Dubai Update 05/11

Week in Review: May 1st to May 8th

COUNTDOWN TO OTTAWA: 16 days until departure !!!

Hong Kong visit in Dubai:
On Sunday May 8th, one of my friends from Hong Kong was in Dubai for the day. I was rather excited since it had been about one year since I last saw Feng in Toronto, and he was my first visitor here in the UAE.  Considering we only had one day, we did alot !
* I picked up Feng up at 10 am, and went to the Dubai Historical Village to see some culture. We were the only ones in the entire place - but then, we were greeted by a local whom invited us into his office, and just chatted with us. We were served coffee and fruit dates, which was an experience in itself since we all thought the coffee was tea - and the dates didnt look the most hygenic in a tin container. I refrained from having a date, which is quite offensive in this culture. Oopsies!

* From there, we went to the Mall of the Emirates for a traditional Lebanese lunch at the Karam Beirut restaurant by the Ski Dubai. Lunch was deliciously overwhelming !!! The lunch started with cold mezzas - I was full after the cold mezzas since I love tabbhouli, hummus, dips and such. Unfortunately, I didnt realize there were 3 more courses to follow: the hot mezzas, the grilled meat & the dessert. As more food came to the table, we all sat there enjoying it all, but it was alot for 3 people for lunch. I would definitely recommend Karam Beirut though :)
* After lunch, while Im sure all three of us could have napped all afternoon, we went to The Atlantis on The Palm - we toured around the hotel, and checked out the beautiful aquarium there. I had not yet had the chance to see it, and I love just watching the hundreds of fish go about their business.

* While going to a mall is not the most exciting of attractions, I took Feng to the Dubai Mall - the worlds largest shopping mall, which is conveniently next to the Burj Khalifa. In the Dubai Mall, we just walked around the different areas - to see the aquarium, the star atrium, the gold souk.
* Finally, our last stop on the one day tour of Dubai was a desert safari ! The driver picked us up at 4 pm, and it took about 1.5 hours to get out to the desert. In the desert, our 4x4 went up and over the sand dunes, down the hills, through the scenary - and finally we stopped the see the sunset in the distance. The actual desert safari was quite scary considering Im a bit nervous in cars to begin with - but the experience was well worth it for the views. The desert was not as I had imagined:
a) the sand was a golden colour, and I had thought it would be more white and granular;
b) there was shrubbery and vegetation growing in random areas, and I had thought it would be desolate;
c) the desert was quite bumpy with hills and moutains, while I had imagined it to flat
d) at night, the sand got quite cool considering it had been absorbing heat all day.
After driving through the desert, we were taken to a remote camp - Feng and I participated in several activities here such as camel riding & falcon holding, while I also got a henna tattoo on my arm. We were provided with a nice enough buffet dinner, and a live entertainment show with a twirling dancer and a belly dancer. Finally, we were taken back to the city - exhausted !

* And then, Feng got into a taxi and headed towards Abu Dhabi so he could fly out to Saudi to meet some clients - GREAT GREAT visit !!! Thank you Feng for stopping by Dubai :)

Elections Canada:
I am discouraged to see that Stephen Harper has been re-elected as the Conservatives took the majority government back on Monday May 2nd. I do not think he has done much for our country, nor will he - however, I do not think Canadian voters had great candidates to vote for either.
* I find this the perfect time to become a non-resident - and make the most of the international playground Im in...

Death of Osama Bin Laden:
Apparently Osama Bin Laden was just recently killed ! I am rather skeptical about the timing of all this for the following reasons :
a) How is it that it took the US government 10 years to find & kill this man? The US has such sophisticated technology, the resources, the money, the allies - I find it hard to believe that ONE man can evade the American authorities for that long -
b) There is no footage of the body - and the body has been "buried" at sea...
c) After finding bin Laden, I find it a bit odd that he was shot in the head - they could have captured him for questioning - to provide video evidence of having captured him
d) The news comes at a rather convenient time to take attention away from the following : * a few days after the death of Ghadafi's son so to change the media's attention from Libya to this * during Barack Obamas re-election campaign when scrutiny is on him & his place of birth *when the US is trying to down size the missions in the Middle East.
e) With the death of Osama bin Laden being announced, I do fear that the Al Quaeda leaders will plan something to retaliate -

Mothers Day:
Wishing my Mom, and all the Mom's out there, a very Happy Mother's Day !!!
I was lucky enough to Skype with my parents after my desert safari - and during our Skype talk, my Dad & I presented my Mom with her Mothers Day present. I had originally wanted to wait until my return home but figured why wait if the present had arrived & we were chatting anyways... Since I love my Arbonne anti-aging skin care set so much, my Dad and I bought one for my Mom - not that she needs anti-aging skin care products, but they are amazing !
* as a side note, a few people have taken notice to my skin saying I looked more radiant and fresh, and asking if my age was 20 or so... I attribute this to a few new changes in my life, but also the FABULOUS skin care products!

Miscellaneous:
* The weather here is getting hotter - it is expected to hit 40 degrees Celcius by the end of the week...
* The hamster Safron is continuously trying to knaw her way out of the cage... still a bit savage, and hasnt quite come around to being friendly and tame. At least she uses her hamster wheel now - its cute !
* Work is going well - Jason rewarded my efforts that turned to business with my favorite perfume last week so it was a nice way to end the week.
* Life in Dubai is busy !!! I have to continuously remind myself to take it easy, and focus on my health & positive healthy mentality -

xox <3 xox