Azzerbajaserhakgiikan???

Sooooooo.... there's a block of holidays coming up soon. Eid #2 + UAE National Day = 10 days off.

I've decided that I have a problem. I have a, what you might call, travel addiction. I actually feel a rush once plane tickets have been booked... Weird, I know.

When one is living in Abu Dhabi, how can one go to a stranger place? Ah yes, for some of you, there may be the attraction of Djibouti or Timbuktu (Hi Mom!)... but whilst trolling the internets, when one stumbles upon flight deals from flydubai (UAE's low cost carrier - that has daily flights to Aleppo and Khartoum, and yes, Djibouti... but anyway...) and one notices that there is a deal for "Dubai to Baku for 300 dirhams" (less than $100 CDN and about 1000 Rand), one must automatically find on google where one might find this mythical "Baku".

For those of you who are too lazy to google "Baku", I will tell you this: It's in Azerbaijan.

(Ty has been calling it "Djelli-baybee" since our decision that we absolutely must go there this instant, right now, let's book the tickets and I don't care that it's almost winter there!)

And we will be there next week.

People and places

There are things about the travel life which are alluring. Some which are not. I like to concentrate on those that are. It all lies in the people you meet and the place that you are. Clichéd, and more true than you know.

Quite often the people are the ones you meet along the way, having a similar experience by dint of being in a foreign country with you, or otherwise sharing with you something of there own culture that you never experienced before. The places are yours alone, or yours to share, whichever way you choose.

I'll go with the places first. And just describe one. On Friday, Virginia and I headed for the dunes of Moreeb once more (for all you constant readers, you'll know we've had some adventures up there before... from the cars of the desert rally to the racing of falcons, but most of all, to witness one of the most desolate places on earth).

We pulled off the road at a break in the barrier, and because we do not (yet) have a 4x4, stopped short on the dirt 'road' where a dune was slowly making its crossing. We had decided we’d camp out there for a night. It was easier enough to haul our things down to a dip in the dunes which would hide the nearby road from sight (not that it leads anywhere much, and who would have thought that there would have been ATVs revving up and down all night... but that gets off the lovely of the occasion).

Soon enough we had the tent up (Virginia being surprisingly spry in tent-building) and a fire going. Now you cannot imagine the quiet of the desert at night; the ringing that constantly sounds in your ears, but can't usually hear for other daily sounds, is pronounced. I kept moving my hand in front of the fire too, for when I did, the stars would blossom furiously. The Milkyway, the stillness, and the soft murmur, hiss and crackle of the fire, while at the same time there were dunes silhouetted on all sides. It's dreams that look like this, or at the least very nice storybooks, the words you used to let yourself sleep on, while your parents read away.

Of course the morning was oh so groggy. I feel that way about most mornings, but especially camp mornings, but soon we were up, poking around at the tracks that desert gerbils had left all over the site and packing up the dew-sodden floor-mats and tent. And we needed to hurry because the desert being a desert, even heading to winter, was unforgiving; piercing the morning with sudden heat as the sun rose, though we'd both shared our shivers that night.

The point. This place of beauty took an hour drive and a brief stop for firewood. Funny thing is that in a foreign place, you do take the time out to see these things, random things, just an hour away... give it a try wherever you are. The place I chose was the desert, and the person to share that with my love.

And now the people we share our space with, and the new things we can learn to love.

Halloween, is not so great an occasion in South Africa. I went trick-or-treating with friends a few times... but, well, it was us pushing the envelope because it’s not often a done thing – at least in the area I lived. Now the people you meet... and the things you can learn to love...

Halloween! Having not quite understood, but having been part of a couple for the last few years it's all easy to work out. It's not about the kids, the candy (well candy counts)... but adults, who for one day in a year forget about it all, and dress up in their best, worst or silliest, and get to be the kid they once were. Sure the kids love it and the adults doing it now were once those kids, but when you're overseas you get to see it without the fluff... It goes on without the kids, and, I’m convinced, it's kept going for that reason too – adults just love it.

Halloween is just one of the fun things added to my life by the different people I've met.

Look around wherever you are. These places and people are in every town, everywhere. Just a 'hello' away.

As an aside... now might be the (belated) time for our Halloween pics to be put up, so here they are.

I was disappointed by the final outcome of my costume, having won last years' contest as a lovely transvestite in Korea (this time I looked rather more like my varsity self than Ozzy Ozbourne), but uber-impressed with my first Jack-o-lantern,  while Virginia dazzled with her She Devil outfit, and we all got into the spirit of things, with hideous dishes, great decorations, and some wicked outfits, that were impressive considering the tiny number of us out here who were celebrating.

 Table decorations

My “Rats in Blood Sauce”… actually came out looking a bit too awful to try.. but were good once you took the leap

 Virginia’s “Corpse Fingers”, fresh as the day they were plucked

 
The Prince of Darkness, and his Dark Queen (looking suitable devilish)

Dive Oman

Last weekend I was back in Oman. We didn’t write about it last time, but we did almost exactly the same trip two days after getting back from the Maldives (and you can assume much of the same as happened on this trip went on then too). This time Virginia decided to have a bit of a break from people and stay at home while I headed off again.

Oman is a big country on the south-west border of the UAE, but there are two rather small enclaves (i.e. parts of a country surrounded by another country) further north. One, the governate of Musandam, is at the north-most tip of  the UAE where it juts into the Persian Gulf. The second, Madha, which is rather smaller and completely surrounded by the UAE, lies between Musandam and mainland Oman on the Fujairah- Khor-Fakken road. Interestingly, there is a still tinier enclave of the UAE which is surrounded entirely by Madha - called Nahwa.

It was up to Dibba, which lies at the border of Musandam and the UAE, that I made my way for the weekend.

A group of about twenty or thirty of us had together hired a dhow for the weekend. It left from the Dibba harbour early on Saturday morning.

 

The landscape out there is worth mentioning. All along the coast line is the same thing. Rugged red and grey mountains which look to have been plucked directly from Mars, plunge directly into the sea, allowing for very few beaches, and even fewer coastal towns – although we passed one or two villages on our way up north.

We spent the entire day diving. Unfortunately unlike last time the water was not crystal clear, as there seemed to be a touch of red-tide, and there had also recently been an oil spill. Having said that once we were beneath the muck it was a lot clearer we still saw huge schools of colourful fish, and a few lovely turtles. One of the bigger fish, a batfish, followed us for one entire hour-long dive.

 

We anchored in a sheltered bay in the evening, and were treated to a feast of a supper, before packing in. It’s lovely to be rocked to sleep like that under the open sky, with the Milkyway visible overhead.

We headed back to the harbour in the morning, pausing to have a couple more dives, one in very clear warm waters, and the other could have been in a different ocean, as it was murky and cold again. On this second dive we saw about 20 poisonous scorpion fish, 4 clumped together at one point, which is rare as you tend to see few, and they tend to be alone.

 

It was still odd when I arrived back home to feel the way our perfectly solid bed seemed to sway underneath me, which I knew from last time would continue for at least another day.

Hippies!

First off, my Mom reminded me that when I ended the Canada blog, I had actually forgotten something pretty important: On our second to last day, we went with my brother and (almost all) his family on a Jet boat in the Niagara River. It's actually really cool - one of the highlights of our Niagara experience, and yes you do get 100% soaked. If you've ever ridden a jetski, it's the same principle - just a million times bigger, in huge rapids. Really fun, and no, the photos do not do it justice!

Last week, I promised more updates. I know that you are curious to know what, exactly, we do for fun out here. Well, we've recently started learning how to play doumbek (traditional Arabic drums). After only 2 weeks, we can do a baladi and a chiftatelli - um, well, slowly and with plenty of stopping and starting. It's quite fun, especially for someone like me who has zero rhythm.

My drum is the prettiest drum in the world, and I'm being rather cheeky in this photo as I am looking at the photographer (Our friend Ridwan's wife, Yanti. Ridwan is responsible for bringing all of us together to play drums) on purpose and not being all "in the moment, with eyes closed". Actually, I do find it much easier to play with my eyes closed, since any stray thoughts or distractions generally mean I lose the beat completely.

You can find quite a few videos on youtube of doumbek players, usually accompanying bellydancers (makes me wonder how they can possibly play with their eyes open and not get distracted!), and it's pretty neat!

Final Canada Blog and a few updates

And now for the final days in Canada -- almost 3 months ago!!!

Feeling a bit better, Ty and I (and my Mom) were happy to receive a 2-day visit from Nina, who was a great friend in Korea, a travel partner to Taiwan and, even more importantly, my maid-of-honour who did my hair and loaned me a white skirt for my wedding last December.

As with every lunch in Canada, or so it seems, we started off at Strega. Armed with our coupons for Niagara Falls, we decided to head down to the Butterfly Conservatory, where we enjoyed a bit of butterfly time, while also taking the opportunity to buy some really tacky gifts for our teachers (Korea and UAE) in the shop. We rounded out the day by visiting my uncle and aunt, then heading back home, where we enjoyed a few beverages and chatted about life in general.

The next day, we were a bit headachy, but managed to enjoy the afternoon at Cave Springs, where my brother-in-law works. The Niagara Region produces some excellent wines, and getting a winery tour is one of those must-do activities. We also got a tour of the B&B that is associated with Cave Springs, where Nina looked in every closet and drawer... teehee. We chilled at my sister's for a bit, before renting movies and having a quiet night in.

Our visit to Canada was now drawing to a close, we brought our rental car back and started saying our goodbyes. Oh, and Ty and I found ourselves having to motivate each other into packing! Somehow, our suitcases had shrunk and our possessions had tripled. Happily, the weight requirement for crossing the Atlantic was, like, 3 times what we had as an allowance when we moved from Korea to the UAE. Funny that - you can visit a place for a few weeks and be allowed to bring more than if you are moving -- it's always been one of those "huh?" moments for me...

Anyway, the final day, August 13, was an important day as it was Meron's wedding. We picked her up from the salon, where she had been made gorgeous, then drove out to Port Dover (on Lake Erie -- we saw 3 of the 5 Great Lakes while in Canada) where Dave and Meron were married on the beach.

After the ceremony, we chilled out a bit, and I got to chat with some people I hadn't seen in ages -- Meron's family, a few friends. There was no rest for the wicked, though, as we had a plane to catch.

Dash away dash away, back to my brother's where we headed out to get Sony e-books, and then on to my Mom's where things came full circle, with goodbyes from the same people who had greeted us a month ago: My sister and her kids. We jumped into our airport-bound bus (no comment on the shoddy service we got, though), and made it to the Toronto airport where we met up with a friend from MZ (!!). Ya, small world.

We arrived in Abu Dhabi, and once again had that full-circle feeling as Nawaf, our friend and (former) taxi driver was the first face we saw when we got out of the airport.

Thus endeth the Canada blog!!!

Now... you may want to know why it took so long for us to post everything (A valuable lesson was learned in that we won't be doing any more "details about every single day on a vacation" blogs anytime soon!), and it mostly has to do with my job. We returned to the UAE, and I started back immediately, dragging my sorry jet-lagged self through meetings. I won't get into too many details, but my job is now, roughly, 7 times the workload of what it was last year -- and I'm not even exaggerating. Half the time, I get home and don't want to do anything creative at all. And it's not that we don't have anything to write, it's just a matter of not having time.

Having said that, I also know that I love blogging and that my Korea blog has proven itself to be a sort of diary/travel journal on more than one occasion. And so, dear Reader, here is my promise to you...

There will now be two (2) blogs per week: about our new drumming circle, about the wonderful women I work with, about Oman, about watching the stars in the desert, about new educational experiences, about painting and decorating the apartment, about Ty's photo contest... and so on.