The trip from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi is pretty interesting. Each direction is three or four lane blacktop with a median strip made up of endless date palms. The irrigation system on the palms stretches the whole way (about 1 and a half hours travelling at 120 kph). On each side of the blacktop are date farms that have been reclaimed from the desert. Again - each date palm has its own watering system. Staggering. After that is desert and sand dunes with snakes and scorpions as far as the eye can see. It's a vast landscape.
We got horribly lost on our first night here, trying to find Deno's place. There is a rabbit warren of streets and high rise buildings with billions of cars either parked in haphazard ways, or moving, with very few left turns available. So if you take a right turn, and it's wrong - it is a nightmare to even retrace your steps.
Still - we eventually found it and immediately found a car-park (a minor miracle) where the car has stayed for two days now. Dene's place is very central so we've walked everywhere: the Abu Dhabi mall; the Formal Park; the corniche; and the Hamdan Centre amongst other places.
The Hamdan centre has King's Recordings - a CD/ DVD shop that is really well stocked and has cheaper prices than Doha or the Virgin stores I've found. Al Ain has no real CD store - only what you find in the supermarkets so this was a revelation. Needless to say I stocked up!! Jacky spent her time in the Gift Garden getting nick knacks.
Jacky, unfortunately has woken with a migraine today - the bright lights from last night's trek are to blame - so I've filled in the time reading. I found a copy of Keith Richards' autobiography Life in an Al Ain bookshop and it is a really really addictive book. Doesn't read like tape recorded series of memories - more like an actual written memoir and it is unbelievably great. Keef is, of course, keef - honest, direct, intelligent, funny, with music oozing out of every pore. Gotta love him!
I especially loved reading about his early life and relationships along the way. Of course the big personality looming over things along with Keef is Mick and he doesn't pull any punches describing that dynamic. It's revealing, fascinating and made me want to go back to the music on every page.
Okay so I want to get back to it again so I'll chuck some pictures from the last few days of Abu Dhabi.
Love and peace - Wozza
2 comments:
And I sit at home looking out the window imagining the world has stopped. Actually, it has as there is ten inches new snow here on the prairie. Have not read the K.R. journal although it is on my list. And the man cuts his own hair (not a stretch.)
MMmm - very appropriate quote for us both. My wife loves the snow (although bizarrely hates the cold) so new snow sounds great. We have skiing on snow and ice-skating in the Al Ain malls! The Keef book is really really addictive - very harrowing though. He does not hold back - on anything!
Post a Comment