Reunion in Dubai Part I

My family and I are together now in Dubai after our last Aidilfitri celebration in Malaysia in September this year. They looked fresh when I greeted them at Terminal 1 Dubai Airport. Perhaps they were delighted with the welcoming gifts. So I presume the tattooed roses and even the phlat ball have found the way to their hearts. As soon as we reached my apartment, they were exhausted and slept until mid-morning. For my kids, this has been their first jet-lag, if it was really what they experienced. Staring at these children of mine while they were sleeping brought some kind of congestion in my chest and I was really holding back tears. These have been the sights of their peaceful countenance with dried saliva and all, that I had been missing for months. They were the sights I wished to see in those lonely nights as I went home into an empty house and went to sleep without anyone to kiss good night.

My apartment has now been filled with an unusual aroma. The aroma of a proper home-cooked meal which we had heartily for our brunch.

On a fine day when the wind was mild, we went for a city ballooning which took us 150m above the ground. The sight has been the most proper way to introduce to my family the look out of my neighbourhood, The Gardens and Discovery Gardens. I pointed to them Jumeirah seaside where I collected sea shells for them and the cluster of buildings at Dubai Marina which I used to stay for my first few months in Dubai. At one end, I pointed the downtown Dubai and at the other end, the Jebel Ali Free Zone, where I work. Looming ahead was Abu Dhabi and the empty desert.

On the same bright sunny day, we went for a desert safari. It was a rough ride of a four-wheel drive across the beautiful desert, off-road close to the long stretch of Oman-Hatta road. My wife was getting ready with a plastic bag as she was very close to throw up, but my kids was screaming happily. The sand was fine, soft, dry and warm. It felt like brown sugar. The winter breeze allowed us to enjoy this forgiving arid land which a point of no entry in the scorching summer. This is the beauty of Dubai in its natural way, a contrasting element of the glamourous modern and artificial Dubai, which will be featured in the second part of this reunion entry.

We had a good view of the desert sunset as the camels made a home-bound parade and the bright-blue-sky day turned into a starry night. We stopped at a camp in the middle of the desert. The kids and I tried sand-boarding for the first time. My wife and my daughter had their hands decorated with henna. Then we had BBQ dinner as a dancer tried to impress us with her belly and hip shakes just like Shakira's.

It was also a celebration of my wife's birthday at the midnight of 23rd December. It was a simple black forest cake overloaded with candles which my son helped to select. Happy birthday, Bojo.