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 :)

My birthday, Dubai style

I had an absolutely fantastic birthday this year! Joe bought the most delicious cake from a place called Gateaux in the Marina. Gateaux means cake in French. I learn something new every day! Despite what the candles may indicate, I did not turn 82 this year...I turned 28...but Joe thought it would be clever to switch the candles around since I was born in 1982. Did I mention that the cake was delicious?? It was a strawberries and cream cake, with fresh strawberries and fresh cream and white chocolate and boy, was it good!I got a birthday card all the way from Clarkston, Georgia...and Colin got a goody box from Great-Grandaddy and Great-Grandmother Owen! Thank you for thinking of us!

These are pretty flowers are from my parents:

The rest of the birthday loot - a pressurized wine cork, reference cards for homemade cleaners (more on that later), an iPad cover to pacify me until we can afford to get an actual iPad, and a gift certificate to the Virgin Megastore from Pete & Simone.

Pete & Simone came over to celebrate, eat dinner with us (lemon rosemary chicken with rice and fresh green beans a la Joe), then they listened out for Colin so Joe and I could have our first night out together since arriving in Dubai. What great friends they are!

Joe and I just before heading out:

We ended up at the Marina Yacht Club sports bar.

Then we headed outside to sit on the deck for awhile.

Afterwards we walked across the marina and down to the beach. Nothing like an evening stroll through the sand and surf with the one you love :)

Thanks to everyone that made my birthday so special!

Newsworthy

If you haven't noticed, I've been reading the news. I abandoned it at home, to be honest. I was tired of the never ending political rants and polls and the constant cries of prejudice, blame, and false advertising.

Here, I've found the news to be fascinating.

Some stories I've read today:

- Man who was caught by 12 speeding radars in one day going 60km/hr (37mph) over the limit had to pay 42,000 dirhams ($11,500) in fees to avoid having his car impounded.

- Starting November 1st, police can impound your car on the spot for speeding violations as part of the "Speed Kills" campaign. You will receive a 1,000 dhs ($275) fee, your car will be impounded for 30 days, and you get 12 black traffic points. Of note, the cars here start beeping when you go over 120km/hr (74mph).

- A man of unknown origin blackmailed his Emirati girlfriend, telling her to marry him or pay him 250,000 dhs ($68,000) or he would publish intimate photos and messages. Apparently, they had dated for 5 years and her parents disapproved of her marrying a non-Emirati. The man will now sit in jail for three years. Don't mess with the Emiratis.

- An Uzbekistani woman and an Arab man were imprisoned for adultery. An Arab woman saw the two enter a construction site together and called authorities. The Uzbekistani woman will serve 3 years in jail, the Arab man 3 months, and both will be deported after they serve their time. Adultery can yield heavy punishment here - anything from prostitution to cohabitation can be considered adultery.

- A Filipina woman and her boyfriend were arrested for adultery. The woman fainted and friends took her to the hospital. Doctors discovered she was pregnant, asked for her husband, and she admitted to being unmarried. Doctors called police and she was arrested at the hospital. Her boyfriend was arrested shortly after and admitted to having a wife and children at home in the Phillipines.

- November 1st was "free ride day" on the metro to celebrate it's anniversary. Magnets were put on cars with pictures of fried eggs that read "It's a cool 20 degrees C on the Metro."

- Now there are numerous complaints of overcrowding during peak hours on the metro, and having to stand "mouth to mouth" with other passengers. No word on the RTA's plans for improvement.

- Date pits may be used in place of synthetic antibiotics for chickens as they have been found to have natural antibiotic properties that leave no residue in the meat. I wonder if they'll start selling "seedless dates" now?

- The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority reports a 16% rise in hotel guests in the first 9 months of 2010. Glad to know we've contributed to business here :)

Diverse Backgrounds Blamed for Failed Inspections

According to an article in one UAE newspaper, The National, two thirds of the medical facilities in Abu Dhabi FAILED their health inspections last year!

The Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) director, Dr. Khalid Fulad, seems to blame this on the "diverse backgrounds" of the workers. Apparently this was most common in smaller clinics since the larger facilities can employ "higher caliber" workers.

Circumstances leading to failure included:

- Doctors saving syringes to use on the same patient on their next visit. Dr. Fulad: "Perhaps that doctor came from a country where there were a lack of syringes. We have to educate these people."

- A lack of medical record-keeping. Doctors complain they don't have enough time...maybe they need a scribe! (that was for my ES peeps)

- Lab techs working on blood and urine specimens with bare hands

- Dentists reusing ampules on different patients

- Equipment being stored in unhygienic conditions, including next to toxic chemicals, and not being properly sterilized.

- A general practitioner serving as an OB/GYN

- A receptionist working as a nurse

HAAD is offering a series of workshops for the healthcare industry, and is "concentrating more on education than enforcement."

Um, how about doing both since people are going to keep coming to these places in the meantime!

Without introducing politics into my opinion, I'll have to say that I'm grateful to be an American. Even in this country of high wages and beautiful scenery, you might get the same syringe they used on you last month.

Halloween in Dubai

Was terribly uneventful, really :) I decided to make Colin a Bamm-Bamm Rubble costume, and I think he pulled it off pretty well. We didn't go to any Halloween events at all, no parties, festivals, or even trick-or-treating. Joe and I even forgot to carve our pumpkin! Guess we weren't really feeling the Halloween spirit this year. Colin wasn't fond of the hat that I worked so feverishly to cover, so we put it on the pumpkin instead. The paper towel roll was an excellent club for bamming...mainly Colin's head.

He also enjoyed looking through the tube, chewing on the ends, and listening to me talk through it.

Apparently, they do trick or treat here in the UAE, but not at our apartment! Joe told me that some of his co-workers were taking their children trick or treating in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but I think he said they all live in villas.

I really missed Halloween at home this year, especially taking Colin to a pumpkin patch. We didn't go last year so we had planned to take him this year for sure. Guess life had other plans for us!

I got creative with his costume since there aren't any local Joanne's, Michael's or Hobby Lobby stores.

I bought a fleece leopard print blanket at Max to use for the skirt (isn't there a more manly name for it?) and the hat. I cut apart one of Colin's 18mo brown onesies and sewed them together for the sash (again, I'm sure there's another name for it). I cut the bones out of a manila folder. To make the shirt, I just tacked the trimmed blanket fabric onto a pair of cotton shorts with an elastic waistband. The hat is Colin's Braves cap.

I hope you all had a very Happy Halloween!

Shopping at Geant

Colin hasn't felt well this weekend, so I headed to Geant on the metro by myself today. It was nice to have some time to sift through what they have available. Usually, I have the most adorable ticking time bomb in the front seat of my buggy so I have to grab the most obvious choice and move on. Unfortunately, the most obvious is usually also the most expensive. Every time I go, I see this can of strained foul. It really of grosses me out. Anyone know what it is? Geant is full of things I've never seen before and never intend to try. Ew.

Lucky for us, they do have a small organic section and various organic items on the regular shelves. They have free range eggs, but I've yet to see any organic meats at Geant.

This is my favorite sign in Geant: Assorted Indian Food Stuff. An entire aisle devoted only to Indian food. And I haven't a clue what most of it is.

They sell a lot of fish here. Don't be fooled by the "Special Price" signs, though. Fish is definitely more expensive here than it is at home. Oh, and most of the fish are in their original form...beady eyes and everything.

There is a decent selection of produce, though the quality is often lacking in the softer fruits. In the stores here, you bag your produce and then take it to a weighing station to be priced. When I'm in a hurry at the market downstairs, I forget about this sometimes, which causes the patrons behind me in line to become annoyed. (And rightly so. It's rather embarassing...but I digress) This guy caught me taking his picture...and I thought I was being discrete!

They make and sell freshly squeezed orange juice which smells fantastic, but I haven't tried it yet. A bottle of 100% apple juice for Colin costs between 7-10 dirhams here, so 14 dirhams isn't really outrageous for this juice. I'm glad I took this picture, because I never would have noticed the pom juice! Yum!

Milk packaging is a little different here, and of course they don't sell gallons since most local things are sold by metric weight.

I've never seen so much rice in one place in my entire life. I can't ever figure out which rice to buy...basmati? jasmine? kerala? I just want brown, fragrance-free rice, please.

One more thing about Geant: beware of the buggies. They lack a steering feature, so I'm constantly struggling to turn down aisles and keep from running into other shoppers. Today, I sustained an injury that hurt so badly I yelped out loud. Still hurts, actually. (Looks like I should ask for a pedicure for my birthday this week!!)

It's always nice to have a few hours to myself, but I was glad to get back home to Joe & Colin (mostly) unscathed.

An Evening Stroll

For the last 2 nights, we've strapped on our tennis shoes and taken a walk around the marina. It's nice here at night, and great to get out of the apartment. Plus, the marina is really pretty at night. Here was our route tonight: This is a (blurry) view of the marina from the bridge.

Once we got over the bridge and across Jumeirah Beach Road, we took a right and went down the JBR Walk. This is a little smoothie hut by the beach. Need to visit this place soon!!

There is a fair going on at the Walk right now so there are lots of little kiosks with local merchandise. Pricey, however.

Love this fountain on The Walk.

The Hilton is right across the street from The Walk. You can stay there when you come and see us in Dubai!! (Or you can stay with us on the air mattress, of course)

We turned down the next bridge to get back across the marina, then took a right and walked down by the water. The Marina Yacht Club is quite popular here. Here's the best picture I could get at night:

And here are some of the super huge yachts. Joe and I fantasize about owning a boat here!