Spring Break 2008

Mom and Dad in Arabian desert


What dune bashing is all about- getting stuck!


On the dhow in the Musandam Peninsula area of Oman


Overlooking the Strait of Hormuz


Dinner with Abu Dhabi in the background


Largest chandelier and dome in the world


Sheihk Zayed's mosque


Mom and I in our abayas at the mosque


"flower" thing on wall tells 5 times of prayer for each day


Chillin' at the henna party


Christine’s parents visited us here in the UAE during spring break. We enjoyed showing them around our town, school, and country as a whole. They visited our school, met some of our friends, and saw such impressive sights as Emirates Palace (our seven-star hotel) and Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan's Mosque, the second-largest mosque in the world, burial site of Sheikh Zayed himself, and home of the world's largest dome, world's largest chandelier, and world's largest carpet.

We had a good trip up the coast, through Dubai (they saw the indoor skiing at the Mall of the Emirates, the Burj al-Arab hotel, and the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world) and Sharjah (where we got lost for a while because of the lack of street signs in the city) and a few of the smaller emirates. That afternoon, we went dune bashing (without Christine--she wasn't allowed), rode camels (Christine sneaked onto that one), and ate at a big old barbeque in the middle of the Arabian desert (lots of food, entertainment in the form of belly dancing, and sheesha and henna for those interested. Christine and her mom got some henna artwork on their arms).

Then we traveled into the Musandam Peninsula of Oman (crossing the border in a friend's car, using his registration, proved to be incredibly easy; nobody asked why the name on his registration didn't match the name on anyone's passport). We took a dhow (boat) ride through the fjords of northern-most Oman, snorkeling (through jelly fish) and fishing and watching the cigarette runners; as dusk falls, Omanis run American cigarettes by boat across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran. Pretty funny show, watching dozens of little boats zip across the water, each one loaded down with boxes of "cargo." (From where we were, Iran was just 45 kilometers away...). Goats from Iran are transported in the other direction, into Oman and down the coastal road into the United Arab Emirates.

From the Musandam Peninsula, we drove inland a ways, instead of taking the coastal road home (thus giving her folks different scenery on the way back to Abu Dhabi), and we spent some time in Al Ain, where we walked through that date palm oasis. Unfortunately, it was a Monday, so the museums were closed.

The next day, Christine, a few of her girlfriends, and her mom had a henna party at our flat (Christine’s father and I were kicked out; we had our own fun, and what happens in Abu Dhabi, stays in Abu Dhabi—right, Alan?). Christine had her belly decorated with henna. We had a good time. Pictures are above.