A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

Sanaa is warmer now, in the high 20s or even touching 30...It will get warmer over the next couple of months. The house gets a little hot (sometimes hotter than outside) because there are no ceiling fans. The bedrooms have airconditioners but otherwise, there's one fan and a noisy "air-cooler" that we move around the house to wherever we are. Lots of short power cuts during the day, some days are better than others. World Cup fever hasn't reached us because we haven't been proactive enough to get the extra channels. (I thought it was on normal FREE tv in the UK and Malaysia??? ) But it's a big deal with the Yemenis - men and women - they love it. We discovered a new Indonesian restaurant just a few blocks from our house. Limited menu but not expensive. We tried the beef satay (quite authentic but the satay sauce was a little watery and they threw in some uncooked keropok, which was strange); chicken soto and bakso. The nasi goreng looked good - for next time. ...

I am SO happy we managed to visit Hadramaut during our stay in Yemen. It's still off-limits (company rules) but there was a special trip a couple of weekends ago for a small group of people. We flew to Seiyun, about an hour's flight on Arabia Felix. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a convoy of nine cars plus two security cars. Because our schedule was tight, this meant walking around in 40C heat under the midday sun. But it was worth it. Our itinerary: - Seiyun Museum - Shibam-Hadramaut - Lunch at a sheikh's house in Tariba - Tarim city: (i) Qasr al-Kaf (ii) Al-Mehdar Mosque (iii) Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library - Al-Hawta Palace Hotel Seiyun Museum Shibam A meal fit for a king Qasr Al-Kaf Al-Mehdar Mosque Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library Al-Hawta Palace Hotel - the best in Yemen

I'm mango-ed out. Finally finished a crateful from Taiz. Then hubby bought some more before he left (to make up for the fact that he's left me alone in Sanaa). These mangoes were much better. They're from a newly discovered fruit & veg stall close to his new office - better quality stuff and no crowds, but a little pricier. Photo: a typical "cafeteria" with fruity decorations outside

Our tour guide from Socotra, Mahdi, in the papers...

At the Taiz Zoo

Just got back from the historical city of Taiz - only a 30-minute flight from Sana'a on the new domestic airline, Felix Airways. We flew out on Thursday morning and back on Saturday morning... so we had almost two full days over the weekend. To drive down, it takes around 4.5 hours - but due to company-imposed security restrictions, we're only allowed to fly there. The roads are good apparently, except for one dangerous stretch called the Sumarra Pass. Our driver made his way to Taiz by car the day before our flight, and met us at Taiz airport. In case of a breakdown, he was accompanied by a second car (ironically it was the 'security' car that ended up with a flat tyre). Taiz is beautiful. Our first reaction was that it's very green ("very" being relative to Sana'a, not Southeast Asia!) and very hot (again, compared to Sana'a). Used to the cool highlands, the two drivers spent three hours driving around, looking for a hotel with air-conditioned r...