The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.
I was in UAE for two weeks.
After spending 2 years and 9 months on Mumbai, I have to confess I am still querulous about this place. Maybe because I place the same unpleasant boring events that happen everyday before anything else that I overlook the good things and places passing by everyday/where I can be. So with all these, I really hoped for a break and it was then I got a mail from my Dad ordering me to take a break and meet up him in Sharjah for 10 days. Even though I agreed reluctantly, I was jumping like a kid with excitement in my mind and I have to say I had a good time over there.
After landing at Sharjah airport, it was women in their likes of black purdah and the men with their white cassocks. I feared that I ‘d have a communication problem, but somehow the checkout process happened quickly without me saying a word.
The next ten days were clasped with road trips, visits to different malls, shopping, movies and of course good food. Sharjah was hot in the mornings, but less humid than most places in India. I restrained from going out in the mornings and stayed at home, besides Dad had work and he is free only on Fridays. I do regret that now, because I could have gone out by myself. Traversing and communicating wasn’t very difficult. UAE is filled immigrants who come for work from different countries especially India(especially Kerala), therefore communicating is easier for Indians. Almost every body speaks Hindi or at least understand it.English is also a common language there considering the fact that it is a business area.
In the evenings we had gone to around as it is cooler, the place is mostly filled with buildings that were mostly Offices, Shopping Malls and Super markets. I got myself a Sony Cybershot DSC-W220-I still haven’t got a hang on the Cam, but I think its alright so far, except that I found the noise level is pretty high when dark. Another day we took a long drive to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) to look around. On the Highway from Sharjah to RAK we get to see the deserts, on which we could find a lot camels. My Dad mentioned that nowadays the RAK government has added restrains along the road to prevent the camels from entering the road because years back it used to be dangerous to drive as the camels would suddenly enter the road and if an collision with the camel occured, the driver used to fined. The old RAK when compared to the new RAK isn’t much developed. It is mostly a rather dry place, but there were interesting sights to see. I noticed a farm in which Ostriches are bred, airport which is under development at midst of the desert.
Our Trip to Dubai was good but it was pretty tough for Dad to keep track as it seems confusing with many flyovers. We did get lost when we were on our way to The Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall is largest Shopping Mall in the world. 
I took a walk in the Aquarium Tunnel which costed25 Dhirams. It was awesome. But I missed the The Aquarium Discovery as couldn’t find time. The Mall is so big that we had to walk a lot. It was so huge and many sections that Dad sat down to rest while I went inside a Book store to check out the Comics/Graphic Novel section. When I returned I was surprised to find him dozing off on couch. In Dubai we also went in the exquisite Palm Islands and the Dubai Marina. Both were quite a sight, but I think its better when seen from a helicopter. We also had a distant view of the Burj Al Arab. I wanted to get closer and take a picture, but it wasn’t possible with busy roads and also the difficulty of a parking space.
I did catch the screening of X Men Orgins: Wolverine and Star Trek at the Grand Sahara in Sahara Mall. I don’ t expect those movies to release anytime in India because of the disagreement between the Film distributors and the Movie Halls in India. There aren’t even many movies releasing in India.
About food, the place is filled with fast food joints and other regional restaurants. The only fast food joint I went to was Burger King. Damn! those burgers are good. I don’t think I’ll have any of those McDonalds in India for some days( I do regret not taking the Happy meal, it was Star Trek movie season and I wanted the Spock toy) . Again as I mentioned before, because Sharjah is filled immigrants, therefore one would find variety of restaurants. You’d find a lot of Afgani, Lebanese, Pakistani and Indian restaurants. I decided not to have Indian as I wanted to seize this opportunity to explore the different Middle East and other Asian foods. I particularly liked Afghan foods. They are cheap and it sure does hit the spot. Lebanese food is a little similar to the Afgani food,with their hammoos and bread but I found more sea food dishes on their Menu.
There, with stomach happy and my mind relaxed, I have to conclude that my break to UAE was welcoming. Something I wanted for a long time- to travel and do something different from my daily chores.
…to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before.
