Ramadan Mubarak or Happy Ramadan

Ramadan is here again, and although it is our third one, it doesn't get any easier.
I won't go into the details of Ramadan and how the rules work as an expat, I wrote about this here a few years ago.

I am not sure if it is because we are here for the long haul and not escaping to Europe this Ramadan, or if it is simply that Dubai is very much home now and we are so comfortable here, but this Ramadan seems to be more annoying and frustrating than the previous. Although we have moved house since last Ramadan so we are not being woken at 4:30am by canon fire this year which is nice.

I find Ramadan an inoffensive celebration, in fact I like the festive atmosphere, the sense of generosity and community that you don't normal relate to life in Dubai - but I am still selfishly, ridiculously frustrated by small things daily.

Here are my top 5 annoyances this week:

1.   The simple fact that I keep forgetting it is Ramadan at all.... I can't even count the amount of 'oops' moments or near misses I have had. My lack of being able to remember is the most frustrating thing this week by far.

2.   Not being able to drink my morning coffee in the car on the way to work

3.   Hypoglycemic, hungry drivers on the roads in the late afternoons. Apparently hungry = angry and unable to drive like a decent human being

4.   Remembering to dress conservatively. Contrary to what you read in the media and see on the news, Dubai is quite a non conservative city. Over time you learn where to dress conservatively and where to dress for comfort. On a typical weekend you will find me in shorts and a singlet or a dress. But during Ramadan it is considered disrespectful to show your knees or shoulders more so than any other time of year, even in malls and locations not usually considered conservative.

5.   The changing hours of EVERYTHING. A lot of shops don't open until late afternoon, my gym changed its timetable and the classes now start late at night and run til midnight, kids indoor play centre opens late and until midnight. It is a nightmare for an anal, structure loving person.

This does seem like a rather whiny post, but this is our reality. There are also a lot of really cool, fun and positive things about Ramadan and I will write about these next week. For instance one of our favourite daytime restaurants is closed for Ramadan but has a pop-up Iftar restaurant open in the evenings that we are excited to check-out tonight!