I have been super slack with posts

I haven't posted in ages. I'm gonna go ahead and say it's because I'm living life, but I think a good part of it is to with writing blog posts being a drag.

In other news, I am now in the UK. I'm staying in Ras's spare room in East Putney until Sept. I've come over here to escape the insane Dubai heat. It had reached 45C in Dubai before I left, and it was just getting hotter. 

But I've come here and it's still pretty hot! Britain is going through some kind of weird hot spell! It was even up to about 30C the other day (hottest day of the year so far). We went to Brighton that day, arranged months ago by Fleur while experiencing some kind of bizarre weather clairvoyance. It was a fun day and great to hang out with friends :) The crowds at the beach were crazy!! I've never seen it so packed!

While I'm here I've got a few things planned. Not that much, but I am quite poor! At least you can go outside during daylight hours - unlike Dubai - and hang out in parks for free! I may do that, but so far have just hung out in Ras's shared garden area.

At Brighton Beach

Something Serious - How I thought I was too big at 5yrs old thanks to Disney

So this week there's been a big thing about how Disney has re-done Pixar's Merida (from Brave). Here's one of the many articles online about it. http://jezebel.com/disney-pulls-sexy-merida-makeover-after-public-backlash-494274022

Anyway, this has made me think about a specific thing/event I remember from when I was 5 years old. I was at Queenspark Primary School (in Chch) and we were going to have some kind of class parade or something. So we were making costumes. I was making a princess dress out of a big piece of cardboard. 

I made the dress and decorated it and everything, but then I remember thinking that it didn't look right. It didn't look the same shape as Snow White's. So I whittled down the waist.

But it wasn't enough. So I kept making the waist smaller and smaller, until eventually me - a not actually fat 5 year old - was wider than the waist of my dress. 

That day I felt like I was too big. And physically wrong.

Yeah, Snow White's a cartoon etc - but when you're 5 years old, you believe TV. You believe everything you're told. You don't question things. You're FIVE ffs! And if all the women on TV or in books have very skinny waists and look a certain way, then so should you. And if you don't, you're wrong.

Easter, 31 March 2013

Easter's not a public holiday here, but I took the day off anyway.

Here's my egg (Hello Kitty, of course!):

I also went to church. There's two Catholic churches here. One in Bur Dubai and the other in Jebel Ali, which is closer to my house. I went to that one. It's not easy to get to, as it's not right by the Metro and I can't work the buses!

Getting there was fine. It was a packed service, with people standing. Unfortunately, leaving was much harder. No taxis! I rang for one, but it didn't come and there were other people waiting for taxis too. Luckily I got a lift to Ibn Battuta metro station with a family. It was me, the old grandmother, the mother and father and their daughter. However, it still took about half an hour as there was heaps of traffic and only one road in and out. They said it's always like that! Maybe next time I'll just go to the one in Bur Dubai. Although it's further, by the time you get out of Jebel Ali, it'll be faster to go there.

Ibn Battuta Mall cos this place is cray-cray! (27 March 2013)

So I went back to the Ibn Battuta mall... this place is still mad on a second visit!

There was grass there in front of the mall which was a nice surprise for my toes! So long since I felt grass last!

There's also some weird flight type things outside near the road too:

And to the right is the big Ibn Battuta Gate which has a Movenpick Hotel in it as well as office blocks (been told about the offices). It's huge!

So back to the mall. The shops I want are all in the Egypt area, so that's where all the pics are from.

 Note the decorative hieroglyphics below:

 Shopping inside with a fake sky and some facades. Like shopping at Disney Land!:

Love these mosaics and fancy lamps:

So that's Ibn Battuta mall (or at least the Egyptian part). World's largest themed mall in the world. One day I will go to some of the other sections. One day... :)

Horse Show and Burj Khalifa with dancing fountains by the Dubai Mall, 22 March 2013

My friend, Kertu, and I went to a Horse Show to take some pictures. I've never been that into horses, but thought why not. And Kertu was there to take photos, so I thought it'd be a good idea too. 

So there were quite a few things going on at the show. Stalls and people buying horses, displays of traditional crafts, work and cooking as well as horses showing in an arena.

I met up with Kertu at the arena. We saw some of the horses being shown. They led the horses around the ring and there were people on the outside of the ring with plastic bags attached to sticks. They were beating the sticks, rustling the bags and calling out in order to get the horse to perform how they wanted. I think they were getting the horses to run around, stop and rear and stuff. I can't entirely remember what the aim was, but there were people whose job it was and they did it for every horse.

The horses look a bit different from normal as they have oil around their eyes and noses etc. Like makeup for horses.

This horse below did well and the arched neck is a feature of the Arabian horse. Kertu told me about that. She knows about horses and even has one back in Estonia.

Then we had a look at the traditional stalls. Kids could try them out. There was also free traditional food. Some kind of savoury crepe that has an egg on it and some fried dumpling things that are served with a sweet date sauce over them. The dumplings are yummy!

There was also this great panorama painting of the Sheikh there.

They were also building this shelter outside the horse show. Looks a lot like a fale, but thatched.

After the horse show we went to Dubai Mall to have a look at the huge fountain.

Here's some facts about them that I found online:

• The Dubai Fountain length 275 meters (900 ft) - more than 2 football fields, and 25% larger than the Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas, visible from over 20 miles away up (in space) or horizontally if you have a clear line of sight.
• Dubai Fountain height of 150 meters (500 ft) apparently. Emaar press releases in 2008 and 2009 were saying "Powerful water nozzles shoot water sprays to heights of over 500 ft". Which is the same as the height of a 50-storey building, or high enough to wash the windows a fifth of the way up the Burj Dubai. And in May 2009, that was stretched to "Height – 900 feet" according to the Khaleej Times "Fountain Facts". It looks more like 100-150 ft to us (30-50 meters).
• Dubai Fountain height increased to 275 meters in a press release 02 January 2010 announcing the addition of a new song (Inshed An Aldar): "The Dubai Fountain can reach a height of 275 metres (900 ft) and is equipped with powerful nozzles capable of shooting water higher than a 50-storey building" which sounds like a very tall 50-storey building, and the water jets don't look anything like as high as 900 ft.
• 22,000 gallons of water in the air at any given moment.
• More than 6,600 lights with 1,000 different water combinations to drift into your dinner if you're on one of the Souk Al Bahar terrace restaurants when the wind is blowing your way. Music will be played to accompany your soggy steak.
• 50 colour projectors according to original information, down to 25 according to the Dubai Mall website, but we've only ever seen white.
• The Burj Dubai Lake fills the gap between the Dubai Mall, The Palace Hotel, Souk Al Bahar and The Address hotel. The Dubai Fountain plumbing doesn't run down as far as The Address though.
• WET (established 1983) are the Californian based designers of The Dubai Fountain. WET also designed The Fountains of Bellagio and the Mirage Volcano in Las Vegas, and other fountains around the world. WET use their own proprietary VirtualWET program for the Dubai Fountain. Once it's all set up, the fountain program control is mostly done by computers wearing anoraks.

They were pretty good.

There were also really nice views of the Burj Khalifa too. Lovely full moon out too.

It's getting hot....

Since I've been here, the temperature has slowly been climbing ever higher. Today it right on the border line of being too hot for me. I managed to eat my lunch outside today - I'm really trying to go outside as I want to minimise my imminent time as an indoor prisoner of the heat - but can hardly believe that it was 38 degrees C!  The low humidity is what must be making it bearable, cos I normally would've melted. I didn't stay out a really long time, but  enough to feel like I had some outdoor time. Coming back inside was like jumping into a plunge pool after a sauna - they keep the lobby of this building SO COLD. Our office isn't much warmer, but is still warmer than the foyer. FFS people - turn up the air con! AND, for the love of God, please change the CD being played at Costa Coffee (opp our office). If I hear Enya one more time, I just don't know what violence will be unleashed! ;P

I was awake at 6.30am for some unknown reason...

But, before going back to sleep, I saw this wicked, huge and low on the horizon sun!

Moroccan Bath for relaxation

So, today I had a Moroccan Bath. They're supposed to be relaxing, exfoliating and good stuff like that.

I hadn't had a Moroccan Bath before, so I just went there with my loofah and not many expectations. I really had no idea what what gonna happen. 

What happens, you ask?

1. Strip off

I didn't strip off completely, but opted to wear the paper panties. I was told to strip down, put on the panties and then call for the lady that's going to wash me. So I did, but when calling I put up a gown over my nakedness. To which the washing lady basically asked me why I am bothering to cover myself since I'm going to be in just my paper panties for the bath. With her. Washing me. These were all good points.

2. Be naked in front of your washing person

See above. I decided that this is her job, so she probably doesn't even care anymore.

3. Be washed by someone as if you are unable to wash yourself

This I found bizarre. I mean, someone's lifting my limbs and washing me while I just lie there. But I am perfectly capable of soaping myself? It's kinda like you're very ill or in hospital and having some kind of sponge bath. Weird.

4. Lie in steam for 20 mins

So after the washing, the steam starts up and you get steamed. The washing lady goes to the other room. But before she goes, she tells me not to touch my eyes. Immediately I eyes become itchy. 

5. Be exfoliated as if you are unable to exfoliate yourself

Just like the washing, but more vigorous and with a loofah. Started to wonder about how much skin I was losing! It's all good though - seems to be fine and she stopped loofahing before it hurt. :)

6. I had a massage (though, sadly, it wasn't that good of one)

Nuff said.


So all up, let's just say that I found it weird.... 

Probably won't be having another Moroccan Bath! It's just too odd being washed by someone when you're totally able to do it yourself!!

Musandam, Oman - Camping Trip - 15-16 March 2013

Recently I went on a camping trip with the Meetup Group 'Escape Dubai'. We drove to Oman, then took a Dhow cruise to a beach (only accessible by boat) where we camped overnight.

Here's a map of where we went. Though I'm not really sure exactly where... If you look to the bottom left hand side, you can see the arrow pointing to Dubai.

It was a really good trip! Amazingly, 80 people went! None of which I knew. But the people I met were really nice :)

The organiser arranged people to drive and others to get a lift, so I got a lift (as no car). We met up early-ish on Friday morning (as our weekends here are Friday and Saturday). The guy driving was an American and the other passenger a woman from Turkey. Both nice.

We left with a reasonable amount of time, but got lost on the way to the UAE/Oman border and SOMEONE wouldn't ask for directions. Someone MALE. Which meant that when he finally asked for directions and we were going the right way, we were also running late.

We arrived at the meet up location in Khasab (in Oman) late and missed the boats to the beach we were camping at. Luckily, there were other late people and so Fajer (the organiser, who does this for a living now!) arranged for another Dhow boat for us late people. 

A Dhow boat is a traditional boat. Here's us late people on our boat:

So we take the 4-ish hour cruise through a fjord area. It was pretty impressive! Someone who lived in Norway said it really did remind her of Norway. 

It was a lovely trip. We stopped at Telegraph Island where the British had put up a repeater station to boost telegraphic messages along the Persian Gulf submarine cable, which was part of the London to Karachi telegraphic cable.

Here's some info on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraph_Island

It was really nice cos we stopped and got to have a swim and do some snorkelling. Amazing fishies!! Lots of different colours and very pretty :)

Here's a picture of the other Dhow boats in our group pulled up alongside Telegraph Island. 

Another highlight of the trip was seeing DOLPHINS while on the boat ride!!! Didn't get to swim with them and they didn't come as close as I would've liked for as long but still - DOLPHINS!! There were baby dophins too. Awww! (More dolphin pics in my FB album)

Eventually though, we made it to the beach where we were camping - just in time for sunset. 

I bought a popup tent from Carrefour (one of the big supermarkets here). It's one of those ones that you just open and it pops out and voila! It's great!!! And after watching a tutorial on YouTube, I can put it back down again too :) It was only $30!!!!! So cheap!!

So me and the people I drove in the car with set up tent together. We were right at the end, which was very convenient for going to the toilet - behind the rocks. No toilets!

That night, after we each did our own dinner, the organiser had arranged for a bonfire and one guy had a guitar, so there was a sing-a-long. I had brought marshmallows for toasting.

AND there was bioluminescent plankton in the sea which shone everytime it got disturbed. It wasn't a surf beach, but when the wave broke on the beach it shone. If you threw stones or sand or splashed water into the sea, it would light up. SO COOL!! Me and a few other girls went for a night swim and it was great! We thrashed around to make it glow. And then when you stood up out of the water, little dots were all over you, like that old Britney Spears video where she's covered in diamonds. It was great - up until I got stung by a jellyfish :( Man that STUNG!!! Seriously. The American driving my car is a doctor, but he said that the two things for a jellyfish sting are water as hot as you can stand and vinegar. Neither of which we had. We could heat some water, but by the time it was hot the sting would've improved. So just had to tough it out. Went back into the water a bit later - still awesome. No jellyfish was gonna ruin it for me!

 One guy did some long exposure photos

After I left the bonfire I stayed up for a while reading on the beach. It was so nice!! Heaps  of stars, warm evening, nice waves etc

In the morning I got up and swam with the Turkish girl from my car (Demet). I saw a jellyfish, but went round it. 

Then we took the boat 5 mins back to Khasab (as we went the long way to the beach the day before) and then drove back to Dubai. :)

The beach where we stayed:

Interesting things:

On the drive to and from Khasab, we saw some crazy stuff. 

First - Camels:

 
Second - Goats! Running around like dogs do and eating rubbish out of rubbish bins! No owners in sight! This was all over Oman:

Third: Cattle all over the place! Just sitting there. In the middle of the intersection. On the side of the road. Crazy! And like the goats, no apparent owners in sight. This wasn't Oman, but I think the place is called RAK? 

 

See my Facebook for more pictures - I'll put some up there :D

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