Dragon Mart/ Window Washer

Good day all! This weekend Jimmy & I went to the Dragon Mart appr. 30 minutes away from where we live. Dragon Mart is a 1.2 km long (almost 1 mile) indoor shopping complex. It is 150,000 square meters of floor space with approximately 3,950 shops. The retailors are Chinese importers and sell EVERYTHING that is made in China. Seriously- what is NOT made in China! They run the gamot from high end electronics, clothing, home and office furnishings, interior and exterior lighting, bathroom fixtures down to tourist trinkets and every kind of gadget you can imagine. The building is shaped like a dragon and broken down into zones. There are many twists and turns and you can veer off the main strip of shops into a maze of other shops. We spent two hours there and only saw a fraction of the stores. Some of the shops are very redundant- there are many, many, places to have custom made curtains tailored, clothing stores galore, tools, etc. It gets repetitive but there is a lot variety, too. We bought our GPS there and it has updated maps which is very important. We also bought good quality binoculars; because we live on the 21st floor it is cool to see some of the details of our area from this vantage point. Just to be clear- I am not a "creeper"- the windows are all very tinted so it is impossible to see into other apartments. I have also purchased a couple items of clothing and some other odds and ends. Here are pics I took-

Each colored area represents a zone and each zone has 100's of shops! You can see what I was saying about going off the main strip into side halls with more shops. You can click on any pic to see it better and then back arrow to return to the blog.

Outside the main entrance; each zone also has an entrance with one side being A and the other B. This is a huge water fountain statue of a dragon wrapped around a gold colored globe with smaller dragons spraying around the perimeter.

Closer pic of the dragon fountain.

Inside the main entrance. A small part of the Dragon Mart is two story.



Where we had lunch- one guess- yup Chinese! There are food kiosks with sandwiches and such but it is primarily Chinese. The food was pretty good.

There are so many toy stores! This is two remote control dolls on bikes. Outside of almost every toy store is someone demonstrating so watch out for gizmos on the ground and flying objects!

Random pic of the main strip of shops.

Window display of shoes at one of the larger shops. The shops range in size from hardly bigger than a large bedroom to several thousand square feet.

Another random pic of the main strip.

In this pic you can see this is zone EA on the left and EB on the right.

Another random pic. This is zone FB and the arrow indicates more shops down the hall off the main strip.

Clothes and dresses!

All of these are Hello Kitty purses (this one is for you, Dara!)

A baby air chair! I found this little jewel off the main strip. How cute is that!

This is a "you are here map" for Zone H. You can see from the shape that the exterior of the building really is shaped like a dragon. And clearly see that there are lots of shops!

As I have stated our apartment is on the 21st floor of a 35 story building. We were having a lovely breakfast on the balcony Saturday when I noticed some ropes hanging off the side of the building. We went inside to get a better look and were quite surprised to see two window washers! I grabbed the camera and began taking pics as they cleaned our windows. Even that close they could not see us inside and had no idea two goofballs (well me, anyway!) were inside photographing them.

Surprise! I was amazed being this close they could not see in.

A little further back.

It took them less than 3 minutes to clean all 6 windows. Definately not their first day on the job!

All done! One guy is taking in the view while the dude on the right lowers them for the next set of windows. You just have to wonder how much $ these guys make-not enough for me to do it!

So with the exterior windows all freshly cleaned it could only mean that the dirt and smudges that still remained were on the inside. I moved the computer table away and cleaned them until they sparkled. You just don't realize how dirty something is until you start to clean it (hint to my girls regarding the bathrooms!). We ended up taking everything off the balcony and cleaning it, too. The difference is amazing! I love a clean house- inside and out!

This is Memorial Day weekend back home. Ya'll remember to take a few moments to remember and honor the service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy freedom. All gave some; some gave all.

Peace, love and happiness- M&J

Muscat!

This past weekend Jimmy and I went to Muscat, Oman. It is a 5 hour drive from Dubai through mostly desert with not a whole lot to see but still different and interesting. Of course we had to go through the process of exiting UAE and entering Oman and return. I only have a few pics of that because photograhy is not allowed in the Visa and customs areas. And away we go-

Jimmy getting auto insurance. There is a building with a window you walk up to and provide papers for your car (rental, lease or ownership documents). You pay $100 AED and are given a certificate of insurance for Oman. You will be asked for this at the Visa office so you must have. It is easy to miss because it is a small building on the side of the road with one sign and is situated kind of beside but behind a gas station.

This is the "Visa Hut"! Here you must get your exit stamp from UAE in your passport. It is a trailor on the side of the road; you park in a gravel area nearby and stand outside in line. As you can see many people travel in and out of UAE to Oman; there are 8-10 people ahead of us and behind us and the line is constant. Fortunately the Immigration officers are very good at thier jobs and it moves pretty quickly.

Stamped and ready to go! After this there are several more security checkpoints and of course getting your passport stamped to enter Oman. The same procedure is required when you re-enter UAE. Again, the officials are quite proficient and it goes smoothly and quickly.

I'm not certain what this building is- it could be a palace, a mosque or a government building or something else.

There are many, many round-abouts along the way. A lot, but cetainly not all of them, have interesting statues, water features or gardens. I took as many pics as I could but I missed a few.

Round about pic. You can't tell from the angle but this is actually a four sided structure with the open gateway in the center.

Round about pic.

Round about pic.

Round about pic. This is made of ceramic tiles and is one of two at the same round about. The other one faces this one.

Round about pic. Very cool image of the world.

Round about pic.

This is a huge double gateway we passed through. We weren't at a border crossing so I'm not certain of its significance but isn't it beautiful!

Round about pic.

We finally arrive at the Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental Beach Club. It is an amazing hotel on the Gulf of Oman with a private beach, view of the mountains and luxury resort accommodations. There are 5 pools plus a childrens pool and lush tropical grounds to relax and enjoy.

Hotel lobby. The ceiling soars 8 stories to an intricately designed dome and spectacular chandlier. The camera just could not do it justice (although it may have had more to do with my photography skills!).

Another view of the lobby. The floor is granite and tile to include a very detailed mosaic.

Our room.

There is a sofa and desk area behind me and the door to the balcony. Beyond the bed is the bathroon which was gorgeous.

Opposite view of our room.

Our balcony overlooking one of the pools. All of the pools have infinity edges and are 4 feet deep. They also have shallow areas so you can sit or lay in the water and not be totally submerged.

Another view of the pool. The white area to the right is shallow and the two long block looking things to the left are perfectly contoured granite loungers. We laid on them and it was divine! As you can see the grounds are grassy and luxuriant and the mountain view is in the background.

Loungers to sunbathe are abundant and even an occasional hammock can be found to relax in!

Surely you didn't think I would let this opportunity get by. Fortunately Jimmy didn't have the camera ready when I nearly flipped out the thing in my zeal to climb aboard!

More of the grounds and lounging areas. In the background you can see the Gulf of Oman and the mountains. Unfortunately my camera lens fogged over because of the humidity and I didn't wait long enough for it dry before I took the beach pics so they didn't turn out so good.

The only decent pic of the beach. The dark area at the very back is black rock and the water

washes in. We were climbing around in the area and came upon several crabs! Not little sand crabs- I mean plate sized crabs.

On our way home we stopped for gas and saw some young girls going to school. They were laughing and giggling like school girls do.

The boys we came across were a different story! The young girls going to school were in the heart of downtown Muscat. These boys were in a very rural community far outside the city. The boys were also laughing and having a great time.

It is not unusual to see camels along the way. They are nearly as abundant as the cows in Alabama but they are there! We also saw goats along the side of the road  (not fenced in; just hanging out!) but I didn't have the camera ready.

Camels.

Camel gang! (I guess they call them herds, really!)

We relaxed and laughed and simply lived in the moment. You don't have to go to an exotic country or sail the high seas; next time you feel the warm sun on your face or catch the scent of sweet honeysuckle in the air- remember to simply live in the moment.

Much love to all my family and friends. I miss you all so very, very much. M&J

Air Conditioning Bill

So I paid the air conditioning bill today. Surprise- It's done a little differently here! You pay a fee quarterly plus you get billed monthly for your actual consumption. The quarterly fee is $500 AED = $136 USD. Our May consumption was $45 AED = $12 USD. So assuming increased consumption in the hotter months I can expect to pay between $15 - $30 USD monthly (a very safe assumption!) plus the quarterly fee.  This is for air conditioning only- the electricity and water bill is charged seperately and I don't have that yet. I'll let y'all know how that works out!

I'll post more mindless, inane stuff later. Y'all have a great day! Love you, M&J

Randomness

Hello all! Today is just a random day with no specific goals or plans. I noticed that I haven't posted any pics recently so today you get random thoughts with visual aids! So here is exactly that- totally random thoughts-

This is pic of the new balcony furniture. The original set we had was too large for the area and left very little room. This set is much better suited for our balcony.

This is the original balcony furniture. It is made of teak wood and is very nice (and not so cheap!). We added a few cushions and moved it in front of the triple windows in the living area and made it our computer table; you can see our "dueling laptops". Now instead of being at the kitchen table staring at the walls we can look out at the Arabian Gulf beaches and The Walk. Much better! And we have reclaimed the dining table for its intended purpose. 

We have two clocks. The left clock is the time in Hsv., Ala. and the right is Dubai time. Saves me from having to do math every time I want to know what time it is at either location! (My camera settings are fine- the dining walls really are lime green.)

Speaking of doing math- we finally bought a scale. It took a while because we looked everywhere for a scale that weighs in pounds. Nope- not in Dubai; its kilo's. We found plenty that weigh in stones (english weight) but we didn't need to know our stoned weight! So we finally bought one in kilo's and I have to do math to figure out my weight in pounds. No big deal really because everything here is in metric and it helps with my learning process. Metric really is much better- I wish the American schools would emphasize it more.

More math! We have digital alarm clocks in the bedroom. All the digital clocks reflect militay time. That is the norm here. Not having a military background it is not automatic for me to see 13:10 and know it is 1:10 pm. So after 1 pm I have to mentally subtract 12 hours to know the time I am familiar with. Again, not a bad thing- it actually makes more sense- it's just another small adjustment I have had to make.

My "piddle place". The bathroom has one power outlet and it is for shavors only. For most guys this is probably no big deal but for most girls it nothing short of barbaric! So my wonderful Jimmy bought me this table, a comfy desk chair on casters so it rolls on the tile floor, hung a mirror and provided a power strip with more power outlets than I've ever had before. Now I don't have to hang over the bathroom sink with all of my girl stuff crowded around the counter. I have plenty of space and I can sit while I apply my cosmetics and fix my hair and piddle to my hearts content! Thanks, sweetie!

I know this is blurry but it is a pic from the computer screen of the weather today. It is about 10 am and it is 88 degrees (fahrenheit- this is one time I don't have to calculate from metric!). The high today is only going to be 104- yesterday was 110. It's starting to get a little warm out there! We have a saying in Bama that it's not the heat- its the humidity. You wouldn't expect it to be humid in the desert, but living on the gulf, I assure you -it is humid! It still doesn't seem as oppressive as the 100 degree weather we get in Bama sometimes - but it is hot. The temp by June will hover around 120 and July/August around 130.

Ok, so I'm a little bitchy sometimes. This person just irks the crap out of me! This car is always parked illegally in the garage right next to the elevators. While it isn't blocking the cars that are parked legally they still have to go back and forth at least twice to avoid hitting it. As if that isn't bad enough that big red box you see on the left- it's fire equipment. If, God forbid, a fire were to occur this jerk would be blocking the hoses and water supply. I have noticed at least 3-4 parking violation notices have been put on the windshield but Mr. Special just throws them on the ground and drives off and returns to the exact same spot when he gets back. Every resident gets an assigned parking spot and can rent an additional spot if desired. So either this bozo doesn't belong here, the designated spot is not to his liking or he doesn't want to pay for an extra spot. Either way I don't care- he is just an inconsiderate ass. It doesn't affect me, he's not in our way, but the fire hazard effects all the residents. Like I said-I'm a little bitchy sometimes.

This is a product line of body washes, shampoos, etc. sold in the pharmacy down the street. I know it is juvenile but I can't help but giggle everytime I see it!

So that is my random day and pointless thoughts and rants. Otherwise its just laundry and chores (I love clean sheet day!). Some things never change no matter where you live. A special shout out to my Pennsylvania friends, Dave (my fave LeadHead!), Crystal, Kandis and Wayne. I hope ya'll are doing well- I think of you often. Dave- you would be proud-my biscuits are pretty damn good and my gravy is now better than wallpaper paste.  A girl from Alabama had to move to Dubai to learn to make biscuits and gravy- go figure! I haven't heard from ya'll in awhile so step it up and keep in touch. My family and friends in Bamaland-I miss you very, very much. Peace, love and happiness to all- J&M