Dubai

Well here I am...   In Dubai, and the great news is, I'm no longer alone.  Good news for me, not good news for the other travelers.  Due to cancellations and flight changes, I've met up with Rachel, our Flight Attendant, and Laurent, the Base Manager.  We will all be taking the same flight tomorrow on our final leg to Kabul.

The hotel is wonderful!  My room is very nice and the bed is quite comfortable!  Rooms here all have a main circuit breaker where you must insert your room card to turn on the power to the lights.  The outlets stay powered but the lights all go out when the card is removed.

The bathroom, again, is a little odd.  The shower head is like the Yotel.  It's a shower head behind a glass divider and just a drain in the floor.  There is no actual shower stall to speak of.

There are also some other things to get used to...

The UAE has VERY STRICT Internet Censorship.  Some examples of things that are blocked:

• Anything contradictory to the morals and ethics of the UAE (Nudity, Dating Sites, etc)
• Anything that promotes hatred of other religions
• Anything outside the laws of the UAE
• Anything that allows or assists access to "Blocked Content" (Proxy Servers, Remote IPs, etc)
• Anything that causes a risk to UAE Telecommunications (Phishing Sites, Hacking Tools, etc)
• Anything related to Gambling
• Anything regarding the purchase or manufacture of illegal drugs

This list also used to include the entire .il domain name (Israel) due to Arab / Israeli Relations, but it appears that has since been removed.

Any attempt to access "Blocked Content" will end with this result...

Ramadan is on now.  For those who are not familiar, it is a time of religious devotion to those in the Islamic Faith.  They are required to fast during the day, so restaurants and shops are relatively quiet.  The city seems to come alive after dark during this Holy Month.

They take it so seriously that our hotel is not even permitted to begin serving dinner until after sunset, which this evening was 7:12 PM.

I went down to the restaurant and participated in the "Iftar", or evening feast.  There were many local dishes, all of which were quite good, and the restaurant was absolutely packed.

After dinner I retired to the 88 Ultra Lounge for a nice Shisha, and a drink.  I had a wonderful chat with the owner who is from Egypt, but now lives here.

The Trader hotel is in a commercial district not far at all from the airport.  My cab ride was only 34 AED (Dirhams) which is about $10 Canadian.  Not bad for the meter starting at 25 AED.

The next door to the Bin Ladin building.  Yep, the same Bin Ladin that you're all thinking of...  It is a multi-national corporation from Saudi Arabia.  Founded by the father, and run by the half-brother of the more infamous individual who bears the same name.

Jet Lag seems to be getting the better of me so far...  As I write this, I look to the lower right corner of my screen and discover that it is now 3:02 AM.  Sleep still eludes me at this point so I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences on the day with all of you.

I am always impressed when I come to Dubai.  It is an ever changing city-scape, and things are always happening.  The people are very friendly, and hospitable.  The one thing that I cannot get used to at this point though, is the HEAT!

IT IS BEYOND INCREDIBLY HOT HERE!!!!

This morning when my flight landed at 8:30 it was already 35 degrees.  Thank heaven for air conditioned cabs, and air conditioned rooms.

When I woke up at 7 this evening it was 37 degrees.  But, the humidity made it feel like 51!!!   Yes, you read that right... 51 Ever-Loving Degrees!!!

When you walk out the doors of any building it feels like you got hit in the face with a brick stick!  The sweat starts almost immediately and does nearly nothing to help.

I do feel bad for those who have not has as painless a travel experience that I have.  But, I'm also glad not to be going to Kabul alone now.  The promise of T-Bone Steaks and Sausage also awaits our arrival to the Baron.

And now, the moment you've all be waiting for...   The photos...

English And Arabic Facades

Traders Hotel Entrance Sign

Front Enterance

Inside The Lobby Looking Out

The Lobby Area

Enterace to The Junction Restaurant in Hotel

Tent Next To The Restaurant

Tent Interior

Tent Interor Other side

4th Floor Hallway

My Room

You need it?  They have it!

The Bathroom

(Many will ask about the hose next to the toilet, and the answer is, "Yes, that's exactly what its for")

The Shower and Tub

2 Apples At 88 Ultra Lounge