Abu Dhabi, 4x4 and Camels

Another amazing day here in the United Arab Emirates!
We started off with a very productive morning of convention time - and then went crazy afterwards.
Another teacher took the initiative and for $20, we went (quickly) to Abu Dhabi to see the world's 3rd largest mosque, pictured below.

Was such an amazing place - I had NO idea what we were going to see -just had heard about it & about Abu Dhabi, that's it...blind faith I paid my $20 and got in the back of a small van with 13 others and south we went. Was about an 80 min van ride to get to this place... as you can see from the pics, it's HUGE... and it's not done! All the women had to dress in garb, no matter if you already had elbows, shoulders & knees covered (see pic above). Was weird 'posing' as a muslim, but went with it... what an amazing place, so new, so clean, so white, so massive!! Did a quick tour around the outside and back north we went...soooo glad I went - it was amazing!

Had enough time to come back before heading out in our 4x4 jeeps to the camel farm. So, our vehicle was a Toyota Land Cruiser - was in the back again. Our driver, Nourmand, took us for a ride - it was AMAZING! Thru the sand dunes we went, slip sliding along the way. Someone must have told him to go crazy on ours cuz he sure did. Was not something for the faint of hear... or stomach... a handful felt quite ill afterwards.

We got to stop again to see this sunset... gorgeous! Love seeing the rays coming directly out of the sun, just over hte desert horizon.

We ended at a Beoduim camp, ride camels, drank coffee/tea, had a great dinner, saw belly dancers, some people got Hennas, some smoked hookas... was a gorgeous night in the desert. A bit chilly, but toelrable... and by chilly I mean low 60s/upper 50s... perfect!

Such an adventurous day full of surprises and lots of laughter & fun... This place never ceases to amaze me!!

Tomorrow we're off to the East Coast, then back for New Years celebration - can hardly wait!!

Hoping to get some great fireworks shots, so stay tuned!!

Happy New Years to all!!

Hugs

City of Contrasts

What a day in Dubai! I think we saw it all in a span of the day!

We started our day at the Souks: Spice & Gold. Took a water taxi to the spice souk - similar to Venice, just motorized. Was a bit more civilized than the markets in Tunisia & Morocco, but they were pushy and peristent, but it was all clean and didn't smell bad. Did have a SATC2 situation going into a shop - felt like the forbidden experience, but we got ourselves out of there and tried to wind our way out of that market. Saw the oldest mosque... built in 1976, so not all that old.

We then headed into 'old' Dubai with the world's largest tower, pictured below. We first did a drive by and headed to 'new' Dubai. Saw the palm fronds, where the Atlantis hotel is located, saw the 'world' sand dunes. Headed back to 'old' Dubai to go to the Dubai mall. The tower is located there. You have to go into the mall, cut across to get to the base of the tower. Takes you up the 100+ floors in 60 seconds. No, your stomach doesn't go up into your throat, but your ears sure do pop.

From the tower you could see for miles and miles... seeing all the sand was fascinating because we're in this big city and don't even think about it being in a desert. You can see the palm fronds much better and Atlantis, the horsetrack, etc.... Absolutely amazing to see Dubai from up there. At night it's all lit up and someone said it sparkles on the hour... will have to see that to believe it myself.

Coolest part we found out is that this is where we're doing our New Year's Eve celebration, near the tower!!! They've already started putting up the mechanisms for all the fireworks... holy cow!!

After a super quick lunch of hamburger nuggets (long story), we headed out to see the 7 star hotel. (pictured below). You apparently cannot even go into the lobby to see it - it's gated off. I heard it's $110 for a 7-course lunch and you cannot take any pictures at lunch to 'protect the privacy of the patrons.' Guess Tiger would stay there...I'm sure not with his wife...

Our last stop today was the Emirates mall... unreal! We literally had 30 minutes here so off to check out Ski Dubai we went. Literally it's mini-Switzerland indoors. Everyone is bundled up and you can ski, snowboard, tube and even Zorb, in the snow. Unreal... Someone said it was 10 degrees (maybe less).

Our last activity of the day was a dinner cruise on the 'creek'. so peaceful and relaxing - wish we could have sat outside. Duabi is cracking down on the booze - no alcohol unless it's from a hotel. Only hotels are allowed liquor licenses, so nada on the boat :( But we'll def have it for New Years. Not that we're all into getting sloshed, but a glass at wine is usually nice.

If I had to describe Dubai, it's a city of contrasts. You can see the Muslim culture/language, etc... but then you see A LOT of english, even Christmas trees, Christmas music, Christmas displays... The other thing you notice is the extravagance & wealth - almost sickening - the construction out on the Palm - a Trump tower coming soon - a night at the Atlantis is $35k. Saw Ferraris, even a Bentley, Rolls Royce, Jaquars... craziness. So, it's been hard to get a feel for this city that seems to be fighting their muslim roots to maybe please the 80% ex-pats that live here. The money/wealth is a bit hard to swallow too... that if they want something, like skiing in snow, in a desert, they just build it... needless to say it's just been a fascinating day, that's for sure!

Tomorrow will be another amazing day - we have convention in the a.m. and someone got a wild hair to go to Abu Dhabi, so we found a company to takes us there & back for $20/each. Then, we're off in 4x4 jeeps to the camel farm and the dunes before a BBQ dinner in the desert... I know, craziness, right?!?! That's how I feel too - a bit overwhelmed and not sure what to feel, but excited for what the next day will bring, and the next... and the next...

Oh, and btw... weather today was sunny, one piddly little cloud in the sky - upper 70s... heavenly.

Stay warm my friends!

Hugs

Bark-a-loungers, Tablecloths & Nutcups - Oh my!

Well, it took me 24 hrs to get here, but it was a nice ride here. I flew out of Moline to Chicago - got my nice Economy Plus seats. Had a whole dance team on our overbooked flight - boy, did they teacher need to go thru some airport training - they were a mess in security.


Had a 4 hr layover in O'Hare, but thanks to my kind brother, I spent most of that time in the Red Carpet Lounge - thanks for the pass, hermano! I felt like such a poser - had no idea what it would be like nor what really to expect. It's basically a lounge area, club chairs everywhere, many people on their laptops, a bar in the back with free drinks (beer, wine, soda...) and a snack bar with cookies, crackers & cheese, veggies & dip... very nice ladies running the place... and super quiet! Weird part was that there were a bunch of kids in there... not what I expected!



Headed to my gate just before boarding to hear them calling out a bunch of names. Well, my last name, as you know is not easy to pronounce, so when i heard something similar, I decided to check it out. Sure enough, they did call me and said they needed my Econ Plus seat (WHAT?!) but they were bumping me to BUSINESS CLASS!!!!!!!!!! I about jumped for joy right there. Again, feeling like a poser!

As you can see from the above photo, I was in a bark-a-lounger for the 8+ hr flight. SOOOO wanted to take many pics, but had to act semi-cool, like I was supposed to be there and not act like a kid in the candy store. Took me a bit to figure out the chair, the lounger part... Needless to say I slept super well!! A little champagne, couple glasses of vino helped as well :) Oh, and the food... wow... airlines can serve crunchy vegetables!! When they came around for our dinner selections, they greeted us by our names and asked what our 2 choices were... we then got linen tablecloths put on top of our trays and had real silverware, glasses and dishes... Unreal!

Although the best comment of the entire flight happened early on... we got little cups filled with hot nuts...oh yum!! They came around and refilled them "Would you like more hot nuts, ma'am?" and at the end... "Are you done with your nut cup, ma'am?" Couldn't help but smirk! :) Mature, I know!

Going from such a luxurious flight to Lufthansa's pack 'em in flight to Dubai was a bit of a let down - was crammed in next to the window, but they had free drinks there as well. Was fascinating flying over the gulf and seeing all the boats all lit up. Duabi airport is huge - before you get to the passport control, many people (not us) had to stand in the Eye Scan line... Passport control was ridiculous - literally over an hour in line... we landed at 11:30, our hotel is 15-20 min away - we didn't get here til 1:30+

Our hotel is lovely - I have a room with a view of the skyline. Weather is perfect...

Welcome to Dubai!!

All packed!

Cedric's all packed... he's got his passport all ready to go... life is good!! This will be a new thing for Cedric & I - we are doing a trip over New Year's and are very excited! We're off to Dubai today! Yes, you read that right, Dubai.. as in the United Arab Emirates. In case you don't know where that is... and don't feel bad, not many people do... it's east of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. If you watched Sex & the City 2, they were in Abu Dhabi - Dubai is just north.
I am going with a tour - not by myself, no worries. It's an EF convention for a week, with 4 hrs of designated 'convention time'... which is then followed by a trip to the camel farm along with dune buggying!!
I am a tad nervous since it's a new country and definitely a new culture that I have never experienced... and since the last time I was in Morocco, I was offered all the camels in the desert, it just adds to my nervousness. It's a progressive, yet conservative area, so women were cautioned on clothing - no shoulders/knees and no elbows in mosques... hope my toes will be okay because I've got my sandals packed. But never fear, it'll be great and you know I'll have some great stories and good pics to share.
Weather is predicted to be perfect!! Mid/Upper 70s with NO precipitation in sight...sigh...
Luckily I am NOT flying thru the eastern seaboard (snow!). I connect thru Chicago & Frankfurt, so am quite happy they cleared up their snowy mess. There's a 10 hour time difference between Iowa & Dubai... and will take me about 24 hours to get there. I arrive around 11:30 pm on Tuesday and we hit the ground running on Wednesday with a city tour, Gold Souks & welcome dinner. Thursday is convention, camels, dune buggies, and a BBQ dinner. Friday, New Year's Eve, takes us on a tour of the east coast, of Dhaid, Dibba, Gulf of Oman and Masafi, before we ring in the New Years downtown Dubai. Saturday takes us out to the emirates of Sharjah and Ajman and a good-bye dinner. Luckily, I got the 'late' flight out on Sunday - 8:30 am - others depart at 2:30 am.

Santa was thinking and got me an international cell - yippee!! We'll see how it works.. and how much it costs me. So, unless something is on fire, just email me. I'm taking my Netbook and am hoping to blog while I'm over there.

Please keep me in your thoughts & prayers for safe travels, new friends, amazing adventures, and wonderful stories to share!
Stay warm & talk soon!
Hugs ~ steph and cedric :)