notes from a palm island

Back to the U.S.!

2008-10-07T03:14:00.001+04:00

We leave tomorrow morning, bright and early for the U.S. to go to Billy & Nicole's wedding. We're looking forward to fall--it's been two years since I've seen it!

interesting article about Dubai

2008-10-05T15:30:00.003+04:00

Some might say it sums Dubai up, in a nutshell.
Article from The Guardian

Thanks to Joe for passing this along.

Photos from the Palm, Marina Walk & other random tidbits

2008-10-05T09:30:00.010+04:00

Our friend Fadi from William & Mary lives in Jordan. He opened up a bakery a year or two ago in Amman--and now he's expanding and opening one in Dubai! We are so excited about it and hoping to be back in time for the grand opening. I can't wait to order my birthday cake from here--American style bakery!

I'm also adding some photos from the Palm (from the 9th floor, so it's a different view than I've posted before). You can see where the shopping mall is being built behind the buildings--in the place where people who purchased those apartments thought they were going to get a "canal view". I suppose next-best-scenario must be "mall view"?!

Beach view

And on the other side of the street...

MALL view. Ugh. Someone got the short end of the stick!

And here are some night pictures from Marina Walk--we never go out to this end of town so I went a little snap-happy. Oh well.

Dreamland Aqua Park, Umm Al Quwain

2008-10-04T17:19:00.010+04:00

On Thursday, the day after the two official Eid holidays, we decided to drive out to Umm Al Quwain to finally go and finally check out Dreamland Aqua Park, "the largest water park in the Middle East" (we've seen that quote, but are still not really sure about its veracity). I've mentioned it before, when we drove past it back in 2006 --but it wasn't open that day.

We got there at around 10 a.m. (opening time). There were lots of families there, but it wasn't so packed that we couldn't get onto the rides within five minutes. Apparently, bachelors (i.e., single dudes) can't get in on weekends and public holidays (I guess Thursday was still considered part of the Eid weekend), which must make it kind of difficult for them to get into the park when they're not at work...

It was fun, but a bit dated--it kinda had the feel of a 1970s amusement park. There was also a weird little zoo in the middle of the water park--it made me sad because the cages were really tiny. I hope that they move the animals at night to another location...

Engrish?

I don't think that part of him is supposed to be so blue...

Peacock:

Here are some photos of the rides & attractions. I think the verdict was that it was worth the 100 dirhams ($27), but would've been more fun if we'd brought more people along with us. The one difference between this water park and someplace like Wild Wadi was that there's a bar and a shisha cafe for people who need their alcohol and tobacco fixes...we actually noticed quite a few people sitting around, NOT in swimsuits!

Click on photos to enlarge:

"Hippo Island"

This was the inside:

The bar with in-pool seating!!

This "Dead Sea" pool really WAS filled with salt water--you can see Paul floating easily...

The road on the way home, getting covered in sand...

Eid Mubarak!/ عيد مبارك‎

2008-09-30T22:12:00.007+04:00

It's now Eid Ul Fitr in Dubai and we have had an excellent time celebrating already! While most people seem to go away for Eid (I know because there is NO traffic in the city--الحمد لله!), we decided to stay in town because we'll be in D.C. soon for Billy & Nicole's wedding.

It's been great, though--lots of great things to do -- without the crowds. The only thing one really needs to avoid doing appears to be going to the malls--it's completely nuts, filled with people who are buying Eid gifts for friends and family. (We saw the lines of cars trying to exit the highway to get into the garage...) It seems to be kinda like Christmas to me! Everything in Dubai is all lit up with lights and everyone seems to be in a great mood. I wish it was Eid all year.

We went to a friend's house for our last Ramadan iftar last night, then met up with some of our friends again this morning for Eid brunch at Reem Al Bawadi, our latest favorite hangout.

Here are a few photos of our celebrations. (*Just to explain, the reason there is a huge star blurring out a person is because she is not wearing her hijab in the photo and it would be disrespectful to her to post the photo without editing it.)

Last night: Me getting henna!

The result--amazing!

looks great--but then...

Paul did the other hand!

(Ask me to show you when I get back home, if it's still there.)

Yum!

Brunch this morning:

Reem Al Bawadi, decorated for Ramadan & Eid:

Ramadan Golf Fun

2008-09-26T16:09:00.008+04:00

We actually got up early (on the weekend!) to head over to the driving range to hit a few balls...it's finally starting to cool down a bit, thank goodness! But I was surprised at how many people were out there during Ramadan-those golfers sure must've been thirsty, since they can't drink water in public...

H.H. Sheikh Mohammed launches Dubai Metro

2008-09-24T19:01:00.001+04:00

Video of a trial run, attended by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed.

Click here to watch video.

Engrish in Yemen?

2008-09-22T18:14:00.001+04:00

In case Yemen isn’t risky enough for you, Taj Talha Hotel offers a trouble room:
Click here.

I'm definitely going if I can get one of those!

Karma/कर्म?

2008-09-17T12:57:00.003+04:00

Why do these things always happen whenever I am planning a trip somewhere?

Last time when we were planning a trip to Lebanon, a small war broke out. Now the U.S. Embassy in Yemen gets bombed...

Quite frustrating.

Ramadan hours + SALIK = UGH, traffic!

2008-09-15T12:36:00.008+04:00

I haven't figured out yet if the horrific traffic in Dubai since I got back from the U.S. can be attributed to just Ramadan hours (everyone works shortened hours during the month of fasting, from about 8-2, or thereabouts, which means everyone is heading to and from work at around the same time), or if there are actually another million cars out on the street...It could also be that in addition to Ramadan hours and new people moving to Dubai, they also just added two new SALIK toll gates, which charge users 4 dirhams (about $1.08) when they go through them...

I found out yesterday that it doesn't pay to live near the exit BEFORE the SALIK toll gate. I feel sorry for anyone who lives in Jumeira 1 or that area. I was trying to take an exit to get somewhere yesterday (Defense Roundabout, direction Jumeira)--I found that only the six-lane Sheikh Zayed Road's far left two lanes were actually moving! The rest of the four lanes (in addition to the one exit lane for this exit) were packed with cars all cramming to exit Sheikh Zayed Road to avoid the upcoming new toll plaza!

Sitting around in traffic:

So rather than try to cram my car into my actual exit with the forty million other cars, I kept going and went through the toll gate (paid my 4 stupid dirhams, thank you very much), took the next exit, then backtracked a few miles so I could get to where I actually wanted to go! Unbelievable.

Oh, the panic these three words can bring: "Last Free Exit": *

(*Another note: they changed the names of the streets on this exit and a few others on Sheikh Zayed Road...which confused the you-know-what out of me, and I'm sure countless others as well. You'd think they might let us KNOW they were making some changes? Ha!)

We have all this new traffic outside our house that was NEVER there before..and now my commute times have increased exponentially! The reason? People are taking the Floating Bridge and not the Al Maktoum Bridge (which has a new toll gate), which in turn, has affected traffic near the entrance of the floating bridge (i.e., in front of our house). I suppose there is not much we can do about this, since people will always try to avoid paying tolls...but I just can't get over how quickly this has all gone down. Did the RTA even think this through at all? Our little road in front of our house was certainly not designed to handle this much traffic! I don't suppose the Floating Bridge was designed for it either...

Traffic on Dubai's Floating Bridge:
(which, incidentally, used to NEVER have any traffic!)

A bloated fish, photographed while sitting in traffic on Floating Bridge

Postscript: They haven't even updated the SALIK website (linked above) at the time of posting. It says:
There will be two tolling points: Al Garhoud Bridge and Sheikh Zayed Road near the Mall of the Emirates. Each time you pass through a Salik tolling point, the toll of AED4 will be deducted from your prepaid toll account using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
Now there are four tolling points!!!

******

In other news, here's Paul in front of the Ice (as in, frozen) Bar at Times Square Mall. As we started taking the photos, they flipped on the light for the full effect. They don't serve alcohol in this place so I'm not really sure what the attraction is, other than to pay a lot of money to sit in a freezer in a mall in the desert.

Here's me (photos by Paul, btw. I think they were "artistic".) @ the Mall of the Emirates with the Ramadan stage.

Other random photos from around town:

Workers lining up in Deira to get onto a bus:

!

And I meant to post this before, since a few of you asked. This is what it looks like when you drive onto the Palm.
Aerial photo of the island:

A driver's view:

And speaking of the Palm, the Atlantis resort is scheduled to open this month on the Palm. There was a fire there a week or two ago, but I believe it's still going to be this month. AND--Kylie Minogue is playing an exclusive, invitation-only show there. Needless to say, I wasn't on the list, but I did hint very strongly to some Palm residents who know management people at Atlantis that if some tickets were to become availble, I'd be happy to take them off their hands.

Atlantis fire photos, sent to me in an email awhile ago:

My first earthquake!

2008-09-10T15:26:00.002+04:00

We just had an earthquake--it was so weird. Around 3pm-ish. At first, I thought it was me having some weird migraine aura again--but once the clock (which was on its side because it needs a new battery) started rolling from side to side, I knew it wasn't me!
Paul just told me they actually evacuated his building at work so now I know it's real!
P.S.: http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10243956.html

Burj Dubai update

2008-09-08T05:32:00.006+04:00

I got several emails with a bunch of cool photos and graphs and stuff of the tallest building in the world. It's now reached a height of 688 meters. Quoting one article from Arabian Business Magazine,

"The tower currently stands at more than 160 storeys tall and has the largest number of floors in any building, the developer said in a statement on Monday.
The final height of the tower is not yet known and will not be revealed until its completion in 2009, although it is rumoured to be between 700 and 1,000 metres.

Once completed, Burj Dubai will meet all four criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which classifies the world’s tallest structures.
CTBUH measures the height of buildings to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, the top of the roof and the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole."

Click on photos to enlarge:

Random assortment of photos from the U.S.

2008-09-08T04:02:00.000+04:00

I'm a bit jet-lagged and up at 4 a.m. so I thought I'd upload photos onto this thing. Jet-lag is the worst!

Cass beer at a Korean restaurant. "Sound of vitality?"

When did McDonald's stop counting and just settle with " billions and billions served"?!

William & Mary group shot from Cindy's wedding

Meeting up with the Pepper family, DC Zoo.

More zoo photos

I love me some hippo.

Perfect example of me being mesmerized by nature. Nothing special, but after living in Dubai it is! Photos taken in Burke, Virginia.

DC United wins the U.S. Open Cup: RFK Stadium, D.C.

2008-09-07T11:40:00.001+04:00

I was lucky enough to get to go to the U.S. Open Cup (soccer) while I was home. D.C. United played against Charleston Battery...and then after a not-so-good season, D.C. United won this game--and the trophy! Very exciting!

The final score

I seem to have lots of pictures of this dude but not many of the game.

This was right after someone threw one of many smoke bombs...

D.C. fans!

Here are a few videos so you get the feel of the fan excitement...

Back in Dubai

2008-09-07T10:59:00.003+04:00

I went back to the U.S. after that trip to Abu Dhabi to go to Cindy's wedding. Am hoping Ryan will send me some photos to upload soon--my camera didn't fit in my purse so I relied on his...
Great trip--but I came back to Dubai during Ramadan. Which means I need to remember not to eat or drink in public during the day and beware of crazy drivers right before iftar.

I had major reverse culture shock. I hadn't been back to the U.S. (except in the winter) in two years and the sights and sounds of nature (squirrels, insects, real trees, natural grass, etc.) were what I was really the most weirded out by. In Dubai, it's easy to forget you live in the desert sometimes.

Happy to be back to see Paul. Not so happy about this heat and humidity, but I'll make it. Only a few months 'till Dubai's "winter"...

More soon.

A weekend retreat in Abu Dhabi

2008-08-17T15:08:00.008+04:00

We stayed at the Shangri-La in Abu Dhabi this weekend...great trip, nice hotel, HOT weather. Good thing they had that lovely infinity pool!

Night view from our balcony:

Pool area:

Crabs hanging out:

It was also soooooo humid outside that lots of our photos from Abu Dhabi came out badly.

That's the second biggest mosque in the world behind me.
The biggest is obviously the one in Mecca.

Cool reflection, eh? The Taj Mahal it ain't, though.

We got to go to the Picasso Exhibit at the Emirates Palace Hotel while we were in town. We were very impressed--excellent exhibition!

Photos from the swanky Emirates Palace:

Interesting billboards:
Abu Dhabi style vs. Dubai style

New metro station that is almost up:

Metro trains sitting on the tracks, collecting dust. Too bad about that sign in the photo.

Barack Roll'd

2008-08-11T08:01:00.002+04:00

If you've seen the Rick Roll'd videos, you know what's gonna happen. But this is better than you'd expect! Thanks to Sarah for sending this to me.

Click here: Barack Roll'd Video

In honor of the Olympics...another cultural outing!

2008-08-08T14:14:00.006+04:00

We sacrificed ourselves for you. Actually, Paul did (which is quite an accomplishment, since he HATES the Olympics!) but luckily, not McDonald's.

See?

DOUBLE McRoyale with Cheese:

Click on photo to enlarge
Mmm...

Do they even MAKE these in the States?!!

Styrofoam *ahem*:

Paul trying to figure out how to eat it:

It was enormous.

Paul is my hero.

We also went out and bought a grill today (because we've been meaning to for awhile AND it gives us an excuse to go out and clean up the balcony). In the shop, we found a few other lovely items that I was able to photograph discreetly without being kicked out of the store:

Child's beach chair:

This shirt is "Fabuluos."

In other news, our friend Brandon is now on his way home after stopping by Dubai for a few hours on his way back to D.C. from Kabul. We went out to Seville's Spanish tapas restaurant, only to be seated next to a large group of single British women who were "speaking" to each other in high pitched screams. No one even noticed as we added to their rabble. (I think that the sangria helped.)

A nut or a genius?: European Vacation, Part VII

2008-08-04T17:49:00.020+04:00

Not having studied architecture, I can't really tell you a whole lot about Gaudi's buildings, etc. You'd have to read more about all that here: Gaudi. However, I DID know that we got the term "Saudi Gaudi" (we use that here in the Gulf a lot--i.e., "gaudy") from this dude *and* that the guy was kind of mad (as in, crazy) by the time he died. His stuff is pretty interesting--amazingly intricate and complicated...it would've made me go mad, too!

Some Gaudi photos:

What are these things? -->

Park Güell:

So this chick looks like she's wearing a Blonde Redhead shirt like mine!

Some dude dressed up like Mozart or something:

Another Gaudi design:

Sagrada Familia

La Sagrada Familia is not even scheduled to be finished until something like 2026. Maybe it's later than that...but as Gaudi said, “My client is not in a hurry.” HA!