I've got about an hour before I leave for the airport. I've never been so sad to go home. The weather has been great, even the 38C days. I don't think I successfully portrayed how awful business travel can be, because this has been a particularly good trip. I've been very popular here, it's been good for my ego.
Saturday I woke up in Dubai and wandered around the souks. I bought some spices and a piece of fabric. Most other stuff was just too expensive, and I couldn't bargain them down. I took a boat across the creek for 1AED (about 30c). The driver was very helpful, making all the men move to make room for me, but he was disappointed when I didn't take him up on his offer for a private tour.
I then took the bus back to AD. It turns out AT was wrong about where the bus station was, and the 20AED bus wasn't as nice as the 15AED one. It's a lot smaller, with seats to match. This one had clearly marked seats for women. I had to share a seat with the only other woman on the bus.
I was thinking perhaps I'd have to give AT a new title, since his advice wasn't spot on. But he earned it again on Sunday when I was denied entry to the compound to go to one of the warehouses. I have been there every day for a month, but on my second last day, they deny me entry? AT arrived, yelled at them (or so it seemed to my English ears) for a few minutes, and they turned to me and said "Welcome!"
So, back to Calgary, and a few feet of snow.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
public transport
It's my last weekend here, and I have a whole 2 days off. All the other guys are working at least one day, either Friday or Saturday.
So I have taken the opportunity to come back to Dubai, this time overnight.
Since I had nobody to share the taxi with, I decided to brave the bus. AT told me it would be 20AED, but I ended up on a bus that only cost 15. Probably not the first class bus, but it was fine.
The taxi dropped me off at the bus station, and immediately in front of me were a collection of "antique" mini-busses. The drivers were standing around and as soon as I got out of the taxi, they started calling out to me "Lady, the bus to Dubai, it's right here!" Um, no, that's not what I've read about. So I managed to find the actual bus station in the next parking lot.
I wandered around for a while looking for a ticket booth. Inside the terminal building, everything was closed and there was some Arabic chanting being played on the intercom. I assumed it was prayer time and was going to wait until everything opened again. But even finding a seat was difficult because while there weren't a lot of people there, all the people were men. Every one of them. And I had trouble finding a seat that wasn't next to someone staring at me. So I walked back outside, where I found a Chinese looking woman and asked her where to buy the tickets. She asked her boyfriend, who told me that you buy them on the bus.
So I go up to the only bus with a driver in it and ask about going to Dubai. Sure, right here, 15AED. Hmmm, well, it looks okay. The worst case scenario is that it takes 40 stops between AD and Dubai, and then I get to see more, right?
I had been told that women had to sit in the first couple of rows and men had to sit at the back. I was also told that men could sit at the front if it was not occupied by a woman. But if the front was full, women could not sit in the back. So I was a little nervous about not being able to get a seat, or having to wedge into the only 10 seats available to women. The back was definitely full of men. The first half of the bus was women, couples and families. And since it was the first half of the bus for women, there were a lot of empty seats, so I got one to myself.
We made a couple of stops close to Dubai, but we arrived in less than 2 hours. Where we arrived was not where AT told me the bus station was, but it was closer to my hotel, so it worked out fine.
Getting off the bus, though, I was afraid we'd somehow arrived in Mumbai! There were wall to wall people, mostly men of South Asian decent. The neighbourhood wasn't too pretty, but there were taxis, and very few people willing to take them.
So now I am off to find something to do here.
So I have taken the opportunity to come back to Dubai, this time overnight.
Since I had nobody to share the taxi with, I decided to brave the bus. AT told me it would be 20AED, but I ended up on a bus that only cost 15. Probably not the first class bus, but it was fine.
The taxi dropped me off at the bus station, and immediately in front of me were a collection of "antique" mini-busses. The drivers were standing around and as soon as I got out of the taxi, they started calling out to me "Lady, the bus to Dubai, it's right here!" Um, no, that's not what I've read about. So I managed to find the actual bus station in the next parking lot.
I wandered around for a while looking for a ticket booth. Inside the terminal building, everything was closed and there was some Arabic chanting being played on the intercom. I assumed it was prayer time and was going to wait until everything opened again. But even finding a seat was difficult because while there weren't a lot of people there, all the people were men. Every one of them. And I had trouble finding a seat that wasn't next to someone staring at me. So I walked back outside, where I found a Chinese looking woman and asked her where to buy the tickets. She asked her boyfriend, who told me that you buy them on the bus.
So I go up to the only bus with a driver in it and ask about going to Dubai. Sure, right here, 15AED. Hmmm, well, it looks okay. The worst case scenario is that it takes 40 stops between AD and Dubai, and then I get to see more, right?
I had been told that women had to sit in the first couple of rows and men had to sit at the back. I was also told that men could sit at the front if it was not occupied by a woman. But if the front was full, women could not sit in the back. So I was a little nervous about not being able to get a seat, or having to wedge into the only 10 seats available to women. The back was definitely full of men. The first half of the bus was women, couples and families. And since it was the first half of the bus for women, there were a lot of empty seats, so I got one to myself.
We made a couple of stops close to Dubai, but we arrived in less than 2 hours. Where we arrived was not where AT told me the bus station was, but it was closer to my hotel, so it worked out fine.
Getting off the bus, though, I was afraid we'd somehow arrived in Mumbai! There were wall to wall people, mostly men of South Asian decent. The neighbourhood wasn't too pretty, but there were taxis, and very few people willing to take them.
So now I am off to find something to do here.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Al Ain
It turns out nobody really knows when the camel races take place. I found several websites that said Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to 2pm. I found one tourist guide that said 7-9am and 2pm to 4pm. So we went at 1:30, and there was clearly nothing going on. We drove our car down an empty stretch of track, took some pictures, looked around for some kind of info on the next race date (nothing) and moved on.
From there we went to Al Ain, another city in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It's a nice, sort of bedroom community. It's a bit far for commuting, 140km away (although I hear that some people commute from Oman - another country, because housing prices are so bad in Abu Dhabi). There's no oil there, and no corporate offices of major companies. It's a ways off the coast. But it's got some interesting landscape features and it's the birthplace of Abu Dhabi inhabitation, and therefore the heritage and cultural heart of Abu Dhabi.
First we went up to the top of Jebel Hafeet, the Abu Dhabi mountain. It's a large rock sticking up out of the desert, with a viewing platform on top (and a hotel being built). PL pointed out that if we moved to the UAE, UberGeek could go mountain biking. But it's a bit steep and rough even for my nutjob. The back side of the mountain is about 10km from the Oman border, it was interesting to look down and see a clear line where the development of Oman butts right up to the edge of the UAE.
At the bottom of Jebel Hafeet there's a man-made oasis park. It's supposed to be a natural spring, but they haven't done a good job of the hiding irrigation system and the pipes that supply the waterfall and stream that the children play in. But it's pretty, and has lots of grass to lay in, play soccer on or just have a picnic. There are bbqs around and the air in the late afternoon was filled with the delicious smells of Middle Eastern meats being grilled. Yum, I was hungry! (but we didn't bring our own and didn't know anyone there, so we couldn't share.)
Since we didn't get to see camels at the race track, our driver took us to a camel souk, where camels are bought and sold. UberGeek likes to tease me about my fondness for foreign markets, so I told him I was buying a camel. Our dog gets lonely sometimes. Our driver warned us that the vendors would offer to take our picture with the camels, but then you'd have to pay them $20 to get your camera back. And sure enough, we got LOTS of offers to take a picture. They gave us some food to feed the baby camels and let us take our own pictures, for which PL gave them the expected tip.
Then we went to the reason Al Ain was where people first settled this reason, the natural oasis, which is now a palm tree plantation. It kind of seemed like a Disney forest, as all the plots are separated with well maintained cobblestone roads and walls, and it seems odd to have a full forest of palm trees in the middle of the desert. But it was here before the oil money allowed them to build the park at the base of Jebel Hafeet. Back in the day, it was the only source of shade and water for hundreds of miles.
For the evening, the guys wanted to go to a Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert at the old fort in Al Ain, so we had the driver drop us off at a nearby hotel to buy tickets. When we heard that the cheapest tickets were just under $100, I said I would hang out at the hotel or go to the mall while the concert was on. That's a bit much for a recently unemployed girl. So the woman said "Are you a student? You look like a student, and the student price is only 30Dh ($10)." So I bought a student ticket and it turns out that the price was basically negotiable, since several people there in their 50s had bought "student" tickets. The guys were fine with their 250Dh tickets.
We had dinner at the hotel before the concert. I bought a drink called a "Samoan Fog Cutter" in honour of my wedding in Samoa. It wasn't as tastey as the Blueberry Mojito, but I think there was actually the same amount of alcohol in that one glass as there is on the entire Samoan island of Savaii. I almost fell asleep at the concert!
After the concert, we drove back to Abu Dhabi and we are back at work today (short day?).
Blogger seems to be putting my pics backwards, but I think you can figure it out.
From there we went to Al Ain, another city in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It's a nice, sort of bedroom community. It's a bit far for commuting, 140km away (although I hear that some people commute from Oman - another country, because housing prices are so bad in Abu Dhabi). There's no oil there, and no corporate offices of major companies. It's a ways off the coast. But it's got some interesting landscape features and it's the birthplace of Abu Dhabi inhabitation, and therefore the heritage and cultural heart of Abu Dhabi.
First we went up to the top of Jebel Hafeet, the Abu Dhabi mountain. It's a large rock sticking up out of the desert, with a viewing platform on top (and a hotel being built). PL pointed out that if we moved to the UAE, UberGeek could go mountain biking. But it's a bit steep and rough even for my nutjob. The back side of the mountain is about 10km from the Oman border, it was interesting to look down and see a clear line where the development of Oman butts right up to the edge of the UAE.
At the bottom of Jebel Hafeet there's a man-made oasis park. It's supposed to be a natural spring, but they haven't done a good job of the hiding irrigation system and the pipes that supply the waterfall and stream that the children play in. But it's pretty, and has lots of grass to lay in, play soccer on or just have a picnic. There are bbqs around and the air in the late afternoon was filled with the delicious smells of Middle Eastern meats being grilled. Yum, I was hungry! (but we didn't bring our own and didn't know anyone there, so we couldn't share.)
Since we didn't get to see camels at the race track, our driver took us to a camel souk, where camels are bought and sold. UberGeek likes to tease me about my fondness for foreign markets, so I told him I was buying a camel. Our dog gets lonely sometimes. Our driver warned us that the vendors would offer to take our picture with the camels, but then you'd have to pay them $20 to get your camera back. And sure enough, we got LOTS of offers to take a picture. They gave us some food to feed the baby camels and let us take our own pictures, for which PL gave them the expected tip.
Then we went to the reason Al Ain was where people first settled this reason, the natural oasis, which is now a palm tree plantation. It kind of seemed like a Disney forest, as all the plots are separated with well maintained cobblestone roads and walls, and it seems odd to have a full forest of palm trees in the middle of the desert. But it was here before the oil money allowed them to build the park at the base of Jebel Hafeet. Back in the day, it was the only source of shade and water for hundreds of miles.
For the evening, the guys wanted to go to a Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert at the old fort in Al Ain, so we had the driver drop us off at a nearby hotel to buy tickets. When we heard that the cheapest tickets were just under $100, I said I would hang out at the hotel or go to the mall while the concert was on. That's a bit much for a recently unemployed girl. So the woman said "Are you a student? You look like a student, and the student price is only 30Dh ($10)." So I bought a student ticket and it turns out that the price was basically negotiable, since several people there in their 50s had bought "student" tickets. The guys were fine with their 250Dh tickets.
We had dinner at the hotel before the concert. I bought a drink called a "Samoan Fog Cutter" in honour of my wedding in Samoa. It wasn't as tastey as the Blueberry Mojito, but I think there was actually the same amount of alcohol in that one glass as there is on the entire Samoan island of Savaii. I almost fell asleep at the concert!
After the concert, we drove back to Abu Dhabi and we are back at work today (short day?).
Blogger seems to be putting my pics backwards, but I think you can figure it out.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
3 weeks down...
There hasn't been much to write about over the last couple of days. Most of my work is done, I am now waiting for the customer to come in and do some testing. I probably could be sitting at the hotel, but I'm hanging out at the warehouse where the internet access is free. Getting a taxi to pick me up out here is such a PITA.
Yesterday I got to go back to the hotel around 6pm. The rest of the guys got home around 10pm. I took advantage of my evening off to go shopping. I have had a minor cold this week (it's clearing up already) so I needed to find some sore throat drops.
(Side note) I had an ant problem in my room earlier. I wasn't sure if I had imported them from the warehouse, or if they started at the hotel. But when I phoned the front desk and asked them to send up housekeeping with a can of Raid, the guy (not many women workers here) came in and walked directly to the desk area, even though I had not said anything about where the ants were. So I think they get this a lot.
Anyway, I had brought some Vicks drops with me, but I found them covered in ants, so I had to toss them, so I went to the mall to look for a replacement.
While there, I decided to pick up some more packets of this Caramel Chai Latte stuff I have been drinking. It's made by Lipton, but I've never seen it at home, and you can never have enough tea... They were having a promotion if you buy the tea (which I was there for anyway) you get a scratch card. I won a free cell phone card! I have been given a phone for use here, and this card is for the same company. When I leave, I'll pass the phone onto someone else on the project team. Hey, not a new car, but it's nice to win something.
About the lack of women workers... The vast majority of labour here is provided by transients from India and Pakistan. They make signifigantly more here than at home, and the UAE is pretty easy to get into if you are willing to work. But, the money is not good enough to bring your family over. The cost of accomodations is astronomical. The average wages for the workers is about $500-1000 a month. But a decent apartment is several thousand. So they share apartments with 5 or 6 other men, or live in labour camps and send the extra money home. It's not exactly a good situation for families or couples. And there aren't too many women willing to leave their homes and live like that. So all the housekeeping staff at the hotel are men.
No plans for the weekend. I discovered this morning that there is a camel race track nearby that runs races on Thursdays and Fridays, so we may go tomorrow. AT laughed at me for suggesting it, PL thinks it's an awesome idea, and one of the other guys is indifferent. We'll see how early we get up in the morning.
Yesterday I got to go back to the hotel around 6pm. The rest of the guys got home around 10pm. I took advantage of my evening off to go shopping. I have had a minor cold this week (it's clearing up already) so I needed to find some sore throat drops.
(Side note) I had an ant problem in my room earlier. I wasn't sure if I had imported them from the warehouse, or if they started at the hotel. But when I phoned the front desk and asked them to send up housekeeping with a can of Raid, the guy (not many women workers here) came in and walked directly to the desk area, even though I had not said anything about where the ants were. So I think they get this a lot.
Anyway, I had brought some Vicks drops with me, but I found them covered in ants, so I had to toss them, so I went to the mall to look for a replacement.
While there, I decided to pick up some more packets of this Caramel Chai Latte stuff I have been drinking. It's made by Lipton, but I've never seen it at home, and you can never have enough tea... They were having a promotion if you buy the tea (which I was there for anyway) you get a scratch card. I won a free cell phone card! I have been given a phone for use here, and this card is for the same company. When I leave, I'll pass the phone onto someone else on the project team. Hey, not a new car, but it's nice to win something.
About the lack of women workers... The vast majority of labour here is provided by transients from India and Pakistan. They make signifigantly more here than at home, and the UAE is pretty easy to get into if you are willing to work. But, the money is not good enough to bring your family over. The cost of accomodations is astronomical. The average wages for the workers is about $500-1000 a month. But a decent apartment is several thousand. So they share apartments with 5 or 6 other men, or live in labour camps and send the extra money home. It's not exactly a good situation for families or couples. And there aren't too many women willing to leave their homes and live like that. So all the housekeeping staff at the hotel are men.
No plans for the weekend. I discovered this morning that there is a camel race track nearby that runs races on Thursdays and Fridays, so we may go tomorrow. AT laughed at me for suggesting it, PL thinks it's an awesome idea, and one of the other guys is indifferent. We'll see how early we get up in the morning.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday
I wrote this on Sunday, but forgot to post it. Oops!
I had to work yesterday, Saturday, but when the vendor I was supposed to be working with didn't show up by noon, I left early. He came later in the day, but as of 7pm today, he's still not ready for me.
I went and checked out the Iranian souk here in AD, which once again did not merit any purchases. There are basically 2 main sections; household items (strainers, buckets and canisters) and plants. There was also one carpet shop, but I wasn't in the mood to bargain with them so I kept walking. The plants are cool, too bad none of them will grow in Calgary, and customs wouldn't let me try anyway.
Then I wandered the downtown area trying to get to the waterfront, but due to the construction, I couldn't find it. I then walked back part of the way I came Thursday night / Friday morning. Apparently, I hadn't noticed all the construction, broken sidewalks and 3 foot curbs. I am amazed I managed to get home, drunk, while wearing heels without killing myself.
I had to work yesterday, Saturday, but when the vendor I was supposed to be working with didn't show up by noon, I left early. He came later in the day, but as of 7pm today, he's still not ready for me.
I went and checked out the Iranian souk here in AD, which once again did not merit any purchases. There are basically 2 main sections; household items (strainers, buckets and canisters) and plants. There was also one carpet shop, but I wasn't in the mood to bargain with them so I kept walking. The plants are cool, too bad none of them will grow in Calgary, and customs wouldn't let me try anyway.
Then I wandered the downtown area trying to get to the waterfront, but due to the construction, I couldn't find it. I then walked back part of the way I came Thursday night / Friday morning. Apparently, I hadn't noticed all the construction, broken sidewalks and 3 foot curbs. I am amazed I managed to get home, drunk, while wearing heels without killing myself.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Blueberry Mojitos and blisters
So I went out dancing for the first time in years last night. I discovered a new drink called a blueberry mojito, and that I can order a rum and coke here and not only get rum (as opposed to rye) but it's Havana Club, yay! I also discovered that for a "dry" country, they sure serve their drinks strong here. I had been shocked earlier at the prices of drinks here, but now I realize that the $10 drinks here have about as much punch as 2 $5 drinks at home. So $40 still buys enough drinks to think that walking home in new sandals is a good idea. I now feel like I am 17 again, dancing half the night and waking up smelling like an ashtray.
I got to see first hand how NOT reserved the Middle Eastern culture is last night. At home, men only dance when they are trying to meet women. And there is a rule of how high your arms can go unless you want people to know you are gay. Here, they all dance however they feel like, simply because they like the music, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in a group of other men. I was also a little disappointed when we arrived "early" (around 11:30pm) and I saw that there was no dance floor. But once the place filled up, I realized there's no dance floor because there's no rules about where you can dance. There's no concept of the people who want to dance go to the area in that corner while people who want to stand stay in this area. Everyone is dancing to some degree.
I am getting a lot of emails from friends and coworkers back home concerned about my recent change in employment status. I am in as much shock as anyone else, but it happens to everyone at some point in their lives. I am fortunate enough to have a pretty good last site trip and trying to just enjoy it while it lasts.
I got to see first hand how NOT reserved the Middle Eastern culture is last night. At home, men only dance when they are trying to meet women. And there is a rule of how high your arms can go unless you want people to know you are gay. Here, they all dance however they feel like, simply because they like the music, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in a group of other men. I was also a little disappointed when we arrived "early" (around 11:30pm) and I saw that there was no dance floor. But once the place filled up, I realized there's no dance floor because there's no rules about where you can dance. There's no concept of the people who want to dance go to the area in that corner while people who want to stand stay in this area. Everyone is dancing to some degree.
I am getting a lot of emails from friends and coworkers back home concerned about my recent change in employment status. I am in as much shock as anyone else, but it happens to everyone at some point in their lives. I am fortunate enough to have a pretty good last site trip and trying to just enjoy it while it lasts.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Laid off
There's a guy at work who joked during the last round of layoffs (4 years ago?) that laying people off while they are on site is the easiest thing to do because they just cancel your plane ticket home.
I now know exactly how it works. I got a phone call from the office back in Calgary this morning letting me know that I am being laid off. I have been given a choice of staying till the end of the project or going home early, I plan to stick it out.
I have the day off today, to think about my options. So I am hoping I can finally get my nails fixed, and see a bit more of Abu Dhabi.
I now know exactly how it works. I got a phone call from the office back in Calgary this morning letting me know that I am being laid off. I have been given a choice of staying till the end of the project or going home early, I plan to stick it out.
I have the day off today, to think about my options. So I am hoping I can finally get my nails fixed, and see a bit more of Abu Dhabi.
Another 13 hour day without power
I was ready to come home at 6pm today. Nobody else was ready to leave, meaning I had no ride back into town. So it took until 6:30 to convince them to let me call a taxi. I waited another 70 minutes, and the taxi never showed -they had said it would be there in 20 minutes. Finally, everyone else was ready and the taxi arrived just as the van was leaving. Then the van driver decided to take the scenic route home, so it took over an hour. It was 9pm before I got back to the hotel.
I am having a dinner of M&Ms and bottled water for the second night in a row because it's too late to be wandering around looking for food.
So, as the title says, I still don't have power at my second warehouse. Yesterday, they brought in the equipment to connect my power, dropped it off and left again. It seems that there is enough going on at the first warehouse since I have set everything up there that nobody cares about the second warehouse. The PL is finding me things to do at the first warehouse while I wait for power at the second.
I desperately need a manicure. I have gel nails, which are about 4 weeks old now. I didn't get a chance to fix them before I left. And combined with the dirty working conditions at the warehouse, they are now a complete embarrassment. They are broken and are lifting with dirt underneath them. I phoned several places while I waited for my taxi, thinking I might get into town while the salons were still open (and could tell the taxi to take me directly there) but it turns out that the half a dozen or so nail places here only do 3-4 appointments per day. Apparently anyone who can afford the luxury of a manicure doesn't have a job!
I am supposed to go out with AT tomorrow night for a drink (end of the work week here) and I am feeling like I need it.
I am having a dinner of M&Ms and bottled water for the second night in a row because it's too late to be wandering around looking for food.
So, as the title says, I still don't have power at my second warehouse. Yesterday, they brought in the equipment to connect my power, dropped it off and left again. It seems that there is enough going on at the first warehouse since I have set everything up there that nobody cares about the second warehouse. The PL is finding me things to do at the first warehouse while I wait for power at the second.
I desperately need a manicure. I have gel nails, which are about 4 weeks old now. I didn't get a chance to fix them before I left. And combined with the dirty working conditions at the warehouse, they are now a complete embarrassment. They are broken and are lifting with dirt underneath them. I phoned several places while I waited for my taxi, thinking I might get into town while the salons were still open (and could tell the taxi to take me directly there) but it turns out that the half a dozen or so nail places here only do 3-4 appointments per day. Apparently anyone who can afford the luxury of a manicure doesn't have a job!
I am supposed to go out with AT tomorrow night for a drink (end of the work week here) and I am feeling like I need it.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A tour of the sand dunes
It's now Monday morning, I have a late start due to lack of power and transportation logistics. I am sitting at the office downtown waiting for our driver and for AT to do some paperwork. The other Canadian guys have already gone out to work at the other site. I walked the 4 blocks to the office. As I left the hotel, I phoned AT to confirm the address. It then took 15 minutes to get across the road (down a couple of blocks and up and over a crosswalk) and another 5 to walk the 4 blocks up one road and get to the office. When I arrived, AT gave me a strange look. "What's that look for?" "You phoned me 20 minutes ago, how lost did you get?" Glad to know I amuse him as much as he amuses me.
We did the dune bashing tour on Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun, although a bit of touristy kitsch. AT came along, since he's new to the UAE, but it was so cheesy for him, riding camels and looking at desert and smoking a sheesha.
On the way home, I asked AT about Islam in Egypt (what sect is most common there?) and got a lecture from the tour guide. For the rest of the drive, the guide ranted about how there is no difference between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, they all have the same roots, except that Christians are wrong for believing that Mary could have given birth to the son of God (according to him). He said nothing I didn't know, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and he would not drop it. Then he went on to rant about the word "terrorism", which he feels is too strong a word, and that even terrorists take offense to being called that. AT is still teasing me about it, he says that when someone starts on like that, the best thing to do is to just shut up and wait for it to end. It's only been a week, and he's learning that I am not very good at that.
It's been rather windy here the last few days, and I'm getting to experience the sand storms.
We did the dune bashing tour on Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun, although a bit of touristy kitsch. AT came along, since he's new to the UAE, but it was so cheesy for him, riding camels and looking at desert and smoking a sheesha.
On the way home, I asked AT about Islam in Egypt (what sect is most common there?) and got a lecture from the tour guide. For the rest of the drive, the guide ranted about how there is no difference between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, they all have the same roots, except that Christians are wrong for believing that Mary could have given birth to the son of God (according to him). He said nothing I didn't know, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and he would not drop it. Then he went on to rant about the word "terrorism", which he feels is too strong a word, and that even terrorists take offense to being called that. AT is still teasing me about it, he says that when someone starts on like that, the best thing to do is to just shut up and wait for it to end. It's only been a week, and he's learning that I am not very good at that.
It's been rather windy here the last few days, and I'm getting to experience the sand storms.
Monday, March 2, 2009
A day in Dubai
I'm having internet problems at the hotel, sometimes I get a connection, sometimes I can't. So I am writing this on Saturday afternoon, but it might not be posted for a few days.
We went to Dubai yesterday. It's definitely more the glossy, Jetsons city I expected. We took a taxi from Abu Dhabi to the Dubai Mall, where we wandered around and checked out their aquarium. There's a gold souk there, and I checked out a couple of stores, but didn't buy anything.
Then we took a taxi down the "creek" area, which is actually a lot larger than a creek. There's a historic district there and they still use a lot of the dhow boats to cross. There's a souk there, but since it was Friday, everything was closed.
Then we had a taxi drive us past the Burj al-Arab hotel so we could a picture on the way to the Mall of the Emirates - home of Ski Dubai!
At the MoE, I saw a store selling nothing but the tiniest bikinis. And the woman shopping there was completely covered with just her eyes showing. I wanted to take a picture, but I wouldn't want someone taking MY picture for shopping in a store that seems out of place for me, so I refrained from doing it to her.
At all of these malls, I didn't buy much, as it's all the same stores we have in Canada, with similar or higher prices.
I did buy a pair of sandals, though. I have met a new friend here from Egypt, my Arabic Translator. [He's actually a technical guy, and there's no need to have a translator here -the common language among all the different nationalities here seems to be English , but for the purpose of this blog, he'll be hereby known as AT.] AT invited me out to a bar on Thursday night. I really wanted to go, but I only brought hiking shoes for work in the warehouse, Columbia sandals for walking around on weekends and runners in case I ever get a chance to do some running. None of these are acceptable attire for the clubs here. Other clothes I have may not what I would wear for a night on the town at home, but it would satisfy the dress code here. So I am ready for next weekend.
And if I don't get a chance to go, hey, I bought shoes! What girl would be sad about that?
This morning I went to a shopping center here in Abu Dhabi that's a little less westernized. But again I didn't buy anything, since although the products were all from different eastern areas, they are all imported, and about the same selection and quality I can find in Canada if I really want it.
The taxi driver was an interesting character. He was from Pakistan, and his wife just delivered their first baby last night. He was so excited! He kept asking me why I don't have children, I just told him I can't have them to avoid the discussion of not wanting them with a complete stranger with different cultural values. He didn't seem to understand that, though, and kept asking. He also said he had another Canadian woman in his taxi a few days ago who was 5 months pregnant and not married. Not married!! She had told him that in Canada it's not a problem to be pregnant and not married, and he wanted confirmation. I agreed that it's not a problem in Canada. He countinued to be shocked, saying that in his country a woman would be killed. "How can you have a baby with no husband?" I was thinking maybe she had a wife, but I wasn't about to get into THAT discussion.
I was going to go to the Iranian souk to do some more shopping, but it was rather difficult to get a taxi and it was stinking hot (36C+), so I decided just to come back to the hotel and hang out by the pool and beach.
I'll now be leaving in about half an hour for our dune bashing trip.
Trying to add pictures in a specific order seems to also contribute to the internet issues, so I am giving up and just posting as is. Here are some random pics from our day in Dubai. The last 2 are the flower petals in the toilet (before I used it) and the valet parking at the Mall of the Emirates.
We went to Dubai yesterday. It's definitely more the glossy, Jetsons city I expected. We took a taxi from Abu Dhabi to the Dubai Mall, where we wandered around and checked out their aquarium. There's a gold souk there, and I checked out a couple of stores, but didn't buy anything.
Then we took a taxi down the "creek" area, which is actually a lot larger than a creek. There's a historic district there and they still use a lot of the dhow boats to cross. There's a souk there, but since it was Friday, everything was closed.
Then we had a taxi drive us past the Burj al-Arab hotel so we could a picture on the way to the Mall of the Emirates - home of Ski Dubai!
At the MoE, I saw a store selling nothing but the tiniest bikinis. And the woman shopping there was completely covered with just her eyes showing. I wanted to take a picture, but I wouldn't want someone taking MY picture for shopping in a store that seems out of place for me, so I refrained from doing it to her.
At all of these malls, I didn't buy much, as it's all the same stores we have in Canada, with similar or higher prices.
I did buy a pair of sandals, though. I have met a new friend here from Egypt, my Arabic Translator. [He's actually a technical guy, and there's no need to have a translator here -the common language among all the different nationalities here seems to be English , but for the purpose of this blog, he'll be hereby known as AT.] AT invited me out to a bar on Thursday night. I really wanted to go, but I only brought hiking shoes for work in the warehouse, Columbia sandals for walking around on weekends and runners in case I ever get a chance to do some running. None of these are acceptable attire for the clubs here. Other clothes I have may not what I would wear for a night on the town at home, but it would satisfy the dress code here. So I am ready for next weekend.
And if I don't get a chance to go, hey, I bought shoes! What girl would be sad about that?
This morning I went to a shopping center here in Abu Dhabi that's a little less westernized. But again I didn't buy anything, since although the products were all from different eastern areas, they are all imported, and about the same selection and quality I can find in Canada if I really want it.
The taxi driver was an interesting character. He was from Pakistan, and his wife just delivered their first baby last night. He was so excited! He kept asking me why I don't have children, I just told him I can't have them to avoid the discussion of not wanting them with a complete stranger with different cultural values. He didn't seem to understand that, though, and kept asking. He also said he had another Canadian woman in his taxi a few days ago who was 5 months pregnant and not married. Not married!! She had told him that in Canada it's not a problem to be pregnant and not married, and he wanted confirmation. I agreed that it's not a problem in Canada. He countinued to be shocked, saying that in his country a woman would be killed. "How can you have a baby with no husband?" I was thinking maybe she had a wife, but I wasn't about to get into THAT discussion.
I was going to go to the Iranian souk to do some more shopping, but it was rather difficult to get a taxi and it was stinking hot (36C+), so I decided just to come back to the hotel and hang out by the pool and beach.
I'll now be leaving in about half an hour for our dune bashing trip.
Trying to add pictures in a specific order seems to also contribute to the internet issues, so I am giving up and just posting as is. Here are some random pics from our day in Dubai. The last 2 are the flower petals in the toilet (before I used it) and the valet parking at the Mall of the Emirates.
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