When Summer Ends…

Some hill near the UAE-Oman border, (Google Maps calls it Jabal Al Haleefah), Fujairah, Nov 2022

Another express post coming up. (Yes, yet another. The workload keeps piling up, which is good, bcoz that’s how we survive, OK?)

It’s mid-October. But it’s still hot and hazy. When is summer gonna end?? And people say that there’s no global warming?!?? (Yeah, I’m referring to you, o great President of MAGA. A con job, eh? Doesn’t look like it from here. But I have to say, President (Trump), you did a great job cobbling together the Israel-Hamas peace plan (I don’t wanna admit it, but I’ve actually praised him twice this year, although I’m no fan of his. But he delivered the results, you can’t deny it). I really hope it’ll lead to a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, and I hope it’ll bring about a truly independent Palestinian state, that is peaceful, progressive and cooperative, like the countries in the Gulf. If that happens, go ahead, take that friggin Nobel Peace Prize, you’d fully deserve it!) Oh, I spoke too soon. It actually friggin rained 2 nights ago… After, ummmm… a year? Or more? It’s just a little sprinkling, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Anyway, back to my post, the family’s eagerly waiting for it to cool down so that we could go camping again! Here’re some photos of our camping times of past years. Mountains, we’re coming! (When summer truly ends, that is).


The road to the east, (one of the roads anyway), the E102, or the Sharjah to Kalba Road, the one we used mostly to get to the hills nowadays… because it leads to our favourite campsite in the UAE, Wadi Shawka! On our way to our first overnight camp in Wadi Shawka, Dec 2021. The first of many, bcoz after trying lots of locations, this seems to be the best!


Standing around a fire, in the desert-hill, Wadi Shawka (Or is it Showkah? What the heck, it doesn’t really matter in the UAE, because they’re just transliterations of the place’s Arabic name, anyway), Ras Al Khaimah, Dec 2021… This was Justin’s only time camping in Showkah before he went to Singapore for his studies (And we, ummm… maybe close to 10 times now)


And this is from our least favourite road to the east now… the E88, or Al Dhaid to Masafi Road. E88 was the main road to the east before. Now, there’re so many roads to choose from. The last time we used the E88, it was packed with traffic. This photo was taken near the once popular (or maybe, still popular, but not for us) Friday Market, Fujairah. Just look at the dirt! Oct 2020


Another nice location to camp, where there’s close to no one around, in the Madha Exclave of Oman, Feb 2023. We found this place by accident in Oct 2020, on our first ever overnight camping excursion by ourselves. The Khor Fakkan Road (yes, another road to the east) had just opened, and we went exploring. We decided to check out Wadi Shees and the connecting road (or more like ‘track’) to Madha and Nahwa, but we went too late. Finally, after driving up and down between Nahwa and Khor Fakkan a couple of times in the dark, the missus picked a random spot in the hills, and we set up camp (in the friggin dark). It was scary, because we were the only ones around… but it came out all nice and cool (check out this earlier post) … So, why not a second visit?


That’s where we parked out car and camped. The road (i.e. track) is just below, and you’ll hear cars driving past in the night, if cars drive past that is, but they’re very rare. Madha Exclave, Oman, Feb 2023


Our first overnight camp after Justin left for Singapore, Nov 2022, at some random spot by the road near Ain Lighmour (Blossom Valley), Fujairah (It’s called Jabal Al Haleefah according to Google Maps). Somehow or other, I repeated the same stupid mistake I did in Oct 2020, (on our first trip to the Madha Enclave). This time, I headed out to the interesting-sounding ‘Blossom Valley’ in the afternoon, underestimating the time it’d take to get there (i.e. 2 friggin hours, …and I thought we could get everywhere in the eastern Emirates in an hour, plus 30 mins tops). And so, we ended up, reaching Ain Lighmour at dusk, finding out, in the dim light, that it ain’t a field of flowers, and that there’re no suitable campsites… But luckily for me, I have a missus, with a knack for good camping spots. This is the spot we finally camped in…


Good morning, everyone! How was the night? Scary? (Bcoz there was only us and us alone, but we survived!) Let’s hike up the hill!


Sunrise! And we’re all alone!! (See our car? Our tent is by the tree in front of the car). This is near the UAE-Oman border. The land in front, where the sun is, after the road and behind the hill, is Oman proper! Jabal Al Haleefah, Fujairah, UAE


And that’s Blossom Valley (Ain Lighmour, or Ayn Al Ghamur, depending on which transliteration you fancy, yes, another confusing Arabic transliteration problem), in Nov 2022, without a single flower! Only friggn DONKEYS! That’s why, it’s important to do some research before you head off, silly… (How would it have flowers, if it hadn’t rain?? But it friggin rain! Did it rain here?? Doesn’t look like it, does it?…)




Wild flowers!!! Blossom Valley in full bloom, finally, after rainfall! Ayn Al Ghamur, Fujairah, UAE, Feb 2023


That’s it for today. Signing off. On the Sharjah to Kalba Road (E102), UAE

The Good Ol’ Dry Days

A dry dam… along the E102 Road, in Ras Al-Khaimah territory (I think), just before the turnoff to Hatta Road. Let’s see whether I can find a name for this in Google Maps… There it is! Wadi Al Munay Breaker. Breaker? Shouldn’t it be ‘Dam’ instead? Who named that?

Whoa! Not again? Last week, there was another rain scare in Dubai. Yup, the UAE announced another round of distant learning for schools on last Thursday and Friday, and our office (including our dear head office this time) asked us to work from home last Thursday. Sure enough, rain came on Thursday, and we had half a day of rain. It wasn’t bad. There were no massive floods like in April. There were a few localized puddles at known low locations (and it added a little bit of water to the previously flooded locations which still haven’t been completely cleared).

No big deal. But, …what’s happening?? Is this due to global warming?? We’re supposed to be a god-forsaken desert, aren’t we? We’ve had more rain in the last few months than I’ve ever experienced in my 10+ years in this desert of a place. At the apartment that we’re staying in now, I remember we’ve had no rain for something like 1.5 - 2 years. And now there’s rain every few weeks?!?

Are we turning into a tropical friggin country? Have the prayers of the UAE people finally been answered? (UAE airlines artificially ‘green’ the UAE region in their in-flight maps that show the planes’ flight paths when they fly over the UAE. You’ll see the normal brown-yellow of Iran, and then, lo and behold, the UAE’s all green and nice like it’s a friggin tropical country!) Now, there’re mosquitoes all over the friggin place, and they’re growing fatter by the day. Where do these critters suddenly come from? I thought they didn’t exist in the UAE (except for our house, because Anu’s a giver of life. Her garden’s full of life: trees, plants, birds – I can’t count how many generations of doves and sunbirds that our garden has produced, ants, butterflies, slugs, etc, and of course, pesky mosquitoes).

People here no longer post photos of having tea and picnic in the rain. Previously, when there’s rain, it’s like a water fair! Frolicking and playing in the rain like babies who’ve never seen water before. Now it’s pictures of cars inside water, homes damaged by water, but there’re still some funny ones of people with too much time on their sleeves paddling their kayaks in the housing area streets… And, there’re no more talks of cloud-seeding. “Huh? What? What’s that??”

Anyway, I’m not much of a sucker for the rain. I’ve had enough rain, and mosquitoes, in Malaysia and India to be too big a fan. I especially don’t like the mud and muck that the water leaves behind. But I do like the occasional downpour that cools things down and bring life to the wadis. And the smell of an impending storm and the sound of thunder in the distance. That’s always cool to me.

It’s been a week since the last rain, and it feels like we’re finally getting back to being a desert. Things are steadily heating up. It’s mid-May after all. In the previous years, it would’ve been a friggin oven by now. This year, the heat’s a little slower, thanks to the rain. It’s still OK to walk out in the gardens… But it’s coming, the dry ol’ days. “Die, mosquitoes, die!”

Here’re some photos of when things were ‘nice’ and dry, when we had to go hunting for water in the dams and wadis of the UAE, just to have some fun. A last picnic post before we head into heat wave territory… It’ll have to be at least October, or more like November, before we could think of camping again, sigh.


Another photo of the Wadi Al Munay ‘Breaker’ / Dam – dry as a bone, Nov 2022


Another dam, Siji Dam, Fujairah, Jan 2022


Oh, there’s the water!! There’s actually more water further upstream, and at the old dam site, but it somehow wasn’t very accessible




Fooling around at Wadi Siji Dam


Don’t forget our picnic! Wadi Siji, Jan 2022


Wadi Shawka Dam! Feb 2021


Wadi Shawka Dam Park, Ras Al-Khaimah. Feb 2021 was our first visit to Wadi Shawka. Little did we know then, that as time comes, Wadi Shawka would become our favourite camping site in the UAE. No, not the dam, but the wadi itself


Hey, where do those stairs go? Wadi Shawka Dam


What do you think these are for? A stand for some performance?


Beyond the dam! Hey, it’s quite interesting


Huh? What’s this? People picnicking? How did the cars come in? If they can come, so can we. We’ll find a way, hehe


Wadi Shawka, Ras Al-Khaimah, Feb 2021, the first of our visit – Just you watch, we’ll be back!

There you go. Visits to some of the ‘lesser-known’ dams in the UAE. The more well-known dams are the Hatta Dam and Rafisah Dam, which are usually crowded, not really our cup o’ tea.

Forts of Fancy

Somehow, my head’s just not working. This weekend is the UAE’s National Day. It’ll be a 3-day weekend holiday, but we’re not going anywhere this year, because on the week after next, we’ll make a trip to Uzbekistan! And we’ve gotta save up. Can’t go everywhere, can you? (But, how I wish I could… hehe).

Anyway, I meant to send out a post before the weekend. I’ve finished my tender assignment, which is due next week. (Yup, I’m ahead of time, for a change, haha. Not rushing like mad). Now, I have time to post something… I’ve not sorted out the photos of the trip we made last year during UAE’s National Day (we went a thousand kilometres across a barren land to Salalah, Oman …and back!) Guess, I’ll post some photos of some forts of the UAE. These aren’t real forts by the way. These are forts made for tourism, you know, like the castle in Disneyland. Here comes some forts of fantasy! Happy Birthday UAE! Happy Birthday Justin! (Justin’s back from Singapore for a visit, and his birthday coincides with the National Day weekend.) Now, where shall we go for his birthday???...


Hey guys! There’s a castle there! Wonder how we could get there…


Ta-Da! We made it! Najd Al Maqsar Fort, Khor Fakkan Road (part of Sharjah), UAE, Jan 2021




This fantasy ‘fort’ / ‘heritage village’ is on the Khor Fakkan Road opposite to the Rafisah Dam. Sharjah’s Ruler really spruced up the place… brand new road connecting Sharjah to Khor Fakkan. A revitalized Khor Fakkan with loads of new monuments and attractions. A dam with a nice park (Rafisah Dam). Kudos!




The village is actually a ‘hotel’, believe it or not, with rooms that you could rent. It wasn’t opened yet when we visited in Jan 2021. Workers were putting the finishing touches to the place at that time


The path behind the Najd Al Miqsar ‘Heritage Village’


While I’m at it, I might as well post these photos of the Flag Fort (or Flage Fort as was actually written on the signboard at the time of our visit Jan 2021), some of which I’ve posted 2 years earlier for National Day


‘Flage Fort’, Al Taiba, Fujairah, UAE


UAE zindabad! (What the heck, I dunno the Arabic equivalent of that word)

And God, let peace prevail in Gaza, and beyond… Why are Thy children fighting in Thy land? From the river to the sea, there should be 2 lands (or maybe 3). From the river to the sea, there should be 2 nations at peace with one another, and free. Hand-in-hand, to chart the future, for their generations to live in harmony… Amen.

Jayden on His Own

Jayden, 8 years & 4 months old, at Al Hafiya Picnic Park, Kalba, UAE, Feb 2023

Jayden is 9 years old! (As of last month, actually). This is my yearly post about the kid’s life, but before I go into it, here’s some GOOD NEWS!!!

Amrita, Anu’s sister, who is in Canada, just gave birth to a healthy baby girl!!! This is wonderful news for the family indeed, especially after a heart-breaking earlier pregnancy 2 years ago, that resulted in the birth of an extremely premature baby boy, who sadly did not survive. That pregnancy was complicated because of fibroids in Amrita’s womb, and all were worried about whether the fibroids would pose a problem for future pregnancies. Thank God for answering our prayers. Praise God. Jayden has a new cousin!

As I was saying, Jayden is 9 now, but he’s still behaving like a baby, sigh… Maybe, we give him too much love, or maybe it’s just the nature of him being the youngest in the family. Nope, it’s definitely too much love, so we gotta get tough and start being serious-er…

This past year, he was pretty much on his own, for a change. His elder brother left for further studies in Singapore last Nov, exactly one year before. I think it did Jayden some good. At least, he started having his own friends, instead of hanging out only with his koko and his koko’s friends. (Thanks a lot to his mommy actually, who helped him build up his courage, and arranged play dates). Here’s a recap of his past year. Enjoy!


A temple visit, with his Mommy and Koko for some divine blessings, before his Koko left for Singapore. This was like a week after Jayden’s 8th birthday – Dubai Hindu Temple, Jebel Ali, Dubai – Oct 2022


Jayden on his own, his first time attending a friend’s birthday party! (As far as I can remember). In contrary, Justin had attended countless birthday parties by the time he was this age. The birthday boy was Mosaab (the one in red) from Egypt. He’s the youngest brother of Justin’s 2 school mates, and they lived in a unit on the same floor of our apartment building. At The Zone, Circle Mall, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai – Nov 2022


Our first camping trip without Justin. Good morning, Jayden! How do you feel being on your own? (He missed his Koko). At some random suitable camping spot by the road near Ain Lighmour (aka Blossom Valley), Fujairah (Google Maps calls it Jabal Al Haleefah). The missus is pretty good at picking camping spots, when we need one (like when sun is setting, and yours truly hasn’t got a clue yet of what to do…) We were all alone for as far as the eye could see. It isn’t really a popular camping spot I think, but we’re no longer strangers to lonely camping spots, hehe – Nov 2022


This ain’t a pool, believe me!! It’s all natural and it’s in Arabia! Oman, to be exact. We made a 1200+ km road trip to Salalah, Oman (and another 1200 km back) during the UAE’s National Day holidays last year. This is a gem of a place in the Arabian Peninsula. Waterfalls in Arabia?!? Yup, it’s true. No wonder it is so popular with the Arabs – Wadi Darbat, Salalah, Oman – Dec 2022


Jayden and his Year 4 Teacher, Mr David Moore, GEMS Metropole School – Dec 2022. (He prefers lady teachers he says. He thinks they’re kinder… Are they?!?)


Back in Oman! We love Oman, ever since they made it free for UAE residents to enter, we’ve made 3 visits in a span of 5 months! – Jebel Akhdar (literally, Green Mountain), Oman – Dec 2022


New Year treat for the little one to his favourite type of place, an aquarium! This is the Sharjah Aquarium to be exact. We’ve visited it before, but what the heck, it’s the most affordable, nice aquarium around! – Sharjah, Jan 2023


Motor City, the name of our neighbourhood, isn’t just a strange name selected from nowhere. Its main feature is the Dubai Autodrome! Apart from this, it has an outdoor and an indoor Kartdromes for go-karting. When there’s a race, it’s a din!! – Jayden at the Dubai Autodrome, Motor City, Dubai – Jan 2023


It’s spring break, and we headed to India, to do our boring banking work and to visit family. Jayden at the Victoria Monument in Kolkata. We’ve visited this place before, a long time ago, before we had kids. But what to do? We’ve visited Kolkata so many times, that we ran out of new places to visit, ahem… West Bengal, India – Mar 2023


Jayden made lots of friends at his Mommy’s village! From left, Mahi (his cousin), Ankit, and Prince (whom Mahi and Jayden kept calling Princess… Jayden, Mahi, you shouldn’t tease your friends!), Fulertal, Assam – Apr 2023


Not Oman again?!? Yes, Oman again. Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain), again. It’s an interesting mountain, where access is only allowed for 4WD cars (which our trusty ol’ Hyundai happened to be, hehe). It’s a nice, cool place, with beautiful views and treks for as far as your feet can walk… Plus it’s rose harvesting season. Jayden pointing to some fossils, at the Sunset Viewpoint in Jebel Akhdar, Oman – Apr 2023


Yippee, koko’s back! It’s Koko’s school break, and he came back for a visit! Bloomsbury’s Café, Silicon Central Mall, Silicon Oasis, Dubai – Jun 2023


Jayden in Albania on his summer break. Koko’s school break and Jayden’s do not match. Justin’s mid-year school break is from the last week of May to the last week of June. Jayden’s summer break starts from the second week of July! By then, Justin would have been back in Singapore, and preparing for his Term 3 exams. For the summer break, we made a short trip to Albania. This is the first overseas trip we made without Justin – at our hotel, the Logu i Harushave, Theth, Albania – Aug 2023


Jayden made another friend! Daniel from Ukraine at our house. Daniel was staying with his aunt at the exact unit where Mosaab’s family (see third pic above) used to stay. The Egyptians have relocated to Abu Dhabi in April this year. Unfortunately, Daniel also left the UAE for Germany in early October. That’s how it is with the UAE, it’s a halfway home. People come, people go. Hope to see you again sometime, somewhere, Daniel! – Sep 2023


And finally, it’s Jayden’s 9th Birthday! At home! A small party with a few of his friends. Here’s Hardit (left) and Callum (right). Both of them are Indians – Oct 2023