Emirates Palace Cappuccino

KJ, Fami, Les and Khalil

Manon, Jules, Les, Gilbert and Richard on our last night in the United Arab Emirates

We are HOME!

The temperature in Abu Dhabi was 36 degrees the afternoon we left. Our only hope was that there was no snow in Edmonton when we arrived! We spent our last afternoon in the United Arab Emirates in very high style. First we had lunch at the Royal Meridien Hotel with 2 gentlemen from Takreer Oil Company (Khalil, the Project Manager and Fami, the Construction Manager). They represent the owner of the plant Les was working on. Both were very sad to see Les leave the Emirates, they appreciated his expertise and dedication in trying to bring safety initiatives to the project.

After lunch we drove around Abu Dhabi, making as many visual memories as we could and then...went to the Emirates Palace Hotel for coffee. What an experience that was! It is a most incredibly beautiful facility. Gold plated light fixtures, door knobs, and walls, crystal chandeliers, marble every where. Such opulence! We had coffee in the beautiful lounge area. Mine was the "Emirate Palace Cappuccino" - the foam of the coffee was covered with gold flakes, 2 creamy chocolate truffles beside and served on a silver service. Les' espresso was served equally ornately. We wandered around and oohed and awed for quite a while. It is a huge hotel with lovely furnishings and architecture.

Just after midnight on Friday, April 13th we boarded our flight for the first leg of our long journey home. We did have a few moments of craziness at the Lufthansa desk when we checked in our luggage. They do not have the same luggage allowance as Air Canada does! Our 5 suitcases and 1 box were within our limit with Air Canada (7 bags between us). Unfortunately Lufthansa allows only 2 bags per person and took all of the bags down their ramp before telling us that. Two of our bags could have been carry on luggage but they were gone before we could take them with us! When they tried to charge Les $250.00 PER BAG for the 2 we were over he did have a small, quiet argument with the Lufthansa people. After a BIT of a discussion with a manager we were allowed to take all of our bags without having to pay the excess baggage fee!!!

We flew from Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt with a stop in Bahrain, Bahrain. Then from Frankfurt to Toronto where we had to pick up our bags and go through customs. I was a bit worried about this. First would all 6 bags make it this far with us and second, would they open any of these bags that took me forever to pack??? All was good! The bags all came off the luggage carousel in good shape and we walked through customs without a hitch! YEAH!!! We loaded the bags on the next carousel and waited for our flight to Edmonton. Happily, all 6 bags arrived with us in Edmonton too. All in all we had a very uneventful trip home. It was a long process and certainly not as great as my flight on Air Qatar to Abu Dhabi but it was comfortable. I didn't want to live on this airplane for ever as I did on the Air Qatar airplane!!

Sarah was NOT at the airport to meet us though! No one was there - were we even missed?? Sarah did arrive about the time our luggage came off the carousel so we weren't left to find our own way home!

It was great to be back in Canada and in Edmonton. As we all know, it's nice to go away and experience other cultures, climates, and people but it is FABULOUS to come home. We are so very lucky to live in this great country and it's always good to be reminded of that.

And so again, I thank God and Les for the opportunity to experience all that I did this last 2 1/2 months. It was a time in my life that I'll never forget. The sights that we've seen, the cultures that we've experienced and most importantly the people that we've met (and the one's that Les knew and I luckily got to meet!!) and become friends with. May they always be in our lives. Thanks to all of you who kept in touch with us while we were away, and for all of the comments about our blog - I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures as much as we did living them!

Thanks Sarah!!!

Today, Monday, 9 April 2007 is our 3rd last full day in the Emirates. I can't believe that I have only a couple more days of daydreaming by the gulf...it seems like just yesterday it was my 1st day! I had a beautiful time on my cliff today. I could hear many, many birds, hear the gulf, smell the sea water and the colours of the sea and the sky were so similar that you couldn't tell where one stopped and the other started. I've never heard the sound of so many birds before...are they saying goodbye to me...and, most days you cannot smell the salty sea. It was sad even though I know I have 2 more days of visiting my little spot. (at 11:30 a.m. it was 37 degrees in Abu Dhabi and it is always hotter out here in the desert!!)

Les and I want everyone to know how much we appreciate this Blog that Sarah created for us! I had never even heard of such a thing and when she told me what she was doing I was amazed. It was a fabulous idea and we thank her from the bottom of our hearts! I've had so much fun writing the posts and I think it was the very best way to share our adventure with you. You've been able to read that we are well, safe, happy and having fun. Hopefully you feel like you've experienced other worlds and cultures! (Many of you have let us know how much you've enjoyed reading the blog.) And, we have a lovely journal of our experiences to read over and over throughout the years. So...THANK YOU SARAH - this blog was a gift from...you...to us...to our family and friends!!!

But there are a couple of things I'd like to clear up in response to Sarah's "Why we are doing this...". Firstly - Sarah has not had to beg for bail money from any of you for us - Les and I have been model citizens everywhere we've been...well...almost...but no cops were involved! Secondly - and to me the MOST important - I have not needed ANY help what so ever! Sarah may have created the blog, written the first post and walked me through my first posting - but I have taken from there and written, added pictures, and posted everything since without a phone call or an SOS to her...Hello 21st Century Communication Tools!!!!

We do thank Sarah for so graciously remaining at home to watch the house and deal with the trials and tribulations of that. Les and I like to think of it as practice for when she and Jack have their own home and we were glad to give her that experience - gratis! And we would be remiss if we didn't also thank the world's greatest Cocker Spaniel. Thank you Jack for protecting your mommy and the house so well while grandma was away! (Lots of protection pay-off will come your way on Friday...)

Some of Sarah's comments are still true:

• Dad still hasn't learned to play well with others in his big sandbox. But...this is the reason his new bosses at Shell Scotford Upgrader want him there as soon as possible to play in their big dirt pile to make it the safest it could be and that his SNC Lavalin bosses here in the sandbox are very sad to see him go.
• I intend to stay footloose and fancy-free!!!
• Dad will continue to need help with his Christmas shopping.
• And please...please...keep helping me with that darn VCR.
  

Les and I will be leaving Abu Dhabi, UAE at 12:05 a.m. on Friday, 13 April 2007 (that's 2:05 p.m. Thursday the 12th - MDT) and arrive in Edmonton at 4:35 p.m. MDT Friday the 13th (that's 6:30 a.m. Saturday the 14th UAE time) A mere 26 1/2 hours of travelling - 20 hours in the air!!!

I will do one more post when we are home - just so you know we are back in Edmonton safely!!! And I would like to thank our family and friends for staying in touch during these last 2 months. I've felt close to home and close to YOU!!! Thank You!

Just some stuff!!!

This is going to be a mish mash of thoughts and tidbits of information!!!!

• Right from the beginning of my days in the Emirates, I encountered very vocal sales people at the soukes - if you even look at a fruit or vegetable the vendor will start filling a bag for you.
• Thank goodness for the computer and the Internet - I have been able to stay in touch with our family and friends (thank you for that, ALL of you!!) - I msn with Sarah, Leah and Mom everyday and with my brother and sister almost everyday- I don't think I could have stayed here this long without that contact.
• We have seen Muslim men stop their vehicle where ever they are, take out their prayer rug, pray, get back in the vehicle, then the wife gets out with her prayer rug, she prays, gets back in the vehicle and off they go.
• I have loved getting to know the people that Les has worked with - he has spoken very highly of them and now I know why - Gilbert, Francois, Manon, Richard, Jules are great!!
• The Mosques everywhere continue to fascinate me - in Ruwais (which has a population of 6 to 7 thousand) has 3 Mosques, every small town has at least one Mosque; all service stations, shopping malls or areas, stores, have at the very least a prayer room but often a small Mosque.
• I walk/run almost everyday to my cliff by the Gulf - I read, daydream, watch the ferries, coast guard boats, pleasure boats, fishing boats all come and go, collect sea shells - I've made a little shrine of them at MY area on my cliff (Les says I can't bring them all home!), watch the tide and the birds -- I soak it all in!
• Some days the wind and blowing sand keep me in the apartment - and days when I'm out and the wind starts, it sends me home with that "sandblasted" feeling.
• The sun sets VERY quickly here - it's there...and then...it's not.
• When I first got here I would leave for my walk around 10:30 or so and stay out for a couple of hours - now, in April, I have to leave the apartment by 9:00 and even then it's very hot (ohhhh how I will miss the heat and the sun......).
• I do my laundry by hand and hang it outside - it all dries within an hour or two.
• This area is very industrial - lots of refineries, power plants, desalination plant, and the army is always parked on the road near by - just watching...
• We are close to a military base and often I hear a lot of "booming" - just practicing... I hope
• Once in a while a fighter jet will pass overhead - just practicing...
• No military ships in the Gulf...I'VE been watching...
• When it rains here - and it has a couple of times - it just starts, rains heavily for a few minutes, and then just stops - never starts or stops slowly.
• Emirate Palace Hotel is fabulous - we didn't go inside the building but the grounds and the outside of the building are unbelievable and the view of the Gulf is lovely - it was a sparkly, sunny day when saw it.
• Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi - ooohhhh la la!!! What a mall - lots of glitz and glamour - everything from Ikea (yes, Ikea) to the most high class shops you would find in New York -- it's built on a little spit of land that is surrounded on all sides by the Gulf - like it's own little island - can you imagine the view from the mall windows?!?!?!
• On the top floor of the mall there are a number of shops that sell the women's black robes and the men's robes. I am constantly amazed at the beauty of the women's robes - think of any embroidery, bead, ribbon, embellishment and you will find a robe done with it and with a matching head scarf. I only looked at the prices of a few - anywhere from 1000 dirhams (about $300.00) - I saw one for 4000 dirhams ($1200.00) - and the scarves were extra - starting at 450 dirhams ($140.00). But oh my, the beauty of the garment and the workmanship was exquisite -- I wanted to inspect each and every one of them! I want one!!!!
• The men's robes are of course not quite as fancy but we saw cotton in many colours, cashmere and even some that were fur lined for winter!!! The men can choose many different head cloths in different colours and different black bands to hold the cloth on - all of these were gorgeous. (And in case you are interested - the men wear a 1/2 slip underneath the robe!)
• The gold souke in Abu Dhabi is like a big shopping mall of gold stores - any design, any jewellery item, beautiful, dainty, tacky, large, ugly...they are all there! Personally, I enjoyed the gold souke in Dubai more - it's outside and there are alleys and streets off it with other vendors - much more "souke" like
• I love being IN the Persian Gulf - the Meridien Hotel where we stay in Abu Dhabi has a beautiful, clean, sandy beach area and the Gulf is deep enough to swim in and still be very close to shore - we were there on the 30th of March and at 9 a.m. the air temperature was 30 degrees C. and the gulf water temperature was 25 - I was in heaven!
• We have had a couple of bar-b-ques with Gilbert, Francois, Manon, Richard and some other co-workers. Their trailers at the camp where they live are in a little box shape with a nice patio area in the middle. Les had a bar-b-que made (you all know how Les loves to bar-b-que!!) and often on Friday's, groceries are bought in Abu Dhabi and a feast is enjoyed in the evening at camp. While I've been here we've had a couple of these evenings. One night it was shrimp, fresh tuna and another it was steak and chicken. And of course bread and cheese, wine, beer, lovely music, laughter and friendship!!!
• Our camp sits entirely on a sand base but they have made it so very pretty! The gardener man is constantly caring for, planting, and sometimes re-planting trees, shrubs and flowers. It's beautiful! They keep it very clean and tidy as well. It's like a little oasis in the desert - we are surrounded entirely by sand and the trash that's thrown into the desert and onto the beach.
• When you are driving on the highways you cannot make a left hand turn. There are u-turn spots often so if you want to get to someplace on the other side of the highway, you must go past it to the next u-turn and go back.
• Big trucks must always travel in the right hand lane. They cannot pass one another. When there gets to be a line up of trucks, the slower ones will pull into a "pull-out" lane and wait for the faster moving trucks to go by and then they start out again. Could we please have this law in Alberta?!?!?!
• If you are driving in the left hand lane and a car comes up behind you, they will ride your bumper and honk madly at you to pull over, then they zoom by!
• The speed limit on the highways is 120 km. per hour. All vehicles have a warning beep on the speedometer - when the vehicle reaches 120 km. per hour the beeping starts - in some vehicles it just keeps on beeping and in others it warns you a few times and then stops.
• And no one sticks to the speed limit - if you are driving at 140 km. per hour, you will be passed as if you are standing still!
• All planes that fly into Arab countries have a "direction and distance to Mecca" on their live maps.
• There doesn't seem to be an "Arabic" culture in the U.A.E. - most of the work force (construction, stores, restaurants, etc) are East Indian, Pakistani or Filipino. It's hard to find a real, local Arabic meal.
• taxes that are extra on services - for example in restaurants, bars, etc - 10% service charge and then an additional 6% tourism fee
• bottled water is 30 cents for a 500 ml bottle
• milk - $1.25 per litre
• 6 bananas, 6 plums and 10 oranges - $6.00
• 7 small pears, 13 plums, 3 apples (from Washington State!!), 6 naval oranges, & 9 bananas - $9.00
• 30 slices of processed cheese - $3.50
• chocolate bar (kit kat or dairy milk fruit & nut) - 90 cents
• smaller chocolate bars - 15 cents
• 170 g tube of Pringles potato chips - $1.40
• a 368 g can of Hills Bros ground coffee - $6.00
• a loaf of multi grain bread - $2.00
• a loaf of whole wheat bread - $1.10
• 1.5 kg of flour - $2.20
• 1 litre of ice cream - $5.70
• 1 ice cream bar - 65 cents
• 6 eggs - $1.10
• a bar of lux hand soap - 65 cents
• 400 ml bottle of Herbal Essence shampoo - $4.00
• 50 ml tube of toothpaste - $2.00
• venti latte at Starbucks - $5.35
• venti coffee at Starbucks - $4.40
• gasoline is $2.00 per gallon - approximately 50 cents per litre
• beer in the bar is $6.50 per pint
• beer at the liquor store is $33.00 - $40.00 (depending on the brand) for 24 bottles - you can purchase Miller, Heineken, Castle, Stella, Budweiser, Grolsh, Corona - but not everything is available all the time. You just take what is there today.
• wine at the liquor store is $8.00 for a 750 ml bottle of Gato Negro
• cigarettes (Marlboro) are $18.00 for a carton (10 packs of 20 cigarettes)
• gold is approximately $20.00 per gram
• Harley Davidson's are the same price as home but no G.S.T.!!

And...here is Jules with us!!

(The other picture is - Michaela, Manon, Karin, Richard, Les)