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January 5th, 2011 | Asia

Delayed in Dubai…

It has been eight days since I handed Big Fella over to the freight agents in Amman, Jordan, and I have still to set eyes on the crate that he is housed in…!!

After being advised initially, that the bike would fly on the 31st of December, this was changed to the 1st of January, and then the 3rd of January…

I am now aware that the crate has arrived, and the clearing process can begin…

In the mean time I have been comfortably ensconced in the Florida Hotel in the Al Sabkha district of Dubai… It lies on the Eastern side of Dubai Creek, thankfully well away from all the glitz and supposed glamour of the Al-Jumeirah and other up-market and overdeveloped shrines to commercialism that this city if famous for…

Despite being off the usual tourist route, I still see small groups of westerners wandering around in apparent dismay at their surroundings…

Down by the Creek... Water taxi ply their trade from one of the numerous taxi stations that line the waterway...

Al Sabkha is a busy commercial district, with thousands of small businesses crammed into every available space… Electronic goods and clothing shops vie for space here and it is not unusual for the pavements in front of each to be used as display areas, forcing pedestrians to inch their way around them in single file, where usually they could be walking three and four abreast…!!

The Florida Hotel where I am currently based...

There are hundreds of small hotels built above these enterprises, their front entrances more often than not in narrow little alleys leading off the main roads…

The Florida Hotel is no different… Although it is well signposted by huge letters running up the side of the building, you would be hard pressed to finds its entrance from the main road…

Once inside and off the bustling streets, this hotel offers all the peace and quiet you will need after a jostling walk through the streets outside…

It has an African Theme restaurant on the top floor, which serves dishes I recognized from my travels through both East and West Africa…

The restaurant attracts visitors looking for a taste of “home” and while I sat eating on my first night here, I shared the room with Senegalese, Nigerians and Ghanaians, as well as Kenyans and Sudanese…

Perhaps there was a meeting of the African Union in town…!!

I arrived here on New Year’s Eve, when rooms are at a premium… This was the third or fourth hotel I tried, and the first with any available rooms…

At this time of year, hotel rooms are not booked out to tourists in the main as you would expect, but more to the local working population, who prefer to celebrate the New Year in the confines of a hotel room, where they will not be bothered by the authorities…

The U.A.E. has strict laws on the sale of alcohol, and in fact, only the larger hotels are able to offer any for sale… Locals get around this little problem by booking into hotels to imbibe in relative safety from the authorities, who vigorously enforce the ban on alcohol…!!

Having little interest in joining the throngs of Mall Rats, I have spent my time strolling through the streets close to my hotel, doing my best not to get lost…!! The area is a rabit warren of narrow alleys and one-way roads…!!

The Creek itself is about six blocks away, and I have been down there to check out the water taxis which carry people across the muddy brown waters to the western side, where most of the high rise buildings thrust their way into the sky…

The world tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Tower (a mere 828 metres high…!!) stands as a backdrop to the largest shopping mall in the Middle East…

Not knowing when the bike would arrive has limited the time I can spend walking about… I keep expecting the call from Super Freight Dubai, which would tell me that their driver was on his way to collect me to clear my crate… As we all know, Customs and other Government Agencies all over the world, are a law unto themselves, and predicting exactly when your goods will be released is an exercise fraught with the possibilities of disappointment…

And so, I wait….impatiently…wondering when I can get away from the hustle and bustle, and into the desert that lies just beyond…

Waiting for the Big Fella to be cleared...!!

©GBWT 2011

8 comments to Delayed in Dubai…

  • Charmz

    LOL GB, atleast Big Fella has finally touched down in Dubai. The two of you will be re-united very soon and can continue your journey together; we, your followers, are also looking forward to your 2011 adventures.
    The good news is that your knees, elbows and shoulders have had some R&R, they not complaining about the delay!

  • Nick Wade

    Hi,

    Been following your blog for a while now and have to say love the way you write and it always manages to scratch the itch i have to go off and do something similar.

    Having grown up as an ex-pat in Saudi and spending some time in other Middle Eastern countries, can I give you one piece of advise. If you have some time spare in UAE, GET OUT OF DUBAI. There’s a load to do in Abu Dhabi and if you can get someone to take you make sure you go to the Rainbow Prince’s car museum…incredible. It actually only opened for a day before he realized he didn’t want anyone to see his collection! Although closed, if you buy a freshly squeezed orange juice from the little shop there the guy will let you in and you will have it all to yourself. The most incredible collection of private cars you’ll see…featured on Top Gear a few years back. Or get out into the desert and do some quad biking / sand surfing… enjoy!!!!

  • New year with a new country and a new journey!

  • david owens

    Hi Ronnie – have been thinking of you often. We’ve done a whole round-the-world (NBI-LHR-Vancouver-Auckland- Sydney – NBI), getting back two days ago … a lot faster and nothing like your adventure.
    Happy New Year mate! Hopefully you’ll make it back to Arusha Tz before you retire!!! Cheers … Dave, Zac & Judi.

  • Khalid KAAB

    Hi Ronnie,

    Are you back in Wadi Halfa ?
    Why don’t you tell those fat and lazy guys you have no time to waste, a wide world is waiting for you.
    Take care.

  • Charmz

    Great to have spoken to you today….it sure has been a while. Once you have BF tomorrow you can be on your way out of Dubai. Holding thumbs that your laptop gets fixed a.s.a.p.

  • Vince Ricci

    If you sit around there with nothing to do for too long… I just might have to come and join you!

  • Mark Behr

    Looking forward to you getting out on the road again.

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