Posted by Kanga.
Hello Kitty and Spaz Cat? or Winky Cat?
Snoopy and Random Duck?
Alacrity? “Brisk and cheerful readiness.” I guess it fits.
We find that they are putting “Angry Birds” on everything, whether relevant or not. “Welcome to my little world. Let’s play together.”
“Train Energy Powerful: Too courageous to be met with”
Serving spoon, anyone?
Posted by Kanga.
We’ve done it again – found another good restaurant.
We ventured out to try a “new to us” restaurant. As we drove up, we checked to see if the restaurant was busy and were a little concerned that there were only two tables occupied by customers. But, we checked the time, which was 8 pm, and realized that it wasn’t the local dinner time, yet.
There didn’t seem to be any menus to choose from, so we had to ask the waiter what they offered. We decided on mixed grills and asked about salad. He assured us they had salad. First came the soup which was tangy and had onions and liver in it.
Then came the salads – two rocca (arugula) salads, cabbage & tomato & cucumber salad, and tabouleh. Also, two small plates of hummus. The salads were perfect.
And then the mixed grill – chicken tikka, lamb tikka, kabab, lamb chop, and arayes (spice mincemeat-filled oven-baked flatbread sandwiches).
The waiter brought us tea to finish the meal without our having to ask. It is like he read our minds. The bill came to 62 AED ($17.00). New Damascus is located in Fujairah, just north of the souk.
Posted by Kanga.
The late afternoon drive into Dubai rarely disappoints. There is usually something amazing happening in the sky.
Yesterday, it was a sunbow. If you want to see all the pictures, click here.
Posted by Kanga.
On the 30th, two good friends of ours are getting married. It’s an Indian wedding, so our search for appropriate apparel began.
I started by asking for advice from my former coworkers. This gave me a few places to begin looking and some idea of what price to expect.
We started in Fujairah by just walking into a fabric shop. This was the best place – the best fabric, helpful and honest staff. Fabrics for salwar kameez usually come in pre-cut matched packages. This is a problem for me because the sets are cut with much shorter, smaller women in mind. There was a matched set that caught my eye, but the staff was honest and pointed out that there would not be enough material for someone my size. At the time, I wasn’t smart enough to just buy two matching sets to double the material. 20/20 hindsight. I bought a lovely teal fabric instead – 5 yards for 100 AED ($27.00).
One of the staff then escorted us to a tailor shop in the next building along with a picture to help communicate what I wanted. The tailor took my measurements and said that it would take four days and cost 80 AED ($22). We wandered around the building to see what other shops were there. DaddyBird has been wanting his own salwar/kameez for quite a while. We discovered another tailor with some nice wares in the window. DaddyBird headed in and negotiated with the tailor for two black salwar kameez sets out of some lovely soft fabric. His bill was 100 AED ($27) per set (fabric and sewing), but it would take two days longer than my tailoring.
The salwar kameez would not really be fancy enough men’s wear for the wedding. We continued shopping in other fabric stores, looking for fabric suitable for a sherwani jacket. However, we encountered blank stares when we mentioned sherwani. Even the printed out picture we showed them didn’t help much. None of the fabric was to DaddyBird’s liking, so off to the Mina Bazaar in Dubai we went.
I’m not sure why I continued to look at fabric for myself, but I did. You may remember that we are lousy at negotiation and Eastern style shopping/negotiation. We should have agreed on our tactics and signals before heading into the first shop. I ended up buying two fabric sets for more than I should have. In my defense, it was a matter of bad communication. The salesman mentioned the word “tailor,” so I specifically asked “do you have a tailor here?” I even pointed with my finger on the counter. He answered “yes” and then indicated that it would only take two hours to sew. Thinking that the purchase price included the sewing, I agreed to prices that were too high for what I ended up with. I lived and learned. I have actually started sewing one of the pieces obtained at this shop, but found that there was a two inch hole cut in the middle of the back and that the lining material is not colorfast. The project is somewhat stalled for the moment.
DaddyBird was also checking in the shops to see what men’s attire might be available, but the largest size available was 46 or 48 and he needs a 50 or 52. Several salesmen tried to tell him that the 46 would do. He actually tried one on to prove his point.
We went into a second shop with fabrics for women and endured quite a show put on by the salesman who probably would have shown me everything on their shelves if I had let him. He repeated his sales pitches frequently which included “this one is classic,” “the dupatta (scarf) is mind blowing,” “this one is the one for you.” I ended up buying two more sets from this shop. They are of better quality than the others, but still don’t have quite enough material.
More fabric was needed for lining and sleeves for both of these.
So, it was back to the first fabric store in Fujairah where I got eight yards of teal satin for 6 AED/yd ($13.00) and three yards of pink for the same big 6 AED/yd. The staff were again very helpful finding just the right shade and giving us discounts.
Then we headed across the street to the lace and trim store. I wanted a little bit of extra bling for my teal salwar/kameez and some white lace for another set of material I hope to sew, someday. ($3.75/yd)
Now, as for DaddyBird’s search for a sherwani, we found a tailor in the Mina Bazaar area of Dubai. It turned out to be pretty pricy, so my six outfits don’t seem so bad in comparison. I still came out cheaper than he did.
We went back on Monday for a preliminary fitting. We pick the masterpiece up on Friday. DaddyBird very wisely listened to his wifey and chose the blue material instead of the black.
It has been quite an adventure and a lot of work for just a few hours at a wedding party. We need to line up a few more weddings to get more use out of our hard earned threads. We would have missed all this fun if we could have just bought something off the rack.
Posted by Kanga.
The grocery store usually provides a surprise. This time it is apples from back home. Halfway around the world, here they are.
Posted by Kanga.
While I was out early on Friday morning taking pictures of the sunrise, I took a few more of random sights. Starting with the new mosque which is either completed or near completion. There hasn’t been an opening ceremony, yet.
It has been interesting watching this building being built over the last year and a half.
The building on the far right is our apartment building. I suspect that we will hear the call to prayer loud and clear from there.
The mosque is a beautiful addition to the skyline.
The tree in the picture below is interesting and hardy.
You never know what you will see, including feral donkeys wondering around. The city is expanding and encroaching on their usual territory.
Posted by Kanga.
I finally got my lazy butt out of bed early and headed down to the beach to watch the Sun rise. Sunrise was supposed to be at 6:44 am. I got up at 6:15 and was in the car by 6:28. I was a little distressed to see that the sky was already light, but then remembered that the Sun is on a dimmer switch, so to speak, because the atmosphere bends light. So, I drove (probably a little too fast) across town. By the time I parked and got positioned for this photo session, the sky looked like this.
The horizon was so hazy that I thought this was going to be disappointing. Certainly, it wouldn’t be as spectacular as the photo taken by our friend a few weeks ago. Maybe I would have to do this again on a clearer day.
Then the magic began.
With an impressive finish.
It was well worth the trouble, even with the haze. I can fully understand why humans once worshipped the Sun.
If you want to see all the pictures, they are here.
Posted by Kanga.
Well, once again, we have a new favorite restaurant. Al Basha Restaurant in the Fujairah Trade Centre Building.
We met with friends who live here in Fujairah for a belated birthday dinner, since they were not able to attend the one in Dubai. The food was lovely. Lamb chops, mixed grill (chicken tikka, kabab, arayes, etc.) green salad, and arugula salad.
We ordered a LOT of food, but between the five of us, we managed to eat most of it. I did save a little of the mixed grill for lunch the next day.
Once it was cleared away, we broke out our Guillotine card game and played two games. It was a blast.
A pleasant evening eating good food outdoors with good friends.
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