Thanks for all the emails, it’s really good to read them and keep up with what’s happening.
On Sunday I went out to the mosque at Jumeirah which is the only mosque in Dubai that allows entry to non-Muslims. The tours are on Tuesday and Sunday mornings and the guide is usually an English speaking convert who encourages questions of all types which makes for a very interesting session. Ladies and gents need to dress modestly, long sleeves and long trousers for both sexes (though ladies can wear long skirts) and ladies must wear a head scarf.
Yesterday I went out to Ibn Battuta Mall which is the biggest mall I’ve been to. It’s named after a famous 14th century Arabic explorer. The mall is a kilometre long from one end to the other and divided into ‘courts’ which have different themes – China, India, Egypt, Tunisia and another couple that I forget. To say it’s huge is an understatement, the China court has a full size junk in the middle and there’s still masses of room to spare both in height and width. Lots of familiar names; Athletes Foot, Billabong, The Body Shop etc and the big UK chains, Debenhams and BHS. Woolworths is here too but it sells clothes only which is different to both Aus and NZ. In each court there are also static displays about Ibn Battuta, his travels, literature, development of Islam, science etc in the 14th century which are really interesting. Shopping hours are 10-10 Sat-Tue and 10-midnight Wed-Fri. Photos of the mall are at http://www.geocities.com/aziza_au/Photos_3.htm
Have I become some sort of international traffic *&#%wit magnet? Why won’t the cars leave me alone? On Monday night I went out to Al Basha and the return taxi trip provided me with yet another close encounter with death. Dubai people to give you the picture, the trip was made even longer by an accident on Sheikh Zayed Rd so we had to go the back way on the road with the signs saying ‘Oman 120kms’. Anyway Markesh Skaif (oh very clever) was at the wheel and obviously full of the thrill of it being Pakistan's independence day. At no time during the entire 40 minute trip did the speed drop below 120kph, he did more weaving than a carpet factory and finally, having almost passed the Bur Dubai turnoff, without dropping a kilometre in speed he crossed 3 lanes, went over the striped lines just before the concrete lane divider and missed the crash barrier by inches. It was at this point I felt the bony fingers of the Reaper gripping my shoulder and that was because the Grim Reaper was as scared as me! No human has ever exited a taxi as fast as I did that night.
Here’s something to think about. In a recent discussion fuelled by cans of unlicensed VB (thanks Colin) this topic was raised: can we tell anything about the psyche of a nation by the lyrics of its pop songs? What sort of nation can have a song with the lyrics “I’m lost at sea and I’m an amputee and there was slaughter in the water when I bought a shaaaark attack” and regard it as a cheerful dance floor ditty? There was huge amusement over whether Britney Spears has a subliminal message (well, umm, like, d’uh) and what is the cultural relevance of the Pussycat Dolls, compare and contrast. The topic fool, not the girls. And how come there’s 6 PCDs in some videos and 8 in others. Are they being cloned? The quality of debate went downhill from there a bit.
Most shops seem to have local radio playing over the speakers. Quite a few of the radio DJs are English (one sounds just like John Peel) and there is a strong UK influence in the music played on the radio and available in the music shops. It’s a bit surreal to be in the ghee section of an Indian supermarket while the Violent Femmes are playing over the speakers, but wait there’s more……isn’t there always…. in a coffee bar in the Mall of the Emirates they were playing Wolfmother, and I walked into the shoe shop at the Al Ain shopping centre and all the boy shop assistants were standing round singing along to “I’m a freak, I’m a weirdo…………” Who is that girl who sings “I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair”? Hasn’t anyone told her that if you wore flowers in your hair, you’d be beaten to a bloody pulp by the punk rockers?
Where are the weird business names, I’ve been asked? OK, here’s a couple for you: Who in their right mind would name a car rental company “Travel and Walk Rent a Car” (it’s in Karama) and how about the mattress shop called “JoySleep”. I thought you could have one or the other…..hehehe….oh control yourselves.
The place I’m staying is nice and I’m so happy to have a gym in the building (collective rolling of eyes). There is a reception desk downstairs usually staffed by a couple in their late 20s. I call them “Mum and Dad” because they glare at me if I dare to go out in the sleeveless top….I can hear them thinking in Tagalog/Hindi “You’re not going out dressed like that are you?” I only dress in such a racy fashion if I’m going out at night and I wear a pashmina over the top while I’m out in public.
I thought I heard a rubbish truck one night which seemed an odd thing to dream about even for me. When I asked “Mum and Dad” about it they told me the trucks come round to empty the skips that are on the sides of every street. There’s no rubbish pick up for individual houses here, instead there are the skips that everyone puts their rubbish into (yes, yes I know, it should be “into which everyone puts their rubbish”.) After a couple of days in the heat, even though the skip has a lid, the smell from some of them can be lethal, like WMD lethal, adults hold their breath when they walk past and little kids run past and make gagging noises.
On Friday Sabine and I head off to Salalah in Oman. We’ve hired a 4x4 for the 3 days we’re there, lots to see, Job’s Tomb, the frankincense trail, the magnetic road, the beach, looking forward to it. Sabine’s talked me into doing some driving while we’re down there: unsealed roads, blind corners, cars on the wrong side, ah, it’ll be just like Waitakere…………..
Ma’a salema
On Sunday I went out to the mosque at Jumeirah which is the only mosque in Dubai that allows entry to non-Muslims. The tours are on Tuesday and Sunday mornings and the guide is usually an English speaking convert who encourages questions of all types which makes for a very interesting session. Ladies and gents need to dress modestly, long sleeves and long trousers for both sexes (though ladies can wear long skirts) and ladies must wear a head scarf.
Yesterday I went out to Ibn Battuta Mall which is the biggest mall I’ve been to. It’s named after a famous 14th century Arabic explorer. The mall is a kilometre long from one end to the other and divided into ‘courts’ which have different themes – China, India, Egypt, Tunisia and another couple that I forget. To say it’s huge is an understatement, the China court has a full size junk in the middle and there’s still masses of room to spare both in height and width. Lots of familiar names; Athletes Foot, Billabong, The Body Shop etc and the big UK chains, Debenhams and BHS. Woolworths is here too but it sells clothes only which is different to both Aus and NZ. In each court there are also static displays about Ibn Battuta, his travels, literature, development of Islam, science etc in the 14th century which are really interesting. Shopping hours are 10-10 Sat-Tue and 10-midnight Wed-Fri. Photos of the mall are at http://www.geocities.com/aziza_au/Photos_3.htm
Have I become some sort of international traffic *&#%wit magnet? Why won’t the cars leave me alone? On Monday night I went out to Al Basha and the return taxi trip provided me with yet another close encounter with death. Dubai people to give you the picture, the trip was made even longer by an accident on Sheikh Zayed Rd so we had to go the back way on the road with the signs saying ‘Oman 120kms’. Anyway Markesh Skaif (oh very clever) was at the wheel and obviously full of the thrill of it being Pakistan's independence day. At no time during the entire 40 minute trip did the speed drop below 120kph, he did more weaving than a carpet factory and finally, having almost passed the Bur Dubai turnoff, without dropping a kilometre in speed he crossed 3 lanes, went over the striped lines just before the concrete lane divider and missed the crash barrier by inches. It was at this point I felt the bony fingers of the Reaper gripping my shoulder and that was because the Grim Reaper was as scared as me! No human has ever exited a taxi as fast as I did that night.
Here’s something to think about. In a recent discussion fuelled by cans of unlicensed VB (thanks Colin) this topic was raised: can we tell anything about the psyche of a nation by the lyrics of its pop songs? What sort of nation can have a song with the lyrics “I’m lost at sea and I’m an amputee and there was slaughter in the water when I bought a shaaaark attack” and regard it as a cheerful dance floor ditty? There was huge amusement over whether Britney Spears has a subliminal message (well, umm, like, d’uh) and what is the cultural relevance of the Pussycat Dolls, compare and contrast. The topic fool, not the girls. And how come there’s 6 PCDs in some videos and 8 in others. Are they being cloned? The quality of debate went downhill from there a bit.
Most shops seem to have local radio playing over the speakers. Quite a few of the radio DJs are English (one sounds just like John Peel) and there is a strong UK influence in the music played on the radio and available in the music shops. It’s a bit surreal to be in the ghee section of an Indian supermarket while the Violent Femmes are playing over the speakers, but wait there’s more……isn’t there always…. in a coffee bar in the Mall of the Emirates they were playing Wolfmother, and I walked into the shoe shop at the Al Ain shopping centre and all the boy shop assistants were standing round singing along to “I’m a freak, I’m a weirdo…………” Who is that girl who sings “I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair”? Hasn’t anyone told her that if you wore flowers in your hair, you’d be beaten to a bloody pulp by the punk rockers?
Where are the weird business names, I’ve been asked? OK, here’s a couple for you: Who in their right mind would name a car rental company “Travel and Walk Rent a Car” (it’s in Karama) and how about the mattress shop called “JoySleep”. I thought you could have one or the other…..hehehe….oh control yourselves.
The place I’m staying is nice and I’m so happy to have a gym in the building (collective rolling of eyes). There is a reception desk downstairs usually staffed by a couple in their late 20s. I call them “Mum and Dad” because they glare at me if I dare to go out in the sleeveless top….I can hear them thinking in Tagalog/Hindi “You’re not going out dressed like that are you?” I only dress in such a racy fashion if I’m going out at night and I wear a pashmina over the top while I’m out in public.
I thought I heard a rubbish truck one night which seemed an odd thing to dream about even for me. When I asked “Mum and Dad” about it they told me the trucks come round to empty the skips that are on the sides of every street. There’s no rubbish pick up for individual houses here, instead there are the skips that everyone puts their rubbish into (yes, yes I know, it should be “into which everyone puts their rubbish”.) After a couple of days in the heat, even though the skip has a lid, the smell from some of them can be lethal, like WMD lethal, adults hold their breath when they walk past and little kids run past and make gagging noises.
On Friday Sabine and I head off to Salalah in Oman. We’ve hired a 4x4 for the 3 days we’re there, lots to see, Job’s Tomb, the frankincense trail, the magnetic road, the beach, looking forward to it. Sabine’s talked me into doing some driving while we’re down there: unsealed roads, blind corners, cars on the wrong side, ah, it’ll be just like Waitakere…………..
Ma’a salema
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