Jetstreams over London by Lindsay du Plessis
Articles & Stories Travel Articles Under An Empty Sky
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The boat leaves the dive centre at the Oceanic Hotel at 9am sharp. Masses of regulators and tanks, snorkels and fins lie scattered across the deck as we speed over the waves towards the dive site. Some hard core divers from Germany spit and smear their goggles before they tumble over backwards into the sea, some distance from where everyone else will dive.  Underwater life is unimagined above the surface. You hear your own Darth Vader-like breathing and not much else. Parrot fish swim by, as if coloured by a kid given a set of crayons and told to go wild. There are Angel fish and Sergeant Majors, puffer fish and tiny animals that look like slices of fillet steak. The most spectacular creature, however, is a fish that is lined with electric blue all along its edges, with bright orange spots on its sides behind the fins. And then an electric eel swims by, making all the divers in the area convulse with excitement. Back above water, you sweat from the heat of the water inside your wetsuit, combined with the air temperature. Lying on the beach is not refreshing, so you move to another dive site a few miles away. Snoopy Island looks like Charlie Brown’s dog lying on the roof of his house, and is surrounded by life so beautiful you wish you could stay down there forever. But one cannot holiday on beaches alone, so back through the mountains to Dubai you drive. Imagine CNN footage of the Middle East, harsh ragged cliffs and caves, dusty and remote. This is inland United Arab Emirates. In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but peaks, sits a cricket stadium, floodlights and all.  Dubai is the most famous of the seven United Arab Emirates, although Abu Dhabi is the biggest. It has gold, oil, shopping, hotels and commerce, not to mention spectacular golf courses, but it is still chaotic. Driving in the UAE, especially Dubai, is to take your life in your hands. It is as if rules do not exist, and neither do indicators nor speedometers. The only important part of the car (mainly SUV’s) is the hooter. Taxi drivers jostle with each other for passengers, stopping in the middle of the road without warning. Ah, just like home… Once arriving safely, and with a palpitating heart, at the souk (market) area, be aware of the hustlers. They will try to sell you “genuine†designer handbags and fragrances from their little hidden-away rooms, leading you through allies and up staircases so that you cannot leave without buying something. The gold souk is famous for a reason. Never has there been so much bright yellow, fake-looking jewellery in one place. Walls of identical earrings, bracelets and chains run for ages through the throngs of tourists, all looking for a unique trinket at a bargain price. Merchants shout at passers-by, haggling and charming in this most competitive of markets. It gets a bit samey after a while.  The spice souk, on the other hand, is a sensory delight. Bright coloured spices clash with fragrant herbs and dried fruits. One merchant, “Call me Jack,†displays his wares on an air-conditioned stall. He explains how to burn frankincense, what to use dried cucumber for and how much star anise to use (not a lot). Purchases made. Move along. Behind the touristy façade of shopping malls (truly astonishing), souks and five-star hotels, Dubai is old. Ancient, in fact. Getting lost on the way to the National Museum is a good way to discover this. Around every corner is a mosaic-covered mosque surrounded by devout men waiting for prayers to start. Little shops sell silks and robes for a fraction of the prices in the souks. Arab men help western ladies find their way, chatting as they go. If you want to know more about Arabia than the media tells you, visit the Dubai Museum. It looks small and boring from the outside, but underground it carries on forever, illustrating every aspect of a fascinating and complex culture. The kids will love it. Leaving Dubai, the roads go in many directions. One leads to Al Ain, the garden city of the UAE, on the border of Oman. It is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the only state to have more than one city. As you move away from the humidity of the coast, the sand gets redder the more inland you go, reminiscent of Namibia. Ail Ain means “the springâ€, and it is tree-lined and green. There is not a cloud in the sky here, nor in any other place we visit. There are palaces and mosques aplenty, as well as one of the biggest hospitals in the  Middle East, where many South Africans work. And, most stereotypical of all, there is a huge camel market. Camels are valuable creatures, a source of income for many people. They are used for racing, food, milk and clothing. The market is just outside the city, and is one smelly place. Hundreds of animals stand around, waiting to be inspected by merchants and racing aficionados. They are well cared for, covered in colourful blankets as they stand and stare regally into the distance. Just make sure you take a few Dirham notes with you, because you have to tip the owners for pictures or to touch the animals. After all this exertion and heat, you will probably feel like a cold beer. In most of the UAE you are allowed to drink, but only in hotels or in your home. Most hotels have great bars and pubs, complete with live entertainment, but do not ever drink and drive. You will be chucked out the country, which would be a pity as it has so much to offer. Copyright - Lindsay du Plessis For permission to publish these articles or photographs, or to commission articles - Contact Me |
