Dubai - New Fujairah Road Route

This blog had a sudden surge in hits from searches on the new road to Fujairah through Maleha Road, and that gave us a cue where to head this weekend -- off for a lunch buffet at Fujairah Rotana with our 2011 Entertainer voucher before it expires end of this month.

We started through E11, or from Ittihad Road, but we thought this is a longer route after we came back to Dubai through the By Pass Road, which took considerably shorter time and avoiding the usual traffic at National Paints roundabout.

ROUTE TO THE NEW FUJAIRAH ROAD FROM DUBAI

• Coming from the Deira Clock Tower, head towards Airport Road.
• After the Rashidiya Metro Station, get straight up the bridge, then down to Emirates Road towards Sharjah.
• As you approach the National Paints Bridge, take right, do not go up.
• Taking right before National Paints Bridge and down before the roundabout, be careful not to go straight, but take the road to the right, signposted as Maleha Road.
• Keep driving straight along Maleha Road for around 54 kilometers from the National Paints Roundabout before you need to get up the interchange to take you on the new road .  Here are some guides to spot the interchange, aside from the sign posts: Soon as you see the first hills/ mountains, you'd see a petrol station,  the Maleha Interchange, then Maleha Hospital.
• From Maleha Hospital, stay on the right lane as you are approaching Exit 47. Take right at Exit 47, go up left through the interchange and voila! you're on for a smooth three-lane drive along Shaikh Khalifa Road - the new Fujairah road.

From Exit 47, it's 39 kilometers towards Fujairah's oblong roundabout. On a 100-130 kph speed, we clocked 23 minutes.

FUJAIRAH -  DUBAI 

Going back to  Dubai,  we headed back to the oblong roundabout ( :-) the shape I guess makes it peculiar and the best way to identify for those who doesnt know its name (like me!)).  We took the exit to the "Dubai" signpost.

• Get past the first intersection. You know you're not lost when you see the Fujairah City Center (still under construction as of this writing) at your right. 
• You approach a roundabout, then take left. 
•  From the roundabout, get right on the start of the Shaikh Khalifa highway.
• After some 35 kilometers, you are now to take a right back on Maleha Road

On Maleha Road, you have the option to head straight to National Paints Roundabout, (which we don't recommend if going back to Dubai and you're avoiding traffic), or through By Pass Road. If deciding on the By Pass Road:

• At Maleha Road, slow down and keep right soon as you see signs of Jebel Ali/ Abu Dhabi, and By Pass Road. Take right and up the interchange.
• Now at the six-laned By Pass Road, you would see the Burj Khalifa on your right as you advance. You are now driving in parallel with Emirates Road.
• Exiting to Deira, take right to the signpost of Al Khawaneej.
• Keep driving straight until you reach the roundabout that points left to Deira. 
• You're led to take right then straight until you cross the interchange above Emirates Road. You're now on the Airport Road.  

The reason for the drive

  

Of Assignments

One of the Gremlin's assignments - Merry Christmas!

Can you know online if my irritability has something to do with my pregnancy? I asked my husband this morning. Jokingly he asked back "Arent you that way everyday?"

As much as I am avoiding rants in this blog, I just cant withhold it. I don't mind being irritated, if only there's not a Little Precious One in my tummy whom his sibling whispered to me "Mama, are you not hurting Ading too, because if you get mad, she will feel it?" (Ading refers to a younger sibling)

(PS - I cant get much help from the Gremlin's dad who's based in a nearby country who flies in and out during weekends only -- who because of my rants, thought of resigning to rejoin us. Also, there are instances of after work stress, hence tired to spend the night doing assignments after cooking dinner and packing next day lunch.)

My frustration on the Gremlin's schooling is at its peak yesterday and today. It's 10:49pm and he just hit bed after 2.5 hours of doing his home works, and much of them I'd say is worked on 'blindly' because he just copied what I wrote as answers.

ASSIGNMENTS:

• On occasions the Gremlin seem to have not learned/ understood underlying lessons to his assignments, we just photocopy his questionnaire, and let him copy what we write as answers. If it's a reasonable lesson he understands, he participates in answering it. Most of his assignments seem advanced and that there's not much sign that the teacher is really discussing it adequately in class if I am to rely on his book activities. His book activities are mostly not answered, and if they were, the Gremlin only gets half as correct - where the half are 100% guessing it seems. And rarely does his books have check marks, I mean rarely does the teacher inspect the answers.
• I just can not count how much of his assignments are the so called parents' assignments, or those that we need to source out.  How many are "... cut pictures of this and that" and we parents google them as soon as the child is put to sleep. Or those that says "... bring this and that to school" that we need to scamper out to buy. 

I came to a point of asking, is it valid to say we pay for our children's education so that the institution let them learn how to read and write, and home learning would only be supplemental, and not the other way around?   When we spent 2.5 hours today for assignments, it was just for the Gremlin to copy my answers, and it I did not really have time to explain why and how. If I still had let him understand, I surmise we have spent 5 hours learning? If only one of us his parents does not work, then might as well, we put him into home schooling, and save on tuition fees as well as frustrations on school expectations.

Looking back at my education back home (I had elementary education in a CAtholic school then), I now appreciate how much better it was. If only we could send our son to study there... Or yet, I miss how the Gremlin has been well attended to by his teacher last year in KG 2, who along with teaching him the start of reading and writing, she also showed care and affection, having to hug my kid whenever he gets frustrated.

My Gremlin wears Kandoora : A Happy 40th National Day, UAE

In honor and gratitude to our host country, the Gremlin wore a Kandoora (a white cloak used by male UAE nationals) accented by a cap and silk shawl in UAE flag colors  to school during their UAE National Day celebration. The United Arab Emirates marks its 40th year today since its  formation as a country .

"National Day is celebrated on the 2nd of December each year in the United Arab Emirates. It marks the UAE's formal independence from the United Kingdom and the eventual unification of the seven emirates in 1971 which combined to form the modern-day country.

On 2 December 1971, all emirates except for Ras Al Khaima, united as a country at the suggestion of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, H.H. Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and his other brothers, the rulers of other emirates. Ras Al Khaima joined later as a part of the country. Qatar and Bahrain were also suggested to be a part of the country but they declined the idea.

" (Source: Wikipedia)

Sunset at Dubai Silicon Oasis

It took me a full year at Dubai Silicon Oasis to re-learn that the sun rises and sets at and from different locations during the year.

Around summer, a rounded sun sets down just beside the spiked cone of the Pineapple building from my workstation angle. The cold months are here and I missed to take a photo of that beautiful summer view. Save for next summer, so here's a November sunset photo of Pineapple building for now . 

This alley below too, has the setting sun's beautiful golden hue peeking out given the right timing, which also remains on my wishlist to capture: 

Global Village 2011- 2012

2011 Entry fee : AED 10/ person. 

Duration:  1^st Nov 2011 to 3^rd Mar 2012 (website)

Timings: 4pm to 12mn , Monday is family day (website)

Dubai Global Village is an annual fair revolving on the one-world-one-place  concept providing a quick insight of the participating countries' architecture, cultures and products.  

There’s always a magic at Dubai's Global Village that pulls us to check it yearly even when we don’t shop nor scour inside each of the pavillions. I recall that I loved it when I first visited in 2004. A greater proportion of each country’s booth were manned by its nationals selling their own products (as against seeing Chinese products displayed in most of the booths); more pavilions ran regular cultural shows in their own stages; and there were  more participating countries with facades seemingly engaged in a race on which was the most passionately built.

How to get there:

It is located along Emirates Road (E311).  I suggest aiming to immediately enter Emirates Road rather than aiming to drive in parallel along Ras Khail, a newbie on this road runs the risk of missing the right exit. Once we wasted 75 kilometers and an hour finding our way out. From Sharjah and Mirdiff City Center, keep driving past pineapple building at Silicon Oasis (on your left) and before you reach the interchange at Motor City (that’s kilometers apart). It’s signposted so it’s easy to find.

Parking:

It’s great to arrive at 4pm to get a space near the entrance. There’s a sea of cars in the evening so note where you park. Once, our friend took an hour locating his car at 12 midnight.

What to see and do:

Shopping, dining, cultural shows, boat rides, other fun rides

Personally, our annual visit always include the following: (1) check the Philippine pavilion’s theme for the year; (2) indulge in a food trip at Thailand Pavilion and exit with a bagful of dried fruits; (3) move at fast pace to take photos of the pavilions before sunset; (4) catch cultural shows.

More updates and info is available at their website: http://globalvillage.ae/

Do check my other photos here AT FACEBOOK.