Hash House Harriers

I first hear about the Hash House Harriers about 15 years ago when a friend's father came to visit him in Japan and he was telling us about living in the Middle East. The way he was drunkenly describing this club of people who just run around in the desert following trails then getting drunk afterwards sounded insane. After my experience with the Abu Dhabi Hash House Harriers, it seems no less insane, but I feel that this "drinking club with a running problem" is the perfect combination of fitness and alcoholism that I have been looking for.

 I'd always meant to look into it when I originally got here, but I got caught up with running triathlons and my "serious" training. Fortunately, I'm past that for now. Finally, things have settled down at work and I'm done with my master's degree, so I have time for this sort of thing. Another stroke of luck was that a couple of friends of mine are members of the Hash.

My friends were kind enough to pick me up and give me a ride home so I could fully partake in the beer afterwards. We arrived at 6:30 for the 6:30 start time and were congratulated for being early. Fifteen minutes later, we began following arrows drawn on the side of the road in chalk. At some points we saw a circle and x pattern that indicated a turn so we had to find the trail. Sometimes I was near the person that found the trail and other times I was further away. I learned to just stay near the person who designed the trail because he wasn't going to run any further than he had to.

After the run, we drove the cars into a circle and had a mock award ceremony where I had to introduce myself. This seemed to be the real social aspect of it with a bunch of singing songs and hazing each other. While I have never been part of a fraternity, It reminded me of the positive aspects of what I imagine a fraternity to be like.

Also, I had been worried about the 6 km distance as I hadn't been running much over the past few months. However, with the running followed by all the searching for the trail and switchbacks, I needn't have worried. Since the heat and humidity kept everyone running a little slower, my legs were fine for the run. Anyone who is mildly in shape who likes socializing should come to this. It is free to run and 50dirhams for all you can eat and drink with beer and soft drinks included. I'll definitely be going back.

Kidzania

While we were waiting for Tia's ballet recital at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, Lucas asked to go to Kidzania in the Dubai Mall. Unfortunately, that didn't work out to be very practical, so I promised that I would take him there another time. As promised, I took the kids to Kidzania last weekend.

Here I am thinking about movie start times for The Avengers.

Unless you found this blog entry by doing a Google search for Kidzania in Dubai, you're asking yourself, "What the hell is Kidzania?" Well, it is perhaps one of the coolest places you could take your kids for the day and I'll tell you why. It is a miniature city in which the kids have all of the amenities and services that a reasonably sized city would have: a fire department, a beauty shop, a bank, mobile phone shop, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Express, game room, hospital, grocery store, theater, among others. The kids go around the city working various jobs and earning money. With the money, they can spend it riding around on go-carts, playing pool in the game room, getting their nails done. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly, happily training the kids in their respective jobs.

Kidzania has a thriving arts scene.

A gathering place for the local hoodlums.

The parent's lounge in the heart of Kidzania complete with free internet.

Kids love it and they learn about the idea of working for a living. I loved it because of the concept of the self-sustained city. There's even a coffee shop for parents with newspapers, magazines, and free internet. If you're still not sold on how awesome this place is, here is the final selling point: you can leave your kids there while you hang out at the world's largest shopping mall. Everyone wears bracelets which are electronically scanned any time an adult or child leaves. You can go shopping, go to the Sega Republic 100 feet away, or even go to the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. My wife and I went to see the movie The Avengers.

Here is a dingy looking hotel in Kidzania.

Here the kids are in the middle of their training to become firefighters.

The kids had to put out a fire set by the owner of the hotel as an insurance scam.

Meanwhile, back at the fire station...

Lest you think that I just wanted to drop my kids off and go have fun on my own, I actually went in intending to play with my kids. The thing is, parents aren't allowed in the buildings. You can watch the kids, but after a while, that just gets overbearing with kids inside acting out adulthood and a line of parents with cameras taking pictures and videos of their little darlings. I was guilty of that to a point, but after a while that whole thing got tedious. Besides, the kids had no interest in me being there at all. I gave each of them 20 dirhams for lunch, and told them I was going to a movie. Neither of them seemed to care and probably wouldn't have noticed I wasn't there until the place closed.

Tia enjoyed cutting into the patient a little too much.

Tia put the ribcage back on the patient after the liver transplant.

My advice as a parent is to pay the 90 dirham fee (must be accompanied by a child,  scary to think that there might be people without children trying to get in there), check things out, get a few photos of your little darlings, then enjoy your day. Unlike the other Kidzania branches, the one in the Dubai Mall allows you to leave your kids all day. Most of the others have a morning session and an afternoon session with a intermission in which they clear everyone out and start over. Dubai Kidzania has no such break. We brought out kids there at 10:00 am and let them play until 5:00pm. Now that I've seen it, the next time I go, I'll just drop them off with some lunch money and head to Sega Republic. In fact, I've already told our kids that for my daughter's birthday in August, they have the choice between Kidzania and Sega Republic. Whatever they choose, I'll be at Sega Republic and they can enjoy the day in whatever fashion makes them happy. And that is what family time is about!

Lucas enjoying his job working in construction.

Island Getaway

I know that a lot of my posts may give a fairly negative view of Emiratis, but there are some pretty decent people here, too. Just as my job doesn't put me into contact with the bottom third of Emiratis as far as functionality, it doesn't usually put me into contact with the top third, either. That's where my friend, "Khalid" comes into play. Khalid is the guy that took me around the Formula One track in his Porsche. From all the times I've met him, he is a really down to earth, fun guy to hang out with. Over the past few months, my family and I have gone out for beach excursions with his friends Safwan and Safwan's wife Katie.

Back in February, we went to Safwan's beach house about a 20 minute boat ride off of Sadiyat Island.  We were able to have fun on Khalid's jet ski and relax in the shade with a few soda pops. Safwan and Katie put on a wonderful BBQ for us and their neighbors kept sending over food that they had cooked. It seems that a lot of the people who life in Abu Dhabi spend their weekends relaxing at their island houses. Of course this seclusion comes at a price. They have to import all of their food and water. I'm not entirely sure of where their electricity comes from, but I think they must have a generator somewhere on their property.

Lucas showing his stuff on the jet ski.

I was going to take Safwan and Katie's parrot back with me so I could be the "weird parrot guy."

She sells seashells by the seashore. The seashells she sells are seashells, I'm sure. In particular, one of them had a dead crab in it.

This is the beach house from the water.

After the wonderful hospitality, we had another chance to relax in the sun with our new friends. A few weeks ago, Khalid took us to a fairly secluded beach on Sadiyat Island where we me Safwan and Katie for another BBQ.

On our way to the beach with the Abu Dhabi construction in the background.

Lucas relaxing near a floating cooler filled with soda pop.

Stopping for gas and a potty break for Khalid's dog at a boat petrol station.

Lucas and Tia enjoying a swim while jumping off the boat.

Sailing into the Abu Dhabi sunset.

After Khalid brought us back to  Abu Dhabi, he said that next time he would take us around Abu Dhabi Island. The total estimated time for that? About six hours.

Tia ready to go around Abu Dhabi Island.

My wife and I with the Sadiyat bridge in the background.

Considering that a majority of my contact with Emiratis is with guys in their late teens and early twenties going to a mid-range post-secondary school, I haven't been meeting a wide range of the local population. Meeting Khalid, Safwan and their wives has given me a better idea of Emirati life.

Paintballing

The first post after an absence is always the hardest. I feel the need to explain what I've been up to. Also, there is the inevitable backlog of things I would like to talk about and the feeling that the first post back better be good. Without too much explanation, (there will be plenty of time for that) I would just like to say that because I have been busy with some things that have caused a bit of disruption in my life, it has been a while since I last posted. Now let me slip back into the blog as if no break had ever happened.

Last week, I was invited to go paintballing with a coworker who was taking his students on a "team building exercise." Our supervisor who clearly understands the importance of taking the students out for a bit of fun once in a while, gave permission for the outing. I didn't have class at the time, so went along to provide "support."

Napoleon getting ready to shoot students.

We booked the outdoor paintball grounds at the Abu Dhabi Military Officer's Club for 10:00 am on Tuesday and told the students to be there at 9:30. That began predictably with most students turning up around 10:30. By the time everyone was outfitted in their coveralls, given the mask, gun, and given instructions, it was 10:45. Thankfully, the guy running the thing waited until then to start the clock.

After the first round, all of the students were out of ammunition. Luckily, more ammunition could be purchased for 60 Dh per 100 rounds. Some students bought 500 rounds. It should be noted that the price of an hour of paintablling was 150 Dh. That meant that the students spent double the admission price on ammo for just one game. And yes, the students used all of their ammo on just the last game. In fact, the whole paintballing "team building" ended because the students used all of their ammo and could not continue.

For those who are not familiar with how paintball games work, if you are shot, you are expected to raise your hands in a surrender gesture and leave the playing field without shooting anymore. For those who have experience dealing with young Emirati males, you can guess how well the honor system works in paintball. Even though we only got to play two games (four would be more reasonable in an hour), I did enjoy shooting the students multiple times. My favorite time was when one student who was holed up in a little bunker was shooting out the front window and didn't notice me until I walked up behind him and shot him three or four times. Of course, there was the time when a student with his hands in the air and walking off the playing field lowered his gun and start shooting at me. While he didn't hit me, I enjoyed shooting him a couple of times.

Overall, it was a great time. I would have liked to get more games in and have had less time standing around in the heat waiting for everyone to buy ammo. Even though I've only been painballing once before, the students' lack of any kind of tactics or aiming made me one of the best players on the field and that is always fun.

Porsche Club

My friend's 1996 Porsche 911. He wants a 2010 GT2.

Last Friday night I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Porsche Club event at the Yas Marina F1 Track. A friend of mine invited me to come along and it seemed like an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I felt fortunate to be a part of such an event, but I felt completely out of my league.

I've been to the Yas Marina track a number of times for a variety of events and have been around the track a number of times, always on a bicycle. and sometimes even for triathlons. I felt out of place because not only was I one of the only people in the room who didn't own a Porsche, when people started talking about the specs on their cars, they might as well have been speaking another language. Plus, phrases such as, "That's the next Porsche I want to get," or even "My next Porsche," don't naturally come into conversations with my friends unless we're being ironic. Still, everyone was really friendly and more than happy to let me wander around taking pictures of their cars. There were even some Porsche SUV's out on the track.

For the actual driving, there are three levels, Novice 1, Novice 2, and Intermediate. The intermediates have been driving around with the club for a few years. (Previous to the fairly new Yas Marina Track, they used to rent out airport terminals.) The intermediate drivers got free reign to drive as fast as they wanted and were given three straightaways where they were allowed to pass. The Novice 1 and Novice 2 drivers followed an instructor in groups of four and were recommended to watch the driving lines and braking patterns. Unfortunately, while my friend is usually in the Intermediate group, he had to stick with the Novice 2's because of an issue with his car's clutch plate.

Even so, the ride was pretty cool. This video is of one of the laps we took around the track with a finish in the pit.

With the problems his car was experiencing, we were only able to do one of the 50 minute Novice sessions. The cost for this event with about 12 instructors and rental of an F1 Track for the evening? Even with the sponsors (Pirelli Tires and the Porsche dealership in Dubai) each member had to pay 1100 dirham or about $300. Considering the typical repair on a Porsche is way more than that, it's a pretty good deal. To quote my friend, "You have to have a monthly budget for repairs when you own a Porsche." I'll bet you do. I'm just glad that I got the chance to ride on the track in one and am hopeful I'll get another invitation.

Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race, a 9 month sailing race around the world, is in Abu Dhabi right now. The boats are docked on the breakwater near Marina Mall and there is a little village set up for them. I took the kids there yesterday and there were tons of activities for them to do. There was a simulator and a 3D Movie to give everyone the idea of the sailing experience.

Only one of our kids was big enough to submit to torture.

This is the boat that is currently 5th out of 6.

 In addition, they had a lot of rides for the kids including a gyroscope, hamster balls which the kids could walk on the water in, and a jumpy castle.

This is the best I could do to keep my kids from fighting.

They even had stuff like free trials of stand up paddle boards and dinghies that you could take the kids out in. Because it wasn't crowded, I was able to take out the paddle board by myself then again once each with my kids sitting on the front. 

Paddling in the Abu Dhabi bay.

The village will be open until January 14th when the race commences and heads for China. It was a lot of fun and all the activities were free. Parking was limited, but you can park at Marina Mall and just walk there pretty easily. I'd recommend getting there early because parking filled up by the time we left at 3:30. We hope to go again next weekend and highly recommend that you check it out.

Khalifa Waterpark

I'm just catching up after a busy semester teaching and studying. So many adventures have gone unwritten about and so many amazing tales will never be told in this blog. Instead, I will write about the time about a month ago in which we went to Khalifa Park with some friends and went to the water park there.

The place isn't very big, but for the money, it's a great value. The park has a lot of shade and a lot of rides for the kids. Because it's small, parents can relax while easily keeping track of their kids.

There's a winding tube river the kids can play on.

There's a game inwhich kids dump water on each other's heads.

The kids can pretend to surf on a motorized surf board that moves around.

There's the usual assortment of slides.

They have free bumper boats for little kids.

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There's even a water balloon slingshot for the kids to launch water balloons at each other.

Overall, we had a pretty good time and I would recommend taking your kids to Khalifa park for the water park if you get the chance.

Iceland Review

So there's this water park in Ras Al Khiama, but the only thing is that it is an hour outside Dubai and you have to pass another water park to get to it. In addition, the prices were significantly higher than other water parks. The press on this hasn't been great either, including mine. I was curious to go, but the distance involved combined with the high price discouraged me. However, because no one was going to the out-of-the-way, overpriced Iceland, the park dropped its prices to a more reasonable 150 dirhams for people 120 centimeters (4 feet) and over and 100 dirhams for children under that. That was enough to get us there.
Looking at the website, the place looks pretty good. There seem to be a large variety of rides with spacious shaded seating. The website makes it seem like there are a lot of cool rides and tons for kids to do. As it turns out, it was pretty good. I thought that the for the money, it was pretty good.


The rides are pretty standard fare with a few novel rides thrown in to make it interesting. The tube rides end up in a pool of water only about three inches deep making it safe for smaller children. In case there is a worry, the park loans out children's vests for a refundable 50 dirham deposit.


Lockers are available for a 25 dirham fee and are accessible throughout the day via your wristband. In addition, you can put credits on your wristband for use of the food court. The meals there are good and reasonable priced. Also, there are creepy food statues.

There are little mini tube rides and a mini children's play area for smaller children.


They even have a soccer field with artificial turf and water sprinkling on it. When people organize teams, one of the staff will come over to referee.
While I thought the place exceeded my expectations, I still thought Dreamland water park was better. I asked my wife and kids which they liked better and everyone agreed with me. First of all, it was too hot. Even the water wasn't refreshing because it was like a bath. I realize that wasn't the fault of Iceland and am not using that to judge the park. Unfortunately, the lack of green space at Iceland versus the grass at Dreamland did hurt. Literally. The ground was too hot to walk on. The artificial grass (different from the soft, spongy surface of the soccer field) really started to hurt after a few hours. Wearing sandals was an option, but some of the rides ended far from where they started necessitating me making fun of my wife looking for her sandals. Eventually, I went back to the locker to get mine and just wore them on the rides.

Secondly, my daughter is under 120 cm (4 feet). That meant she was restricted from going on most rides, even though my wife was with her, she was wearing a life jacket, and the ride ended in 3 inches of water. When I took my son to the children's area, I was told he wasn't supposed to be there because he was over 120 cm, so we pretty much had to split up most of the day. To add to the insult, on some of the rides the staff tried telling me that he was under 120 cm so couldn't get on the ride. I should point out that when paying for the tickets, they measured him at over 120 cm, charged me accordingly, and gave him a wristband color coded to say that he was over 120 cm so he could get on rides. I later noticed that the measuring stick they staff at the ride was using was a few inches off the ground.

Third, the wave pool was pretty lame. Even my 5-year-old daughter was fairly unimpressed. Sure the scenery was nice as can be seen from this photo of my son posing, but even when the waves were on they were pretty small.

Overall, it was an OK experience. The whole thing is centered around a gimmick so the aesthetics were pretty good. If the amusement park, hotel and shopping mall ever get off the ground, it might be a bit more worthwhile going there. I'm sure I'd go back were it not for the superior Dreamland water park about 20 minutes closer. I think it's worthwhile to see once, but I don't think we need to go there again.

Iceland Introduction

Have you ever heard of Ras Al Khaima, otherwise known as RAK? Unless you live in the UAE or have been reading this blog, the chances are likely that you haven't. That's why the idea of a huge arctic-themed water park an hour away from the big city of Dubai might come as a surprise.

The "WOW RAK" campaign is an ongoing construction project created to get people into Dubai's lesser-know cousin. The only issue is, why would people fly to the UAE into the world-known city of Dubai only to drive an hour into the completely unknown Ras Al Khaima? To view a promotional video of the whole thing, click here. It makes the park look pretty nice and has a few things to say about the project. The video says that this is one stage of several including the construction of an amusement park and a shopping mall. As a promotion, this coming weekend, the water park is hosting a friendly cricket match featuring famous Bollywood actors from India
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Unfortunately, there are those who might suggest that having a penguin-themed water park in the middle of the desert where there are intense water shortages in a country with a huge carbon footprint might not be the best idea. In this article in The Guardian, the author suggests that the park is making a gimmick of global warming while adding to it. Apparently, having the world's biggest man-made waterfall that uses 100 thousand gallons of water a minute of desalinated water is bad for the environment. Add that to the fact that this part of the UAE is having trouble producing enough electricity for these kind of projects. Don't worry about blackouts, though. The whole park is powered by generators.

And of course, what better way to demonstrate my objection to the whole thing than by offering them my money? Look for my review of the place in the next few days.