My friend and I planned this trip for months, since about April and we were looking forward to it. I knew I would have availability in December and it would not be during peak season. We knew it was at the tail end of the 'short' rainy season, meaning the length of the season was short and the duration of rainfall during the day was short (we were later told it was usually a couple hours every couple days). The main rainy season is during April, which is a definitely no-go! I was so looking forward to this trip. My friend, A, is a trail runner and physically she could have done it months ago. She had never tried high altitude before, but she took a few trips in California to try some higher parks. On ... read more

I had to make a separate post for the Cathedral when I realized how many photos I had to share. I love history. I love cathedrals. I love detailed old art and stonework. This place had it all. You can see the Cathedral from all over the city in some way. The church was originally founded in the 5th century, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. About 70 years later, King Clovis I of the Franks was baptized here in 490AD by Saint Remigus. King Louis the Pious was crowned here in 816 and soon after began the construction of a larger church more befitting of such occasions as it became the traditional site to crown the Kings of France. The current cathedral was begun in about 1208 with various additions throughout the centuries, including reconstruction after ... read more

On the way back from Jebel Akhdar to Dubai, we visited the old ruined village of Al Hamra. It was a bit off the main road and the directions took us via very narrow streets through date palm farms. It was a beautiful drive. We arrived on the other side of the museum from our colleagues, so did not know they were there already. So, the four of us toured the ruined village of Al Hamra for a few minutes, before meeting everyone at the Bait Safah Museum. One of the cool things we saw was a public bath-house, a little alcove along the street sitting above the falaj where people can wash themselves in water destined for the farms. Al Hamra is a 400-year-old village near Nizwa and Jebel Shams areas. It has some of ... read more

Everyone knows Dubai. Or even Abu Dhabi. People even refer to them as countries. The country name is United Arab Emirates. And it is made up of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi (the biggest, by a lot), Dubai (the most well known), Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Ajman, and Umm al Quwain. I highly recommend the Etihad Museum in Dubai which gives a nice breakdown of the formation of the country in 1971. But this blog is the first of others around the country that I would like to share. This one will focus on Fujairah. Now, one thing to note is that the borders of each Emirate can be very confusing, as you have multiple enclaves especially in the mountains. The Emirates are formed primarily by the tribal affiliations, not necessarily geography, which also includes Omani ... read more

One of the things I started when I first moved to Dubai in 2012 was to try to do one new thing every week (usually the weekend). It could be something simple, like seeing a new mall or eating at a new restaurant, or a bit more planned like a tourist activity or visiting another emirate. I tried to do the same when I came back in 2018, but with more international travel, I don't always see those weekly new things as write worthy. Every now and then I'll do a hiking post or the Expo or I did one where I discussed life during Covid. So, I thought I would catch up on some of the things I have done and seen over the last year or so. In particular, I did a lot of ... read more