Showing posts with label Dubai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dubai. Show all posts
7.23.2008
Desert Safari
While in Dubai, Andrea and I went on a desert safari. It consisted of dune-bashing, a camel ride, sand boarding (like snowboarding but on sand), riding on sand dunes on ATVs, a huge feast, henna application, and a belly dancing show. The first half was the dune-bashing. A group of us (me, Andrea and 5 Brits) squeezed into a 4WD vehicle and headed out to the desert. Our driver, Mohammed, then took the car up to full speed and went flying over the sand dunes. It was terrifying but so.much.fun.
before we knew what we were getting into
terrified! lol
posing with Mohammed
After the dune-bashing you could choose from the camel riding, sand boarding or off roading. I chose to ride a camel cause I have been dying to do that since my parents refused when we were in Egypt in 1982. I've been waiting 26 years so doggone it I was going to ride me a camel.
(the picture of me on the camel is on Andrea's camera... will post next week)
Then we went into this beautiful compound where we got some henna, had an amazing meal and watched a belly dancing show. Fun times!
on the compound
henna ~ love it!
yum-my!!
bellydancer
before we knew what we were getting into
terrified! lol
posing with Mohammed
After the dune-bashing you could choose from the camel riding, sand boarding or off roading. I chose to ride a camel cause I have been dying to do that since my parents refused when we were in Egypt in 1982. I've been waiting 26 years so doggone it I was going to ride me a camel.
(the picture of me on the camel is on Andrea's camera... will post next week)
Then we went into this beautiful compound where we got some henna, had an amazing meal and watched a belly dancing show. Fun times!
on the compound
henna ~ love it!
yum-my!!
bellydancer
7.22.2008
Desert Safari
While in Dubai, Andrea and I went on a desert safari. It consisted of dune-bashing, a camel ride, sand boarding (like snowboarding but on sand), riding on sand dunes on ATVs, a huge feast, henna application, and a belly dancing show. The first half was the dune-bashing. A group of us (me, Andrea and 5 Brits) squeezed into a 4WD vehicle and headed out to the desert. Our driver, Mohammed, then took the car up to full speed and went flying over the sand dunes. It was terrifying but so.much.fun.
in the car before we knew what we were getting into
laughing out of fear!
posing with Mohammed
After the dune-bashing you could choose from the camel riding, sand boarding or off roading. I chose to ride a camel cause I have been dying to do that since my parents refused when we were in Egypt in 1982. I've been waiting 26 years so doggone it I was going to ride me a camel.
(the picture of me on the camel is on Andrea's camera... will post next week)
Then we went into this beautiful compound where we got some henna, had an amazing meal and watched a belly dancing show. Fun times!
on the compound
yum-my!!!!!
henna~love it!
in the car before we knew what we were getting into
laughing out of fear!
posing with Mohammed
After the dune-bashing you could choose from the camel riding, sand boarding or off roading. I chose to ride a camel cause I have been dying to do that since my parents refused when we were in Egypt in 1982. I've been waiting 26 years so doggone it I was going to ride me a camel.
(the picture of me on the camel is on Andrea's camera... will post next week)
Then we went into this beautiful compound where we got some henna, had an amazing meal and watched a belly dancing show. Fun times!
on the compound
yum-my!!!!!
henna~love it!
7.21.2008
View from Inside the Souks--Dubai, UAE
I finally uploaded my videos to iphoto. This is a short one of me and Andrea in the souks at dusk after spending many hours wandering around the incredible maze of shops. The souks are the huge outdoor markets of Dubai where you can buy:
fish (red snapper, cod, barracuda, tuna, lobster, crab, king prawn, squid, shark, mackerel, sardines, etc.)
gold (rings, necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets,etc. sold by weight and carat, not craftsmanship)
electronics (televisions, cameras, video recorders, DVD players, memory cards, film, lenses, radios, etc.)
spices (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, incense, dried fruit, nuts)
textiles (beautifully colored fabrics in satin, silk, cotton, wool, linen, cashmere, etc.)
and perfumes(every scent from musk to spicy to floral to citrus).
It's a feast for the eyes and ears, a dizzying array of products and hoards of people creating major sensory overload. We loved it!!
fish (red snapper, cod, barracuda, tuna, lobster, crab, king prawn, squid, shark, mackerel, sardines, etc.)
gold (rings, necklaces, earrings, watches, bracelets,etc. sold by weight and carat, not craftsmanship)
electronics (televisions, cameras, video recorders, DVD players, memory cards, film, lenses, radios, etc.)
spices (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, incense, dried fruit, nuts)
textiles (beautifully colored fabrics in satin, silk, cotton, wool, linen, cashmere, etc.)
and perfumes(every scent from musk to spicy to floral to citrus).
It's a feast for the eyes and ears, a dizzying array of products and hoards of people creating major sensory overload. We loved it!!
7.12.2008
Dubai
Words can't even describe how overwhelming it was at first to go back to Dubai after living in Addis Ababa for a month. I was starting to get used to living without always having modern conveniences (water, power, internet access, etc.) and starting to really appreciate the slower pace. For so many, family and friendships are all they've got and a lot of time is devoted to developing interpersonal relationships. Sitting down for an hour or two in a coffee shop and just enjoying someone's company is a daily ritual and something that many, many Ethiopians enjoy. Something so simple became such a nice part of my day. Don't get me wrong. Dubai is a fantastic city but nothing is simple and you get the impression that no one cares that millions of people in the world are in need. I loved the fact that it's clean, modern, international, has great beaches and food, it's virtually crime free and has great shopping (oh the textiles and spices) but man-oh-man is it ever so ridiculously over-the-top! It was difficult seeing people chillin' on their yachts after being in a city with such extreme poverty. It appears that Dubai wants to have the tallest, most expensive, most extravagant, most luxurious of everything. But really, is all that necessary?
My friend, Andrea, flew out to hang out with me and I suggested we have lunch at the Al Burj Arab for my birthday. A friend of mine recommended it because otherwise you aren't allowed in the door. It is supposed to be the most fabulous, most extravagant hotel in the world and the only one granted a 7-star rating. It's so fabulous if you aren't staying there you aren't even allowed inside..unless you are eating in the restaurant where apparently there is a great view of The Palm or The World. I thought it would be an acceptable extravagance to eat there just this once. I mean, there is no way I will ever be staying there unless I somehow become fabulously wealthy. And really it goes without saying that even if I had that kind of money I probably wouldn't waste it like that. But I figured lunch was OK. I knew it was going to be expensive, but it was my birthday after all and I didn't know when I would be back in Dubai, if ever. Well when I arrived she told me she had called to make a reservation but decided against it. I was disappointed. I thought, 'I may only be in Dubai once. I want to say I have at least seen this'...until she told me the price. Guess how much lunch was going to set us back?!? $250. ...EACH! Yeah, we passed. lol
Check out some contrasting scenes...
Homes
Places of worship
Shopping
Street signs
Food
Gas Stations
Try not to cry. That's $1.74 (USD) per gallon.
My friend, Andrea, flew out to hang out with me and I suggested we have lunch at the Al Burj Arab for my birthday. A friend of mine recommended it because otherwise you aren't allowed in the door. It is supposed to be the most fabulous, most extravagant hotel in the world and the only one granted a 7-star rating. It's so fabulous if you aren't staying there you aren't even allowed inside..unless you are eating in the restaurant where apparently there is a great view of The Palm or The World. I thought it would be an acceptable extravagance to eat there just this once. I mean, there is no way I will ever be staying there unless I somehow become fabulously wealthy. And really it goes without saying that even if I had that kind of money I probably wouldn't waste it like that. But I figured lunch was OK. I knew it was going to be expensive, but it was my birthday after all and I didn't know when I would be back in Dubai, if ever. Well when I arrived she told me she had called to make a reservation but decided against it. I was disappointed. I thought, 'I may only be in Dubai once. I want to say I have at least seen this'...until she told me the price. Guess how much lunch was going to set us back?!? $250. ...EACH! Yeah, we passed. lol
Check out some contrasting scenes...
Homes
Places of worship
Shopping
Street signs
Food
Gas Stations
Try not to cry. That's $1.74 (USD) per gallon.
5.20.2008
Halfway There
Well, more than halfway actually since I just got off a 13 hour flight! The next leg, which I do tonight, is only 4 hours. But where am I you may ask? Well, let me give you some clues. It's far --I'm sure you gathered that! It's HOT- probably 100 degrees. And the third clue is this morning I went on a tour of the Jumeirah Mosque given by the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.
(Thanks for the suggestion Reisha, if you are reading!) Give up? DUBAI !!!! I know, I know! Crazy, isn't it? I have wanted to visit Dubai for several years so when I planned this other trip I figured I could do a layover here and lo and behold I was able to finagle it. I am here for ten hours (and two days on the way back) and let me tell you, it is so hot and so big and so clean and so modern and a very interesting cultural experience and I have only been here four hours!
As soon as I leave this internet cafe I am heading to The Mall of Emirates to do some window shopping. I hear gold is very cheap there. Thankfully I am more of a silver person because I don't need to be spending any money. But, I might go skiing! They have an indoor ski slope in the mall.
How often does one encounter that??? And then I need to head back to the airport for my flight to...
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Addis Ababa!!! Yup! I am heading to Ethiopia on a 6:00 flight tonight! I am so excited!! I don't know how much I will be able to blog from there. I hear they are experiencing power shortages and three days a week there isn't any power and then I compound the problem by not bringing a laptop (I don't own one unfortunately). Plus I may not be able to post to Blogger at all and even if I am able to I won't be able to post any photos unfortunately.. but there it is! Ethiopia! Since I am not able to do the adoption right now (no official job yet) I will volunteer for a month in my downtime. When I get back I should have a firm offer and then be able to adopt. So, since I am not currently in the adoption process I will have the joy of volunteering in an orphanage and get the opportunity to learn about the culture of my future child. I mean, how fortuitous is that? It's a blessing for sure. So, there it is and I can't wait:-) Meanwhile, I hear a call to prayer as I type so I'm heading out to experience more of the UAE.
(Thanks for the suggestion Reisha, if you are reading!) Give up? DUBAI !!!! I know, I know! Crazy, isn't it? I have wanted to visit Dubai for several years so when I planned this other trip I figured I could do a layover here and lo and behold I was able to finagle it. I am here for ten hours (and two days on the way back) and let me tell you, it is so hot and so big and so clean and so modern and a very interesting cultural experience and I have only been here four hours!
As soon as I leave this internet cafe I am heading to The Mall of Emirates to do some window shopping. I hear gold is very cheap there. Thankfully I am more of a silver person because I don't need to be spending any money. But, I might go skiing! They have an indoor ski slope in the mall.
How often does one encounter that??? And then I need to head back to the airport for my flight to...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Addis Ababa!!! Yup! I am heading to Ethiopia on a 6:00 flight tonight! I am so excited!! I don't know how much I will be able to blog from there. I hear they are experiencing power shortages and three days a week there isn't any power and then I compound the problem by not bringing a laptop (I don't own one unfortunately). Plus I may not be able to post to Blogger at all and even if I am able to I won't be able to post any photos unfortunately.. but there it is! Ethiopia! Since I am not able to do the adoption right now (no official job yet) I will volunteer for a month in my downtime. When I get back I should have a firm offer and then be able to adopt. So, since I am not currently in the adoption process I will have the joy of volunteering in an orphanage and get the opportunity to learn about the culture of my future child. I mean, how fortuitous is that? It's a blessing for sure. So, there it is and I can't wait:-) Meanwhile, I hear a call to prayer as I type so I'm heading out to experience more of the UAE.
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