The last adventure I want to share was for my day trip to a mountain town 60 miles SE of Dubai called Hatta. It was 2 hour trip each way on the public bus for about $3 roundtrip. Compare that with my 15 minute cab rides into the city for $10. The buses are segregated with the first few rows reserved for women. Men will sit in them if they are avail, but are required to move for any women that ride. A quick segway - there are rumors the new lightrail system will have cars designated for each sex.
Leaving the city the landscape changes to sand dunes, then red sand dunes, then scrubby bushes and finally high-desert mountains which reminded me a lot of Arizona, but no cacti. There is a Heritage Village in Hatta which was built using traditional methods. It was interesting wandering around the small compound and seeing the traditional ways of life for these people.
In Dubai, English is the official language for business and almost everyone speaks it at least marginally making it is easy to get around. Apparently that is only in the city and not the rest of the country. I went into the town for lunch and stopped at a small cafe where I managed to get a type of chicken burger (it was on the sign) which was quite good. Some young boys came into the shop and got some food and it was pretty obvious they were very curious about me, but I didn't try and talk to them. When I left the shop I walked through the town back down to the bus stop. The local boys school must have just released for the day and there were boys of all ages in the streets heading home. Many of them waved at me and all of the stared. While I don't think tourists are unknown in Hatta, I think a lot of it was because I was a female by myself. And maybe the hot pants I was wearing (just kidding!! I purposely dressed very conservatively that day and was glad I had done so).
More so than any other place, the experience in Hatta really felt I was in the Mid-East and it was exciting and exhilarating! Oh, and I even got to cross off another country from my list because the road cut through a part of Oman.
Final thoughts? I am really, really glad I went. I will probably never travel again to this area of the world and it was an eye-opening experience. Dubai itself is slightly culturally underwhelming, but I made sure to speak with some locals and get out of the city which helped my understanding immensely and would still recommend the trip to anyone else with the money and desire. Assalaamu 'Alaikum.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Oregon deer = Dubai camel
One day I ventured to the Jumeirah mosque. A few days each week visitors are allowed inside and an overview of Islam is given by some local volunteers. The outside was beautiful. Inside was primarily 1 main room and fairly simple. The ensuing discussion about Islam was fascinating. I don't know much about it and this was a chance to learn the how and why of some of the basic tenets, such as the washing routine before prayer, some of the customs and basics of the religion. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
On another day I found myself heading out on a "desert safari'. I was curious about the surrounding countryside and somewhat reluctantly joined a tour. Honestly, after only a couple of days I found myself lacking in things to do. The city was still mainly mud and palm huts up until the 1950's. It wasn't until oil was discovered in the area that it started to grow. It has grown from 50k to 2+ million people in the last 20 years and the population is expected to double in the next few years. The entire city is under construction, or at least feels that way. I thought Beijing was bad, but this place probably has just as much in a many construction projects in a more compact area. What I am trying to get at is there was nothing here until a few years ago; the old city took me a half day's exploration and I am neither a shopper nor interested in going skiing in the underground resort or frolicking at a water park by myself. So options became limited.
Anyhoo, it ended up being as cheesy as I expected, but worthwhile. We were driven out into the desert and up and down the sand dunes in 4x4 vehicles. Then took a break to test our sand skiing skills. We hopped in the cars for a bit more dune bashing before another break to see a camel farm before heading to a "Bedouin camp" for dinner. We were served a mediocre buffet, had the chance to use a shisha (water pipe also called a hookah), were entertained by a belly dancer, dressed up in the traditional white and black robes and had henna body painting available. As I said: cheesy, but it was great seeing the surrounding countryside and the desert was utterly breathtaking.
I went to As an example of Dubai's policy of catering to foreigners (Dubai is the most liberal of the UAE countries), hotels are allowed to serve liquor. Perhaps a calculated consequence, due to the hot climate virtually all malls are attached to hotels and therefore restaurants in the malls can also get liquor licenses. Whether or not one imbibes it gives the excuse for some cool venues such as a bar on the 51st floor of one of the hotels where I watched the sunset and then the city lights turn on. It was along the main drag which is lined with skyscrapers.
For our last night I coaxed Jason to go on a dinner cruise. We went on an old refurbished dhow boat and had a great dinner while listening to a girl sing 70s and 80s pop and disco songs. The boat traveled up and down the Creek and it was quite beautiful with all the buildings lit up and reflecting off the water. At I got Jason out to see a bit of the city while he was there!
Here are the pics. Camels in the desert in UAE are about like seeing deer in the forest in Oregon.
On another day I found myself heading out on a "desert safari'. I was curious about the surrounding countryside and somewhat reluctantly joined a tour. Honestly, after only a couple of days I found myself lacking in things to do. The city was still mainly mud and palm huts up until the 1950's. It wasn't until oil was discovered in the area that it started to grow. It has grown from 50k to 2+ million people in the last 20 years and the population is expected to double in the next few years. The entire city is under construction, or at least feels that way. I thought Beijing was bad, but this place probably has just as much in a many construction projects in a more compact area. What I am trying to get at is there was nothing here until a few years ago; the old city took me a half day's exploration and I am neither a shopper nor interested in going skiing in the underground resort or frolicking at a water park by myself. So options became limited.
Anyhoo, it ended up being as cheesy as I expected, but worthwhile. We were driven out into the desert and up and down the sand dunes in 4x4 vehicles. Then took a break to test our sand skiing skills. We hopped in the cars for a bit more dune bashing before another break to see a camel farm before heading to a "Bedouin camp" for dinner. We were served a mediocre buffet, had the chance to use a shisha (water pipe also called a hookah), were entertained by a belly dancer, dressed up in the traditional white and black robes and had henna body painting available. As I said: cheesy, but it was great seeing the surrounding countryside and the desert was utterly breathtaking.
I went to As an example of Dubai's policy of catering to foreigners (Dubai is the most liberal of the UAE countries), hotels are allowed to serve liquor. Perhaps a calculated consequence, due to the hot climate virtually all malls are attached to hotels and therefore restaurants in the malls can also get liquor licenses. Whether or not one imbibes it gives the excuse for some cool venues such as a bar on the 51st floor of one of the hotels where I watched the sunset and then the city lights turn on. It was along the main drag which is lined with skyscrapers.
For our last night I coaxed Jason to go on a dinner cruise. We went on an old refurbished dhow boat and had a great dinner while listening to a girl sing 70s and 80s pop and disco songs. The boat traveled up and down the Creek and it was quite beautiful with all the buildings lit up and reflecting off the water. At I got Jason out to see a bit of the city while he was there!
Here are the pics. Camels in the desert in UAE are about like seeing deer in the forest in Oregon.
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