The adventures of DaddyBird and Kangayayaroo as they move from the United Arab Emirates to Shanghai, China, and venture to explore the Eastern hemisphere from there.
This is the view around our apartment building lately. This is not the first time they have dug a trench along here and torn out the paving bricks and made a mess.
This trench goes across the one and only entrance/exit to the underground parking. Now, why this trench can’t be dug 30 feet north where there are no structures, I don’t know. Why these pipes weren’t laid before the buildings were put up, I don’t know.
Here is how building is done. They put up a building first. There are no electrical lines to the construction area. There are no sewer lines laid prior to building. There are often no paved roadways to the construction site either. The building may never get a sewer line. (Sewage goes into tanks in the subbasement and trucks come by to pump out the contents, hopefully on a regular basis. Our building is 21 stories tall with 7 apartments on each of 17 floors and offices on 3 floors – you do the math.) The building may, or may not, get city supplied electricity. Our building is one half city utilities and one half connected to a generator in the basement. The generator is permanently installed.
It is that time of year again – Ramadan. So, we ventured into Dubai for an iftar meal with some wonderful people.
BBQ Delights put on a lovely buffet selection.
I started with salads – beet salad, cucumber, salads, and tomatoes.
Then meats – two kinds of chicken grills, shrimps, and naan (flat bread). I’m cheating a little on the diet. The shrimps are lightly breaded and the bread is bread.
The Peeta Planet television show is one of the best things produced in the UAE. To watch all the episodes plus extras, go to their YouTube channel – click here. Considering all the sensationalized stuff that passes for television, it is really nice to watch something smart and informative. The episodes always include art, music, food, and culture. THIS is television worth watching.
After nearly five years in the country, we finally got around to going to the Sharjah Aquarium.
There were lots of tasty looking groupers. These are also known as hamour, the most commonly eaten fish in the area. Unfortunately, they are now overfished. It doesn’t pay to be so very tasty.
Turtle buddies.
The aquarium is quite pleasant. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and it was fairly quiet and peaceful. As we were leaving around 6 pm more people were arriving, so it may be more populated in the evening. The entrance fee is 20 AED per person and includes admittance to the neighboring Maritime Museum. Well worth it.
Please don’t pay the fish, flash the fish, feed the fish, or punch the fish.
The bad thing about living abroad is the transient nature of the expatriate community. One makes friends and then some of them move away, either going back to their home country or to another country. We’ll miss them when we gather with friends at our favorite restaurants. They will miss out on board game tweet ups. We’ll be watching for their cat and baby photos on Facebook. Consolation comes from the fact that we still have friends who have been in country so long that we can count on them staying.
The good thing about this is that we now have friends in multiple countries that we can visit during our vacations. I wish we had more vacation time.
Didn’t we get over this fashion statement back in the 1980’s? Plaid shirt and down vest? Really?
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are unlined rain coats being sold in an arid desert country. When it rains here, and it does, you don’t go out for a stroll. It rains hard and there is thunder and lightening. People have been struck dead while walking in the rain.
This just amazes. It is a dish scrub sponge shaped like Diana Ross with the sponge serving as her afro hairdo.
I am spending a few days back in my home town. While browsing a local craft fair at the Baptist Church, I was introduced to a friend of a family member. This person had recently seen a TV program on the wonders of Dubai and asked me to tell one story about Dubai. Just one story. My mind blanked. The pressure was on. Just one story. Since it was December 1st, the eve of National Day, I described how they celebrate the nation’s birth 41 years ago. Of course, later I thought of even better stories.
So, readers who are in the UAE, I invite you to comment here and tell us your ONE United Arab Emirates story. How would you represent your experience to the average American?
We dropped in to see a demonstration of digital artwork by our friend, Ashraf Ghori.
In addition to miles of books, there were some traditional dance demonstrations.
The book fair is on through Saturday November 17th. We highly recommend it. Wear your best walking shoes and eat a hearty meal, you’ll need your strength.
Apparently, if I buy this cereal, open the box, find the special code, and enter it online, I will have a chance of winning a tube of lipstick. Hmmm….
Dish Drop doesn’t conjure pictures of wise dish handling, but the bottle looks happy.
Stone Ground Nacho Rock Salted Tortilla Chips seems like quite a mouthful. So does Stone Ground Stars Traditional Tortilla Chips . I think I will just call them Saloon or Jail flavored.
The catalogue section of DVDs – what does this mean? Also, notice what movies make it into this country, uncut – Sin City, Pulp Fiction, etc. There was a copy of American Beauty, too.
Living the Travel Channel 