It's official!

Yesterday after Skyping with my parents, I went to the post office to check on the status of my visa application for India. (The Indian population in Dubai is so high that they have a visa services center within one of the main post offices. You don't even have to go to an embassy or consulate to apply.) And. . .approved! Yay! I don't have the actual visa in my hands yet; it is to be mailed to me (along with the return of my passport) either today or tomorrow. I'll be booking my flight today to depart for Mumbai on 5 December. The plan had always been to spend a month in India, so if that holds true, I will be there for my birthday, Christmas, and New Year's before I move on to the next destination. Of course, there's been a LOT of changes to my itinerary in the last six weeks, so don't hold me to it! :-)

So - I am VERY excited that I actually get to go to India. For awhile there I was worried that it wasn't going to happen. But now I have to get to work! I have to get a guidebook, book the flight, and start working on accommodations. 

Everything's bigger

Dubai is basically a brand new city. I mean, it's really not brand new, but with all of the construction that's been happening in the last few years, everything you see is new new new. And if it's not new, it will be in a few years when it's finished being built. :-)

The thing about Dubai is that there are few options for things to do. The choices boil down to either the beach or shopping. Good beach weather only happens in the wintertime. In the summer (and every other month that doesn't fall in the November - March time frame) it's too damn hot to do anything that isn't air conditioned and indoors. Enter: the mall. So far, I've been to the Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Mall, and Souk Al Bahar. Some of them more than once. (Oh, okay, I admit. I've been to the Mall of the Emirates like three times. Maybe four, I can't even remember anymore.)

Let me be clear, though. These aren't just regular ol' malls. I already mentioned how cool I thought Ibn Battuta Mall was. And maybe you didn't see it on my Flickr page, but the Mall of the Emirates has an indoor skiing area. Dubai Mall has an indoor ice rink, an aquarium, and an underwater zoo. Oh, and 1200 retail stores on who knows how many floors. Dubai Marina Mall is completely boring and Souk Al Bahar is only interesting because of it's location at the Burj Dubai.

So the malls are bigger. But mention of the Burj Dubai brings me to two other things that are bigger in Dubai. The first being, well, the Burj Dubai itself, the world's tallest building at 818m (more than 2,600ft). It's very cool seeing it up close; it just kind of seems impossible that something man-made could be that tall. The second big thing is the Dubai Fountain located in front of the Burj Dubai. The fountain is longer than two football fields and can shoot water 150m into the air.

Lastly on the list of big things in Dubai is the Atlantis Hotel (which is really an entire complex and not just one building, but still). The Atlantis also has an aquarium, but it also has a pool, shops, and restaurants, too. It may have more than that, that's just what I saw of it. It's so big, though, that although it's located at the top most tip of Palm Jumeirah, you can still see it from the beach where I initially photographed it.

To conclude lol, yes, everything in Dubai is indeed bigger. I think the developers must've figured they had to "go big" if they wanted anyone to visit this hot piece of desert. If you want to see the rest of the pics, check 'em out here.

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Eid

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And, since I'm in the middle east, Happy Eid, too. I was feeling a tiny twinge of homesickness the other day thinking about how I was going to miss my first major holiday, so I asked if I could make a traditional turkey dinner. And no one turns down a home cooked meal, so. . .that's my bird in the oven over there to the left. :-)

A couple of calls were made and a few hours of shopping was done and next thing you know, we had a feast in front of us! We were four total and I made turkey (of course), stuffing, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, salad, apple crumb pie, and chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Speaking of shopping, that was quite the experience. Things that are easy to find in the states - nutmeg, poultry seasoning, fresh rosemary, karo syrup - are just not available here, so I kind of had to make some adjustments. And pastry dough! Man, I thought I was going crazy trying to find that. No one seemed to know what I was talking about. I kept asking, "Don't they make pies here?!"

Anyway, I'd say the meal was a success. I know I ate WAY more than I needed to lol. Afterwards we headed to Buddha Bar with some other friends and, well, it's already 1:40am now, so how 'bout I just end with a picture? I'll upload the rest tomorrow.

Coolest. Mall. Ever.

The only thing I really wanted to accomplish today was a pedicure. Yesterday I met a friend of my friend Mickey's and she recommended a nail salon at the Ibn Battuta mall. The pedicure was a success, but beyond that the mall was really the. coolest. mall. ever.

That's right. Yes, I'm on a round the world trip of a lifetime and I'm actually writing a post about a shopping mall. But it really was very neat (and this isn't even the mall with the indoor skiing! That's the Mall of the Emirates.). First of all, it's a pretty large mall and it's themed to tell the story of Ibn Battuta. Yeah, I'd never heard of him either, but apparently he's a famous Arab traveler. There are six courts that make up the mall - China, Egypt, Persia, India, Tunisia, and Andalusia - and each is a region that Battuta explored. Does this sound boring and kind of like the history lesson that you didn't really want to get while you were shopping?

Ok, maybe. But each court looks like the area it represents. And, this may be weird, but it's the best smelling mall I've ever been in. I think each court may have had it's own signature scent. It's honestly the most beautiful and interesting mall I've ever been in. I wanted to take pictures, but figured that would be horribly tourist-y of me, so I didn't. But go do a Google image search and see for yourself. Oh, wait. Here, I did it for you. And. . .that's just about enough gushing over a mall already.

In other news: I'm trying to figure out what my next stop will be. I went last week to fill out my India visa application and I should hear before the beginning of the Eid holiday this Wednesday if it's accepted. If so, India here I come! If not, maybe Sri Lanka? Maybe Thailand? Ah, decisions decisions.

I nearly lost a contact lens in the Arab Gulf

Yesterday, Friday, was my first official weekend day in Dubai. (Did you know that the workweek here is Sunday through Thursday?) First I went with Amiri and Morgan to brunch at a swanky hotel. There was all kinds of foods to choose from: sushi, seafood, a carving station, a taco station, a mashed potatoes station, traditional Arabic foods, fruits, cheeses, soups, and a bajillion different desserts. I ate til I nearly burst and was pretty sure I wasn't going to need to eat again for days. :-)

Then we headed to the beach where we met up with Tamr and Angelica (who commented that she hadn't been to the beach in about seven or eight months because it's just too hot for the beach during most of the year). The day was perfect. The air temp was about 28C, water temp about 25C, and just enough of a breeze to keep it from getting too hot. We all got into the water right away and it happened almost immediately that I nearly lost my contact lens. Now, I've worn contacts for 15 years and have gone to the beach and swimming pools throughout this time, so this was a pretty unusual occurrence. Luckily, I caught the lens as it popped out of my eye, made my way back to the beach (holding the lens between my thumb and finger above the water), and put the lens back in. My eye and I can now officially attest to the salty-ness of the Arab Gulf!

Anyhoo, moving on. After playing in the water for awhile, we dried off for a bit and then threw a frisbee around. And, as you can see, this beach also has camels. :-) Within a few hours, we were into the late afternoon and everyone started talking about dinner. (Not me! I was still wondering if I'd ever eat again after the brunch we'd had!) We all headed home to shower, change, and get ready for dinner.

By 8pm we were all at the restaurant and ready to eat (yes, even me lol). The restaurant was a place called The Rotisserie and it was at the Arabian Court. The Arabian Court is part of a huge complex that is now a hotel. As it was told to me, within the last 10 years or so, a very rich businessman built this palace for a woman that he was in love with. Ultimately the relationship didn't work out (did she die? I can't remember) and the palace was given to the hotel. As you can probably imagine, this place was incredibly beautiful and amazing looking. The Arabian Court is only one of four courtyards and each courtyard supposedly looks completely different.

Dinner was another buffet meal and again there's a huge variety of food to choose from: various traditional salads, fruits, cheeses, seafood, duck, veggies, quiche, beef, you-name-it-they-probably-had-it. I know it sounds like the exact same foods that we had at brunch, but they were completely differently prepared. You'll just have to take my word for it. :-) It was very good, but again I ate til I nearly burst. And it wasn't just the food that was good. The company was equally as good. We talked about all kinds of things and the laughs were plentiful. Afterwards, we headed to a place called The Rooftop (guess where it was located? lol) for another round of drinks before going home for the night. All in all, it was a very fun day.

Today is the last day of the weekend and I'm not sure what's on the agenda. More beach time perhaps? And I'd like to get a pedicure, so that's a possibility. Just a lazy weekend in Dubai, but I'm digging it so far.

Questions?

One day last week I got an email from a friend I hadn't seen in awhile because he moved out of state for work. We hadn't really stayed in touch except for short emails here and there, so he was quite surprised to hear about my travel plans. I gave him the blog link and he must've read the whole thing in one sitting, lol, because not long later he sent another email with a list of questions. I've decided to include those questions and answers here because others of you out there might have been wondering the same things.

Did you ever get/use the Flushette thingy? Please forgive me if this question is too personal. Nope, didn't get it (and it's actually called a Freshette), but so far I haven't really needed it because I've only seen western toilets. It may be a whole other story when I actually get to SE Asia.

Which do you like more the “couchsurfing” thing or staying in Hostels? I mean aside from the cost issue. CSing and hosteling both have their pluses and minues, but I like CSing better. With hostels you only meet other travelers, but with CSing you meet locals who actually live in the place you're visiting.

How are the “Ex Officio” undies working out for ya? LOL! Sorry, I had to ask! The Ex Officio undies are working fabulously, thanks for asking! They are super quick drying which is a life saver when you're washing them in a sink.

Oh, not a question, but a word of warning from my Army days….Drink lots of water while you’re on the Doxy! My unit’s medics said it can play hell on your liver if you don’t flush your system out! I know about this because I went to Honduras, but I think I told you this already? Thanks for the Doxy advice, I will be sure to load up on H2O. One of my hosts in Barcelona told me that he stopped taking his malaria pills because it gave him horrible nightmares. . .and then he got malaria and almost died. So. I'll take the pills AND drink water and maybe the water will lessen all of the side effects.

Ok, so I’m interested in the Hibiscus flower and 7-Up drink! Tell me more. I’ve also heard that Chrysanthemum tea was great, too! I don't think there's really much more to tell about the hibiscus flower and 7Up drink. It was cold, a very dark purple color, ever so slightly carbonated, and tasted pretty sweet, like a mix of different berries. Chrysanthemum tea is good, I've had it before and it's also pretty sweet.

Are you planning to do another one of those “By the Numbers” posts soon? That was pretty telling for me. I probably will do another by the numbers post, but probably not for a few weeks or so when I have some more stats compiled.

One think I was kind of unclear on: the Cemberlitas Hamam – the Turkish bath. Did you get to do it or not? I read where you got there 30 min before it closed and that they did not take your credit card, but you described the belly rock and bath pools with greater detail than someone who just read about them on the advertisements. Yes, I did go to the Turkish bath. The first one wouldn't take a credit card, the second was the Cemberlitas Hamam (the one I went to).

Alright, so now's your chance to ask your questions. Got any? Let me know in the comments and I'll answer in an upcoming post.

Egypt: A public service announcement for Americans

Some of my more conservative friends and family at home were concerned about me traveling by myself in an Arab country. And more than one Egyptian that I met asked me if I thought all Egyptians were terrorists. After the experience I had in Egypt, I thought it was my duty to spread the word.

So what was my experience? I am not exaggerating at all when I say that Egypt has some of the warmest, friendliest, most generous, selfless, and nicest people I've ever met. At every turn, people went above and beyond the call of duty for me and I'm not just talking about people who were friends of friends; I'm also talking about complete strangers (and, let's face it, even the friends of friends were strangers to me who didn't have to help me).Salama picked me up at the airport. Tatio let me stay a night at his house and Amiri's sister, Dina, let me stay three nights. Gaafar took me to the bazaar and introduced me to a lot of traditional foods. A random stranger saw my confusion as I got off the microbus and walked me (out of his way, mind you) to Lebanon Square where I needed to go to catch a cab. Lots of people invited me to tea. Remember when I mentioned my trick for crossing busy Cairo streets? Half the time I didn't even have to pull that trick because people would see that I was a foreigner and they would guide me across the street with them. Peet told me that if the cab didn't come the morning I was scheduled to leave for Sharm, to call him and he'd take me to the airport. Moussa left a bar where his favorite local band was getting ready to play to drive me home, even though I said I could just take a cab.One thing I found interesting is that Egyptians have a really high sense of fairness and justice. More than one person told me that if someone tries to grab your bag and run off, just yell the Arabic word for thief (haramy) and an entire crowd will go after that person, detain them, and get your bag back for you. They just feel that people work hard and it's not fair or right for someone else to profit from that work. Make sense? I'm probably not doing a good job of explaining it. Just know that this is part of the Egyptian psyche.

I also mentioned before that there were two things that happened on my last day that I needed to expound upon. First thing: On the plane to Cairo from Sharm I was talking to my seatmate, Tarek, about work and travels and such, and I said that I hadn't yet arranged for my transportation from Cairo to Alex even though I needed to be there that same day. Tarek said that once we landed, he'd have his driver drop us off at Starbucks for coffee and then send him to the train station to check the schedule and buy my ticket for me. There was a lot of traffic, more than usual, in Cairo that day because of the soccer match that was being played. (Have you seen my video of the aftermath?) Tarek couldn't wait with me for the driver to get back, so he said goodbye and was off. The driver eventually arrived and took me to the station. I asked him how much the cab ride was and, in very broken English, he told me that Tarek had taken care of it. Are you sure? Yes, he was sure. Then I tried to pay him for my train ticket (50 Egyptian pounds) and he indicated that had been paid for, too. I thought maybe he didn't understand so I showed the ticket to him. But no, Tarek had paid for that, as well. The driver wouldn't even allow me to give him a tip because all of it was to be taken care of, I suppose.

Second thing: Islam was the friend of a friend who was to pick me up from the train station in Alexandria. He didn't find out until 9am on Saturday that I was arriving at 8:30pm that night, yet he was there waiting for me (for an extra half-hour, even, as the train was late). We only had a few hours til I had to be at the airport for my flight, so we drove around Alex for a whirlwind tour. Islam showed me all kinds of things and made it better with his narration and stories. We went out for dinner (I was told I HAD to eat seafood while in Alex) and whole fish, calamari, and various salads were ordered. The bill came and Islam refused to let me pay, even though he didn't even eat since he's on a diet. ("Don't you know that women don't pay in Egypt?" "Well, I was starting to get that impression, yes, but you didn't even eat anything!" "It doesn't matter. I'm paying.") We got to the airport and by this time it was about 1am. Islam waited with me and we chatted some more because he didn't want me to be alone for too long waiting for the plane.

These are just two examples of scenarios where people went above and beyond for me, expecting absolutely nothing in return. So the public service announcement that is the point of this whole post: if you are a person who has stereotypes in mind of what Egyptians specifically, or Arabs in general, are all about - rethink them. The hospitality and kindness I experienced was at a level I'd never experienced before. To all of my new Egyptian friends: thank you from the bottom of my heart for an amazing time. I hope to meet each of you again in the future.