I just leaned against the pillow to tell you a little more about a desert that turned a mega city. This is the place where thousands of lives sold their dreams. Millions are still selling it but in a better living conditions. From better living conditons many have shifted to cosy living conditions. A welcome news indeed. Now, the creamy layer of the Gulf has a different worry - to find a parking space to park their sedans. Cities like Abu dhabi and Dubai face severe shortage of parking spaces and it is a nightmare for the car owners here. Admistration makes a good fortune out of parking charges in these cities.
After having a masala dosa from the nearby Madurai Restaurant, I had a brief walk along the roads. The masala dosa costed me 6 dirhams. There are a number of Indian restaurants around my hotel. Besides Maudrai Restaurant, there are Swagath restaurant , Cettinad Restaurant and Kamat Restaurant. All these restaurants are run by people fromTamil Nadu. There are lot more restaurants run by Malayalees too but the names given to them have no connection with Malayalam or Keralam and all of them serve mainly meat based food items.
The Al Ridha restaurant offers lunch with all Kerala dishes along with their favourite rice. But, while enetering the restaurant, what is going to welcome us will be the tempting smell of fish fry or chicken biriyani! I regularly have my lunch at Ever Green restaurant run by Gujaratis. This is a pure vegetarian set up. A thali costs 12 dirhams and they offer food as much as we like to eat. Chapatis, rice and north indian style 'sabjis' are available in plenty. I felt this restaurant is a nice survival point for a vegetarian.
A little far away, there are Sangeetha Restaurant and Hotel Saravana Bhavan, the big players from Tamil Nadu. They have a chain of restaurants in Tamil Nadu and now their network is spread all over Gulf too. There is another Arab Udupi Restaurant at a stone's throw. Sadly none of these restaurants could exibit the colourful images of their gods. Instead they decorate their cash counters with the images of the rulers of Abu Dhabi and UAE. UAE is a conglomeration of 7 Emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah - and they became a single nation in 1971. Like any other Gulf country, this too is ruled by various dynasties.
Where is that affable 'chayakkada' missing? (Chayakkada is the village side restaurant in Keralam) How exciting it could have been if I could spot an unassuming chayakkada with a glass paned cupboard in the front! I am missing the scene of a cupboard stacked with 'puttu kuttis' 'neyyappams' and 'sukhiyans'.
By the way, did you have a sukhiyan in the recent past? If not, it is time you prepared them at home. Here is a recepie which I got from the internet : http://www.yummyoyummy.com/2010/05/sukhiyan.html. I had it just a few days back at Ras Al Khaima, thanks to a Malayalee restaurant there.
I miss those good old days of sukhiyans and the special 'appams' made of rice and coconut. We used to have these items at our homes. Our beloved grandmas prepared averything fir us. The rice appam accompanied by coconut chutney was one of the most delicious food stuffs I ever had. Now, I have only hauting memories. O sweet memories, let me take shelter in you whenever I take a break from my run after Gandhi.
The walk was mainly to find out some more restaurants. I really hate to walk along the roads here. The ambience is very hot. To add to that, the powerful airconditioners spit fire on us. Every shop has air-conditioners and their compressor units are lined up on the road sides. Another irritating thing about these air-conditoners is the water it discharges. A trickle there and a trickle there from the airconditioners of the top floors of the buildings is not so uncommon here. The authorities that are so strict about vehicle parking and road disciplne give short shrift to such a dirty thing often. Didn't I see such scenes in Dubai and Sharjah as well?
There were a few roads to cross. There are signals on every busy junctions. Believe me, the same drivers who throw every rule to wind in their home countries respect these signals as much as they respect their religious texts and gods. Eevn in mid night the traffic signals work and the alert motorosts obey whatever be the rules. No crossing of stop line. No acceleration at amber signal. Pedestians stand at the zebra lines and move when the green light is on. But, still there are violations. A section of the pedestians cross whenever they want and wherever they like. I was told by my friends here that we must cross only at zebra lines and violations may cost penalty by the police. I could see so many people crossing the busy roads as they please.
Whenever the red signal is on, there appeared a motorscycle or two in the front. They wade through the long array of cars to reach the front. With a box in the rear, these bikes are the life line of Abu Dhabi's communication system. They carry couriers to different parts of the city. There are so many motor cycle mounted delivery boys from so many restaurants across the city. Though not in plenty, bikes are seen in Arabian cities. These motor cyclists run very fast. Once the green signal is turned on, these guys run as if there are in a race. It is frightening to see their ride. Every green signal is opened with roaring sounds of the bikes.
The breakneck speed of the bikers gives the onlookers a heartstopping feeling. Their run is for survival anyway. There are so many anxious souls waiting elewhere in the 'third world' to see the money orders. Money orders are passe' however. Now everything is done through exchanges. In every nook and corner of cities in gulf countries, we can see money transfer agencies. They transfer money through internet at a lightning speed, but still I doubt if they can match the speed of the bike!
On my way back home, I got my mobile sim card recharged. Mobile service providers are limited to two. Etisalat and Du. They enjoy the monopoly and as a result, call charges are very high. We cannot find their outlets like we see in our country. To buy a sim card or a recharge coupon we have to visit certain shops like departmental stores. Alternately, top ups can be done on the foot paths. At every corner of a building, we can spot a minimum of two men holding mobile phones in their hands. They do the top up for the mobile phones. This is a low income business but there are a lot of men involved in this. This sector is dominated by Bangaladeshis, I guess.
After having a masala dosa from the nearby Madurai Restaurant, I had a brief walk along the roads. The masala dosa costed me 6 dirhams. There are a number of Indian restaurants around my hotel. Besides Maudrai Restaurant, there are Swagath restaurant , Cettinad Restaurant and Kamat Restaurant. All these restaurants are run by people fromTamil Nadu. There are lot more restaurants run by Malayalees too but the names given to them have no connection with Malayalam or Keralam and all of them serve mainly meat based food items.
The Al Ridha restaurant offers lunch with all Kerala dishes along with their favourite rice. But, while enetering the restaurant, what is going to welcome us will be the tempting smell of fish fry or chicken biriyani! I regularly have my lunch at Ever Green restaurant run by Gujaratis. This is a pure vegetarian set up. A thali costs 12 dirhams and they offer food as much as we like to eat. Chapatis, rice and north indian style 'sabjis' are available in plenty. I felt this restaurant is a nice survival point for a vegetarian.
A little far away, there are Sangeetha Restaurant and Hotel Saravana Bhavan, the big players from Tamil Nadu. They have a chain of restaurants in Tamil Nadu and now their network is spread all over Gulf too. There is another Arab Udupi Restaurant at a stone's throw. Sadly none of these restaurants could exibit the colourful images of their gods. Instead they decorate their cash counters with the images of the rulers of Abu Dhabi and UAE. UAE is a conglomeration of 7 Emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah - and they became a single nation in 1971. Like any other Gulf country, this too is ruled by various dynasties.
Where is that affable 'chayakkada' missing? (Chayakkada is the village side restaurant in Keralam) How exciting it could have been if I could spot an unassuming chayakkada with a glass paned cupboard in the front! I am missing the scene of a cupboard stacked with 'puttu kuttis' 'neyyappams' and 'sukhiyans'.
By the way, did you have a sukhiyan in the recent past? If not, it is time you prepared them at home. Here is a recepie which I got from the internet : http://www.yummyoyummy.com/2010/05/sukhiyan.html. I had it just a few days back at Ras Al Khaima, thanks to a Malayalee restaurant there.
I miss those good old days of sukhiyans and the special 'appams' made of rice and coconut. We used to have these items at our homes. Our beloved grandmas prepared averything fir us. The rice appam accompanied by coconut chutney was one of the most delicious food stuffs I ever had. Now, I have only hauting memories. O sweet memories, let me take shelter in you whenever I take a break from my run after Gandhi.
The walk was mainly to find out some more restaurants. I really hate to walk along the roads here. The ambience is very hot. To add to that, the powerful airconditioners spit fire on us. Every shop has air-conditioners and their compressor units are lined up on the road sides. Another irritating thing about these air-conditoners is the water it discharges. A trickle there and a trickle there from the airconditioners of the top floors of the buildings is not so uncommon here. The authorities that are so strict about vehicle parking and road disciplne give short shrift to such a dirty thing often. Didn't I see such scenes in Dubai and Sharjah as well?
There were a few roads to cross. There are signals on every busy junctions. Believe me, the same drivers who throw every rule to wind in their home countries respect these signals as much as they respect their religious texts and gods. Eevn in mid night the traffic signals work and the alert motorosts obey whatever be the rules. No crossing of stop line. No acceleration at amber signal. Pedestians stand at the zebra lines and move when the green light is on. But, still there are violations. A section of the pedestians cross whenever they want and wherever they like. I was told by my friends here that we must cross only at zebra lines and violations may cost penalty by the police. I could see so many people crossing the busy roads as they please.
Whenever the red signal is on, there appeared a motorscycle or two in the front. They wade through the long array of cars to reach the front. With a box in the rear, these bikes are the life line of Abu Dhabi's communication system. They carry couriers to different parts of the city. There are so many motor cycle mounted delivery boys from so many restaurants across the city. Though not in plenty, bikes are seen in Arabian cities. These motor cyclists run very fast. Once the green signal is turned on, these guys run as if there are in a race. It is frightening to see their ride. Every green signal is opened with roaring sounds of the bikes.
The breakneck speed of the bikers gives the onlookers a heartstopping feeling. Their run is for survival anyway. There are so many anxious souls waiting elewhere in the 'third world' to see the money orders. Money orders are passe' however. Now everything is done through exchanges. In every nook and corner of cities in gulf countries, we can see money transfer agencies. They transfer money through internet at a lightning speed, but still I doubt if they can match the speed of the bike!
On my way back home, I got my mobile sim card recharged. Mobile service providers are limited to two. Etisalat and Du. They enjoy the monopoly and as a result, call charges are very high. We cannot find their outlets like we see in our country. To buy a sim card or a recharge coupon we have to visit certain shops like departmental stores. Alternately, top ups can be done on the foot paths. At every corner of a building, we can spot a minimum of two men holding mobile phones in their hands. They do the top up for the mobile phones. This is a low income business but there are a lot of men involved in this. This sector is dominated by Bangaladeshis, I guess.
By the way, I must narrate my own adventure in between. As a part of the new job in the off-shore oil fields, I have been directed by the new employer to undergo a sea survival course. It was a one day course that included a class room seesion and a swimming pool session. As is wont for me, I dozed off for a while in the class room. In the post lunch session, I have been put in a helicopter model. I sat inside the container tieing a seat belt and wearing a life jacket. The "helicopter" was lifted using a crane and then lowered into the water. As it went upto my neck level, the "chopper" has been rotated keeping me inside.
I was instructed to remove the seat belt once the 'chopper' comes to a halt. As it has been rotating, I lost all sense. After a few seconds, I found myself above water! Surprisingly, I remembered to pull the string of the life jacket at that point of time. The inflated life jacket kept me floating in water. This is a training everyone who wants to work off-shore has to take.
As I have been returning after the 'successful' completion of the training ( though I took only one day training, the training institute issued a certificate in which they mentioned I have taken two days' training!!) , my mind was full of thoughts. Thoughts of those good old days with my previous employer. It was by and large a worryless laidback job. I could travel all over the world without incurring even a penny from my pocket. I saw a cross section of the world with avid interest. I enjoyed every bit if it. Here comes a break to the globe trotting. The life hereafter will be in an open jail somewhere in the middle of the sea. Withdrawal Syndrome? Can be....
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