Recently, a Saudi woman filed for divorce because her husband had removed her veil while she was sleeping. The husband attempted to see her face after thirty long years of marriage siring several children and both being over fifty years old.
The man apologized to her several times and begged of her to keep their marriage. This is a reality of life prevailing in some tribes in Saudi Arabia where customs and traditions are running people's lives even today. Men there are not allowed to see the faces of their mothers, sisters or even their wives under any circumstances during any stage of their lives.
Fpr more on this issue: http://www.wluml.org/node/4117
Thursday, 18 February 2010
A newspaper article in a Doha newspaper
Wife-t0-be is bearded, cross-eyed behind veil
An Arab ambassador called off his wedding after discovering his wife-to-be, who had worn a face-covering veil whenever they met, was bearded and cross-eyed.
The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab (face covering veil).
After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be, upon which he discovered she had facial hair and was cross-eyed.
The ambassador told a Shariah court in the United Arab Emirates that he was tricked into marriage as the woman’s mother had shown his mother the pictures of her sister instead of her.
He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him 500,000 dirhams ($136,000) for clothes, jewellery and other gifts he had bought for her.
The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador’s demand for compensation.
An Arab ambassador called off his wedding after discovering his wife-to-be, who had worn a face-covering veil whenever they met, was bearded and cross-eyed.
The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab (face covering veil).
After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be, upon which he discovered she had facial hair and was cross-eyed.
The ambassador told a Shariah court in the United Arab Emirates that he was tricked into marriage as the woman’s mother had shown his mother the pictures of her sister instead of her.
He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him 500,000 dirhams ($136,000) for clothes, jewellery and other gifts he had bought for her.
The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador’s demand for compensation.
'By the way the picture is of a doll in Qatar and nothing to do with the newspaper article.'
Monday, 8 February 2010
Back to UK for a second time
Something special about coming home, you immediately notice some things that you missed:
1. Birds singing
2. Fresh crisp and clean air
3. Cool water from the taps
4. Everyone speaks with an ‘English’ accent
5. The best of all thick and soft toilet paper, thank heavens for Andrex quilted with Aloe Vera.
This time my daughter was there to pick me up at Manchester airport and on the return journey Slaw had offered to pick me up so that there would be a familiar face I would see when I arrive back in Doha.
While in UK a quick European project visit to Ansbach, Germany was just what I needed. It was nice to re-experience a bit of my ‘old’ working life and meet up with ‘old’ friends. I was in a little German town (where I have been before) but it seemed exceptionally pretty this time. I guess this is due to three reasons:
1. I have just come from the dessert and it’s nice to see real buildings that say something about the history and culture of the place.
2. It was snowing and everything was white and it looked like a picture from a Christmas card.
3. And of course it is a pretty place as well and I never appreciated it before.
The other thing I experience is that there are no women in veils/abaya’s and no Arab men in thobe’s. Whilst at the airport and in the plane I encounter many ‘foreigners’ but these are foreigners of another kind. Foreigner’s on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha are made up of a completely different combination to those on a KLM flight via Amsterdam. I feel richer for being able to experience living with and associating with both kinds of ‘foreigners’.
At home it’s all go (no change there then) morning till night trying to get the neverending todo list finished. When I am back in UK I feel as though I never left. I slip back into my ‘old’ life immediately. I had a strange moment of realisation when I entered the departures lounge at Manchester airport on my return journey to Doha. As soon as I saw the Qatar Airways sign and logo, and the familiar range of ‘foreign’ people at the check-in queue, the switch was made to my second life which began again from that point onwards.
1. Birds singing
2. Fresh crisp and clean air
3. Cool water from the taps
4. Everyone speaks with an ‘English’ accent
5. The best of all thick and soft toilet paper, thank heavens for Andrex quilted with Aloe Vera.
This time my daughter was there to pick me up at Manchester airport and on the return journey Slaw had offered to pick me up so that there would be a familiar face I would see when I arrive back in Doha.
While in UK a quick European project visit to Ansbach, Germany was just what I needed. It was nice to re-experience a bit of my ‘old’ working life and meet up with ‘old’ friends. I was in a little German town (where I have been before) but it seemed exceptionally pretty this time. I guess this is due to three reasons:
1. I have just come from the dessert and it’s nice to see real buildings that say something about the history and culture of the place.
2. It was snowing and everything was white and it looked like a picture from a Christmas card.
3. And of course it is a pretty place as well and I never appreciated it before.
The other thing I experience is that there are no women in veils/abaya’s and no Arab men in thobe’s. Whilst at the airport and in the plane I encounter many ‘foreigners’ but these are foreigners of another kind. Foreigner’s on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha are made up of a completely different combination to those on a KLM flight via Amsterdam. I feel richer for being able to experience living with and associating with both kinds of ‘foreigners’.
At home it’s all go (no change there then) morning till night trying to get the neverending todo list finished. When I am back in UK I feel as though I never left. I slip back into my ‘old’ life immediately. I had a strange moment of realisation when I entered the departures lounge at Manchester airport on my return journey to Doha. As soon as I saw the Qatar Airways sign and logo, and the familiar range of ‘foreign’ people at the check-in queue, the switch was made to my second life which began again from that point onwards.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
I complete my probationary period
I was on a three month probationary period which ended on 18th Jan 2010. This entailed an interview with my boss, at which I was praised for all my skills and the contributions I made to the organisation as well as some negatives (there are always some, we’re not all perfect). It’s customary to go out for lunch with colleagues which we duly did the same week. As it was a celebration event my colleagues wanted to do something special for me. It was going to be difficult explaining to a group of Philipino waiters and waitresses the concept of ending a probationary period. So they were told it was my birthday (which actually is in July). So I had a group of Philipino staff at Chillies in Qatar sing to me ‘Happy Birthday’, and ‘do waddy re de re dam de re do, she’s good, she’s fine never ever blah blah blah’ (or however it goes, I think you can work it out), to celebrate the end of my probationary period and being officially signed up by my company, for the remains of the two year contract.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Skiing in Dubai
The worst winter in 40 years were the headlines in UK, yes we had some snow and the country came to a stand still, yet again. I only managed to pick up snippets on yahoo and msn as English TV channels are few and far between (I have a total of 5 in English from over 100 channels). News comes from CNN or BBC World and all they seem to talk about are the various crisis in Asia and the middle east, and with respect to Europe and America they only talk about business and finance. So the weather crisis in Britain was not an event really on these channels.
I received early morning photos from my son who decided to share his delight, seeing snow from his bedroom window, with me through his iPhone (paid from company allowance L), and I was so proud of technology at this moment that allowed me to share this delightful moment. My son says I have been working too long with technology that I now make such statements. Anyhow I digress, the reports of snow made me feel as though I was missing out, so Slaw and I weren’t going to be left out. We planned a weekend trip to Dubai, to the longest indoor ski run in the world (I think). Well it has to be, doesn’t it, it’s in Dubai? So off we went to a weekend excursion where we also managed to see the tallest building in the World, Burj al Dubai, or now named Burj al Khalifa, as the Abu Dhabi Emir bailed out Dubai from its financial crisis in return for Dubai assets and his name on the tallest building (so the tale goes). We saw the only 7 star hotel in the world the Burj al Arab, and it still looks as elegant as ever despite it being quite old now and has never been rivalled. We visited other places like Medinat Jumeirah, the Jumeirah Residence Park and some malls and some restaurants and and and .. .
The ski place is in a shopping mall. In the morning we put on jumpers and warm clothes (because we were going skiing) but found ourselves having breakfast outside in morning winter temperatures of about 22 degrees. So we had to strip to almost the string vests, then got dressed again to enter the mall. One fee gets you the ski suit, the ski pass, boots and ski suit. You have to get your own hat and gloves, so conveniently there is a shop selling these at extortionate prices. So we were measured, weighed, sized up, battled with lockers and in no time were fully clothed as skiers. So we set off for the slope, striding in ski boots on and off a regular escalator with skis on shoulder, quite an experience. The snow on the slope resembles what you would encounter in Scotland if it ever got snow, just at the verge of being slushy. A four man chair lift takes skiers and onlookers to the top of the slope. As you ride the chairlift there is TGI Friday’s in the background. Coming down on the chairlift (on the odd occasion) you will see locals wearing thobe’s (the white cloaks that Arab men wear) with an overcoat. They want to see and experience the atmosphere (and possibly the temperature (-4)) and just ride the lift up and down. As you get to the top of the slope you hear a Michael Jackson song playing. You set off down the slope, a bit nervous on the first run, but soon with confidence like an experienced skier. At the bottom of the slope there will be a different artist singing, Alexander Burke for example. The usual middle eastern greeting, hello maam as you arrive at the bottom ready to go up again. As there are only two main slopes of about 200m each you soon get a bit bored of it and the temperature starts to get to the bone. So the two hour ski pass is enough. A break on the mountain side cafe (half way up the slope) is a good place to sit, have a hot drink and warm up under patio heaters. To get to the entrance you have to climb up a spiral fire escape like stairs in ski boots (which would never pass any health and safety regulations in Europe, just like the escalator), but you have no choice and you brave it anyway. Here you see the tourists who have come to see what is like. I encounter a group of Nordic visitors in shorts who have hired coats and boots for the occasion, but are bare legged, quite a sight really.
The ending is just as surreal as the entrance to the skiing experience, you descend on the escalator replace the skis and boots on racks and discard your hired clothes in huge laundry bins, and walk out into the shopping mall browsing the shops as though you have not been skiing at all and it was all a dream.
I received early morning photos from my son who decided to share his delight, seeing snow from his bedroom window, with me through his iPhone (paid from company allowance L), and I was so proud of technology at this moment that allowed me to share this delightful moment. My son says I have been working too long with technology that I now make such statements. Anyhow I digress, the reports of snow made me feel as though I was missing out, so Slaw and I weren’t going to be left out. We planned a weekend trip to Dubai, to the longest indoor ski run in the world (I think). Well it has to be, doesn’t it, it’s in Dubai? So off we went to a weekend excursion where we also managed to see the tallest building in the World, Burj al Dubai, or now named Burj al Khalifa, as the Abu Dhabi Emir bailed out Dubai from its financial crisis in return for Dubai assets and his name on the tallest building (so the tale goes). We saw the only 7 star hotel in the world the Burj al Arab, and it still looks as elegant as ever despite it being quite old now and has never been rivalled. We visited other places like Medinat Jumeirah, the Jumeirah Residence Park and some malls and some restaurants and and and .. .
The ski place is in a shopping mall. In the morning we put on jumpers and warm clothes (because we were going skiing) but found ourselves having breakfast outside in morning winter temperatures of about 22 degrees. So we had to strip to almost the string vests, then got dressed again to enter the mall. One fee gets you the ski suit, the ski pass, boots and ski suit. You have to get your own hat and gloves, so conveniently there is a shop selling these at extortionate prices. So we were measured, weighed, sized up, battled with lockers and in no time were fully clothed as skiers. So we set off for the slope, striding in ski boots on and off a regular escalator with skis on shoulder, quite an experience. The snow on the slope resembles what you would encounter in Scotland if it ever got snow, just at the verge of being slushy. A four man chair lift takes skiers and onlookers to the top of the slope. As you ride the chairlift there is TGI Friday’s in the background. Coming down on the chairlift (on the odd occasion) you will see locals wearing thobe’s (the white cloaks that Arab men wear) with an overcoat. They want to see and experience the atmosphere (and possibly the temperature (-4)) and just ride the lift up and down. As you get to the top of the slope you hear a Michael Jackson song playing. You set off down the slope, a bit nervous on the first run, but soon with confidence like an experienced skier. At the bottom of the slope there will be a different artist singing, Alexander Burke for example. The usual middle eastern greeting, hello maam as you arrive at the bottom ready to go up again. As there are only two main slopes of about 200m each you soon get a bit bored of it and the temperature starts to get to the bone. So the two hour ski pass is enough. A break on the mountain side cafe (half way up the slope) is a good place to sit, have a hot drink and warm up under patio heaters. To get to the entrance you have to climb up a spiral fire escape like stairs in ski boots (which would never pass any health and safety regulations in Europe, just like the escalator), but you have no choice and you brave it anyway. Here you see the tourists who have come to see what is like. I encounter a group of Nordic visitors in shorts who have hired coats and boots for the occasion, but are bare legged, quite a sight really.
The ending is just as surreal as the entrance to the skiing experience, you descend on the escalator replace the skis and boots on racks and discard your hired clothes in huge laundry bins, and walk out into the shopping mall browsing the shops as though you have not been skiing at all and it was all a dream.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Camel Racing
If you are in an Arab country camel racing is one thing you feel you have to see. One day we set off to experience this aspect of Arab recreation. There is (or used to be) a problem with camel racing in that they used child jockeys and this became socially unacceptable. Qatar was the first country to ban child jockeys, so instead they have little robots that are tied to the back of the camel and are operated by remote control.
We got to the race track, parked up and went to the seating area, only to find a handful of people. There were rows and rows of camels being taken to somewhere deeper in the compound but we did not know where. We were told by various gestures and in various languages (except English) to go in our car. So we got in our car and followed a land cruiser that was going into the compound. After a fair bit of driving and losing our way and following some camels and cars we ended up at the start of the race track. Here all the camels were resting. Generally the camels were in threes, the mummy camel and two baby camels. It’s the baby camels that are raced one by one. They are all well groomed and are a pleasure to see, not like the ones you see at resorts giving rides to holiday makers.
By now there are as many vehicles gathered on either side of the race track as camels. I was with Monica and Slaw, and Monica stood up in the car through the sun roof, only to be told by some other drivers that this is dangerous. ‘Why?’ we wondered. Cars (mainly land cruisers) kept coming around our car (a small 2 door Honda by the way), and lining up. You could tell something was going to happen but we weren’t sure what. The first batch of camels were being lined up for the race behind a barrier. They are not like horses all calm, these are being held by their keepers and won’t stand still, and there is a lot of commotion going on behind the barrier. The barrier is released and the camels set off, initially not knowing which way to go, but they generally follow the crowd. It’s a wonder that the keepers don’t get trampled, as they are amongst the camels as they are released. Anyway, so off they go, and so do the land cruisers, yes, on both sides of the race track. So, imagine the start of a formula one race, sort of similar, cars weaving in and out. So if you are in the middle of this you have to do the same and Slaw set off also. It was quite harrowing being amongst these vehicles racing alongside the camels. So you wonder why do they do this? Well of course, the remote control jockeys must only have a certain signal range and the cars have to keep up so the owners can operate the jockeys remotely. Many cars had passengers so I presume the driver was not the one operating the control, and I dare not think who was operating the control where there was only one person in the car. Just to let you know that Monica was in the car when they set off and wasn’t on the roof. It was quite a harrowing experience for Slaw as he was driving but it didn’t stop him from going round the second time, on our request.
The races continue into the afternoon. As we left camels were still coming. I don’t think there is any betting going on, so I guess the races are just for fun, or to exercise the camels, or for betting that might be going on behind closed doors, I am not sure, I need to find out...
We got to the race track, parked up and went to the seating area, only to find a handful of people. There were rows and rows of camels being taken to somewhere deeper in the compound but we did not know where. We were told by various gestures and in various languages (except English) to go in our car. So we got in our car and followed a land cruiser that was going into the compound. After a fair bit of driving and losing our way and following some camels and cars we ended up at the start of the race track. Here all the camels were resting. Generally the camels were in threes, the mummy camel and two baby camels. It’s the baby camels that are raced one by one. They are all well groomed and are a pleasure to see, not like the ones you see at resorts giving rides to holiday makers.
By now there are as many vehicles gathered on either side of the race track as camels. I was with Monica and Slaw, and Monica stood up in the car through the sun roof, only to be told by some other drivers that this is dangerous. ‘Why?’ we wondered. Cars (mainly land cruisers) kept coming around our car (a small 2 door Honda by the way), and lining up. You could tell something was going to happen but we weren’t sure what. The first batch of camels were being lined up for the race behind a barrier. They are not like horses all calm, these are being held by their keepers and won’t stand still, and there is a lot of commotion going on behind the barrier. The barrier is released and the camels set off, initially not knowing which way to go, but they generally follow the crowd. It’s a wonder that the keepers don’t get trampled, as they are amongst the camels as they are released. Anyway, so off they go, and so do the land cruisers, yes, on both sides of the race track. So, imagine the start of a formula one race, sort of similar, cars weaving in and out. So if you are in the middle of this you have to do the same and Slaw set off also. It was quite harrowing being amongst these vehicles racing alongside the camels. So you wonder why do they do this? Well of course, the remote control jockeys must only have a certain signal range and the cars have to keep up so the owners can operate the jockeys remotely. Many cars had passengers so I presume the driver was not the one operating the control, and I dare not think who was operating the control where there was only one person in the car. Just to let you know that Monica was in the car when they set off and wasn’t on the roof. It was quite a harrowing experience for Slaw as he was driving but it didn’t stop him from going round the second time, on our request.
The races continue into the afternoon. As we left camels were still coming. I don’t think there is any betting going on, so I guess the races are just for fun, or to exercise the camels, or for betting that might be going on behind closed doors, I am not sure, I need to find out...
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Quad biking in Qatar
Slaw and I decided to discover quad biking. We went to a resort north of Qatar called Ghr...something. We sat on the beach for a while, had a picnic, only to be told that part of the beach belonged to someone and we had to move. So we got in the car and drove to the Quad hire place instead, handed over our ID card as security, gave 150 QR each and were shown to two quad bikes that they started for us. That’s it, and they walked off. OK, so had to ask them to show us again how to start in case the bike cut out. Next question, ‘how do I operate the gears’, and ‘oh by the way where is the brake’. We were armed with essential knowledge, no other information, or helmet, or where we should go or not, or how to control the bike, no, the challenge is the discovery element, this is Qatar.
We set off at crawling speed, walkers could have overtaken us, but we soon sped up and felt like Michael Schumacher’s. We headed for the mountains, yes the mountains, all of about 3m high, hey, don’t laugh, they were a challenge for us as you will soon see.
So we were on rough terrain, and we dawdled our way up short rough slopes. At one point we came across a rather steeper slope. Remember Slaw is a big guy, on this quad which is slowly making its way up, the front two wheels kept lifting now and then, and I had visions of slaw on his back and the bike on top of him, and then both tumbling down. I held my breath but inch by inch he made it to the top, and he was elated. ‘Come on’ he said to me, ‘you can do it’. So I thought to myself, I don’t really want to do this, but wasn’t going to be a chicken. I thought of a strategy, I should put the bike into low gear and go quickly then i won’t have the same problem as Slaw. Hit the gear stick downwards a few times (by the way you have no idea what gear you are in, all you know is you have increased or reduced it by a notch or two), I hit the accelerator and off I went. Next thing I know is that I am on the floor on my back half way up the slope and the quad has escaped from underneath me, got to the top and is on its back. A worried Slaw came running down, but I was fine, not a scratch on me. Remember these mountains are no more than three meters high. They say when something like this happens, you see it in slow motion, well I didn’t see anything. After that we decided to quit the mountains and headed for the sea and drove up and down the beach instead disturbing holiday makers in their tents.
This was our first lesson in quading. There were many more quading experiences to come after that. One with my children on their visit to Doha at Christmas, one with a new American friend Carlos and many with work colleagues. The one to remember is one with Carlos. Here we were on sand dunes following a windy day, so new dunes had formed and not everyone was familiar with where it was safe to go and where not. There was one dune where a man stood to warn bikers not to go, but the dessert is a big place and you can’t place an Indian (majority of the imported labourers) at every danger point. Remember this is Qatar and safety hasn’t been translated into Arabic yet. So we had fun driving around, trying to get the bike up rather small pathetic hills where everyone else seemed to just make it to the top effortlessly and our bikes just got stuck half way. Carlos was in his element, he loved every minute and he was off. I had trouble keeping up with him. At one point he found a nice gentle slope leading to the top of a dune, feeling great that we could conquer this one he was off. I saw him get to the top and then turn sharply left. I followed and stopped behind him and noticed that there was nothing on the other side but a very very steep drop. Lucky he noticed and stopped as he would have literally tumbled and landed in the yard of a tent below. I would have most likely just followed him. It is common for people to show off their skills so another young man who had been quading around us came hurtling up the hill showing us that he could conquer this hill as well and not stop as we did. When he noticed the steep drop it was a little too late and went over. The only saving grace was that the hill was so steep that when his first two wheels went over, the sand grounded his bike from the middle. He was counting his lucky stars. It was a picture watching Carlos and him try to recover this bike. So the second lesson was learnt.
There have been other little memorable moments, for example when Carlos’s bike stalled and we couldn’t start it again. I had learnt that you have to get the bike into neutral before you can start it. So we hit the gear peddle a few times and then tried starting it but no luck. This was one of the occasions when Carlos made it to the top of the hill. People are very helpful and a jeep (yes a jeep at the top of a sand dune) stopped by and the driver asked what was the problem. In the passenger seat was a little boy (approx 10 years old) in full Arab gear, who came out , rolled the bike (that was twice his size) back and forth a few times, hit the gear stick, pressed the start button and grinned at us both as the bike started. Imagine what that did to Carlos’s ego...
It’s fascinating to watch the recreation at weekends in the dessert. Totally uncontrolled, totally free, totall wacky and at times surreal. The kind of stuff you only see on youtube, but you experience it for real. If you just take a moment to watch what’s going on around you, it’s just fascinating. You will see Land Cruisers hurtling along at the foot of the dunes in all directions, some with single drivers, some packed with families. We even a land cruiser (most popular vehicles heres) with two Qatari women in full abaya (full black gear covering an arab woman from head to toe). Amongst these you will see some racing sand buggies, the boys inside with their faces wrapped in scarves, and pirate flags flying, driving like crazy with no regard for who else is there. Then there are the smaller quad bikes. Here you will see some young lads showing off to anything that resembles the shape of a girl. They will speed up and get to the tops of hills and back down again with huge grins on their faces. Then you will a see 10 year old in the driver seat of a quad with his mother in full abaya, by his side, with the largest grin you have ever seen. Girls in full abaya on bikes is an interesting sight, the fact that they have restrictions and dress in an unsuitable way for quadding, doesn’t stop them from having fun. Then you look at the top of the hills, the same picture, with the more advanced lot in land cruisers, jeeps, buggies and quads of all sizes, weaving in and out.
All in all a great playground, fun to watch and even better to have a go. The only sad sight is that of ambulances heading in the opposite direction as you drive out of the resort.
We set off at crawling speed, walkers could have overtaken us, but we soon sped up and felt like Michael Schumacher’s. We headed for the mountains, yes the mountains, all of about 3m high, hey, don’t laugh, they were a challenge for us as you will soon see.
So we were on rough terrain, and we dawdled our way up short rough slopes. At one point we came across a rather steeper slope. Remember Slaw is a big guy, on this quad which is slowly making its way up, the front two wheels kept lifting now and then, and I had visions of slaw on his back and the bike on top of him, and then both tumbling down. I held my breath but inch by inch he made it to the top, and he was elated. ‘Come on’ he said to me, ‘you can do it’. So I thought to myself, I don’t really want to do this, but wasn’t going to be a chicken. I thought of a strategy, I should put the bike into low gear and go quickly then i won’t have the same problem as Slaw. Hit the gear stick downwards a few times (by the way you have no idea what gear you are in, all you know is you have increased or reduced it by a notch or two), I hit the accelerator and off I went. Next thing I know is that I am on the floor on my back half way up the slope and the quad has escaped from underneath me, got to the top and is on its back. A worried Slaw came running down, but I was fine, not a scratch on me. Remember these mountains are no more than three meters high. They say when something like this happens, you see it in slow motion, well I didn’t see anything. After that we decided to quit the mountains and headed for the sea and drove up and down the beach instead disturbing holiday makers in their tents.
This was our first lesson in quading. There were many more quading experiences to come after that. One with my children on their visit to Doha at Christmas, one with a new American friend Carlos and many with work colleagues. The one to remember is one with Carlos. Here we were on sand dunes following a windy day, so new dunes had formed and not everyone was familiar with where it was safe to go and where not. There was one dune where a man stood to warn bikers not to go, but the dessert is a big place and you can’t place an Indian (majority of the imported labourers) at every danger point. Remember this is Qatar and safety hasn’t been translated into Arabic yet. So we had fun driving around, trying to get the bike up rather small pathetic hills where everyone else seemed to just make it to the top effortlessly and our bikes just got stuck half way. Carlos was in his element, he loved every minute and he was off. I had trouble keeping up with him. At one point he found a nice gentle slope leading to the top of a dune, feeling great that we could conquer this one he was off. I saw him get to the top and then turn sharply left. I followed and stopped behind him and noticed that there was nothing on the other side but a very very steep drop. Lucky he noticed and stopped as he would have literally tumbled and landed in the yard of a tent below. I would have most likely just followed him. It is common for people to show off their skills so another young man who had been quading around us came hurtling up the hill showing us that he could conquer this hill as well and not stop as we did. When he noticed the steep drop it was a little too late and went over. The only saving grace was that the hill was so steep that when his first two wheels went over, the sand grounded his bike from the middle. He was counting his lucky stars. It was a picture watching Carlos and him try to recover this bike. So the second lesson was learnt.
There have been other little memorable moments, for example when Carlos’s bike stalled and we couldn’t start it again. I had learnt that you have to get the bike into neutral before you can start it. So we hit the gear peddle a few times and then tried starting it but no luck. This was one of the occasions when Carlos made it to the top of the hill. People are very helpful and a jeep (yes a jeep at the top of a sand dune) stopped by and the driver asked what was the problem. In the passenger seat was a little boy (approx 10 years old) in full Arab gear, who came out , rolled the bike (that was twice his size) back and forth a few times, hit the gear stick, pressed the start button and grinned at us both as the bike started. Imagine what that did to Carlos’s ego...
It’s fascinating to watch the recreation at weekends in the dessert. Totally uncontrolled, totally free, totall wacky and at times surreal. The kind of stuff you only see on youtube, but you experience it for real. If you just take a moment to watch what’s going on around you, it’s just fascinating. You will see Land Cruisers hurtling along at the foot of the dunes in all directions, some with single drivers, some packed with families. We even a land cruiser (most popular vehicles heres) with two Qatari women in full abaya (full black gear covering an arab woman from head to toe). Amongst these you will see some racing sand buggies, the boys inside with their faces wrapped in scarves, and pirate flags flying, driving like crazy with no regard for who else is there. Then there are the smaller quad bikes. Here you will see some young lads showing off to anything that resembles the shape of a girl. They will speed up and get to the tops of hills and back down again with huge grins on their faces. Then you will a see 10 year old in the driver seat of a quad with his mother in full abaya, by his side, with the largest grin you have ever seen. Girls in full abaya on bikes is an interesting sight, the fact that they have restrictions and dress in an unsuitable way for quadding, doesn’t stop them from having fun. Then you look at the top of the hills, the same picture, with the more advanced lot in land cruisers, jeeps, buggies and quads of all sizes, weaving in and out.
All in all a great playground, fun to watch and even better to have a go. The only sad sight is that of ambulances heading in the opposite direction as you drive out of the resort.
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