The Shifting Sands

Ada has had a couple of surfing lessons at Wadi Adventure, the white water and surfing facility at Al Ain.  It is an easy place to spend the day and keep everyone occupied. Here is a couple of clips of her surfing and body surfing.

A Sikh worshiper with his ever present traditional knife tucked into his Dastar, a style of Pagri A city known for its Sikh temple, the Golden Temple, adorned with 750kg of serious gold, and pilgrims from around the Sikh world.  Visiting this temple is akin to 68 other sacred pilgrimages so one of the signs informed me!   Maree and Trish at least found a use for the many pieces of fabric purchased while in India Such a sacred experience even for us non Sikhs.  Follow the rules and deposit your shoes and cover your head and everything else is OK. The Hotel Pool (joking) Finding a good hotel with a cool pool is another bonus for a city in the Punjab.  A hot place to hang in September. We stayed at The Hyatt and it was just lovely. Cheap enough, under $100 for a clean room, comfortable  bed and breakfast, and right next to a shopping centre should you forget something. I hadn't seen this much rampant n

Everything you need, wine, cha cha, fruit and  Churchkhela , which are a string of nuts dipped in thickened grape juice We believe in the policy of doing what is close and easy.  Even though Dubai is not far from Mumbai in terms of flying time, it has opened up a number of new opportunities.  For skiing, three places that have been on my ski radar for some time suddenly became very accessible, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia. The middle of February was school holiday time and the prospect of a ski holiday seemed like a good tonic for the usual challenges of settling into a new country. From Dubai, Georgia is easy and cheap.  A three and a half hour direct flight with Fly Dubai, at around $600 per person, is not to dissimilar to flying to New Zealand from Australia. A mosaic covered viewing platform on the Georgian Military Highway From the Airport in Tbilisi, the highest ski area in Georgian Caucasus, Gaudari, is about a 9