After my usual session with Rama on Sunday, my parents decided we’d take my grandmother to see the Dubai Mall and have lunch there. Being a working day we hoped it wouldn’t be too crowded. I’d found out that if you go to any information desk at the mall you can ask them for a wheelchair. Isn’t that so good? We got one for my grandmother just in case she got tired after walking for a while.
We showed her the aquarium and went down to Wafi Gourmet for lunch. It wasn’t as crowded as it normally is on the weekends, but the service was still rubbish. After lunch, I left them at the mall as I had a hair appointment.
I’d found an online deal a few weeks ago for a Brazilian keratin treatment at the Monarch Hotel and needed to use it before it expired. I got there on time and I was their only customer in the 1.5 hours I was there. The man told me that they used something called the Crystal Brazilian keratin treatment which doesn’t contain formaldehyde or any other harsh chemicals. Sure enough, it didn’t smell of anything as he was applying it and I didn’t have to cover my nose and mouth due to fumes. He told me I couldn’t wet my hair for three days. I also couldn’t tie it up, swim or exercise.
I got home at around 6pm to find my mum asleep on the sofa, my grandmother asleep in her room, and my dad asleep in my parents’ room. There was snoring coming from every room in the flat. And manic laughter coming from Joy’s room (I think (hope) she was watching TV).
My grandmother brought a helper with her as she needs assistance with various things. Her name is Neeta and she speaks very little English but can understand most of it (I think). She talks to me in Hindi, I talk to her in English – it works. I tried speaking to her in Hindi but she laughed at my attempts (I don’t blame her – even my Indonesian is better than my Hindi).
Joy and Neeta, however, are another story. They are not getting on. At. All. Or rather Joy is not getting on with Neeta. There are times when Joy gets worked up when she assumes Neeta doesn’t understand what she’s saying. Neeta shakes her head and laughs which in turn makes Joy even more worked up as she assumes Neeta’s laughing at her and not at the situation they’re in. Then there are other times when I can hear them both laughing in the kitchen.
On Monday night we went to Sukh Sagar for dinner again. I can see this becoming a regular thing with us! I had the same palak dosa I had last time. Everyone else ordered something different but when they tried my dosa they wished they’d ordered it for themselves!
On Tuesday I was invited to a friend’s place for tea. I’ve learned that here in Dubai ‘tea’ can mean anything from literally just tea to a spread consisting of pizza, sandwiches, pasta, kebabs, four different kinds of cakes and ice cream. Tea on Tuesday was a full-on spread. There were about 10-12 women and I didn’t leave there until after 7pm. I went home for a while and then went to meet my parents for dinner at Mercato – we ended up at Bella Donna again. I was so full from tea that all I had for dinner was soup and a salmon carpaccio salad.
On Wednesday night we decided to go to Lemongrass for dinner. My mum hadn’t been there yet, we thought my grandmother would like it, and we invited two of my cousins to join us. I’ve really enjoyed the food there in the past and looked forward to going. As always the food was yummy. And then, at the end of the meal, a cockroach ran across the table! I freaked out and pushed my chair back from the table, but instead of my chair moving backwards I ended up pushing the table forwards and my cousin’s glass fell off the table and practically on to her lap. Thankfully it was empty. Oops! I don’t know where the cockroach ended up but I saw another one a few minutes later on the cabinet above the bar area. The waitress didn’t seem particularly bothered by it so perhaps they’re all over the place! Dad asked if anyone wanted dessert. I said all I wanted was to get the hell out of there! I don’t think I can go back there again.
Thursday was a chilled day. I went to the gym, did some work and then sat by the pool for a while. I didn’t have any plans that evening until a friend got in touch and suggested going for dinner. We went to Royal China – I’d never seen it so crowded. We shared a bottle of red wine, and a couple of dishes, and were the last to leave the restaurant at about midnight. After that I went to meet my cousins at Cin Cin at the Fairmont. I had three vodkas with soda, and we were the last to leave the bar. I slept till 11am the next morning!
I didn’t have any plans for Friday either. I had lunch at home with my parents and grandmother and then went down to the pool at about 4pm with my book. I have quite a serious tan now! My mum can no longer call me ‘Paleface’ or ‘Casper’. That evening I ended up at Lafayette Gourmet with my cousins. Nothing too hectic and that way we could all order whatever cuisine we felt like.
On Saturday I walked over to the spin class at the Shangri-La only to find they don’t have a spin class on Saturday mornings. Surely someone could have told me that when I called them to reserve a space for it? I ended up using their gym instead (for free). I went back home and spent the afternoon at the pool with my book. Not a very eventful weekend, but I’m heading to London in a couple of weeks and will make up for it then!
See more Dubai updates here.
Notes by Nectar 