TBK travels - week 8 - the last week in Dubai

 

One of the many things I like about the Al Khoory Hotel is their free daily selection of newspapers to read over breakfast. As I was thinking about packing up and leaving Dubai for Oman I saw this front page news. The much awaited Expo 2020 is finally opening in Dubai on October 1st 2021. It was delayed by a year due to COV 19 but now the metro has been extended to the site. This week  the Leader has been to see the final preparations, videos are appearing of the Pavilions and exhibitions and it seems to be quite a show. In addition as the weather cools in Dubai the Miracle Garden , which I have visited twice, will reopen and also the Global Village which I never went to but everyone says is amazing.

   The big wheel at Al Ain ( Bluewater Island) which they were testing last month

Finally the Big wheel at Bluewater , which I have watched being built over the years is opening soon. There has been a lot of press coverage and they even have a dining car where you can have a meal as the wheel turns with spectacular views of Dubai.

So as my flights to Oman and back to Bahrain in October and my hotels in Muscat and Salalah are all booked and paid for , it looks like I will have to come back to Dubai just one more time, in December. That is assuming that the Philippines does not open its borders and welcome me with open arms before then.

Sad news this week as we celebrate one year of the British Kabayan- the readership has gone down by eight. Jefferson in Cebu who I lent 50 bd to last month when he told me he lost his job 7 months ago and had no food has been taken off the distribution and blocked. I lent him 100 bd back in 2011 when he was sacked from his job in Bahrain and was never repaid. I know, I should have learnt my lesson. I asked him to write a paragraph for my COV 19 Blog and he refused.

             Patrick and the Bulalao I paid for but he was too drunk to cook

Likewise Jesus who I supported when he was in Quarantine after his arrival in Bahrain- making him Sinigang, Adobo, Beef Bourginion and taking him food and toiletries. Then when he was released I took him shopping twice and took him and his friend Patrick to buy booze and let them drink at my house.

Then Ronnie- remember him , all those 4 am trips to collect him from work, letting him do his online studies on my laptop, helping with his CV ( with support from Chester nd Corleen) and so on. He finally emailed me last week to say:

Dear sir Neil. 

With regards to your daily life, all the best for you sir, God will keep you strong and safe. Just once request please. Could you please stop sending me your stories sir, it's annoying.

Thank you so much.

My pleasure Ronnie. Perhaps one day you will come and take your yahoo mail off my 

laptop that you installed without my permission- it keeps sending me pop up messages

which is also annoying. 

                                               Riel at the park in Hidd

While I was having a COV 19 clear out of my mailing list for TBK, I removed Riel- remember

him, Shake shake and Hardees. The one Corleen and I drove all over Bahrain for to deliver 

Tee shirts for his Birthday . When he was put in COV 19 Quarantine Coco and I immediately rushed to his aid to deliver 50 bd of food for him and his flat mate ( never repaid). When I asked him to 

join me for a walk on his day off ( several times) he said he had to wash his pillowcase.

That's what they call gratitude eh.

                                             Isa with his old nose

Also out are Isa ( Cheesecake , Bahrain, the Pinoy with the surgically reduced nose who

said my Tik Tok dance was like an Elephant - good enough reason to delete someone from your

blog mailing list) .

                                                    

                                                                             Mr. Tik Tok

I blocked Mr. Tik Tok, Beshy, who flooded my Facebook with 5000 pics of 

his birthday celebrations over two weeks ( Its tomorrow, thanks for all my gifts, a special 

Tik Tok for my birthday, my party, all my cakes, this time last year I had a birthday too, did 

I tell you it was my birthday, Thanks everyone for remembering my birthday etc.) 

At Bapco David Bishop asked to be deleted and Neil Gilbert asked to be added- welcome back Neil, if you read this far!

On the other hand we have readers who ask for nothing but give all- Like Gerda with her amazing

Facebook posts and photos from her vacation to Egypt and South Africa, Rachelle with her 

Kamay video and songs, Her lovely husband with Sam and Sean's latest adventures, and Max, Phil and Chester's updates. Special mention to Johan who sent me links for two articles I read 

in Dubai and took photos of! Click on the links below for an interesting read

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/wknd/but-seriously/are-we-getting-too-dependant-on-auto-correct-and-spell-check-apps?fbclid=IwAR0gh3rK1UVlVs82emhaYRmlZ9I_glpo_xsA6FVxJkGF81MCg-NJxBsrlik

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/wknd/shashi-tharoors-world-of-words/punctuation-is-king-shashi-tharoor?fbclid=IwAR2QaULAFJDzEG4ThvKCyCJ7OY1wwZi9LHsou76dju1s0xGNg4FnkRe-rew

I am so glad to have such amazing readers as you. 

One of the great joys of my final week in Dubai in my new higher hotel room has been waking 

up early , watching the sun rise and having the window open to hear the birds . However

I have finally had enough of the hotel buffet with fruit salad for Breakfast. lunch and dinner!

The last month I ran out of cash so have had to eat in the hotel so I can use my credit card and 

the free hotel Wi-Fi. I have been too lazy to go to the beach or gym so have just been hanging around the hotel sleeping and chatting to my friends online like Abhi in Bangladesh, Miss and Andrea in Bahrain and my anaks in Palawan. 

On Monday I had two surprises, firstly one from Booking.com to say they had not been able 

to confirm my booking in Muscat at the Ramada Qurum beach, a booking I made two months 

ago! I tried to book with the hotel direct but its full so I booked at the Crown Plaza at the Exhibition

centre where I stayed last time with Gabby. Then when I went to book the quarantine I found it 

wasn't necessary any more, so I extended the Crown Plaza booking. Its out of town in beautiiful

grounds with a pool and its 33 degrees compared to 43 degrees in Dubai and the buffet is much 

nicer than the Al Khoory chicken bones and fruit salad 3 times a day ! All the restaurant staff there were Phillipino last time and they had an amazing selection of freshly baked bread.

                          The view from my room at Al Khoory Hotel

I also double checked my booking at Al Khoory and realised I had only booked 27 nights which meant I would have to vacate my room at noon on Friday when my flight is at 525 am. So I had to 

book another night ( 169 aed, 17 bd. 33 GBP, 2,297 Philippine peso) and then book my PCR test. The good news is that they arranged for it to be done in my hotel room on Thursday! It was cheaper than Awali Hospital as well!

I went to withdraw some money from my account in Bahrain and managed to get 10,000 AED

( 1000 BD or 2000 GBP) which should last in Oman. However when I went to exchange it for 

Omani currency I discovered my visa had expired ( 30 day visa for 60 day stay- oops) so 

now I have to pay 100 bd  fine at the airport on Saturday before I can change my money.

So all that needs to be done is to thank everyone who looked after me so well in Dubai at

the Arabian Courtyard and Al Khoory Hotels and my tour guides Erickson, Thang, Bryan, Joey, Leo,  MK, Macky, John Ric, Kway, Peter, Ashky, Razak and Chandra. Hope to see some of you again 

when I return in December!