UAE by the Sea

So we took a few days to travel up to Dibba close to Fujairah on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It was amazing to see the difference in landscape as we drove through beautiful mountains. It turns out the whole of the UAE is not boring sand dunes!

The place that we were staying at was really well kept and the location was fabulous. Right on the beach with a view of the Dibba Marine Reserve - a massive rock sticking out of the sea with coral reefs all around it - for the price we paid it was an absolute gem!

It took us a while to get into the idea of being at a hotel during Ramadan. We were hesitant to order anything consumable but it turns out they were happy to provide it. This was a dry hotel and the 'Hole in the Wall' (bottle store) was closed for Ramadan so we had an alcohol-free time which is actually fine with me. I think Jaco would have appreciated a beer or two but we managed to survive! At sundown the Muslim staff were given what looked like a large Iftar feast at the beach.

We went on a boat ride out to the Dibba Marine Reserve where we did some snorkeling around the reefs while JJ sat on the boat and sulked about the fact that he was sitting on the boat. He refused to get in the water with us so we had to go one at a time. That kind of thing is no fun for me on my own so I spent all of five minutes out but I did manage to spot Dory and some other large fish with yellow, grey and black markings. We spotted 3 sea turtles from the dock and from the boat which was a treat. Its amazing what you can find when you step out of your routine and go looking for a bit of adventure.

We seemed to be the only people staying at the hotel which really is a shame as it is a lovely place. The chef, waitresses and maitre d were there just for us which was great but a bit weird. During the day there were other people on the beach which we assume are tour groups that come to the beach and pool for the day. I don't know if living in the UAE has increased my modesty radar or if I'm just a bit backward coming from South Africa, but there was a horrid display on the beach that can only be described as mildly pornographic. Two Russian um...ladies...in g string bikini's where having a photo shoot in the surf, by the pool and in the baby pool (gross!). Now while I don't have an issue if a girl has it and wants to flaunt it, I do believe there is a time and a place for that sort of thing, and on a beach with perfect strangers and young impressionable girls in the middle of Ramadan is perhaps not that time and place. That's all I'm saying. When Jaco and I later saw one of those young girls of about 6 or 7 years of age striking the exact evocative poses that the other two...um...ladies had struck, my point about corruption of impressionable young minds was proven. There is something to be said for a bit of modesty when in view of the young (and those partaking in Ramadan). *Gets off soapbox*.

After leaving the resort we stopped at the Friday Market (open everyday) where I tried to buy some fruit and vegetables. The quality of the wares was excellent so I chose a few things (and by a few I mean 4 sweet potatoes, 4 mangoes, 4 pomegranates, 6 nectarines, 1 bottle local honey, 1 bottle date syrup, 1 bottle lemon juice). When we asked the gentleman for a total price he came back with an amount equivalent to R600! Apparently the bottle of honey alone was R300. We are not stupid rich tourists though so we refused to pay that ridiculous amount. So he brought the price down R10...gee thanks! At this point they had already put the goods in the car so I had to go and remove the offending honey and the delicious date syrup so we could afford the few items we had left. If it wasn't such delicious-looking fruit I would have passed on the lot. We moved onto the carpet stalls from there where my eye was caught by a stunning rug (pictured left) that I had to have...but not for the price they had in mind! We managed to talk them down R400 which we were well pleased with as neither of us really likes to negotiate. So off we drove with 18 carrot (spelling intended) fruit, a new rug and 8 new flies to take home. It was a successful market day and a perfect trip!