Dubai Update #6

Leaving Ras Al Khaimah on the morning of Tuesday, 2nd January, we headed for Dibba in Fujairah Emirate on the East coast of the peninsula, on the Bay of Oman.  The intention was to spend 3 nights in a 2 Bedroom cottage at Sandy Beach Hotel and Resort, situated right on the beach.

The kids and Christian were due back to school and work respectively,  the following Sunday so this would be a good opportunity for them to wind down before getting back into their normal routine.

Sunday is the first day of the week and a normal working day in these parts, in fact it is the first day of the working week, and the main holidays are in the middle of the year with only a very short break at Christmas time.  As I think I have mentioned in previous posts, despite the country being Islamic they do use Christmas as an excuse to give presents and the shops in Dubai are decorated accordingly, but rather less over the top than the shops in Australia.  In fact I have not noticed any nativity or religious reference to Christmas but rather the jolly fellow in the red suite. I guess this in reality is more in keeping with the pagan origins of the Christmas festival in any case.  There is a significant non Muslim work force and the fact that the New Year is celebrated  in most cultures means that there is still somewhat of a festive season over Christmas and New Year with many people taking a break, albeit a little subdued.

Getting back to our time on the beach in Dibba; the drive from Ras Al Khaimah was interesting which included a return to the landscape being dominated by endless sand hills and then back again to very jagged mountain ranges. The other thing I found interesting, given my work history in the concrete industry was the number of cement plants that are in the country.  There were no less than 4 Cement plants in the  1.5 hour journey to Dibba. We don’t have many more cement plants than that in the whole of Australia. For the uninformed, a cement plant is not a concrete plant.  Concrete plants simply mix cement with aggregates and sand to produce concrete and are not a huge investment to erect. A cement plant on the other hand is a significant manufacturing plant that clinkers limestone and other raw materials and then grinds it to produce cement.  These plants comparatively are a very large investment. The only large heavy industries that I have noticed here (other than the building industry in which I include the concrete and quarrying  industry) are cement manufacture, power stations and desalination plants. And by the way, you end up in gaol if caught photographing desal plants as one Australian Gov Employee found out to his dismay.

As with much of the accommodation in the UAE and Oman (away from Dubai and Abu Dhabi), it looks great on the surface but under the classy veneer there is a lack of attention to detail.  The Sandy Beach Hotel and Resort was no exception to this. The gardens and the surrounds are manicured to within an inch of their life, and really quite perfect yet our cottage was a little dodgy.  Doors not closing properly to the bathroom and wardrobes, fridge stuffed into the tiniest kitchen leaving no ability to stand in front of the kitchen sink and an old TV sat on the kitchen divider, making the divider virtually useless.  Admittedly the Cottage was an older part of the resort and was detached with an outside eating area in the garden which made it quite comfortable and easy for us to overlook the shortcomings of the cottage itself. The restaurant, pool area and pool bar area were excellent, even if a little tired.  One huge positive was the ability to buy alcohol and no objection it seems to bringing your own booze. Several European beers on tap by the pool and in the restaurant was the icing on the cake.

So we spent the next two and a half days swimming, lounging, eating and drinking. The kids had a fabulous time in the pool. The weather is pretty much perfect at this time of the year with sunny 28 degree C days and cool nights.  Warm enough to swim all day and no need for air conditioners at night. The pool is kept at a constant 27 degrees year round so it has to be slightly warmed in winter (now) and significantly cooled in summer in the daily 40+ degree heat.

Amanda and Christian took the opportunity for the grandparents to look after the children while they went diving on the second day.

We were able to either prepare our own tucker or eat in the restaurant.  As the kids liked to be fed early we made our own arrangement for dinner and lunch was great at the poolside bar eating area. There was a BBQ supplied with the cottage, a very simple affair that required either wood or heat beads which we took advantage of on 2 nights. On the third night we went into town (the resort was about 15 km out of town)  and found an authentic Uzbekistan restaurant.  Once again we had to battle through the language barrier to get some tucker, and while the meal was OK it was rather bland, but very fresh and well prepared and presented. On these occasions it seems obvious that the proprietors of these small local restaurants suffer from a fair degree of anguish when a family of westerners enter their establishment for a meal. However, once we are fully sated and appear happy with proceedings they brighten up considerably with smiles instead of anguish appearing on their faces.  Little do they realise the trepidation that we experience when we walk into the unknown confines of their eating house.  Not from any fear of security, as we always feel very safe in this country no matter what back alley or lane way we may venture down, but trepidation of what we are unwittingly ordering to eat.  Once again this meal for the whole family cost about $15, a far cry from the comparatively expensive meals in the  resort.

On the last day of our stay at the resort, a Friday, we had been warned by the poolside lifeguard that we were to be deluged by day trippers from Dubai. Well I had understood him to mean about a hundred people in 2 bus loads.  As it turned out it was several bus loads amounting to 670 people, all Russians.  Apparently this is a weekly event every Friday, being a holiday, and day trippers are usually always Russian.  In fact most of the hotel guests were also Russian.  Russians tend to be loud and smoke a lot. While the infrastructure seemed to cope OK with an influx for the day of an extra 670 people (who each paid a fee of 75 Dirhams), we can’t help feeling that this is a little unfair to the regular hotel guests.

On the last night at the Sandy Beach Resort, we once again had a BBQ outside our cottage.  After our meal we were sitting back enjoying the beautiful cool evening and part-taking in a nice red (BYO) when an Emirati walked past.  You can always recognise an Emirati as they always wear traditional dress.  Me being a friendly sole, gave him a wave and a nod and with that, within moments he is sitting at our table with a beaming smile. For some reason he had taken an instant liking to me, whether that was because I was the senior male of the group or not I have no idea. Maybe it was my moustache (LOL).

Emirati’s have a belief that giving to children is something that should be cherished, so each of the grand children were given a 10 Dirham note, despite our protests which we did not push too far, as it is considered impolite to not accept the gifts.  So for about an hour we tried to communicate with my new best friend Saeed, him not speaking a word of English and us not Speaking a word of Arabic.

I final note of interest. To enter the resort you must past through reception, unless you are in a cottage with rear entry from the car park.  This means that everybody had to walk down the path adjacent to, but not too close to our outdoor eating area.   It was interesting to note the number of “ladies of the night”, obviously Russian, obviously not guests, very attractive and dressed in quite remarkable attire who passed by. In fact, the familiarity that the girls seem to have with the staff in reception suggested to us that the resort was aiding and abetting in the skulduggery.

The following morning we packed up early and headed back home to Dubai.

Except for the non public restricted content (see below) that’s it for this post.

All the best for the New Year,

Cheers

Graham

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Now getting back to my new best friend Saeed.
Being an Emirati, it is seriously frowned upon for him to drink alcohol and being caught we suspect, could have repercussions, hence the uncut story about Saeed needs to be kept from prying eyes.

The outside entry to the main bar at the resort was adjacent to our outside eating area and for the last 2 nights the only people we had observed in the bar had been Emirati’s in traditional dress.  Christian had just remarked on this observation when I spotted Saeed exiting the bar in an obviously inebriated state.  Looking around to see if he was being observed, I gave him a wave and with that he blundered through shrubs and flower bed dividing our area from the main path with a monstrous smile on his face.

He walked straight up to me and gave me a traditional Emirati kiss on the cheek and a hug.  Brothers for life!

He then proceeded to acknowledge all the rest of our group, in particular the children, giving them the 10 Dirham notes as previously mentioned.

After a while of jovial but largely ineffective effort to communicate, Saeed (Saeed Mohammed Khoori Juma Aldhuhoori) noticed the 2 empty wine bottles on the table, and in a flash had picked them up and headed in the opposite direction to the bar. We were a little perplexed as to his intention, but when we saw him heading back again we realised that he had simply headed in the wrong direction and was headed to the bar to get replacements for our empty bottles.  By the time we computed in our brain his intention and I headed into the bar to put a stop to this, I was too late, already with a bottle of Lindermans Shiraz Cabernet and a Hardy Shiraz in his arms he was headed back to our cottage despite my protests, so I simply shrugged to the barmaid and followed Saeed back through the shrubs and across the flower bed to our cottage.

By now everyone was relaxed in each others company and Saeed removed his head dress (Ghutra) and laid it on the table. A most uncommon action from an Emirati who always look immaculate in their starched and pressed national dress and Ghutra headdress. With that, I took and interest in the Ghutra and in a flash Saeed was applying it to my head, however the black corded retainers were not of a size that suited my boof head.

After some more difficult communication, Saeed disappeared into the night supposedly looking for a cab to get him to his accommodation.

It appears that the Sandy Beach Resort bar is a little bit of a haven off the beaten track for Emirati’s to get a drink away from prying eyes.

End of private post

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