Diving In Musandam , an awesome experience

Last week I realized a weekend was coming and I had nothing to do so I hurriedly opened a directory and called the first dive shop I could find. I booked a dive and didn't really understand where I was going. All I knew was that it was a 30m dive and they would have tanks for me.
I showed up at Al Booms dive center at 6:45AM and started chatting with a Californian who had been in Dubai for several months on a technology gig so we began swapping war stories. As we chatted a van and a trailer pulled up and we were asked to load our equipment onto the trailer and hop in the van.
An hour later we were speeding across the desert to the east coast of the UEA in Oman.
many a camel did I see as well as traditional communes made of stone. I will take my video camera next time and share some footage here. In another hour we were at a small port called Dibbi.
we loaded the boat and we were off.
From the pictures you can see the landscape is breathtaking. The mountains drop into the clear sea and create boulder reefs that drop to depths of 50m right off the shore.
A mild current pushes you along as you fly amongst the boulders and coral. The sea life is extraordinary and surrounds you at every turn. Plenty of barracuda and parrot fish show themselves as if on cue. And they are joined by all kinds of little fascinations like nudabranches and fluorescent purple sea weed. The diving is effortless, my breathing is slow and I began to feel more like a gentle Dugong in careful observation. The water is clean and comfortable and though my gauge tells me I have plenty of air left, it is my computer that ends the dive. The divemaster said no deco and I try to oblige most requests so up into the sun I drifted knowing I will be back soon.
the pictures you see above are of Port Dibbi, The Eastern Mountains of Oman as seen from the Dive boat and Lima Rock a fairly famous dive site. This is a unique piece of coastline and you can be sure I'll be reporting more on this location during my stay. I have resolved to purchase a new underwater camera when I am home and you can bet on seeing some pictures and video.

The worst lounge act ever

Currently, I am staying at the Trader's Hotel in Diera. It is comparative of a Hyatt regency and all in all a very nice hotel. Pool, jacuzzi and a very nice gym are included for all guests and the food menu is reasonably well prepared although it is not all that extensive. The weekends here occur on Thursday and Friday and it was a a Friday evening that I decided to stroll down to the hotel lounge that boasted live entertainment every evening.
I walked in and got myself a table in a corner with my back to the wall and my eyes on the stage. I ordered up a Pint of Stella and lit a cigar. Relaxed and optimistic I gazed upon a white suited piano player and three frontline girls dressed formally in evening gowns. Two of them were very attractive and the third was a very sturdy looking saxophone player. The waitress set me up with a napkin and some chips and the band began to play. They had a little "sway from left to right" choreography and I thought it might be going somewhere but it didn't. After the third song I realized they were playing American pop hits. I was amazed it took three songs for me to figure this out. A big part of it was their diction or lack of it. The music was being butchered to unforgivable extremes and I don't think the pre-Columbus world was ever flatter than these vocalists.
Around the time my third beer and second cigar had past I realized I was openly laughing at how terrible they were. Ever the optimist, I had turned yet another disappointment into a comedic opportunity. Admittedly, My mind did wander for a few seconds. And I thought about putting the old band together. I figure if these guys were getting paid to play we could be music gods in Dubai.
I decided to get out of there before I inadvertently hurt some feelings or actually called my old band mates.
I'll post some pictures of this act later and I will be pushing for an international task force to bring them to justice.

The first two weeks

Well all, it's been 2 weeks here in Dubai. Two weeks of frustration, culture shock and finally acceptance. The first couple of days here really made me feel like I was trying to place a square peg in a round hole. The square peg of course being me, I had to re-adjust to the new environment I was in.
First, there were the simple tactical changes like gesturing a bit more slowly and less aggressively as well as keeping my bold American cowboy style handshake on the lowest power setting. I think I brought great pain to a few folks here that were not raised around the discipline of the Sasso handshake. The second phase was bit more strategic and it involved reeling in my genuinely optimistic but all too "New York" personality. The folks here will not respond negatively so if you overload them with too much sensory information they will simply default to agree and that does not make for any kind of collaboration. On that frontier, each day is for learning and developing trust and going from there.
The culture here is very interesting as it is a culture of modern extremes. Consisting of franchises, furnished apartments, modern architecture and ever larger malls; Dubai is a melting pot of social and cultural diversity that is relegated to traditional dress, prayer and occasionally food. I have been making sure to experience the many wonderful foods here. Indian and Lebanese being two of my favorites I regularly walk to restaurant areas in search of a new experience. Mostly I enjoy the outdoor cafe style restaurants, eating as the tourists walk by. I usually top off my meal with a relaxing smoke on the sheesha. Known as a hookah pipe to most Americans, the sheesha is a wonderful relaxing and extremely aromatic experience. I will be bring one home in hopes of enjoying a few beers and a smoke with my friends.
it is winter time here in Dubai and the weather is best described as the best summer days and nights possible in NY. Cool and comfortable with no humidity, I am usually dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt when I am out and about.
The people here are exceptionally polite and my new co-workers are equally fantastic. It has been difficult being separated from my family but the welcome of these folks has made it an easier burden to bear.