Monday 5 October 2015

Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and a quick hop across to Oman (Sep 2015)


Back to the Middle East and I must admit that after Asia, it is fast becoming my favourite continent. The couresty, sense of safety and interesting aspects of the Arabian culture mean I feel at ease here. What I can’t get accustomed to though is the heat! I’m not a fan on anything over twenty two degrees generally, but unlike in the Caribbean where there is at least a lovely breeze blowing UAE has a very dry, humid dessert heat.

So first night in Abu Dhabi I felt like doing very little after arriving at the hotel just before nine pm. Thankfully there was a restaurant serving shawarma just opposite the hotel so that did nicely for a quick, light bite before bed. The next morning the full force of the uncomfortable heat hit me and so I chickened out in one of the many malls the city centre has to offer, The Abu Dhabi Mall, which was a six minute walk from the hotel (of course I used an umbrella for shade). Not much in way of the local items I wanted to purchase so after hiding from the sun for a couple hours I jumped into an air conditioned taxi and headed to The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Having explored several countries over Asia, I’ve seen just about every type temple there is so touring this mosque was an interesting contrast. It's one of the biggest mosques in the world and can accommodate 41,000 worshippers. There’s a strict dress code and if your clothing isn’t suitable you’re asked to wear a abaya (women) or thawb (men). I went a bit overboard with my outfit but I got in, no problem. After a visit to the restroom and rolling my sleeves up slightly to wash my hands, I was asked by one of the security workers to cover my hands, as my wrists were showing. Writs!! Non the less, they have their rules so…. The tour itself was a little more of an eye opener into the Muslim faith. The sheer opulence of the mosque again made me question just how elaborate any place of worship need / should be. But then to be fair, similar to Dubai, there seemed to be a lost of lavishness splashed around In Abu Dhabi, hotels, restaurants, car. And the lavishness doesn’t just stop at things, the goevrnemnet spends quite extravagantly on residents as well. Not only is there tax free income and free high quality health care but when an Emirati man marries an Emirati woman, he’s given 70,000AED (£14,000) to help with costs. So it seemed a bit odd to me that in a country with so much wealth floating around, had to ban service charge being added to restaurant bills (outside hotels) as the money wasn’t going to workers.
Insistent on always wanting to take a bus ride with locals while abroad I jumped aboard a bus heading to Marina Mall, not realising it would take over an hour to get there. It was interesting to see the women only seats at the front of the bus. It reminded me of the trains in Tokyo that has women only carriages at certain times of the day to tackle the huge issue of gropping. 
Day two was another quick stop at the mall, the ac was just soooo tempting. Then on to a dhow ride. There was
no commentary as to what I was but it was a nice gentle ride and wonderful shade from the afternoon sun so it did nicely. I also came to realise that Arabic rap music was actually a thing.
What I had been looking forward to most was a bike ride along the Corniche in the early evening but when we arrived, hubby really wasn’t up for it, so instead I settled on a long stroll. Not as satisfying in my opinion but just as beautiful. Stopped and watched the sun set along a stretch of the beach which was delightful. Jumped in a taxi and was back at the hotel in a very short space of time. Living in London, the only time I take taxis are too and from the airport (as it's cheaper than parking) but I love taxis in the UAE, cheap and in abundance. 
Day three. After breakfast I packed up and awaited the luxury Lexus to arrive for the two hour drive to Ras Al Khaimah (thankful as they had estimated 2.5 - 3 hours). It was impressive watching the landscape change from built up city, to rocky mountains, to sandy dessert. I tried to keep my eyes opened for the entire drive but drifted off briefly. I arrived in Ras Al Khamaih (meaning 'top of the tent’) and I could see from the map that I was literally at the top of the UAE, where it borders with Oman and my first thought was ‘wow, wouldn’t it be great to go across the boarder for a day. That would be county number 45 on my world travel map!’ More on that thought later!
Despite not being a fan of all inclusive hotels, I had booked the Rixos for the next five days and it was refreshing to see a resort that looked every bit in reality as it did on the website. 5 star through and through. Everything spotlessly clean. Everywhere you looked there was staff shining and polishing making sure the hotel gleamed and sparked though out. It also helps I guess that the resort is less than two years old. The room itself was huge, booked for two but could have easily housed 5. The temptation to not leave for the next five days was too much and I more or less gave in. My daily routine consisted of breakfast, 11am pilaties, reading by the adult pool away from splashing, screaming kids with its own serviced bar, lunch, a swim (sea or pool) 5pm step areobis or belly dancing. Dinner varied each night at one of the five silver serviced Al La Carte restaurants. Thankfully I was only there for five night or else I would would have been stuck with the buffet which even though it looked grand, is not my first choice for eating out. Each night my tastebuds were transported from South American, to seafood, to Turkish to Italiain and finally Asian cusisine. The food was delectable and the service impeccable. I visited the mojito bar on a few occasion for a fruit mojito after dinner. The night entertainment varied but by night four, it was time to leave the resort and venture further afield after dinner. And what better venture than shopping! But I didn’t settle for the glamorous mall nearby. I opted for the Kuwaiti Souq where plenty of
My new shoes
haggling and bargains awaited. (Again, you just have to love the prices of taxis. A 25 minute drive from the hotel costing 50AED, less then a tenner! Cost more than than for the eight minute drive from my local station home. But I was in the land of oil!). Three pairs of shoes, three dresses, some kajal eyeliner and gifts and I was semi-satisfied. Hubby had had enough and I was dragged, protesting, into a taxi. Which was just as well because I had to be awake and packed by 5am the next morning. As I mentioned above I was eager to go across the boarder to Oman, but had to be in and out in a day. A visit to the trusty forum on Tripadvsior provided me with the name of a company who offered day trips and covered the cost of entry into Oman. An early check out and Khasab Tours arrived on time. The drive from the resort to the boarder was less than two hours. This is how the process went - exit papers and passport stamp at the UAE boarder, then over the the Oman boarder, entry papers and passport stamp. But finally I was in Oman and can now say I’ve visited 45 countries (still more than 100 to go). One of the first things that fascinated me was the exchange rate. Of all the countries I’ve visited I never received mere pennies for my pound so a rate of £1 to 0.56 Omani Rial was surprising.
 He was so impressed with my haggling skills 
The Musandam peninsula is an enclave of Oman and the area I spent the day was around Khasab, the capital. A few minutes after crossing the boarder, the difference in landscape was apparently. The cliffs rising out of the sea looked majestic and I could see the fjords off in the distance. Smiled at the little goats playfully running around. Eventually reached the harbour and boarded a dhow. Carpet lined the entire floor and cushions were spread all around, making it extremely comfortable. Must be hard work for the crew though as they take them up each night. Hubby and I were the only non Germans onboard but the tour guide (of Pakistani origin)  did a great job of flicking between the languages as he explained the fjords, villages we were passing, local customs etc. My favourite was the explanation of the little speed boats we saw coming and going. They were operated by smugglers. I immediately conjured up images of drug or even refugee smugglers but no, they smuggled goats in from Iran and they took electrical items out with them! The guide pointed out the police station and said they had the best job ever because they slept all day and turned an intentional blind eye to the
comings and goings of these boats. Another interesting fact was that the Sultan of Oman gave the inhabitants of these small fishing villages free electricity and entire rights for selling anything caught in the surrounding waters, to keep them from leaving. But the highlight of the entire day and in fact the entire holiday was seeing dolphins up close and personal, something I never thought about seeing in the middle east. The video and photo don’t do it justice. I don’t know how many there were in total but at one point they were four swimming in unison alongside the boat for almost ten minutes. Even I, the most non animal loving person I know, couldn’t help gasping at the gorgeousness of mother dolphin swimming alongside her baby. Stopped twice for snorkelling amongst the fish and had a meal onbaord. I was so relaxed on the comfortable cushions that I fell asleep briefly on the journey back to the harbour. The water was so gentle and calm with a glass- like look. Passport stamped to exit Oman and stamped to re-enter UAE and I was on my way back to hotel to shower, dress, eat and await the car for the 45 minute drive to Dubai airport. A quick visit to duty free to spend my remaining 80 dirham before relaxing momentarily in the airpot lounge.









Wednesday 12 August 2015

Barbados - again! And eventful Rome (Jun 2015)

This year started off a little quiet travel wise. In Feb I found myself back in Barbados for ten days, three of which was spent at Turtle Beach Hotel. But there are only so many times I can blog about Barbados, as amazing as it is. Had a chance to visit the newly opened Sandals which is one to consider for my next trip to the island and I ventured out on the Atlantis Submarine which I haven't done in over 10 years. And apart from my sun allergy flaring up (and it was bad!) there was nothing new to write about on the Feb visit.

There are three places my mum has always wanted to visit, Israel, Hawaii and Rome and I thought her seventieth birthday would be the perfect opportunity. Selfishly Hawaii and Israel where the first two places I investigated but mum said the flight time to Hawaii was too long and she was uneasy with Isreal because of the unrest….so we ended up in Rome. Initially I was a little disappointed as I’ve been there before but, hey, it wasn’t about me. So I booked my mum a holiday in Rome for three nights and my sister and girlfriend came along too.




Our flight landed just after 10am and our outbound flight was scheduled to depart just after 9pm meaning we had four full days of exploration. 
Our itinerary for day one was scuppered by the walking tour company we booked with as they messed up our reservation. However, being the ever resourceful traveller that I am, I soon grabbed a map of the city and directed my group to the likes of Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. The Trevi fountain was a huge disappointment as it was covered in scaffolding. Not so disappointing for me as I’d seen it six years ago in all it’s glory, but for the others. Still we managed a few photos. 

The great thing about do-it-yourself walking tours is that you can make unplanned stops and enjoy any extra offerings you happen across on route. Like this shop, Enotrevi, which had free samples on a range of fruit flavour liquors. Or you end up bumping into Prime Minister of Italy and his entourage. 

Prime minister's entourage
Day two was the day mum had been eagerly awaiting and indeed her entire reason for visiting Rome - Vatican Day.  We started the day with breakfast on the hotel’s balcony. Lovely views but a bit too hot for me, even so early in the morning.
I prebooked our entry online so that we could skip the queue on arrival and would highly recommend this option, especially if you’re only in Rome for a few days. We opted for the garden bus tour and while I was under impressed with the gardens themselves, I was happy that we chosen the 45 minute bus tour and not walked around for 2 hours in the hot sun. The gardens are immaculately kept as you’d imagine but a huge lack of flowers in my opinion.








Mummy - not mine..but maybe someone else's :)
Next stop Vatican Museum. Second time round for me. The first time was with a tour guide again highly recommended to get as much as you can from the museum. Fact is that with or without a tour guide you’re unlikely to see everything the museum has to offer in one visit but the guide can show you the ‘best’ parts and explain what you’re seeing as you’re seeing it and how everything interlinks. But the girls wanted to do it without the guide. Seeing the Sistine Chapel again was great. The first time I saw it I remembered being underwhelmed as I had imagined it would be bigger that it was. This second time around it seemed even smaller than the first but the artwork on the ceiling was just as impressive. After a while of standing starring at the ceiling I felt a bit dizzy and was able to squeeze myself onto the bench at the side which allowed me to look up without cricking my neck so much. I tried to see how many of the bible stories I could regonise from the paintings depicted around me.
Mum purchasing her umpteenth hat
Our final stop was Saint Peter’s Basilica. On my last visit to Rome I had missed out because of the long queue but found a short cut this time. Here’s what I did.  After the Sistine Chapel, I exited chapel to the right. (It said group exit only but we were directed to take this exit. You can’t return audio guides here so if you have one you can’t exit here.) I followed the stairs all the way down, when I reached the bottom I was able to easily make my way into the basilica. The architecture was stunning and everything was on a huge scale. We all had very achy feet as it was the end of a very long day so didn’t stay long.

I love gelato and what better places to enjoy it than in the country of its origin so I purchased it every day, sometimes twice again. I stopped at a stall after we had finished our tour and received more than what I paid for when the gentleman who served me left his stall and came to give me a kiss! You got to love the warm affection of the Italian people.

Dinner that night was at Tettarello Hostaria. Followed by geleto at another nearby establishment - minus the kiss.


Day three was the day my sister had been looking forward to, Pompeii. A super early start to the day and the hotel were kind enough to start breakfast half hour earlier to accommodate us (the advantage sometimes of staying in a little boutique hotel; much better than the packed breakfasts that larger hotels usually offer). There was a lot of palaver with train delays and queueing to receive information in English as to what was happening but low and behold, we made it to Pompeii via Naples.




The ruins and the way they’ve been preserved are fascinating. Or should I say what little of the ruins I saw before my day was ruined - by four huge dogs! But I won’t start there. Didn’t pre-purchase tickets and there was virtually no queue. Hired an audio guide and had to leave my passport as a security deposit. Despite the information saying large bags weren’t permitted, there were countless people carrying around rucksacks. But it proved that that was not to be the only rule not adhered to. Their information clearly stated no dogs were allowed, which gave me a great sense of confidence to explore, but shouldn’t have. There were a few small dogs on leashes, not a problem and there was one lady with two huge rockewillers she seemed to be struggling to control. The real problem however came with what seemed to be four humungous stray dogs who were chasing and barking at several people. I saw this from a distance and did my best to avoid going near the commotion - as those of you who know me know my feelings about these four legged creatures. However, despite my best efforts and the efforts of mum, my sitter and my friend, the dogs still found their way to me. The short version of what happened next is thus - the rest of group held dogs back while I ‘calmly' walked away and as soon I was out of dog-sight legged it through the sizzling sun as fast as I could as the cobbles below painfully pervaded my Converse.  Eventually, in a state of panic I made it to the entrance. Once the others caught me up and I had calmed down, we made our way to management office where I politely demanded a refund for the misinformation printed in their booklet.
On the train back we met a lovely young man called Francesco who was on his way back form his girlfriend's parents’ farm in Naples. He had lots of fresh fruit and shared some delicious cherries with us.

A late night meal at Antica Trattoria, nice, but mum didn’t enjoy it as mum as the previous nights’ dinner.

No one else was particularly interested in going to the Colosseum (big mistake) but as I had been previously, I didn’t labour the point too much, rather I suggested that we take a walk and view it by night.

 


Day four, the last day, couldn’t have been anywhere near as adventurous as day three.  The heat and the constant walking had taken it’s toll on my feet (Converse are great shoes but prob not the best for hours and hours of walking). I told my swollen and pain filled feet that if they just got me though today, I’d rest them for the next couple of days. So a final walk around Rome with a visit to St Peter’s prison which I personally felt was lame and doubt very much was the location of where Peter had been imprisoned. And a stop at Da Giggetto Hostaria for my sister to sample some fried zucchini flower.

A flight delay meant the break didn’t end as smoothly as I’d have liked but
Lil sis playing with her food
this was a really good return to Rome.