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Archive for the 'United Arab Emirates' Category

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Movement of “Dah” People

Monday, March 31st, 2008

I have to say that other than the way-over-the-top consumer section of the Dubai International Airport, this is a great airport.  I am allowed to arrive without a visa and I enter without having to pay a penny.  This may be the only country I have entered that is free.  All of the passport control personnel are actual Emirate men and they are exceptionally friendly.  And they are intelligent because they put their little stamp on already used pages in my passport rather than the normal stupidity of using a new page (a particularly frustrating activity for us world travelers keeping count of our unused pages knowing they will run out in a bad place).  This airport is so well organized allowing many people to move through the facility as if it is a small airport.  Like many of the airports I travel through except in America and Europe, high speed wireless internet service is free.  If I had to get stuck in an airport, this would be the one I would choose.  Since I will be stuck here for a few hours on June 8th, I look forward to it!  Every airport I have visited could learn something about providing a good experience to the traveler from this airport.  Three cheers to Dubai’s airport authority and my exodus from UAE…

Dubai Shock

Monday, March 31st, 2008

I must have been settling into Yemen because I was shocked coming back to Dubai by two things.  Yemen is a very interesting country because it contains a unique and interesting culture and heritage.  Dubai’s heritage and cultural uniqueness are minimal.  Dubai is basically Las Vegas at the Beach… minus the casinos, plus more shopping.  It is pristine except for the building going on.  Yemen is anything but pristine.  I can see women’s faces in Dubai and they actually are prevalent, out at night and they work outside the home.  In Yemen, women are in full burqas – many with full veils, gloves and socks – and they’re not real common in public.  Along with many other differences, I’m not sure you can find two more different cultures and lands especially so close to each other. [read on]

Burj Dubai

Monday, March 31st, 2008
The air in Dubai is much clearer than it was two weeks ago when I could barely see the world's largest building, Burj Dubai - http://www.burjdubai.com.  Oddly, when I saw it today from the same place as last time ... [Continue reading this entry]

Goodbye Kenya… Hello Dubai, UAE

Sunday, March 16th, 2008
This is a very sad day and a day of a new beginning.  I had to say goodbye to Pamela, Nairobi and Kenya today, but I get to start the Middle East portion of my trip.  Pamela and I had ... [Continue reading this entry]