Christmas in the Sandbox - Part 2 (Al Maha)

I'm doing pretty good with all of my new year's resolutions except blogging.  I just seem to be running out of time with working out and fun events on the weekend, and I've spent pretty much all my downtime at home the past week reading up on taxes...what fun!  I knew that paying taxes would be a bit complicated living abroad, but it really is pretty ridiculous all the little caveats to every rule/guideline.  I was thinking about having someone prepare them for us...but she was charging almost $300/hr.  I decided I could do a little leg work on my end and use Turbo Tax.  I've actually learned so much about taxes, that I'm glad I'm doing it myself.  I like understanding what we're getting taxed on and the deductions we're taking.  I've also learned some key things about retirement accts, etc. that will be good to know and affect some future decisions.

Anyways, back to Christmas celebrations!

After spending the day in Abu Dhabi, we took off the next morning to go to the Al Maha resort which is about half way between Dubai and Al Ain.  We loaded up into a few cars and headed out with Peppernutters in tow :)  When we finally made it to the outer entrance of the resort and crossed through the gate...we were met by a few dozen wild camels just strolling along!

We learned later, that because Al Maha is a wildlife reserve, they have quite a few fences up to keep the camels out of the reserve.  Apparently the camels will eat any vegetation they come across and can just completely destroy a whole ecosystem (is that the right word?).  So after going through a few more gates/fences we made it to the main reception/lobby of the resort.  We were served a delicious chilled fruit drink and they told us about all of the activities that we could do while we were there.  There was camel riding, dune bashing, safari/nature drive, falconry, horseback riding, archery, and even a spa treatment for each of us.  We did them all!

Riding to our villa

Then they took us to our villa which was GORGEOUS.  It was tent-like with arabic decor, our own deck & pool, a kitchen with servants' quarters, etc.  It was crazy!  They even had a whole fruit basket waiting for us...we felt like royalty :)

Entrance to our villa

Bedroom

Paul's & my bathroom--I think it was bigger than our apartment in Durham!

I love the arabic pots and pitchers with the intricate designs on them--I want to get something like that before we leave here :)

Obviously I don't travel anywhere that doesn't have at least a dozen different fresh fruits waiting for me when I arrive :)

Our pool--you could see both the sunset and sunrise from the deck

That night, Paul and I went and got a couples massage while the rest of the crew went on a sundowner (more on that later).  Then we relaxed and had multi-course dinner served to us on our deck by the pool--talk about spoiled!

Table laid for for dinner on the deck

My dessert--Yummm!

View of the sunrise from our deck

The next morning we got up early and headed straight for the dune bashing...we were told multiple times by our guide to not eat breakfast as you might be seeing it again on the ride!  He wasn't kidding.  It was a different experience than the time Paul and I went before with some friends, they did more of a "technical drive," but I didn't really care...I was sooo sick :(   Everyone else seemed to be enjoying it though except for Chase.  We're defintely the two weak stomachs.  Luckily, I made it back without any incidences, but unfortunately, Paul wasn't so lucky as he was in the car with Chase when he lost it on the way back :(  It took me about 1hr to fully recover.

The dunes were really pretty

We saw quite a few animals while we were out including this oryx

Paul resting on top of his mountain

This is the main building where we enjoyed breakfast after recovering from the roller coaster ride

There was a lot of wildlife just around the buildings and our villa

That night Paul and I joined the group on the "sundowner" which is where you ride the camels out into the dunes for about 10-15 mins.  Once you get to the spot, they have strawberries, nuts, apricots and champagne waiting for you to enjoy while you watch the sunset :)  Quite the way to celebrate Christmas Eve...not sure too many of our friends and family were celebrating by sitting outside watching the sunset :)  That night the resort put on a nice cocktail party before dinner where we got to get dressed up and socialize before another wonderful dinner.

  

Chase & Mom getting ready to ride to the sundowner

Camel riding shadows :)

Sunset, family, Christmas Eve, strawberries, champagne--what more could you want?

View of our villa from the sundowner

Paul and I probably spent too much time by this table :)

Christmas morning we took it easy and slept in a little and then headed to the main building for a gorgeous and delicious Christmas brunch buffet.  We spent some time by the pool and eventually opened gifts from each other.  That afternoon, we went to the archery range and enjoyed some friendly competition.

The Christmas buffet

That's right, you better watch out :)

That's a killer expression

Mom lining up her shot

When we got back to our villa, we played some cards and ordered in a light meal.  The next morning was the Falconry where the various guides brought out "their" falcons and taught us about the sport and put on some demonstrations for us.  I thought it was really interesting how the falcons have no sense of loyalty to their owners...it is purely a food-based relationship.  So the guides were always a little nervous about letting their birds out or working them too hard before giving them food because they were afraid they'd fly off (which apparently is fairly common!).  After that, it was off to our next destination--Dubai!

Sunrise over the desert (those are the Omani mountains in the background)

Falcons all lined up on their perches

One of the guides training his falcon with a dead small bird on the end of string which he swings around getting the falcon to swoop back and forth trying to catch it

I was the only one brave enough to hold one of the trained killers