Al Ain

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Returning to the car park, we realised we had stayed later than intended, and now had less than 90 minutes to get back to Abu Dhabi before the Harley-Davidson dealership closed. We could return the bike next day, but had intended to do so on the same day to avoid the need for a special trip. So we got our gear out of the car, dressed for the ride and set off, with Keith keeping the pace a bit faster than the outward trip! Needing petrol for the bike, we left the main road and entered a small town where the signs had indicated a filling station, but found no sign of one. “It’s OK, Keith”, I said, we’ve got quite a bit of fuel left, “we’ll easily make the next services”. Well, we made it, but my nerves were a bit frayed as the distance to the next services seemed to be dropping at about half the rate the indicated mileage left in the tank was dropping!

Re-filled and somewhat relieved, we set off again at a steady 140-ish kph, until we reached the busy roads on the outskirts of the city. By this time it was clear we wouldn’t reach the dealer before they closed at 7pm, so Keith changed the route to head more directly back home. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that the football club world championships were in progress, with a match that evening and we were soon in 8 lanes of standing traffic. The locals, in their huge 4x4s, are not the most patient drivers and trying to follow Keith while being mercilessly cut up every few yards was quite a test of nerve! In addition to this, the Harley was getting rather hot and so were we. I was having increasing difficulty trying to creep forward smoothly, keep my place in sight of our support vehicle, and keep my balance!

After some time we got out of the traffic and completed the journey back to the general area of the apartment, finding spaces in a car park some 10 minutes walk from home (the overnight parking in this city has to be seen to be believed, outside the apartment block people double and treble-park, leaving ‘phone numbers displayed so you can call them if you want to move your car! Of course, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually answer their ‘phone!). Keith and Sue habitually park 10 or 15 minutes walk from home to be sure they can actually move their car when they need to.

Leaving the Harley so far away overnight was a little worrying and something I wouldn’t like to contemplate in the UK, but it was untouched, as expected, when I returned to it the following morning. Keith met me at the car park, having walked back from his office, and rode pillion to guide me back to the Harley dealership. I would have been hard-put to find the way without his help! Returning the bike, having exceeded my mileage allowance by a large margin (250 Km per day, we actually did 410 Km), we were greeted by the dealer with “no problem” and there was no additional charge. In fact, they had a Christmas promotion offer on, 20% off, which meant our day out on the Harley cost us all of £88, definitely a bargain.

Next time we visit, knowing our way around a little better now, I’m determined to hire a bike for a week and not rely on our friends for transport all the time!

Now back in the UK, the trip becoming a distant, but treasured, memory, I thought I’d have a look at Harley-Davidson prices. I eventually found a bike similar to the one we hired, at a discounted price of £15,995. That’s about £8000 too dear, in my opinion, for the level of equipment and technology offered! I do like the whole Harley Davidson experience, except the price, but our VN1500 Classic does almost everything better than the HD and at a fraction of the cost, so the VRA hasn’t got rid of me yet.

In December 2009 we visited our friends Keith & Sue in Abu Dhabi for the second time. Keith, who has been a friend since school days, works in civil construction and has been based in Abu Dhabi for 3 years. Abu Dhabi is the largest of the United Arab Emirates, although not as generally well known as Dubai. We stayed with Keith & Sue, in their apartment in Abu Dhabi city, for 12 days. Abu Dhabi has grown from a small desert settlement to a major high-rise city in less than 50 years, following the discovery of oil in the 1960s. The pictures below show the town in 1962 and part of it in 2009.

A day out in Abu Dhabi

One of the highlights of our holiday was to be a trip by motorcycle to the oasis town of Al Ain, a couple of hours ride from Abu Dhabi. Keith had arranged the hire of a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail and he & Sue would lead us in their Nissan X-Terra 4x4, which I named “The Big Yellow Taxi” after being driven around in it for much of our stay.

After experiencing 3 days of rain at the start of our holiday, one day in particular having been of monsoon proportions, causing flooding in the city, we were a little worried about the weather. In the event the rain cleared, leaving clear blue sky, sunshine and temperatures in the mid twenties, perfect for a bike ride.

Arriving at the HD dealer when they opened at 10:30, we sorted paperwork, bought the obligatory Harley Davidson Abu Dhabi T-shirts, and had a quick look at the bike. We had originally intended to ride a Road King, but due to a change of dates this was not available, hence the Softail. This proved to be more to my taste anyway, having soft luggage rather than the rather ugly panniers fitted to the Road King, and still had the screen and backrest we wanted, and it was 100 dirhams cheaper! Bike controls explained, we donned jackets, gloves and helmets, brought with us from England, and set off to follow Keith & Sue out of the city and onto the 8-lane highway towards Dubai & Al Ain.

After a quick stop for fuel at the services (attendant service and it cost me around £3 to fill up!) we kept up a steady 100-120 kph until we arrived at the outskirts of Al Ain. The Harley proved comfortable and easy to handle, probably a bit lighter than my VN1500 Classic. It did seem as though the pistons were trying to escape when first started, with quite a loud mechanical bang, but settled into a nice relaxed burble quite quickly. Gear changes were quite agricultural, too, but never caused any problems. Being air-cooled, the engine got quite hot, especially in traffic, making it rather warm to sit on at times! On the whole, an enjoyable bike to ride, but when considering the price and level of equipment not one I’d be prepared to buy.

We were heading first for Jebel Hafeet, the highest peak in Abu Dhabi. The UAE’s founder and first President, and Abu Dhabi’s ruling Sheikh until his death in 2004, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, had a palace built at the top of Jebel Hafeet, and therefore a road was also built! This has been described by some motoring journalists as the greatest driving road in the world, stretching for 7.3 miles and climbing nearly 4,000 feet, with 60 corners and a really smooth road surface. Care was needed, however, due to the debris on some corners due to the previously-mentioned rain earlier in the week. We still managed to take some of the edges off the Harley’s footboards though!

Harley Davidson Heritage Softail

Jebel Hafeet, overlooking the Palace

Another view of the Palace

At the top of the climb, and the end of the road, is a large, block paved, car park with a rather scruffy café. We stopped here for photos and the short climb up the footpath to the top of Jebel Hafeet, thus proving the old addage about mad fools and Englishmen!

Me and Pauline with the Harley

Keith and Sue

Next, it was back down the road, only about 1 kilometre, to the Mercure Grand Hotel for lunch, after which we headed down to Al Ain to visit the museum and oasis.

Al Ain

Abu Dhabi's second region, known as the Eastern Region, has as its capital Al Ain city. The name of the city (“the source” or “the spring”) indicates that it is blessed with substantial ground water resources, which feed into numerous artesian wells. It is a fertile region, rich in greenery with plenty of farms, public parks and important archaeological sites.

Al Ain Museum
We parked in the car park at the entrance to the oasis, first visiting the museum, which is located next to Al Ain oasis and the Eastern Fort. It houses an interesting collection of local artifacts, both archaeological and of more recent times. A number of displays provide an insight into the life of the local bedu in the days before oil was discovered. Archaeological finds from a number of important sites are displayed here as well as a large collection of gifts received by the President from visiting statesmen and royalty.

The Eastern Fort, Al Ain.

The fort is next to the museum and provides an additional area of interest for visitors.

Al Ain oasis

This is a huge date plantation in the centre of town, well worth a visit. The plantation is divided into small date farms, with permanent access for farmers’ vehicles and for pedestrians. The area is still famous for its traditional irrigation system, the Falaj, some parts of which date back as far as 1, 000 BC. The water is directed through a network of man-made tunnels and channels to provide "trickle irrigation" to the farms and date groves in the surrounding area.

There is a network of paved roads through the oasis, but we chose to explore on foot, walking between well-maintained walls toward the centre of the oasis. Looking over the walls, we were able to see the irrigation system in operation, the water running crystal-clear along the open channels. We also saw dates and oranges still on some of the trees.

One of the roads through Al Ain oasis

Part of the irrigation system, or Falaj.

Nuke