Dubai/Abu Dhabi, UAE

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Good Morning! I apologize for not writing sooner. There was an immensely long plane ride and then I found tourist stuff to do and a lot of sleeping.

So, we arrive in Dubai, I got to see the Palm from the plane. It's even on google maps. the palm is a man made palm tree looking shaped beach here in Abu Dhabi. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/united-arab-emirates/dubai/images/marina-dubai$26294-21#content

My mother and I checked into the hotel (around 16:40) and walked around to find a grocery store. They had mostly American food items and chips. It was cool seeing Doritos and "Cheez balls" written in Arabic. We had dinner at this little restaurant next to the hotel called Coco's, which turned out to have the entire menu of TGIFriday's. Fried green beans and all. * I must mention here the dangers of crossing the streets. Everyone goes so flippin fast, and even if you are at a crosswalk, it is best to find one not near a round-a-bout. There is just so much chaos, it is better to walk further down the street and look for a clearing using the left/right/left tactic. We went back to the hotel and crashed out.

In the morning I went down to the beach and there were so many people in speedos! I still don't know how I feel about that. I think I still prefer men in swim trunks. Beautiful beach, and they had a sand-snow-man.

The next day we went on a Desert Safari- They picked us up at our hotel, and we get into this van, and I notice it has roll-bars installed. My first thought is "oh shit, they do drive crazy in Saudi" turns out that the roll-bars would come in handy when we reached the desert. We were in a van with 4 other people and a driver and drove about 45 minutes away into the desert.

We pull off the side of the road and go through this hold in a fence, and that's when the roll bars came in handy. I'm going to call it sanding, but it is exactly like mudding, just without the water. The driver is going crazy going over all the sand dunes and spraying sand and getting sideways on these big hills of sand! Crazy ride for sure, and it was amazing. I took some video of it, but I am not sure how much you will be able to see because it is impossible to hold a camera still while you are flying down and around and over sand dunes while trying to hang on and stay in your seat.



The driver pulls up to what seems like empty desert area, and about 100 or more cars pull in. Here is where we meet Sebastian. Sebastian is this beautiful falcon, and he has my heart because the only time I have ever been able to lucid-dream, I had a falcon named Sebastian. I got to hold Sebastian and take photos and pet him. You could extend your arm and he would fluff his wings out. Definitely one of the coolest animals I have gotten to play with. Where we were stopped you could see a bunch of camels in a fence. The UAE keeps camels like we keep horses. There are a lot of similarities, I just don't understand how camels can carry as much as they do. They have such tiny little legs.

Falcon Video [

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So after the falcon, we get back into the jeep and take off down the sand dunes once more to drive to the highest dunes to watch the sunset. It was very pretty, but the sun did not set here like it does back home. Back home the sun literally finds the horizon and starts to cut off. First you have the full sun, then slowly a straight line at the bottom (the horizon) works it's way up to the top of the sun. In the desert, the sun just gets smaller and fades. you can still see the entire circle- It is not disappearing it just .. fades.

After the sunset, we make our way back to where they had a camp for us. We exit the sand dunes and approach a highway where we drive on the wrong side until there was a break in the barrier - then the driver cuts through the poles holding up the street lights on the highway and gets on the correct side of the road. We go through a different gate, and end up at the camels. Camels are certainly a different ride than a ride on a horse. I would have no clue how to steer these things. Thank god for the guy on the ground leading us.

After the camel rides, there was a camp that was just magical. You walk in and there are (from view left to right) A tea and coffee area, a sheesha/hooka area, then a bar area, then shops, then the buffet tables, then BBQ stalls, then sand boarding (out the back gate and up a huge sand dune) then a henna lady, then a place to dress in traditional garb, restrooms, then circling back to the entrance with a huge stage in the middle of the camp. We walk in and grab some naan, a type of bread, and walk to the BBQ circle where I had the best Middle-eastern food ever. I have no idea what I was eating but if I could only eat one thing for the rest of the trip it would be the BBQ sliced off the rotating fire pit with naan bread and some salad fixings with amazing sauce.

There was this amazing guy doing a dance with light up layers of clothing and when he would spin the entire suit would light up, and he could manipulate the suit in crazy ways that any raver anywhere would be jealous. I'll try to get pictures of this I'm pretty sure the camera died at that point. There was also a belly dancer who had a sword on her head and did some crazy dancing.

We had dinner across from this family who's boys were 4 and 6, and she was from Singapore and he was from somewhere in the UK. All four of them spoke English, and the little 6 year old was fluent in Mandarin and English and would tell jokes. Cute kid.

After dinner, my mom and I snuck off to the little corner that had all the Hookas set up. When the man came to give us coals, he asked if we knew how to smoke.

Him: Do you know how to smoke?

Me: Yes.

Him: Are you sure?

Me. Yes. I got this.

( I had previously worked at a hooka bar called Sultans in the US. I can take those things apart like none other and I am perfectly capable of dealing with coals and whatnot)

And that is when my mom had her first hooka. I have a feeling when I buy one she won't have to many issues with it because she finally knows what it is. Not to say I am going to buy one mom, if you are reading this, I'm just saying you'd be more open to it.

Exhaustion has set in, and I do not know what we have planned today. I know we are going to try to make it to the open markets, or the souks, but I am not entirely sure. We have both started our Anti-Malaria pills, but we have one more uninterrupted day here in Dubai!





EDIT: I forgot to tell you about day 2 in Dubai! We took the metro from Abu Dhabi to Dubai and went to the souks. First we wandered around in the gold souk, sadly there was nothing but this small camel that I fell in love with, and then we went to the spice souks. I'm fairly sure there are some pictures on here of the souks, but not of the metro.

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Photos

Dubai, Abu Dhabi
Parts of Abu Dhabi were settled as far back as the 3rd millennium BC and its early history fits the nomadic herding and fishing pattern typical of the broader region. Modern Abu Dhabi traces its origins to the rise of an important tribal confederation, the Bani Yas, in the late 18th century, which also assumed control of Dubai. In the 19th century the Dubai and Abu Dhabi branches parted ways.
Into the mid-20th century, the economy of Abu Dhabi continued to be sustained mainly by camel herding, production of dates and vegetables at the inland oases of Al-'Ain and Liwa, and fishing and pearl diving off the coast of Abu Dhabi city, which was occupied mainly during the summer months. Most dwellings in Abu Dhabi city were, at this time, constructed of palm fronds (barasti), with the wealthier families occupying mud huts. The growth of the cultured pearl industry in the first half of the twentieth century created hardship for residents of Abu Dhabi as pearls represented the largest export and main source of cash earnings.
In 1939, Sheikh Shakhbut Bin-Sultan Al Nahyan granted petroleum concessions, and oil was first found in 1958. At first, oil money had a marginal impact. A few lowrise concrete buildings were erected, and the first paved road was completed in 1961, but Sheikh Shakbut, uncertain whether the new oil royalties would last, took a cautious approach, preferring to save the revenue rather than investing it in development. His brother, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, saw that oil wealth had the potential to transform Abu Dhabi. The ruling Al Nahyan family decided that Sheikh Zayed should replace his brother as ruler and carry out his vision of developing the country. On August 6, 1966, with the assistance of the British, Sheikh Zayed became the new ruler.[8]
With the announcement by the UK in 1968 that it would withdraw from the Persian Gulf area by 1971, Sheikh Zayed became the main driving force behind the formation of the United Arab Emirates.
After the Emirates gained independence in 1971, oil wealth continued to flow to the area and traditional mud-brick huts were rapidly replaced with banks, boutiques and modern highrises.
At present, Abu Dhabi boasts what is estimated to be the world's highest absolute and per-capita[citation needed] level of sovereign wealth funds, calculated at USD 1,000,000 per a local national inhabitant
The United Arab Emirates is located in the oil-rich and strategic Persian Gulf region. It adjoins the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman.
Abu Dhabi is located in the far west and southwest part of the United Arab Emirates along the southern cost of the Persian Gulf between latitudes 22°40’ and around 25° north and longitudes 51° and around 56° east.[9] The emirate borders the emirate of Dubai and Sharjah to its north.
The total area of the Emirate is 67,340 square kilometres, occupying about 87% of the total area of the UAE, excluding islands. The territorial waters of the Emirate embrace about 200 islands off its 700 kilometres coastline. The topography of the Emirate is dominated by low-lying sandy terrain dotted with sand dunes exceeding 300 metres in height in some areas southwards. The eastern part of the Emirate borders the western fringes of Al-Hajar Mountains. Hafeet Mountain, Abu Dhabi’s highest elevation, rising about 1,300 metres, is located south of Al Ain city.[

seby2
The thawb is commonly worn by men in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. It is normally made of cotton, but heavier materials such as sheep's wool can also be used, especially in colder climates in Iraq and Syria. The style of the thawb varies slightly among the various regions within the Persian Gulf. The sleeves and the collar can be stiffened to give a more formal appearance. Other names may be used for this garment. In Souraqia and Oman, dishdasha is the most common word for the garment; in the UAE, the word kandura is used. In Morocco, the sleeves tend to be much shorter so that the thawb may seem more like a long T-shirt and is locally called gandora. Also the neck tends to be more open than in its Saudi counterpart and is often embroidered as is the breast pocket. Also it might lack buttons altogether.
The term thawb is also used to refer to similar women's garments. The traditional Palestinian woman's long tunic is called thawb. Another example is a very long, over-sized woman's garment with a heavily embroidered front panel and billowing back, also known as a Khaleeji dress, which is most commonly seen in the West worn for performance of the Saudi women's social-style dances, in which manipulation of the large thawb is a key component.
This garment is also known as Kanzu in Swahili, and is commonly worn on the Swahili Coast by Swahili men.

Desert sunset
The city of Abu Dhabi is on the northeastern part of the Persian Gulf in the Arabian Peninsula. It is on an island less than 250 metres (820 ft) from the mainland and is joined to the mainland by the Maqta and Mussafah Bridges. A third, Sheikh Zayed Bridge, designed by Zaha Hadid, opened in late 2010. Abu Dhabi Island is also connected to Saadiyat Island by a five-lane motorway bridge. Al-Mafraq bridge connects the city to Reem Island and was completed in early 2011. This is a multilayer interchange bridge and it has 27 lanes which allow roughly 25,000 automobiles to move per hour. There are three major bridges of the project, the largest has eight lanes, four leaving Abu Dhabi city and four coming in.[15]
Most of Abu Dhabi city is located on the island itself, but it has many suburbs on the mainland, for example: Khalifa City A, B, and C;[16] Al Raha Beach;[17] Al Bahia City A, B, and C; Al Shahama; Al Rahba; Between Two Bridges; Baniyas; and Mussafah Residential.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s land surface measures 67,340 square kilometres, which is equivalent to about 87% of the UAE’s total land area.[18] Only 30% of the emirate is inhabited, with the remaining vast expanses covered mainly by desert and arid land — constituting about 93% of the total land area.
Land cultivation and irrigation for agriculture and forestation over the past decade has increased the size of "green" areas in the emirate to about 5% of the total land area, including parks and roadside plantations. About 1.2% of the total land area is used for agriculture. A small part of the land area is covered by mountains, containing several caves. The coastal area contains pockets of wetland and mangrove colonies. Abu Dhabi also has dozens of islands, mostly small and uninhabited, some of which have been designated as sanctuaries for wildlife.[19]
Abu Dhabi has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Sunny blue skies can be expected throughout the year. The months of June through September are generally extremely hot and humid with maximum temperatures averaging above 38 °C (100 °F). During this time, sandstorms occur intermittently, in some cases reducing visibility to a few meters.[20]
The cooler season is from November to March, which ranges between moderately hot to warm. This period also sees dense fog on some days. On average, January is the coolest month in the year, while July and August are the hottest.
The oasis city of Al Ain, about 150 km (93 mi) away, bordering Oman, regularly records the highest summer temperatures in the country; however, the dry desert air and cooler evenings make it a traditional retreat from the intense summer heat and year-round humidity of the capital city

Camel rides
camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. The two surviving species of camel are the dromedary, or one-humped camel (C. dromedarius), which inhabits the Middle East and the Horn of Africa; and the bactrian, or two-humped camel (C. bactrianus), which inhabits Central Asia. Both species have been domesticated; they provide milk, meat, hair for textiles or goods such as felted pouches, and are working animals with tasks ranging from human transport to bearing loads.
The term "camel" is derived via Latin and Greek (camelus and kamēlos respectively) from Hebrew or Phoenician gāmāl, which has later been transferred to a verb root meaning to bear or carry (in Arabic jamala).[4][5] The Hebrew meaning of the word gāmāl is derived from the verb root g.m.l, meaning (1) stopping, weaning, going without; or (2) repaying in kind. This refers to its ability to go without food or water, as well as the increased ability of service the animal provides when being properly cared for.
"Camel" is also used more broadly to describe any of the six camel-like mammals in the family Camelidae: the two true camels: the dromedary and bactrian, and the four South American camelids: the llama and alpaca are called "New World camels", while the guanaco and vicuña are called "South American camels