The Splendor of Beautiful Abu Dhabi

Saturday. We were picked up in the lobby of our hotel at 8:30 a.m. by tour company for our day trip to Abu Dhabi. Three other ladies (mom and two daughters) were with us. They were from Sweden. It is a 1 hour, 40 minute drive. The drive out of the city this morning was eye-popping as we had not seen this part of the city before. Ralph was the only man on board so got the front seat and was able to do videotaping as we drove along. The highways are beautiful, the scenery so very different from what we see at home. We were surprised to see what a beautiful city Abu Dhabi is - much more picturesque than Dubai, lots of landscaping and beauty. Our driver was very informative, pointing out landmarks all the way. Upon arrival, our first stop was at the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque. It is breathtakingly beautiful! Many tour busses and tourists were there. All ladies are provided with the long black gown and black headscarf upon entry and everyone has to take their shoes off. Everything is white marble, each of the huge chandeleirs contains 1,000,000 crystals, lots of gold. It's really hard to describe. However, Ralph got lots of pictures which we will post when we get home and also, our tour guide took lots of pictures with both of us in them today. I guess we spent about an hour at this mosque which apparently is supposed to be the most beautiful mosque in the world. I can't imagine topping it. Our next stop was Heritage Village and we spent about an hour there as well. Then we went to Corniche. The Corniche is a long road that extends almost 6 km from the Sheraton Hotel to the Hilton Hotel along the shore of the Arabian Gulf. There are several gardens lined all along the Corniche around the coastal boulevard that borders the city. The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, loves greenery, and gardens and fountains are the result of that love. The other important feature of the city is the fountains that can be seen on every intersection of the Corniche. With the modern buildings facing the sea for the background, it is one of the most picturesque sites in Abu Dhabi. Some of the sensational sandy beaches of Abu Dhabi are located along the seafront Corniche. After that, our driver dropped us off at Marina Mall (biggest mall in Abu Dhabi) so that we could have lunch in the food court. He gave us one hour and that was plenty of time for lunch and a pee break. After lunch, and last but not least, he took us to Emirates Palace. WOW! In fact, it used to be a palace, but was then handed over to a hotel chain and it is now a hotel. It took about another good hour to tour this place and it was wow, wow, wow! Again, pictures to follow. We then drove by the President's palace. You're not allowed to even take pictures out of the car window; there's an armed guard at the gate. We arrived back in Dubai and to our hotel about 3:30 p.m.

Rested/relaxed for a few hours and went out again about 6:30. We stopped at Union Square to take a picture when a man offered to take it for us (with both of us in it). We talked to this man for one whole hour, he was very interesting. He was born and raised in Montana; however hates the States and hasn't been home for 20 years. He lives in India, that is his home. He sure had a host of interesting stories to tell. He is a professor but is retired now (taught 1500's English literature and poetry, yuk!). He sure has led an interesting life, we really enjoyed visiting with him and hearing his stories. Went out for supper to one of the outdoor cafes. Lots of people out because it is the weekend. Also, the annual Dubai Shopping Festival started this weekend and will be on for a month, with many bargains to be had, except I haven't had time to do any shopping yet. Tonight where we were eating, a parade came by with all kinds of stuff and a stage was set up nearby with entertainment and there was fireworks, etc.

It's now 11:00 p.m. and we just got back to the hotel and are off to bed as we have to get up at 5:30 in the morning for our trip to the country of Oman.

Afternoon Tea and Global Village

Friday was a holy day here so everything was closed at least until 2:00 p.m., including the metro. We discussed how neat it would be to see the Burj Al Arab. This is touted as the most luxurious and only 7-star hotel in the world. It is also the tallest all-suite hotel in the world (321 metres high). It is designed in the shape of a billowing sail. The hotel is set on a man-made island in the Arabian Sea and connected to the mainland by a private curved bridge. However, joe public can't just go there to tour it or even see it. The only way tourists can view this hotel is to make a reservation in one of their ten restaurants. By the way, the seafood restaurant is completely under water! We made a phone call and checked the prices, which were phenomenal and we decided this was not for us. However, on the other hand, it would be a shame to go to Dubai on a holiday and not see Burj Al Arab. We learned that Afternoon Tea at Sahn Eddar (one of the restaurants) is the best way to introduce guests from abroad to Burj Al Arab. However, this too, is unbelieveably expensive. When I phoned to inquire about the Tea and asked the price, my thought was "what? ... for crumpet and tea? ... you've got to be kidding!" We decided to bite the bullet and just do it. When I phoned to make the reservation for 3:00 o'clock (for 3:00-5:00 sitting), I was reminded that there was a dress code which for this particular restaurant was smart casual. Men had to have a shirt with a collar, long pants (no jeans), and no sandals or runners, but closed-in shoes. Fortunately, Ralph was able to meet the criteria, imagine that! And I was also reminded on the phone that if you were a no show, your visa account would be charged so much a person and that they would only hold the reservation for 30 minutes after your sitting time. Well, this turned out to be very stressful. We got ready and headed to the metro station, forgetting that it (metro) doesn't open till 2:00 on Friday. We were cutting it really short and besides, we needed to top up our NOI cards (metro cards) which was going to take more time. Also, the people waiting to get in the doors were many and we wondered if we'd even make it onto the train. We pushed and shoved our way in and it was packed like sardines. We got off at the Mall of the Emirates, had to walk what seemed like miles in order to find our way to the front entrance of the mall where all the taxis are parked. From there we took a taxi to Burj Al Arab and we were late. In order for the taxi to proceed onto the private bridge, we had to produce the email confirming that we had a reservation in one of the restaurants. This place is absolutely unbelieveable! Honest, when I stepped out of the car I felt like I had arrived at the Oscars and was stepping onto the red carpet (ha).

We hurried to the Sahn Eddar restaurant and from that moment on, it was one awesome experience. A waiter greeted us and informed us that our Afternoon Tea was seven courses! That was a surprise. Firstly, we were served a glass of champagne. Then we were handed menus with coffees on one side and teas on the other side and we had to make a selection. The first course was an array of fancy sandwiches (cucumber, cheese, smoked salmon, egg, roast beef and lots of fancy hors d'oeuvres containing prawns, shrimp, forget at the moment, all done up in fancy pastries. The second course was smoked salmon, baked with a pastry around it and had a pureed pumpkin sauce on the side. The third course was strawberry sorbet with a fresh rose petal on the bottom of the dish (we didn't eat the rose petal, ha). The fourth course was six scones (three plain/three raisin) with clotted cream (butter?) and a selection of jams. The fifth course was fresh fruit served on a bed of whipped cream - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and another berry that we didn't recognize. The sixth course was a selection of English fruit cake, marble cake, carrot cake, pudding tart, hazelnut fingers and lemon fingers. The seventh course was last but not least - everything from strawberries dipped in white chocolate to miniature cream puffs to cocoanut balls plus a multitude of square-like sweets. All the while a Russian ensemble was playing live music. When I said to Ralph, "I'll bet the bathrooms are beautiful.", he said "yeah, I'll bet there'll be somebody in there to wipe your bum." Ha, ha. And ... almost, ha. This whole exercise took exactly two hours, after which we spent some time taking pictures inside and outside. A young man who appeared to be part of the maintenance staff was kind enough take us down to see the seafood restaurant which is completely under water. And we took the all-glass elevator up to the top but then it is roped off on every floor as only hotel guests are allowed on the floors. For me personally, this was definitely a highlight of our trip.

We walked across the bridge and caught one of the many taxis waiting there, and went back to the Mall of the Emirates. From there we were now going to catch a bus and go to Global Village. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out the bus schedules so we took a taxi, it's far. Global Village happens every year, started Thursday and goes on for a month. It's situated far outside of the city and is like a big exposition where 70 countries from around the world have pavillions and serve their national food, and sell their national goods, and offer their national entertainment, etc. It's like a big fair really. There were thousands upon thousands of people there, and of course all the rides, etc. We visited many of the pavillions but by 10:00 p.m. we still hadn't found the Canada pavillion and we were so pooped that we decided it was time to go back to Deira. There were literally hundreds of taxis (not kidding) all lined up in a parking lot and so we took a taxi to Mall of the Emirates. However, this guy hoodwinked us. It cost more than twice as much to go back to the mall from Global Village than it did to go from the mall to Global Village. Hubby wasn't happy as he knew taxi driver was taking a long-about route (thinking probably that us old farts didn't know where we were going); however, Ralph didn't say anything, and he got no tip. We took the metro back to Union Station and were at our hotel in less than five minutes.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day.

Cruising Dubai Creek

Slightly cooler on Thursday but still very pleasant. After a late breakfast, we headed to a local travel agency to arrange a few tours. After getting a lot of information and options, we headed back to the hotel to study them and make some decisions. Back to the travel agency after lunch, having decided on three. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking and exploring again - my goodness, these feet have logged an awful lot of miles in the past week or so.

Tonight we went on a dinner cruise on the Dubai Creek. We were picked up in the lobby at 7:30 p.m. The dinner cruise was from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. We enjoyed it very much, the buffet was excellent as was the scenery of the city lights/skyline (reminded us of Hong Kong Harbour). There were many Indians (India) on the cruise and later in the evening, young and old took to dancing to Indian music which added an extra dimension to the cruise; it was fun to watch. We were dropped off at our hotel about 11:00 p.m.

An Ear-popping Experience

Wednesday started off on a sweet note as my suitcase finally arrived, after six days missing.

Went out for breakfast about 9:00 after which we took the metro to Dubai Mall (as mentioned before, the world's largest mall). This mall is associated with Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world. We had purchased tickets to go up the tower at 12:30 p.m. and the assembly point for this tour is from the lower level of this mall. The Burj Khalifa tower has 160 floors; we were going to the At The Top Observatory which is on floor 140. It has the world's fastest elevator 64km/hr. or 59 ft./sec. I was thinking that my heart was going to sink down into my shoes. However, you hardly know you are moving except for the preessure change in your ears. Spent some time on the observatory as Ralph took pictures. Holy cow, it's so high up. Oh yes, I brought my Olympic red mittens (thanks, Mavis) to Dubai with me as Ralph wanted to get a picture for submission to Jeff Hutchinson, Canada AM. I won't submit it until I get back home as if I'm going to be on TV, I want to see me - lol.

When finished, back to Dubai Mall where we caught a shuttle bus to the metro and then took the metro to Mall of the Emirates where we wanted to see Ski Dubai, the first indoor ski resort of the Middle East. It covers 22,500 square metres (equivalent to three football fields) and is covered with snow all year round, has five runs that vary in difficulty, and has full capacity for 1,500 skiers/snowboarders, etc. We watched the chairlifts come and go. All I can say is, it was pretty darn amazing!

By now it was 5:00 p.m. so we decided to eat at one of the many restaurants at Mall of the Emirates (Italian tonight), after which we took the metro back to our hotel, rested/relaxed for a couple of hours and at 9:00 p.m., went out again, walking and exploring as everything is opened up till 11:00 p.m. every day.

Desert Safari

Tuesday's highlight was our 5-hour desert safari trip. The tour operator picked us up at our hotel at 4:30 p.m. and we drove out of the city, past several housing developments (villas) and after about 45 minutes were in the open desert. I guess I did not fully realize/understand what dune bashing was. I was never so scared in all my life! He was going really fast, across the crest of the dunes and up and down the steep sides of the dunes, allowing the vehicle to slip sideways in the sand almost to the point of rolling over and then turning the wheel to keep vehicle upright and going straight down 90-degree angles when you knew full well we were going to roll head over heels.. Well, you should have heard the screeching coming from the back of this 4 x 4 jeep kind of vehicle (landrover?). A Pakistani family was in this vehicle too (man, wife, 10-yr-old son and 2-3ish-yr-old daughter). This was truly one of the most terrifying experiences of my whole wife and I felt beyond any shadow of a doubt that I was going to die. The young boy thought it was pretty awesome of course and the little girl was giggling her head off. After about a half hour of this terror, where my whole life flashed before my eyes, we arrived at the bedouin camp. Many other jeeps containing tourists were arriving there as well. Next on the agenda was camel riding. How did I get myself into this? Another terrifying experience for me. They are so flipping big. And the problem is not in getting on the camel as he sits in his relaxed position - but WHEN HE HAS TO STAND UP on those long lanky legs. As the trainer talked to the camel to get him to stand up, he kept saying to me "hang on tight!, hang on tight! Oh yeah, that's a fine thing to say to me. By the way, Ralph was on the same camel on the back hump, which didn't help matters as he (camel) balked a bit/was verbal as he attempted to get up on all four. When he started getting up, I started to fall forward and I thought I was going to go head first right over his head. All the while "buddy" was saying "hold on tight, hold on tight". I was thinking of little Mavis riding the camel for three days in India with Dar and Ralph! The rest of the evening was non-stressful. At the bedouin camp, tables and cushions were set up in a circle and I estimate there were about 100 people or so all together. We shared a table with a man and his son from Iran. There were several great acts to entertain us, followed by a scrumptuous BBQ buffet dinner, and the last act of the evening was a belly dancer. With the exception of the people who were going to spend the night at the camp, everyone else was picked up and taken back to their hotels. When chatting with the Paskistani couple, we learned that he is an neurosurgeon. We were returned to our hotel about 10 p.m.

Skyscrapers & Billionaires

Our main focus today (Monday) was to take the metro to Dubai Mall (which is different than Dubai City Centre Mall) to see this much-talked-about mall, and the Burj Khalifa Tower (highest tower in the world) which is adjacent to it. The metro ride took us through the Financial District and it's hard to describe the skyscrapers! We were saying how Don and Darren would enjoy seeing all the different forms of architecture of the buildings. This mall is touted as one of the most spectacular malls on earth, although we were not that impressed with it (due in part I suppose to its vastness, giving it a "cold, uninviting" feeling). It houses 1,200 retail outlets, none of which the average joe would be able to shop in. Mostly designer shops with luxury brands with exclusive entrances for VIPs. One of the attractions at this mall is the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. It contains over 33,000 aquatic animals, including sharks and stingrays. For a price, you can take glass-bottom boat rides and shark dives. There is also an olympic-size ice rink with learn-to-skate programmes and it houses figure-skating events, hockey matches and ice shows as well as being a venue for concerts and events. There were a few dozen people skating there yesterday. We had lunch at the mall mid afternoon and stood in a line-up for 30 minutes plus to get tickets to tour the Tower on Wednesday, which was next available opening.

Last evening we again took the metro to the pick-up point for The Big Bus Company's 2-hour Night Tour (7:30 - 9:30). We were seated on the upper deck of the open-air bus which made it great for Ralph as he kept his video camera rolling. I simply cannot describe how awesome this was as we experienced the magnificence of this "sparkling" city at night. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide who provided the commentary. My eyes werre bugging out of my head for two hours. One of the places we went was Palm Jumeirah, which is the man-made, palm tree-shaped island - holy jumping catfish! Also on this island is the over-the-top Atlantis Hotel were, I am sure, only millionaires/billionaires can stay. She told us how much the rooms are but I forget because it was incomprehensible to me. Some of the names mentiioned who have apartments on Palm Jumeirah were David and Victoria Becham, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, etc. Anyway, it was a most enjoyable tour and after taking the metro back to Deira, we went to Chili's for supper (it was time for American food!) Got back to the hotel about 11:00.

Another observation we have is how courteous/respectful folks are to older people like ourselves. For example, I can always be guaranteed a seat on the metro because always, someone gives up their seat for me. And other little examples like, we approached the escalator when a young lady was about to step on. She immediately stepped back and insisted that we get on first. And when joining a food kiosk line-up, young professional man in front of us insisted that we go first and he went behind us (and that wouldn't be because we looked like we were malnourished - ha).

Souks, Souks, Miles of Souks

On Sunday morning (a regular weekday here), we decided to take the metro to the airport to visit the Emirates baggage service counter, even though we know that in situations like this, the baggage is delivered to your hotel. The 1-800 #, website tracking, (WestJet) etc., etc. was contradictory and it appeared suitcase was in limbo. We just figured if we went to the source, we could bring suitcase back on the metro, thereby lessening the wait time. Can't remember if I mentioned in previous emails about the brand-spanking-new, state-of-the-art metro station/system. We really enjoyed the ride and the scenery and we got off right at the departures area. Well, this was an exercise in futility. The airport is so massive that we actually spent all morning there, first going to the appropriate place at Terminal 1 (to no avail) and then be told we needed to go to Terminal 3, for which we had to get on a bus to take us there. At the appropriate place there, we were told we needed to go to Terminal 1, so back on the bus, blah, blah, blah. In the end, we threw our hands in the air and said to hell with it, so had breakfast there about 11:00, went to an etisalat kiosk to charge up the cell phone as we needed to phone our Visa card company and we also needed to phone Westjet.

Upon returning to the hotel to freshen up, we then headed to the Al Ghuragig mall where I needed to pick up a pair of pants that were being shortened. From there got on metro and went to the Deira City Centre mall so that I could find a few more tee shirts, underwear, etc. There, we had a mid-afternoon lunch and I was not having any success so back we go to the first mall which is more familiar and I picked up my tees, etc. (unfortunately, they do not cater to shapes such as mine in this city - ha). Back to the hotel about 7:00 to freshen up again as we were going to be "souking" tonight.

We walked to the souk district. Souks are markets (usually night markets) that are jam packed with small street vendors and shops selling items from all over the world at discount prices (you barter). Well, we thought the markets in Hong Kong where big and awsome, well I tell you the souks here just blow away Hong Kong's markets. They are hugh and go on for miles and miles and are just packed with an awesome selection of items. After several hours, we stopped on the waterfront and had s light supper at an open-air cafe.

When we got back to the hotel about 11:00, I was exhausted and my feet were suffering the ill effects of trying to break in two new pair of footwear within two days - sandals and runners. (I had worn heels on the plane, stupid me, so these items were necessities.) Ralph skyped with Chloe/Ryan/Olga but I was in bed and too exhausted to participate.

The weather has been fantastic. 26 to 27 during the day, going down to 17 at night. We are awestruck by the diverse mix of cultures in this city. OK, that's Sunday's report.

Gastronomic Adventure

We slept like babies our first night in Dubai, thanks in part to the lovely down pillows and down duvet. It was great to be able to open the window. We were awakened at 5:30 Friday morning by the melodic intonations of the Muslim "Call to Prayer", broadcast from the minaret via loudspeakers. Our day started off with Dad not being able to find the room key(card). We searched upside down to no avail. As a last resort, he looked in the garbage can and there it was, deposited there no doubt by me. We went to a Pakastini restaurant for breakfast and spent most of the day exploring. Friday is a holy day so most shops are closed till 2:00 p.m. We spent most of the morning exploring and when shops opened up at 2:00 p.m., I purchased some much-needed necessities to get me through till my luggage arrives, and Dad bought a new unlocked travelling cell. It was hot during the day and absolutely perfect in the evening. Several times during the day we went back to the apartment to recharge our batteries. We had a late dinner at an Indian restaurant and then explored some more, getting back to the hotel shortly after midnight.

Saturday morning Dad was once again awakened by the "Call to Prayer" but I didn't hear a thing. Left the hotel for breakfast about 9:00 and then Dad went to local IP provider to get data package. We also headed over to Al Ghurair Mall where I bought a few more needed things. The top level of this mall is mainly children shops, dozens of them one afterr another, my head was in a whirl but I exercised control and I won't make decisions till nearer the end. Also today, we familiarized ourselves with the metro. It is ultra-modern. We purchased NOI cards which are good for the metro and the buses. We made our way to Deira City Mall on the metro and what a place that is! If my daughters-in-law were here, they would think they had died and gone to heaven. While here, Dad had to buy me a new camera to replace the one I had the misfortune to drop. Also, Dad was having trouble with his data package and although it worked in the phone, did not work in the laptop. Fortunately, the IP provider had an outlet at this mall and one of the techies was able to determine what the problem was and so made the necessary adjustments. So as of late today, we now have access to the internet.

We had another late supper, this time at an Iranian restaurant; it is fun to try the different cuinines. We called it a night about 10:30 p.m. as I was dead tired. Am hoping my suitcase arrives tomorrow - Sunday (which is a regular day here, unlike home).

Dubai is everything it is portrayed to be, and we've only seen the tip of the iceberg yet. In many ways, it reminds me of Hong Kong, except that it is more spread out and doesn't seem so crowded.

Fun in the Sky

The dates/times that appear in this post and any future posts will reflect the date/time in Dubai.

We left Toronto at 20 to 10:00 Wednesday night aboard an Airbus 380 which is the largest passenger airplane in the world and is a double-decker for the full length of the fuselage. Holds around 800 passengers and the plane was full. We were on the lower deck and were seated in the middle section that seats four people. Dad had an aisle seat with me next to him. And the guy next to me was a piece of work and the guy beside him at the other aisle was a man in his late 60s. The guy next to me was a 40-year-old man from Pakistan but born in India but calls Mississauga his home. Everything was going OK at the outset and we all introduced ourselves and did a lot of chatting. The older guy teased the younger guy a lot in jest (because of the way he was) and all four of us did an awful lot of laughing. Drinks are free on Emirates Airlines (beer and wine) and by midnight he (younger guy) had consumed a lot of beer and wine. He kept ordering them and they kept bringing them. He would not always summon the same attendant so it wasn't as if the same person was bringing him the drinks all the time and monitoring. Soon he became very annoying and boisterous!!! He spilled a half-litre of red wine all over the older man's dress pants and he was not impressed, saying things like "I'm a businessman, have meetings when I arrive, "big boys" are going to be meeting me at the airport and look at my clothes!, and "If you were my son, and I have a son your age, I'd kick your ass so hard, blah, blah." The demanding younger man once again called an attendant and this time wanted Febreeze. By now, all the staff were fed up with him and she said "Febreeze, WE'RE ON AN AIRPLANE, we don't have Frebreeze!" Oh yes, and at the outset, he wanted the older man's aisle seat and he tormented him unmercifully for hours for it. Younger man kept making him get up to let him out so he could "stretch", etc., older guy always obliged but there was no way he was giving him his seat. He was getting pretty beligerant and using foul language (f-ing) which prompted a man behind us to stand up and scream at him, telling him to shut up as there were ladies on board, etc. Actually, it was all pretty awful. Once, when he went to the bathroom, the older man called over the staff and suggested he needed to be cut off and of course they all agreed. Well, he was not a happy camper!!! They wouldn't serve him any more and next the supervisor from the upper deck came on the scene to try and calm him down and the final analysis was that the captain ordered that he not be served any more drinks period. At one point, I was a little scared of him as he would start talking to himself really loud and making weird and crazy noises and shaking his arms around (almost seemed like he was hallucinating) and of course everyone had their eyes on our four seats. Poor older man had to attend meetings when he reached Dubai but, unfortunately, no one could get any sleep because of other guy's behaviour. Despite the fact he was cut off, he had every attendant in a tailspin because he kept begging for wine. Older guy kept trying to reason with him. "I've been flying on this airline extensively for the past 25 years and I can guarantee you what the next step is going to be. When you get off the plane, police will be there, will handcuff you and you'll be thrown in the slammer for four weeks. I've seen it many times." And then, maybe at 3:00 a.m.?, a young woman (30s?) sitting in the aisle seat in front of the older man all of a sudden fell out of her seat onto the floor and we thought she had a heart attack. The staff were doing first aid on the floor and I'm not sure what exactly happened, maybe she fainted?, maybe she was drinking too much too?, maybe she wasn't drinking at all? So I guess you could say it was like the flight from hell - and so darn long - twelve and a half hours. He had sobbered up by morning and was a nice gentleman again and we all had quite the laugh because he was missing one shoe and it was nowhere to be found. He was down on his hands and knees crawling on the floor looking under all the seats (ha). Darren/Don may be interested in knowing that the older man is a project manager for museums and science centres in Asia and Africa. He was Uncle Alex to the "t" - same accent, same wit, same looks (only 25 years younger), same everything. The staff kept coming to us apologizing and asking if we were OK and offering to get us stuff, etc. Moving him to another seat was not an option as the plane was full.

We arrived in Dubai on schedule at 7:30 p.m., UAE time, Thursday, and caught Le Meredian shuttle service to our hotel. After checking in, we walked to a nearby mall and I picked up a few things to get me through the night (no luggage). Then we walked around the area exploring. It was pretty awesome, nice and warm, many outdoor cafes and lots of people milling around. Arab restaurants, Indian and African for starters, all reasonably priced.

We are at Le Meridian's apartment hotel called Residence Deira by Le Meredian. We are right in the heart of everything. Friday/Saturday is the weekend here (equivalent to our Saturday/Sunday weekend) and Friday is a religious day here (like our Sunday). Most of the stores are closed Friday mornings but open by 2:00 p.m. BTW, the Dubai airport is spectacular.

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's post is that the tow truck driver knows you, Ryan. Dad said his name is Chris Coaster (sp?), Also kids, for your amusement, you know I ripped the side mirror off the car twice this year - well, yesterday, it got ripped off again in fine style - ha.

We are dead tired. It is 12:45 a.m. here, Friday, January 22. Hope we can get to sleep as it's only 2:45 p.m. M.Jaw time so it's going to take a couple of days for our bio clocks to get sorted out.

Our First Day Starts With A BANG

We left Moose Jaw for Regina airport at 9:00 a.m. for our 11:30 a.m. WestJet flight to Toronto. This would give us more than enough time as it’s only a 45 minute drive to the airport. It was a wonderful day and I was admiring the beautiful sundogs, only on the prairie. Although the Trans Canada Highway was clear, Ralph got the sense that it may be a tad slippery in places so he reduced his speed to below speed limit and took it off cruise. A short while later, a one-ton pick-up truck was passing in the passing lane and this man, we later learned, sensed that it may be a tad slippery so he decided to take his truck out of cruise control. It was at that point, when he was passing us, that he lost control and hit the front left fender of our car, spinning us out of control and himself, both vehicles flying into the ditch at 100 kph. completely out of control. The truck went in first and cleared the deep snow and we came in after . Both vehicles were buried in the snow, unable to move. At this point, we figured the whole trip was done as we had no idea how much damage was done to the car. Ralph called 911 and they transferred the call to the RCMP. After it was established that no one in either vehicle was injured, the RCMP said to just exchange information and they would send a tow truck to get both vehicles out. I said I’d go to the other vehicle and get his information as I was wearing my winter boots. However, I could not get out of my door due to the snow jammed up against it, so Ralph had to go and consequently, had very wet shoes and socks. We waited for 45 minutes but still no tow truck so then we called WestJet to advise that we were probably not going to make our flight. Of course you get the automated system and start pushing numbers and in the end, you get a calling centre in Timbucktwo. So it was all very frustrating. We learned that if we did not make our flight, we could get on a later one which doesn’t arrive in Toronto till 10:30 p.m. Little good that would do us, since our flight to Dubai leaves at 20 to 10:00. And incidentally, Emirates Airlines flies in/out of Toronto only three times a week so if we missed that flight, we couldn’t go till Friday. Finally, after one hour and five minutes, the tow truck showed up and we were on the road by 20 to 11:00. The going was slow as the car was vibrating quite badly at speeds in excess 80 kph. We pulled up to the passenger drop-off at 11:10, unloaded the bags and I proceeded to the ticket counter while Ralph went to park the car. And wouldn’t you know he couldn’t find a parking place and had to go to the extreme end of the parking lot. He ran and ran and ran but suddenly figured he’d better slow down for fear that he might have as heart attack. In the meantime, I got checked in for both of us and I was told to go upstairs through security without Ralph. Ralph said that when he entered the airport, a ticket agent was standing in the concourse with his boarding pass in her hand. As Ralph flew past her, she handed him his boarding pass and off he went.

We had an uneventful flight to Toronto and we discussed how awful it would be if our bags had not made the flight. However, it appeared that was not going to be a problem. Seated near us was a family from Moose Jaw going to Disney World (Christine, John and Gracie). Upon arrival in Toronto, Ralph’s suitcase came down the conveyor but mine was nowhere in sight. So then we had to go through the lost baggage formality and to make a long story short, my bag would not arrive in Toronto until 10:30 p.m. – AFTER we had left for Dubai. Since Emirate Airlines only flies to Toronto three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), the missing bag will be put on the Friday night flight to Dubai but will not arrive till Saturday evening, Dubai time. So this little missy is without anything (clothes, makeup, everything actually) for three days in Dubai.

We then walked two miles through the airport and took the train to Terminal 1. At one point I had set my camera on top of my carry-on bag and when we proceeded to get on the elevator, the camera came crashing to the floor when I moved my bag (I had forgotten about it). So I start my holiday with no camera as it is not functioning at all. After reaching Terminal 1 and taking the long/fast walking threadmill thingy, I got off at the end and heard a bang/crash and looked behind to find that someone was picking Ralph’s Netbook up off the steel-toothed walking thingy. His backpack had become unzipped and it fell out. Well you talk about an unhappy camper! When Ralph gets mad, he walks fast and he was motoring down the concourse with me trying to keep up. He found a chair and by this time, I had to go to the bathroom (if you know what I mean). Fortunately, when I returned I learned that the Netbook had survived it’s violent fall – thanks to Mavis for the awesome padded sleeve that she made for Ralph’s Notebook.

On that note, I’m going to close off as we should get to our gate. That’s it for our first day. It feels like we’ve been away for three weeks, so much has happened.

This is a Test

I just created a blogspot for our travel journal. Only two more sleeps till we leave and I am full of angst. Are you able to make comments?