Today was the day we've all been waiting for....we drove to Al Ain on a bus. Now this bus is like the shuttle you would ride from the airport...padded seats and curtains over the window to keep out the heat/sun. The sun is very strong here and there are never clouds. We drove @ 2 hours into the desert. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, it's not what I expected. If you've need Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, I expected the sand to be blowing across the two lane road and there to be camels walking in the road....not so. The roads between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain are 3 lane expressways with beautiful Palm trees lining both sides of the road. There are irrigation hoses (looks like the soaker water hoses) ,but bigger to water the trees and other vegetation close to the highway around cities. I was shocked at the amount of green. Think I was expected sand dunes right up to the road.
The speed limits on the roads are 80 kms. for Trucks and 120kms for cars (50 and 75 mph in America). In the city, the drivers are very aggressive and fast. Noticed traffic was better here. I would feel comfortable driving here....not so much in Abu Dhabi. About half way out trip, we began to see sand dunes in the distance. There was a herd??? of camels walking across the dunes!!!! Even though they were at a distance, it was still exciting. We traveled through more remote areas and saw farms along the way. Not sure if the farms are animals, vegetables, or fruits? Noticed there was less greenery in the remote areas and didn't have the irrigation hoses but still not barren like you would expect the desert to be.
After getting to the city, we arrived at what I loving call "Teacher Alley". The main road is a divided highway with housing on both sides. There are a lot of housing complexes for teachers and several private homes in this section of town. It looks kind of like the strip in PC without all the high rises (and the drunks). No building can be over 4 stories high in this area.
All 5 buses met at the local supermarket area and followed each other the rest of the way to the complexes. While waiting for the last bus, our AC went out. It's 111 degrees outside, so you can imagine. There was sweat in places a lady should never discuss in mixed company! :)
While waiting about 30 minutes, the last bus arrived and we went to our complex. My building has a sun cover to shade the area for loading/unloading. I will be living in the Sultan Al Yarbhouni (Yar-boo-ne) Complex. Dare you to say that three times fast! The ouside is a dark sand color with tinted windows to block out the sun. In case you haven't figured it out, the sun is very brutal here. My room is 204. The front door was a beautiful cherry color with an interesting door knob. It is in the middle of the door directly across from where the key hole normally is located. To open it, you put the key in and turn the door know to the left. If you turn it right, the door will lock. Different, I know.
I was fortunate enough to receive a 2 bedroom apartment. This building has been recently remodeled and repainted. The building has construction dust inside, but will be cleaned before I move in. There is no power to the building at this time and will be turned on closer to our move in dates. (Remember what I said about sweating!) The entire house is painted in the same color (light sand color). Going to need to choose furniture with losts of color. Master Bedroom is large, but has no built in closets (normal for here). Will have to buy wardrobes to store clothes. Curatins will need to also be installed. The 2nd bedroom is smaller and has enough room to be comfortable for my guests. Each bedroom has its own bathroom with a shower and tub. The living room is large enough to have a combined living room/dining room/office area. Now, for the part that broke my heart....the kitchen is very small and is a pea green (not sure if I can paint or not). New cabinets, but a little old school. There is room for a stove, refrigerator, and washer and dryer combination. Refrigerators are smaller than American and the washer also acts as a dryer. It's not like the stacked kind in most condos in Florida. Will send pictures when I go shopping. Need to download my pictures from the apartment, and will post sometime tomorrow.
When everyone finished looking at apartments, we waited outside for our replacement bus. While waiting, a man with a white Porsche drove up. His name was....Omar. He looked as if he should be on the cover of a Harlequin Romance novel. Turns out he works for the Travel Company who arranges hotels, flights, etc. No worries, Dan...He's married. He stood outside and chatted with all the ladies. Most people in my building are single females or females whose spouse isn't coming. There's one married couple.
Finally arrived with a new driver and we began our trip to the hotel. About 20 miles down the road, someone came on the radio and told the second driver to meet out first driver and have us load onto the bus with out first driver (confused yet?). This is our third bus! About 40 miles down the road it started making a sound (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE) and the bus driver turned off the air conditioner. It's 115 degrees by now. I felt as if my flesh was melting....The good news is we made it back to the hotel on the 3rd bus. Bad news is...there was sweat in places ladies should never discuss. I was so hot, I took an ice cold shower while drinking a bottle of water! Hydrate anyway you can! :)
More news later, I'm drained. Need to drink lots of water and get some much needed rest.
The speed limits on the roads are 80 kms. for Trucks and 120kms for cars (50 and 75 mph in America). In the city, the drivers are very aggressive and fast. Noticed traffic was better here. I would feel comfortable driving here....not so much in Abu Dhabi. About half way out trip, we began to see sand dunes in the distance. There was a herd??? of camels walking across the dunes!!!! Even though they were at a distance, it was still exciting. We traveled through more remote areas and saw farms along the way. Not sure if the farms are animals, vegetables, or fruits? Noticed there was less greenery in the remote areas and didn't have the irrigation hoses but still not barren like you would expect the desert to be.
After getting to the city, we arrived at what I loving call "Teacher Alley". The main road is a divided highway with housing on both sides. There are a lot of housing complexes for teachers and several private homes in this section of town. It looks kind of like the strip in PC without all the high rises (and the drunks). No building can be over 4 stories high in this area.
All 5 buses met at the local supermarket area and followed each other the rest of the way to the complexes. While waiting for the last bus, our AC went out. It's 111 degrees outside, so you can imagine. There was sweat in places a lady should never discuss in mixed company! :)
While waiting about 30 minutes, the last bus arrived and we went to our complex. My building has a sun cover to shade the area for loading/unloading. I will be living in the Sultan Al Yarbhouni (Yar-boo-ne) Complex. Dare you to say that three times fast! The ouside is a dark sand color with tinted windows to block out the sun. In case you haven't figured it out, the sun is very brutal here. My room is 204. The front door was a beautiful cherry color with an interesting door knob. It is in the middle of the door directly across from where the key hole normally is located. To open it, you put the key in and turn the door know to the left. If you turn it right, the door will lock. Different, I know.
I was fortunate enough to receive a 2 bedroom apartment. This building has been recently remodeled and repainted. The building has construction dust inside, but will be cleaned before I move in. There is no power to the building at this time and will be turned on closer to our move in dates. (Remember what I said about sweating!) The entire house is painted in the same color (light sand color). Going to need to choose furniture with losts of color. Master Bedroom is large, but has no built in closets (normal for here). Will have to buy wardrobes to store clothes. Curatins will need to also be installed. The 2nd bedroom is smaller and has enough room to be comfortable for my guests. Each bedroom has its own bathroom with a shower and tub. The living room is large enough to have a combined living room/dining room/office area. Now, for the part that broke my heart....the kitchen is very small and is a pea green (not sure if I can paint or not). New cabinets, but a little old school. There is room for a stove, refrigerator, and washer and dryer combination. Refrigerators are smaller than American and the washer also acts as a dryer. It's not like the stacked kind in most condos in Florida. Will send pictures when I go shopping. Need to download my pictures from the apartment, and will post sometime tomorrow.
When everyone finished looking at apartments, we waited outside for our replacement bus. While waiting, a man with a white Porsche drove up. His name was....Omar. He looked as if he should be on the cover of a Harlequin Romance novel. Turns out he works for the Travel Company who arranges hotels, flights, etc. No worries, Dan...He's married. He stood outside and chatted with all the ladies. Most people in my building are single females or females whose spouse isn't coming. There's one married couple.
Finally arrived with a new driver and we began our trip to the hotel. About 20 miles down the road, someone came on the radio and told the second driver to meet out first driver and have us load onto the bus with out first driver (confused yet?). This is our third bus! About 40 miles down the road it started making a sound (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE) and the bus driver turned off the air conditioner. It's 115 degrees by now. I felt as if my flesh was melting....The good news is we made it back to the hotel on the 3rd bus. Bad news is...there was sweat in places ladies should never discuss. I was so hot, I took an ice cold shower while drinking a bottle of water! Hydrate anyway you can! :)
More news later, I'm drained. Need to drink lots of water and get some much needed rest.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI am keeping up and I love hearing all the details! So awesome!!
Lea