Cats and Dogs

In the three nonconsecutive years that I've lived in the UAE, we've always had a bit of rain. Storms were usually short-lived and easily forgotten. This past week, however, we had multiple days of grey skies, drizzling rain, thunder, lightening...the whole kit and caboodle. For the last 3 nights I've slept with my windows open and listened to the rain and thunder. A real treat here! The downside of all of this is that my car is perpetually dirty. Often times it rains briefly and hard: just enough to leave a bunch of spots all over the car. The photo you see here was captured by a friend the other night.

Photo credits to S. Araz who risked life and limb to snap this shot.

Coldplay Comes to Abu Dhabi

I did not attend the concert, and after hearing stories from friends who did, I am very sorry that I did not! A friend and I debated going, but by the time we had checked ticket prices the only seats left ran just shy of $200 USD. Alas, it was not meant to be.

A colleague and friend came into the office today to sing the praises of the show which was set to a lightening and thunderstorm. This photo was taken from the cheap seats where Coldplay had built a remote stage.

Photo credits: K. Kennetz

The photographer assures me that no favors were exchanged for the proximity of this capture.

Mina Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi

A not-so-recent capture on a VERY humid day...

Pretty in Pink at the Heritage Vilage

A vision in pink! An Egyptian colleague of mine enters Abu Dhabi's Heritage Village

Gettin' a Good Look

I've got mixed emotions on this particular topic. The UAE imports labour from around the world. The manual labour often comes from countries like Pakistan, Bangledesh, and the like. Unlike an expat such as myself, these men cannot bring their wives or children. While the wages may be higher than what they'd earn at home, it is an extremely difficult existence. These men, the labourers and other men who come to the UAE sans family, typically have one day off: Friday. Because they earn so little, the have so few options for passing the time. What you're witnessing in this photo is one of those options.

I do sympathize with these men. It's a vicious cycle, really. The men hang out in public places and stare at the women (all women...doesn't matter if they're in shayla and abaya or t-shirt and jeans). These men don't have anywhere to go, and the municipality regularly attempts to restrict the movement of what most refer to here as bachelors. They're brought out here without their families, and then prevented from any real interaction with the rest of society.

I mentioned at the beginning of the post that I'm of two minds about this. As a woman often on the receiving end of this unwanted attention, I hate it. I hate that they stare. I hate that when I sit in my car at a stoplight that I must dodge the gauking coming from a bus to my right and a van to my left. Last week I was stuck at a very long light in Dubai. I think the light cycled twice through while I sat there enduring the unwanted attention. The men look at you like you're a hybrid of Angelina Jolie and a prostitute. The traffic light in question lasted for what seemed like an eternity.

So the man in this shot is getting a good look at the paid public beach. There are two sides: families/women and everyone else. These men can't really afford the cost of the beach, nor would they likely be admitted. The municipality re-did this beach in the not-so-distant past, so the trees, a natural barrier, have not yet grown together. Lucky for this guy. A couple of weeks ago on my Friday morning walk I saw another man gauking at the beach-goers who sat in the distance. I walked up to him and said, "Family beach," as if it signal that he shouldn't be looking. As I walked away he kept insisting, "No, no family beach." I turned back to say and mime that this was not for looking. He then walked on behind us. My friend said to me, "Great. Now he's watching us from behind." *sigh*

Hotels as Clubs

Abu Dhabi is a nice little town, but it's not always the hotbed of entertainment that its neighbour, Dubai, is known for. There are some fantastic events that take place around (WOMAD concert festival next month FOR FREE!!!!!), but sometimes it's rather quiet. For this reason, many of those residing in Abu Dhabi look to hotels and clubs for annual memberships which provides access to their gyms, pools, spas, and beaches. In some cases members receive discounts on the hotel's restaurants. Membership rates vary from one place to the other, though for hotels with beach access (Hiltonia, Sheraton Corniche, Rotana, etc.) a single woman is looking at an annual membership of 7200 dirhams. That's almost $2000 USD/year. Single women applicants typically get processed much faster than couples, families, and followed by single me, who are seemingly processed last. It's assumed that this is due to the imbalance of men to women in the UAE. Consequently, single men pay a good bit more for the their membership. For those who don't require beach access, Abu Dhabi Health and Fitness Club (also contains restaurants) charges about 3000 dirhams less than those hotels with beach access.

The photo you see here was taken at the Hilton on the corniche. We stopped by for a drink after our Friday morning walk, and these tennis players (likely members and local expats, as hotel guests would have been enjoying their complimentary breakfast) stopped to do the same.

Fountains

One of the many city parks in Abu Dhabi

In the Subway

In various parts of Abu Dhabi there are "subways". When I first saw a subway sign in Sharjah in 1998, I thought it was a subway as Americans would know it. I came to find out that it's simply an underground walkway that takes you from one side of the busy road to the other. This was taken on the corniche at the Hilton crossing.

A Friday Morning on the Corniche

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the weather is heating up. Our days of Friday morning (Friday being the first day of the weekend) walks are clearly numbered. This was taken yesterday morning as my friend, colleague and fellow exercise enthusiast power-walked ahead of me. Notice how she uses her arms to propel herself...


This was meant to be published yesterday, but Blogger was being very picky when it came to the photo upload.

Ah...young love on the corniche!

Actually, this is a photo of two colleagues playing it up.

Delivery

Almost anything can be delivered in these parts. Food, freshly washed and pressed laundry, big bottles of water, groceries...you name it. The deliver is typically done by bicycle, but some shops might actually have a motorbike.

Eating Outside

The weather in the UAE is pretty unbearable from mid-May through September. We're talking sweat rolling off you at ten o'clock at night. The humidity rises with every hour past sunset (particularly in the coastal cities),and your sunglasses fog up as you leave air conditioning for the outdoors. However, now is not that time! We are still enjoying days that hit about 26-30C for a high. The evenings are gorgeous! With weather this good residents are inclined to enjoy every minute of it; including dining outdoors.

Lunch at Zad wah Zuwadeh

This place serves a variety of pizzas and breads w/ toppings. One cheese bread could be as little as 5 dirhams ($1.40 US). My favourite, although I'm dangerously close to overexposure, is the salty cheese with meat bread. This is a colleague of mine in all her post-cheese bread glory. Did I mention this place is TOO close to work?

Belly Dancing at the Safari Camp

Belly dancing is NOT, in any way, a tradition of the Gulf countries. It is more at home in places like Egypt or Turkey than the UAE. Dance, in the eyes of some Emiratis, would be either religiously forbidden or just shameful. Others would only think it appropriate in the company of other women. The woman you see here is likely Romanian or some other eastern European national. Still, I think safari operators here feel compelled to sell the stereotypical "Arab" experience.

Is it fog or is it rain?

I woke up this morning and noticed a thick fog outside. I speculated as to just how hot it would get this afternoon. Foggy mornings this time of year always give way to HOT afternoons. Then I noticed the windows screens were dotted with water, and my plants were all wet. And yet I still can't tell you if it's rain or just the heaviest dew known to man.

I knew I should have brought this stuff in a couple days ago. Now it will have to be washed again (dust+moisture=desert mud).


A close-up of the screen

Henna

Henna!

A Desert Sunset

On Safari

My employer organised a desert safari for all interested parties. We left work just after 2:00 on a bus bound for the outskirts of Dubai (160 km). From there, a tour group of 4x4s took us out for some daredevil dune bashing. We ended the evening in a camp where we dined on grilled meats, smoked shisha, watched belly dancing (NOT and Emirati tradition), and generally relaxed!

All Wrapped Up

It would seem that newly transplanted palms get their fronds tied up. This particular tree, located on 32nd Street, looked to be over 3 stories tall.

View Through a Screen

I took this from my bathroom window a couple weeks ago.