Ethnic Cuisine: Afghan Kebab

Juicy BBQ Kebab, Dh10

I happen to go to downtown Deira quite often lately. There're lots of souqs in this neghbourhood and it's always crowded. Despite the heavy traffic I actually quite enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of the street.

The area is filled with people from all walks of life and every corner of the world – south Asians such as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Sri Lankans; Africans from Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, coupled with Arabs from various countries, Iranians, Chinese and so forth. It seems the influx of Chinese expats to Dubai has grown drastically over the past 4-5 years.

Multi-ethnic neighbourhoods come with multi-ethnic restaurants and eateries. One such restaurant that has always caught my attention sets the grill on fire and starts BBQing late afternoon and that distinct smoky smell of charcoal grilled meats is simply irresistible! Charcoal certainly gives a more smoky taste and authentic flavour that permeates through grilled food – I love charcoal grills!

Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside..., never forget to squeeze fresh lemon over it!

Years ago when I was based in Pakistan and other South Asian cities, I used to see those casual eateries in the open garden right off the road and each one of them had smoky juicy BBQ on the grill. I haven't been back in years so it does bring back all the tasty memories! I would savour freshly prepared authentic kebab sitting outside under a clear sky full of shining stars, feeling the humid and warm breeze from the Indian Ocean, and suffering from itchy mozzie bites on my legs and ankles!

This time I couldn't resist any more. I jumped inside and helped myself to the authentic Afghan-style smoky shish kebab, squeezing lots of fresh lemon juice over it - ah, heavenly! The naan, fresh from the tandoor oven was fluffy to the perfection.

In the neighbourhood that is full of labourers, there were certainly no groups of women, not even women accompanied by male family members, when I walked into this restaurant. I was the only one but it was definitely worth it (am used to this sort of situation anyway lol)!

Crossing UAE-Oman Border by Bus

Crossing the UAE – Oman border by land is pretty simple and hassle-free and many expats and foreigners in the UAE often self-drive to Oman for a quick getaway. There is a regular bus service between Dubai and Oman provided by Omani operators and this time I've decided to travel to Oman's capital, Muscat by bus.

I took the bus operated by the Oman National Transport Co (ONTC) on Wednesday morning at 07.00 from Deira. The fare cost AED55 (approx US$15) single trip. I had crossed the border by bus or train in other countries in other parts of the world, so it was sort of my objective out of curiosity to give it a shot. Even though petrol is pretty cheap in the oil-rich Gulf countries, I figure bus was cheaper than self-drive as I was travelling solo.

I had just recently moved and hadn't had adequate sleep for days. I slept only for 2 hours the previous night (actually I almost missed the bus! lol), so I just kept sleeping on the bus.

An Oman visa costs OR6＝AED60 (as of 2009). I'd heard it takes 4-5 hours to Muscat (to the border is a little over an hour). The entire trip took more than 6 hours (!) and I felt totally exhausted by the time I'd arrived.

Initially I was thinking of renting a car once I got to Muscat. However, near the bus terminal was nothing much open during the early hours of afternoon. I couldn't even spot a car-hire office. I gave up. I took a taxi and went to the hotel. I was so tired and still sleepy, I decided to take a rest and go to the local souq later.

Muttrah Corniche, Muscat

In any case, most of the shops in this part of the Gulf countries are customarily shut from midday to 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I was excited to visit the Souq Muttrah that is said to be one of the oldest bazaars in Oman or the Gulf and filled with exotic Arabian charm.

In the evening I met up with a local Omani friend of mine, who works for Oman's central bank. He took me to the Intercontinental for dinner. It was an international buffet and we sat at a table outside. There were hardly any customers even though it was weekend. I suspect the restaurant must be running at a loss.

I came back to the hotel a little past midnight and took a shower right away. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. It had been a long day.

I started the day a little late the following morning. I returned to the Muttrah area, strolled along the corniche, sat in a café and took my first cup of chai overlooking Port Qaboos. It was such a lovely beautiful Friday afternoon and I enjoyed the relaxing moment watching people and observing street activity in the market.

The bus to Dubai was to depart at 16.30. I went to the Souq Muttrah, but it was all shut until 16.00, so I thought of going to a shopping mall, but in Oman unlike other Gulf nations, most shopping malls seem to take an afternoon break. Customarily on Fridays they open late afternoon.

The post office is shut on Fridays, so I couldn't even send a postcard. I found it all a bit too inconvenient. After all I had no chance of doing shopping. I took a taxi and went straight to the bus terminal.

Souq Muttrah

As far as I know, most long-distance buses provide passengers with enough time to eat, stretch out, etc whenever they stop at motorway services. However, our bus made only a very brief stop of just 10-15 minutes, so anyone who wanted to eat had to grab a takeaway and eat on the bus.

Muscat seemed to be a fairly big city with a couple of interesting areas scattered across the town. If I'd had more time, I might have driven to another city or two. But this was a spontaneous getaway, so I went back to Dubai as scheduled. The return trip took even longer – 7 hours! I was still feeling exhausted and sleepy as I got back home.

Oman may not be quite as well-off as other neighbouring countries. Some of my Emirati friends had warned me that I might find it shocking to see that in Oman, Omanis along with foreign workers can be found working in service stations or fast-food outlets or kiosks. Not only that, bus or cab drivers were all Omanis.

This was indeed a bit shocking since here in the UAE or Qatar or Kuwait, these are the types of jobs that are almost 'reserved' for foreign workers and certainly not for the local citizens. I've noticed some people from the neighbouring countries sort of look down on the Omanis and this may explain why...

Even on the bus I don't think there were any Emiratis whilst there were several Omanis. I can’t picture an Emirati passenger travelling by coach. If they are to go to Oman, they will definitely drive their cars, or fly, I'd say.

In any case, my objective of 'crossing the border by bus' has been achieved. Hurrah! lol


Conclusion：

The bus is way too slow – I will never use it again! lol