Road Trips

Hello friends,

I know I have been out of the loop for a while. Things have just got so hectic here with my packing up and leaving Dubai, I don't even know where to begin sharing about my experiences. I finally managed to furnish my apartments at International City, and am waiting now for suitable tenants. Once that's done, then I will get a steady source of income for myself.

Last Friday, a bunch of us went to Abu Dhabi for a road trip, and to check out the Emirates Palace Hotel there. It was my first time to Abu Dhabi, and we all had a great time, checking out the city, hanging out and spending a lot of time at the Emirates Palace Hotel, which indeed is very palatial and much much better than the Burj Al Arab. We checked out the Marina Mall, where we had ice cream, and then later proceeded to the Corniche. Abu Dhabi is about 1.5 hours away from Dubai, and it's a long drive, but with great company in my car, the long drive became all the more worthwhile!


Two days ago, we went to Al Ain to meet up with my friend Sam there. Al Ain was my first time as well, and we had a blast in the car, with loud music, and a video being made. Al Ain was certainly a wonderful road trip, with a lot of greenery and a very idyllic and laid back atmosphere. It almost didn't seem like I was in UAE anymore. At the food court, Sam recommended to us the Egyptian Kofta grill sandwich was surprisingly quite good.

We also celebrated a friend's birthday at TGI Fridays, which also became an opportunity for my small circle of friends to spend our last moments together and share our thoughts. I had them sign a picture frame, in which I would put our pictures.

I am leaving Dubai for good on Saturday morning, and moving back to Lahore, Pakistan. I have very mixed feelings as I prepre myself mentally to go back home and leave my friends behind here.

Mansur

17 Years Later

Hello friends,

I didn't know what my friend would look like. It would be 17years since I last saw him in Jeddah. It was quite a surprise when I received the phone call right out of the blue!

"Mansur, it's me Omair!"

I didn't have the words to react and all I could do was blurt out: OMAIR!

My mind was transported back to the early 90s when he was still there in Jeddah. Everything came back in seconds: the house, he and his family, the swimming pool we all swam in, the musical evenings we attended at his house and much much more. It was with much excitement and anticipation that I was waiting with to see him after 17 years.

Naturally, he was shocked to see me grown so tall, for he remembered me as a kid, when I was a mere 13years old, and shorter than him. I remembered him as being our big brother in school. He was also in a popular school play, and he had this role of a rock star, and so I kind of looked up to him as a big brother. Back to 2007, we had a lot of catching up to do. Since my parents were here too, he and I could not really catch up on a lot since. I told him directly: I need to lock you and I up in a solitary room and catch up on the last 17 years.

Last night, we went out for dinner, with another Jeddah friend. It was a lot of fun catching up and reminiscing old Jeddah memories, ranging from camel meat in Balad, to Conti school days, to Saudi Channel 2 to Jamel the Camel! I wish I could get into the details of all that we talked, but a lot of it was personal stuff.

Old Jeddah Buddies: Me, Mariam, Omair

17 years is a long time to meet up with an old Jeddah friend. Surely, it was the sweetest thing!

Mansur

The Last Supper

Hello friends,

Because I am leaving Dubai to go back to Pakistan soon, I treated out three of my friends to Noodle House at Madinat Jumeirah. Noodle House is one of my favorite places to have dinner. It's a blend between a casual- fine dining experience. They are famous for their noodles-- in my opinion, their roasted duck is the best dish there-- and their food is consistently delicious.

When we got there, we had to wait for about 40 minutes to get a table for four. That's how popular it is. We all took this opportunity to share with each other with what's been happening in our lives. I always enjoy spending time with these friends because with them, I can be who I really am. I can shed my inhibitions and just be who I am.

40 minutes later, we get our table and we were really hungry by this time. We ordered our drinks- my passion sensation was truly awesome, and the others ordered four season Asian, a concoction of various fruits. To help my friends know what to order, I had the waitress show us a sample of the different kind of noodles available: shanghai, Singaporean, egg and one more I can't recall now. They were certainly amazed to see that there could be so many different variety of noodles. Gaelle and I went for the Roasted Duck, and as a side order took steamed rice and Thai Chicken with Cashew Nuts. Sam ordered Shanghai Beef Noodles, and Nisin ordered Singapore Noodles with Chicken. While waiting for our food, we took a lot of pictures with each other.

When the food finally arrived, we just dove in and truly satisfied ourselves. It was as always delicious and truly an amazing meal. So full were we, we didn't have any space left for desserts. It certainly was a sad moment for me to know that I will be leaving this awesome group of friends behind as I move to a new phase of my life, but I know these friends will always be in my heart. Before we left, I told each of them that I have a special gift to give to them, and that it's an extremely personal gift, who I give to people who I can trust wholeheartedly. I took out their gift bags, which had a pack of Hershey's chocolates, and a copy of the book I had written. It was a delight to see their expression as they were in awe of holding the book. They were so over-whelmed; emotions over came them and they didn't know what to say. Nisin wanted to start reading my book already at the table. Gaelle had to tell the guys to close the book and come back to earth.

( Nisin, Me, Sam, Gaelle)

Moments like this draw us closer, and takes the level of our friendship to a whole new level. I love these friends, and they mean the world to me. Gaelle, Nisin and Sam, you guys are so the best, and I am honored and privileged to have you as my friends.

Mansur