Sharjah International Book Fair: This year (2015)

SHARJAH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR is an annual must-visit ritual for us. It is the largest book fair of the region and is graced by many authors and book launches.

After our haul of books from the last fair, (http://colorsofourrainbow.blogspot.ae/2014/11/sharjah-book-fair-for-love-of-written.html) we were waiting for this year's event.

As the adverts got plastered all over the city, our daughter's demand to be taken there, went up a notch.

Look at what we spotted this year, apart from the books, of course.

STILT WALKERS

They were probably 10 times the height of our little one :)

PINOCCHIO

A play based on Carlo Collodi's novel. A group of very talented artists put up an enthralling play.

What a visual memory of the story, for every time we get to read it. Surprisingly, our daughter actually sat still in her seat through the length of the entire play, which was about 45 minutes. Wow.  

THE WORLD'S SMALLEST BOOK

Little smaller than the thumb and tiny little pages - this is the world's smallest book on sale. For a price as small as the book, just AED 10. You can own one of the smallest books in the world :)

COMICAVE

The world's largest comic and collectible store, had a very inviting stand. All the super hero fans would have just loved picking up their hero from here.

Oh yeah! We did browse and buy a handful of books.  

So if you are in the vicinity, pop in with your kids, before it closes on 14th of November, 2015. 

Farz

Ras Al Khaimah- Places to visit: AL HAMRA BEACH, HAUNTED VILLAGE, JABAL JAIS

Hello there! How is winter treating you?

You probably are wondering why we have been slow to blog for the past few weeks. Its just that we have been totally enjoying the outdoors this season. As a result we have a ton of photos and experiences to post, but pretty much very very less time:(

Remember our short 2-day stay at RAS AL KHAIMAH (RAK) in UAE? Link here: http://colorsofourrainbow.blogspot.ae/2015/08/ras-al-khaimah-places-to-visit-rak-zoo.html. Well, we had some more places on our list that we couldn't strike off within those two days. So there we went again to the quaint little town Ras Al Khaimah, to see what more could we discover.

SPOT 1:

AL HAMRA BEACH

You know one of our favorite tricks in travelling with a child? We always start the day with something that will interest her and keep her occupied, and tire her out playing. Then we buckle her up in her car seat and move on to the places that would probably bore her :)

So on a pleasant Friday, we took the road to Ras al Khaimah, with a fully packed picnic basket. The smell of a home-cooked biriyani wafting through the car, we couldn't wait to reach AL HAMRA BEACH.

Our GPS took us to a security point, beyond which there lie beautiful villas and houses. With a dipping heart we just imagined that the beach was no more open. But the kind security guy escorted us through the rows of amazing residences called THE AL HAMRA RESIDENCES and RESORT and finally to a serene beach. The place was so beautiful.

He then explained that we had taken the wrong entry . Had we taken the previous turn we would have reached the beach through the public access road. Any ways after profusely thanking him, we chose our spot and spread our picnic mats. A lovely picnic by the sea, and full 3 hours of playing in the water.

The beach is absolutely clean and has a staffed security and we loved it.

We are a little wary of giving out places like this. because the crowds really spoil and litter up the place. Like what we discovered in AL RAFFA beach (UAQ), when we visited it after a year :(

Hoping that this place remains as pretty as it is.

SPOT 2:

JAZEERA AL HAMRA (HAUNTED) VILLAGE

With a daughter drowsy with the beach play, we exited the beach. On the way back to the main highway, lies a remnant of an old fishing village. The Jazeera al hamra, a pearling / fishing village was deserted by its inhabitants around the late 1960's when the oil boom happened.

These abandoned houses have stood the test of time, mostly unchanged, in varying degrees of ruin. The archaeology department seems to have taken some notice recently and some kind of restoration/preservation is being done.
This place is known to attract history buffs, photographers and ghost busters :/

Yes, you read that right. We seem to have set ourselves looking at a complete village which is rumored to have been haunted. Is it our uncanny luck that these places seek us out? We have no idea. We clicked some snaps and were out of the place. RAK seems to have many ghosts lurking around!

By the way, this is the spot were the horror movie DJINN was filmed, how convenient!
We felt nothing paranormal there. but wish we have captured more in photographs. Next time we need to go in with some brave hearts:)

Oh yeah! Don't watch the movie before you go.

SPOT 3:

JABAL JAIS.

Well, a little bit of spook was all that we could take.

We got on our way to  Jabal Jais, which is the tallest peak in UAE, at around 1934 kms. There is no widespread information on how good the ascending road is to the top. The road begins as a dusty track with quite a few speed breakers. Then as we reach the foot of the Hajjar mountains, starts a beautifully carved and tortuous road. Though not as fully done as the Jabal Hafeet climb, its pretty much okay.

Its rumored that this place is going to be a full-blown tourist spot/ resort with skiing. This mountain sees some snow in the chillier days.

Not knowing how much ahead we could reach, we took the two-way curvy roads. The higher we reached the more beautiful the view became and clearer the air. The biggest surprise was the huge crowed that flocked all over the place and the sheer number of cars that were there. So possibly this was a well-known place after all.

The roads are great, with a few hairpin bends just enough to raise the adrenalin. The visual impact is great especially during clear skies. There are viewing points dotted as we ascend. The place is swarmed on the weekends with picnickers, sports hikers, photographers and car enthusiasts.

We eventually reached a dead end, blocked by traffic. Traffic at the top of the mountain, which was definitely not the full height of the peak. Once out in the clean and chill air, we took in the aroma of tea boiling over and the kebabs sizzling over the coals. People had put up camps and were barbecuing. How could we even let go of such a place? We took out our grills and in an hour had downed some grilled chicken and a full meal. Soaking in on the setting sun, this was one of the best barbecue dinners we have had!

One of our regrets, was not reaching the place a bit earlier than sunset, so that our trusted NIKON could take magical pictures :(  The place still does not have street lights along the road or at the view points, so carry your own visibility gear if you are going to camp or barbacue after the dark.

Surprisingly, for a place which is still being developed, the viewing stops had a full equipped washrooms, which was a relief! So this is just ideal for cooking under the stars and a night out in our sleeping bags.

Our daughter spotted a drone high up in the clear skies and kept wanting to know if its an UFO? That was the discussion over dinner, till thunder and lightning disrupted her attention. Then came the banter about which comes first lightning or thunder :). Any ways, we scooted back to our car with all our stuff, lest we get stuck on a slippery road in our descent.

So there goes our full day of adventure, completely tired to our bones. Guess we need another weekend to get over the hangover of this weekend.

Will definitely watch DJINN though ;)

XOXO
Zain & Farz