Ahlan Dubai

I slept in the next day and missed the boys again - last night they were already sleeping and this morning they were already at school.  I am going to take it slowly today and relax and orientate myself.

Basma arrives today in the afternoon - hurray!  We have lots to catch up on - my stories from US & Canada  - and hers from Iran and Saudi ....

The four of us, Basma, her sons Khaled and Ahmed and I go out for lunch (which would be dinner for some and supper for others.....) it is about 6pm!  Take your pick!  We have a Turkish meal - very yummie.  Afterwards, Basma takes me for my first sheisha!!!  I am in heaven!!!!  A real sheisha, good service and great company - what more can I ask for??!!

Basma and her family live in JBR - Jumeirah Beach Residences, a nice and fairly new development, right next to the beach.  A street full of restaurants, cafes, shops, weekend markets and lots of people and traffic.  It's The place to be in Dubai right now - its buzzing. 

The view from my room = million Dollar view (Basma already warned me that next time I'd have to pay for the view... hi hi... or take over the maid's room and duties...)

You can see the Palm Island and Atlantis....

The back side of the JBR development...

Down towards the Corniche...

The Corniche - beach road....

I feel like I am on a holiday already!!! I can enjoy this side of Dubai - it's away from the Old Bur Dubai where we used to live....Dubai still feels empty without Hisham.... 13 years of memories!

I am thankful Basma and her family took me in for the week!

S & D

Long way back to Dubai....

Aiken, SC - Charlotte, NC - New York, JFK - Dubai, UAE

The plane is full - a few babys and kids around.... one of which does not stop crying for almost the entire flight - I did feel sorry for the mother but could have murdered the child!!! Oh well....

I slept for most of the flight (14 hours flight) and watched some movies - don't ask me what movie - I don't remember... It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but we made it back to Dubai in one piece! All I could think was: only God can help us if something happens, nothing I can do.... oh well!  and I slept....

With the time difference and the long travel - I lost one day.  I started early Friday morning and arrived in Dubai on Saturday night around 8.oo p.m.  Meaning, I've been travelling for 2 days.... am definately getting too old for this!

I had a car hire booked - this time I didn't have a fit about any fees - I was calm.  I got a nice new Mitsubishi!  I called my friend Rima - had to tell somebody that I'd arrived!  It was nice talking to her.  But for the first week I will stay with my friend Basma and her family.  She is on business in Iran, but her Rohati, her maid stayed up to greet me and look after me.  How wonderful- service!

I am very tired and happy to be able to go to bed.  Basma's boys have kindly given me their room - they are clever - they now sleep in the play room with the playstation!

I was a bit apprehensive about spending time again in Dubai.  Some friends have left Dubai over the past 2 years, others are thinking about leaving soon.  Without friends, Dubai will not be the same - and I will have nowhere to stay! We will see.....

I need to sleep!

S & D

Farewell America

I have 4 more days to relax at Michael's place in Aiken... I go for my little walks around town, find the post office and send my postcards, I actually clean the house, finally....!!!

Oh and we make it to the movies 'The Three Musketeers'  - don't bother - it's not that good....

And, we have a nice BBQ one night - all in all a very pleasant last week!

I walk for an hour to the charity shop to leave them some of my possessions I don't need anymore... good excercise (physically and emotionally)!!

 I check in online and am ready to leave early on Friday 28 November!  1 day before my US visa runs out - good timing.

Last impressions of some unique American lifestyle:

I got into watching 'extreme couponing' very very interesting! Americans are crazy people... They collect all these coupons and go shopping - a 1000$ shopping sprea would cost them maybe 45$... it is definately an art and takes these people a 35 hours week to plan and collect. It's a bit like hoarding - they buy quantities of stuff they don't need, just because it is free!  And they keep doing this.  Some shop like this and give it to charity - that I can appreciate!  I got Huda & Sarah (it's not as common in Canada as it is in the States) and also Michael into couponing ... in a very small way only... but what the heck?  why pay when you don't have to?!  We all need a lot more training in this art.....

Waiter on wheels... why get out of the car if you don't have to....

 Easy loans to be had everywhere. People even get 'payday loans' - because they can't wait for their pay cheque to clear.  Unbelievable !  (this is also common in Canada).... No wonder America is stuffed!!!

 Home sweet home...

On Friday morning, Michael drives me to Columbia at 8.30 am (about 1 hour drive) - we have breakfast at the Waffle House.  From there I am being picked up by a chauffeur driven car who will take me to Charlotte Airport (about 2 hours drive). 

I have to say farewell to Michael - but Inshallah I will see him in Germany in December - as his time in the States is also coming to an end!

My lady driver is very nice - turns out she is married to a German (how could it be any other way).  We got chatting about many things, and she commented on my Greyhound bus rides - that I would have experienced a different class of Americans - ie. poor and uneducated and mainly black.... interesting but true! 

She also tells me that one is no longer allowed to wish anybody a 'merry Xmas' - but only a 'happy holiday'... (actually it is the same in Canada) - I think this is taking the political correctness a bit too far!  They are crazy about being politically correct in US & Canada - where is my freedom of expression in this democracy?  Basically it is very very restricted! One way of controlling people!!!

Another thing we discussed is the bad economy in the US - there is a big divide now between the 'haves' and 'have nots'.  There are no jobs, lots of people have lost everything, people are uneducated and many are homeless.  However, South Carolina is still a place with a lot of affluent families - you can tell by the boutique shops and the horse farms - there is definately money there!

Also, Obama has basically no chance of being re-elected - as the Americans don't like him and blame him for everything that is wrong with their country - a the average American has no clue that there are other countries in existance - sad really.  They can not see further then their own back fence.  A shame!  Obama inherited decades of Bush mismanagement, which can not be resolved in 4 years of office.  But the good ones either get shot or get voted out!  Oh well....

Enough of politics...lets talk weather....

A storm was brewing on the horizon and they forecast snow for New York.  Oh well.... I have plenty of time to check in at Charlotte airport - but have to pay for my luggage $25.... I complain, and they tell me that the rules have changed - now all luggage has to be paid for - no more one free piece of luggage, the oil price has gone up - apparently.  Oh well....

Also, security is extremely tight: take off your shoes, your coat, your belt, your watch, unpack laptop, throw away your waterbottle ... thank goodness I have a lot of time!

A young girl starts talking to me - complaining about the waterbottle prices - anything from $2.50 upwards they charge... she reckons that the customs people are in it for a profit!.... What to do???

The airport is very quaint, to say the least:

Clowds and wind....when arriving at Charlotte airport.

 Very pleasant way of waiting for your plane.... in a rocking chair.... only in America!

 And of course, a piano player to lull the people in the rocking chairs... only in the South!

The flight was pleasant.  One funny thing happened before we took off:  there was a man sitting on the window seat - he went off to the bathroom.  A flight attendant came and asked whether the seats for available, as she had 2 passengers she needed to seat.  I told her about the guy.  Next thing - she brought the 2 passengers and sat them next to me.  The guy came back and wanted his seat - we sent him to the flight attendant, who insisted she did not know that the seat was taken..... short term memory loss...not a good sign in a flight attendant!  Anyway - she found him another seat and was sooo very apologetic to the guy - offering him free drinks and free food and free anything.... And we all said: what about us?

Apparently, in America, if a service staff makes a mistake, they can be sued... so of course they will bend backwards to make things right again.  Like what happened to me when I first arrived and my flight cancellation..... good to know!

We arrived savely at JFK airport @ 3pm.  My Emirates flight is not til 11.20 p.m. - so I have a LOT of time to kill.....  I walk around the airport - can't check in until 8.00 pm.  Have a coffee and sandwich and wish that I had taken my adapter with me (which I gave to Michael) - I coud have blogged for a few hours.  Oh well....

So I sit and watch people.... walk around a bit more.... and finally go to the EK check-in area.  The Indians are already queuing up, even though the counters are not open yet... typical!  Turns out the flight is mainly made up of Indian travellers, a few Whites and some Arabs - very interesting indeed!

I check in without any problems - am travelling light remember!!! and I walk to an area where there are meditation rooms, various church prayer rooms, and an Islamic prayer room!  This is definately a sign:  I need to pray before my flight!  I am happy, but apprehensive, as I am not used to praying in public.  I hang around for a while and then decide to go in.  I am glad I did.  The atmosphere was so tranquille.  It was good that I was able to pray, stop and just Be! Hamdullilah!

Inshallah we will have a safe flight to Dubai - 14 hours..... Oh well!

In summary:

Canada
I would love to come back with money and travel the country.... it is extremely expensive to travel in Canada doesn't matter whether you travel by air, train or road... the taxes make it so expensive - it's crazy and unfortunate.  It's a beautiful and big country and lots more to see, and the people are very nice and friendly ....Inshallah another time.... For now I will treasure the memories of this visit = the places and the wonderful people I have met=!

USA
There is some beautiful countryside here, however, people are strange - superficially friendly, not so friendly in the cities... they have attitude problems ....and they are gun happy....
It's another big country to explore... but not sure whether I would make an effort to come back....  I enjoyed my time here and loved the countryside down south! But Michael is leaving - and I don't think I really want to come back.....

So there; my first leg of my journey has come to an end = 3 months =.  I am very lucky!  And I thank all the people who have looked after me during this time!!!

Until next time.....Inshallah.

Sabine & Dougal & Hisham in memory

Charleston - Day 2

We get up reasonably early.  Michael's friend has already left for hunting.... I present my plan for the day: Drive to Mount Pleasant Pier - a new development under the Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge, have coffee and breakfast there. Then visit the US Navy aircraft carrier, then the beach, the Boone Hall Plantation and head home towards Aiken....  Leisurely plan and not too much walking, but a bit of history!

Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina. Part of the Memorial Waterfront Park complex, the 1250-foot long Mount Pleasant Pier stretches out into Charleston Harbor under the foot of the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge. The pier’s foundation was created from pared-down pilings from the old Grace Memorial Bridge, and one end of the pier now features an 8,100-square-foot covered pavilion for hosting dances and other events. Visitors can enjoy beautiful views of the bridge and harbor from the pier’s bench swings and shade structures.

So off we go - Michael hadn't been to the Pier yet, as it is a new development... ha... good planning Sabine!!!  It is very nice there and great views...  We are both desperate for a good coffee and breaki.  We are in luck - there is a coffee shop and we get freshly brewed coffee!  Now we can start the day.

There are a lot of fishermen on the Pier - they all look professional with all their gear and equipment... Hisham would have been impressed - he loved fishing, but was far from being a professional - he was more of a 'lazy' fisherman...

As the Navy aircraft carrier is close by, we drive there to have a look.  As we are cheap skates and don't want to pay for parking - we are only having a look at the carrier from outside - so we cheat and park at the sports club across the street.... not just a pretty face!  We wonder around and have a look .... interesting.

At the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge is Patriot's Point, a naval and maritime museum, home to the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, which is now a museum ship.

 We now have photos of this bridge from all sides and underneath....

That soldier again....

Before we go to the Plantation we take the route via the beach. Very beautiful...along Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms.  You have the beach and the waterway, which runs parallel to the coast line - quite magnificant.

Sullivan's Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, on a similarly named island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The island was known as O'Sullivan's Island because of Captain Florence O'Sullivan, who was stationed here as a lighthouse keeper in the late seventeenth century. O'Sullivan was Captain of one of the ships in the first fleet to establish English and Irish settlement at Charleston.

Isle of Palms is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina. The population on the island is 4,133. Isle of Palms is a barrier island on the South Carolina coast. The island's original inhabitants were the Seewee Native American tribe. Reportedly, they greeted the first English to arrive on the island by swimming out to their ships and escorting them back to the island.

In the late 19th century, local residents began using the island as a vacation spot. At that time it was only accessible by ferry.

I love these colourful houses so cute....and so beachie ...

 There are several houses like these - a bit like the 'Queenslander' homes in QLD.

Next stop: Boone Hall Plantation down the road.  Turns out to be a very very interesting place, very organized! I love it.  Lots of history...We end up spending the entire afternoon there about 4 hours - we have to plan all the tours we want to participate in, and just about manage in that time to see and do everything:  Plantation tour on a bus; Slave Street Cabins; Gullah Culture Theatre; Plantation House Tour.

The Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens is an antebellum plantation located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house (1933–35) that replaces the lost original house on the site. Besides the house, sit nine of the original slave cabins which date back to 1790-1810, a smoke house dating back to 1750, the Cotton Gin house (1853). A number of slave cabins were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century. There are several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks": a nearly one mile drive up to the house with live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743. Boone Hall plantation sits on Wampacheeoone Creek in Christ Church Parish about 10 miles (16 km) from historic downtown Charleston.

The earliest known reference to the site is of 1681. It originated from a land grant given to Major John Boone. The land grant of 470 acres (1.9 km²) was given by Theophilus Patey as a wedding present to his daughter, Elizabeth and Boone. The original wooden house was constructed in 1790. The house that stands now was built by Thomas Stone, a Canadian who purchased the land in the early 20th century. He wanted a "grander style" home than what was there, so he built the Colonial Revival-style house that stands there today. However, the bricks in the house were taken from the Horlbeck brickyard.

Owners over the years are as follows: Theophilus Patey, Major John Boone (founder), Fenwick, Hickman, Thomas Vardell (1811), John and Henry Horlbeck (1817), Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stone (1935), Georgian Prince Dimitri Djordjadze (1940), Dr. Henry Deas and his wife Adele Deas (1945), and Harris M. McRae and his wife, Nancy Thomas (1955). The McRaes opened the plantation to the public in 1957 and have made great efforts to preserve the original structures and gardens.

Boone Hall Plantation is one of America's oldest still working plantations...continually growing crops for over 320 years.  April to June, strawberries are the centerpiece at Boone Hall Farms. Spring planting annually includes tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, and sweet corn. These crops are harvested throughout the summer months during the peak of the South Carolina growing season.

Plantation Coach Tour: You will load up on an open air coach in front of the Butterfly Pavilion for a 40 minute motorized tour around the plantation. This ride covers one end of the plantation to the other...both geographically and historically. You will see how Boone Hall is one of the still working plantations that grows crops right here on the plantation that include strawberries, tomatoes, corn, watermelon, squash, blueberries, blackberries, cucumbers, and more. As you ride, our guides will also share stories and information about the different aspects of Boone Hall's history.

One thing we found out (among others) from the guide, is that the plants hanging off all the trees everywhere are actually 'Spanish Moss'... (Tillandsia usneoides) a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak  or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States. It is an angiosperm in the family of the bromeliads that grows hanging from tree branches in full.

 

Iiieeehhh - Halloween - even here at the plantation.... I like it!!!!

Slave Street and History Walk: This begins at the tip of Slave Street located out in the front of the Plantation Home. It gives a historical look at the living quarters, historic relics, and lifestyle of the slaves that lived here at Boone Hall.

Not all slaves lived in such comfort.. these were the lucky ones!  Also, slaves were listed in inventories of owners - as if they were not even human.... very sad indeed! and they were often passed on along with other possessions - or loaned out to help out with work somewhere else...

"Exploring The Gullah Culture" Boone Hall Plantation is the only plantation in the S.C. Lowcountry to present a live presentation of this unique culture adapted by African slaves. These entertaining and educational performances take place in The Gullah Theater, which is located at the end of Slave Street.

This was a one-woman show -very impressive - she gave us a very good picture of how life was for the slaves on the plantation, what the 'Whites' learned from the slaves - ie how to grow rice, indigo etc... and how the slaves' language developed 'Gullah'.  Most of the slaves in South Carolina and Georgia came from the East Coast of Africa.... Very enlightening information!

House Tours: A 30 minute tour which begins on the front porch and continues through the main floor of the elegant Plantation Home that was built in 1936. This tour is given by a well informed guide in historical dress. This tour will introduce you to the history of Boone Hall Plantation and its evolution through several owners since 1681.

In the early days, the only way into Charleston was by boat - and took forever....

Someone is getting a heat stroke....or was it exhaustion???

And... who is the Real 'Southern Bell' here???!!!

We finish off with some yummie icecream and off we drive back to Aiken!  Michael takes me via Summerville where he used to live 6 years ago, a nice small town not too far where he used to work.

Summerville

And even in Summerville there is Halloween everywhere....

I just love these cotton fields... just fascinating...

GPS are not only great for finding your way home, but also for finding the nearest Chinese takeaway! We got lots of food - made it home, ate and crashed.....

What a wonderful and enriching long weekend! The weather was beautiful and warm - if a little chillie at night.  I loved every minute of it!!!  THANK YOU Michael!!!!

Love

S & D