Sun, Sand and Surf

One of the highlights of living in the Middle East is the beach! Here are some shots from the beachess days that I have had since arriving in Dubai.



This is the Oasis Beach Hotel. It was a holiday and a beautiful day so everyone was out catching some rays.



My first camel sighting was on the beach! Tourist camel rides along the beach... how fun. I would want to make sure that I was riding with more than just my swim suit on though!
The people in the foreground look like they are thinking that I am taking their picture and they weren't ready yet!



This is the view of the hotel from the chairs that we were sitting in. It is a huge place, just like all the rest of them I guess. There was beach area, then a grassy area, then the pool deck then, up to the hotel. A huge buffet running alongside the beach, a giant swim up bar, volleyball court, tennis courts, play area and jungle gym for the kids, badminton, 3 regular bars and another restaurant to use while we were there. It was all about the sun and surf for me though.



Here in the distance you can see the Jumiera Beach Residences. There were other shots of them earlier in the blog. An enormous housing project that is going to fill this beach with even more sun goddesses when they open it up. Perhaps another 16,000 or so!



Love the sunshine!



The Camels are all dressed up for their rides. I wonder if they like strolling the beach all day long?



Here we are in front of or rather to the side of the Burj Al Arab. The only 6 star hotel in the world. You could see the marina that they have for the guests of the hotel and the owners of the boats that go in and out of the "World" development down the beach a bit. We saw a helicopter fly in and out of there while we were watching the passersby.



It's hard to believe that you are sitting there looking at her sometimes. It seems surreal to see her everyday just sitting there in all her glory after looking at so many pictures on the web. Someday I might not be awed by the site but, today is not that day. She reminds me of the amazing potential in all of us.



Here is what the rest of the beach looks like. The "public" parts of the beach are different to the other side where the hotels are. The water is the same but, the crowds are very different.



After Kenny finishes work we have been exploring. This is our new favorite beach to spend time on. It's called 4X4 beach because you can drive right up to the sea and park, throw the beach chairs in the sand, grab the BBQ and spend the day relaxing. Make sure that you bring an umbrella though... it's hot!
We were out there and watched the kite surfers having a blast. There were 30 or 40 people out there trying their hand at this new sport. Here you need a permit to even attempt to learn. It does look like fun though.



New beach chairs, lots of sun and a good book, what could be better? Perhaps telling the man that is doing the prayers from the Mosque behind me to keep it down! How long is the prayer session anyway? Could you sing a little softer the entire neighborhood couldn't hear you, Oh wait that is the idea... the entire neighborhood is supposed to hear this!
I think that the first prayer session is supposed to start at 4 something am. I am so glad they don't do that around our house in the wee early hours.
Even the singing from the mosque in a language that we don't understand didn't deter us from cooking like the turkeys that we are!