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A day at a waterpark
Entry 7 of 44 | show all | print this entry |
It's off to Wild Waddi, one of the many largest things in the region, a giant waterpark. It's 40 degrees again, and we go absolutely lathered in sun cream. Our anti malarial drugs make us photo-sensitive, so am expecting quite bad sunburn. Also, my dad, when I was aged nine took me and my sister to a water park in Florida, called Wet and Wild. Being slightly negligent he forgot to apply sun protection to either of his two children. We woke up the next morning with blisters the size of plums all over our shoulders and backs. It ruined our holiday, and we missed seeing a space shuttle launch down at Cape Canaveral, a real disappointment.
Anyway, all this means I have a slight aversion to water parks, due perhaps to the fact that last time I went to one, I cried non-stop for 2 days. So Kim and I are going covered head to foot - its T-shirts and shorts for us both. Wild Waddi is great, and as the absolutely perfect host Eimear is, she takes us on all the rides, and they are great. Kim looks longingly at some of the women, who are covered from head to foot in swim burka's - which actually look quite superb, although it is impossible to describe them. Forget the camera, so as usual, no photos of the best thing from the day.
I meet a guy from school in the queue, which is truly bizarre, as I don't recognise him, and he recognises me. Always embarrassing, and in Dubai ,quite surreal. Wild Waddi is superb in a childish way, Kim and I shed about fifty years between us, having an average age of about 7 - I am more like 5 - Kim a more mature 9 year old.
Adulthood creeps back in as we start to feel rather sunburned. Say our good byes to Gurness and Mary and their son and his girlfriend. Guerness (excuse the probably incorrect spelling) is a Welsh friend of Eimear and Martin's and seems to be a professional expat - he is a Ferrari owning Mr Jingly Jangly - who may or may not be a ridiculous embellisher. He seems a bit of stereotypical expat - who in his company is known as 'the shirt man'. He has 'signature' shirts made in Bangkok, which have white collars and cuffs with a stripe of material around both. He is very friendly, but I have the feeling that in every expat community there is a Guerness. Basically, a man who wears too much gold (any male jewellery apart from a wedding or signet ring is an abomination as far as I am concerned) who talks a large amount of shit.
It's another quiet night in Dubai. Went to a rip off - not in terms of price - restaurant in Dubai - called Medzo. Its quite plainly a rip off of the Conran restaurant in London Metzo. When I look at the ashtrays the waiter claims that they are made by one of the staff to his own design - but quite clearly a rip off of either the Quaglino's Q ashtray - or perhaps the Metzo ashtray. The food however, is extremely good, although they serve us very fast.
We go home quite early, for another quite quiet night in Eimear and Martin's flat. After having a rather free ranging discussion of the perils of the Catholic church, its a quick drink in an expat bar and then back to their flat. Eimear, as a former Catholic, is absolutely scathing about the wide ranging hypocrisy of the Catholic church in Northern Ireland.
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