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Friday, May 30, 2008

Day in Dubai

I can't decide if the Middle Eastern men find Megan and I attractive or if we're simply easy eye candy. We're definitely exotic looking and we were shocked by the amount of men staring at us, particularly our calves! Either way, we spent the evening wandering the local souqs (open air market). This was a recommended activity in our Lonely Planet travel guide and it was truly amazing. Essentially you wander around the shops as the shop owners attempt to haggle you into buying their various products. Having Nasser with us was incredibly helpful as he speaks fluent Arabic. Our craziest adventure was being taken up a private elevator to an Indian man's shop to use his restroom. My mother would die if she saw us. In an attempt to thank him for allowing us to use his bathroom, Nasser asked to see his watches. We were then taken into a locked room where they held all of their knock-off designer handbags, sun glasses, and watches. Unfortunately, Nasser couldn't haggle the price of a watch down enough so we left empty handed. It was an expereince Megan and I never would have had if Nasser hadn't have been with us. He's definitely our life savior.

On our way to grab a cab, we heard the final call to prayer for the day. I was able to get it on video as Nasser explained the different aspects of the call. Hopefully I'll be able to upload that video before we leave Dubai.

Other interesting tidbits:
* Swam in the Arabian Gulf today.
* Drank camel's milk.
* Tasted fresh spices in the spice souq.


Shout outs:
Mom--- I miss you terribly. I've already filled one memory card with pictures and videos!
Allison--- Andrew needs to visit Dubai STAT! There is construction literally all over the entire city.
Melissa--- Thanks for checking in on Evan. Hopefully he wasn't too bothered. You rock!

Love and hugs!

More tomorrow from Dubai. :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep on with the Sun Screen!!!!!!!!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

On to Africa! Have a safe trip!!!!

Love ya - Dad

moryarti said...

I would remove the "exotic looks" option .. expats make up about 90% of UAE's population.

The places you visited/mentioned (the gold souq, spice souq..etc)are packed with Subcon men (indians) which I typically avoid even taking my wife there. At those places, staring is a past time sport.