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Blogs from United Arab Emirates, Middle East - page 18
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June 2nd 2012
The flight from Denver to LA was uneventful. The flight to Dubai was looong! The kids thought the airplane food was pretty good. We all sat together, except Ian, so we did a little shuttling. We had an unexpected stop in Vienna. A passenger got ill, a swollen throat or something, so they diverted the plane to Vienna to get her medical attention. We did not arrive in Dubai until 10:30 pm local time (instead of 7:30 p.m.). A 19 hour flight in all. By the time we ate and went to bed it was 12:30 a.m. So much for getting out to see Dubai. The lights as we were coming in to land were spectacular, however. All the designs they created that could be seen from the air. It was clearly no accident. For some ... read more
June 2nd 2012
It was 10:30 at night when I took my flight from Perth to Dubai. This was the first of my 3 flights I took to Budapest. I flew with Emirates in First class and even though the 11hour flight was dull, boring and hot, it was very comftable. I arrived in Dubai at 8:30 in the morning and immediately noticed how hot it was. I stuck out my hand and sweat had already piled up in my palm in 3 seconds. Out of everything, the bathroom in Dubai airport gave me a massive shock attack. EVERYTHING was automatic. From toilets to Soap dispenser everything was technologic. It took me ages before I figured out the bathroom wasn't possessed and it was just how things were in Dubai. I loved the airport in Dubai because everything was ... read more
June 1st 2012
Well, I had hoped to get some much needed sleep last night. I went to bed around 1 am, was out cold when the fire alarm went off at 3 am. At first I just laid here - it was like a horn sound - so maybe it was just the call to prayer? Then the annoying squealing went off, so I threw off my covers, put on my sandals, and got my purse from my safe....then it stopped. I went back to bed. I really reallly really hope that it is NOT the call to prayer and was just a fluke. I guess I really just don't know what this call to prayer sounds like, especially the first one of the day, so I am thinking anything is possible!!! I woke up around 7, after ... read more
May 31st 2012
I hung out at the Zurich airport, just reading and trying not to sleep. It was a nice airport (I like the way you arrive on one level and depart on another), but it was also a little loud. So I wanted to be sure I heard my flight called. I really didn't even hear it even though I was sitting at the gate waiting. I also tried to not sleep because I figured, again, that would allow me to sleep on the flight. I got the same exact seat, but this time no one was next to me, so while I could quite spread out as the armrest did not go all the way up, I felt much more comfortable. I wound up watching more movies again - lots of new stuff, so that was ... read more
May 30th 2012
Dubai has about 900,000 citizens and about 7 million immigrants from many poor countries who provide the labour in lowly paid jobs. The maitre d' in the restaurant at our hotel works 12-14 hour days , 7 days a week with a 3 hour break in the middle of his shift which allows him to catch up with shopping and washing. He was always smiling and helpful. Dubai citizens pay no taxes, pay 50 cents per litre for petrol, have free medical, dental and education. The medical and education benefits do not extend to non-citizens which means that many immigrants do not bring their families with them. Our city tour took us to the Burj Al Arab - a 7 star hotel, the Burj Khalifa -the world's tallest tower at 828 meters, the Jumeirah mosque - ... read more
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May 24th 2012
Well, here I sit looking out the window at Abu Dhabi airport. Looks just the same as Sydney or Melbourne... could be anywhere really. Looking out the window of the plane coming down though it was unmistakable that is wasn't just anywhere. Sand, sand and more sand. Oh and did I mention that there was a lot of sand. I decided not to do a stopover here; too anxious to get to Italy! Flight from Hobart was fast... flight from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi was slow! Seriously though, not too bad for a 14-hour flight. I think I slept for about three hours. Pretty good considering how cramped it was. The flight was absolutely full... not a spare seat to be had. I flew Etihad, the national carrier of the UAE. Food was pretty good, everything ... read more
May 22nd 2012
Old Town Dubai: A hideaway from the nearby skyscrapers, and where we have retreated to. I think this is one of the nicest areas of Dubai to live in, especially if you want to be close to things and not have to rely on a car. There is the convenience of being able to access The Dubai Mall, cafes, restaurants, bars, cinema, all our shopping, gym, parks,the nightly fountain shows, by just walking out our door, across the road... Working in my studio all day, it was essential we could live somewhere I could easily access 'life' and coffee breaks! Old Town sits in the middle of Downtown Dubai, across from the Dubai Mall & Burj Khalifa, an area of approx. two major blocks, with comparatively low rise housing. The architecture references the older Arabic style, ... read more
May 21st 2012
Arriving in Dubai, it took about an hour to clear immigration, but we probably saved a lot of time when we were waved through customs without any bag checks. The hotel we’re staying at is really nice - about a 15-20 minute drive from the airport over some fabulous freeways. The infrastructure is simply amazing…. Looking forward to having a few more days here at the end of our holiday to do some exploring. I did manage to go for a 6 or 7km walk in the heat today to get a bit of exercise. It’s currently about 40C. There’s lots of haze around – probably sand. I took a composite photo of this building today, and stitched it together – it’s simply amazing to see it for real. Tomorrow morning, bright and early (well, early ... read more
May 17th 2012
A ferry from Bandar Abbas to Sharjah was very nice: the ticket including a dinner also a breakfast was a good surprise for me; Moe who got bad experience from Iran, also a cute and nice Japanese traveler was a pleasant company for the trip; Mohammad was a guy who helped us a lot, went bus station with us and guided us to water taxi after we passed by UAE custom, once again a guy from Iran. One thing was very interesting for me in Sharjah custom, the eyes checking, UAE is very careful about national security, and if you were banned from the country, they will have your iris registered, so even you make plastics surgery and change your name, you can not change your eyes, really cool, isn't it? But actually I have one ... read more
May 15th 2012
Was so excited. Today I would finally board the ship I had cyber stalked for the past however many months. However there was lots to do before we were to jump on the boat. (actually I’m sure the avid cruises out there would never forgive me for not exactly being sure what I’m supposed to call the vessel, so I’m forever interchanging the words ship & boat … either way, the thing floats, and we were soon to call it home). Oh I had forgotten to mention an incident that had happened earlier on in the trip. So bare with me for this little side venture. Now I’m the owner of an iphone, and out of stupid habit I will just change the password on the phone as my kids are forever trying to work it ... read more
