"No, I'm not going near that," said Belinda. Feeding time at the zoo.
Two impressive fellows, Ibex with amazing horns.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Al Ain Zoo
Al Ain Zoo exceeded my expectations. Sue, Rau, Anne, Belinda and I set off in oppressive heat late in the afternoon and spent several hours wandering, chatting and taking photos. It was great to be at the zoo for feeding time in African savanna and before the big cats got housed for the night. We also caught the bird show and I finally got up close and personal with a snake, another thing ticked off the list.
More photos and impressions to come. For now I have to get some housework done, long overdue, and prepare some professional development for next week. Oh and then there's the small issue of having no food in the house to be dealt with. Tough life this.
Thursday, 11 June 2009
Sunday, 7 June 2009
The steps
Rau and I braved the steps up to the restaurant, or rather the building that used to be a restaurant. With the slight cooling of the temperature walking in evening is possible at the moment. We thought we'd time it to see if it was a morning walk, I think not!
It took us almost an hour to walk there and back and climb the 147 steps to the top. But oh what a view. We didn't take our cameras because they're a bit heavy, something I regretted the minute I began the climb. The vista over the whole of Al Ain just on dusk was magical. We saw the size of the oasis, much bigger than it appears from the flat. We saw the track along the waddie, the apartments and villas along the edge, the shops and the sports ground all lit up for tonight's game.
In the next week or so I'll get to the top again with my camera and post photos, as long as the weather is kind that is. Another thing to do in Al Ain ticked off my list..... Wednesday night we plan to brave the zoo.
It took us almost an hour to walk there and back and climb the 147 steps to the top. But oh what a view. We didn't take our cameras because they're a bit heavy, something I regretted the minute I began the climb. The vista over the whole of Al Ain just on dusk was magical. We saw the size of the oasis, much bigger than it appears from the flat. We saw the track along the waddie, the apartments and villas along the edge, the shops and the sports ground all lit up for tonight's game.
In the next week or so I'll get to the top again with my camera and post photos, as long as the weather is kind that is. Another thing to do in Al Ain ticked off my list..... Wednesday night we plan to brave the zoo.
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Degrees of relativity
All things are relative, take the discussion I had at the pub last night about the temperature here at the moment:
Wasn't it great to be able to open all the windows and turn off the aircon today
Yeah, it was great to be able to go for a walk to the shop, amazing that it's so much cooler at the moment
Yeah, I've been sleeping without the aircon for a couple of nights. It's humid, wonder if it's going to rain (wistfully with a sigh)
So what was it yesterday?
Oh, 40 or 41, so much cooler than 48. It got to 51 the other day.
You get the drift. While people in Christchurch are barely getting into double figures, we're talking about how cool 40C is. Well, compared to the thermometer topping 50, it is really cool. Surprisingly, noticeably cool.
I've acclimatised here really well. I do like the heat and only have my kitchen aircon on on a regular basis. It cools my bedroom without too much noise. Being a light sleeper, noise in my bedroom even the steady hum of an aircon disturbs my sleep. And I need my beauty sleep.
Later I write, sitting here with a very full tum after the most delicious Indian food. We went to the movies today after gyming and swimming and saw a clever movie, Sleuth. I don't remember the last time I saw a movie with two people in it, two very good actors that kept me riveted in the freezing cold theatre.
I also went car shopping today with Rau and my slight hangover from the night before. I'd decided to buy a second hand car, something cheap and preferably 4WD for when I bring my bike over. Well, that was until I went to the Toyota showroom and saw my FJ Cruiser on sale. It has been said that the FJ Cruiser is sex on wheels. It's truly a boys car, built like a Tonka truck, but I love it and when I see it cruise past on the road I have car envy, me who really doesn't care that much for cars. Anyhow, it's come down to 110K AED or about 55k NZD. Not bad for a brand new car.
I talked about this with a friend who told me that someone he knew got his for 85k AED. It was a demonstrator model. That got me thinking so tomorrow I'm off to test drive (and with my budget that's probably all I'll get to do) and enquire about the demo models. I can justify the cost, after all the repay per month is less than I'm paying for my hire car and I get to own it.
The Indian we went to has the best Indian food I've ever eaten, a view shared by Mary-Anne and Rau. The restaurant is out in the middle of nowhere on a long stretch of road between two roundabouts, miss the slip road as I did once and it's a bit of a round trip to get back. the setting is lovely, next to a walk along the waddie amongst date palms. We plan to have a big dinner there one night soon, a last fling before we all head off on holiday. There were photos taken at the Indian so will include them here soon as they're on Rau's camera.
Wasn't it great to be able to open all the windows and turn off the aircon today
Yeah, it was great to be able to go for a walk to the shop, amazing that it's so much cooler at the moment
Yeah, I've been sleeping without the aircon for a couple of nights. It's humid, wonder if it's going to rain (wistfully with a sigh)
So what was it yesterday?
Oh, 40 or 41, so much cooler than 48. It got to 51 the other day.
You get the drift. While people in Christchurch are barely getting into double figures, we're talking about how cool 40C is. Well, compared to the thermometer topping 50, it is really cool. Surprisingly, noticeably cool.
I've acclimatised here really well. I do like the heat and only have my kitchen aircon on on a regular basis. It cools my bedroom without too much noise. Being a light sleeper, noise in my bedroom even the steady hum of an aircon disturbs my sleep. And I need my beauty sleep.
Later I write, sitting here with a very full tum after the most delicious Indian food. We went to the movies today after gyming and swimming and saw a clever movie, Sleuth. I don't remember the last time I saw a movie with two people in it, two very good actors that kept me riveted in the freezing cold theatre.
I also went car shopping today with Rau and my slight hangover from the night before. I'd decided to buy a second hand car, something cheap and preferably 4WD for when I bring my bike over. Well, that was until I went to the Toyota showroom and saw my FJ Cruiser on sale. It has been said that the FJ Cruiser is sex on wheels. It's truly a boys car, built like a Tonka truck, but I love it and when I see it cruise past on the road I have car envy, me who really doesn't care that much for cars. Anyhow, it's come down to 110K AED or about 55k NZD. Not bad for a brand new car.
I talked about this with a friend who told me that someone he knew got his for 85k AED. It was a demonstrator model. That got me thinking so tomorrow I'm off to test drive (and with my budget that's probably all I'll get to do) and enquire about the demo models. I can justify the cost, after all the repay per month is less than I'm paying for my hire car and I get to own it.
The Indian we went to has the best Indian food I've ever eaten, a view shared by Mary-Anne and Rau. The restaurant is out in the middle of nowhere on a long stretch of road between two roundabouts, miss the slip road as I did once and it's a bit of a round trip to get back. the setting is lovely, next to a walk along the waddie amongst date palms. We plan to have a big dinner there one night soon, a last fling before we all head off on holiday. There were photos taken at the Indian so will include them here soon as they're on Rau's camera.
Friday, 5 June 2009
Home for a holiday
There's only 5 weeks left until I fly home for a break, home to the snow and the family. I'm actually looking forward to it, although 4 weeks in France or Italy like last year would be wonderful. I've got my tickets, finally. Well that is I have a booking, not sure of all the details yet. I had a few moments last week when I was told there were no seats left to Christchurch on any airline. With some creative work and the help of the Flight Centre in Christchurch, I have a seat including a stopover to see Sue in Melbourne on the way home. Perfect.
I talked to Kier this morning in Brissy. I showed him something on my blog and he was surprised at the number of visitors I get. He made some unflattering comment about me having too much time on my hands, true at the moment. I hope he'll keep reading, afterall that's the purpose of my writing, to share what I'm doing with my family. He did think that the dots on the map were made up to make me feel better so if anyone out there feels like adding a comment to let him know the audience is real, please do.
I talked to Kier this morning in Brissy. I showed him something on my blog and he was surprised at the number of visitors I get. He made some unflattering comment about me having too much time on my hands, true at the moment. I hope he'll keep reading, afterall that's the purpose of my writing, to share what I'm doing with my family. He did think that the dots on the map were made up to make me feel better so if anyone out there feels like adding a comment to let him know the audience is real, please do.
Monday, 1 June 2009
Dates
The dates are ripening on the palms and each day they are changing colour and getting bigger. Most bunches have turned to yellow from green and I noticed a few bunches in the higher palms are turning brown. This may not sound that exciting but when you consider the role dates have in the lives of the people in this part of the world, the harvest is as critical as the rice harvest in Asia or the wheat harvest in the US. Dates are part of the staple diet, a celebration food, a food proudly offered to visitors.
When I was a child dates were one of my favourite snacks, date scones an absolute favourite into adulthood. I can remember being about 6 or 7 years old looking at the picture on the date packet and thinking that I was going to visit the place where dates grow one day. That day has come, I'm here quietly watching the crop ripen waiting to sample the fresh dates. I know this will happen because I shared this with one of my Arabic friends and she takes every opportunity to feed me up on date products.
Last night a group of us sat under the palms, under the night sky and had a few quiet drinks, needed at the end of the week. It's cooled a little here, gone from consistently high 40's to the low 40's. What a difference. The evenings are balmy, wonderful for night outings and the days don't need the doors shut and aircon on full blast, restful. My next night outing is going to be the zoo, highly recommended by others who have been.
When I was a child dates were one of my favourite snacks, date scones an absolute favourite into adulthood. I can remember being about 6 or 7 years old looking at the picture on the date packet and thinking that I was going to visit the place where dates grow one day. That day has come, I'm here quietly watching the crop ripen waiting to sample the fresh dates. I know this will happen because I shared this with one of my Arabic friends and she takes every opportunity to feed me up on date products.
Last night a group of us sat under the palms, under the night sky and had a few quiet drinks, needed at the end of the week. It's cooled a little here, gone from consistently high 40's to the low 40's. What a difference. The evenings are balmy, wonderful for night outings and the days don't need the doors shut and aircon on full blast, restful. My next night outing is going to be the zoo, highly recommended by others who have been.
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