Ras al Khaimah--Resort 2

This is the last Dubai post, I promise. After a few days at the first resort we moved to the Hilton Resort and Spa. Beachfront, all-inclusive, beautiful pools, our own cottages. Pretty nice.

When the air was clear we could see the mountains. But usually it was pretty hazy. Rows and rows of cottages...

Here is our "villa." Typical chaos.

It was wonderful having a yard, however small. Hotel rooms become claustrophobic fast with little kids.

Look right:

Look left, towards the main hotel complex.

This would have been a nice photo if that woman hadn't run into it. Darn it.

The main part of the resort reminded me of Mesa Verde: cliff dwellings updated and moved to the United Arab Emirates. The hotel called it modern traditional Arabic architecture.

Lots of cool pools.

As you can see, the resort is lovely. But I was usually too overwhelmed and exhausted to enjoy it as I might otherwise have done. Usually I am only working 6-8 hours a day. But in Dubai, and on the other trips we have taken, my workday turns into 12 or 13 hours. Especially in Dubai, since I didn't have my own room. To get a little break, I would wake up an hour or two earlier than everybody else, including the baby, and sneak out to get breakfast. This might surprise those who know that I am definitely not an early riser. It also proves how desperate I was for some quiet time by myself. Since Eva was determined to keep the kids on Prague time, three hours before UAE time, they didn't go to bed until 9 or 10 at night, so my evenings were shot. The alternative was getting up early. Quite early. So I did.

Breakfast became my favorite part of the day. I took a book and ate outside by this pool. Peaceful, serene, quiet, stress-free. Ahh. I wished for better coffee, but you can't have everything.

One morning I was seated near a woman and a five or six year old boy. They were British, and not much is cuter than a small child with a British accent. The little boy was asking him mum about how they were going to get home. He summarized her answer like this:

"So we will go to the airport and then go to a different place. Like South America? How long does that take?" Cute cute cute.

The resort has its own little lagoon. This spit of land juts out in front of our villa.

Once when the baby was sleeping and the boys were with their grandmother I took a stroll along the beach and walked to the end of the isthmus. Can I call it an isthmus?Here is the view back at the beach.
Ras al Khaimah is trying to emulate Dubai with its big, tall, shiny buildings. There are a little behind, but hey, at least they are making an effort.

Our villa was about a five minute walk from the main restaurant. Here we are leaving:

And posing on the way:

The lobby was beautiful. Here is the big dome in the center:

After the kids were asleep I usually took my computer and tried to get some internet in a quiet corner. You would think that at a really nice resort like this wireless internet would be included, or at least free in the lobby. Not so. It was quite pricey and annoying. You had to buy internet cards in half hour or hour increments from the reception desk. When I actually wanted to take the plunge they had no more cards, and when I finally did get a card the internet was so slow I barely got anything accomplished. So that was disappointing.

Behind the reception desk they had portraits of the UAE rulers and the ruler of Ras al Khaimah. Their pictures were everywhere. I am quite confused about how the government works. It is a hereditary democracy? Or something?Most of the other guests at the resort were European; Czech, German, or English. And a few Italians, I think. I did not see many other Americans. Which sort of makes sense; it is an awfully long way to go for a beach vacation. I am sure there were many more Americans in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but with Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and America's own excellent beaches, why would flocks of Americans fly 15 hours to the UAE for the beach?So that was my trip to the UAE. I feel very fortunate to have been able to go there. Now, I want to learn more about the Emirates, especially since some pretty drastic stuff has happened within the financial system in Dubai.

We returned home at about midnight on a cold, cold night in Prague. I did love wearing shorts and flip flops in Dubai...