Me: "Is he OK to ride this?"
lifeguard: "Can he swim?"
me: (uncertainly )"Uhhhhhh...sure."
lifeguard: OK, no problem.
The next natural question is: "What do people wear to a waterpark in a Muslim country?" The range was pretty interesting. There were women falling out of their bikinis and there were women in burqua swimsuits (burquinis). It was pretty much a come as you are atmosphere, however, an interesting event happened as we were leaving the park. While the changing and shower rooms were seperate, the locker room was for everyone. There was an Arab woman screaming at the locker room attendant who was trying to help her. It took us a while to work out why she was so upset. It turns out that the woman had 1) forgotten the combination that she set, 2) had forgotten which locker she put her things in and 3) had failed to write down which locker she was using in the attendant's book in case you forget your locker number. None of that was what she was upset by. She was actually upset that the attendant whe was trying to help her walked in before she could completely cover herself up. Keep in mind that the locker room is for everyone (changing room are seperate) and she had uncovered herself (i.e. her hair) in a co-ed locker room. Some people do take the covering very seriously, but not serious enough to put it away in a public place.
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After we left the waterpark, we went to a well known liquor shop a five minute drive away and the four families stocked up on cheap booze. When my friend and I were going up the elevator to our apartments with a cart full of booze, we got a really strange look from a Chinese guy living in the building who asked, "Is that all alcohol?" I replied sheepishly that it was for two families, but even then he seemed surprized that we had that much. To be fair, my neighbor is having a party and I bought some sake and white wine for my wife's cooking. Still, it wouldn't even all fit on the handcart.
Overall, I would have to say that we all had a great time yesterday and are having an enjoyable vacation even though we couldn't leave the country.
OK UAE is looking better all the time. Water Parks and booze!! And you even posed with a Fosters.
ReplyDeleteIs there ever water problems there? It is pretty green for being in the desert. Where does all the fresh water come from? Or are they rich enough to desalt the sea water for everyone.
"...basically a bong." LOL! And the local equivalent of wapatuli?
ReplyDeletePass me an Old Style, will ya?
Having the Fosters can in there was incidental but I chose that picture specifically. From what I can tell, there don't seem to be any water problems. I think that it all comes from desalination plants.
ReplyDeleteI think "desalination" is a euphemism for "deuriniation". As long as you don't think about it, the water still tastes just as good.
ReplyDelete