We didn't mix with the locals at Sharjah because there was nowhere to mix. Over a period of two years I must have visited Dubai a couple of times. The only locals I got to know slightly were the TOS officers who travelled regularly in our Twin Pioneers. I enjoyed more contact with villagers on the Jebel Akhdar and the Bedouin who lived around Ibri, where we used to be invited to drink tea and eat vermouchelli (with lots of flies) during our nightstops there.