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A Little Dose of Holland in Dubai
We bought a bag of tulip bulbs from the flower market in Amsterdam while we were there in August. The man told us to stash them in the fridge for two months in order to convince the bulbs that it was winter in Dubai. Then, when we took them out, they'd "wake up" in the UAE heat.
At the end of October, we planted them in little troughs that we bought at the Garden Center.
Then we watched. And watched. And watched.
I worried that the "winter in Dubai" refrigerator technique hadn't worked. Nothing was happening.
Until this week, when things started happening!
Two tall shoots, and three little tiny ones just poking out from the soil, and hopefully the other five will start to emerge too. (You can see a little tiny one on the right side of this planter photo below.) Come on tulips!
Dubai Creek Scenes
One of my favourite areas in Dubai is the creek, where little abras take you from one side to the other, and there are old souks to explore. The call to prayer echoes across the water as dhows, heavy with cargo, sit along the docks.
Some of our photos from a Saturday mission to the gold souk.
Friday Markets
We hve driven by the Friday markets on previous trips to the East Coast, and I love seeing the colourful wares for sale. Plants, fruits and bouquets of inflated pool toys. Our tour was the first time that I'd had a chance to stop and wander the booths.
First we stopped in Masafi at a cluster of markets that had everthing from housewares to the ubiquitous pool toys. These weren't the same ones that we had previously seen, but I figured those were probably well out of the way. But then our driver apparently spoke to some shopkeepers who informed him that this was the junior varsity Friday Markets and he wanted to take us to the Major Leagues.
Some excellent sights at the Masafi markets, including a well-decorated car ready for National Day.
The household store
Dad and James
Toy store
Al Shabab Recording
And then the Varsity Friday Markets, where fruit and vegetable stalls stood one after another, like mirror images reflected upon themselves into infinity, including the green-shirted clerks.
Roasted corn on the cob
Zucchini vendor
Me and Mom buying our zucchini
10 Miles in the Desert
A taxi pick-up at 5:40am meant that I was out at Mushrif Park by about 6:10 to pick-up my race number for the morning's 10 mile running event. Three laps of a bike path in the park, through desert terrain with some nice little hills and a gorgeous plateau at one point, with the skyline of Dubai in the distance. The proximity to the airport meant that we were right under the flight path, with Emirates jumbo jets soaring overhead. In other places, flocks of birds came to rest in tree branches and a lone predator bird sat atop a branch, surveying the creatures in the dry shrubs below. A slight haze of cloud all morning meant that we were never too hot, and the slight breeze kept it at a perfect running temperature
The run had promised donuts at the finish line, and sure enough, there they were. But I was experiencing such a rush from completing the 10 miles with a strong time, and also from spotting James within about a 100 metres of the finish line, that I didn't need a donut snack. Instead, I enjoyed the camel-shaped medal that they gave the finishers, the feeling of changing into a clean tshirt and sandals, and the drive home as the clouds cleared from the sky. Sitting at the breakfast table back home by around 10:30, enjoying eggs and toast, and the nice soreness from 10 miles first thing on a nice morning.
