Al Ain Hilton

... close enough :) The mountain was cool, it was rocky like what I saw in Hatta last year, and the view from the top is worth the annoying drive. The oasis is weird too, and there's a running hot spring in it, but the plants were all irrigated which I thought was cheating. :(<br><br>Then back home! One more rest day tomorrow then Bahrainnn!<br>

... is 31 degrees, for those of you who were curious). After a swim we sat in the sun for a while and, nerd that I am, passed out for a couple of hours. The girls I went with had a hard time waking me up and I was disoriented and dizzy when I was finally able to peel myself off my deck chair. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening asleep in one of my girlfriend's bed. <br><br>Mostly everyone in Al Ain speaks English. There are a few people that speak no English, or only know a ...

... you" to Kal and Emad for an awesomely memorable time. The desert safari was an experience that I'd recommend to anyone hanging out in the Emirates. Honestly, we had so much fun cheering and screaming as the V8 4WD's plunged recklessly through the dunes. It was like surfing crossed with a roller-coaster ride on waves of sand and our drivers were real profis with ultra-cool attitudes and even cooler sunglasses. See the videos for an idea of the squealing that was going ...

... and a Prado made it into town by mid afternoon and headed up to our hotel perched on Jebel Hafeet, the UAE's tallest mountain, at around 1000m, rising out of the surrounding desert of rocky plain and orange sand dunes. After what could be an entry to the Guiness Book of Records for longest check-in process of all time it was decided that the bar by the pool, overlooking the view, was the perfect place for our first session ...

... too were from Singapore and worked with Bomi and the good looking guy from Singapore. Dad walked us to the Landcruiser outside, kissed me goodbye and we all buckle up for a day of what we had no idea. Our driver, Ibrahim, is from South Indian. He's lived in Abu Dhabi for over 10 years and speaks 5 languages (Urdu, Hindi, English, Arabic and and another one starting with a T). Very impressive in my book, especially when I'm ...

... also a replica fort built infront of it, inside contained pictures of the country during different times, like the 1920s and 70's and so on. It was amazing to see the growth that this place has experienced in such short time. I went out and braved the heat a bit longer, wandering around and just seeing life there. The city does a lot of little things to add flare to its make up, like interesting spiral ...

... of these walled-off sections were there, and whether I was allowed to walk around them...but I did anyway. There was tall grass and lots of birds, butterflies, and wild date trees, and overall it's a very relaxing place--except I was just so confused about whether I was supposed to be there. At one point, some guy started watching me very closely and then followed me at a distance, so I figured I ...

... without an appointment) to see the doctor before he left for the mid-day break. Yes, the results were in my folder except for the one from Dubai. He recorded the others on my form and finished up the remaining portions of the paperwork, even performing a "whisper test" in lieu of a formal hearing test. It consisted of me closing my eyes while he stood facing me and snapped his fingers quietly first on my left and then on the right ...

... without an appointment) to see the doctor before he left for the mid-day break. Yes, the results were in my folder except for the one from Dubai. He recorded the others on my form and finished up the remaining portions of the paperwork, even performing a "whisper test" in lieu of a formal hearing test. It consisted of me closing my eyes while he stood facing me and snapped his fingers quietly first on my left and then on the right ...