Sunset on the Persian Gulf - Valentine's Day

Swimming in the Gulf at the "Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna in Abu Dhabi"

On Friday, another absolutely beautiful day, we went to the "Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna in Abu Dhabi". This hotel is actually only about 15 minute drive from here, not close to Abu Dhabi City at all, but it is in the Abu Dhabi Emarite. It is definately a popular place with Europeans. (Check it out on the Internet.)

We had a lovely lunch buffet here and were able to pay for a day of relaxing on their beach, swimming in the gulf and playing in their pool!! This was the first day I actually swam in the Persian Gulf. Les and I spent the day in the water, lounging on the sand and by the pool. What a nice, relaxing, sunny day we had!! I LOVE swimming in the Gulf!! I can hardly wait until we return for another day of pretending we are very wealthy Arabs or Europeans - pretending to lead the life of the rich and famous!!!

We Finally Find the CAMELS!!

We then drove into the desert in search of camels!!! The desert is amazing. I didn't realize that the desert sand was so colorful, from light beige to almost reddish brown in some places. The wind shapes the sand into great big dunes with a gentle slope on one side and a dangerous looking cliff on the other, little hills and valleys. Small little tufts of grass or small shrubs are growing here and there. There are many small fenced areas of trees that have been planted. We don't know whether these places are like tree farms or just for greenery to be interspersed with the seemingly unending sand. They were welcome sites though! But even more welcome were the camels we saw!! There were a number of them at one of the treed areas and a large herd in a fenced area out in the desert. Now, I have to say, seeing camels in their own environment, running free, was better even than I imagined! We drove to Les' job site. I've seen a lot of the places Les has worked - plants that he built - but never one that has been built in a big sandbox! Very interesting! But, even better than seeing where he's worked for the last year, was the huge herd of camels in the desert beside the plant. There were at least 30 of them grazing on the small tufts of grass. We drove very close to them to get some pictures and they weren't the least bit concerned about us. It was great!!!

We Explore Around Ruwais and Ghayathi

The town of Ruwais is about 15 minutes away and the other night we went in for some groceries. We had Arab Fast Food for supper!! Chicken shwarmas, faelefel, pita and humus - I was in my own little heaven - it was all so good. The town boasts 3 Mosques which are quite lovely and I can't tell you how mystical it is to hear the call the Mosque when you are in an Arab country. There are Mosques everywhere, at every gas station, in the camp, and one down by the boat yard too. I do really like seeing the men and women in their traditional clothing. There seems to be such grace and dignity that goes along with the garments. The road into the town is lined with palm trees and flowers and the town is very clean. Actually the entire highway from Abu Dhabi to here (about 250 km.) is also lined with trees - mainly palm and behind them all you can see is sand. The camp also has lots of flowering trees and flowers planted throughout. The government seems to spend a lot of money and time to nurture the greenery.

Les has Thursday afternoon and all day Friday off work. On Thursday afternoon we drove to another neighbouring town - Ghayathi. This town is another extreme example of poor versus well off. The drive into town was along a lovely road lined with trees and flowers. Very large villas spaced quite far apart could be seen from the road. As we got into the town we passed by the other "homes". Tenement row housing, almost all filthy looking on the outside - hopefully much cleaner on the inside - old unusable furniture and garbage just piled here and there. Store fronts with goods for sale and garbage spilling out into the street, very tired looking shop keepers beckoning passers by in. I was surprised by the number of schools in the town - boy's schools and girl's schools - never co-ed.

My Flight and First Few Days on the Persian Gulf

I have arrived! 7, 8 and 9 February 2007 squeezed themselves together into - I'm sure - one day. I left a cold Edmonton on Wednesday, 7 February for a series of stops on my way the Les in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Because of weather conditions in Calgary, which were worse than in Edmonton, my flight to Calgary was delayed by a little over an hour. This only shortened my waiting time in Calgary and so, was not a great hardship. Unfortunately the weather didn't get any better in Calgary before my flight left for Frankfurt. We boarded the plane at 5:15 p.m. with a departure time of 5:45. But...between problems with a seat that needed to be repaired, a no-show passenger on the flight (which meant that her baggage had to be off-loaded), a cargo door that iced up and would not latch, wings that needed de-icing after the cargo door was latched...we departed at 8:00 p.m. Thank you to SNC Lavalin and their Business Class tickets, because we, in Business Class waited out the 2 hours in the plane with wine and snacks!!

The flight was great; nice big comfy seat, lots of food and wine, and a good sleep. This delay in Calgary did make me late for my Lufthansa flight to Abu Dhabi though. Many of us missed connecting flights but the passenger agent on the ground at Frankfurt was very organized and had documented new flights for all of us and he sent us to the Air Canada counter for new tickets. Unfortunately, the lone ticket agent at the Air Canada counter was not overly happy that a great number of us were there to interrupt her conversation on the telephone! She was so very flustered as she wrote new tickets for flights that were to leave in short order (as were documented on the detailed chart she was given by the passenger agent), that wrong information was written on my new tickets. My dash through the Frankfurt Airport to the Qatar Air boarding area, followed by a conversation with a very confused Qatar Air agent, led me to another dash back to the Air Canada counter to have the tickets written correctly and another dash back to allow me to board a plane for the rest of my flight to Les!

In spite of all this confusion, I did arrive back at the boarding area on time for my new flight - Qatar Air to Doha, Qatar where I would have a 1 1/2 hour layover before leaving for the final flight to Abu Dhabi. The delay in Calgary was my very good fortune! If you ever have the opportunity to fly Qatar Air in Business Class grab it!! I did not want to get off that plane - the service, the treatment, the food and drink, were unbelievable - never in my life have I had such service! When we arrived in Doha, a little bus picked us up right from the plane and took us to the 1st Class Lounge where the great service just continued in a most beautiful environment. Water walls, palm trees, lovely comfy chairs - another place I really didn't want to leave. When our flight to Abu Dhabi was being boarded we were escorted again right to the plane. The 45 minute flight to Abu Dhabi was yet more of the same pampering.

Les picked me up at the airport at 2:30 a.m. Friday, 9 February (that's 3:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 February, Edmonton time). We went to Le Meridien Hotel in Abu Dhabi for the night. The next morning I waded in the Persian Gulf and sat in the sun under palm trees - this is heavenly!! But...in this heaven there is, not hell, but perhaps purgatory...as we drove around Abu Dhabi we saw areas of immense wealth and beauty and areas of total poverty - not much in between.
There are so many first impressions of this beautiful country - the very elegantly robed and head dressed Arab men and Muslim women...the sight of the incredibly blue Persian Gulf...the fruit, vegetable and fish vendors at the markets...the stalls and stalls and stalls of fresh date vendors...the palm trees...the sand...the Mosques...hearing the call to Mosque...the sun setting over the Persian Gulf...the bright sun...

Les lives in a workers' camp right by the Gulf. He has a cute little bachelor apartment and has found me a table and chairs for the patio he has. He leaves for work each day Saturday to Wednesday at about 5:30 a.m. and returns at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday he is back at 12:30 pm. - Thursday afternoon and Friday are his days off - don't forget, this is an Arab country and the holy day is Friday. The days are mine to fill as I can!! At about 10ish each day I go for my walk/run to the beach. (By the time I get back the nice little cleaning boy has come in and emptied the garbage, cleaned the bathroom, washed the floors and left more bottled water!!) I am getting some exercise, it's not all lazing! There is a boat repair yard in the Gulf just down the road (about a 10 minute walk) from the camp. I head down there and find a spot (where I can't see tooooo much garbage) lay my towel down and sit or lay in the sun for a couple of hours. I can't go on the beach itself in this area - very dirty, rocky and out of sight of the boat yard, but there is a cliff sort of thing right above the beach. That's where I park myself. Don't worry - lots of sunscreen and my big goofy hat are all part of the ritual! There is garbage everywhere on the beach and some up on my little cliff area - the people who live here and use this beach don't appreciate the beauty they have. If I lived here I would pick up garbage everyday and hope the residents would change their ways. I don't like to be out of sight of the boat yard - there are always men around but never any other women and I like to stay safe!! I love to be here to smell the sea, watch the waves and the gulls, listen to the pounding waves - it truly is lovely. I've always wanted to live by the ocean and for the next 2 months I do and I am going to enjoy every moment I can. There is one gull that seems come everyday, I can't believe that with all the garbage around there aren't more, just the one. I've decided that he is watching over me! Some days there are lots of dragonflies - the biggest dragonflies I've ever seen - they are beautiful to watch. I haven't seen any dolphins yet, although Les has seen them here. After my couple of hours I run back to the camp and sit on my little patio and read, do needlework....be lazy!! And back in when the sun gets too hot. It has been about 25 degrees everyday and some days there is a nice little breeze to cool things a bit.

Dinner With Our Friends

Thursday evening we were invited to the home of Les' clerk, Asef and his family - wife Afshan, 2 1/2 year old daughter Zaneb and 10 month old son Adam. Asef and his family are very devout Muslim's from Pakistan and this was quite an honour for us to be invited to their home. Asef and the kids met us at the door and I was directed to one side of the house and Les to the other. Les was not allowed to meet or speak with Afshan because the family follow strict Islamic beliefs. (Both Asef and Afshan speak English so the evening would be easy!) Afshan welcomed me to her home and we visited while she finished cooking a very traditional Pakistani meal. Their home is furnished with many carpets and traditional items. No western furniture!

When dinner was ready, Asef came to the kitchen to take the food for him and Les to the dining room. Afshan and I took ours to the sitting room and the kids went back and forth between the two areas. We had a wonderful dinner and I thanked Afshan for cutting her usual input of spices by about 3/4!! It was all still very tasty and spicy! Afshan and the kids ate traditionally without utensils and I heard later that Les and Asef did as well. I'm not as adept at "scooping" so I did have a fork so I didn't make a mess of myself and the beautiful carpet we were sitting on! We enjoyed rice, dal (cooked chick peas, curry and spices), butter chicken (cooked in yoghurt with coconut, poppy seeds, onion, and spices), kebobs (cooked meat, ground with grains and spices) coated with egg and re-fried in butter), salad, and chapaty (pita like bread freshly made) and for dessert milk based pudding with pistachios and sunflower seeds).

Afshan wears beautiful Pakistani clothing; pants, shirt and shawl over her head and shoulders. When she goes outside she wears the black robe and scarf that cover her totally. Zaneb wears shirt and pants like her mommy and had a head scarf on when we arrived, but like any active little girl, that didn't stay on very long. Asef wears the mens white outfit - pants and long tunic. Adams was like his daddy's but green in color.

Afshan and I had a lot to talk about. I discovered that she has a degree in commerce and before marriage she taught elementary aged kids and some adult courses as well. She told me she wouldn't go back to teaching, staying at home and looking after her family are her job now. I know that Les wishes I would spend more time with Afshan just to learn what HE thinks my place should be!!! Before we knew it the evening was over and it was time to go. This was a fabulous evening and I learned a lot about this totally different culture. I hope that we keep in touch with this family.

(No picture with this post as Asef does not believe in photographing his family.)