Middle East
This article is from Angie Whitehead. Check her website at http://www.srilankaundiscovered.co.uk
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
U A E (exchange rate 1 US$ = 4 Dirhams (AED); 1 GBP = 7.50 AED)
I arrive at around 4 pm in Dubai. I am double security checked, maybe because I am the only western person on the plane from Cairo! Anyhow the visa is free for EU citizens and valid for 1 month; they seem amazed that I am only spending one night in UAE and then flying down to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dubai Airport is large with long distances to walk. I get a taxi to Sharjah, ½ hour’s drive and costing 40 AED. The driver is Pakistani but has trouble finding the hotel; he only knows his area round Dubai airport! Around 80% of the UAE population is non Gulf Arab, mainly from the Indian subcontinent. (This is my 2nd visit to UAE, as I had spent a week in Dubai last year, also visiting nearby Oman).
Sharjah Plaza Hotel is in downtown Sharjah, just behind Rolla Square and not far from the Corniche (water front). It cost AED 160 for an air con room with TV, private bathroom and a view over to the Corniche. The all-male staff were from Kerala in South India and very pleasant and friendly. They allowed me to pay ½ price to keep the room till 7 pm the following day so that I could check out just before the night flight to Colombo. This was really helpful as the temperature outside was 45 deg. C and the whole area apparently populated entirely by men from the subcontinent! Eager to see Sharjah I l took a walk along the Corniche past modern mosques and old-fashioned dhows (boats), to the fish market. It was Friday (mosque day) and around 5 pm; the whole place was alive with Indian/Pakistani men, not a single woman in sight, not even in a burqa! Luckily I was wearing my special scarved outfit for the Middle East. I looped back across some parkland, where men were playing ball games to an area full of shops (still no women) and so back to Rolla Square, which was completely full of 1000s of men. I thought it was a political demo but the hotel clerk said it was just a meeting place for Friday before and after prayers! Rather daunted I bought a veggie bread roll to eat in my room from a nearby café with only men in it. My clothes were soaked through after the long walk in the heat, so I hung them up to dry and watch the news on Al-Jazeera TV.
The following day I breakfasted in the hotel for around AED 15 (bread rolls, jam, processed cheese and coffee) and then headed for the museum (just about the only old building in town), well worth a visit. A few women were now about, supervising children, and I even met 2 foreigners at the museum, the only other people there). Walking up the Corniche past fishing nets and boat repair shops I reached rows of modern power boats moored near a mosque. Nearly all the buildings are modern and newish or very new and they are building new mosques at a fast rate (they seem to be very religious in Sharjah). It was very hot so I took a taxi up the coast to the emirate of Ajman, which is very small and has a big beach hotel – no-one was on the beach as it was too hot! So I went to visit another museum (also very interesting) and had lunch in a Kerala restaurant (they refused to serve women in a Pakistani one; I couldn’t find an Arab one!). This cost me AED 5 for rice and curries and a soft drink. As the day grew ever hotter I headed back to the hotel to pack up ready for the next stage of my journey and took a taxi at 8 pm to Sharjah Airport, which cost another AED 40. Sharjah Airport is quite small and most of the flights seem to go to the Indian subcontinent. I took Air Arabia to Colombo, a 4 ½ journey leaving at 10.30 pm. I had bought this ticket on the internet and it cost Euros 118 (pricing is in AED, US$ or Euros for their website). Air Arabia is a low-cost airline so food on board costs extra but you can eat your own if you wish! It was good value and a comfortable flight.
Comments : U A E towns are mainly ultra-modern, though parts of downtown Sharjah are rather run-down. Roads are wide and often lined with trees and flowers (my first visit was in April and there was a wonderful display of petunias). The majority of the population are Indian males, many of whom work in the construction industry, sprinkled with Arabs (from Gulf and other Middle East countries) and Westerners. The cost of living is high, though slightly lower than in West Europe. Indian restaurants are good value and there are many small supermarkets to buy food and drink. It was very hot (45 deg C). The sun rises at around 6 am and sets around 7 pm.
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