Day Two in the Middle East

Awake to a huge breakfast (something I’m totally not accustomed to) and head to “the office” (or the double wide trailer we work in). It’s only 4-5 minutes from the villas, but we take the long route around and through the site.

Okay, first some context.... the map shown above is of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). The country, as it is called since its independant in 1971, is situated between Saudia Arabia and Oman. Abu Dhabi and particularly Dubai are the most famous of the Emirates; however we now reside in Al Ain. Al Ain is the 4th largest city in the UAE, and is know as the Garden City, given the many oasis, parks, tree-lined avenues and decorative roundabouts within the city. Al Ain has been continuously inhabited for more than four thousand years and is considered central to the cultural heritage of the country. It is also the birth place of Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the United Arab Emirates.

The weather is hot, but from what I’ve been told, it has actually cooled off tremendously - from like 130F (50C) to around 90F (34C), and the nights aren’t actually that bad. The obvious difference is the lack of humidity.

Our first day at the office is spent setting up the “command post”. Actually it involves moving a bunch of crap around and setting up the workstations. As soon as you walk outside, if it wasn't for the heat, you might think you're on Mars or the moon. Bruce and Rand keep saying, "no, no, it looks like Southern Arizona, y'know the Sonoran Desert". Actually, Nick and I don't know as we've never been there. So, for now, its Mars.
We break early for a late lunch at the local mall.
And eat Chili’s. Yep, I’m eating Chili’s at a mall. Hmm… weird.

Later that night, Bruce takes us to the local rugby club for a Hawaiian t-shirt luau with his local expat group called Hash (don’t ask). On the way home, Larry takes Corey, Nick and I up to the top of the Jebel Hafeet, a 4,000 ft. mountain, With 21 corners and three lanes (two climbing and one descending), the immaculate road to the top was called the greatest driving road in the world by Edmunds.com.

What awaits you is either the Royal Palace of or where we hung out, the Mercure Grand. The Mercure is a 4 star, mountain oasis resort, and it features large pools, bars, private cabanas, and dining overlooks all perched on the side of the mountain. The views are spectacular and the breeze is so strong, it’s actually chilly up there. We indulge in some German beer and sheesha (their version of hooka). I do some exploring of my own and end up at the pool deck, where I do my best Wedding Crasher impression and treat myself to delicious food and drinks. I simply followed the rule book: •Rule #3: When crashing an Indian wedding, identify yourself as a well-known immigrant officer or a county lawyer. Perfect.