Tanzania - The Lion King, The Roof of Africa (Mount Kilimanjaro), Legit Scotch on the Rocks & Tusker Beer

       

Our Safari Mobile

The stage was set for this trip quite far in advance as a surprise
orchestrated by Bri as a birthday present for my friend Travis (Bri's husband).  Travis was made aware of his surprise in partial form but Bri conveniently left out the fact that others were planning on the hike as well.  This was of course to allow Travis to prep for the mountain climb at the very least.
          Sarah and I arrived late evening on a Friday in Arusha, Tanzania at the airport, and had to arrange a car to take us to the Outpost Lodge where we would be surprising Travis.  We settled in and walked down to Cafe Mambo (which is part of the lodge) to have a drink after the long flight.

Mother & Baby

 After about thirty minutes of keeping an eye out for the others we finally saw Travis and Bri walking into the lodge.  I casually walked up to Travis with my glass of scotch and said "I guess they will let just about anyone climb Kilimanjaro" (which I thought was smooth).  It was roughly a year of waiting and rejecting multiple invitations from Travis to come along, we finally were ready to make the climb.  After the excitement from our surprise entrance wore off we met our other fellow climbers, Thereasa and Karyn (Bri's friends) who would be joining on the mountain hike as well.  We all had some drinks together at Cafe Mambo and watched this crazy fire and acrobat show from

Oasis (Giraffe's in background)

some rather agile locals who kept chanting the phrase "Bamba" as
they flipped around and ate fire torches to put them out.  This 'earworm song" became the bane of my existence (my classic inability to tune out what I would call "unnecessary repetition") on the trip as Travis and Bri would randomly chat this on the hike.
          We had managed to squeeze in one safari day before starting the climb up Kilimanjaro so the next day we got up early to be picked up by our guide Amos in our safari vehicle.  I wasn't aware of what a safari vehicle looked like until it pulled up, its a pretty cool setup where you can pop the top up and stand from inside the car.  It was roughly a two hour drive to the Tarangire National Park
where we had to stop and sign in  before entering.  This was our
selection for safari, but it should be noted that there are many locations to choose from and you can break out your safari into a longer over night camping trip series.

Sleeping Zebras

          Now I have to preface this that even though I had spent almost a year in West Africa and been on a safari before, we were lucky to see elephants from a few hundred feet away at best.  When we initially drove in I figured we would be just as lucky to see a few animals from the same distance.  After driving for a short time we did actually see some Zebras way off in the distance and I took as many pictures as I could thinking it would be the best we would get for the day.  Much to my surprise after that initial sighting of a few Zebras we drove out into a clearing that basically was the same thing as the circle of life scene in the movie The Lion King.  I was blown away to see giant groups of Zebra, Giraffes, Elephants, Warthogs, Ostriches, Monkeys and many other animals.  Our safari vehicle was literally a few feet from most of these animals at one time or another and it was truly unbelievable.  Sadly we did not get to see any "cats"...Lions or Cheetahs that is.  However, we did see a large parade of Elephants walking along a river as well as a baby Elephant playing with the group.  It was quite funny to see the baby walking around the group being chased back and forth with its almost human or puppy like clumsy wanderings.  The safari was a great prelude to our climb and the amazing things we were able to see came as a very unexpected surprise.  I would recommend actually watching The Lion King before your safari for added effect.

            After our safari we made a quick pit stop to a Maasai village (I initially refused to go in because there was a price to enter the village, but I told the person in charge that I have been invited to many villages in my life time and never was asked to pay) and then made our way back to the Outpost lodge to receive our briefing from Joshua , who would be acting as our lead guide (this was his 73rd trek up the mountain since 99') for the duration of the hike.  He started by answering all our questions before proceeding to inspect our gear to assure we were adequately equipped to handle all scenarios of the hike (mainly cold, heat, rain and the sun).  Afterwards we got an early start to sleep that night as we were being picked up very early the next morning.

            We woke up and had our complimentary breakfast at the lodge and made our way to the bus to start the drive to the mountain.  It was about a four hour drive to the mountain and we picked up more of our crew along the way.  Counting the six of us that had paid for the trip
our groups compliment was twenty two altogether.  The large group was due to all the items needed to accomplish the hike, for us hikers we actually only had to carry small amounts of food, around three liters of water and all the needed items to weather the elements for the day.  As the days passed I was astounded at how much all the porters in our group could carry and not only that, but the speed at which they hiked.  The porters would usually start after we did and within thirty minutes or so they would pass us on the way to our next base camp!  Recent changes in regulation on the mountain states that porters can only carry twenty kilograms (roughly 44lbs).  Regulations aside, it is still forty four pounds all rolled up in a sack that they would balance on their neck and upper back or on top of their head and they were the ones passing us as we struggled to ascend the mountain carrying less than half the weight and moving at a glacial pace.  The porters surely had an edge having been long adjusted to the altitude, but I would be lying if I was still convinced of their super human abilities whilst on the mountain.

Beginning of the Trail

             On the first day of our hike our bus took us to the beginning of the Machame trail where our guide Joshua ha to register all of us for the hike.  We waited at the base of the mountain for quite as while as there were many large groups also waiting to register.  We sat in the hikers shelter grabbing some bites to eat while trying to keep any loose food away from the shifty monkeys swinging about.
 After we were finished registering we took our entrance pictures and started the walk up the steep road to the beginning of the trail.  The beginning part of the trail is a nice walk through the jungle, its the easiest part of the hike because the altitude is not yet an issue and the scenery is nice to look at.  This time of year is nice because there are really no bugs at all in the jungle in fact the only living things on the trail are the occasional bird and these black Colobus monkeys with really long draping white hair, they almost looked like a classic Muppet character.  We passed groups of these monkeys moving from tree to tree a few times as we walked along the trail.  This was the only day Joshua allowed us to set our own pace as we were at a lower altitude and had smaller risks of complications.  We reached our first base camp (called Machame Huts) early evening

Colobus Monkey

and went to the ranger station to register.  At just under ten thousand feet, this base camp was the most populated of all the base camps to come, we saw the higher we got the less populated it became.  My most memorable part of night one was when I got out of my tent in the of the night as nature called and I was able to see the clear night sky.  I have bared witness to some impressive night sky scenes in my hiking days when you get far enough from civilization to lose the light pollution, but I have to say the view of the milky way on the mountain was breathtaking.
             We were woken up by one of our assistant guides at six in the morning the next day to tea and coffee.  The rhythm of our daily hiking activities were managed in quite a methodical way by our crew.  Every morning we had a wake up call with tea, warm water for washing and then it was off to the mess tent for meals like porridge, french toast and eggs.  I have to say I was continuously astounded at what could be carried up the mountain by our crew, especially with regards to the amazing cuisine that was offered to us daily.  The dinners were almost gourmet level soups and meats cooked with spiced rice,  other fruits and veggies.

              Our goal for day two was to get to twelve and a half thousand feet up to the Shira Caves (there are some small caves on the way to the site) camp site.  Already at this point we started to see the landscape change from the dense jungle with the shaggy Colobus monkeys to lighter dry tropical type climate with smaller shrubs and trees.  At this point as you enter the Moorland zone you do notice there really are no more animals except for the smaller mouse variety.  Joshua with our assistant guides Mango and Philemon now took over the pace as they would continue to do for the remainder of the trip.  We moved at a very slow pace, but you begin to appreciate it the higher you climb as the elements, mainly the altitude begin to test your agility on the mountain.  As we moved out of the dense jungle to the dry rocky shrub trail we passed through the dense fog of the cloud line for some time.  Before long we were able to turn around and looking down the trail could see we had emerged from the cloud line.  It gave me a strange sense of isolation from the rest of civilization almost like "this is it, we are definitely going to the top of this mountain now, there is a peak ahead of us and clouds behind us, no turning back".
             I somewhat surprised myself at how much I was still able to talk while ascending the

Me and Mango

mountain as my tone at times delivered messages in an out of my gasps for more air.  I began to reminisce with our lead guide Joshua on my experiences while living in West Africa (mainly Ghana).  It was remarkable as we shared our experiences how many cultural similarities there were between where I had lived and Joshua's experiences in Tanzania.  I always find it extraordinary how the mind can spark up untapped memories that I had not been able to recall in years just by exchanging with Joshua.  In a world glued to TV, cell phones and laptops (I am the biggest offender)...there is really no comparison to sharing a series of good stories with a fellow companion as you walk along.  Joshua is a fantastic guide and I am so happy we got to bond the way we did, it was definitely an unexpected pleasure.
        One story that stuck out was the fact that Joshua was part of the local tribe known as Chagga.  Who historically believe their god lives on the top of the mountain, which in the early times was believed to be the reason anyone who tried to climb it would die (not knowing about altitude and lack of food and water on the mountain).  Joshua actually had to keep the fact from his mother that he was initially working as a porter on the mountain for many years for fear that if she knew he was trying to climb the mountain she would forbid it.  Finally one day he told her which took some convincing that he had climbed many times already and had lived to tell the tale.

             On day three we were getting into some serious altitude where we ascended to a rock formation known as Lava tower which would bring us just over fifteen thousand feet above sea level.  This day is typically when you may notice some reactions from the altitude.  All of us were on the Diamox medication and thankfully no one in our group had any major reactions to the medication or the altitude (besides one of the side effects: frequent urination, lets just say some on our hike were affected more than others).  While the hike brought us up to fifteen thousand feet our final stop was at Barranco huts camp site which took us back down to around thirteen thousand feet.  When we arrived at camp we had a nice popcorn snack waiting for us.  Barranco had a very nice view of some of the mountain high points as well as a steady stream and waterfall cut down the mountain side.  I was also again taken a back by the amazing views of the night sky at this site in particular.

Above the clouds

              I mentioned earlier how amazing the food was on this trip and I was particularly impressed with the soups coming at dinner time.  I felt obliged to mention that I also had a great self made recipe for Italian wedding soup and on day three Joshua called my bluff and asked me to work with the Chef to make it.  They actually had almost all of the ingredients to make it and we only had to substitute rice for the escarole.  The process was very enjoyable as I was talking to Mango our assistant guide to help translate which ingredients I needed and how or when to add others.  Our entire team was watching as we made our brew as I was told later they all wanted to try and make it for themselves back home.  Overall the soup turned out well, although we did go a little heavy on the rice, I miss judged how much the rice would expand relative to pasta...one cup of rice next time.

"Mt Doom" like rocky part of the mountain

              Day four began showing about the last of any vegetation on the mountain and a transition into an ashy "Mordor" like terrain covered with red pumice lava rocks.  I say Mordor because it seemed like the last part of Lord of the Rings when Frodo and Samwise were trudging up Mt. Doom to drop the ring off into the lava.  This day you range up and down in elevation finding pockets of vegetation.  There were a handful of plants we saw that were indigenous to the mountain also containing a proclivity to handle the altitude of Kilimanjaro.  Leaving our camp in the valley also included some mild rock  climbing where we had to surrender our hiking sticks to round a rock face until we took the turn to the "kissing" rock and through a temporary flat plan before more ascension

Rock Climbing

towards our final base camp.  It was at this point in time where the rest of the group began to share my weakness of recognizing repetition for items such as the frequent zipping and unzipping of the tent zippers at night for the bathroom.  Our Diamox medication was the reason for our frequent trips to the bathroom or that big rock off the trail (the bathroom).  We arrived at our base camp in the early evening to have a bite to eat before we began the most difficult part of the hike.  All of the nights on the mountain were very cold, I took the advice of our guide Joshua to zip up one of my jackets around my feet (its basically impossible to sleep if your feet are cold).
               Day five on the mountain started as early as the day possibly could (midnight), we woke up, strapped our head lamps on and started the long hike to the summit in the pitch black of Kilimanjaro.  It is important to note that the evening before I had begun feeling the affects of the altitude and had worries about making it to the top, luckily when I arose I had no such symptoms anymore (I did take an extra dose of Diamox just to be safe).  It is hard to see what the terrain looks like in the dark as you are climbing, but it is very clear how steep it is.  As we were climbing I would catch glimpses of the horizon and get a stark realization of how high we actually were.  I would look behind us the higher we got and see an endless line of flickering headlamps from the other groups ascending below us.  I appreciated the timing in the morning as I

Almost to the top

entered this tired trance like state while we were climbing up the mountain making it easier to take step after step.  As the sun crept over the horizon we were just arriving at Stella point (18,848 ft above sea level).  From this point you are just a forty five minute hike from the highest point in Africa.  While walking to the summit the increasing light begins to reveal the long stretch of glaciers and snow piles resting on the mountain top.  At this point it was very cold, so cold the water lines in our camelbaks froze solid.  Thankfully our supportive guides had trekked red bull all the way up the mountain for us to enjoy.  I am not a huge fan of the drink, but after expending every last nutrient on the hike, the sugar and energy bomb from a red bull hit the spot.  As we passed along the glaciers and finally made it to our destination there was a great deal of relief that came over me, so much that I actually have about a five second moment where I may have shed a few tears.  I was very proud of Sarah for making it to the top and equally proud that we had made it to the top together, it was quite a couples feat.  After that short emotional reaction I broke out the other drink that I had hauled to the top: Johnny Walker, I had a good swig of it before passing it

Massive Glacier

on to Travis as a toast to the top (19,341ft).  I do have to note that even a small swig of scotch at that altitude can have quite an effect, but I had to have scotch on the big rock.  After a good set of pictures we started back down the mountain.
               Thankfully the descent down Kilimanjaro only takes a day and a half, but after losing the hype of making it to the top, going down can be tough, especially after the long day of reaching the summit.  I realized how much using the hiking sticks paid off going up (takes about 25% strain off your legs), but going down they also help keep your balance.  The path down on the first day starts

Scotch "on the rocks"

with a trudge down a pile of ancient volcanic ash, it is very dusty and rather monotonous.  After a while it transfers to a rocky terrain going up and down for a while before getting to the camp for the night.  The hike down is particularly challenging because you use leg muscles that you do not frequently use in every day life.  Having hiked Kilimanjaro I would opt to hike to the summit twice if it meant I did not have to go down once.  When we reached camp I gave the rest of my scotch to our team to enjoy as a thank you for all they had done.
                The next day we had a few more hours of hiking where we finally made it down to the jungle parts of the trail.  Both days while climbing down we kept passing these unicycle type carts meant to quickly escort hikers that had succumbed to severe reactions on the mountain.  I was passed, well I was actually hit into the bushes by one of these carts as I tried to get out of the way.  We were very fortunate that our group did not have any serious issues while on the mountain.  I forgot to
mention that during the summit in the night I went for a bathroom break and while I was searching with my head lamp, I ran across a memorial from April of 2015 from someone who has died on the mountain.  It is not a terribly
common thing, but it does happen, I made sure not to mention my finding until we were close to the base of the mountain.  As we got back into the jungle area we ran into our muppet like monkey friends before finally getting to the end of the trail.

                After loading back into the bus we stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch and decided to treat the team as well.  I was astounded at how cheap it was as our team was over twenty people
all ordering a main course with a beer and or soda and the total bill was only one hundred dollars.  The food was great and it was also great to see the team enjoying themselves after all the intense hard work they had done for us.
               Following lunch we were dropped back to our hotel and said our goodbyes to the team.  Kilimanjaro and the Safari were more than memorable.  The hike up the mountain was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, it was technically not even on my bucket list, but I suppose now I can cross it off.  The task was not something I thought I would never do but more importantly something I never imagined I would be capable of.  It is a mental and physical test of endurance and your reward is the amazing experience of getting to the top...the roof of Africa.

Our Beer of Choice on the Trip

     

Cyprus - The Mediterranean, Ancient Grapes, Harrison Ford & The Tombs of The Kings

Almyra Resort

Room View Almyra Resort - Pafos

          It has been quite some time since my last entry on a travel destination...tracing all the way back to November.  This is largely due to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi finally opening its doors to the
world, which I will cover in my next entry about life in Abu Dhabi.
          Cyprus...how did we end up in Cyprus.  When I told friends I was going there, I think it was the first place that most people had to look up on a map.  Before this trip I supposed we had covered the "basics" on many people's bucket lists.  To be perfectly honest, before moving to Abu Dhabi I would have never thought of Cyprus as a vacation spot, not because it is not a great place to visit (it is) but because if you grew up in the United States...Cyprus?
          We decided to visit Cyprus because we had a short amount of time to detox our brains from the title wave of work that has hit both of us over the last six months.  So when we spun the wheel on the cheap Etihad flights out of Abu Dhabi we found Cyprus to be a good catch.  It was also only a four hour flight which takes the travel wear and tear down to a
minimum.

TOK

Tombs of the Kings (TOK) 

           We knew very little going into our visit to Cyprus other than driving on the "wrong" side of the road and of course I had to check if there were either great movie sites (none) or ancient ruins in the region (many!).  We also knew that Cyprus was divided into two territories so to speak, there is a Turkish side and a Greek side.  I do not think we had enough time to tell the difference, but we landed on the Greek side in Larnaca airport and drove to the resort we had booked on the Greek side in the city of Pafos.
            As the summer heat of Abu Dhabi has already begun to cake our poor human bodies with sweat and fatigue, the cool Mediterranean summer breeze was more than just a delight as we made our left sided drive to Pafos with the windows down.  Thanks to my wife breaking me out of my fear of renting cars in foreign countries, our vacations have an added flavor of adventure not being tied to public transportation.  But I have to give the trophy to Sarah on this trip as she drove almost one hundred percent of the time.  Although I get the runner up for being one heck of a navigator.

TOK

TOK

           It was an hour and a half drive from the airport to the Almyra resort we booked on the Greek side, but it was a quick drive.  The buildings in the Pafos area look slightly aged, but I cannot undercut the beauty of the place, it is still very scenic and my stress from work quickly left my mind as we pulled into the resort.  Our room overlooked the Mediterranean as well as the lovely boardwalk in front of the resort.  We went to bed rather quickly on our first night planing to start fresh the next day.  We walked the boardwalk and stopped at a sea side Greek restaurant and had a nice spread before going to bed.  
           We only planned to visit the Tombs of the Kings and a brew pub (that I googled) on our first day.  Our helpful concierge told us that he Tombs would take us about two hours to explore.  We woke up rather early thanks to our habitual work schedules and headed out to the Tombs around ten.  I will admit it, from an archaeological standpoint, I had no clue about this island and the majority of

TOK

TOK

its history apart from it being briefly mentioned in the bible and Cyprus being the birth of Aphrodite.  The site of the Tombs of the Kings was amazing.   For being unknown to me it was a rather impressive ancient site.  The tomb site lies right along the coast of Cyprus and is scattered across roughly a two thousand foot radius.  There are clusters of these narrow recesses that open up into larger chambers containing burial plots cut into the stone.  Some tombs carved into the deeper rock unexpectedly expand into larger rooms.  The journey and exploration through these Tombs is very exciting as there is really no security around the site after you enter, you are free to explore each area
unrestricted.

            After a through look through the Tombs we got back in the car and made our drive into the center of the Island to find the Brew pub.  I cannot express enough how great it felt to drive with the Aphrodite's rock and drove down this steep road to get there.  The brewery was actually just opening so we were one of the few customers stopping by.  Overall it was pretty standard, apart from a very tasty Oktoberfest that I tried.  It was so good that I took six bottles back with me.  The owner came by and spoke to us for a while, he was originally from the U.K. and also had spent some time in Abu Dhabi before moving to Cyprus to start a Brewery.

Vasilikon Winery

The Vineyard Taverna - Pafos

windows down and feel the cool breeze on my face.  After riding through a few villages down some narrow one way roads we saw the sign for the brewery called
            After the brewery we drove through another village to find a local winery and on the way we happened to drive by a nice little wine bar called The Vineyard Taverna where we had lunch.  The food was very good and the small village environment was top notch.  It was at this restaurant where we first learned one of the pleasant standard hospitality's of the Island of Cyprus.  Sarah and I typically do not opt for desert so it was no exception when we declined after our meal.  However after we declined the hostess gave us some Limoncello on ice as a parting gift.  It was so fresh and tasty that we bought two bottles to take home with us.  After this experience we starting picking up on a pattern that every time we declined to buy something that was offered to us, we would receive some type of gift anyways.  After lunch we drove down the road to the father & son Tsangarides.  They are one of the few wineries on the island that make

Son owner in front of Tsangarides

owned winery by the name of organic wines.  The son gave us a nice tour of the winery as was even to kind as to take dollars for his wine as they usually do not.
            The next day after breakfast we decided to take another trip through the mountains towards the middle of the island to enjoy the quiet country life and find more wineries to visit.  Our first stop was the Vasilikon winery which involved a windy drive through the hills and valleys of Cyprus down narrow roads that only fit one car.  After Vasilikon we drove to a neighboring town called Stroumpi to visit the Kamanterena winery where I learned about a new grape called Maratheftiko which makes a great red wine.  Maratheftiko is an ancient grape variety indigenous to Cyprus.  We spent a long time at this winery and tried a wide variety of white, red and dessert wines.  I think this winery may have had the largest selection of wines I have ever encountered.  After visiting this winery we had lunch at a local restaurant in another small village before making our way to the last winery of the day called the Vouni Panayia Duomo (which we ate at twice) which served great  pizza and risotto.  There was even a rumor that

Voinu Panayia Winery

Harrison Ford has dropped in to have a bite at this place before we did.    
winery.  When we arrived we were greeted with fresh cherries and Cyprus coffee (Turkish coffee) before wine tasting.  I was particularly impressed with the wine that was forgotten for years and years by the wine maker and then re-discovered.  By the time it was discovered the alcohol content was about fifty one percent and had a bit of a scotch wine taste to it.  After spending some time in the nice breezy weather we drove back to Pafos to relax at our resort and walk along the boardwalk for a while.  In the evening we stopped by this great Italian restaurant called

Duomo Restaurant

            Our winery tour marked the last day of our short weekend trip, when we woke up we walked along the Mediterranean one last time and made the hour and a half drive back to the Larnaca airport.  Cyprus was a beautiful place and I was very shocked to find the richness in history, landscape and diversity in food and wine available.  The locals are very kind and treat you well as you visit their country, the obligated gifting tradition was very pleasant as well.  Cyprus is a great stop on any Mediterranean vacation for a few days, for what we were interested in I think four or five days was the perfect amount of time to go relax and explore the country side.
         

Belgium - Mulled Wine, Colin Farrell, Beer & Chocolatey Goodness

          Our desire to go to Belgium was solely influenced by Sarah's need to visit a Christmas market

Belfort Tower

B&B 1669

scene in Europe.  I was pleased that she had a destination of her choice which was not so heavily influenced by my need to find movie locations and ancient sites.  Although I put up little resistance as Belgian beer is my absolute favorite kind of beer (and I can find a movie location from one of my favorites just about anywhere).

          We started out journey flying into Brussels and getting on a train to Bruges.  It was a short train ride that lasted about an hour across the country.  When we arrived in the Bruges train station we took a cab over to the city, Bruges like many of the canal based cities north of Italy is sometimes

Market Square - Bruges

referred to as "The Venice of the North".  It is a very cozy city and you pass many historic buildings as you drive down the narrow pathways.  We stayed at a bed & breakfast call the 1669 that was tucked in behind a medieval church.  Each room had a theme and ours was called the loft which sat on the top of the pointy building with a nice view of Bruges out the window.  

          After we settled in we set out on the town to look for something to eat.  We found a nice local style restaurant near the Belfry of Bruges where you can climb the Belfort tower.  I found a new favorite hearty meal to compete with the famous Guinness beef gravy that changes my life in Ireland.  This Belgian style meal was known as "Flemish beef" which is basically a slow cooked thick beef gravy stew meal, this was the first of about five other times that I would consume this meal on the trip.  

          Following my fantastic meal we walked over to the Belfry to begin our ascent of the Belfort tower.  This part of the trip began my first movie reference where the tower and Bruges in general was featured in a movie starring Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter) called In Bruges.  In the movie the tower lays host to one off the funniest scenes in the movie where Irish Colin Farrell insults a group of overweight American tourists before they try to climb the tower.  I have embedded the scene here for reference, pardon the "french" from Colin, it does make Americans look bad with the typical overweight stereotype, but I find the scene hilarious.  

          Climbing the tower was quite a workout and there were a limited number of people allowed on top so we had to wait for a little bit.  After some pictures at the top, we walked around the market square in front of Belfry to the various Christmas market stations.  Most of the stations were serving mulled wine, cheesy potatoes and mixture of Belgian chocolate medleys.  Sarah was slightly disappointed as both of us expected the Christmas markets to be a bit more "Christmasy", but instead

the markets resembled more of an arts and crafts show with few of the stations selling items really relating to Christmas.  

Ghent

          We found a local brewery called Half Moon that we toured after the Christmas market let down.  I cannot stress enough how much I love Belgian beer, the wheat style strong flavor is unmatched compared to the majority of other beers.  The brewery is hard to find as the large facility is very well hidden in the rather cozy design of the city.  The interior had historic and modern construction and a wide range of strong beer.  I had to be strategic with the beer I chose to bring back to Abu Dhabi with me as we were both only allowed to take six.  While you can buy beer in the U.A.E., your selection is basically the "bud light" of every country in the world.  So as you can imagine when you go out to another country, it is important to carefully select your beer "survival kit" upon your return to the middle east.

Ghent

          For dinner in Bruges I had yet another round of Flemish beef which was delightful.  After dinner we went back to our bed & breakfast to plan our journey to the city of Ghent.  The next day we took the train into Ghent while leaving our things at the B&B.  While there we visited a few local pubs in the
area, one that offered over a hundred different types of Belgian beers (a pub in Brussels was soon to trump this record).  The other pub we found was very cozy fitting around fifteen people into a ten foot by ten foot square room.  I have said it before, but I will never tire of the old style bars you are able to find in Europe, they contain stories and character that cannot be rivaled by any of the more modern bars in my opinion.  While in Ghent we also stopped by this cafe that where I had the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted in my life.  It consisted of some type of creamed whipped milk with Belgian chocolate pieces melting away at the bottom.  Typically I do not prefer hot chocolate, but this

Sarah At Christmas Market - Brussels

drink existed in its own category.  

Lambic Brewery - Brussels

          We took a late train back from Ghent to Bruges, spent one more night there and made our way back to our final destination: Brussels.  When we arrived in Brussels it has similar Christmas markets to the Bruges Markets, so we spent some time there before checking out a nice beer store to add more to my survival kit.  I also found another brewery to tour called Brasserie Cantillon which featured a series of Lambic style beers (sour tasting beer).  It was a short walk outside the main area of Brussels, but a fun visit.  Toward the evening we made our way back to the center of the city in search of a few good pubs.  While at one of the pubs I met a nice local gentleman who was so kind to invite us to the Delirium Cafe which holds a Guinness book for the largest variety of beers available for sale which when counted at the time was two thousand and four beers.  After having some fun with the locals we

Grand Place - Guild Halls - Brussels

walked back out to the Grand Place or the Grote Markt where in the evenings would display an impressive light show.  Bruges, Ghent and Brussels were all very enjoyable places to visit, the loc

Beer Store - Brussels

al people are very friendly and the scenery, chocolate, flemish beef and of course the beer is amazing.  I found a nice specialty shop to finalize my beer survival kit in the morning before we made our way back home from our short trip to Belgium.  If I were to go back, I would love to visit more of the breweries in the outskirts and spend more time in Bruges.  As for the Christmas markets, we were advised to try Germany to get that Christmas feel we were looking for.  Over all the trip was a great time and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good hearty meal with a strong beer and a chocolate finish.   

           

Abu Dhabi - Amazing Food, Expatriates & Staying Fresh in the U.A.E.

Lebanese Mill (Garlic cream
on the top right)

          Just recently I crossed the seven month threshold of living in Abu Dhabi.  I find it interesting to look back on my previous entries and how I have evolved over time.  Experience, increased comfort and extended knowledge has given me new clarity when it comes to what I see when I look at the exact same city I saw six months ago.  The new normal: a phrase I like to use when talking about adjusting to life's many curve-balls dealt to each individual over the course of their lives.  Abu Dhabi is definitely becoming my "new normal" but I have not fully given in to accepting this new city as my home.  I first noticed this when I was returning with Sarah back from our holiday in Scotland.  We spent two weeks touring around Scotland and when we returned to Abu Dhabi after it all, it seems strange to us that we were back.  It was almost like we should have been returning somewhere else after our holiday was over.  That feeling did not last very long before I settled back in again, but I found it to be an interesting status indicator of where I am at in my adjustment here in Abu Dhabi and the U.A.E.  Basically that this city is slowly becoming my home, but it may be some time before it really sinks in.  

           The U.A.E. is unique in the fact that there really is no other place on the planet at the moment where people from all over the world are consistently migrating over for work opportunities.  The U.S. has been referred to as a cultural melting pot and there are certainly many pockets of diverse culture, but there is a different type of flavor here in the U.A.E.  In my opinion the U.S. almost absorbs other cultures to create an "American" culture.  However in the U.A.E. I get the sense of authentic cultural experiences wherever I go.  Because many expats are here on semi short term stays, it seems that cultural heritage, habit and practice are retained in more concentration.  And it is for this reason that anyone coming to work here receives a front row seat to the majority of the worlds cultures.  It is a remarkably rewarding experience to have this type of cultural exposure on a regular basis.  Any challenges that are associated with these scenarios are worth it a thousand times over compared to the value these experience add to your life.  When you think about where you live and where your home is, you are in your own little world with its own intricacies that make it home to you.  Now if you assume everyone around the world has home just like that, there are an infinite number of little universes out there to explore and learn about.  For me personally to be able to go into another persons world and be able to learn and grow in that place is such a gift.  I think if everyone took the opportunity to explore and learn about someone with a background and history different from their own, the world would be a much more tolerant and peaceful place.  I find it is much harder for people to judge something or someone if you have made a personal connection to what you are looking at.      

Shawarma Time (the real people
who serve me!)

            In the interest of keeping the diversity theme I will mention a collection of restaurants that I have frequented during the last seven months here.  On my very first day in Abu Dhabi, my first lunch was at a place my work buddy Clay brought Sarah and I to called the Lebanese Mill.  This was the place I had mentioned in one of my earlier blogs where I kept getting lamb instead of the shish taouk that I kept trying to order when Clay had brought me there.  The shish tauok is my favorite meal there which basically consists of fries (chips), chicken, pickles and garlic cream.  The garlic cream is the kicker of the meal, I have never experienced this before Abu Dhabi, suffice it to say I am still very much addicted to the substance.  If you have not tried garlic cream, please look up the recipe and make some up, if you like garlic, you will not be disappointed.  Although even hours after consumption, Sarah can tell that it was a "garlic cream" day, so be wary of its affects on others after you dine.    

Hanoi (Sun Tower)

          Another restaurant I am visiting more often recently is Shawarma Time, this joint serves chicken or beef shawarma (sometimes turkey).  Shawarma is basically a choice of meat placed on a spit and then roasted for as long as a day, then it is shaved off in small pieces and put into a sandwich or dish.  My favorite is the chicken saj shawarma with you guessed it, garlic sauce and pickles.  
          Pinoy Big Brother is a Filipino restaurant where I was introduced to a meal called Sigsig (see crackling video example above) which is basically all of these peppers with chicken or beef, and a raw egg placed on a steaming hot skillet which is brought out to you as the egg is cooking.  I have yet to identify the oil that is used to cook everything but it tastes amazing (which probably means its bad for you).  You can order this at three varying levels of spiciness.     

Arabic Coffee

          A restaurant Sarah and I frequent in our building is called Hanoi which is a Vietnamese cuisine.  We consistently order a dish called the chicken bun ga, which is basically this compilation of rice noodles, greens (including mint) and chicken with brown sauce and peppers to add on the side.  We usually eat this meal about once a week and now we are greeted by the hosts at Hanoi with the immediate response "same thing?", as we have never departed from our chicken "bun ga" choice order.  
          During my orientation tour I was brought to a restaurant called Cafe Arabia, which up to this point is still the best place to order Arabic food fusions that taste incredible.  My favorite local drinks would have to be Arabic coffee (which has so many spices it tastes more like tea) which is the only time I have considered coffee to taste good and cardamom tea (also called "Karak" tea) which is this mildly spiced tea with hot milk.

Sarah at The One
Restaurant

           My latest favorite restaurant hang out is a place called The One which is near Emirates palace.  I found this little gem on Zomato about a month ago and took some time finding it.  It turns out The One is also a total home experience store which is basically like Pottery Barn on steroids.  The restaurant is in the far back of the home decor store on the second floor.  You have to navigate to the back to find a table, most items at your table including chairs, light fixtures and utensils are for sale in the store.  The unique placement of the restaurant in the store surrounded by various decor scenes gives you a sort of "Night at The Muesum" vibe which makes for an enjoyable time.  Oh, and the food is quite good too.        
           Sarah and I are currently taking another step to express our desire for a semi permanent stay in Abu Dhabi by looking at condominiums to purchase.  Buying property here is rather different than the U.S. and since we are non-Emiratis we also can only purchase property in designated areas.  We are currently close to closing on a property on Reem Island which is where we currently live.  We wanted to buy a unit in our current building, but prices are too inflated at the moment, so we bought down the road from our tower in hopes that new development over the years will also raise the price of our newly purchased unit.  We currently live in Sun tower and are going to be moving to Amaya Towers in the next month or so.  Our new two bedroom unit has a beautiful view of the Gulf as well as Saadiyat Island.  The unit also has a long deck stretching with patio doors in both the living room and master bedroom.      

Amaya Towers (Our new home)

           At this current juncture of my time in Abu Dhabi I think it is important to call out that it really is a privilege to live and work in the United Arab Emirates.  I sense that there is a constant battle to not become spoiled by all of the wonderful amenities that we could only dream of having back in our home country (or at least pay a premium for).  My goal is to continue to appreciate this amazing opportunity we have along with the benefits it gives us both towards our future and our quality of life now.  It is easy to see how one can become accustomed to all of these benefits and make rash decisions when minor issues arise.  I want to make sure not fall into that same mindset and keep our lifestyle in check realizing what we have and why we are here.  Ultimately we are here to serve the Emirati people, to sustain life here in all sectors, to train in areas of need and bring the same quality that is expected anywhere else in the modern world.  In pursuit of completing these goals, we have the privilege to live here, experience rich diverse culture in an extremely safe and tolerant country.  In the world today I cannot think of a better scenario for those open and willing to explore the mystery of the unknown.  So here I am at seven months, my goal is to continue to try and stay "fresh" in Abu Dhabi remembering what we have and what a true privilege it is to be here.  By fresh I mean keeping the same open mind I had when I first came to the U.A.E., holding on to that curiosity that makes this place so amazing to be a part of and remembering to maintain that energy going forward.  This is one of the main reasons I have been recording all of these experiences since I arrived, to consider where I am going (in terms of attitude and state of mind) but most importantly remembering where I came from.  
                             


 

Oman - Border Runs!, Getting Lost & Chai Lattes

Mountains in Oman

Fort Near Muttrah Souk

          For the second Eid and also our first wedding anniversary we decided to drive to Oman from Abu Dhabi.  We saw from Google maps that the drive itself would take about five and a half hours.  We set out on Friday around eleven which put us at the border at about one o clock.  I realized when we approached the border that we were middle east border "newbies" when I saw we had to feed our cars into this narrow fenced in area with buildings on both sides.  From my border crossing experiences in the U.S. and Europe I expected to drive up to a booth where I could just hand over my passport, get a stamp and be on our way.  However in this case we had to find a parking space within the fenced area and proceed to one of the buildings for processing.  The line (or queue as is more commonly said in the U.A.E.) was rather large given the holiday.  We walked up to the first of two queues and began to question the

Omani Traditional Dress

Shangri La Resort

other members waiting if this was indeed where we needed to be to stamp our passports.  Unfortunately no one was aware of why they were waiting in line, instead they were just hoping at the end they would be cleared to enter Oman.  After baking outside in the sun for about an hour (the line stretched outside the building) we made it to the slightly air conditioned part of the line.  We proceeded to wait there for about thirty minutes at which point an officer came in and kicked us all out of the building for some reason.  After that there were hints that a riot might ensue after the line was scrambled and others who had clearly been waiting longer lost their positions.  It was at this point that the officer made his handcuffs visible which calmed everyone down.  After a slight bout of confusion out in the sun again, the officers changed shifts and the new office promptly offered to let women inside out of the sun.  Following that chivalrous gesture, my wife was able to secure our transfer to Oman, two and a half hours (the border can also get crowded because people do what they call "border runs" because they are on a thirty day temporary U.A.E. visa, so they go to the border, leave and turn right back around to get another thirty day stamp on their passports) after our initial arrival.

Darcy's Kitchen Cafe

Beach Restaurant

          Now that we were back on the road again we had one more parking checkpoint for the Oman part of customs and then we were back on track to Muscat, Oman.  We had reservations at the

Ramada in Muscat which we arrived to after about eight hours of travel between the border and driving.  We both quickly noticed some stark difference between Oman and the U.A.E., the traditional dress is slightly different, there far less taxis in Oman, and the vast array of amenities offered in the U.A.E. are not as readily available in Oman.  Oman has a beautiful landscape that transforms as you drive from the rolling sand dunes in the deserts of the U.A.E. to Oman that contains its staggered mountains streaked with colors of brown, white and red.  The locals in Oman also do not wear the Kandura or Agal with their robes, but either a pill box type

Al-Ameen Mosque

cap or turban.  The first thing I noticed while driving in into the night atmosphere of Muscat was the Al Ameen mosque which was towering over the city.  The most eye catching aspect of this structure is the architects chose to cast light on the mosque in the evening.  From afar and even close up the Al-Ameen mosque does not appear to have lights illuminating it, but instead the mosque appears to emit a blueish and yellow glow off the stone, a truly beautiful sight.  After checking in to our resort we set out for food, but ended up getting lost for about thirty minutes driving back  out towards the border and then making a sharp left turn that drove us through a mountain road with no turn around points.  Sadly, this experience of getting lost in Oman would not be the last.  When we finally found our way we had a meal at a nice little outdoor restaurant called Darcy's Kitchen where Sarah found a Chai Latte that she fell in love with and I enjoyed the fact that they served breakfast all day (we came back for another later in the trip).

Beach Restaurant

          The next day we decided to make it a beach day at the Shangri La

Ritz Lobby

hotel resort which is a series of three hotels.  We bought a day pass for the beach which included a buffet pass as well.  The weather on the beach was the best we have had in months with a temperature of around 23 degrees
Celsius (about 75 degrees Fahrenheit).  We spent around six hours on the beach that day and enjoyed the nice buffet.  We laid around and went swimming and snorkeling (I snorkeled for hours, shame I forgot to bring my underwater camera).  In the evening we decided to celebrate our anniversary by eating at the Beach Pavilion restaurant at the Ritz Carton (the lobby inside the Ritz is breathtaking).  It is a fine dining restaurant with tables set out on the beach sand right along the water.  It was a very nice dinner and the service was great.

Ritz Carlton Lobby

Muttrah Souk

Muttrah Souk

          On our final day before driving back we decided to pay a visit to the Muttrah Souk (a Souk is a traditional Arab market place) and see how different they were from the Souks of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.  They were very similar with some slight differences.  I bought an old map of the middle east after about an hour of bargaining (which I love to do) which I plan to frame here in the U.A.E. eventually (framing services like so many other services are very cheap in the U.A.E.).  After a walk through the Souk, we got back to the car to make our way back to the border.  One of the most memorable details about the trip was on our way back when we mistakenly arrived to the border designated for U.A.E. nationals only (which had the drive up booths I had expected to see coming in to Oman...go figure) where our attendant asked us if we knew Arabic.  Sadly we did not know enough to converse so he tried to explain that we needed to go to a different border, in his best and kindest effort he said in English "this border for brown people only", Sarah and I could not stop laughing, we know he meant no offense, but we could not help enjoying the satire after a long drive to the border.  Thankfully after getting to the right border the return did not take as long as the drive in.
          Oman was a great place to visit.  It is amazing that a place so close to our home in the U.A.E has such different geography, styles, customs and practices.  We would love to go back someday with any friends and family who visit (hint hint) in the future, but if we do I think next time we will place our bets on flying versus driving.  

Beach Outside Muscat