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Small Proofs of Globalization

September 10, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Today’s grocery discovery was Shasta brand sodas. Of all the American soda/cola products this is one I didn’t expect to see.

cans on top grocery shelf

We picked up a few other interesting sodas.

Barr cream soda, A & W root beer, Old Jamaica ginger beer, Idris fiery ginger beer

Barr American Cream Soda comes from Glasgow and claims to be “refreshing the nation.” The graphic reminds me more of a bar of soap than a refreshing drink, however. Old Jamaica Ginger Beer “with fiery Jamaican root ginger” comes from Kegworth, England. Idris Fiery Ginger Beer comes from Chelmsford, England with the challenge to “try it if you dare.” (It’s not fiery. Even I don’t think so and I’m pretty wimpy.) Our old friend A&W Root Beer comes from New Jersey (and as we discovered previously smells like surgical spirit.)

Posted in food, Fujairah, products/ads | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

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Good Friends and Good Food

September 10, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Look who came to visit us this morning! @DevinaDivecha & ... on Twitpic

Last week, our beautiful friends Devina and Shruti came to Fujairah. We met up at Delhi Darbar Restaurant for breakfast.

plates and bowls of Indian food

The challenge for me at any Indian restaurant is finding something that has no, and I mean NO, chili peppers. DaddyBird prefers food the spicier the better. The bowl at the lower right is vegetable korma and was supposed to be mild, but it was a no go for me. I managed with paratha (bread), green salad, and an omelette. I could see and avoid the peppers in the omelette. Despite my chili aversion, the food was lovely and ridiculously cheap. Four people ate their fill for 53 AED ($14.50).

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Tiny Watch Repair

September 9, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

man sitting at a small booth under a large umbrella doing watch repair

The businesses here are often small by American standards, but this is the epitome, I think. This man has a small booth in a parking lot on a busy street where he does watch repair. I don’t have any broken watches, but I could use some new batteries, so I will have to go back some evening.

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Supporting Artisans

September 9, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Meet our new kitchen table.

beechwood table with drop leaf sides

The table itself is not important. It’s just an Ikea table with drop leaf sides and a few drawers. The cats were disappointed to find the drawers too small for them to get into. No, the important thing here and the reason for this post is the table runner.

close up of magenta/green/white/black woven table runner

This was made by an Emirati woman as part of the Sougha program of the Khalifa Fund. Emirati women who are skilled in the traditional weaving craft used in creating bedouin tents have been encouraged to develop smaller products and keep the weaving tradition alive and well.

blue/green/white striped carry bag

My first purchase was a carry bag just the right size for my iPad. We’ve made our purchases at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair the last two years. They sell at other events and festivals, so keep your eyes peeled for Sougha products.

Info on other blogs & articles:

Cultural Arts Travelogue
The Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi
Gulf News
The National

Posted in Abu Dhabi, culture, furniture, products/ads, Shopping, United Arab Emirates | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

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A Drive Along the Border

September 4, 2011

mountain in background, green trees in foreground

This picture was taken near Ohala (Wahala). I’ve lived in very rainy, verdant places and in semi-arid desert areas. I find that there is a beauty to every variation of nature. Even this dry, rocky terrain is beautiful.

Our circuitous route on our Monday drive took us near the Oman border.

mountain and stone quarry in distance

We had a debate about this fence as to whether it is the Oman border or not. DaddyBird argues that is it for something else, a restricted area of some kind. The map supports his position.

border fence

In the 21st century, this is what checking the map looks like.

hand holding a smart phone

Well, that is the last post resulting from our one afternoon road trip last Monday. Hope you enjoyed it.

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Exploring Fujairah: Part 3

September 2, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

This episode is about Wadi Al Helo, which is actually part of the Sharjah emirate, not Fujairah, but was part of our road trip. (Alternate spellings include Hilo, Helou, Halou)

We’ve driven through Wadi Al Helo several times, because it is on the Sharjah-Kalba road, but this time we actually got off the road to take a closer look.

distant view of an artificial plateau topped with white houses

Wadi Al Helo has a long history of habitation back to the early bronze age and is an archaeological site. In recent years, there has been some major work done as evidenced by at least three hillsides that have been carved out to form terraces where modern houses have been built.

white houses on a plateau

We drove up onto one of these terraces and found exactly what we expected, a pleasant neighborhood with a mosque.

white houses up close

There are several government buildings in Wadi Al Helo, but we did not see any retail businesses. There must be at least one grocery, but we did not come across it.

valley containing date palm trees

Below the terraces, in the valley, are farms and palm groves.

valley containing animal pens

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Goats and Donkeys and Bears, Oh My!

September 1, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Okay, there are no bears, but there are plenty of goats and donkeys just roaming around, nibbling on whatever they can find.

three goats at side of the road

a tan donkey standing at the side of the road

Donkeys come in a range of colors from light tan to black. They usually travel in pairs.

black donkey standing in the shade of a bush

And sheep, too! In the background is the Ohala Fort/Castle. (Alternate spelling Wahla or Wahala) This is close to the Oman border.

sheep with the Ohala Castle in the background

It is amazing that they find anything to eat in this harsh environment, but they do.

Posted in animals, Fujairah, road trip | Tagged , , | 3 Comments »

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Exploring Fujairah: Part 2

August 30, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Here are the signs we saw on our road trip.

road sign warning of camels

Surprisingly, we see more actual camels than these signs.

road sign with one red car and one black car

Hmm… red cars stay to the left? Red trucks, too?

road sign with a red truck and a black truck

speed bump warning sign

There are a wide variety of speed bump warning signs. There are also a wide variety (and plethora) of speed bumps.

speed bump warning sign with only a silhouette of bumps

And the opposite of humps –

road sign warning of dips in the road

Posted in camel, Fujairah, signs | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

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Exploring Fujairah: Part 1

August 29, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

I have the week off for Eid, so  no work this week, just work around the house and fun. Saturday was spent twiddling my thumbs while the Ikea delivery men assembled our new wardrobes, book cases and kitchen table. Sunday was spent ignoring all the unpacking, cleaning and rearranging necessary after this influx of furniture. So, when Monday rolled around, I decided we should get out for a drive and see things we’ve never seen and take pictures of whatever we come across. Our route was rather complex, looping around and doubling back. I’m going to publish it in multiple posts, so hang in there.

First, Al Hayl Castle:

small three story tower and courtyard

This small fort is southwest of Fujairah city. The way is well indicated by signs, easy to find. (Click here for more info about the castle.) The caretaker was eager to give us a tour. He is Bangladeshi and his English is quite limited. He insisted on taking pictures of us posing in several locations.

crazy people who write this blog

He included his finger in most of the pictures, so I will just post this one.

very narrow stairs with a lodge pole handrail

DaddyBird was very brave and went up these stairs to see the second story. I did not. They are very narrow and the steps are very tall and the handrail is very wobbly.

arrow hole in a wall

And what castle doesn’t have a few holes through which to shoot arrows?

a man's arm stretched out in front of the camera pointing to the right

Here is a picture of our guide. Despite the fact that I was taking a picture, he felt compelled to point something else out to me.

view of a valley with palm trees

This is the view of the valley from the watchtower.

sloped depressions in the floor leading to a drain

This is the floor of what the caretaker told us was the store room. He said that they would put apples here and that the juice would drain down. That would not have been my guess.

small lizard blending in on the wall

This little lizard was quite well camouflaged.

We tipped the caretaker 10 AED for his trouble, but he was not impressed with this amount. So, if you go and get his tour, you might want to more generous than we were.

You can see all the pictures here.

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Cultural Experiences – Both Planned and Unexpected

August 28, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Our friends from Malta ventured out from Dubai to Fujairah for dinner with us last week. Our planned cultural experience was to go to the Ramadan Food Market to buy the components of our meal and bring it home to enjoy.

We brought home flat bread, fatoush (green salad), tamarind and some kind of berry juices, sausages in bread wraps, tabouleh (chopped parsley salad), hummos, kushari, samosas, pakora, chicken biriani, and probably more, but I can’t remember it all. It was a fun food adventure.

We supplied root beer, the only soda we had on hand. This was a new experience for our Maltese friends, who say that it smells exactly like a surgical spirit solution commonly used back home. [Our friend also confessed to having a pyromaniac phase around the age of eight when he sprayed this surgical spirit (mostly alcohol) on the ground and lit it for fun.] So, root beer, which is right up there with baseball and apple pie on the scale of American-ness is not very appealing to people in the Eastern hemisphere. This might explain why it is rare to find it in grocery stores. Now we’ll have to look for this surgical spirit to do a smell test and see for ourselves.

I had a similar experience when I first tasted Jagermeister (German herbal liqueur). I swear it tastes just like the cough syrup we had when I was little. Just tastes like medicine to me.

Our friends had brought us a treat from Malta – a pudding, which I tried the next morning. Before I tell you what it is like, I must explore the word “pudding.” In America, this word has just one definition. A pudding is a creamy, milk based dessert, like custard. (There are also bread and rice puddings, but again these are desserts.) In Europe and abroad, pudding can mean just about anything – sweet or savory. Christmas pudding is actually a cake. Blood pudding is actually a sausage. So, when someone says “pudding” we are not sure what to expect.

This pudding turned out to be what we would call a fruit cake. It is dense, dark, a bit chocolaty with tasty fruit bits in it.  I’ve tried it cold, warmed up, topped with a little ice cream, and warmed up with butter. Quite good.

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