Okay, so this is an uber-late blog about New Year's Eve. But hey, better late than never blog about my first time to celebrate it abroad. And boy, did I celebrate it mostly on the road! On the 30th, CSer Jinish (from India) picked me up at Burjuman. We drove to Renaissance Hotel, Dubai to check in before picking up another Indian CSer, Suba from her aparte She invited us to the 400 Night Club (400 dirhams to get in!) at Fairmont, and assured us we won't be spending a fil (cent). A friend of hers already reserved a table, and all we had to do was wait for them so we can get in. Unfortunately, Jinish was not wearing a collared shirt. I told him we can just let Suba and her friends go ahead. It would have been great to check out the club, but I told Jinish we can have fun somewhere else. Somewhere more laid back.
I called another CSer, Amiri (from Egypt) and checked what he's up to. He said Dita, a Swedish CSer and Dudu, an Egyptian friend are hanging out at his place for a few drinks. He invited us to come pick them up at Dubai Marina where he resides. After squeezing the three at the backseat of our rented car, we headed to Barasti at Le Meridian Hotel - which just closed when we arrived. That was just at 1:30 AM.
We then went to Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and check if there would be any bars open. We asked the security guard, "Where's the bar?". He replied with a question, "The Apartment?". Amiri answered, "No, the bar." They exchanged the same questions for a couple more times and then we realized that the bar's name is The Apartment. We walked a long corridor, and stepped down two flights of stairs. Tsk, the bartender told us they were about to close as well. We got frustrated and just called it a night. We dropped Amiri, Dita and Dudu off Dubai Marina, and we drove back to our hotel. Jinish made me watch a show by Rusell Peters on his laptop before we snoozed.
The next day (the 31st), we checked out at noon then went to Hyatt Regency, Dubai to meet up with another friend of Jinish's. He (sorry I forgot the name, Indian names are sooo difficult to remember), treated us lunch at Miyako. I was delighted, for I missed Japanese food so much. It's so expensive in U.A.E. (I missed Tokyo Tokyo too at that moment). After lunch, we fished out Dita from Jumeirah, who went to the beach by herself. Jinish's friend acted as some tourist guide as he drove around Dubai whilst giving us a history lesson. It was pretty entertaining, and Dita captured it all on her camcorder.
At dusk, they dropped off Dita and me at Deira City Centre (where I was supposed to meet my friend Mark). They said they need to go to their respective homes first, freshen up, then come back for us to celebrate New Year's Eve. I asked Dita if she needed to buy anything from the mall. She answered no, but she was starving and wanted to grab a bite. She has never tried any Arabic food, nor any middle-eastern dishes. We opted for Iranian and dined in Hatam. We chatted over our shish kebabs. She mostly discussed nuclear waste disposal (that's what she does!) as if being interviewed on National Geographic, and also cheerily talked about her daughters (whom she showed pictures of).
After half an hour more of not hearing from the guys, we concluded that they may not come back for us anymore. Besides, Jinish's home is Sharjah. With the New Year's Eve traffic, he might not be able to come back until almost midnight. And we didn't intend to wait that long in the mall.
Mark met us at Hatam and helped us find a spot off the mall where we could get cabs easier - as opposed to waiting on a one-kilometer queue. Dita needed to go to International City, where Dudu lives. She's couchsurfing at his place, and she wanted to change for the celebration later that night. When she got her cab, Mark and I took the bus to their place, also within Deira. He introduced me to his housemates. One of them cooked paksiw na pata for Media Noche.
Mark's bunk where I had my first meal for 2009.
Just after midnight, Jinish called me and asked where I was. He said they felt bad that they weren't able to come back and pick us up from the mall because of heavy holiday traffic. He said he'll give me a lift from Mark's place to the bus station.
The station was empty. For obvious reasons, everyone was celebrating. Eventhough the sheikh cancelled all public parties in Dubai (to mourn with Gaza), I'm certain every expat in Dubai's had something cooked up for New Year's. Except me, who's on morning shift January 1st 2009. I bought a cup of coffee for myself and thought, happy new year to me.
I slept all the way home, from Dubai to Al Ain. So did my fellow passengers in our shared cab.
Mark met us at Hatam and helped us find a spot off the mall where we could get cabs easier - as opposed to waiting on a one-kilometer queue. Dita needed to go to International City, where Dudu lives. She's couchsurfing at his place, and she wanted to change for the celebration later that night. When she got her cab, Mark and I took the bus to their place, also within Deira.
He introduced me to his housemates. One of them cooked 
Mark's bunk where I had my first meal for 2009.
Just after midnight, Jinish called me and asked where I was. He said they felt bad that they weren't able to come back and pick us up from the mall because of heavy holiday traffic. He said he'll give me a lift from Mark's place to the bus station. 
I slept all the way home, from Dubai to Al Ain. So did my fellow passengers in our shared cab.