Two Thirds of the Chandran family has been working in the Arab world for over 2 decades and one hundred percent of my goodies hail from there, thanks to my expat siblings.Also so many others from family and friends live there .The fridge swells with chocolates and the bellies with the sugar overload every July August. The expat annual vacation. We have dates blocked for these months of merriment , annually, much like our Diwali and Xmas.So there was not much of the giddy excitement about the trip to the UAE. I thought this place would have huge malls filled with candies and perfumes. Their man made wonders and amusement parks did not really add upto much in my mind. So 2 days was all that we had allotted to this land of sun and sand.
Well SUPRISE .....I had some my best vacation times and formed my best memories here.
The mandatory theme park stop was at the Yas water world in Abu Dhabi. We laughed through fun but fear mostly. The adrenaline rush rides emptied and exhausted our one years worth pockets of fight/fright/flight hormones. The vertical drops over the Jebel drop platform is the highest of the 40 odd rides in the park. Well what can I say. My feet could not feel air forget ground or water for some seconds.My eyes tight shut I willed myself to jump ... A leap of faith literally.
Falcon Falaj is a six seater ride which is equally hair raising, but divided by six..... With my legs safely tucked under my Husband's we breezed through this. Now I know what do they mean by through "thick and thin". We liked it so much that when we wanted to relive the magic. This time it turned into fear magically...our Falcon(buoy) got stuck half way on the bend , cold water spraying from all sides, no answers for our cries of help for what seemed eons, my brother in law with his wicked sense of humour not helping at all.....finally rescue by foot along sliding watery railings..... remains etched forever ….an anecdote for generations to come in our family.
Liwa loop which is a hydraulic operated drop from height(just in case will power was not enough) too ended in embarrassment for me.....though hydraulic pushed me over gravity refused to take the small me all the way down....stuck in one of the loops and oscillating for long before gravity gave up I was rescued by this handsome Filipino , who btw called me a brave Girl.
After special training sessions to learn to ride the waves on body boards called Yas Flow League we were given congratulatory hand shakes but were not allowed to move on to the next stage.
The Lost pearl cinematic 5D water experience has to had first hand to believe it.
Almost a full day in the park had us ravenous for food. Happy Yemen Restaurant filled us with Mandi(Yemeni version of good old Biryani) and unlimited Suleiman chai(sweet chai spiced with mint leaves) spread over a charpoi with all of us digging in from one huge plate...one of my best meals ever......God bless the HYR
Abu Dhabi grand mosque is the most beautiful manmade structure I have seen till now. The first thought that strikes us is that it is more beautiful than the Taj , guilt quickly follows . But the Indian in me , never to give up , researched till I found out that it is modelled on the Taj . Hah... A sigh of relief...we still have the original with us!
The mosque by the moonlight....with its worlds largest Chandelier....An Iranian carpet that took 1200 days to make....the inlay work of date palms and flowers......Masha Allah....A visual treat
The next day had us visiting friends from college in Fujairah. We had a short stop at the Al Bathnah Fort...Now UAE rightfully lays claims to some of the best maintained roads but the off roading to this fort had us worried...But like all things in the UAE there was a surprise waiting in there for us .A wealthy merchants house converted to a fort , opened only for us by the guards, the private photoshoot that we had courtesy my talented nephew, baby parrots hidden in the ventilation slots, an Indian Roller Coracias Benghalensis bright blue bird brightened our day. I even picked desert jujubes by the roadside
Visiting Friends always refreshes the soul. The delightful spread that Ekta and Dinesh had for us....children and me competed to watch movies for a larger than life telly experience..... the drive to the Fujairah beach in their Merc to the cleanest beach I had been to with the most beautiful shells and cowries...peppered with old times memories by Mily, lots of fun facts by Dinesh about UAE.....nice to see our friends nestled in so beautifully. Warmed our souls just like cool wintery mid afternoon desert breeze.
A detour through Ras Al Khaimah by our enthusiastic Pakistani driver had us completely sloshed and road sick.But for the sake of showing off and this blog we had seen 5 of the 7 Emirates in 48 hours. Sundown golden hour pics by the desert was a saving grace for the photo crazy me.
We wrapped up our short stay with the mall visit.....which btw was the least significant part of my UAE vacation....So much for my pre formed opinion...
My sister's family being there added to all the fun. Her cozy apartment which housed everything so ergonomically and her large heart she always had for her little baby sister...My brother in law , the ever gracious host, my nephew who lets me live youth again...the lovely take outs they ordered for us so thoughtfully.(so many varieties of food are available and take out culture so prevelant amongst the expats)...... the school that she is the Principal of.......felt so proud of her contribution, to the Emirates .....from one Chandran to another.... Cheers
so UAE till then lots of love from here to there......keep the goodies flowing
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