big fun fare as well which Dian had a few very scary rides on.

Hannes and Dian went CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING and lived it. It is a professional club with all the gear and an instructor to do the sting. The Emirates are big on hunting I hear.

We saw had travelled all of the 7 EMIRATES. It is not difficult as the country is not very very big. It is a must see as Dubai and Abu Dhabi give one impression and the other are so different.

We went to CAMEL RACES. This is so good to see. All the Camels are brought to the race course The track to race is 15km long. We stood around like lost farts. It is to start at 14h30 BUT nothing happens until the Sheik arrives. This afternoon his Son the crown prince Hamdan did the honour of starting the races. Now the camels have robot jockey's on their backs. The owners travel in cars next to the tack and manage robot jockeys by remote control. It is more fun to watch the cavalcade of cars next to the track than the camels itself..... The "cars" have 2 lanes next to the track as well.

Just before the race started we were invited by and emirate in a very expensive dish dash , to sit in the sheik"s enclosure as he was on the track instead of us sitting amongst the locals. WOW. Golden chairs and cushions and waiters with drinks at our disposal. We also ad the sheiks guards sitting with us.

It was amazing to see the camels race so far. I just think a few of the camels who came in stone last were barbecued that night.

ATALNTIS again was fantastic. It is a full day of water and slides and rides and such a awesome size as well.

We did DUN BASHING by ourselves and many many more..........................

Dian and I had a taxi ride from hell from the flat to the airport in Dubai. Our plane left at 04h25 and Hannes needed to work the next day so I decided to go by taxi instead of him losing a full night sleep. Well this lunatic was falling asleep at the wheel and driving too fast and dangerous. I pulled a Marina Mary fit at him.......just for old times sake. We did arrive in one piece......

Arrival at Oliver Thambo was interesting and very familiar....................... We had another wait for our plane to PE.

Arrival in PE was fantastic. the hotel is so good and said welcome home on our arrival and even knew our names and immediately knew Dian left his models here to use today at the interview.

It is the Beach Hotel in PE and is family owned. Still like an olden days colonial hotel.

We were both buggered last night and had an early night.

To all of you who commented on the last blog THANKS it is good to see all the other ideas.......

OK ENOUGH FOR TODAY

MY HAMSTER WHEEL

ENTRANCE TO NOTRE DAMES IN PARIS - CLOSE UP


SAME ENTRANCE BUT FULL PICTURE



Click on each photo to enlarge it on your screen and look carefully. The first photo gives a close view of what is on your left and what is on your right.......
The second photo is of the same image but just the full view..........
After this blog entry your will sort of get my drift...

I have not blogged for 2 weeks due to the fact that I got off my hamster wheel and watched it "from a distance"...Sorry Bette Midler did not want to use your songs name but it was the only explanation I could come up with fr myself....
I believe that we are all hamsters in life and we get onto our "wheels" and run like hell to ???????
Go to a pet shop and watch the hamsters. Some are just lying in the corner sleeping or thinking !!!! others are on the wheel and you just see those tiny little legs go ballistic BUT they do not get anywhere specific and just carry on and on and on. Their tiny faces are so focused on this action and nothing distracts them. They also run in both directions fro time to time...The wheel turns to the the right and when they change direction it goes to the left.

Well my blogging readers I got off and took some serious stock of myself and situations. I have no choice but to get back on my wheel and run again, but that brings me to my photo;s on the blog... (I know I know I talk in colours and pictures and stories but you will get the hang of it.....)
My journey to this blog started like this:
We went to the Jumeira Mosque for a visit. It is not allowed for anyone other than a Muslim to enter a Mosque. The Sheik decided that understanding of Islam is needed and opened 2 Mosques in the UAE to visitors, of all faith denominations, at certain times. The idea was to give insight into Islam and the Muslim beliefs just for better understanding.
One aspect they believe is that we all have 2 angels looking after us. One on your left shoulder and one on the right shoulder. The shoulder on your right shoulder is the GOOD one and helps you to make good and kind deeds to others and yourself. The little shit on your left shoulder...........well it helps you make nasty decisions.
Please note that YOU still make the decision after listening to both or either of them.............
Go back to my photo's and look again......................Remebr it is the Note Damas in Paris (Catholic)
Get my drift..............
Ok that brings me back to me and my hamster wheel theory. Well I was running with the guidance of the left shoulder nasty one. I thought of all the bad and wrong and hurtful and difficult things and forgot my earlier position of positive thinking..............
Ok we all fall off some wagon at some time and the difference is what do we do when we fall.
Do we decide to stand up and go the same left route or do we take a different stand and try to do it is a more right sided way.
My wheel is not going to change at all the only change that it will make is my direction, attitude and the expression on my face while I am running like hell to ???????????????
MY DECISION
I am going to try my best to listen and take advise of my right sided angel. The lefty must go get on a hamster wheel of it's own.... I cannot handle the both of them.
The song coming to mind to explain my feelings at the moment are from Michael Jackson "Heal the world"
Go take a listen.

NOW don't get too excited for me yet as I still have to pull this one off...........but I am going to give it my best shot.
I have had six weeks with Hannes and it is not easy to have to say my goodbye's again on Monday But hey I have a lot to go and sort out for me to get my but back here.

Dubai is very nice and has many positive things but it also has a few down sides. It is a very expensive city to stay in so you have to keep your wits around you at all times. Here is so much wealth all around you that you have to be very aware not to fool yourself and think you are in the same league. Abu Dhabi gives the same feel.The rest of the Emirates does not make you feel the wealth so much.
One thing that has disturbed me is the amount of litter in the other Emirates. Dubai and Abu Dhabi you can eat of the roads it is so clean but the other five emirates are not in the same class. It did stop us from camping in the other Emirates as I did not want to camp on other peoples rubbish. We have heard to camp in Oman is very very nice.....so our camping is again to be continued at a later stage.

We are off to Oman tomorrow for a one night visit on a Dhow and I have heard it is beautiful. So I promise to take many photo's to share Oman with you as well.
It is the Dubai shopping festival now until 15 February. All the stores are marked down with at least 50%.
I have seen and experience so much in these six weeks again that sometimes I think the info overload is mind boggling.
Dian is very busy finalising his port folio as his personal interview is on Tuesday at PE university.
OK MY DEAREST ONES I AM DONE FOR THE DAY.......

AFTER LONG SILENCE

It has bees so long since my last blog that you will have to go and make some coffee, stock up on smokes and make yourself comfortable as this might be a long read......We have been really trodding all over the UAE and I have been very sick the last 4 days with flu. I was really man down and in bed feeling very sorry for myself...... Then worst of it all is that washing, ironing, cleaning and cooking wait for no woman.....
So lets continue with the update......

Hannes did his last dive at Fujairah, which is on the east coast of the UAE and borders Oman. That was also the first test camping expidition to be..... Hannes and the boys went out on the boat. The boys had a snorkel and Hannes did his dive. I opted to stay ashore as Rossouw and I had a little tiff and "red tide" was rife at Fujairah. I decided not to be on a boat with a kid I really would like to clobber overboard and why swim and snorkel in Red tide, when I can relax at the hotel pool and have my own tantilising company. I did just that.....
After all the men arrived back later in the afternoon we went to find a camping spot.....
The UAE is free to pitch a tent any where......... The Emirates think we expats are very mad to camp as they go to where ever we go and enjoy the day and return to their aircon and well kept apartments in the evening instead of camping. They do however stay out until very late and babeque "indian lamb" and listen to music and a lot more......
INDIAN LAMB is very disgusting..............will explain later............
We found a good spot and the men pitched the tent. It looked very easy from behind my camera lens.
We left the boys to blow up the matresses and make the fire while Hannes and I went to get meat and drinks and bread.....Remeber this was our first atttempt so we were not very organised.
We found a grocery shoppietjie (very small) language skills did not exsist at all.
We asked for meat at the "butchery" section. Pakistanikanivertani (the burchery attendant) must have only arrived in the UAE an hour before.......We saw a leg of "indian lamb" and asked for him to cut it in chops. Holy hell he only heard chops as he took the clever and chopped this indian lamb in stewing pieces.......We left minus the meat.
Next door was a restaurant and I went in there to ask f they have meat for sale for barbeque. The owner showed us chops and chicken pieces and we bought to take to braai.
Back at the camping site we had a lekker fire going and Dian was the braaier. We made coffee for me and Hannes and the boys had some beers. The first meat was "indian lamb" chops. DISGUSTING............ I them made "braai broodjies" and Dian did the chicken. That was very good.
OK let get you int the secret on Indian lamb which I only discovered a week after this evening. Indian lamb is dirt cheap and looks very long legged and skinny.......IT IS FRICKEN GOAT...
When i heard this I felt like a royal doos............ Never ever again....
We went to bed and had a restless night as Emirates had a late night party next to us on the beach and we never realised small boats on the beach means this is a fishing beach VERY early the next morning.......
We were woken by noisy fisherman the next morning taking their nets to sea by boat. Very interesting to see but bleddie hell at 05h00 in the morning....................
We packed up and explored more of the area before heading home.

THE VIEUW FORM OUR "TENT" FRONT verandah the first morning after camping.


HANNES AND THE BOYS PUTTING UP THE TENT
Our tent is very lani. It has a seperate bedroom compartment which is very cool.


FUJAIRAH BEACH
This is where I spent my day while they were diving and snorkeling. Amazing to think this is in the desert of Arabia. Loo at the mountains in the back ground. They are totally barren mountains bit look majestic and have red desert sand aginst them.

After all that camping practise we were rearing to go and camp some more. The only thing I find disturbing is the lack of toilet and shower facilities................. The best fashion statement you get is a shovel and toilet paper...........Then every one knwos exactly where you are going............

After Christmas we went for 4 days to show the boys and myself all the other Emerates. There are 7 and we had aleady seen Fujairah and Abu Dhabi previously.

The next 4 are Sharjah, Ajman, Um Al Quwain and Ras All Khaima. We live in the other one which is Dubai.

We were packed and ready to camp............ This however never worked. At the first plave we wanted to stay you have to book 2 days in advance...................... It was getting dark so we went and booked into the Palma resort at Um All Quwain. Fantastic. We had a super evening with the boys at the water edged. The boys had a beer fest asi Um All Quwain you do not need a liquor lisence to buy booze. (About an hours drive from Dubai !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
PALMA RESORT AT UMM AL QUWAIN

BEACH AT AJMAN

I JUST FINISHED MY FIRST DUNE ON DUNE BASHING WITH OUR OWN CAR.....

THE DUNE BASHERS............................

SOME SMALL DUNE'S WE WERE TAUGHT ON

SORRY THE FOTO'S SEEM TO HAVE BEEN MIXED UP MY ME WHEN LOADING SO LETS GET THE DUNE BASHING STORY DONE FIRST.

We were invited by old expats to join them to dune bash............We were there in a flash..... It is fricking scary. The foto's do not do the dune's any justice. As you get to the dune you have to go over but have absolutely no idea what is waiting on the other side. I nearly shat myself in the begining.

Hannes handled it very well and later on he forced me to drive too. I did it and came out of the car shaking like a leaf as you have to go full speed when going up the dune and all you can see is the sky as you climb straight up..............

Now we can do it if we want to but we wont be doing it too often as I think it is not good for your car at all.

We all had a braai in the middle of the desert for a lunch break. It was a very nice day out.


ROSSI AT RAS AL KAHAIMA N A JETSKI

DIAN THE SAME

back t the 4 days again. When we got to Ras al Khaima to try and camp again It was so dirty as the Emirates leave all their rubbish just where they had a visit.............. Dubai is very clean and also Abu Dhabi but as soob as you get to the other emirates it is very disturbibg to see the rubbish laying around. I opted not to camp on ther peoples rubbish. We saw it with the dune bashing too. In the desert they leave all their old plastic bags and stuff for ???????????? to pick up. Not nice to see at all......


THE BLUE SOUK AT SJARJAH

This is a good shopping souk and very cose to Dubai. Prices are better than in Dubai as well. There are nice lamps and carpets and turisty stuff.

To see all the emirates was good and you have to ralise that this is a desert. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the jewes in the crown and the others are nice but not as wow as Dubai. Sjarjah has a beautiful city and corniche.

We got back from the road trip (did No camping AT ALL.......................... Every one who has been here longer than us says only to camp in Oman. It is clean and has facilities....) and it was good to see all and be home. We were geared for new year's party at the Irish Village in Dubai.

SURPRISE......................The sheik cancelled all new year parties to show some solordarity to Gaza........................... Rossouw was devastated. It was decided by Oman and the emirates to cancel all parties for new year . We have to realise we live in a country governed by the sheikh.

We had a relative quiet new year.

Three days ago the rule of Umm Al Quwain died so here are 3 more public holidays for mourning in Dubai.

I did not mind as I felt very sick with flu. I have not been so sick for a long time. I was man down for 4 days. Still do not feel very up and bright.

DIANS BIRTHDAY AT BURG AL ARAB
We took Dian for breakfast at Burg Al Arab fr his birthday. It was a wow moment.

The hotel is amazing . We were like real tourists and went up in the lift to the top floor to try an see the veiuw. It was fantastic as you can see the whole palm and arabian gulf all around. I did not really like the hotel interior as it is very brash. It must be amazing to stay there Maybe some day hey...

ossouw nly has 3 more days in Dubai and he seems ready to leave. I think he needs to get back to his own life now.

I am going for my license tomorrow and then I have ti drive Dubai city streets...................

My mind is now buggered..........

Chat later again