Jul 12, 2009
Jun 5, 2009
Middle East Trip : Day 7+ : Dubai
Middle East Trip : Day 7+ : Dubai
Day 7 +
Back to Dubai, back to sanity
Crazy taxidriver
Desert hotel
Thunderstorm
Burj from the rooftop
Shopping
Flamingos
Dinner!
Day 7 +
Back to Dubai, back to sanity
Crazy taxidriver
Desert hotel
Thunderstorm
Burj from the rooftop
Shopping
Flamingos
Dinner!
Middle East Trip : Day 6 : Cairo (3 of 3)
Middle East Trip : Day 6 : Cairo
Cairo Day 3
Car ride
Alexandria
“do you do hash?”
Pompey’s Pillar
Mosaics
Citadel
Back to airport
Trouble along the way...
Leaving Cairo
Cairo Day 3
Car ride
Alexandria
“do you do hash?”
Pompey’s Pillar
Mosaics
Citadel
Back to airport
Trouble along the way...
Leaving Cairo
Middle East Trip : Day 5 : Cairo (2 of 3)
Middle East Trip : Day 5 : Cairo
Cairo Day 2
The Noise
Cairo museum
Stroll around
Old Cairo
Our new friend
Walk, walk, walk
Cairo Day 2
The Noise
Cairo museum
Stroll around
Old Cairo
Our new friend
Walk, walk, walk
Middle East Trip : Day 4 : Cairo (1 of 3)
Middle East Trip : Day 4 : Cairo
Cairo day 1
Sunrise (photolink)
What to do?
Breakfast
Pyramids
- papa and kid
- camel
- again with the negotiating
-
Memphis
- cat statue
Nile cruise
Cairo day 1
Sunrise (photolink)
What to do?
Breakfast
Pyramids
- papa and kid
- camel
- again with the negotiating
-
Memphis
- cat statue
Nile cruise
May 4, 2009
Apr 8, 2009
Middle East Trip: Day Three: Cairo
Day Three
Cairo
(Work in progress--please check back soon!)
- The splendid palace that is Terminal 3, Dubai (which Hiromi had never been to)
- Taking off; alcohol preconceptions; movies!
- Landing; "Where the hell's the visa?!"; "local humor"
- Getting the bus downtown--whoops, I mean, there is no bus. Wading through the taxi drivers and negotiating. ("20 pounds each-->25 pounds?!")
- Finding I hadn't wasted my time learning nihongo
- Getting to the hotel, and reservation confusion
- schedule tour to pyramids; the elevator, and quick stroll around
- sleep!
Cairo
(Work in progress--please check back soon!)
- The splendid palace that is Terminal 3, Dubai (which Hiromi had never been to)
- Taking off; alcohol preconceptions; movies!
- Landing; "Where the hell's the visa?!"; "local humor"
- Getting the bus downtown--whoops, I mean, there is no bus. Wading through the taxi drivers and negotiating. ("20 pounds each-->25 pounds?!")
- Finding I hadn't wasted my time learning nihongo
- Getting to the hotel, and reservation confusion
- schedule tour to pyramids; the elevator, and quick stroll around
- sleep!
Apr 7, 2009
Middle East Trip: Day Two: Dubai (3 of 3)
Day Two
Dubai (3 of 3)
After our stroll around the Bastakia Quarter, I heard Hiromi's tummy squeal slightly and realized that I was hungry as well, owing to the fact that neither of us really had breakfast. After a little of the "deciding game"--
"What do you want?"
"Ida know, what do you want?"
"I'm really not sure, what do you feel like?"
"I'm up for anything, really..."
"Well, we could have pretty much anything...Indian, Japanese, or just have juice..."
"How about some nice Middle Eastern food?"
"Like what?"
"Ida know..."
--we opted to walk down to the Creek, wander about some of the souqs (markets) there, and perchance find something to eat.
Now before I continue, there's something I have to say about the souks: they are wonderful! Sure, random people will come up to you and ask if you want to buy fake watches or other things; but the phrasing of this--that the watches, etc. are fake--is something the likes of which I have never before heard admitted. (When I had went to China, people insisted that their Bolexes were real; in a sense, as they weren't being sold as "Rolexes", that much may have been true.) Aside from these shady individuals, shopkeepers will try to get you to pay a higher price than perhaps you should, at the souq stalls; but, on the other hand, I really didn't feel worried about whether things on my person were going to be stolen or gone through. And, lovely thing was: when you told people you weren't interested, they smiled and let you go. (This would be a rather large difference a day later and a two countries over.)
That said, wandering around the spice souqs and gold souqs, breathing in air laden with an intoxicating blend of exotic spices, made me oh-so-hungry. So, we stopped for juice. (This became something of a thing during my trip. While I was initially quite hesitant to drink juice--for health safety concerns, and remembering that the last time I had done that in a foreign country, I spent a day in the bog--I caved due to Hiromi's mouthwatering description of the assorted fresh blends. After experiencing no problems, I decided that, whenever I would get thirsty, I would opt either for water or the more refreshing juice.) I gulped down my glass of strawberry-melon and after one last wander about the spice stores, we headed down to the Creek.
As we got down to the turn stalls leading up to the docks bobbing up and down in the waters, I looked at all the passengers cramming onto these small ferryboats, saw each sinking lower and lower into the river, and started thinking: crap, do I really want to do this? Do I want to be one of those people we occasionally read about on the news, who in some country far far away drowned after a ferry boat sank? And what if we capsized, and I fell into the water, but was okay, but would my camera be okay?
I continued murmuring to myself silently as we and a few other boarded the ferry. And then a few more boarded. And a few more. And the boat began to list. And the driver-captain distributed people along the edge. And more people boarded. And the captain, feeling that the boat was sufficiently heavy within the water, decided to stop more people from coming on board. And then, like a great water buffalo laden with everything you can imagine, we began our bobbing waddle to the opposite shore.
And when we got there, I thought: hey, that wasn't bad. (And I recalled that I can swim.)
After having a late lunch on the other side, and shopping around at the local supermarket for some things for dinner, we went back to Hiromi's flat, exhausted. And looking forward to our flight to Cairo the next morning.
Dubai (3 of 3)
After our stroll around the Bastakia Quarter, I heard Hiromi's tummy squeal slightly and realized that I was hungry as well, owing to the fact that neither of us really had breakfast. After a little of the "deciding game"--
"What do you want?"
"Ida know, what do you want?"
"I'm really not sure, what do you feel like?"
"I'm up for anything, really..."
"Well, we could have pretty much anything...Indian, Japanese, or just have juice..."
"How about some nice Middle Eastern food?"
"Like what?"
"Ida know..."
--we opted to walk down to the Creek, wander about some of the souqs (markets) there, and perchance find something to eat.
Now before I continue, there's something I have to say about the souks: they are wonderful! Sure, random people will come up to you and ask if you want to buy fake watches or other things; but the phrasing of this--that the watches, etc. are fake--is something the likes of which I have never before heard admitted. (When I had went to China, people insisted that their Bolexes were real; in a sense, as they weren't being sold as "Rolexes", that much may have been true.) Aside from these shady individuals, shopkeepers will try to get you to pay a higher price than perhaps you should, at the souq stalls; but, on the other hand, I really didn't feel worried about whether things on my person were going to be stolen or gone through. And, lovely thing was: when you told people you weren't interested, they smiled and let you go. (This would be a rather large difference a day later and a two countries over.)
That said, wandering around the spice souqs and gold souqs, breathing in air laden with an intoxicating blend of exotic spices, made me oh-so-hungry. So, we stopped for juice. (This became something of a thing during my trip. While I was initially quite hesitant to drink juice--for health safety concerns, and remembering that the last time I had done that in a foreign country, I spent a day in the bog--I caved due to Hiromi's mouthwatering description of the assorted fresh blends. After experiencing no problems, I decided that, whenever I would get thirsty, I would opt either for water or the more refreshing juice.) I gulped down my glass of strawberry-melon and after one last wander about the spice stores, we headed down to the Creek.
As we got down to the turn stalls leading up to the docks bobbing up and down in the waters, I looked at all the passengers cramming onto these small ferryboats, saw each sinking lower and lower into the river, and started thinking: crap, do I really want to do this? Do I want to be one of those people we occasionally read about on the news, who in some country far far away drowned after a ferry boat sank? And what if we capsized, and I fell into the water, but was okay, but would my camera be okay?
I continued murmuring to myself silently as we and a few other boarded the ferry. And then a few more boarded. And a few more. And the boat began to list. And the driver-captain distributed people along the edge. And more people boarded. And the captain, feeling that the boat was sufficiently heavy within the water, decided to stop more people from coming on board. And then, like a great water buffalo laden with everything you can imagine, we began our bobbing waddle to the opposite shore.
And when we got there, I thought: hey, that wasn't bad. (And I recalled that I can swim.)
After having a late lunch on the other side, and shopping around at the local supermarket for some things for dinner, we went back to Hiromi's flat, exhausted. And looking forward to our flight to Cairo the next morning.
Middle East Trip: Day Two: Dubai (2 of 3)
Day Two
Dubai (cont'd, 2 of 3)
After enjoying the wonderful breeze near the Burj, we ventured into the city of Dubai to have a look around. In knowing that Hiromi is a tour guide, I really didn't want to bore her by doing things that she had already done--but she insisted that we see a few of the things that she knows well about before venturing out and exploring around together.
I nodded in agreement, and with that, off we went to the history museum located on the grounds of Al Fahidi Fort (circa 1787). After paying the 5dhs entry fee, we had a look around at the different weapons and other artifacts found on the fort's grounds and in the surrounding area from way back when. While not particularly exciting, they did provide a glimpse into the sort of technology that had existed in the period. Below the fort, though, is a decent-sized museum (in English and Arabic) showing a good sample of how Dubai grew through the ages, and what sort of culture, flora and fauna had come to inhabit the area. As I meandered through the exhibits, I caught Hiromi's patient expression--and while she had insisted that she was okay, I nevertheless felt inclined to hurry onward.
After the museum, we walked around for a little bit and caught a glimpse of some interesting-looking buildings (which we would later find out to be the old Bastakia Quarter) and headed off in that direction. I asked Hiromi what the sort of clay-like structures were; she said that, actually, she had never before walked around that area. Happy that we had discovered something new for her, I took out my camera in anticipation of finding something neat.
Strolling around the maze of cream-colored buildings (said by a sign to be constructed in traditional fashion--using gypsum and coral stone), we soon came across a spice shop, art café, and quite a few other gallery spaces/areas catered to artists and artisans. Trees with beautiful pink-velvet flowers (unfortunately I know not their name) were planted in strategic areas to offer a bit of relief from the sun.
Dubai (cont'd, 2 of 3)
After enjoying the wonderful breeze near the Burj, we ventured into the city of Dubai to have a look around. In knowing that Hiromi is a tour guide, I really didn't want to bore her by doing things that she had already done--but she insisted that we see a few of the things that she knows well about before venturing out and exploring around together.
I nodded in agreement, and with that, off we went to the history museum located on the grounds of Al Fahidi Fort (circa 1787). After paying the 5dhs entry fee, we had a look around at the different weapons and other artifacts found on the fort's grounds and in the surrounding area from way back when. While not particularly exciting, they did provide a glimpse into the sort of technology that had existed in the period. Below the fort, though, is a decent-sized museum (in English and Arabic) showing a good sample of how Dubai grew through the ages, and what sort of culture, flora and fauna had come to inhabit the area. As I meandered through the exhibits, I caught Hiromi's patient expression--and while she had insisted that she was okay, I nevertheless felt inclined to hurry onward.
After the museum, we walked around for a little bit and caught a glimpse of some interesting-looking buildings (which we would later find out to be the old Bastakia Quarter) and headed off in that direction. I asked Hiromi what the sort of clay-like structures were; she said that, actually, she had never before walked around that area. Happy that we had discovered something new for her, I took out my camera in anticipation of finding something neat.
Strolling around the maze of cream-colored buildings (said by a sign to be constructed in traditional fashion--using gypsum and coral stone), we soon came across a spice shop, art café, and quite a few other gallery spaces/areas catered to artists and artisans. Trees with beautiful pink-velvet flowers (unfortunately I know not their name) were planted in strategic areas to offer a bit of relief from the sun.
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