Creative Meanderings

Only two more days left…. 🙁

Unfortunately, Tuesday was all about getting studying done. I plowed through another module (unit) in my “Discourse in Professional and Organizational Contexts” course. It’s not my favorite I have to admit, but it has interesting bits here and there. I started a module that I should have finished last week for my “Concepts in Managing Language Programs” course, which is much more interesting for me, but I only got half way through the module, so it will require another day of studying.

I did stop early afternoon to do some cooking since we were having guests over for dinner. Michael (pronounced Me-hal) and his wife, Maride (Marith) from Ireland came for dinner in the evening. Michael and Allan work together and Maride works at a high school in Dubai. They have been here for about 9 years, so there must be something nice about it here. ;D Anyway, we had a nice time.

Before that, I made it down to the pool as I needed a break from everything for a bit. Somehow the pool was only about half level full, so not sure what is going on. Maybe they are cleaning it for Ramadan?? Will have to see if it stays that way tomorrow.

Until next time,

-T

Ah, the time is flying.

Yesterday was my Ski Dubai day. It is an amazing experience to ski/snowboard in the middle of the desert. I almost forgot that it was actually hot outside. The Ski Dubai slope is located in the Mall of the Emirates, which is a 40 dirham taxi ride from Allan’s apartment. (Can we say incentive to rent/buy a car??).

To ensure that I had the freedom to ski as long as I want, I bought a day pass and then signed up for Discovery snowboarding lessons (pre-beginner). With the day pass I was able to switch to snowboarding after a few hours of skiing. Now, the two-hour pass is 180AED. If you are a pretty good skiier, this is more than enough time. I skied for about 2.5 hours and made close to 30 – 40 runs. They claim to have 5 runs, but from what I could tell there were about three and short still, though challenging and long enough to work on form or race down the slope. Since I haven’t skied in a year or so, it was really nice to be back on the snow again and I like just practicing form and style more than racing down, so it was worth it to pay for the day pass at 300AED (or $30US more).

After about 90 minutes, I took a 45-minute lunch break at the Avanlanche Cafe where they serve a mean hot chocolate, though I skipped the whip cream, M&Ms and marshmallow topping.

It was time to switch to the snowboard after that. So, I did a couple of runs on the shorter slope, but got tired since my last ski run had me biting it hard and my leg got sore…. Once I finished the second run on the board, I took a wee break and then went to meet up for the lesson. The lesson was 160AED for an hour. There were 4 others in my group and we did basic moves to get down the training slope. It wasn’t so hard for me since I had boarded before, but it was good to remind myself of the basic skills required. If I were here a bit longer, I would go regularly and take the different lessons and I think I could actually board down the main slope after a couple more lessons. Still, it is hard, but I didn’t fall hard on the board, which is amazing!

I could have gone again to keep boarding, but by then I had been on the slope for 4 hours and my ankles were sore from the boots, so I called it a day. Financially, it probably would have been cheaper to just have done the 2-hour pass and lesson, but hey now I know and I did have the freedom to go back if I had been up for it. I am getting old as I felt very sore and unable to move much once I got home. Then, I was out for the count before 10pm!

If I were to live here, I would be a regular on the slopes, though. For a couple of hours a day, I’d pay it! Rumor is that they are making an outside slope for the winter months. Should be interesting to see the ocean and desert while skiing!

Until next time,

-T

Once upon a time, a dude named Juha and his friend Sinbad got stranded on an island and the beautiful location seemed a great place to make an entertainment zone for people to come and enjoy the water rides they had created. Thus, is the condensed legend of Wild Wadi – Dubai’s famous water park!

If it is too hot to do anything outside and the beach is still a bit too warm, what is one to do in Dubai? You can go skiing or if you don’t ski, you can go to Wild Wadi. Since Allan doesn’t ski and we had a whole day of fun ahead, it was time for the slides and rides.

The first ride we did after finding a place to drop our towels was hit the big rides. The first up was a 33 meter high slide called Jumeirah Sceirah. I was a bit nervous as we climbed up the stairs to the top and not knowing where the bottom was sort of freaked me out. However, once I began the descent and came to a very bumpy halt, I determined it wasn’t that bad. Sadly, Allan got a bit of a skinned elbow since he didn’t cross his arms quite enough on the way down.

We then went on to enjoy the waves, intertube slide rides, body boarding zones and the view of the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel for the rest of the afternoon.

On the way, I got to get an upclose photo of the Burj Dubai – slated to be the world’s tallest tower. It is still incomplete, but when it is done, I imagine it will be quite amazing.

After six hours at the water park, we headed home and got ready to go to a house-party in Sharjah of one of Allan’s colleagues. She lives in a medium-sized villa, which means large house in my world! Amazing accommodations are provided here….

Anyway, thus the day in the water was ended.

Until next time,

-T

Today was my biggest day out and probably the last for the trip, but it was a good one.

After my run-in with the Emirati fellow the other day, I decided that doing a tour might not be a bad idea since it is $36 for a four hour tour. So, they arrived and two of us were taken around in a mini-van to see bits of Dubai.

We started with a stop at the Dubai Creek Dhow Wharfage to see the Dhow ships and bldgs lining the Creek on the Deira side. We were on the Bur Dubai side, which is the side I am staying on as well.

Then, we moved on to see the Dubai Museum, which used to be Al Fahidi Fort to defend Dubai on the sea. This was a small museum, but big enough for me. More pictures will be available back on my Photo Journeys section when I get back, but for now you can enjoy just a few.

We drove past the Bastakia, which is a historical neighborhood. I will have to go back at a cooler time to walk around. We also drove past the Bur Dubai souk and gold souk areas, where I want to drag Allan back to for an evening out since the locals seem to do their shopping at night and I want to see a local nightlife in action. I will bribe him with a nice place for drinks! 😀

We went past a few neighborhoods with textiles, fish, wholesale cosmetics/bath items, where I think it would be fun to shop or know to shop if I were to live here. (Taking notes!)

Then, we were off to Jumeirah Road to see the Jumeirah Mosque, which is claimed to be the most beautiful, but not the largest. It seems to be the only mosque that visitors can enter on certain days. Further along the road, I saw another mosque and I thought was just as beautiful.

Along Jumeirah Road there are a lot of large villas where expats or rich Emiratis live. These residences are absolutely huge. The tour guide claimed that real Emiratis don’t like to live in these kind of places.

We continued to see the Jumeirah beach and Burj Al Arab building – shaped like a sailboat. We passed the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which was apparently the first 5-star hotel in Dubai and is shaped like a wave.

Then, we drove on to the Palm Jumeirah. From above, the shape of the construction in a palm tree. The residences on this island are going for about one million dollars for a 49-year lease contract. It is actually quite reasonable considering the fame and location of the place. This area of town is still under major construction. So, the office buildings are nearing finished and the island is nearing finished, but like much of Dubai, everything is under construction.

Finally, the trip ended with dropping me off at the Mall of Emirates where I had planned to ski, but decided to shop instead. I will probably try to go back for the skiing/snowboarding since the costs seemed better for longer, though the slope is small, so I wonder how much I can take. 😀

After I finished wandering the mall, I headed to the Madinat Jumeirah to meet Allan and colleagues at a bar called Bahri Bar. It has a lovely view of the Burj Al Arab, but sadly my camera died and I still haven’t worked out how to get my iPhone photos online yet. So, those may have to go with the other photos on my Photos Journey section when I return to my beloved Mac. ;D

Thus ends my big day out!

Until next time,

-T