Month: November 2018

UAE – Dubai and Abu Dhabi

If Vegas and South Florida had a love child, it would be Dubai.  Opulence and glitz are everywhere.  You might have to throw in a bit of SoCal, too, as the freeways rival even the widest part of the 405!

Dubai is a nice place to spend a few days.  There is plenty to do and plenty of ways to relax.  I stayed in the Marina area, which is a bit far from a lot of bright lights.  Walking around the marina in the early hours was nice, before it got too hot.  That said, if/when I go back, I would probably stay closer to the center.

Abu Dhabi, one of the other Emirates,  is just a quick trip by far from Dubai.  It is famous for its incredible Grand Mosque, which is truly one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen.

The inside is impressive.  Of course women need to cover their heads in the mosque.  When in Abu Dhabi…

This beautiful central courtyard of the mosque is supposed to be off-limits, but this young boy didn’t seem to know the rules.  Nobody tried to stop him either.

The other must see destination in Abu Dhabi is the Louvre.  The building is odd from the outside, but inside it is stunning.

The collection inside is equally impressive, with archeological artifacts from all over and curated to show civilizations’ advances at similar period in different areas.  I think this is one of the best museums I have ever been to.

As a side treat, we got to watch a bit of one of the camel races.  It was a hoot!

What’s even more of a hoot is that the jockeys are ROBOTS! Zoom in if  you can’t see them.  (Jordan, here’s a new market for you).

The day after Abu Dhabi I went on a Camel Safari in the desert of Dubai.  It was a lot of fun, but Camels are not exactly comfortable.

In addition to camels, Falcons have been important in the desert for a long time.  They are beautiful animals and I even got to hold one.

My time in the desert is not over.  I head now to Israel and Jordan.

Oman, Oh Man!

Oman was an interesting and wonderful stop along the Journey.  So different than any place else I have been so far.

First, let me dispel any misconceptions you may or may not have about this Gulf country.  It is absolutely, positively, 100% safe.  Safer than most cities in the USA.  The people are warm and friendly and genuinely want you to love their country.  Like other Gulf countries, Oman imports a good portion of its labor force.  There are many people working in the country who are from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, etc.  If you encounter someone who is a bit surly, they are probably not Omani.

Tourism in Oman is in its infancy.  There is not the same level of infrastructure or service you see in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This has a good side and not so good side.  The good is that it is not very crowded and you get to see what the country is really like.  The not so good is that the hotels and restaurants are not up to the standards you find in other countries.

I began my visit in Muscat, the capitol.  This is a lovely sea-side city which is rich in history while also looking to the future.

The first stop on my tour was to the Grand Mosque which is mind-blowingly beautiful.

The inside of this mosque is as impressive as the outside.

The chandelier inside the mosque is the worlds largest and one of the worlds prettiest.

The Penguin and Joe enjoyed the visit as well.  Joe is glad to be back in the desert.

The royal palace is an equally impressive structure.  The colored columns make the palace unique.

It’s even more impressive at night.

The Muscat Fort is an historical structure that offers great views back down to the city.

The day ended with a sunset cruise along the coast.  Oman is famous for its frankincense incense, so there is a large, very cool replica of a burner along the coast.  The sun setting behind it makes it look like a spaceship.

After Muscat, I headed to Nizwa.  This mountain city is known for its fort, castle and GOAT SOUK!!

The Goat Souk starts in the early morning and people from all over come to buy and sell goats; men, women and children.  The goats are walked along a “runway” and if you are interested, you wave.  The only thing that has changed in the past hundred years or so is that now people have smartphones!

After the goats, we visited the fort and castle.

And inside both fort and castle we were treated to a show by the some of the local tribesmen.  

A visit to Oman would not be complete without a stay in the desert.  The camp was nice, but the scenery was better.

And what trip to the dessert would be complete without a camel experience.

I made friends with one in the camp and then got to ride one later the same day.

There was a lot more I saw in Oman, but these were the best bits.  A big thank you to my wonderful guide, Omar.  He was knowledgeable and so very kind.  He even made friends with Penguin.  He was the best representative his country could have had.

Stay tuned for the UAE!

And, for my followers and readers in the USA, a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Stay warm and have a piece of pumpkin pie for me.

Much love to all.

 

Hanoi and North Vietnam

After the incredible zen-ness of Siem Reap and the temples, we were jolted back to the modern world in Hanoi.

Hanoi, like its sister to the South, is vibrant, chaotic, and full of life.  Again, I liked it immediately.

So much of life is lived on the street. Seems on every corner there are people hawking goods or services.

And while Vietnam is famous for its street food, some things weren’t worth trying…despite the lovely presentation.

Staying connected in Vietnam is becoming easier by the day, but they may want to consider wireless technology.

Ha Long bay offers respite from the delightful chaos of Hanoi.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have the best weather and shared the waters with so many boats I thought once that we might be re-filming Dunkirk.

The Mekong, Vietnam and Cambodia were an incredible part of this journey and should be on everyone’s bucket list.  Yes, the heat was oppressive at times, but I would not have missed this for the world.

Next stop…The Middle East.

Things on Bikes

When I was flying in to Vietnam from Hong Kong several weeks ago,  I met a lovely woman on the plane. She spends a lot of time in Vietnam and told me I should do a post just on things on motorbikes.  So here it is.  You can laugh, be amazed, but most of all, be thankful you don’t have to haul your stuff on a two wheeler.

The Little Giant ladder company could use this in their ads. “You can even put it on a moped!”

At least this guy has a trailer for his bike.

Ditto for this guy.
I am not sure what they are carrying, but it’s a good thing there are two of them.
Do you think he blew up the ballons AFTER he parked?
What do you think she does when her young passenger is not there to hold the parasol? And how is the girl in the back holding on?
Whatever is in the crates and bags between his legs, he apparently needs cooking oil too.
That’s one serious “Amazon Fresh” delivery. How many people are in that family?
It’s nice that the PARENTS are wearing helmets.
Here’s another guy with a crowd to feed
I can’t even think of a caption for this one.
The person holding the yellow box sure has faith in the driver.
If you can’t fit it all on the back of the bike, there’s always the space between your legs. Just hope you don’t need to shift that often.

Now aren’t you glad  you have a car or at least Uber?

 

Cambodiahhhhhh…………….

Angkor Wat.  Words do not exist to describe it.

This former Hindu and later Buddhist temple was built in the middle part of the 12th century.  That in and of itself is amazing.  What is even more incredible is that it took a mere 37 (approx) years to build.

We arrived before dawn to watch the sun rise behind the temple grounds.

After the sun rose, we explored the grounds. There is no way to see every corner of the temple and I will be forever grateful to our guide for navigating us around the crowds.

It takes a little while walking around to notice it, but every square centimeter of the temple structure is carved or etched.   When you realize this, the temple manages to impress even more.

The temple is still considered sacred and monks can be seen throughout the grounds.

And, I don’t know if they are there for religious reasons or just to beg from tourists, but there is also a family of Macaque monkeys that roam the temple and grounds.

The area of Siem Reap (this part of Cambodia) has more temples than Angkor Wat.  The one with all the different Buddha heads also impressed.

Another incredible visit was the Ta Prohm temple.  This is the one where all the roots and trees grow out of the ruins of the structures.  The government has decided to leave this temple almost the same conditions in which it was found.  I think they made the right decision since nothing else looks like this.

After days in the heat and humidity of Cambodia, it was time for a rest.

 

Life along the Mekong

After a few days in Ho Chi Minh City, I joined up with a river cruise and tour for the Mekong River, Cambodia and Northern Vietnam.

Quickly after leaving Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong becomes more rural and traditional.  Life becomes quieter as you float from town to town.  Most of the other traffic is small fishing vessels.

Before crossing in to Cambodia, we paid a visit to a small town to get a feel for life, present and past, along the river.

The oxcart is still used in this town.  Yes, the tourists are big users, but we did see locals riding in them as well.  I would not recommend this as a form of transportation.  After a short 20 minute ride, I was more than ready to get off.  I could not help but think what it must have been like for the pioneers heading across the plains in not dissimilar “vehicles”.

In this same village, we visited a local home.  Again, no complaining about your kitchen ever again.  This lady has to use corn cobs as fuel for the stove.

In this same town, we also saw cicadas.  Not flying around, but crawling up the tree.  I have only ever seen them during swarms in the USA when you are running from them.  They are actually quite beautiful creatures.

After the oxcart village experience, we crossed in to Cambodia.

Buddhism seems to permeate almost all facets of life in this country.  We were even treated to a blessing by two monks.  We were told after the blessing we were 20 years younger.  It didn’t feel like that after 20 minutes sitting on the floor with no mat but the kinks got worked out of all our knees and backs and off we went… our new, youthful selves.

The architecture in Cambodia is stunning.  There are temples and monestaries everywhere and even the palaces and governement buildings are inspired by Buddhism.

Now, in my previous brief post, I mentioned that technical difficulties had prevented me from posting.  The first problem was the internet along the river and in the more rural areas.  The bigger problem is that my camera broke on day 3 of this part of the trip.  My new friends Ted and Doreen from Vancouver shared thier SD card with me.  I have a ton of pictures on my phone as well, but transfering this is proving a bit more difficult.  This is mostly due to the fact that I have run out of hard drive space on my laptop.

A new camera has been procured and is meeting me in Dubai.

Hopefully, internet connectivity will stay reasonably good for the next few weeks and I can get caught up.  Thanks for sticking with me.

Next post is about Ankgor Wat.  Google it now if you haven’t heard of it.

Much love to all!