Jebel Hafeet

Last Thursday evening we headed down to Abu Dhabi for a weekend of relaxation and quality time. We stayed the first night at the Mercure hotel which is on top of a mountain called Jebel Hafeet (‘jebel’ means mountain in Arabic). It was approx 1.5 hours drive from Dubai and I have to say that I was really looking forward to getting out of Dubai for some R&R. By the time we got there it was dark, but the road up the side of the mountain was well lit with spotlights highlighting the cliffs, no pretence of energy conservation here, and there were many places to park and take in the views down to the plain below with the lights of Al Ain in the distance. Photos are here.

The Mercure hotel sits on a cliff top with stunning views out over the UAE and Oman. The hotel has a hanging garden type theme, the carpets in the hallways have a river stone pattern, the walls in the corridors have jungle carpet on them and the open areas of the corridors have hanging vines from floor to ceiling. The rooms are big and have a balcony but unfortunately the room we were given was right underneath the nightclub. Might as well have moved the bed onto the dance floor it was that loud. The Philipino band in the nightclub wasn’t bad though and they did a pretty good version of “I will survive” which earnt them a big cheer from the crowd who by 1 or 2 am seemed to be really getting into the swing of things! While this was going on above us, from the hotel's pool area came the warbling of a trio who were playing a full repertoire of torturous MOR favourites; lots of BeeGees ballads and heaven help me, “Feeeeeelings, nothing more than feeeeelings”. That’s the sort of music that drives sensitive souls to homicide.

We spent the next morning by the pool dozing to recover from our involuntary Night on Disco Island. Later we went up to the top of the mountain where there is a large car park and restaurant. Its very popular with local people who come up there as it’s a lot cooler than down on the plain. Near the top of the mountain is the huge palace belonging to Sheikh Kalifa the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The staff quarters alone are huge and then there’s a long driveway lined with arches which winds up to the main house. We then drove down the mountain taking in the superb views and went to the Intercontinental Hotel at Al-Ain for the night. We spent the evening at a bbq with friends who live in Al-Ain. They bemoaned the state of SA rugby, Colin bemoaned the state of Aus rugby and I was obnoxiously confident that the AB’s are going to win the World Cup! (They’d better or I can never show my face in Al-Ain again…….)

We spent the following morning reading and, after retrieving the Prado, the afternoon was spent by the pool at the Intercon. Lovely facilities, well equiped gym and a pool designed like a rock pool with a swim-up bar that serves very tasty Virgin Pinacoladas.

In the late afternoon we returned to Dubai, looked at an Audi RS6 for sale out at Al Aweer, drooled over the other outrageous cars on sale out there (photos are here) and then went to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Gold Class, a first for me, and it’s the only way to go…… The movie is enjoyable but probably about half an hour too long and there were some side stories that really didn’t add anything to the film itself but that’s an extra half hour in Gold Class so there’s nothing wrong with that. Great special effects and Keith Richards is perfect as Johnny Depp’s Dad.

Aerosmith play here on Thursday at the Exiles Rugby Club, should be good.

Dubai: Where the car is king

Photo - Gulf News

The first part of the Metro rail system which is under construction in Dubai is due to open in 2009, inshallah, and it can't happen soon enough. At the moment getting around Dubai is a nightmare. The car is king and the roads can't cope with the volume of traffic. Everywhere is a wall to wall traffic jam, the BurJuman roundabout is one of the scariest places on earth particularly if you're a pedestrian, public transport is virtually non-existent. Taxis refuse to take passengers because according to a couple of drivers who've refused to take me over the Creek, they end up spending too long in traffic jams, (Ha? I don't get that reasoning either. The meter is ticking while they're stuck in the queue, the longer the delay the more they get paid). Of course, that's if you can even get a taxi! There is a bus system but a Filipina workmate tells me that the bus drivers are *really* scary. There are only a few seats at the front of the buses where women are allowed to sit and if those seats are full when the bus arrives at your stop, and you're a woman, then you won't be allowed to get on. There may be spare seats in the 'mens' section but women cannot sit there. Women are also not allowed to stand in the buses, even if they could stand in the part of the aisle that passes through the 'women only' seating. Men would have to brush past any standing woman as they go the mens seats, haram! The buses are seldom used by expats and never used by 'locals'. So the car rules. As a result of the traffic problems, people often don't go out in the evening as it takes so long to get from one part of the city to another. One evening it took us 2.5 hours in the rush hour to get from Bur Dubai to Deira - the return trip at 1am took 10 minutes. I have a few photos of the construction work on the Metro here.

Have you ever thought the Bayeaux Tapestry looked liked like a cartoon? You did? Then you'll love this brilliant piece of work on YouTube.

It's a strange thing, but in Dubai during summer everyone turns off their hot water systems. The water that comes out of the cold tap is warm enough to shower in.

Soirse (Soraya) is safely here after finishing her contract at the VIP Club in Casablanca, Morocco. She now has a two month contract at the Carlton Tower Hotel in Dubai, followed by at least a month at a hotel in Ras al Khaimah (another of the Emirates). It's been great to catch up on all the news from both the work-world and the parallel universe that is bellydance. On the subject of b/d, it might come as a surprise, it is to me, that I'm teaching again. Just a couple of students at the moment but with so many other people on the "If you ever start teaching give me a call" list that I could have classes every night. But, been there, done that and we know that burn out is not a pretty thing don't we?

And now something for....you know who you are....
Q - How many emos does it take to change a lightbulb?
A - None, they just sit in the dark and cry.

From A to Bih: A trip down the Wadi

On Friday a group of us did the drive through Wadi Bih, 6 cars, all 4x4s. We started the day by meeting at the mall in RAK (Ras al Khaimah) for coffee then headed out. The route which is shown in the map at the top, was from Dubai to Dibba in the emirate of Fujairah on the East Coast. The photos are here.

The drive through the wadi from one side to the other takes about 3 and a half hours. There are some steep climbs which give spectacular views and the highest point is around 1200m. Some parts of the wadi are really narrow with high cliffs towering over the road. When it floods the water rushes down the wadi carrying everything away with it.

There's a UAE checkpoint on the way into the wadi. As usual we all had to hand over our passports and our names were written into a book that's kept in the little office building. This is ok and we all sat in our air-con cars (it was 40 outside) and admired the barricade arm across the road which is weighed down with rocks. In a new twist however each car was searched. The 'educated guess' is that they were looking for contraband being taken out of the UAE, or maybe the jewellery that was stolen in The Great Wafi Mall Gem Heist. We all had to get out of the cars while the checkpoint guys made a very cursery search and looked in the glovebox of each car. The irony was that at the Omani checkpoint only Colin had to show his passport which apparently was good enough for all 5 cars and they let us through.

After the drive through Wadi Bih we arrived at Dibba on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. While to the passing tourist it looks like one small town, Dibba is in fact three separate villages; Dibba Bayah, ruled by the Sultanate of Oman, Dibba Muhallab, ruled by the Emirate of Fujairah and Hisn Dibba, ruled by the Emirate of Sharjah. Dibba is famous as the site of one of the biggest battles in the Ridda Wars. The Ridda or Apostacy Wars were a series of military campaigns to ensure the reconquest of Arabia by Muslim armies in the generation after the death of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Many tribes that had converted to Islam during the Prophet's lifetime did not feel bound to the new religion following his death. Tribes in the Dibba area along with many in Oman had even decided to follow another prophet named Laqit (which oddly enough means 'bastard' in Arabic). In 632AD, Caliph Abu Baker who was the elected successor to the Prophet (pbuh) sent armies from Mecca to return the entire Arabian peninsula to the Muslim fold. The Muslim army reached Dibba in 633AD and a great battle ensued. There is a cemetery in the plain behind Dibba which local legend says contains the graves of up to 10,000 dead from that battle.

We had lunch at the new Rotana hotel in Fujairah, very nice. There was a motorcycle club having their anniversary run there. In Dubai even bikies stay in 5 star hotels.

In the afternoon we went for a swim at the beach at Fujairah and saw schools of tiny yellow and black striped fish, later watching the men pulling in the fishing net on to the beach, only a few fish so there wasn't much return for such a lot of work. There is a fish market in Fujairah which opens about 4pm and for a few dirhams the stall owners will fillet your choice of fish for you.

A life on the ocean wave...........

We did the dinner cruise on the Bateau Dubai last Thursday evening. The Bateau is a large boat with glass sides and glass roof that does a 4 hour cruise up and down the Creek in Dubai. The service is great, the maitre d remembered me from a previous visit a month or so ago. The food is sensational, its a 4 course dinner with 4-5 choices for each course, the hammour (local fish) is divine and the chocolate dessert is worth the cost of the cruise alone. Alcohol isn't served until after the boat has left the dock but the waiters bring round fruit cocktails prior to departure. We stood on the deck outside between courses and watched the world...and the jellyfish...go by.

Friday morning we hit the beach for the first swim for this summer. It was a quick one as it was around midday and the sun was fierce. The water temp was 29 degrees but weirdly enough it seemed to be refreshingly cool. Later in the summer the water temp reaches 35 degrees plus and going for a swim is like walking into a warm bath.
A local developer has plans for a long section of the beach to be shut off from the public so that it can be built on. An ugly corrogated iron fence was erected along the beach line which caused a real public outcry and for once expats and locals were all on the same page. There were articles in the papers, lots of comment on the radio, petitions etc. The developers were unmoved, refusing to remove the fence until Sheik Mo himself stepped in and told them the fence had to come down which it did almost overnight. When Sheik Mo says "Make it happen", it happens! The beach will still be developed and the public will loose access but no doubt it will now be done piecemeal so the effect isn't so noticeable.

A Life on the Ocean Wave: A poem by Epes Sargent put to music by Henry Russell.

ANZAC Day 2007

Taupiri

Haul hard on the ropes Gunners
stay close to the track
haul hard on the ropes Gunners
there's no turning back.

Sing your waiata Gunners
haul hard and sing
Taupiri's steep, Gunners
and the old women cling.

No more the fire missions Gunners
his time has come
halt at the top Gunners
turn his face to the sun.

Bury him deep Gunners
then shed a last tear
this chief now sleeps Gunners
as the evening draws near.

One last goodbye Gunners
his final rest
The Regiment's loss Gunners
he was one of our best.

RIP Bombardier R.M. Whitiora RNZA

Sister

Young man, you ask me who I am,
and why I wear this faded yellow ribbon...

I am the woman, who held your dying uncle's hand,
and wrote a letter once that broke your grandma's heart.

I am she, who met the 'Dust-Off' at the door,
and carried bloodied, broken bodies through to triage.

Then cut through muddied boots and bloody combat gear,
and washed away the blood and fear and jungle.

I kept the faith when even hope was lost,
and cried within, as young lives ebbed away.

Those hours when death, frosted dying eyes,
mine, was the last smile many young men saw.

I have the voice, that blinded eyes remember,
and the touch of reassurance through the pain.

In darkest night when combat would return,
it was my name that many soldiers called.

I have dressed their wounds, and wiped away their tears,
and often read them letters sent from mum.

I hugged them close, and willed each one my strength,
and smiled and prayed that each boy made it home.

And here today, you ask me who I am...
I am the Nurse, who served in Vietnam.

A tribute to Pam M-T and all the Kiwi Nurses

Both poems are from the Flak Jacket Collection by NZ poet and former soldier Mike Subritzky.

A weekend in Oman

The photo is of Balat Sayt a village in the Omani mountains. All the photos are here but first the story:

We left Dubai late on Thursday afternoon, crossed the Omani border and stayed the night in Ibri. Ibri is the second largest city in Oman and is about a 3.5 hr drive from Dubai.

The next day Colin took me to see the pre-historic tombs at Al Ayn. He's seen them several times before but I'm a first-timer and they amazed me. The first view of the tombs is spectacular, twenty-one beehive shapes standing in a line on a ridge silhouetted against the imposing bulk of Jebel Misht. The tombs, which date from between 3,500BC to 2,500BC, were built using flat stones that have been layered one on top of the other, almost like weaving. Nothing has been used to hold the stones together, no mud to act like cement or anything like that, the beehive is held together by its own weight. Even after all the centuries several of the tombs are intact, though others have succumbed to the ravages of time and have fallen over into well organised piles of rocks. There is a small opening at the front of each beehive and I was able to crawl into the largest tomb and stand up inside.

Wadi Dham was the next stop, another new place for me. We walked a short way up the wadi but I wimped out of walking too far as it was hot, damn hot. We stopped off next at Jabrin Castle. It was closed because it was Friday but that was ok as we've both been there before.

On to Misfat Al Abreyeen, a village built on the side of a cliff. I was there a couple of years ago with my brother (kia ora Bro) then a drive up into the mountains to the top of Jebel Shams arriving after dark. Jebel Shams is the highest point in Oman (3075m). Spent the night at the camping ground that has bedouin style tents, very nice. After the 40 degree temperatures on the plains it was a shock to the system when later in the evening the temperature dropped to 16.

The next morning we went along the top of Jebel Shams to see the Wadi Nakhr Gorge which is known as the Grand Canyon of Arabia for good reason. It must be thousands of feet deep and being the Middle East there are no safety barriers or anything wussy like that! No, on second thoughts, at the most popular viewing spot there's a bit of wire half heartedly strung across a small section of the edge. The edge is a vertical drop. Misjudge it and over you go...next stop China! I walked over to the edge (not the wussy part with the wire) and jumped up and down a few times which seemed to get Colin's heart rate up a bit, can't understand why. A short way along is the village of Al Khateem and a track that goes round the lip of the canyon and ends at an abandoned village but being pressed for time we had to move on (meaning that I wimped out again).

Next was a drive on a rough goat track road to the village of Balad Sayt. The trip itself was only about 40 kms but it was hard driving all the way. The road was like Horsemans Road in Waitakere before they did it up, but without idiot sheep making sneak attacks from the bushes. Anyway as usual I'm off on a tangent, so let's get back to the story. Colin was going to Balad Sayt on a mission. Last year he and his son Daniel were exploring the village when they met an elderly gent named Hadth bin Nasser. They took some photos of Hadth that Colin's since had enlarged, printed and framed so the plan was to take them up to Balad Sayt to deliver to Hadth. The village is very old and the 'streets' are about as wide as a suburban footpath at best and at their narrowest about the width of a house hallway. There's no vehicle access naturally, cars are parked down in the wadi and people walk into the village from there. On the walk up to the Hadth's house we met a local youngster named Saud who spoke very good English. Saud rounded up Hadth's grandson and they showed us the way. Hadth was so pleased to see Colin that he ran outside and just about jumped into his arms. Saud translated for everyone which was a God-send (also meant that he'll be the centre of attention for days as the boy who spoke to The Foreign Visitors, so it's good for him too). After we had coffee, oranges and dates with Hadth, Saud took us to see his school. Saud told me that there's no medical clinic in his village and when I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up, he said without hesitation "A doctor, so I can come back to Balad Sayt and look after the people".

From Balad Sayt we...and when I say ’we’ I mean Colin...drove down the valley to the entrance to Snake Gorge where we stopped for coffee (but no scones). Along the way I noticed what looked like piles of timber lying at the bottom of the cliffs, but it's not timber it's rock that has fragmented off the cliffs. The land formations in Oman are fascinating. In some places the earth has been squeezed into shapes resembling rolling waves of different types of rock. A bit like a bowl of cake mix after someone's passed a knife through it. There was a place where a huge cliff of black rock suddenly changed direction and appeared to plummet headlong into the surrounding countryside, it made me think of the Titanic's last dive. It's hard to contemplate the power of the forces required to manipulate the earth into such torturous shapes. Ok enough from the amateur geologist, sorry Ian, I should leave it to the experts shouldn't I?

Down to the Batinah Plain and following the wadi, which is also the road. There’s been heavy flooding in the area recently and the damage has been quite extensive. As you'll see from the photos, the water level was high and the debris that was washed down can be seen in the branches of trees, and in the wiring of power pylons.

From there it was back to Dubai, though in an indicator of what could be waiting for us in the Gulf region this summer, it was still 40 degrees at 5pm. To quote Colin "It's going to be really hot when summer comes...."

Asked to leave (and not by a bouncer for once)

Last night one of the building security guys came round to deliver a letter saying that the building I'm living in is being converted to hotel apartments. My one year lease here expires in September and the letter says the landlord will only renew it for another month after that, so I have to be out by mid-October. One of my neighbours told me that the building was originally built to be used as hotel apartments but then the landlord discovered that, at that time anyway, he could make more money by renting to individual longer term tenants. That must have been a while ago, I've met a couple on the 7th floor who've been living in the building for four or five years.

The tenancy laws here changed last year so a tenant who signed a new lease (not renewal) in 2006 cannot have their rent increased for 12 months. I'm one of those people as I signed my lease in September 2006, so to get around the new laws the landlord has sent out the letter saying that he is changing the building use and that he will not be renewing my lease. It's all rubbish of course as the only tenants who received this letter are people like me who moved in here in 2006. Meanwhile, new tenants are moving into the building with 12 month leases, at greatly increased rents of course. The landlord will rent my place out to someone else no doubt after putting up the rent by 10,000AED. As the cynics in the expat community say, "Welcome to Dubai"! I'll check all this out with the gym regulars, even that ratbag who gets up extra early so he can beat me - at 6:15am - to the only operating treadmill. Fitness First in BurJuman opens next month, can't wait!

UPDATE: I met the new Aussie guy next door earlier this evening. He told me he's just signed a 12 months lease, so the landlord's story of converting the building into hotel apartments is obviously untrue (the rent he's paying is 10,000AED p.a. more than the previous tenants too). The system here of paying 3 months in advance and then giving the landlord post dated cheques for the rest is just insane. I've even heard of people who have been asked to pay an entire year's rent up front in one cheque. Some property gurus are predicting that with so many new apartment blocks opening up in the JBR area (Jumeirah Beach Residences), at the Marina and further along Sheikh Zayed Rd, the demand for older rental properties in the inner city area will drop markedly. Landlords are being greedy and grabbing every dirham they can while there is still demand for their properties. The block I live in is ok but starting to look past its 'use by' date. It can't compare with the new blocks a bit further out. Once the Metro rail line opens in 2009, transport - hopefully - won't be such an issue and more people will move out to the new blocks.