Protection from the sun.

Ged forgot his cap so we decided he needed his head covered! I figured I had seen the boys tie their head dress so often I would know what to do. It doesn't look quite as neat as the boys at school, but at least Ged didn't get sun burnt!! He was pretty chuffed! looked more realistic up on the camel! We think it must have been about 35 degress out - at 9am here - but later in the day it hit the mid forties!! Glad we didn't go any later.

Camel Safari

Camel safari

When Kay and Ged Arbuckle came to stay we organised a camel safari. We went early in the morning to avoid the heat! ha!! It was a great adventure and the swaying of the camelas it walks is an unusual feeling. My friend,Kay, and Lyndel Christensen also came.

The Atlantis Hotel

These photos are of the Atlantis entrance and foyer. The sculpture in the foyer is made of glass swirls with decorations dotted through it. It is all the colours of the rainbow and has a water feature at the base. I wonder who thinks up these things!! And what must be the cost!!

Atlantis Hotel

This is the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Jumeirah is the man made island in the shape of the palm. This hotel ia about a 6 star and is extremely lavish. This is the entrance, leading in to a beautiful foyer.

Al Ain Montage

This is the latest painting I have done. I did it for Martin, who is giving it to Karen for her birthday. It is a montage of Al Ain. From left to right there is the red sand dunes, Karen and Martin's house, an Emirati man and woman, Jebel Hafeet mountain with the lights, roundabouts with the herons and waterfalls, camels, the fort and a mosque. I hope Karen likes it.

Hilton Hotel

We spent an evening at the Hilton. The lights and pool looked really lovely.

Trying the old traditions

I have been given Arabic bread to eat, had my hands coated with Henna and have now got a burkah on. Many of the older women still wear the leather burkah - as well as the shailer and abaya. It is quite comforatble to wear, but makes it difficult to eat!

Water cooler

Here is the original 'water cooler'. The clay urn is filled with water. As the water evaporates from the clay it cools the water inside. The mats on display were used to sit around for meals.

School visit

I went with a Grade 5 class to the local culture and heritage village the other day. It was really interesting. There has been a lot of effort put into preserving the UAE culture and language. They are very worried that with 'westernisation' the kids will lose their identity.

A couple more photos of the same fence. The main entrance will be amazing.

On our drive we saw this amazing fence being built around an equally amazing house. Each portion of the fence is the same shape and this one has been finished. It looks as though each section will be the same shape but slightly different design. We will go back in a few weeks to have a look. A bit OTT we think.

This is the other side of the 'Stairway to Heaven". The waterfall isn't working today.

"Stairway to Heaven"

This is the roundabout the boys named "Stairway to Heaven". Around the other side a waterfall goes constantly down the rocks into a stream.

Roundabouts of Al Ain

This is the "Bird" roundabout. Actually, it has an Arabic name but we have named them all by their features. Makes it easier to describe how to get around. Martin calls them ducks with Wellies on!!

Kay and I went for a drive this morning and went to brunch at the Gof Course. We took a few photos. This is one of our favourite mosques - we call it the twirly whirly mosque. It is quite different in architecture with all of its rounded of walls and soft lines.

This is the most recent painting I have finished. It is a NZ scene and I did it for Julia. She has it hanging in her bedroom. I quite like it and might do another one similar for in my apartment - a little bit of NZ to look at!

On the Saturday we went to the second hand car market to look for a car. Hmmm.... i don't think this Hummer is quite in our price bracket. In Doha, one of these cost 900 riyal an hour to hire. You could fit 15 inside it which made it a fun way to see the city for one hour.

Kay and I ended up buying a little Hyundai Accent!!

During the night we took a dhow across the 'creek' (the river that runs through Dubai) and visited the souqs. Here we are outside the spice souqs and each little shop is just piled high with hundreds of different products. The smell was wonderful. Just down the road are the gold souqs - more my style!!

Although this is not very clear, it does give you an idea of just how high the Burj Dubai is as it towers over everything else in Dubai. It is massive, and the base holds a huge mall. Sometimes the clouds are half way up the building and the peak sticks out above them. Other times you can't see the top becuase of the dust and smog. I think that when it is finished they are saying it will be a Km high!!

The Ibn Butatta mall is huge and is designed around 7 themed continents. This junk is in the Chinese/Pacifica area. The roof is beautifully designed and covered in mosaics. It is one of my favourite malls. Damian bought a lovely Pierre Cardin polo shirt with NZ motifs and the NZ coat of arms on. We also went to a NZ cafe called "The Lime Tree". The carrot cake is superb!

Palm Jumeirah Apartments

This is one of the apartment blocks on Palm Jameirah - all beautifully landscaped and facing the ocean. I can imagine the rent must be huge!

We went for a tiki tour around Dubai and drove out on the Palm Jameirah. It was amazing to think of the work and the technology to create such a huge island. There are some wonderful apartments and hotels going up. This photo was taken at the end of one of the 'fronds' and has the Burj Al Arab in the background.

This is the local Friday mosque just up the road from my house. It is beautiful by day, but here it is just at sunset - about 6.20 pm. As it gets darker it is lit up with green and yellow lights - just beautiful. We call it the Friday mosque because it is huge and very busy on Friday's - the religious day here. The dome had beautiful stained glass windows.