The night was not yet over

We decided we'd go out for a drink a bit later and thought the Jazz Bar in our hotel was a good place to start. It was quiet and there was good reason for this. They had Barry Manilow live on the large TV. We stayed a while with our cocktails and then began to lose the will to live.

There were only a few very subdued people in the bar. The only active person was a lady in very tight clothes and very high heels. She seemed to be coming and going a bit along with some of the bar patrons. The waiter came over and I asked him if there was any other music, music that was good to dance to. He looked horrified.

"There will be none of that dancing here. You tap the foot but under the table" he said shaking his head.

"So, no dancing here then" was my comment.

"No, no just the tapping of the foot." He replied gravely.

He went on to tell us that it was too dangerous because the bar was too small for the waiters with their trays and people dancing. It was one of those conversations you could bottle.

I asked if he could possibly change the music, not sure he really understood about how we were losing the will to live. We were deciding on BB King when into the room burst a Scotsman complete with kilt and all the trimmings. He eyed up what was happening, noticed Barry on the screen and pushed back through the doors with a flourish and a laugh.

Rau and I were speechless for a minute, then burst out laughing. Things were looking up but that was as looked up as it got. We never saw the Scotsman again but we did get BB King and another cocktail while quietly tapping our foot under the table and people watching.

Travelling home the next day was a treat. After a stop at the Gold Souq we made our way to the bus station courtesy of the best taxi driver we'd had on the whole trip. The bus looked packed and there were people in the queue by the door. We stood back thinking we would have to wait for the next bus.

But no, where there's a will there's a way. The bus was a smaller one, two seats on one side and one on the other but the bonus was the seats that folded out into the aisle. Yep, we got two of those. We also had to have our bags on top of us and get out whenever someone got off the bus.

It was an interesting trip, cramped and hot but we had a laugh with the other women, mostly Filipino, squashed into the front with us. The young driver was obviously enjoying having one of the girls up front with him.

It never fails to amaze me how tolerant and cheerful people here are about things that would twist our knickers in NZ. The health and safety considerations that are ignored, the comfort people go without to get from A to B, the acceptance of others like us two Kiwis they had to accommodate in an already crowded bus. They shared drinks and offered food, talked to us in English and one helped me with the Sudoku I had found in the paper.

I was pleased to be home after a good weekend break. A long weekend that helped remind me that it's not all work here, I'm here to holiday and see the sights as well. To experience living in this very different culture, to learn some more Arabi and meet people from other cultures and other walks of life.

PS We didn't find out who won the Rugby 7s until we got back to Al Ain, apparently no one in Dubai knew and it wasn't on the telly. Go Wales!