TedTravel's Guestbook

Welcome Back!
Here's how I got the "cockpit" photos. Actually, the thingie that connects the airport to the plane was broken, so they wheeled steps over to the plane. I walked onto the top of the steps to take the photos (one in each direction). Another magic tricked revealed. I will let people know what the mystery item is on Tuesday. I bought several for co-workers in Minneapolis and I don't want to spoil the surprise. The true identity was revealed by a reader of this blog and I will post his comment on Tuesday. The only jet lag I seemed to have had was last night. We went out for dinner and all was fine. After that, we headed to see a play (Guys and Dolls) at Armstrong High School. As soon as the lights went out, so did I. Linda kept waking me up and I kept falling asleep. We left at intermission. Last night I slept for almost 12 hours, so I think I'm back on track again.

Inside the Mosque
Hi Heather - I would love to go inside, especially during the daylight because I would love to see the stained glass windows from the inside. However, I've been told that if you are not Muslim, you cannot go inside the mosque. Also, I was told today that stained glass is not traditional for a mosque. Still, it did strike me as quite beautiful.

Snow Globes
I'm guessing that snow globes aren't real popular in this part of the world. However, I had taken a photo of my house right before I left (it was the one day in January over freezing) and people are fascinated by seeing all of the snow. eve, if you want to setup an endowment for me to travel and write blogs, I'd be happy to do so! However, I think I'd have to clear it with Linda first!

Ultra-Aussie
Ultra-Aussie = someone who has Australian coasters, Australia signs all over their house, a VERY Australian accent, and a large flag of Australia.

Cameras and Such
Yes, I almost didn't bring a camera because I know that people are sensitive to it here and you run the risk of having it taken away if you take the wrong photo at the wrong time. However, you'll notice that my photos often taken from the bus where it's a more controlled environment. I haven't taken as many photos of people as I would normally because of the issues involved with that. Also, I've tried to take street scene photos as quickly as possible and to carry my camera in my wallet. As for communication, almost everyone speaks English, so it is quite easy. However, the accent can be quite strong, so I dont' always catch everything that's being said (but that's true even with the consultants that are here from other countries). However, it's much easier than France, for example. Almost all of the signs are in Arabic and English. My bargaining is not very skilled, I assure you. When you walk in the door, you are already entitled to a "discount" but that's like the sale price at Macy's. In other words, not that meaningful. Their strategy seems to be "buy more and get a bigger discount." However, I don't think they have to worry about their profit margin very much. Still, prices here are relatively inexpensive compared to the US, so it's not that much of a concern.