Al Ain Zoo

On Friday we planned to go to the Dubai Zoo. Upon searching for it's website, Joe came across several articles protesting the zoo's cramped conditions. Apparently, PETA was here in Dubai for their first Middle Eastern protest this July! According to numerous articles, the animals live on concrete in small cages, and more than 80% are animals brought in by smugglers and confiscated by customs. We thought it would be a sad sight, so we decided to look elsewhere. Fortunately, the city of Al Ain in the emirate of Abu Dhabi has a wonderful zoo! Colin was impressed. This is the entrance to the Al Ain Zoo. Al Ain is a little over an hour's drive through the desert from Dubai. It costs 15 dirhams per person to enter, and Colin was free.

The Al Ain Zoo collaborates with the San Diego Zoo, which may explain why it's such a great place.
Guess what the first exhibit is...flamingos of course! Colin loved watching them in the water. He was pretty mad when we rolled him away in the stoller. Little did he know that the monkeys were just around the corner. Oh, but first, we saw MEERKATS! There were 2 playing in this window and Colin just giggled and giggled. I didn't see any primetime drama like on Meerkat Manor, but I guess the zoo makes life a little more stable. This monkey appeared to have fallen asleep suddenly while trying to lie down. His limbs were stuck out like rigor mortis. Don't worry, though. He's definitely alive.

Humongous ostrich. Colin got a laugh out of this one, too. She was pecking at the gate incessantly.
One view of the African Safari exhibit with giraffes, zebras, and rhinos. No elephants at this zoo, though. It's a very scenic zoo with the mountains in the background. A little chinchilla in the noctural animal house.
The White Sambona Lions are the most popular exhibit at this zoo. This one was snoozing, so I couldn't get a good picture.

The expression on this monkey's face cracks me up....

It was hotter than I expected, so we had to break out the sunscreen.

Fortunately, they have these super awesome cool mist lines all throughout the zoo. They turn on automatically and really help you cool down!We hit the "food court" on the way out: KFC, Hardee's, Pizza Hut, or Krispy Kreme (not pictured).

There is a mosque inside the zoo for prayer time.

And I thought this fountain was lovely.

I was really pleased with our zoo trip! I'd even go back again sometime. Colin had a lot of fun. He took a good nap on the way home :)

Safa Park & The Dubai Flea Market

On the first Saturday of each month, Dubai has a flea market at Safa Park. It's further into Dubai, sort of near Dubai Mall. I took the metro to the Business Bay station and then caught a cab to the park. The park itself is 64 hectares (or 158 acres) of green grass, palm trees, almond trees, roses, fountains, a hedge maze and more. I haven't seen this much grass in one place since I left home.

This is one of the BBQ areas where it's permitted to have an open flame.

Over there in the distance is a toddler-sized play area.

I'm fairly certain these are the roses. They plant them in rows like this all over the park.

Palm trees are everywhere and provide excellent shade. I saw a number of laborers sleeping in the palm shadows today.

This is the Safa Maze.

Doesn't it look like something out of Alice in Wonderland?

Just past the maze I saw these guys playing soccer (football) with soccer balls on their heads. I believe they were promoting an event. Still, it was weird.
There were over 400 tables at the flea market. I didn't arrive until about 2pm, and they closed at 3, so lots of tables were packed up and gone by the time I made it over. However, people were happy to give me a deal since they were trying to get rid of everything.

It was your typical garage sale paraphernalia...old exercise videos...

...perfumes....

....racks and racks of clothes....

...piles of hats....

....and shoes galore.

Some people had everything neatly organized on their tables...but most people just threw everything on a blanket on the ground!

I ended up getting some simple toys for Colin, a few paring knives, an exercise ball, and some grilling utensils. I didn't spend more than 5 dirhams ($1.36) on anything, but most everything cost 1 dh (27 cents) or less.

I was REALLY happy to find the Pepsi stand with ice cold water. I'll definitely make the trip to Safa Park again, but this time I think I'll bring Joe and Colin with me :)

Dubai Marina Mums

We have been fortunate to participate in playgroup activities here in the marina with the Dubai Marina Mums. The group is led by a lady named Dee that lives in Jumeirah Beach Residence. She lives in a plaza-level townhome that is right next to one of the plaza "gardens." They plant grass here since it doesn't grow naturally, so they are called gardens. This is the "Marina Mums Garden" which is actually the JBR Rimal 1 garden. Rimal 1 is one of the many buildings in JBR. The first event we attended was a carnival with vendors, storytelling, and lots of toys from a place called "Toys on Rent."Colin had a blast in the splash pools. The two cuties in this picture are twin girls named Anya and Maya. They are Colin's age and are originally from New York. Aren't they adorable?

Colin REALLY loves these trampolines! They are everywhere here!He was nervous the girls were going to take the trampoline from him. Look at that face!!He also liked the playground equipment they had.

It was hot as blazes, so we were all sweating like crazy. Even the babies were sweaty.

Then, he got a balloon!! He loves balloons! He kept letting it go and watching it float. He was mesmerized.
The next week we attended the Cookie Monsters Club at Dee's apartment. Here she is reading the story of the Hungry Catepillar. She is a great storyteller!

The intention of the afternoon was for the kids to make catepillars and butterflies out of colored fondant. Here were the plates Dee prepared.

Colin preferred to eat his fondant.

This was all that we managed to construct:

We've really loved the Marina Mums activities here. Dee plans something once per week, so we have lots of opportunites to go. The next one we will attend will be a Diwali Festival, so that will be a great cultural experience for both of us!

Operation: Entertain Ourselves

Friday, they turned on the gas in our apartment :) That means we were able to cook dinner...on the stove! Our first homemade dinner together was spaghetti and green beans. Made the place start to feel like home. Saturday morning, we walked to the playground that's about a block from our apartment. Thankfully, it's shaded. Colin had fun sliding down the slide with his Dada. There were a couple of guys from the UK kicking around a soccer ball in the field. They were barefoot, and ran around like they were on hot coals. I'm sure the sandy grass felt like hot coals.

Colin thought it would be a good idea to spill his juice all over his shirt on the stroller ride over to the park. Guess he was hot :)

This morning began Operation: Entertain Ourselves while Joe was at work. Couldn't go to the pool or the beach due to lack of baby sunscreen, so we walked to the Dubai Marina Mall which isn't far away (one block past the playground). If we were fortunate, the metro would be open and we could go pretty much anywhere in Dubai. Here's the street entrance:

And the walkway across Sheikh Zayed Rd:

And the Jetsons-like metro station across the street. Unfortunately.... I wish they would open the darn thing so I could get around!! Instead, we walked past the metro and went to the Marina Mall. We just walked around (exercise for Mama) and sat down at Starbucks for Colin to have a snack.

I tried to read the paper, but this is all I could find:

Colin & I ended up having a pleasant day, which made me hopeful! I made Cheaters Chicken & Dumplings for dinner and then we went to the Emirates Mall. I found an Osh Kosh, Gymboree, and several other kids clothing stores. Luckily, I have allllll the clothes Colin needs until it's cold outside or he needs a 4T! This is a picture of the Mall of the Emirates Atrium.

Inside the mall is the famous Ski Dubai. We didn't go in, just took a few pictures from the windows.

How awesome is that?!? You have to wear a snowsuit because it's so cold in there....in Dubai.