Monday December 13th 2021 Burk Kalifa
First thing after waking up Jane cooked the dried fish that Annie had brought her from the Philippines. It smelt terrible, I was afraid they might throw us out of the building, but it tasted pretty good. We had it with eggs for breakfast. After breakfast we exchanged the gifts we had bought for each other.
Late afternoon Annie, Jane and I drove back to the Dubai Mall to take the tour of Burj Kalifa scheduled for 6pm. Again the Mall is the size of a small town with many wings that are like the streets of a city. It didn't help that there were many levels. After getting lost a few times we finally found the meeting point for the tour.
Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. The tour was of the 124th and 125th floors. The elevator was extremely fast and we were there in no time. The view of the city far below was overwhelming. Over the years I have developed a fear of heights but since there was a solid floor and thick glass windows it wasn't a problem for me. That was not the case for Jane who refused to pose for photos anywhere near the windows.
After the tour we met Marwin at the food court who had taken the Metro from his work. We grabbed some Krispy Kreme donuts and ate them there in the Mall. The four of us then began the drive back to Al Sharjah to drop Jane off at her apartment. Along the way Marwin recommended we stopped for seafood at Dampa Seafood Grill. Wow what a feast. I should mention that both Jane and Marwin are also Filipino. There are many Filipinos in UEA since jobs are very hard to find in the Philippines. Typically a member of a Filipino family finds work somewhere abroad and sends money to their extended families back home. It is just part of the Filipino culture. As hard as it is for me to imagine the hardship of the separation, their attitude is of being blessed to have such an opportunity. Annie worked for nine years in Hong Kong. Mostly separated from her daughter Vea, only seeing each other during Christmas most years.
After our late dinner we drove on to Al Sharjah and dropped off Jane who had to work the next morning. Jane works as a sales representative for Wall Inc. The company that makes electric razors, hair clippers and such. During her time with the company she has worked in several different locations in UAE.
After dropping off Jane, the three of us drove back to Jebel Ali Village and dropped off Marwin. Finally Annie and I arrived back at the apartment, once again exhausted. At least I was.