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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Dec 12, 2012 08:00 PM Socotra, the beautiful... and primitive...
The flight was delayed and we landed yesterday on Socotra just before sunset.
Great chain of mountains overlooks the north coast.
Internet (very slow) only in the capital of the island.
Power - only fom private genetators.
We slept in the tents 20 m from the beach under mosquito nets... No power or internet in the province where we go now...
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Dec 11, 2012 08:00 PM I fly to Socotra today...
This is not true what they write in the guidebooks - there is public bus 88 going from Sharjah City to SHJ airport and it costs only 5 dirhams. The stop is on Rolla Sq opposite "Shark" hotel.
I fly from here to Socotra with Felix Airlines - new Yemen's operator. I hope that everything will be well.
But I do not know about the internet on Socotra - so do not be surprised if there will not be messages from me. Who knows? :)
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Dec 10, 2012 08:00 PM Emirates: four, five, six...
Allaaaaaah akbar! - it is still dark, 5.15 am when the strong voice from the nearby mosque give us a wake up call...
Today we drove along the coast - first to the nearby Emirate of Ajman to visit the old fort and then to the next Umm al - Quwain Emirate - the smallest and the poorest of 7 emirates. It is poor (you can see it), but have excellent museum in the fort where the local ruler was living till 1960-ties. Umm is located on the little peninsula
and you can still see part of the wall with towers protecting the old Umm.
Then we went to Ras-al-Khaima Emirate - the sixthe one. After 16 years I saw there more skycrapers then before, but they closed the old dhow shipyard... Domage! I remember it was picturesque!
We returned via the desert road - it was only 1,5 hours drive - the roads are excellent here. With 120 kms per hour speed limit. But local drivers are sometimes crazy! Take care!
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Dec 09, 2012 08:00 PM Emirates: one, two, three. (A piece of Oman too!)
We have two days till our departure to Yemen. I rented a car (the smallest one) costs like 50 USD per day including full insurance.
We went from Sharjah Emirate through the desert and Hajar Mountains (what a views!) to the Emirate of Fujaira.
Then from the sea coast we climbed the mountains again to reach beautiful Hatta - the little enclave of the Dubai Emirate located near Omani border,
Hatta has Heritage Village to visit (entry is free!) and is sourrounded by the dramatic mountains of different colors.
To go back from Hatta to Sharjah you have to cross a little piece (10 kms) of Omani terittory. It was a sunset time and the mountains had red-orange colors when we passed through this strip. You do not need Omani visa to make this shortcut. There is only UAE control on both ends. Nice day! But the car is now on the street in front of our hotel and I have to pay 2 dirhams per hour parking fee. Uuuu! Only during the daytime, thanks God!
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Dec 08, 2012 08:00 PM I have Yemeni visa!
In Europe you probably hear very little about what is going on in Yemen. But here, in the Emirates they know that the situation is still hot and changeable...
But I believe that it does not appy to the Yemeni Island of Socotra, where I want to go now. It is located more then 500 kms of the mainland Yemen shores.
I got Yemeni visa!
Second good news is that I met my companion.
We went to Sharjah - another emirate - next to Dubai.
Bus 306 goes there from Gubaiba Bus Station in Dubai (costs 7 dirhams). Sharjah is cheaper to stay: A clean twin room in El Sharq Hotel - on Rolla Square in the center cost 55 USD for two! They offer free wi-fi.
For the big loaf of bread I paid 4,50 dirhams...
We have 2 days left to the next flight to Socotra...
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Dec 07, 2012 08:00 PM Bye-bye my white ship!
You are not allowed to carry your main luggage off the ship. So you put your luggage out of your cabin and they will take it to the shore. :)
In the middle of the day I collected my big backpack in the tererminal building. This was the only backpack I saw in the terminal... It seems that I was the only backpacker on the ship. Just let you know: there is no customs control so you can take ashore a good supply of food if you want and something stronger too! Remember - emirates are "dry" region.
Most of the passengers aboard were from Italy. They like to speak a lot and loudly. So there were a lot of noise in the public areas...
I found many new friends and I hope this was not our first and the las meeting!
Bye, my white ship! This was an interesting voyage!
I used a free minibus to get from the port to the central Dubai (they do not allow to wander through the port).
So now it will be again an overland trip!
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Dec 06, 2012 08:00 PM Dubai - a new Manhattan?
Dubai is not on the island, but I think it can be called the new Manhattan. It is hard to believe how many lovely skycrapers they built here in the last 15 years. Wow!
I hate the big cities, but this one is imposing!
Once off the port are (shopping malls offer free transport to their properties) I took a local bus no. 8 (6,50 dirhams) to te famour "palm of Jumeira" and Burj al Arab hotel on the coast - it is far from the center!
Nice views...
Then they open the subway (it is holy Friday today and the subway was closed till 1 pm) and I went for another 6.50 dirhams to the Burj al Khalifa - the tallest building in the world - I believe - 828 m high. Wow!
You can go to the observation deck on the 124 floor if you book well in advance via internet - and pay!
The view from the bottom was enough for me (the weather is hot but hazy here).
Do you know that they offer free internet in the cruise ship terminal? But limited to 20 minutes... So all the best my Friends and bye!
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Dec 05, 2012 08:00 PM Along the Corniche of Abu Dhabi
I am again after 16 years in the richest Arab Emirate.
Abu Dhabi has more high buildings now and there is a nice Corniche (a coastal promenade) maybe 8 kms long.
Port is on one end of the Corniche and on the other end there is Breakwater Peninsula with an intreresting (and free) Heritage Village. I walked all the cornich long to get to the village - taking a photos on the way.
Village is quite interesting.
But I do not understand why in such a rich country the main Monument - White Fort after 16 years is still under reconstruction...
Uff... it was a long way in the heat. Sun is strong here!
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Dec 04, 2012 08:00 PM Fiords of Arabia...
There are famuus fiords in Norway, but did you hear about fiords in Arabia?
In the night we sailed trough the Strait of Hormuz - the only gate to the Arab Gulf. It is as narrow as 21 miles in the minimal point!
Just after we reached a little port of Kasab on The Mussandam Peninsula. The Peninsula is the enclave of lovely Oman and I am happy to be here again.
The tip of the peninsula has a number of fiords. Mountains around are 700 -800 m high so it is very picturesque place.
No roads to the fiords. I paid for the tour on the old Arab boat (dhow) to go to one of the fiords - 17 kms long.
Nice adventure - at the end of the fiord there are tiny fishermen's villages and Telegraph Island - a piece of land where in 19th century established manned station on the India to Iraq cable...
After 5 years the staff got crazy and the station was abbandoned.
In the afternoon I went by foot to the Khasab Fort (1,5 km from the port) - well worth a visit - there is interesting museum and the pretty Omani ladies will treat you with the local coffee and Omani bread!
Once in the center of Khasab I found the Omani friend who took me on his car along the coastal road for the great view of the bay. Lovely country!
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Dec 03, 2012 08:00 PM Khorfakkan - what a name!
I am already in the United Arab Emirates! In the morning we reached the port of Khor Fakkan. Strange - it is the little enclave of Emirate Sharjah in The Emirate of Fujairah on the southern coast of Arab Peninsula!
I found the internet cafe where they charge 5 dirhams per hour. 1 USD is worth 3,66 dirhams.
They just celebrated 41th National Day. The city is still decorated with flags and the portraits of the emir and his family.
Nice beach here but completly empty there are warnings in arabic and english that at the beach you have to have "appropriate clothes" :) ...on the beach. At the temperature 30 deg Celsius!
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