Blogs from United Arab Emirates, Middle East

its the first leg of our new adventure....still another eight hours to go....before we arrive in Scotland.... Airplane was impressive. Flight EK413 Destination Dubai the big cattle carrier was pretty good....I am sure that the upstairs is a palace by the way you are greeted...can't tell you what they are like as plebs are not allowed up there but I am sure they have nice comfortable beds and showers...oh we'll at least we got plenty of leg room. Otherwise own tv with 100 movies is cool and toilets are good. What's with the wooden deco? I found the trip long, I think cause Hawaii was shorter...or could be the fact I didn't sleep enough. Carmen is still not excited....she is holding it on the inside I think... Or waiting to meet Gerard butler.... She even watched ... read more

Trip to Musadam, Oman. What a beautiful trip. It was the month of december'2012. Picked up the luggage, pushed everything in the boot of my Car and left with the GPS on directed to Musadam. It was difficult to pick the correct way, as the navigator took me for a round trip back home. However, we didn't gave up the idea of hitting the road again. Once crossed the Ras Al Khaimah, the panaromic drive way begins. Preferd time, between 6 to 8 am, or 4 o 6 pm. Please clarify your visa requirements and car insurance coverage.... read more

Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. is the home of the 3rd largest mosque –the Grand Mosque – which took 12 years to build, has largest chandelier in the world weighing 9 tons with 1 million pieces of crystal, the largest single piece carpet in the world with a floral design to signify paradise, 41,000 people attend Friday prayer services, silver and gold inlays in opulence and Italian Moreno glass in the windows. While the Christian calendar has 365 days plus leap year the Islamic calendar is a lunar one with 354 days. The government has planted 100 million trees which are watered daily with recycled water. Day time temps range from 95 degrees in the Spring to 120 degrees in July and August in the shade. Gasoline is $1/gal. with no taxes. Heritage Village has recreation of an ... read more

The emirate of Dubai is an interesting oasis of prosperity in the desert with the honor of being the 22nd most expensive city in the world and with a population of 2.5 million from 190 nations, 17% are from Emirati origin and 1.2% European and American. Fueled by oil income (with 93% of the U.A.E. oil reserves) it has the world’s tallest building (the Burj Khalifa) completed in 2009 at 2,722 feet, and is one of 7 emirates composing the United Arab Emirate nation. Abu Dhabi is the country’s capital. Our first excursion took us on a shopping spree to a couple of the souks or bazaars, but in our next bus adventure we saw some of the buildings that make visiting this country such an architectural adventure. The Burj Al Arab hotel is built on ... read more

Admittedly, we didn’t do too much research or really know what to expect of Dubai. What country is Dubai part of again? Right. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which as far as we could tell, is mostly known for their oil production. When flying into the city from our long overseas flight from Washington Dulles airport, Dubai appeared to be an oasis, surrounded by endless sand dunes. Upon arriving, we were expecting the heat and the stink of a big Asian country. Dubai indeed had the heat, but not the stink or chaos. Very few motorbikes, no stray dogs, NO trash, no one living on the street. . . Lots of men in traditional garb, and lots of people in not so traditional garb from around the world. No alcohol in public (though our very seedy ... read more

The ship left Muscat, Oman at 8:00 pm and arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at 2:00 the next afternoon where the temperature was 99 degrees and the sky was very hazy with a layer of brown crap. The port was very modern with wifi available and diet cokes sold in the terminal’s mini, mini-mart. Our original plan for the two days we were in Dubai, was to take a hop-on, hop-off bus to tour the city. We had also thought to get our hair cut and perhaps find a laundry-mat to wash up our dirty clothes. Heat and poor air quality called for a revision of these plans. Got off the ship with no emigration card and walked into the terminal. We decided to check out the hop-on night tour as we thought it would ... read more