Ramadan Kareem!
Greetings to you all on the first day of the holy month, 'Ramadan'. I wonder if Ramadan is the same time as Matariki? I've survived day one but didn't fast as slept in which is very unusual for me. I did venture out to the Mall early, around 10.30am and it was empty. No coffee shops or eateries were open and most of the shops were closed. Whether the closed shops was due to Ramadan or is normal at that mall on a Friday I'm not sure. Not many shoppers either although I did see several Phillipino men sitting eating and drinking at one of the coffee shop tables. No-one did anything about it but there were no Emirates in sight.
I was shopping for a gown for our cruise. As we have two formal nights and get photos with the Captain I thought I'd better dress up. I've managed to get my son outfitted which can be a mission in itself. As anyone with teenage boys knows they aren't into dressing up or shopping with mothers but after a recommendation we headed into Pierre Cardin in the Abu Dhabi Mall to buy a suit. Yes! A suit nonetheless! And three shirts and two ties. No, make that four shirts and three ties as the last one was a tux shirt and bow tie. Very flash. I think the Wellington Uncle will be impressed!!!
Just imagine being able to decide at the last minute that you need a suit and going into an upmarket shop and getting one, off the rack as well. Very impressive with a choice of fabrics. This one is wool and silk mix so looks and feels lovely. The young guy in there was very helpful and even taught him how to tie a Windsor Knot so now knows it all. Pity neither of us could manage to operate the bow tie once we got home and had to ask when we picked up the suit which was getting the pants taken up. Imagine, taken up! So armed with a nice Pierre Cardin suit bag my son thinks he is the bees knees. Lucky he brought new dress shoes from home as he wouldn't have a hope of getting any here, me neither for that matter. Lucky everything was 75% off so we saved 5580 AED and paid 1860 AED which is $633 NZD.
So back to my gown. I managed to get a flowing teal dress which looks fabulous. I'm looking for a second one so will have to hit the shops again. There are some great sales on at the moment but most clothes are made for tiny Phillipino girls. Also a lot of short skirts around which don't do me any justice. My gown was 365 AED on sale so $125 NZD. Many dresses are up in the 3-4000 price range but we're talking red carpet gowns here. The Emirate women wear them under their Abaya to weddings then take the Abaya off. So no shortage of glamour and bling or money. I'm shopping in the cheap shops compared to them.
So I've had out my lovely high-heels that I bought in Hamilton before I left NZ and been striding up and round the corridor outside our apartment while I adjust to wearing heels again. I've managed to wear the wedges to the mall twice and haven't fallen over yet. So I'm getting more accustomed to them as I need to be able to walk on the ship. It's been years since I've worn heels so it's taking some getting used to again.
Hopefully I get some lovely photos to share with you all during the cruise.
I am moving on Wednesday so have sold my newly bought wardrobes today. I have movers coming in at 8am Wednesday to pack and shift stuff. I've had to book the lift at the new apartments so did that for 1pm. Not sure what the 5 men will do for 5 hours but no doubt there will be a lot of standing around looking! It takes ages to get stuff down in the lifts too which they need to allow for I suppose.
So I've been busy organising that. My curtain man is going to adjust the curtains to fit the new place so that's good. He will take them down and then put them up at the new place.
I'm hoping it will be all sorted and I'll have my clearance from here before I go on the cruise so I can relax. I think I deserve it after all the rigmarole to get the new apartment. So look out for photos of that too.
I got a rental car for two weeks the day we finished school so I could get around easier. A wee Toyota Yaris, very wee! I drove home with my hands rigid on the steering wheel and made it in one piece only to scrape the side of the car as I drove into our parking garage! Would you believe it? The entrance has a nice sweeping curve then juts out at the bottom and I, not being used to sitting on the left hand side, misjudged it. Or didn't even see it to be honest. So I had to call the police, yes the police, to come and do a report. He laughed and said, "But it's just a little car!" So a 300 AED fine for my troubles. Luckily I paid extra to have no excess on the insurance, must have known I wouldn't get through two weeks without some mishap. I haven't changed the car as I feel happier knowing it's got one scrape down the side incase I somehow get another! As long as you have the police report when you return it, I think it's ok. As I've told you before, they drive like madmen here and it's even worse during Ramadan. Over the last few weeks I see at least 3 accidents every time I go out. Hence the no-excess.
Ramadan is very much like Christmas in that it is the main holiday here. All the shops are decorated with the words, 'Ramadan Kareem' which I haven't been able to find out what that means. But I imagine it's happy or peaceful Holy Month. My local supermarket has a date display because it is the time of year that the dates are ripe. In Liwa they have a date festival which is a must see but I didn't get there this year. Too hot at the moment anyway. The date is important to Ramadan because they break their fast by eating dates. Then they partake of 'Iftar' which is the meal to break the fast. You see multiple restaurants advertising 'Iftar' buffets now. That is because they usually do the Friday brunch but can't so have to get people in somehow. I've booked us one so will see what it is like. I will do that later in Ramadan.
Here are some photos of the display in the Mall. See if you can spot the name of the supermarket written in dates. I didn't realise there are so many types of dates. Makes my date scones look a bit tame.
Lulu's display. Note the camels glued on to the floor.
Bunches of dates growing by our shops. Note the red ones in the background. People help themselves to the dates from the trees, especially all the workers. You take what you need and leave the rest for others.
Wonderful bunches of dates. Did you know they came in these colours? I didn't.
Now these dates are more what I am used to. They are ripe but still have many varieties. You can buy them boxed stuffed with orange peel, almonds and tamarin or something similar.
Artistically displayed dates complete with minature camels.
More bunches of dates. These trees line all the roadsides and are laden at the moment.
Ramadan Kareem to you all.
Greetings to you all on the first day of the holy month, 'Ramadan'. I wonder if Ramadan is the same time as Matariki? I've survived day one but didn't fast as slept in which is very unusual for me. I did venture out to the Mall early, around 10.30am and it was empty. No coffee shops or eateries were open and most of the shops were closed. Whether the closed shops was due to Ramadan or is normal at that mall on a Friday I'm not sure. Not many shoppers either although I did see several Phillipino men sitting eating and drinking at one of the coffee shop tables. No-one did anything about it but there were no Emirates in sight.
I was shopping for a gown for our cruise. As we have two formal nights and get photos with the Captain I thought I'd better dress up. I've managed to get my son outfitted which can be a mission in itself. As anyone with teenage boys knows they aren't into dressing up or shopping with mothers but after a recommendation we headed into Pierre Cardin in the Abu Dhabi Mall to buy a suit. Yes! A suit nonetheless! And three shirts and two ties. No, make that four shirts and three ties as the last one was a tux shirt and bow tie. Very flash. I think the Wellington Uncle will be impressed!!!
Just imagine being able to decide at the last minute that you need a suit and going into an upmarket shop and getting one, off the rack as well. Very impressive with a choice of fabrics. This one is wool and silk mix so looks and feels lovely. The young guy in there was very helpful and even taught him how to tie a Windsor Knot so now knows it all. Pity neither of us could manage to operate the bow tie once we got home and had to ask when we picked up the suit which was getting the pants taken up. Imagine, taken up! So armed with a nice Pierre Cardin suit bag my son thinks he is the bees knees. Lucky he brought new dress shoes from home as he wouldn't have a hope of getting any here, me neither for that matter. Lucky everything was 75% off so we saved 5580 AED and paid 1860 AED which is $633 NZD.
So back to my gown. I managed to get a flowing teal dress which looks fabulous. I'm looking for a second one so will have to hit the shops again. There are some great sales on at the moment but most clothes are made for tiny Phillipino girls. Also a lot of short skirts around which don't do me any justice. My gown was 365 AED on sale so $125 NZD. Many dresses are up in the 3-4000 price range but we're talking red carpet gowns here. The Emirate women wear them under their Abaya to weddings then take the Abaya off. So no shortage of glamour and bling or money. I'm shopping in the cheap shops compared to them.
So I've had out my lovely high-heels that I bought in Hamilton before I left NZ and been striding up and round the corridor outside our apartment while I adjust to wearing heels again. I've managed to wear the wedges to the mall twice and haven't fallen over yet. So I'm getting more accustomed to them as I need to be able to walk on the ship. It's been years since I've worn heels so it's taking some getting used to again.
Hopefully I get some lovely photos to share with you all during the cruise.
I am moving on Wednesday so have sold my newly bought wardrobes today. I have movers coming in at 8am Wednesday to pack and shift stuff. I've had to book the lift at the new apartments so did that for 1pm. Not sure what the 5 men will do for 5 hours but no doubt there will be a lot of standing around looking! It takes ages to get stuff down in the lifts too which they need to allow for I suppose.
So I've been busy organising that. My curtain man is going to adjust the curtains to fit the new place so that's good. He will take them down and then put them up at the new place.
I'm hoping it will be all sorted and I'll have my clearance from here before I go on the cruise so I can relax. I think I deserve it after all the rigmarole to get the new apartment. So look out for photos of that too.
I got a rental car for two weeks the day we finished school so I could get around easier. A wee Toyota Yaris, very wee! I drove home with my hands rigid on the steering wheel and made it in one piece only to scrape the side of the car as I drove into our parking garage! Would you believe it? The entrance has a nice sweeping curve then juts out at the bottom and I, not being used to sitting on the left hand side, misjudged it. Or didn't even see it to be honest. So I had to call the police, yes the police, to come and do a report. He laughed and said, "But it's just a little car!" So a 300 AED fine for my troubles. Luckily I paid extra to have no excess on the insurance, must have known I wouldn't get through two weeks without some mishap. I haven't changed the car as I feel happier knowing it's got one scrape down the side incase I somehow get another! As long as you have the police report when you return it, I think it's ok. As I've told you before, they drive like madmen here and it's even worse during Ramadan. Over the last few weeks I see at least 3 accidents every time I go out. Hence the no-excess.
Ramadan is very much like Christmas in that it is the main holiday here. All the shops are decorated with the words, 'Ramadan Kareem' which I haven't been able to find out what that means. But I imagine it's happy or peaceful Holy Month. My local supermarket has a date display because it is the time of year that the dates are ripe. In Liwa they have a date festival which is a must see but I didn't get there this year. Too hot at the moment anyway. The date is important to Ramadan because they break their fast by eating dates. Then they partake of 'Iftar' which is the meal to break the fast. You see multiple restaurants advertising 'Iftar' buffets now. That is because they usually do the Friday brunch but can't so have to get people in somehow. I've booked us one so will see what it is like. I will do that later in Ramadan.
Here are some photos of the display in the Mall. See if you can spot the name of the supermarket written in dates. I didn't realise there are so many types of dates. Makes my date scones look a bit tame.
Ramadan Kareem to you all.
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