A Study in Contrasts

Wow, this has been one full trip! I am sitting here trying to remember what we did yesterday and am at a loss. I think the heat is getting to me. I know we ended the day with a desert safari, which was a blast! We had the best driver and the ride through the dunes was crazy. We also stopped to watch a falconry demonstration, watched the sunset, then continued on to the desert camp where we had a great dinner, excellent conversation, watched a belly dancer, and enjoyed shisha under the stars. It was really a good evening. The falconer also came by the camp with 3 of his birds so we had an opportunity to talk one on one with him and learn even more about what he does, the birds, and the tradition of falconry. I got to hold two of the birds!

This morning we went back to the desert to the Al Maha desert resort and spa. If you want to really get away from it all and have a luxury vacation where you do nothing but relax and enjoy the natural beauty of your surroundings, then Al Maha is the place. It is located about an hour and a hald drive from Dubai on a nature preserve. You can enjoy the spa, activities like riding, archery, etc. Each room is actually a private bungalow with its own infinity pool overlooking the desert. The oryx and gazelles roam freely through the area, and you are likely to see one by your pool or grazing on the grasses by your front door!

After visiting the resort, we returned to the city to visit the other extreme in Dubai accommodation - the Burj Al Arab. Where Al Maha is quiet and peaceful, the Burj is bustling with people and activity. The Al Maha is designed to blend in with its desert surroundings and the Burj is designed to stand out. The Burj has an excellent view of the city, the ocean, the Palm and The World, and the rooms make a bold statement with bright jewel tones and gold chrome. Understated is not a term used in conjunction with the Burj.

I got to see the Ski Dubai indoor ski hill at the Mall of the Emirates. Its really an interesting operation. For the price of a lift ticket in the US, you can get a 2 hour pass that includes  the lifts and your equipment. Then you can ski down the 400m long slope on the man-made snow. There is a poma lift and a chair lift. The mall itself is HUGE! And much like the malls at home. Lots of designer names and common brands you see in American malls. The people are a mix from everywhere in the world, and all are taking part in the national sport of Dubai - shopping.

There is a lot to do in Dubai and the surrounding emirates, and with Emirates Air you can stop over for a few days on your way to other destinations. From Seattle you can fly to Dubai, visit for a few days, then continue on to Jordan, for example, for a week or so, making a really great vacation! Just sayin'.....

Ok, off to Oman tomorrow bright and early (ugh). More from Muscat tomorrow!

From The Top of the World: Burj Khalifa

May 1, 2012

This morning started off with a tour at Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. What an amazing feat of engineering and design. We were able to go to the observation deck to get an amazing view of the city and surrounding area. It was a little bit hazy, but the views were still breathtaking. There was a small corner dedicated to the filming of the latest Mission Impossible movie with a directors chair and the clapper signed by Tom Cruise, I think. You can also buy gold out of a vending machine at the top of the world! It looks like a snack machine, but you insert your credit card and select the size of the gold you want and out pops an ingot with the Burj Khalifa stamped into it. What a great souvenir, huh? The elevator ride up and down are very fast and smooth - you hardly know you are moving except for your ears popping a bit and the floor numbers ticking up or down.

We did some hotel inspections next at a hotel located in the Burj Khalifa - the Armani Hotel, yes, that Armani. Apparently everything is designed and/or approved by Giorgio Armani - the decor, furniture, floor plans, music in the rooms, flowers, food, etc. If you want a chic, modern, luxury hotel to stay in, this would be it. Next was the Palace Hotel which is designed more like a Middle Eastern style palace, and although it is newer too, it feels more established, warmer, and maybe a bit more inviting to me. Both hotels have excellent views of the surrounding area, several restaurants to choose from, and are close to the Dubai Mall where you can go ice skating, visit an aquarium, and of course shop. We finished at The Address Dubai Mall hotel, another luxury property in the heart of shopping central. Gorgeous rooms and amenities, lots of food choices, and we had lunch there, so I can honestly say the food was excellent! The it was off to the Arabian Travel Market. The trade show is huge! And my feet are killing me now.

So some things I am taking away from today's adventure: There are lots and lots of things to do in Dubai and the surrounding emirates. Shopping is a national past time. They love their horses and falcons. There are hardly any old cars on the roads here. The construction may have taken a little break, but is going gangbusters again. Dubai is growing, tourism is growing, and they have the means to meet the demand. With the new Seattle to Dubai flight, I can imagine that a good vacation would be taking the flight from SEA-DXB, spend a few days here, then fly to another surrounding country like Jordan, Egypt, etc., for a week-long tour, then return home via Dubai. Also, Oman is great destination and a good contrast to Dubai. With the new flight, Oman is even more accessible for us in the Pacific Northwest than ever before.
OK, I am worn out. Good night, and more to come tomorrow!

Brenda

Welcome to Dubai!

Sunday April 29, 2012

Welcome to Dubai! I arrived in the Emirates last night after a very nice flight from Seattle on Emirates Air. I know you have already read from Rita's posts that the airline is excellent, but let me just reiterate that here. I was pleasantly surprised with an upgrade, then we were served champagne before take off. The seats recline, so after dinner and watching a couple movies, I actually SLEPT on the flight. It was supposed to be a 14.5 hour flight that was shortened to 13.5, and when I reclined my seat and went to sleep, I think only a few hours had passed. When I woke back up there were only 3 hours left in the flight! I was amazed.


I finally got to my hotel, had some dinner and went to sleep for the night. I have a view of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world from my room and it is all lit up at night - very pretty!

This morning we went to a Dubai Tourism presentation at one of the luxury hotels on the Palm islands. It is amazing to see how much the Emirate has grown in such a short period of time. In 1990 you would not recognize what the city of Dubai has become. There are still plenty of construction projects going on and demand for more hotel rooms and services is on the rise. The airport (already huge) is getting an expansion. They are really trying to make this a one stop destination for vacations - you can visit an aquarium, go snow and sand skiing, drive through the dunes, go sailing, go to the horse races, enjoy fine dining, and shop til you drop, and much, much more.

We had a brief tour to visit the Dubai museum, which also shows the development of the city, and then took an abra ride across the creek to the souks. The souk in the older part of the city is much like those in other Middle Eastern cities. The gold souk is huge, so if you want to buy some gorgeous jewellery you will have lots to choose from!

I will try to get some photos from today posted in just a bit, then it is off to dinner at the Zabeel Saray on the Palm Islands. More to come!

Brenda

Tunisia is Welcoming Tourists Again (still!)

Tunisia is a small but fascinating country. You can spend a week here to see the highlights, or stay a little longer and really get into the treasures the country has to offer. Below are links to some recent news about traveling in Tunisia. Enjoy! And if you want to visit for yourself, give us a call and we can put together the perfect Tunisia experience for you.

NY Times Slide Show on Tunisia

NY Times: Tunisia After the Revolution

NY Times; Travel Guide to Tunisia

These are some photos from our group tour to Morocco and Tunisia in 2010.

Hammamet

Flower sellers in Hammamet

Walled city of Sousse

Walls of the fortress.

El Jem, near Sfax.

Chebika, in the mountains near the Algerian border.

Oasis at Nefta

Palmyre Hotel in Toezur

Cactus blooming in Tamerza

Local transport in the dunes

From Maha in Egypt

I finally set down to email you, I have a couple of hours before I go out this morning,

Here, all is OK, I'm with family and friends all the time, its really nice as you know, the weather is amazing and I am in summer clothes and they are still wearing coats, sweaters and boots. The traffic is awful and very very busy - worse then last year, they drive in all directions and there are no rules anymore, a huge mess but fun.

As for what people feel with all whats happening they are very worried and actually this time most of them are not sure any more if the revolution was a good idea. They can't see anything positive yet, the religious movements are soooo strong. Yesterday we drove thru the main street in Heliopolis to see the really religious muslim people chanting and rooting for the Salafi guy who is a presidential candidate, and then some say that the army will take over. Still nobody knows how it will end up.

With all that said, we still go out almost every night and have fun, lots of restaurants and coffee shops and shishas, of course. Service is booming, you can order anything by phone and have it delivered to your house, even the doctor comes to you if you need him, but you also see a lot of poor people and kids running thru the cars begging for money.

All my friends are doing good and my family too.

I LOVE EGYPT, such a special country and the best place for a vacation.

Photos from Rita's Tour of UAE and Oman

 

The iconic Burg Al Arab Hotel in Dubai.

Frankincense

Amouage Perfume Factory - They make the most expensive perfume in the world!

The jeweled and gold perfume bottles - the exquisite bottles are part of the reason the the perfume is expensive- they are a work of art themselves.

Gold in the souk!

Last day in Oman

Sorry for the long delay in getting this posted! We have been busy at the office getting ready for our next tours coming up - Iran, the Caucasus, a private group going to Morocco, clients on independent tours to Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and more. And Maha is in Egypt right now - I have a post from her that is going to be entered next! - Brenda

Monday March 12th

Today is the last day in Muscat and there is a lot to do and see before we leave.  We start out early this morning at 7:30am and go straight to the Big Mosque, built by his Royal Highness Sultan Qaboos.  It is about a 20 minute drive from our hotel.  The rules to go into the mosque are more restrictive than most.  Before getting on to the property of the mosque, women need to have their arms, legs, and hair completely covered.  No hair showing at all, no short sleeves - the sleeve of your shirt need to come down to your wrist.  Once you get to the door and the guard sees that hair or skin is showing he is able to turn you away.

The mosque is beautiful but not elaborately ornate.  The dome is made from gold and the marble has been brought in from Italy. The mosque can accommodate 20,000 people at one time.  The carpet was made in Iran and weighs over 27 tons, and covers the floor of the prayer room. The driver, who is Yemeni, said he prayed there only once since he kept looking around at everything that was there and you should not do that when praying.  

 I had a discussion with some of the guides outside the mosque while the group toured around, asking them questions about marriage, etc.  There is no civil marriage in Oman, most Omanis do marry someone from their own country.  A couple of drivers knew Omanis that went out of the country and fell in love but with other Arabs in Morocco or Syria, etc.

They talked about watching TV and seeing the American stations and how families lived, and about divorce and the fighting and what happens to the kids.  This is the impression they have of us.  The discussion went on about the age of the person when they get married is about 18 for the girl and older for the man.  If he finds a younger girl he is interested in he will tell his family and they will talk to her family and say they are interested but will wait until she is old enough for the marriage.  The average price that is given is 4,000 riyals and it can go up depending on the family wealth, but it will not be less.  If for some reason the woman wants to get a divorce and is able to prove he is not good or something they will get divorced and she or her family will need to repay 50 percent of the price they were given.

When the group came back I discussed this with them and they asked questions, it was a good conversation. After the visit to the mosque we were rushed to the port for dolphin watching. We drove to the Marina to embark on a search for dolphins and we found them - beautiful coastline and clear blue waters with a variety of fish and other sea life here.  

Oman is a blend of the old and new and it has done very well with the architecture incorporating all of this.  While on the sea we were able to see the city skyline and also the rugged mountain range that come right to he city walls. The city builders built right next to the mountains so you have the jagged mountains blended with the Islamic architecture of white stucco buildings.

We went after this to the Bai Al Zubai museum which shows you the traces of Omani history and development.  I remember the first time I came here, it was about 10 ears ago, and there was a small city and the center was near the marina and the fish markets- now it has spread so wide and far, and a bigger population, and new industries.

Took the group to the souk, which is ok but it is mostly run by Indians and Pakistanis, rather than Omanis.  If you have traveled in the Middle East before you will be somewhat disappointed with the markets here – they are not like Syria, Egypt, or even Turkey, but for the first time visitor it is a good introduction to bargaining and seeing the buildings of the covered souks and the small alley ways. There are a lot of different buildings and some old homes inside, and you do need to wander around to see them. 

Still one more visit to a hotel before we leave for the airport.  We were invited to the Grand Hyatt and also had a hosted dinner at the property- very nice and upscale.  They tried to incorporate Middle Eastern design and also North African in this place.  They had a meeting of Ministers so a metal detector was brought in to check people at the door, otherwise Muscat is a very safe city and this is not normal to have these in the hotels - first time that we saw this in Oman and also in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

----------------------------------------------------------------

It is 2:30am and our driver and guide are downstairs to take the group to the airport. This is still the old airport but there are plans on the walls of what they are planning to do for a future airport.  The flight is 45 minutes only to Dubai and then you get to this incredible new airport with masses of people from all nationalities and so many different languages being spoken.  It is a huge shopping mall - everything you heart can want is available - almost too much that you just want to find a spot to hang out in and get away from the mobs.

Our flight is almost empty we have only 82 reservations in economy class and a full business class - I decided to spread out on the four middle seats and just sleep. The 15 hour flight to Seattle was not as bad as I thought since I was able to relax.  One of the people in the group mentioned that each flight attendant was more beautiful then the next.  It seems that we are back in the days of PanAm, where you had to be a certain size and look and weight, etc. They were all so pleasant and so accommodating to the passengers.  Also, the trip back had a number of languages spoken - I think it was about 8.  Now to sleep and I will wake up in beautiful Seattle.  I was told it snowed there so I am looking forward to the cold after the heat of the Arabian Peninsula.