New Years eve seemed to be upon me before I'd had time to recover from Christmas. This year I was determined to get down to see the fireworks so had organised with some friends to meet up and head to nearby Maryah Island which houses the Galleria Mall.
Planning for an early start we meet up at my apartment for 6.30pm. After a few disruptions we head over around 8pm and find a car park. The mall is teeming with high end designer shops and most locals look like they've just come out of them.
One noticable occurrence is that the men are nearly all dressed in coloured kandoras when they normally wear white. This is because it is winter and the darker colours attract the heat. The high heeled stilletos are out in force along with expensive jewellery.
We amble around the mall to the food court and decide on Buriyani Pot to eat at, which my friend had recommended. I order a combo which gives me two curries, two breads, pickles, salad & yoghurt for 38 dirham. Adding a soft drink to it still means it's a cheap meal. Kiwi giant Burger Fuel sits alongside and is a popular option. By the time we've finished we are being hassled for our seats as the mall has filled up and everyone wants to eat. Feeling the pressure we eventually vacate and head outside to check out the stalls that are set up on the waters edge.
Thinking we will wander aimlessly along, stopping to meander in and out of tents looking at goods, we are sadly mistaken. Once we are in the throng we can't get out and have to keep moving as best as we can along the pathway with the masses, all the while looking for a seat as it's still an hour or so until midnight.
I eventually spot one marble plinth cordoned off with tape. Being bolshy I walk through a garden and seize the seat. Once we are there all sorts of people come wandering over hoping to take advantage of our prize. But no way! We are keeping this to ourselves. As the marble seat is cold one of our group makes an amazing find, deck chairs stacked behind a wall. So we settle down in comfort, still guarding our marble seat against newcomers.
Time seems to stand still and I hear the call of the nearby hotel... Gaylene, Gaylene, Gaylene. I deputize two of our group to go up and check it out. Only one returns. Briefly! To grab her bag and inform me that my drinks are bought and I need to get up there. 3rd floor outdoor deck, prime spot for fireworks. Feeling bad to be leaving the young couple I'd invited with their baby in a pushchair, I delay my exit for another 20 minutes or so until I get a phone call telling me to get a hurry on.
Once I arrive upstairs at the bar I find a raging outdoor bar full of young, successful, trendy people, well liquored by this stage. All night we'd been trying to get a head dress with greetings on it and they were there for the taking.
Initially unable to find my friends I wander, lost in space, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the short dresses, high heels, tuxedos, suits & ties. I try phoning but the music is blaring. Finally I get a call and jive my way through dancers to find my friends have scored a cabana with couches, lights and a table. Wow! Right beside the barrier. We are in a prime spot to watch the fireworks.
And did I mention the fireworks? Wow! Incredible. A pyrotechnics dream. An amazing spectacle bursts forth from the middle of the water. Evenly spaced from five floats the display goes on for 8-10 minutes, each explosion better than the one before.
Finishing a bottle of wine, we wander home, dodging speeding taxis (all full), crazy locals, joyous expats, through sand and tarmac. Who would have thought somewhere so close would feel so far?
Planning for an early start we meet up at my apartment for 6.30pm. After a few disruptions we head over around 8pm and find a car park. The mall is teeming with high end designer shops and most locals look like they've just come out of them.
One noticable occurrence is that the men are nearly all dressed in coloured kandoras when they normally wear white. This is because it is winter and the darker colours attract the heat. The high heeled stilletos are out in force along with expensive jewellery.
We amble around the mall to the food court and decide on Buriyani Pot to eat at, which my friend had recommended. I order a combo which gives me two curries, two breads, pickles, salad & yoghurt for 38 dirham. Adding a soft drink to it still means it's a cheap meal. Kiwi giant Burger Fuel sits alongside and is a popular option. By the time we've finished we are being hassled for our seats as the mall has filled up and everyone wants to eat. Feeling the pressure we eventually vacate and head outside to check out the stalls that are set up on the waters edge.
Thinking we will wander aimlessly along, stopping to meander in and out of tents looking at goods, we are sadly mistaken. Once we are in the throng we can't get out and have to keep moving as best as we can along the pathway with the masses, all the while looking for a seat as it's still an hour or so until midnight.
I eventually spot one marble plinth cordoned off with tape. Being bolshy I walk through a garden and seize the seat. Once we are there all sorts of people come wandering over hoping to take advantage of our prize. But no way! We are keeping this to ourselves. As the marble seat is cold one of our group makes an amazing find, deck chairs stacked behind a wall. So we settle down in comfort, still guarding our marble seat against newcomers.
Kiwi connections.
Once I arrive upstairs at the bar I find a raging outdoor bar full of young, successful, trendy people, well liquored by this stage. All night we'd been trying to get a head dress with greetings on it and they were there for the taking.
Initially unable to find my friends I wander, lost in space, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the short dresses, high heels, tuxedos, suits & ties. I try phoning but the music is blaring. Finally I get a call and jive my way through dancers to find my friends have scored a cabana with couches, lights and a table. Wow! Right beside the barrier. We are in a prime spot to watch the fireworks.
Merry trio!
Finishing a bottle of wine, we wander home, dodging speeding taxis (all full), crazy locals, joyous expats, through sand and tarmac. Who would have thought somewhere so close would feel so far?
Happy New Year. May 2015 bring you health, wealth & prosperity.
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