Back To School

Just beautiful..

One of the things I love about Dubai is that even after almost four years, I still stumble across exciting new things and experiences. Take last weekend for example. I’ve caught an abra across the creek COUNTLESS times. I’m always strolling through the spice and toy souks, stocking up on Frankincese and and soaking up the atmos.  And yet, after taking a few twists and turns through unfamiliar alleyways, I found THE most beautiful old restored school.  

Al Ahmadiya School was the first regular school in Dubai, opened way back in 1912 when life was hotter and harsher.  It’s been beautifully restored, and as it’s most definitely off the beaten track, we had the place almost all to ourselves. Treat! I felt a bit like Indiana Jones, only with better shoes, more make up and over-sized sunglasses.

There’s a gorgeous Heritage House next door which is just as exciting (yes, I know I’m a geek). The gift shop alone was worth the visit - they're selling the most beautiful dirham purses, currently in Galleries Layfayette at 300DH for just....15DH. I had to check the price twice and felt like I'd robbed the shop keeper as I skipped out with a handful!

There’s something very intriguing about these beautiful old buildings next to the creek. If you close your eyes to the glittering skyscrapers for a minute, you can almost drift back to days when life in Dubai revolved around pearl diving and dhows…simpler but tougher times.  

We also came across the cutest hotel which I’ve earmarked for a night’s stay. As we headed back to the abra station the adhan kicked in and it was nothing short of beautiful. I’m not sure what I’d do without my weekly creek fixes!

I Survived!

Yes, a week with the family and I have lived to tell the tale!  I'm only joking, of course.  I'm blessed to get on extremely well with my parents, and my grandma (aka Joan Collins) is a legend in her own lifetime and a joy to spend time with.  After the will they/won't they make it drama, we settled into the (extensive, of course) itinerary which I had lovingly prepared.  Truth be told this was a rather more rushed affair than usual due to ridic work situation in the run-up, but anyway.  The whole week was an absolute pleasure, and here are some of my highlights:

Private Abra Ride on the Creek
Yes, you can jump an abra (water taxi) across the creek for the equivalent of about 50p, and it's a wonderful experience.  But a) it's all over too soon amd b) you have to cram your way onto the abra with the hoi polloi.  All of this is negated by simply coughing up twenty quid (a bargain by Dubai standards) and then you get the boat all to yourself, for 90 minutes.  Fabulous!  As with so many cities, it's wonderful to see the place from the water, especially as the creek is really the heart of the city.  Lots of 'traffic' large and small, including other abras, the newer and bigger water taxis, andthe occasional giant barge.  Despite all of this there's very little swell and you chug along quite serenely.  Well as serenely as you can be when there's a diesel engine roaring away next to you, but it's still wonderful.

Desert Ranch
I'm lucky enough to have unearthed a friend of a friend who is not only a horse whisperer (no, really) but who is also managing this fabulous place out in the desert. Don't be fooled by the link, in typical Dubai style the website hasn't been updated for some time.  For those that have lived here for a while, it's the site of the Jumana desert show.  Long story short - this was cancelled, and the animals who took part were left there for TWO YEARS to rot.  Thankfully people stepped in and they're now restoring the ranch as a place for horse-riding and general visits.  It's an amazing place, completely silent and tranquil, with tame camels, goats, donkeys (all of whom had starring roles in the production, bless!).  And of course, there were some of the most gorgeous horses I've ever seen.  A million thanks to Mark who showed us the most amazing hospitality for the morning. 

My dad turning to me as we walked through, giddy as a goat, exclaiming quietly: "I don't know how you do it, but every year you think of something better and better for my birthday.  Thank you darling," fair brought a tear to my eye.

Christmas Eve at 360
It's an age-old tradition that we see no need to stop - sun downers at one of the world's most amazing bars. No really, it's consistently voted as so, and with good reason!  We had mused as to how they would top Santa's arrival last year - he whizzed by on a water ski.  We shouldn't have worried. This year he soared through the sky over the sea  on a motor-ised parasail thingy, James Bond style.  LOVE Dubai!

Christmas Day at the Ritz
We started with Veuve at my apartment and quickly adopted the usual position on the lawn at the Ritz.  It was definitely the best year ever, as they'd reduced the amount of people considerably (don't mention the roast potato shortage of 2009!) which meant it was much more relaxed and easy to get access to the food - and the free-flowing champers too, of course!  Beautiful food, great music, ambience, a paddle in the sea in between courses, and great, great company.  Popped the family in a taxi home when they revealed that they were absolutely leathered and carried on without them in the downtown bars.  Who says drinking for 13 hours solid is difficult?!

Boxing Day and the Burj Khalifa
You may think that one trip up the world's tallestbuilding is enough, but you'd be wrong!  I've now been up three times, and loved every minute of it all.  My mum and A were both a barrel of nerves before we got into the disco lift (if you've been up, you'll know what I mean) but they both coped admirably when we got up there.  I , meanwhile, nearly cartwheeled round the outdoor deck, gleefully sticking my hands and feet through the specially costructed gaps.  Yes, this is me, who walked out crab-like and hunched over on my first visit just six months ago.  Whether it's living on the 28th floor or just visits to the Burj itself, my fear of heights is cured.  Brillsville!

So that's it.  These were just the highlights I can think of right now.  There were also the simple blissful venings spent eating cheese and drinking wine in front of Muppet Christmas carol, and the trips to the supermarket to buy mops and newspapers (!).  It was over all too quickly and I don't know when I'll see the family again.  Sigh.  Another wonderful Christmas in the memory bank, and more to follow, I'm sure.

How Old is Old Dubai??

It’s easy to come to Dubai and get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the place – I know I do on a daily basis. If you’ve only lived here a few years like I have it’s easy to forget that as few years ago, most of the skyscrapers weren’t here. It really was just a pile of sand. So when visitors come it’s nice to take them down to the older parts of Dubai, near the creek. (And when I say old, I mean 30 years old. Hardly ancient by our standards....!)

Bastakiya is a lovely area and one of the few places where you can see old-style houses and imagine Dubai ‘as it used to be.’ They were going to pull all the buildings down until a certain Prince Charles paid Dubai a visit and commented on how marvelous the area looked. Cue huge renovation project – and the end result, if a little too polished, is really lovely. It’s a small area and an intriguing maze of shady passages. I recommend booking a tour through the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding – without a guide to take you round you really haven’t got much of a clue what you’re looking at.

Our guide was a very lovely young lady called Khulood Al Atiyat. She took us all around the area, and then we stopped for coffee and had a chance to chat and ask her questions. Fascinating. I had to stop my mum from asking her what brand of mascara she used (she was stunning) but otherwise she took our nosiness with very good grace and chatted to us for a while about her friends, family, and life in general in Dubai. A very interesting morning.

After that we had a good rummage round the textile souk. As ever with places like this you do get a bit harangued by shop-keepers, but they’re generally pretty nice and not too intimidating. I have a favourite shop (at the very end on the right-hand side, if you’re interested!), where the staff are pleasant and they don’t mither you too much. Oh, and it’s huge. My dad is now rocking out a variety of Arab scarves and I have a couple of new pashminas to fight off the air con.

Next stop: an abra ride across the creek. I'm ashamed to say I'd never done this before! Abras for those not in the know, are small wooden boats which take people across the creek for the princely sum of one dirham (about 20p...finally, a bargain in Dubai!). If you're big on health and safety, look away now. They don't really moor the boats up so you have to fling yourself onto them from (my heart was in my mouth when my 72 year old grandmother launched herself onto it!). They're open sided and I didn't spot a lifejacket/buoy......and the creek gets a bit choppy at points.

Anyway, this is all forgotten once you set off. The breeze, the sunshine and the old boats that you sail past all combine to transport you to a different time and completely different way of life, all whilst still in Dubai, of course. LOVED it.

A quick sniff around the spice souk (dried lemons a big hit with the family) and it was time to catch an abra back across the creek and head home. As far as first days go, I think it was a good start to the family's holiday. I have to admit to struggling at more than one point. That's what yo get when you go out drinking the very night that you have to meet your parents at the airport at 3 am....and only get 3 hour's sleep before heading out. Whoops!