Short trip to Dubai

Seems like I have to travel to Dubai every now and then. I will skip the work part as this is boring as shit for most people anyway. Actually it was quite informative trip workwise, but again, that's not interessting for people here.

I have never seen those cactus actually blooming, unfortunate their flowering only last likes 24h in Dubai heat. It was just extreme... For the BBQ in the evening I was spending 20 minutes at the BBQ itself for the excellent prime Australian beef from "Prime Gourmet" right off Sheik-Zayed-Rd... Excellent beef, best I ever had. Anyway, after the dinner I had to go for the swimming pool again. I was soaked like after an hour-long workout.

Else I have visited the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project, a sanctuary for injured turtles or week hatched turtle babies. The pools are outdoors behind the Jumeirah Mina A'Salam Hotel and open to the public. They have feedings every Wednesday. At the moment the pools are almost empty as it is too hot for most of the turtles, only a few though species are outside. The other ones were moved to the chilled in-door pools which are not public.

Somehow we got ourself into the private part of the hotel and were able to roam amongst the typical Dubai brunch tables. We later found a way to the private hotel beach of the Mina A'Salama and took a golf cart taxi to the other end of the Jumeirah beach...

...where the famous Burj Al Arab Jumeirah and ...

...the Jumeirah Beach hotel are located.

I still don't get why people think that the Burj Al-Arab is the best, it looks so boring from the inside and outside. The much better choice is the Jumeirah Al Qasr Hotel.

 

Giza & Sakkara Pyramids

The day started early with some nice breakfast rolls at the BCA and a Sakara beer to get us into the right "mood" for the nasty trip in the hot mini bus.

With our professional guide it was a complete different experience. We learned a lot again about the history of the pyramids. Because it was the first day of Eid Adha festival in Egypt, a lot of locals were also at the pyramids which meant that we didn't get buggered that much compared to my last visit. It was scorching hot although we already left at 9am in the morning to visit the site.

I decided to see the chamber inside the great Pyramid... What a disappointment! It was a dark humid room with a noisy fan screaming in the corner. No relicts inside, just a very exhausting long climb inside the pyramid into the chamber.

Nice panorama.

Good old Sphinx, still there... Silently guarding the Giza plateau

That's the guide at the Sakkara site with us. Actually here you can see way cooler and more original things because there are virtually no tourists, it's an active excavation site and with the right guides...

...you are allowed to go "behind the scene" and see some stuff which is locked away.

The ride in the minibus was quite tough. Luckily there were cold drinks.

Group photo!

Behind the scenes airport tour

Well, how often do you get the chance to visit a brand-new airport terminal before it's official opening? With an access-all-areas pass and all the professional information?

We had such an opportunity last weekend thanks to a friend who is working on this construction project. We spent a good three hours there and went through the complete airport. It's going to be marvelous new terminal although i don#t really see the necessity of this huge capacity here in Cairo for the coming years... But okay... More space for me then starting from October when it is supposed to open!

Some parts are already finished and working, others are still a mess. No restaurants, no lounges but plenty of seating and checkin desks which are already working.

We also saw the luggage system and handling as well as server rooms, utilities, loading areas, control rooms, airline offices... and we were on the roof of the building. All in all a nice afternoon.

Echte Palmen draußen...

... und unechten Palmen im Checkin Bereich

Ausreise Passkontrolle

Gepäckanlage

bDay 2016

Yeah,
the last weekend I got a year older again. This year I had the chance to celebrate this day in Cairo with my gang. It was a great evening. Too bad there are not too many pictures.

First we were out for drinks and food, later we went to a bar/lounge just across the road.

The pictures is absolutely okay. There is no problem with the focus on this picture. It's just the people who were out of focus and so shaky. :-D Thanks Chris for this inspiration!

post-Ramadan re-stocking

As you all probably know, Ramadan is over and it is time again to stock up. Especially on alcoholic beverages as it was not possible to buy them during the past month. I always though I had enough stocks to last me through the "dry" time, but I was completely forgetting about the Euro2016 tournament. During those social events in the evening we usually had one or two liters per person and my stocks diminished quickly.

Soon we were forced to have alternatives like Jack Daniels Cola or Gin Tonic. But drinking those in the same amount just gives you headache. And soon we also run in a problem that there was no cheap Whiskey for mixing available any more (those stocks also ran dry) or that there was no tonic water left. Even the stores couldn't supply us with this basic. During Ramadan everything is getting in low supply I guess...

So we ended up having Gin on the rocks... Not nice... But now Ramadan and Eid is over and I can stock up again. So I gave my favorite store a call and he delivered me with all the needs. He even now has Mexican Desperados on stock. What a treat! I will also have a go on the "Sakara Weizen" although I won't expect too much... I will let you know!

End of Ramadan - Eid

Traditionally families get together at the end of Ramadan for the Eid-festival. Well as my family is mostly in Dubai I decided to visit them for the long weekend.

Besides the usual stuff you can do in Dubai over a long weekend (yes, that includes shopping and strolling through the malls), we also went for some other activities. We went all the way up onto Jebel Jais (which means Jais Mountain), the highest peak in UAE and next to the city of Ras Al Kaihmah. The biggest challenge actually is getting to the foot of the mountain. The easy part is the ascend as it is a nice paved road with two lanes up. It's more adventurous driving all the way from Dubai to Ras Al Kaihmah actually because Google Maps and old school paper maps fail as the roads constantly change. Just the good old road signs and a sense of direction is helping you there.

When we reached the top, there were a lot of people. You can expect this on a weekend. The view was breathtaking even though it was a bit overcast and foggy/sandy. There was something in the air... Maybe smoke from all the small BBQs our friends from the subcontinent... It was not a pleasant sight on the parking lot tough... Too many men, too much rubbish...

I think that's a shear 1000m drop. I was surprised you could approach within feets... On our way back home we turned into one on the many Wadis (valleys) to drive on something other than bitumen. Our 4WD crawled through the stony valley until we decided it was enough (certain people in the car were complaining we are risking too much...).

Anyway, the Wadi was also very nice and we were completely alone. Only a single camera lense was always pointing on us from what seems to be a remotely operated CCTV station. Whether it is installed to track flash flooding or illegal border crossers coming from Oman through the Wadi... No idea, but I am sure we were watched.

And yes, if there would have been a flash flooding it would have been very tricky to get out there in time. But as we saw there was no storm in the area from the peak we decided we can drive in the Wadi. If you guys remember my post from a few month ago where we got surprised by huge flash flooding in the mountains on our way back from Oman, you will understand.

Besides chilling in the swimming pool and drinking stuff, we also went to the "Bab Al Shams Desert Spa and Resort" for our "usual" sun-downer drink. Yes, I say usual as we go there every time... ANd it is beautiful again every single time.

A shame that place is so expensive, but guests are always welcome to take a drink or dine in one of the restaurants. Next time I have to find out how much the "day pass" is just to stay there for the pools... But then again we have our own pool in Dubai which also so cool... No need to spend money for swimming I guess...

After the drinks we went into the Indian restaurant there called Masala. I was amazed and I will go there again. Next time I will skip on all the peanuts during the drink and have much more room for this delicious Indian food. The plates were so huge that the table next to us was already full after appetizers and they had to cancel the actual currys...

On Saturday I was then again on my way back to Cairo. I had a return ticket Cairo - Abu Dhabi this time as Dubai was insane expensive for Eid. AUH was only half of what DXB would have been. So because of the Eid travel period it was advised to be at the airport 3h in advance. Well, you know me, so I followed this advise and ended up with waiting three hours at the gate... Well better waiting at the gate than missing the flight.

When we approached CAI the EgyptAir machine did a nice 270 degrees turn over Cairo so I was able to snap those pictures. I think it's the first time it was so clear during an approach for me.

In the upper picture you can see Maadi, my favorite part of Cairo, in the upper right corner. The part where more green than brown is. The rest is, well, Cairo. What did you expect?

So long! Back to office.

Aida (2)

I found a picture of part of our crowd going there.

Aida

This weekend I was going to the Opera house in Cairo. We were watching Verdi's Aida. I have seen it before in the magnificent Minack Theater as a theater play.

I met up with some friends and we had some drinks before we went to the Opera itself as the Oepra is a state-run place and that means you can only get softdrinks and coffee. An Opera needs some decent drinks. Especially if it's an 4 hour Opera. Some classy cocktails would have been nice. Next time I will have to smuggle in some stuff...

The Opera house is actually quite decent and the crowd was mixed with locals, Expats and tourists alike. 

If there is one thing in abundance in Egypt, it's people. And they made sure you are reminded of this fact in every scene. I have never seen so many people on a stage... Then we had Aida who was clearly not the young princess so vibrant of beauty. She had troubles getting up from the floor and looked much older than here father, king of the Ethopians Amonasro. Also the kings captain, Radames, who is struggeling between Aida and the kings daughter Amneris, somehow was a funny choice. He was Korean and one head shorter than the women.

Priests in the background were looking also very Asian. 

But all in all it was a real nice Opera. We went for some urgently needed drinks afterwards.

Hi there guys,

just wanna say that I am still living and kicking. Weather is getting kinda warm now, I am preparing my rooftop for this summer. I'll get a proper BBQ this time and will make sure nothing get's stolen again this time... RIP mini-pool :-(

On my way back from work this week I came across this Tuktuk... I wonder how he can see the traffic in front of him... Crazy stuff happening I guess...

Some funny news from Egypt

Not all is lost. The humor is still there... :-)

Dubai und Oman

I have been busy last week with a trip to Dubai and Oman, 100% work related so there are no nice tourist pictures to show. Office and factory all day, all week. I had to cut my weekend in Dubai short as I had some other nice stuff going on in Maadi/Cairo which I didn't want to miss (next post).

Dubai Garden Center is always worth a visit for me as I can somehow enjoy all the nice stuff you could buy there but then I am always reminded that there is no way I can bring this stuff back home... Ever tried to fit some railway sleepers in your carry-on? :-)

And for 75€, it is actually one of the cheaper long-time souvenirs you can get... Just joking... :-) Wish I had a garden here in Cairo to put all the nice stuff you can buy in the Dubai Garden Center... We also went exploring in the industrial or more commercial areas of Dubai and have found a lot more garden centers and even the new Dubai Pet Market. The official mall-like experience where you can buy all your pet and the needs.... I was hoping to see some pet-lioness, monkeys or other crazy stuff. But they only have this normal animals plus a few weird ones like small emus. Anyway... I guess the authorities are not so cool about those pet lions... After all you read in the newspaper...

They also had a lot of birds... And with a lot I mean a crap-load... Sizes ranged from hummingbird-size to those big parrrots... Everything...

I am not going to bore you with my work stuff, but I will show you some pictures from my trip to Oman. Omani Indian Ocean shore line is not so thrilling, mostly just brownish black rocky beach front.

The hotel, Sohar Beach Hotel, was really nice. But as usual with business trips you don't have the time to enjoy the pool and all the nice facilities... There was enough time for a few beers in the night at their various bars... yes... But there is always time for a beer ;-)

But you can't have too much, with 8€ a beer (3.500 OMR) they don#t come cheap. But that's the same in UAE as well. The alcoholic drinks are sometime more expsensive than the food if you dine out.
Interessting side fact, the OMR (Omani Rial) is divide into 1000 baisas. So 100 baisas is only 0.1 rial. A bit confusing in the beginning.

Sunrise comes in nice at this hotel. Morning prayer in this mosque is probably mucher nicer than in a cramped Cairo one.

Somewhere in this direction is India. Crazy stuff actually. Talking about crazy stuff... The most amazing thing happened on my way back through the mountains to UAE. We hit a thunder storm with hail so bad my Omani driver was to afraid to go on. And also I would have parked the car and waited. After it calmed down a bit all the roads were flooeded and the motorway was unpassable for quite a time.

Only the though guys in there 4x4 went on... We were sitting in a Toyota Yaris.. So wrong model I guess... With my old Pajero from Australia this would have been interessting... But those times are passed... *sigh*... the memories...

Eventually the wadi (usually dry river bed) transformed from a raging torrent into a normal stream through which any car could ford...

So we continued our journey and passed through some other area which was battered by the hail... Somehow someone decided that all the hail should accumulate here... Maybe God was particular angry about this few square meters of land and dumped a huge load there... Whatever the reasons are, the locals enjoyed it.

He was my driver by the way. But not the local folks enjoyed it, I was equally surprised. Maybe that's as much snow/ice I can get this year....

My trip to Dubai/Oman concluded in the early morning EK927 and a puzzled stewardess serving wine to my breakfast. I love Emirates :-D