Our trip to Al Ain was our first venture inland to the mountains. It's was originally created around an oasis that seeped out from the base of the mountains. I wanted at least a feel of a remote oasis: date palms around a pool of water in the middle of the sand swept desert. A bit naive on my part. Al Ain has grown into a metropolis in which we got lost, having no local map to navigate by.

Oh, and by the way, let me tell you about the street names here in the U.A.E. All streets are named after important people here. Unfortunately, the more important one is, the longer one's name. It is hard to spit out to a cab driver," Please take me to Sheikh Zayed The First Street" between King Khalid Bin Abdel Aziz Saeed Street and Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street." There are no street addresses so one has to use landmarks and verbal directions. Mail is always sent to post office boxes. Because of this quandary, there has begun a numbering of roads but not all maps have all these numbers and some roads have nicknames which may or may not be known by all. One section of Hamdan Bin Mohamed Street is nicknamed "Electra Street" but I think only the British expats know this moniker. Most of the minor roads into the neighborhoods and back streets are not named at all. I guess no one of any importance wanted to adopt these poor nameless orphans. One person gave me directions to her house by saying, "Go past 26th on Zayed and when you get to 'The One and Only' store (yes, they have a store by that name), turn right at the dumpster and go down that (nameless) street and make another right (nameless again) and my villa is on the left." There are no houses here, only 'villas' - they're actually glorified houses with high privacy walls, as well as pricey leases, and small, if any, gardens.

So, where was I?. . . oh yes, Al Ain, which also had this same interesting arrangement of byways. We found the bustling city center, animal souks, and the walled-in oasis which had quiet walking paths through it. We were especially entertained by the goat market. I never realized the variety in that species and so cute. It was a shame some of the chosen few were going to end up on a spit for the Eid Celebration the next day or the following day depending on the siting of the new moon. Leaving the crowded, noisy marketplace we entered the solitude of the oasis. There was a maze of walled paths through it - so many that we were concerned about getting lost. Upon hearing a religious chant, turning the corner, we came upon a jovial old man reciting from the Koran sitting by an one-room ancient mosque. He greeted us with great joy and insisted upon showing us his date orchard with a onrush of Arabic and hand signals. He ushered Bob ahead and held my hand - with a little too much gusto. I came to an understanding why he had Bob walk ahead. We graciously escaped as soon as possible right after having to consume some soggy dates.
After our flight from the oasis, we headed up the mountainside of Jebel Hafeet, a winding turn-pin road rising 1,180 meters in a few ear popping kilometers. We had sprung for the pricey 5-star Mercure Grand Hotel that sits at the top with spectacular views down on Al Ain and into Oman. It was a gorgeous place in the middle of nowhere with a swimming pool complete with a swim-up bar and a mini SplashTown-like slide, tennis courts, putt-putt golf and an abundance of boiugonvia and other tropicals starkly contrasting barren mountainsides. It was here, that Bob and I first tried the hooka pipe - although, like Clinton, we didn't inhale.

And now a word from my sponsor: Bob.
If he insists on coming onto my blog too much I'll insist he get his own. There is a point of interest for you golfers about Sand Golf . . .

BOB’S LOG, October 6 2006

The biggest frustration so far comes from the office. The office internet is so lousy. It currently takes me about 45 minutes to login and an additional 45 minutes to get into Lotus Notes to read my mail. Spell check is a 5 minute exercise. I can't logon during regular working hours because I don't have a computer and can't borrow one unless it is after hours (no one advised me to bring a laptop). So, It is very difficult for me to email correspond right now at the office. Consequently, I have just now decided I am not going to login very often until we move into our new offices and get an new, infinitely faster network (supposedly this next week).

Cherrie and I found an apartment. We looked at villas and apartments. The average villa is huge (as well as apartments in our allowance range). The last one we looked at had 6.5 baths and I did not count the bedrooms but the whole place was probably 4-5000 sq ft.; it had maid and chauffeurs quarters. It was cool, and if we were younger it would have been an impressive place to live and have some great parties. The place we are drawing up a contract for now, however, was the smallest place and certainly the most expensive per sq.ft. of everything we saw. It is an apartment tower that is a part of a Hilton Hotel. What we like about it is that it has a view to die for of the Cornishe (shore). Also you get almost all the amenities of the hotel (one exception, they don't house keep our apartment), that is what Cherrie really likes. All the other places we would have been swimming in room with our meager house furniture but in this place Cherrie is making a scaled house plan on graph paper to make sure it will all fit (3br, 3.5 bath about 2200-2400 sq. ft.). Because of the design, even though it is as big as our last house, it seems to have less useable space; one long hall way, a big entry room and maids quarters.

English is spoken by most of the inhabitants. The only problem is to understand and be understood what is spoken in the name of English since English is commonly a second or third language; we all have different accents, some thicker than others.

It is as hot as we were told and the heat is cooled way down from the summer temperatures. The golden months are coming up where it will be mild enough to walk around outside without wilting. Right now life is not normal because it is Ramadan and no eating or drinking from sun up to sun down. Translated, that means that restaurants are closed during the day and most of the shops as well. As westerners we are not expected to fast but we are to respect the practice which means we are not to do either in public, no water bottles in public or a coke in your hand etc. I see this as an opportunity, however, because the modified office working hours are 8AM-2PM; that leaves time for 18 holes in the afternoon, That can't be all bad. I played a great course, it will probably be the one I join. It is as nicely kept as any in Houston. They play a European tour event there in January. I can't wait to play one of the sand courses (no grass), there are two in the area. You carry a piece of astro turf and place your ball on it every shot, that is what I saw on TV before I left.

BOB’S LOG, October 12, 2006

I played a sand course yesterday. Before we teed off one of the golf course staff asked us if we had played a sand course before. When we answered in the negative, he answered, "you will have a hard time today". We both looked at him with the knowledge that he knew what he was talking about but we would have to learn his true meaning in our own separate ways. He was certainly right for the first nine. If you hit the fairway (marked by green stakes) you get to use a piece of astroturf to perch your ball on for the next shot. If you are in the rough (desert), no such luck. My main problem was around the brown (green if you are on a grass course; the browns are specially constructed with oiled sand, have a mild petroleum odor, and on this course raised 2-4 ft on average). Chipping was like a sand trap shot and I never got the hang of the speed of the browns. They were faster than they looked and I always ran my ball well by the cup especially on the putts. But I learned things not to do, like chip (I putted all close shots even up the steep sides of the browns). As a result, on the backside my score was 7 better than on the front and I finished one under boggy, that was my goal, not to shoot in the 90s! You can't use golf shoes, that will hurt the browns, they take soft spikes to a new level, not here! Also, there are a lot of different implements that you would not normally associate with golf, a broom, rake and trawl supplied at the appropriate places around the course and requiring mandatory use. I would love to play again but my shoes took a beating, they still smell like the oiled sand and they are very dusty. I think I will need to buy some cheep flat soled shoes before playing again. I am not sure how to cure the ones injured in battle. We plan on driving to Dubai tomorrow for our weekend. I have been told one third of the worlds high-rise building cranes are currently in use there. Will tell you about it later.

BOB’S LOG, October 17, 2006

Our Houston house is sold. The Houston Hearthstone part of our lives is for now suspended and we are moving on. Our new apartment is almost ready for moving in. It is a tower in a Hilton Hotel. They don't make up the rooms every day (room service) but it has all the amenities of a hotel with the workout room, pool, and restaurant etc. Cherrie is inspecting it tomorrow after final repairs and then we need to order rental furniture for our interim living until out shipment arrives. The view is fantastic, it is on the 16th floor and faces toward the shoreline (Cornishe) and water.

We drove to Dubai this last weekend and spent the night. The city is everything I had heard of, new, very modern, money everywhere. It seems the architects are in some kind of competition to build the most provocative high-rise architecture imagination and money can buy. The first afternoon we walked around the old section of town near the souks (bazaars). It was still Ramadan and we shouldn't be seen consuming food or liquid in public; we wilted right away in face of the heat and we had no water, well, just a little that we were sneaking sips from Cherries purse. Our answer was to take a boat ride up Dubai Creek and get out in the breeze. Not much help there since the breeze was hot and humid. But, there was shade under a canopy and the boat owner stopped and bought ice cream and water saving the day. We must have paid too much for the boat because he did not even ask refreshment money at journeys end. That night instead of eating in the open air restaurants (we were still dying from the heat), we went to the Mall of the Emirates, the one that has the ski slope inside. The ski slope was larger/longer than I imagined one could build in a mall. But there was snow, people inside were wearing winter gear, and the restaurants that were facing the slopes had names like Kittsbuel or Vale and had fires inside for the right atmosphere. It was the most upscale mall I have seen, it is a lot nicer than the Houston Galleria; hard to believe. We drove by the Burj Al Arab Hotel the following day, the one that has a profile like a sailing ship. It is over 300m high, higher than the Eiffel tower and the tallest hotel in the world. You stand on the shore side (It is on its own island) and you can tell it is tall but you would never know how tall because it is hard to see all of it since the view and access is restricted. You can go into the hotel only if you : 1) stay in the hotel, 2) book a meal in one of the restaurants, 3) guest of a paying customer; I only anticipate qualifying for one of those in the future. After we returned, Cherrie said she took a day to recover from the hot day in Dubai. In one of my earlier notes home I complained about the Abu Dhabi heat and my sister, Beth, asked if the heat is like central Florida. The answer is an unequivocal no. The official winter temperatures from the summary I saw are 70-90f, we definitely aren't in winter yet by that measure since I doubt it has dipped below 90 even at night. The summer temperatures from this same guide are 100-118 f and 90% humidity. Apparently that is the season for leaving town and taking an extended vacation.

BOB’S LOG, November 5, 2006

We are in our apartment, with rented furniture; our home shipment is due to arrive late November-January. Our last night in the Sheraton hotel was 10/31. It took us a whole evening to move out. After the first load Cherrie stayed in our apartment to put things away as we brought in new wrinkled stuff. I went back to get the last load and check for any stray bling in drawers etc. After finishing the last load and was in our new apartment, I remembered the ice-cream in the hotel freezer. Yep, went back for that. Then I went out for our dinner since it was late evening by now and, I was in need of a cocktail. After returning, Cherrie asks where I put her cosmetic case that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Went back for that too. Yesterday Cherrie asked about the calculator that was in the drawer of the entertainment cabinet. I didn't know that the entertainment cabinet had a drawer; the statute of limitations has arrived and no more return trips.

We are about to get a phone and an internet connection for the apartment. This will be a big deal for Cherrie since we are paying about $22/day through the Hilton hotel for our internet connection. I will go to Etisalat (the government monopoly for all telecommunications) this afternoon and turn in the documentation they require and fill out other paper work. For our afternoon trip I need: passport photos, non-objection letter from Exxon, copy of residency visa from my passport (just got it after two months of waiting), my passport, photo copy of the Exxon Al Khalij presidents passport (that is a real mystery why they need his passport), copy of the professional license agreement for Exxon to do business in Abu Dhabi, our apartment contract and, I would not have a clue what to do at Etisalat without our relocation agent who will be holding my hand and guiding me through the maze process. Tomorrow I have to get my drivers license and I will need many of the listed documents above, plus, we have been warned it is about a 3 hour multi-line/bureaucratic-desk process. Right now I am waiting on a translation of my Texas Drivers License and when I get that, I will have all the documents I need for the trip. We can't buy a car until I get a UAE license. And we can’t buy liquor here yet until I get my alcohol license. That too requires a letter from ExxonMobil but this time in addition to the no-objection letter, since there is a restriction to the amount of alcohol one can buy monthly, Exxon must supply that estimate (10% of my monthly salary). That is rather a mute point since 10% of my salary exceeds the monthly cap on purchases.

Robert E Bierley
Exxon (Al Khalij Inc.) Abu Dhabi, UAE
Office: (9712) 6335113
Fax: (9712) 6338996

Ramadan is finally over. Bob and I had been earnestly watching for the new moon to appear at sundown, signaling the new month. I'm sure it's tough being Islamic and not being able to eat or drink during daylight hours. Most restaurants complied by not being opened during the appointed time. The only thing worst than NOT having a Starbucks down the street is having a Starbucks down the street that isn't open until the sun sets.
We should move into our apt. by the end of the month. We'll be living in the Hilton Baynuna Tower on the 16th floor with a mesmerizing view of the Persian Gulf or what the Arabs like to call the Arabian Sea (much more romantic). Our apartment is the same size as our Houston house but it seems much smaller to me. I hope I can get all the furniture I shipped over into it.
Bob and I drove to Dubai last week-end (that's Friday & Saturday here; Sundays a work day) and saw a surrealistic city. It appeared to be a futuristic Hollywoodesc idea of a completely different planet. Huge, TALL skyscrapers with a crane on top of each one, all emanating out of a desert like some strange monster; each new building trying to outdo the next in unusual architecture and height. There is construction going on for the tallest building in the world here and the actual height is top secret - the Sheik, apparently, does not want to be outdone. With all the new building going on there seems to be a permanent dust bowl lingering overhead only relived by the breezes coming from the Arabian Sea and blowing the brown inland.
To escape the dust and heat we went to the gargantuan Emirates Mall in Dubai where, on one end of it, there is a huge indoor ski slope with everything from the bunny slopes to the black (difficult) slopes, to a kiddy sledding area, and a real loge run. . .Oh, and of course a ski lift. So while it might be 105 degrees outside it's a freezing 30 degrees inside. All the haute fashion names had their stores here. Basically it made the Houston Galleria look like K-mart. They've got money to burn here.
We also caught a glimpse of the 7-star (I didn't know they gave out that many stars) Burj Al Arab Hotel. That's the one that's shaped like a sail and situated on it's own little man-made island just off the mainland. Rooms are only $1500 a night. Like I said they've got money to burn here. It was a bit over our budget so we stayed in the 3-star, St. George Hotel, built just after the British occupation, - large rooms, worn carpets but a great view of Dubai Creek and right next to the old souk and gold souk. (souk=open air market area) After 2-3 hours exploring the souks and getting great offers for Rolex watches, we realized we were becoming quite dehydrated from not being able to drink water in public with temperature in the 90's. I don't know how the Muslims do it. We, of course did the tourist thing, and hired a private dhow to take us along the creek and while we sat snuck drinks from our bottled water.
The desert oasis of Al Ain coming up next.

I got caught yesterday lugging my bags of grocery back the hotel when the call to prayer rang out from the minarets. I’ve heard they used to have a guy up there chanting but now they just have speakers wired at the top. Somehow it loses mystique going from solitary male chanter to techno but I guess it gains somewhat in volume. You can hear it all over the city. I find it rather melodious and enchanting. Anyway, as I was walking by the Mosque I saw all sorts of men coming out of buildings responding to the call to prayer. It occurred to me, “where were all the women?” Is this an invitation only event and women (or kids) are not invited or were they just too busy cooking for the soon to be Iftar (the evening meal that breaks the day long fast of Ramadan?) Do women have to pray in solitude – what’s the deal? I'll get back with you when I find out.
By the way, even from a distance it is easy to tell the difference between a male and female. Males wear long white robes and females long black robes (abayas) – kind of black and white culture. I read in the local paper that the Islamic religion doesn’t require a full face covering just a scarf (shayla) covering a women’s hair. The Quran stated only Prophet Mohammed’s wives had to have their faces covered. So it’s an optional only deal here. About 20-30% of UAE national women choose to cover their faces in addition to wearing the black abaya. Traditionally, the gold colored burkha mask which covers the cheekbones, nose and brow was the favored form of face covering but the younger crowd is favoring the full black veil. It’s a kind of shear black face covering – one way viewing only. Personally, I’d go for the full black veil too. You can stare where you want to and nobody will know, plus you don’t have to bother with eye make-up. Bad hair day? - nobody will know.

It's day 3 in Abu Dhabi with Ramadan in full swing. So what does this mean? If you're Muslim then nothing must pass your lips from before sun up and Iftar (after sun down). If you're an expat then you can't do that in public. That means no restaurants are open until late - 7pm-ish. A lot of shops are open from 6pm. until 3am - grocery seems to be excluded. I'm glad our luxurious hotel suite has a kitchenette included and, oh, we can eat in the hotel restaurant. Which reminds me of our first phopah. Bob and I had brunch the first morning and were curtly reprimanded when the curtain by our table that I had opened was quickly closed by the head waiter. He quietly said, “It’s Ramadan, no windows open.” like we should have known better than expose our disrespectful behavior on the busy street below. Apparently us foreigners are allowed to eat but must do so in abject secrecy.
Bob's workday is from 8am to 2:30 but only during Ramadan. Back to regular hours after the next new moon. He's happy as a lark about the early dismissal and that the golf courses aren't closed for the big "R".