What a weird experience to leave the ornately carved and historically old island of Bali and - within a day - end up in the opulently excessive and ultra modern city of Abu Dhabi, UAE. This is indeed an amazing and startling world we live in.
Abu Dhabi is a country of great contradictions: It has the most modern of modern of everything and yet the culture and traditions still place incredible restrictions on women.
BUT first ... on the way ... we had a 4 hour lay over in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So of course there were scavenges to be done. And Ben wanted the money shot in front of the Petronas towers.
I usually don't love this leg of the trip - the middle eastern section. Many of these countries seem so over-the-top ostentatious. Abu Dhabi is no different, but it does have a certain elegant flair to go with the we-can-buy-anything-we-want-because-we-are-just-that-rich philosophy. Like cappuccino served with pure gold flakes (really???). Naturally we had to try one. It tasted exactly like regular cappuccino, but at three times the cost.
And how about this ... ice skating ... in the desert, in 100+ degree weather.
This week is the world championship competition for Jui-Jitsu. We went to see it and caught some bouts of the youth competitors. Quite a lot of excitement and fan participation.
We also visited the Sheik Zayed mosque, which is considered the grandest (and largest) mosque in the United Arab Emirates. It is a doozy. And very beautiful.
It can hold up to 40,000 worshipers and was built in the last decade. But the sheik used ancient craftmanship, including pietra dura (the art of inlaid semi-precious stones to create a pattern used on the Taj Mahal), to create a much older vibe.
There are LOTS of rules at the mosque. First, I had to put on the full burka to enter the grounds.
Then, when me and the boys posed for this photo, we got yelled at by security because they put their arms on me and no touching is allowed. The guard did not make us delete the photo ... but it was clear he had the evil eye on us from then on.
Also, apparently no dance moves of any kind are allowed (or at least that's the best we could come up with to explain this sign).
Observation: Forget the full burka (of course we saw lots of those). In Abu Dhabi, we also saw women dressed in the full black PLUS a golden mustache type contraption that covers their mouth. To what part of modesty does that relate?
Day 2 in Abu Dhabi found us - in the early morning - at the fish market, which was incredibly clean and organized despite the horrific smell.
And then we went to Dubai for the day to snap photos in front of the tallest building in the world, the Burg Khalifa
And ride a wooden boat abda across the Dubai river
But the highlight of the trip ... by far ... was having tea at my dear friend Sonia's house in Dubai. How great is that? My friend from boarding school in England (36 years ago) now lives in Dubai and had us over for a visit. It was so great to see her and to have both of my boys there.
Observation: How about this for odd? In Abu Dhabi, they have ATM-like machines which dispense gold bars. You put your credit card in, select the size and weight of gold ingot that you want, and out it comes. Plus a great name "Gold to Go." Only here !!!
Or how about the biggest gold ring in the world... yup... we saw it up close and personal at the Dubai Gold Souk. Now that is a RING.
Abu Dhabi is a country of great contradictions: It has the most modern of modern of everything and yet the culture and traditions still place incredible restrictions on women.
BUT first ... on the way ... we had a 4 hour lay over in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So of course there were scavenges to be done. And Ben wanted the money shot in front of the Petronas towers.
I usually don't love this leg of the trip - the middle eastern section. Many of these countries seem so over-the-top ostentatious. Abu Dhabi is no different, but it does have a certain elegant flair to go with the we-can-buy-anything-we-want-because-we-are-just-that-rich philosophy. Like cappuccino served with pure gold flakes (really???). Naturally we had to try one. It tasted exactly like regular cappuccino, but at three times the cost.
And how about this ... ice skating ... in the desert, in 100+ degree weather.
This week is the world championship competition for Jui-Jitsu. We went to see it and caught some bouts of the youth competitors. Quite a lot of excitement and fan participation.
We also visited the Sheik Zayed mosque, which is considered the grandest (and largest) mosque in the United Arab Emirates. It is a doozy. And very beautiful.
It can hold up to 40,000 worshipers and was built in the last decade. But the sheik used ancient craftmanship, including pietra dura (the art of inlaid semi-precious stones to create a pattern used on the Taj Mahal), to create a much older vibe.
There are LOTS of rules at the mosque. First, I had to put on the full burka to enter the grounds.
Then, when me and the boys posed for this photo, we got yelled at by security because they put their arms on me and no touching is allowed. The guard did not make us delete the photo ... but it was clear he had the evil eye on us from then on.
Also, apparently no dance moves of any kind are allowed (or at least that's the best we could come up with to explain this sign).
Observation: Forget the full burka (of course we saw lots of those). In Abu Dhabi, we also saw women dressed in the full black PLUS a golden mustache type contraption that covers their mouth. To what part of modesty does that relate?
Day 2 in Abu Dhabi found us - in the early morning - at the fish market, which was incredibly clean and organized despite the horrific smell.
And then we went to Dubai for the day to snap photos in front of the tallest building in the world, the Burg Khalifa
And ride a wooden boat abda across the Dubai river
But the highlight of the trip ... by far ... was having tea at my dear friend Sonia's house in Dubai. How great is that? My friend from boarding school in England (36 years ago) now lives in Dubai and had us over for a visit. It was so great to see her and to have both of my boys there.
Observation: How about this for odd? In Abu Dhabi, they have ATM-like machines which dispense gold bars. You put your credit card in, select the size and weight of gold ingot that you want, and out it comes. Plus a great name "Gold to Go." Only here !!!
Or how about the biggest gold ring in the world... yup... we saw it up close and personal at the Dubai Gold Souk. Now that is a RING.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing your amazing adventures.
Hi Guys - just want to let you know that a lot of the students at POHS as well as teachers are following Jordan's adventures. We can't wait to hear all about it upon his return! :D
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