Day 14 - Off to Fujairah!

I am back in Dubai after a nice 2 days in Fujairah. On Thursday the 26 we departed at 10 am for a vacation to another Emirate, Fujairah. We were told it was only a 2 hour drive but it ended up being around 3. It still was a fun filled bus ride. All of the interns were ready for a few days of rest and relaxation. The bus ride took us through some of the very small and poor towns of the UAE. It was a little depressing seeing a series of shack style neighborhoods. There seems to be a vast separation between the wealthy Dubai and Abu Dahbi cities and the surrounding neighborhoods. We stopped once for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs. Only 5 of us ended getting out due to the fact that the bathroom was simply a hole in the ground. Yuck! More interestingly was the fresh fruit market as far as the eye can see. The second we got off the bus we were swarmed by locals forcefully pushing their fruit on us. It got a little carried away went a man grabbed me by the arm to pull me to his fruit stand. I simply brushed his hand off and refused to go his way. After walking along the fruit market I decide to bargain with a man for some apples. I was successful in getting three apples for half his asking price of 10AED. 3 apples for $1.50 not bad… The apples tasted ok but I personally like my apples nice and cold. Haha. The view behind the market was a vast mountain range, the fist mountains I have seen on my trip…ooo…aaaa! I only sleep for about 15-30 min due the huge speed bumps that came too frequently. It felt like we were back on the dessert adventure riding over the sand dunes. This time it wasn’t as fun because I mistakenly sat in the back of the van, so I felt every little bump the car went over.

Mr. Yabroudi had kindly set up and financed our entire vacation. Once we arrived to Fujairah we quickly found our hotel Le Meridian resort, eager to get to the beach and pool! Man o man it was nice! The beach front resort seemed to be in the middle of nowhere with the Indian ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. We were placed on the 16th floor in the club level with a balcony facing the Indian Ocean. Our floor had a lounge with a 4 story window looking out into the ocean. Our rooms were decked out with a great bed, nice bath tub, and the greatest showers! There was a nice perk where at several times through the day the lounge served mini sandwiches and fruit. There seem to be enough to do at the resort, during the day that is... talk about a ghost town after 10. There was min-golf, human seized checkers, a HUGE pool (with a swim up bar), multiple restraints, beach acess and more. Unfortunately when we arrived around 12:30 our rooms were not ready yet. In the meantime we found some lunch. Some went to the Italian restaurant but I felt like something different. I decide to check out the pool bar menu. They had a decent menu with grilled sandwiches but the bruchetta caught my eye, must have it!



After my stomach was nice ad full off the beach with Marieke and Tom. My first swim in the Indian Ocean was fantastic! The water was quite pleasant and the waves were nice. Soon after, the crew from the Italian restaurant caught up with us at the beach. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging, relaxing and swimming around the pool and beach. Aaaaa..some much needed rest and relaxation.

All of the interns attended happy hour in the hotel where the bartender was generous and supplied us with stiff drinks. We then proceeded to dinner at a Thai restraint where I ordered a mixed seafood dish. Delish! After dinner we got our bathing suits again expecting the pool to be open. Unfortunately, they close the pool after 7pm…what’s up with that? So we then thought to go swim in the ocean but that was closed as well. We settled for a short after dinner nap on the beach chairs. Was quite relaxing the sound of the water crashing and the warm breeze. It practically put me to sleep.

Here are some pictures from the day ENJOY








Thank for following and sorry for the late post. It has been a very hectic week at the office and my personal computer is ofically dead...C:Drive issues...uggg. Talk to you soon, Sean