Would You Like to Buy a Camel?

Yes, that's what I said: Would you like to by a camel?

Although much of the "old life" of the UAE seems to have been swallowed up in the past 50 years of modernization, there are still some things that never change (much). A short drive (relatively speaking, since it took me nearly 24 hours to get there by plane) outside Abu Dhabi, there is a camel market. Yup, they sell and trade camels. I guess it makes sense, but still - who'd a thunk it.

Anyhow, it's a big open field surrounded on all sides with sellers of all sorts, sizes, ages, and styles of camels. I'm not quite sure who buys them - or why (except for those guys who offer rides to people on safari), but hey - camels: they're tradition. The market is right near the border with Oman, so I guess it's actually an international camel market (not to mention the fact that - like everything else in the UAE - the people doing the selling weren't actually from the UAE). I met a camel sellers - presumably working for the camel owners - from Pakistan, Iran, and Egypt.

Ah the memories. If only I could have fit one in my carry-on bag, I'd have brought one back. I mean really - who doesn't want a camel?

Desert Safari - Rollercoaster

I went on a safari back in January in Africa. Amazing indeed... And when Rachel suggested the same - a "Desert Safari" - as an activity not to miss in Dubai... once again: I couldn't say no. Honestly though, when they (the sales people) started describing it with words like "dune bashing" and "roller-coaster" I really didn't "get" it.

The afternoon/evening started with a drive through - and over - the desert. They intentionally found the rougher terrain and steeper hills... to better prove (test?) the theory that Chevy Tahoes will not roll over (regardless of what conventional wisdom or expectations of gravity might otherwise dictate).

We stopped for some amazing views of the desert and ended with camel rides, a belly dancer (always a good thing) and dinner (beduin style). A very cool day-trip indeed, and highly recommended, even if the only animals I saw were the camels (which makes me wonder how they get away with calling it a "safari").

Oh well - amazing nonetheless. Plus, I got 2 tattoos for free as part of the package deal (alas, they'll wash of in a week). Dang (or not).

Hot and Cold in Dubai

Dubai may lack in "culture" these days - as the whole "we're still trying to figure out what to do with this much money" thing works itself out. But, in the mean time - there's ample "crazy" things to do. The Atlantis Hotel (just completed out on Jumeirah Island) has an amazing (and free - thank you) indoor aquarium.

And although it's hot in Dubai (80f in December, and 110f in August) and very humid all year round (didn't expect that did you).... don't let any of that stop the winter fun. They built an indoor ski slope and we just couldn't say "no."

So, although I didn't get in any skiing this year in the US (despite my recent trip to snowy UT and my recent non-trip to snowy Idaho)) - I did have a wonderful afternoon hitting the slopes in Dubai. All real snow, too! Fresh snow everyday... It's 31 degrees during the day and 5 degrees at night.

Look closely at both images and you'll see how..
1) crazy big the indoor aquarium is
2) what an amazing assortment of fish they have
3) the types of lifts (yes, plural) the slopes have
4) the style of AC units they've installed
- not something you see everyday on the "mountain"

Tall, Mall or Palm...

Tall buildings, and lots of them. That's what Dubai has. Jen and I took a bus tour around the city (it took all day and we still didn't see everything) and the end result was "no matter where you look there is a tall building being built." But if you look out (instead of up) you'll likely see a mall. This is the only city bus tour I have taken (and I've taken a few around the world - I like them) that stopped at 5 different malls (as attractions in the city). We only got off the bus for one of the malls (thanks).

So, tall buildings and malls - eh? That... and man made islands in the shape of palm trees (the national symbol). Seriously, this may rank as "number one sign you have too much money" (building a plethora of different custom-shaped island leisure complexes). I'm just sayin'.

But hey - for a guy traveling the world in search of leisure - good for them (and good for me). It was really amazing to see
1) what the wealth has afforded them the opportunity to do,
2) how they hope to thereafter maintain that wealth based on today's imagination

The city is really hard to explain in words. It's kinda like "Vegas without the gambling and with a little more class." And it's kinda like someone decided to build another Disneyland (except much larger) and let people in before it was finished.

Since things are changing here so fast, and since they have so much planned (or in progress), I'm hoping to return in 10 years to see what's left of today and what tomorrow brings.

A Brief History of Oil, Wealth and People

The U.A.E., once known as the "Pirate Coast," is filthy, stinkin' rich. Somehow, they managed to avoid having their homeland's resources raped by imperialist invaders (like so many other countries throughout history). Instead, they made a killing (and continue to do so) on the resource the Brits found underneath their land back in 1957. I guess those desert Bedouin are a pretty shrewd group. Being the smart guy he was, their President initiated plans to reinvest all those early earnings into the country's infrastructure and now they've branched out into any number of unrelated businesses to continue their growing dominance in world trade and commerce so they'll continue to be economically solvent - long after the oil is gone.

You may have heard of Dubai - and its incredible building boom (it's said - by someone, somewhere - that 70% of the world's cranes are in Dubai; which having been there: I wouldn't doubt). Looking at images of Dubai from before the oil, it's almost impossible to imagine how 45 years is enough time for the transformation. Here's a fascinating web sight (with lots of photos) about the building and the deeper ramifications of said boom.

Anyhow, I spent more time during my trip in the United Arab Emirates than anywhere else during my trip. It was the hub of my travels as I came and went throughout the region. Being in a country where (yes - really) less than 25% of the people are actually local citizens (the rest being expat workers from other countries - like the Philippines, Iran, Egypt, and wherever else...) I'm not even sure how many Emiratis I actually met or even talked to. The stores, hotels, restaurants... they all seem to be run (on the front end) by foreigners who moved to find a better income to send money home or make a new life... but they aren't citizens.

The immigration officals at the airports were Emirati - so I guess I did meet a "few."

Alone, New Friends, One Friend, A Cousin, The Whole Fam (or not), Good Friends

[Note: this is a very long entry with lots of name dropping but not much travel info. You might want to skip it - depending on what you're looking for in a travel blog. Whatever suits you - just know that I know it's a hicup in the "flow" of the blog. Deal with it.]

It should be pretty obvious at this point, but I didn't have just one travel companion for this adventure. And frankly, that's probably a good thing. I do enjoy travelling alone (some people don't; I do). But I also enjoy travelling with people, but usually spending too much time with the same people can be dangerous.

So on this trip - I mixed it up quite a bit. And since people have repeatedly asked "Who did you go with?" (and before I left, "Who are you going with?") I figured I'd give it a go at detailing the varried companionships.

Yemen and Oman:
I went to both of these countries alone. At the time, I was quite happy (I'm a hermit) to be rid of all the craziness that comes from frequent and responsible relationships with people (my list of "to do's" in LA for work, friends, roommates, etc... was no longer fun or fulfilling, but rather just tiresome and frustrating). It was nice (for a while) to have no one to report to or do things for. It was a very quiet week and a half (3 days on planes, 3 days in Yemen, 3 days in Oman). But, I got to listen to my iPod (post on thit later) and see a lot of great places at my own pace in my own way).

Nepal:
As I've already indicated - Rachel, Hassan, and Ted joined me (or rather, I joined them) for the 4 day (+ 2 travel days) trip to the Kathmandu Valley. It was fun adding two strangers to the itinerary and great travelling with another Broadbent (since we "got" each other's travel styles, and such - or so it seemed to me).

Dubai and Abu Dhabi:
In January 2007, I joined Jen Birtcher and some of her wonderful friends on a trip to Kenya to build a school in a small remote village. I tried to get several of them to join me on this adventure (admittedly this was not as service oriented a venture, but they were good people - worth travelling with again). Unfortunatly (and fortunately) Jen Birtcher was the only one able to match my travel schedule. So, Jen and I spent 5 days "seeing" and living in the U.A.E (while Rachel graciously hosted us but went to work each day - leaving us to fend for ourselves: we're big kids and this suited us fine). Joshua and Melinda considered joining me, but my schedule didn't match theirs and so they actually beat me to U.A.E. by a month. Even so, they still deserve some print space in the blog!

Lebanon:
Rachel and I took a late night flight to Lebanon and had a couple days there (no Hassan or Ted this time). She had been there before (and not seen everything she wante dto see); therefore, she had list of "hot spots" worth hitting and frankly - that worked just fine for me. I know almost nothing about Lebanon, so having and "experienced guide" to take me to the Cedars AND "The Music Hall" suited me well. She had to get back to Abu Dhabi for work (people and their jobs: shaaa!), so I stayed a bit longer and saw some thing she saw on her first trip.

Abu Dhabi x 2:
After Jen went back to Kenya - where she now lives - I had a day to myself in Dubai. And when I returned after Lebanon - I had a day outside Abu Dhabi (visiting the camel traders, etc...). It was nice to have these 2 days to mix things up and relax before heading into yet more legs of the adventure.

Los Angeles:
I passed through LA en route to UT/ID. I think I was there for 20 hours. It seemed like most people had already taken off for the holidays (understandably so), but thankfully Brandon was around to pick me up at the airport and Amber and I got to see some Christmas lights before I packed up again and flew off for family Christmas fun. 20 hours is not long enough to switch modes from "summer heat and desert travels" to "cold snow and frostbite destination." So, my methodical plans to avoid the jet lag due to the 12 hour time shift were derailed by staying up all night prepping jpeg files for Rachel and the fam, doing laundry, and packing for yet more travel fun.

[Note: I didn't expect this to be a long and detailed a list of people and places, but I guess that's what I get for not realizing (before or after) how crazy long and intricate this whole thing was).]

UT/ID:
This year, we (the fam) decided to do Christmas in UT and ID (yes, both). The plan - fly to UT, do Christmas dinner with Catherine, Grant, Mom and Dad... then drive up to ID to bask in the leisure of the Lava Hot Springs with the whole Kearl clan (thus bringing Rachel back into the agenda yet again - ha ha). That was the plan, but snow closed the roads and eliminated the whole Lava part of the world tour.

So, as much as I wanted Gary, Mima, Rachel, Anna, Susan, David, Matthew, and Katie to have a place in the travel blog - this (this sentence) will suffice as their moment of fame and glory. The 5 of us stayed in UT and made SLC our vacation haven while the 6 of them dug their way out of the 17 feet of snow surrounding their house.

And the 5 other "Broadbents" (aka Snarrs) - Sara, Jeff, Hannah, Megan, and Ali - they too get "honorable mention" in the blog because - after all - it is Christmas and they're family too (even if travelling with three small kids from NY to ID just didn't fit the "holiday spirit" - understandably so).

California:
And finally - as I write this, this hasn't happened yet - I expect to enjoy my final week of vacation from the comfort of my own bed (or at least my own ThermaRest - since a camping trip is in the works): editing, cleaning, planning, camping, reading, watching TV, playing with friends, and who knows what else.

Maybe I'll do some of this alone (like Yemen and Oman).
Possibly with new friends (like Nepal).
Per chance with old friends (like U.A.E)
Or simply those I consider family (like UT or Lebanon) - or at least those I consider family (my 2nd family)...
And if I'm lucky - maybe I'll do some of it with those vying to be my future family.

Did I really say that? Really? Seriously? Oh come on - you know you're laghing; it's funny. And you never know. Really, you just never know. Trust me - I know about not knowing. And about not knowing often.

Travel, Work, Sleep

Rachel and I went to Nepal with two of her co-workers. Ted and Hassan are working with her at Booz Allen Hamilton - doing consulting work for the governement (not the U.S. government... the Abu Dhabi government). Crazy world that the UAE brings in a team of Americans to revamp their workflow processes! Nevertheless, they do - and I'm glad they do, since it affords me the opportunity for a trip like this.

Anyhow, the four of us met up in Kathmandu and saw the sights. Odd thing about it - the three of them kept pulling out their laptops at night to work. Really. I'd go to bed after a long day of walking, buying, picture taking, and other exhausting travel "stuff" and they would dive in on Powerpoint and whatever else they "do." The hotels all had free wireless, so they were in (relatively speaking) heaven. How crazy is that? Go all the way to Nepal, to do a spreadsheet and/or revise a presentation on HR management expectations...

But again, no complaints here - but I was amazed at how little sleep Rachel got (yet survived on). She kept reminding me, "We're in Nepal... even though I have to work, I'm not going to miss out on this. I may never be back." And so we packed in 4 full days (and she added a few full nights as well). I suspect she's working through Christmas as well (in Idaho, nonetheless), but hopefully she'll get some sleep: since she barely got any while I was there.

Sure Why Not - Everest

How did I end up going to Nepal and Lebanon?
The same way I ended up on plane flying over Everest!

Rachel suggested it and I said, "sure why not." On our last day in Nepal, prior to our 9 am departures,

planned departures that is - ask Rachel about how her 9 am flight became a 4:45 pm flight, and how it brought me the joys of clean laundry

we caught an early morning flight over the mountains of northeast Nepal.

The views were stunning and I can now say (according to the signed cirtificate I received from the flight crew) that "I didn't climb Everest, but I touched it with my heart."

The whole process involved a crazy-mad-rush against time, security, and domestic/international terminals separated by a 5 minute run (or a 1 minute taxi-ride - worth every penny).

Funerals

Public cremation by this river may have been more appropriate in years gone by - when there was plenty of water flowing by to "accept" the remains of their relatives. But nowadays, the trickle of water running through Pashupatinath, leaves something to be desired in the realm of compete and sanitary disposal of... well... you know.

Pashupatinath is Nepal's most sacred Hindu sight and apparently the "best" place to be creamated, should you have the means. Serendipitously (depending on your point of view), we arrived at this temple as several families prepared to say their "last good-byes" - and without gwaking, we had a glimpse into their customs and traditions.

Facinating - but we both agreed: we won't be burning our relatives (not directly anyhow).

What Is This Stuff?

So what to do in and around Kathmandu? Walking tours. There are temples (Buddist, Hindu, and probably others) on nearly every corner. Some are little more than a statue in an alcove, and others are little less than massive undertakings that words and pictures really can't do justice: Stupa, Stupa, Stupa.

Either way - there's tons to see. Frankly, I don't know what any of it "means" but it's beautiful and stunning in its variety and grandeur. It's really cool, too, to see the central point that many of these sights still play in the everyday life of the people here. They're not just "historical sights." Most of the sights are still in use.

Where Am I?

Ignoring the international visitors (mostly from Europe), I'm left wondering if I'm in China or India... Nepal, straddling the border between the two, is a mix of both cultures. Tibet to the North and India to the south, there's buddist and hindu temples at every corner. Being so far from anywhere, the past is everywhere - interwoved into the slowly modernizing present. It's an amazing collection of colors, sounds and sights.

In our limited time here, we barely got away from the Kathmandu Valley. But, with the 4 days we did have - it was just enough to "see" everything worth seeing. But, I could sooooo come to Nepal again to check out other parts of the country. We barely got 40 km from city center, and the country has so much to offer those willing to venture away from Thamel's hippie culture and tourist lifestyle.

Hippie Street

For reals... There is a street in Kathmandu called "Hippie Street." That should give you some impression of who had (in the 1970s) the strongest effect on the tourism business here. Things have changed over the years, but there's still a strong feeling of post hippie-hippiedom.

In many ways, Rachel and I don't "fit in" here... Actually, come to think of it: everyone fits in here. But, it is interesting to see who (from the West) has decided to hide-away in Kathmandu. There are the real new-age hippies, the middle-aged tourists, the "I'm hiding from real life" twenty something croud, the hikers and trekers, and us.

Hot or Not?

As I recall - in America (The United States thereof, that is) men beep their horns at beautiful women. At least, that's how it works in the movies (especially honking at women they've never met and somehow expecting that obnoxious 120 dB F# to woo her into a long term relationship (or at least a one night stand). If only life were like the movies.

Anyhow, I digress. Thing is - here in (pick your country: Nepal, Oman, AUE, Yemen, and especially - Lebanon) I keep getting honked at. I'm starting to know what it must feel like to be a beautiful woman. Oh wait - strike that. I digress.

Am I hot... or not? I'm guessing "not."

Here's the deal - I must look like a guy who needs a ride (probably something about the fair skin, the goofy backpack, the hiking shoes, and the mildly lost glaze across my face. So... every taxi driver honks as he passes hoping I'll dump an inordinate amount of money into his retirement fund for driving me .25 miles up the road to the next landmark.

It took me a while, but I've finally mastered what it seems ever woman I've ever honked at seems to have mastered: the... "ignore the honks because they don't actually know you or offer anything you want" look. In other words, I keep walking and avoid the urge to turn and examine all loud noises.

Granted, this can be mildly problematic when the military guards are blowing whistles at me to indicate I ought to stop whatever I'm doing (taking a photo for instance). At these times - paying attention to the loud noises might be in order. Foreign travel - everyday a new negotiation.

PS It would be cool if beautiful women would look at me even when I'm not honking at them. I'm just sayin'.

Sweet Suites

While travelling, I have stayed in a variety of "levels"of accomodations. Time with Rachel seems to lean heavily toward "high end" (thanks to the generous contributions of her employer towards her general comfort while "living" abroad). Time spent travelling alone (Yemen, for instace) lean toward the bottom end (thanks to the limited funds of my personal bank account and my generally low maitainence demands as a cheapskate traveler (same standards actually applied in Nepal - with Rachel - we're both frugal meisters in that respect).

Anyhow, I've certainly shot a plethora of photos (digital cameras make it far too easy to "just shoot one more") over the ensuing weeks, and I'll eventually sort through them and post SOME of them. I'm past 1,500 so you really don't want to see them all anyway.

In the mean time, I thought these two videos would be mildly entertaining and show the contrast of options in accomodations.

My Hotel in Yemen


Our Hotel in UAE

Sure, Why Not?

When I planned (and I use that word loosely) this trip, I didn't really have many specifics in mind. I only knew that I had an invite for a place to stay in UAE and a cousin ready to welcome me point me in the right directions to find entertaining and enlightening adventures.

As the plans developed, and I arranged time off - Rachel mentioned he was interested in leaving UAE during the time I was planning to be there... and how convenient... she wanted to leave to see places I too wanted to see. So, when rachel asked, "Do you want to go to Nepal?" I said - "Sure, why not?" And when she mentioned Lebanon, I echoed, "Sure, why not."

So, the trip of UAE, Yemen and Oman - expanded to include Nepal and Lebanon. I really didn't know what I was doing on the front end - except that I wanted to travel for about a month and UAE would be home base. I had considered Thailand and some other destintations - but that's the basics of how the trip developed.

I'm a "Yes" guy - and that often casues me trouble, but in this case - it was a perfect situation. Ask me if I want to travel somewhere, and chance are... the answer is "sure, why not."

Sweet Suite

I finally found Rachel. Or rather, she found me. She arrived the next night and we settled into a suite before heading off for a early morning flight to Nepal. However, I still had a bag filled with 9 days of dirty laundry and nothing suitable for the flight (of course, knowing now what I do about the smell in the coach section of a flight to Nepal - it seems I did have clothes suitable for the flight, but at the time - this didn't seem to be the case).

Anyhow, I was elated to find that our suite had a washer dryer included: a true luxury by current standards, it seems. Granted, it may have been the smallest washer/dryer ever, but it was enough to wash some vital items from my bag - leaving the rest to be dealt with down the road.

If you can't solve it today - put it off till tomorrow!

Anyhow, we were only in that suite for 6 hours, but it was enough time to sleep for a few moments and - get the laundry done.

People Ride Buses

Today, a man in LA rode a bus.
Today, a woman in Russia rode a bus.
Today, a kid in Oman rode a bus.
Today, I rode a bus in UAE.

As I looked around at my fellow passengers I remember thinking, "What's so different about these people - so different that so many in the US think they're all 'twisted, different, or potentially dangerous or evil' (you know - being middle eastern Muslims)?"

Oh sure, there were a few uni-brows, dark mustaches... and a few of the wen were wearing dresses (kanduras) but what does that have to do with anything? Nothing.

Dresses and bad-hair asside - these were average, everyday people going about average everday lives... Or so it seemed to me. As 9/11 made clear, but as it seems still continues, there are a lot of misconceptions about Islam and people from the middle east. Travelling in Yemen, Oman, and UAE - I've met mostly genuine people with general good will in mind (except that guy who ripped me off in Yemen and the taxi drivers who simply wont tell me where to catch a bus).

Anyhow, my point: travel the world, meet a few people - then disregard all those language, culture, religion, family, economic, race, gender classifications we've created to rate, segregate, stereotype the world. They're usually overly superficial, and likely misleading and biased. Granted, I'm biased too - but I'm feeling soap-boxy, so there you go.

Shoe Golf and our President

In 1988 Lee Russell and I played shoe golf during lunch (more than once). We would wander outside and set up a course... then attempt to kick our shoes from "hole" to "hole" by launching them in parabolic arcs into the air.

I'm left wondering if Lee has since defected to Iraq and become and international journalist... specializing in shoe baseball?

I've been seeing and reading reports of that recent journalists' Press-Room-Rage. But, I'm learning about it throught he filter of the midle east perspective. Although I have yet to meet anyone overtly opposed to Americans or The United States... there are plenty happily congratulating me on our upcoming change in leadership. They're all quite happy to see Bush go, and apparently giddy with anticipation of what Omaba will bring to the world scene!

Also, I've been hearing (from Jen) how exstatic the Kenyans are our our new US president from Kenya. Seriously? Wow - I think some people need a little ejukatin! Even so, I'm guessing there are a few Americans that could also use a does of "seriously - do you know anything about international politics or cultures?"

Another Missed "Connection"

So, I arrived in Dubai a day late to catch my flight to Yemen, right?

Well, I arrived in Abu Dhabi a day early to meet up with my cousin Rachel. So far, I'm not doing so well on proving my scheduling abilities!

Turns out she was driving to the DC airport in the US as I was landing in the Abu Dhabi Airport in the UAE (where she's been living for the last year). I thought she was arriving a day before me (but, as should be pretty obvious, she actually arrived a day after me).

Man oh man, those taxi drivers at the airport were all over me. They soooooo wanted to take me somewhere... I just didn't know where to have them take me (and frankly, I didn't want to pay them when I knew there was a bus that would do just as well at 1/10 the price). If only I knew where to go.

After an hour fighting the pay phone and various international call restrictions I finally figured out where Rachel was (not in UAE) and that (unexpectedly) I needed o fend for myself for a good night's rest (at was already 11pm).

I started calling local hotels and finally found myself a bed. Ahh - sweet sleep. A guady hotel in the downtown Abu Dhabi area - "near" the fish market, but really in the middle of nowhere. But really - by the time I go there (1:30 am) I didn't really care where it was, I was just happy to have a bed, and laughing at the absurdity of flying around the world to meet up with my cousin (planning it a month in advance) and still messing it up. Ha ha ha.

More on UEA (and Nepal, and Dubai, and more) later.

Now, it's time for some sleep and hopefully another wonderous day as the adventure continues. Computer time is something I'm finding hard to "fit in" to the schedule, but I'll do what I can. And yowsers, have I taken a "few" photos. I'll deal with them later.

Oman

Muscat Oman was a wonderful surprise for me on this trip. Going, I really hadn't given much thought as to why. I just thought "hey, I'm here - it's here... I'll go."

Turns out, Muscat satsfied the adventurer, pirate, cartographer, ameteur history buff, and nature hiker in me. In almost everyway, it was NOT what I expected. But then again, realy: I had no idea what to expect.

Omani's have forts - everywhere. I'd say that they mastered the fort building of the Arab world (historians might differ on that assessment, but that how I feel after 3 days in their fine capitol city).

I hit several museums, and regretfully admit that I also had 1 McDonalds chicken sandwich while walking the streets (I was hungry - and Oman is not cheap). I've avoided McDonalds and other fast food as much as posible, but it happens from time to time. There are some travelers that seek out such "comfort foods" but I shy away as much as possible, opting for the local fare.

Ironically, I ended up at one restaurant (the day after that MD run), a restaurant suggested in Lonely Planet (also the only restaurant within a squeare mile) and found myself surrounded by Europeans (also following the Lonely Planet walking tour). I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Here was are, all trying to get an authentic experience (avoiding the fast food and option for local cuisine) and we all end up eating with other tourists.

Didn't change the fact that the food was fummy and the atmosphere engaging. Also, in addition to us Yanks, Gringos and Brits.... there were a fair number of locals as well. But I couldn't help but wonder if they're happy or sad that their favorite local dive is now tops on the Lonely Planet list?!