Archive for January, 2014

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Walk Through Meena Bazaar

January 24, 2014

Posted by Kanga

Blue Water Sweets shop next to Sweety Sweets shop

After a lovely dinner at Special Ostadi, we took a walk through the neighborhood and Meena Bazaar. This afforded an opportunity to take some sign photos.

Blue Water Sweets shop sign

Blue Water Sweets is right next door to Sweety Sweets.

Sweety Sweets shop sign

I’m glad they spelled sweety correctly. It could have just as easily been “sweaty.”

Choice Corner General Trading shop sign

Choice Corner General Trading – it’s good to have a choice corner.

Spider Star Electronics

Spider Star Electronics – sometimes I think they just pull words out of a hat.

Al Meher Recording shop sign

As we approached Al Meher Recording, we were surprised to hear:

Here are some of their hard to find titles:

album covers Burl Ives, The Ventures, Olivia Newton John, James Brown, Freddie Fender, Roger Whittaker, Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, Connie Francis, Donnie Osmond

I’ve probably posted this one before, but it is a gem.

Sew and Reap Outfitters shop sign

Tasty Village Restaurant.

Tasty Village restaurant sign

The new souk (market) building has a Loading Unloading Area.

bilingual sign for Loading Unloading Area

It was a pleasant walk. We enjoy the cool winter evenings when we can walk without sweating and being miserable. (It reached a low of 59F.) Of course, “cool” and “winter” are relative terms. We walked around with no coats.

Posted in Dubai, signs | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

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Mall Decor

January 14, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

holiday castle mall display

I think the Al Ain Mall may have won the holiday decorating competition.

Snow White and Seven Dwarves in front of a fantasy castle

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Biker’s Cafe

January 13, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

Biker's Cafe restaurant sign

Recently, the Biker’s Cafe opened a branch in the Fujairah International Marine Club compound. They serve breakfast until 3 pm, so we dropped in Saturday “morning.” (It was nearer to 1 pm, but it’s all relative on Saturdays).

In America, the word “biker” has a very definite and complex connotation. Something like this:

Biker

By Visitor7 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

So we laugh a little bit when we hear “biker’s cafe,” because none of the patrons look like this, except maybe DaddyBird. The Vespa on display outside the door of the cafe implies that Mods are welcome, too.

black vespa on display

I ordered English breakfast. The eggs were bland, as were the beans. It was nothing to get too excited about.

scrambled eggs, potato patties, link sausage, fried tomato, beans, toast, beef bacon

DaddyBird ordered the “omelette” which turned out to be layers (in a clay pot) of bread, fried eggs, beef pepperoni, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cheese. Nothing like the expectations the word “omelette” inspires. “Style above substance,” he says.

clay pot containing layered bread, fried eggs, tomatoes, bell peppers, pepperoni, cheese

We’ll probably go back and try something else on the menu. Maybe that crab and avocado item I noticed after I had already ordered.

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Drive to Al Ain Zoo

January 12, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

Our road trip to the Al Ain Zoo started with a camel in the road in the Maleha area.

two SUVs stopped for a blonde camel in the road

He was honked off the road and sauntered off to find a tasty bush.

blonde camel on side of the road

Then on to the Al Ain Zoo. We arrived just as everyone else was leaving. The zoo is open until 8 pm, but the sun goes down around 6:45 pm these days. We had about an hour of light left. Hyenas are scary in the daylight and even worse in the dark.

flamingoes

The zoo is quite nice and has good exhibit facilities.

oryx and gazelles

Above are oryx and gazelles. These are native animals. The oryx was hunted to the edge of extinction, but breeding programs are bringing them back.

white tiger

Unless you like massive crowds of people, it would be best to go late in the day, like we did, or on a week day not during school breaks, although you might still have to deal with school field trip students. In other words, prepare for a crowd experience.

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The Oldest Pair of Cats

January 10, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

Increased acquisition of jewelry over recent years (my addiction to the Yemeni pavilion at Global Village) resulted in a need for better storage. I needed to be able to see the range of what was available instead of relying on my memory which is getting older all the time. I also needed a full length mirror, since the first chance to see myself full length each morning was in the elevator. By then, it’s too late to make changes.

a free standing full length mirror with a jewelry storage area inside

I killed two birds with one stone in buying this free standing mirror, jewelry armoire combo. Previously, storage consisted of three wooden boxes and various small boxes. It was difficult to see what was available and choose what would best match my attire. That problem is now solved, but I could still use more space for a few of my mother’s pieces and future acquisitions.

Going through those boxes to select what to display resulted in reacquainting myself with old treasures. The cat pins pictured below are the oldest pieces I own. My Aunt Louella gave them to me over forty years ago. I have worn them many times and I am surprised that they still have all their stones. I wish I could show her that I still have and cherish them, but she’s been gone for many years. She is one of those people I didn’t really appreciate until almost too late. I have my little kitties to remind me and they will be out and about sometime soon. I think maybe with my new blue polka dot dress. We’ll see.

two blue cat brooches with rhinestone eyes

Posted in furniture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

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New Year’s Eve 2013

January 5, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

New Year’s Eve began with a drive to Dubai and lunch at the Special Ostadi restaurant. Then we went down to the Bur Dubai side of Dubai Creek. We walked through the old souk (market). The merchants were calling out to DaddyBird calling him “boss” and to BabyBird calling her “Shakira” to entice them to stop and see the wares. From there, we took an abra (water taxi) across the creek to the Spice Souk area.

small boat used as a water taxi

The ride across the creek is always pleasant and it is much cooler on the water.

water taxi boat full of passengers

I haven’t even thought of looking up while on the boat before and was surprised to see the life jackets. If the boat runs into trouble, I doubt I would have time to get one of those, but the thought is nice, I suppose.

life preserver jackets attached to the underside of the boat roof

We stopped for fresh juice and BabyBird discovered that fresh apple juice is not like bottled apple juice. I had watermelon juice and was unpleasantly surprised to find that the seeds had been included. We walked through the Spice Souk and Gold Souk. To return to the car parked in Bur Dubai, we took the metro train.

grassy area near the historical Shindaga area

The park area near the Shindaga historical area is quite nice and inviting to those who want to relax for a while. Next, we were off to Bu Qtair Restaurant for our traditional fish and shrimp dinner with friends followed by fireworks seen from Jumeirah beach.

fireworks around the Burj Al Arab hotel

In past years, all the fireworks displays started at the stroke of midnight – Dubai Marina, Burj Al Arab, Atlantis Hotel and the Burj Khalifa (all of which we can see from our beach location). This year the displays were staggered. Dubai Marina went first, slightly before the stroke of midnight. Then the Burj Khalifa was next. Burj Al Arab took it’s turn. (This is usually the best display from four barges lasting 15 minutes.)

fireworks on the Palm Jumeirah island

This year, the world record breaking display capped the evening shooting off from the Palm Jumeirah island and the World islands. It took 2 hours to get out of Dubai and another hour to drive to Fujairah, but it was worth it.

Posted in abras, Burj al Arab, celebration, Dubai Creek, New Year's Eve, Palm Island | Leave a Comment »

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Fujairah Historical Sites

January 4, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

museum display case room

We took BabyBird on a mini Fujairah history tour beginning with the Fujairah Museum.

ancient jewelry made of carnelian (red) stone

The museum has displays of artifacts from ancient sites – forts, burials, etc. – that have been excavated. Carnelian and sea shell jewelry were prominent in the days before pearling.

inside of a restored 300 year old fort

The Fujairah Fort was open (which has been rare in the past) so we took the opportunity to go inside. The fort is approximately 300 years old and has been recently restored.

two people at the top of the fort tower seen between the crenallations

DaddyBird and BabyBird climbed the tower for a good view of the area.

ruins of ancient copper smelting site

Then we drove up the Madhab wadi (valley) to see an ancient copper smelting archeological site.

funnel holes in the dirt indicating the presence of ant lions

I also noticed the many funnel shaped holes which are most likely ant lion traps. (National Geographic video of ant lions)

ancient water channel used for watering a date palm garden

Not far away are the remains of an ancient falaj (water channel) which was used to bring water to a date palm garden. Unfortunately, a gravel road has cut through this channel.

model of well and date palm watering system

Next, we stopped in at the Fujairah Heritage Village. The village includes models of several types of traditional houses and buildings. Above is a model of a typical well and watering system used in date palm gardens. A bull would walk down into this trough pulling the water “bucket” up out of the well. The water would then be poured into a channel (falaj) that conducts the water into the area around the trees.

interior of house with coffee pot, clay pots, woven mats

This is an interior display showing mats woven from date palm branches, clay pots, and a coffee pot ensemble. The coffee pot is nestled in a square container that would have had hot coals in it to keep the pot hot.

There is very little written history about this region, even as little as 300 years ago, so the physical sites and artifacts are even more precious. Unfortunately, they are disappearing under new roads, dams, and buildings.

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Christmas Balls

January 3, 2014

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

shopping mall decorated for Christmas

We didn’t check out every mall this season, but there seemed to be a theme of huge Christmas balls.

shopping mall decorated for Christmas

Below is my favorite tree. The carousel horses were moving around the tree.

Christmas tree decorated in gold and silver surrounded by carousel horses

Each year Christmas is more prevalent in public. It is gaining acceptance, because it is a shopping holiday.

Posted in Christmas, Dubai, malls | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »