Today already at 8am it was 38 C. Who knows how high it will get?!?!

No photos of the port or will have cameras confiscated. 

Fujairah means agriculture….. only place in UAE there is agriculture. 

Different climate…. 120 mm rain per year…. because of Hagar MTS to rear of the city. Crops are tomatoes squash onion cucumber carrots. 

Fujairah Fort from 15th century

Lots mountains so industry of rock crushing and cement …… used in construction in Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

Largest oil bunkering port after Singapore….. 2.7 m barrels/ day…. 362 km pipelines. Bring oil from Abu Dhabi to Arabian Sea…. so help Fujairah. OMG you have no idea how huge this tank farm is it goes on for miles and miles. It’s hard to say how any deep they are too. 

Local Mosque 6 minirats 

They have confessionals in mosques. 

Fujairah supplies water to other emriates 

Sharjah 3rd largest state and religious centre. 

Only 25% educated in this emirate. Used to have gambling but the local citzens gambled all their money so then it was totally banned. 

55C-140 F temp in summer so excellent for growing dates. 

65% of locals are diabetics partly from eating too much sugar …….from dates. 

Dates so says our guide, are good for sex. 

Dowery to woman’s side in UAE
Prison system is like 3 star residence. 

Sharia law (UAE) is different than Islamic law (Saudi Arabia……eg. stealing calls for hand to be cut off). 

Shia… only listen to the iman, 

Sunni…UAE no protest, educated, follow Koran. More open for women. 

Shia don’t believe in Mohammed

75000 Dirham $25,000 US for rent per year for 1 bedroom, kitchen & living room 

Muscat (sounds like moo-scat), Oman. Nov 9/17
Greeted our guide…. can’t say his name…… in totally different head gear. Speaks English but was very hard to understand. 

Surrounded by UAE, Saudi Arabia and Yemen and Omanian Sea

Temps 20-45 C. Today 33c

The present ruler has no children or brothers… all alone…. peace broker between US and Iran. 

Oh my this is a beautiful country compared to what we have seen. Drive through windy roads (Colleen and Pam.. not sure if you could take this)… along sea shore, lots of flowers along the boulevards…. rugged mountains…. beautiful!

So nice to get out on the waters see thousands of dolphins…… some flying up into the air and some spinning. Very cool! Wish we could swim with them. 

We stopped the boat to go snorkelling….. lots of little fishes….yellow and black striped, some all dark blue with bright yellow tails, some all yellow with dark fringes, etc. Some people saw cuttlefish, others turtles. I didn’t. Certainly wished I had a “go-pro”. Hopefully Richard from Van will email pictures. 

What I have seen so far is very beautiful. …. not what I was expecting. Eileen did say though that it was gorgeous. She was so right. 

28 desalination plants. There is very little rain. 

1 million barrels of oil per day. 

We will be going to see 1-2 century tombs and camel market

86% of area of UAE is Abu Dhabi……has 90% of the oil, is the commercial centre +capital, is the richest in the world. Abu Dhabi means “father of deer” because where deer are means there is water,

Dubai is only 4% area of UAE

Al Ain to where we were going, means “place of the water springs”. It is an oasis. 

Camels can survive for 6-7 days without water, two weeks no food….why they are called the ships of desert.

There is only is 354 days in Arabic calendar…11 days less than our calendar. That’s why Rammaden is different every year. 

The rope worn around the neck on the men that is like a tie contains perfume to sniff to camouflage stench of camels.

Camel rope on head translated means  “control” in Arabic. They put it around the legs of the camels when the stopped for the night or a rest or for eating is so that the camels cannot walk great distances in their search for food.  It is also worn to remember their history.

Dubai is free zone…no tax, no customs….in order to attract more ships with container goods.

64 mega ships can be docked in Dubai

Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia no tax or customs between each other.  Sheikh Rachid implemented this idea. 

We saw a “cool” building … panels opens as it gets shaded from sun and closes as the sun hits the building …..very cool!

Only son, husband, father, brother, father in law are the only men allowed to see woman without covering….others cannot.

Natives (local citizens) cannot live in apartment….only houses because apts cannot provide privacy for women.

Only 3% of population is native….rest are foreigners.

Use drip system for irrigation of trees. There is lots of greenery along the highways….also parks.

Sheikha (mother) Fatima……have separate room in her house to discuss important issues with widows.

Abu Dhabi has been ruled by Zayed since 1971.  He is revered.

1968 Abu Dhabi joined Dubai to become UAE …in ’71 they were joined by other 5 emirates

Abu Dhabi pays for poor Fujairah’s infrastructure because of their strategic location

30% of the “supreme council” is women. Women are also in the police, military, pilots, etc. 

Recycle water from washing is used to irrigate….separate from waste. 

It wasn’t until 1973 that Saudi Arabia was formed.
Hili Park Tombs….from 3 thousand years ago…..are in the process of being reconstructed. The people of this time ( the Bronze and Iron Age) believed in the afterlife……they believed that men were reborn as fetus’

White camels are from Saudi Arabia. Tall and thin camels more valuable  because they can run faster……as much as 65 km/hr. 

There is always a leader and follower in camel herds……for control.

Lots of trees along the highway planted to prevent the highways from being covered by sand.

Competition amongst Bedouin date palm growers…..first prize $300,000, 2nd is ?….. and so forth. 

Falcons are very important to the local citizens. They go to hospital once a month at $75 a visit, fir a checkup. The falcons have pedicures etc. If they are taken on flight, the owner has to pay for seat ….falcons have their own passport. Kennel stays for falcons in hospital. $75/day. 20,000- 100,000$ to buy.

Ghaf trees ….from cineria family eaten by camels….type of antibiotics for camels. They also protect the roads from sandstorms.

Date palms are started not from seed but from the growth beside the female parent trees.. the sand storm winds in March or April pollinate naturally

Al Ain is really quite lovely…..beautiful grounds, wide boulevard ….max 6 story buildings unlike Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

We stopped by a camel market. There were hundreds and hundreds ….. probably a thousand.  Camels are worth between $1500-3700 each. 

Foreigners can get license to buy alcohol but must buy it from one of only two locations in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Muslims cannot get a license to buy alcohol but are allowed to go to a licensed hotel and pay the price but they cannot drink and drive….just like at home.

The head and face coverings are not dictated by their religion but by the custom of their tribe. What makes it interesting is that in Canada, the politically correct give us the nonsense that the Muslims must have their religious freedom allowing them to  cover their faces.

Men wear white robes because they are exposed to the heat more than women whereas women go only from inside a tent or building to another tent or building so they don’t need the white robes. 

Soon the worlds tallest building to out placed by Saudis in Jeddah at 900 metres but he will not allow to be outdone so new one is in process is being built at 1000 metres in Dubai Creek.

Soon a fountain being built by same builder that built Bellagio fountain Vegas…..100 metres high.

6000 people per day at $35-150 per person charged to go to Burj Khalifa

Frankincense value has best germ killing properties.  Oman is only place grown.  Chewing it cleanses body….for asthma.  Boswellia is tree is what it comes from.

Fort Fahidi was built in 1800sby Portuguese.  It is where the Dubai Museum is today.  The rooms in the “basement” were previously cells.

We took water taxi …..not like any water taxis I have ever seen…….to spice and gold souq.  No time to shop.
Please check Facebook for photos.

I forgot to mention that we are “camped” at RW Marriot Marquis Dubai.   Very, very lovely….almost the size of some apartment/condos.  The bathroom has a huge soaker tub, walk-in shower, toilet and bidet all in separate “rooms”.l

Jeanette and I left Victoria this morning …a half hour late.  It seems the system that controls all the flight paths (I’m not sure if it was for just Air Canada or all airlines in Canada), had a malfunction……..so all flights were delayed.  I am glad that we didn’t have a later flight or maybe we would not have made our connections in Vancouver and later in Toronto.   All turned out good!  

While on the flight between Toronto and Dubai, a man fell in the washroom. Our seats were next to the toilets so when he fell, the wall he must have fallen against, slammed against our seats.  It was sometime before a doctor presented himself.  In the meantime I was thinking …..OMG I hope we don’t have to divert this plane.  As it turned out,….not too seriously….his blood pressure fell too low.

Arrived in Dubai so pooped….this leg a 12.5 hour flight.  I must say that being slightly crippled help us out.  Me with my bumb left leg that as yet hasn’t needed a replacement and Jeanette who cracked her pelvis about two months ago in a fall.  We had wheelchairs greet us in Toronto and Dubai.   Because of that we didn’t have to hike for miles, ride for miles and miles on a train and then hike for more miles to get to immigration and passport control (that they just let us through without so much as one question), hiked some more miles to baggage claim and so on and so forth.  This the way to Travel!  I’ll send pictures!  Jeanette though we maybe should have had our “facinators” on for the photo shoot!

Haven’t seen a lot cuz be arrived in the city after dark.  More tomorrow……..

Hello my friends…..this is a test to see if I can actually send my travel blog to Facebook.  Please let me know if you are able to get it.

A huge gothic style cathedral with the largest “Rose” window in Europe…..is.95sq. Metres. in Palma.

2700 windmills on island of Majorca or Mallorca…. 2000 water, 700 grain.  Flat base is for water, conical for grain 

Extremely busy airport ….3rd largest in Spain …….planes landing and leave every single minute.

Control on mountain ……controls the  airspace from North Africa to south of France.

8 kilo of olives to produce 1 litre of olive oil.

Ca’n means house of is language particular to Mallorca instead of Casa as in Spanish.  There are no apostrophes in Spanish language.

Grow almonds and grapes too.  Almonds bloom in January and February.  Crazy weather here like the rest of the world is affecting most crops and esp almonds.  Not enough water especially, like California where they were importing almonds from. Probably will affect the price.

Most towns are built on hills as in Italy and Greece but our guide mentioned that the church is on the highest point and that they are built as a fortresses for the protection to women and children in case of outside aggression.

An amusing story our guide told us after pointing out a monastery sitting high on a solo hill was that a monk or priest asked if she knew why the church built on such a high spot?  To be closer to God?  To be in peaceful place in which to pray and meditate.  Well he says……no, we haven’t been telling the truth, that is what we all say is the reasons.  But really it is because the monks have been making wines and other alcohols for years but the ruling Romans or whoever wanted to tax the product.  So by being high up, they could see for miles and miles  the armies coming in lots a time.  Before the armies got there, there was no alcohols to be found.

Callas mean coves.  We travelled to the Caves of Drach (dragon). Many caves on the island but only 5 open to public.  This is the biggest.  It has the largest underground lake  (Martel) is 177×33 metres.  It is 118 steps to the lowest point inside the caves with more steps coming up.  

This cave with all the stalactites (the ones coming down from roof) and stalagmites ( the ones coming up from the floor), is massive…spectacular, the best cave I have ever seen.  Once at the bottom, we sat down to listen to about 5-6 musicians playing chamber music……on a boat being oared around.  The acoustics of this space made it sound as if it was a full orchestra playing.  Amazing! 

Not much has changed here since I was last here.  It still has that wow factor.  Opulence abounds with the extreme yachts in the harbour, the posh cars, Mazzeratis, Porsches, Rolls, yadda, yadda, the somewhat modern buildings (compared to most areas of the Mediterranean) that climb the mountain side of this extremely small principality.   There are quite a number of cranes indicating that they are still erecting more buildings. There is so much money here that it is almost vulgar.  To enter the famous Monte Carlo Casino, first you have to have to be wearing “proper” attire, show government ID such a passport and pay the entrance fee of 10€….. Just to go in to take a look around.  Several of our couples brought tuxedos, top hats, formal gowns and facinators planning to walk in the casino, putting on the dog.  I believe I posted a picture of them waiting for the hop on hop off bus in their fabulous outfits.  Funny!  Good for them.  Most people though, wouldn’t want to or didn’t have space in their luggage to carry all that gear all the way from home.

A number of us didn’t hang around in Monte Carlo but traveled by train to Nice, France.  The closest I had ever got to Nice before was from the inside of a bus high on the hillside.  That was back in 2011.  Anyway, the train was an adventure.  One has to buy a ticket at a selfserve kiosk that only has instructions in French.  It was a struggle for sure.  Then it was down lots of stairs only climb up the same number to get to the other side of the tracks.  We get there and find out from another of our travelling 42, that we were on the wrong side to go into Nice.  So back down and up the other side.  If you know me you know I have a real hard time with stairs.

Nice, especially the Old Town which is really just older than the rest of the city.  It’s all old by our standards.  We visited the flower market that I understand is everyday., walked through the narrow pedestrian streets….immaculately clean, stopped for lunch on a plaza restaurant, took the hop on, hop off bus where we drove along the seaside street where all those people were killed by the man driving a truck during celebrations a few months back.  Part of the tour was along an area overlooking the water, much like driving along Dallas Road in Victoria.  Only here the roads are more narrow and more twisty.  We returned to Monte Carlo by bus……a charge of 2€…. Cheap!  The drive back was quite beautiful.  It is much more scenic than the train.

It was a good day……especially since the weather cooperated.

Not much has changed here since I was last here.  It still has that wow factor.  Opulence abounds with the extreme yachts in the harbour, the posh cars, Mazzeratis, Porsches, Rolls, yadda, yadda, the somewhat modern buildings (compared to most areas of the Mediterranean) that climb the mountain side of this extremely small principality.   There are quite a number of cranes indicating that they are still erecting more buildings. There is so much money here that it is almost vulgar.  To enter the famous Monte Carlo Casino, first you have to have to be wearing “proper” attire, show government ID such a passport and pay the entrance fee of 10€….. Just to go in to take a look around.  Several of our couples brought tuxedos, top hats, formal gowns and facinators planning to walk in the casino, putting on the dog.  I believe I posted a picture of them waiting for the hop on hop off bus in their fabulous outfits.  Funny!  Good for them.  Most people though, wouldn’t want to or didn’t have space in their luggage to carry all that gear all the way from home.

A number of us didn’t hang around in Monte Carlo but traveled by train to Nice, France.  The closest I had ever got to Nice before was from the inside of a bus high on the hillside.  That was back in 2011.  Anyway, the train was an adventure.  One has to buy a ticket at a selfserve kiosk that only has instructions in French.  It was a struggle for sure.  Then it was down lots of stairs only climb up the same number to get to the other side of the tracks.  We get there and find out from another of our travelling 42, that we were on the wrong side to go into Nice.  So back down and up the other side.  If you know me you know I have a real hard time with stairs.

Nice, especially the Old Town which is really just older than the rest of the city.  It’s all old by our standards.  We visited the flower market that I understand is everyday., walked through the narrow pedestrian streets….immaculately clean, stopped for lunch on a plaza restaurant, took the hop on, hop off bus where we drove along the seaside street where all those people were killed by the man driving a truck during celebrations a few months back.  Part of the tour was along an area overlooking the water, much like driving along Dallas Road in Victoria.  Only here the roads are more narrow and more twisty.  We returned to Monte Carlo by bus……a charge of 2€…. Cheap!  The drive back was quite beautiful.  It is much more scenic than the train.

It was a good day……especially since the weather cooperated.