Made it safe and sound last night into Dubai. I have to say, just from the drive from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.... Dubai is one of the most impressive places I've ever seen. Ever time I found myself comparing it to a familiar skyline, it just kept going. "Oh, those buildings remind me of Dallas, and New York, and Seattle.... x 10". I'll definitely get back over there this weekend. My driver was an Egyptian named Bob (so his name wasn't Bob, but he looked like a Bob and his english was... how you say.... not so good). One of the first things Bob did when I got in the car was offer me gum. Not the "whiten your teeth minty fresh kind" mind you... we're talking the Arabic equivalent of Bubblelicious. I suppose everyone thinks Americans just walk around playing baseball and chewing gum all day. ANYWAYs, after a fast and furious drive over, averaging no less than 160km per hour (fast) all the while listening to the rockin beats of Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, and Elton John... I arrived at the Millennium hotel in Abu Dhabi just minutes from the boardwalk area. Abu Dhabi is the slightly less developed little cousin of Dubai (only in comparison to Dubai could I say that). The hotel is right classy, although I feel a bit out of place with business men and Armani sporting tourists walking about... and I show up with a t-shirt and my giant pack. Oh well.
Katrina ended up taking me to a jazz club in the Hilton last night. I don't think you could have asked for a more diverse set of partiers than what we had. There were no less than 20 different languages being spoken at that club in any one time. AND, the band spent most of the night covering Bob Marley.
After my amazing breakfast at the hotel, I decided to walk the city a bit. What I didn't know was that it would be a sunny 90+ degress (F) by midday. Hence, I am inside at the moment. Abu Dhabi is an odd mix of very conservative Muslim culture (women in full Hijab) and good ol' fashion American materialism. I've seen more Audis, Jaguars, BMWs, etc. than I ever did in Beverly Hills or New York. Woman can be covered in all black (other than there eyes) and still shop extensively for gold jewelry. Which begs the question: where would you WEAR the jewelry? Is it enough knowing it's under the clothing? How can you show off the giant 8 oz gold dollar sign you bought to hang around your neck if you've been mandated to dress as such? Bling bling hhkkomies.
Off to work in Al Ain tomorrow (aka "the desert"). I'm picturing the 2pac video for "California Love"...
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3 comments:
Where are the damn pictures? I don't want to listen to you talk, I want to see Abu Dhabi.
Also, why the hell are you asking drivers for gum? Have you learned nothing from the Buttersworth debacle?
You're a monster.
you made it! i hope work wraps up well and the fun commences soon!
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