Blogs from Middle East - page 978

Hey all. Well finally thought I would put fingers to keyboard and give an update as to what's been going on. I am now in Bahrain, after a week in Kuwait doing the last of my orientation, I have been down here for about two weeks now. Really enjoying it. It's a hell of an interesting place and though I can honestly say I wasn't interested in the Arabic culture, that has changed pretty quick. Though I can tell you, their driving scares the hell out of me. My stay in Kuwait was a bit of a whirlwind visit. I got off of the plane, but my luggage didn't. I scrounged some things from the uniform store there to get me by but they were all just a size too small. Bloody little army punks. Start ... read more

Hello all, Arriving in Istanbul and realizing what a tight schedule we were on if we wanted to see all the sights we were reading about and listing off, John and I made the immense error of opting for a tour. Well, having said that, it was not all bad.... We took an overnight bus from Istanbul to Cappadocia, a method of travel that is slowly working it's way to the top of my never-do-again list, and we found ourselves in the most fantastic world. Thousands upon thousands of years ago, there were monks that lived in the hills and their method of survival was to carve out a space to live in the rock formations that dotted the horizon. So, all of the caves that can be found date back to the 6th century and ... read more

November 19th - Dubai Well we finally arrived in Dubai, I say finally since Indian beauracry did its best to delay us. The airport in Agra has 2 classifications for non-military aircraft, charter and commercial. Indian charter flights fly based on visibility while commercial flights have superior instruments and trained crews. Our plane a 757, a 200 seat plane and is the largest commercial plane to fly into Agra in the past year, but because it was chartered by Travel Guild it was classified as a chartered plane and therefore subjected to visibility restrictions. There is smog 24 hours a day in Agra and reduced visibility, so naturally they were unable to see beyond the regulations, fortunately they only held us up for just over 2 hours on the tarmac. India has produced a tremendous number ... read more

Greetings from sunny, HOT, gorgeous, "very-different-than-India", Dubai!!!!!!! (and birthday greetings to my friend and editor, Linda Fletcher, in London!) We left our hotel yesterday morning in good time. Everyone was quite ok with leaving India, after having seen the Taj Mahal and having experienced the traffic, the smog, the crowds of people, the animals everywhere, etc. etc. Time to head out to Dubai........where we were scheduled to have "free" time for the afternoon and have some fun. Not to be! All went well at the airport, we boarded the plane, and then........we sat! For almost 2 hours! Not that it was a hardship, since the Icelandic Air crew are so amazing. We were served (our usual) champagne, orange juice, etc. The air-conditioning was on (thank goodness!!!!!). We had a chance to visit with each other, read ... read more

Arrival in Dubai What a cultural contrast we experienced leaving India and entering the orderly modern city of Dubai! After checking into our five star hotel, we all gathered for a traditional Dhow Dinner Cruise, an Arabic ship decorated with carpets, cushions, and offering local delicacies in warm hospitality. We awaken to a day at leisure and after spending way too much time with Emera, our concierge, I realize how grateful I am for the folks at Travel Guild World Tour for all of the leg work they do to keep our group well organized and tended! Doug is in much demand as we’re off to the gold souk and many of our fellow travelers seek his advice. Then a taxi ride (everyone owns a car in Dubai and seldom ride share) through heavy traffic delivers ... read more