New Friends

Notice anything strange here?

Ok, how about now?

Yep, you got it. Bruce is walking with a cane. 

He always said that one day, when he’s old and gray, he’ll carry a cane around just so he can “shake it at small children.” [Note to self: be careful what you wish for.] He picked it up at a local pharmacy on Friday, and it’s the only way he’s managed to get around these last couple days.

And we have been getting around. In fact, we’re on our third hotel now. We moved into the Lotus Grand several nights ago and made friends with the hotel staff who clean our room -- two young guys from India who speak perfect English. We keep running into them in the elevator. And last night, they left a “surprise” on our bed. The note read: “Have a nice stay with Bibim & Marvin.” ;-)

Downtown

It was a good weekend, although most of it was spent in the car. Bruce and I drove all over downtown, admiring the most modern, clean, fresh, and spacious city I have ever seen. There was no litter or graffiti anywhere, and its spectacular buildings and brand new high-rises were so generously laid out.

The city was absolutely stunning at night, too, with its dazzling skyscrapers and abundant palm trees wrapped in lights. I just couldn’t get enough of it. Hopefully we’ll be back next weekend... to visit the world’s largest shopping mall and to experience a view from the tallest tower on earth.

Bur Dubai

Bruce felt well enough to venture out last night, so he drove us to Bur Dubai, the city's historic district, in hopes of eating here:

The kitchen was closed due to repairs. (Apparently, Basta is pretty popular around here, so we are making plans to go back.)


Then after checking out the restaurant next door, I decided I wasn't in the mood for camel. No, I'm not joking. It was all that was on the menu. Bruce was willing to give it a try. But it didn't matter to me how many different ways they could serve up a "camel burger" or "camel soup," I just wasn't interested. Our surroundings happened to be of much more interest to me.

We finally decided on good ol' fashioned pizza at Sarpino's Pizzeria by the Arabian Courtyard...

...where we could peer through our window at the Dubai Museum across the street...

 ...and play around with our camera some. ;-)

Revolution

Some of you have expressed your concern for our safety, so we thought it necessary to take a moment to quell your fear. There's no need to worry about us here in the Middle East, 'cause we are "with the people." 

Really. 

In fact, here's a picture of us fomenting revolution "with the people":

(You can click here for the full story.)

Ok, just kidding. You know Bruce could never be part of a "Twitter Revolution." When was the last time he actually answered your email?

Actually, it’s been quite a challenge for him, but Bruce has been making an effort to keep off his feet ever since we landed. We’ve got our little SUV to get us around, so we haven’t had to ride the bus or take the metro.

But there’s been no sign of improvement -- his knee is still badly swollen. Thankfully, he’s had some relief today, due to a capsicum patch and elastic bandage we picked up at the hypermarket this morning. 

[Thanks, LuLu. For the chicken samosas, mediterranean salad, spicy chickpeas, and Spanish black olives, too.]

Please pray for healing. Needless to say, we’ve put all plans and activities on hold on account of this injury. We had talked about a desert safari and a tour of the Burj Khalifa, but lately, this has been as far as our plans take us:

Day 5 and Jet Lagged

It's 70 degrees and beautiful here in Dubai, though I can't say that Bruce and I have had much chance to enjoy it yet. We've had kind of a rough start since we arrived... a result of jet lag, lack of caffeine (maybe), and a sprained knee.

The journey started with a 6-hour layover in DC. When we finally boarded, Bruce was suffering with a swollen knee that he thinks was a result of working out too hard last week. He rode business class while I sat in my window seat at the back of the plane. I was a good wife :-) and refused to trade him my cramped quarters even after he hobbled over to check on me and offer his seat a second time. 

It was a 13-hour flight from DC. I found it strange waking up to a sunrise outside our airplane window, and then, after drifting off again, waking up to discover a pitch black sky. I slept some, ate some, and read halfway through Jane Austen's Persuasion by the time we landed at 8pm (local time) Wednesday.

As we pulled out of the Dubai International Airport in our little, white Toyota RAV4…

…Bruce handed me a map, and I threw my navigation skills into high gear. Uh, no. Actually, I managed to make a few good guesses that dumped us out into Diera, where we were informed that the Royal Plaza (where we had originally planned to stay) was completely booked. So we checked into the Delmon Hotel down the street, slept in twin beds (since no rooms with doubles were available), and woke throughout the night to the noise of horns outside our window. (Apparently, drivers are incapable of concealing their road rage around here.)

It's now Monday. Bruce is still limping from his knee injury, and we still haven't been able to sleep through the night.

We've moved into the Flora Park Hotel. The flag of Oman (on the right) and the (green) flag of Saudi Arabia hang from our patio.

We're next door to the Diera City Centre (a mall with more than one Starbucks)!

And we are getting more familiar with the city. In fact, this might be our favorite "landmark" (she's been really hard to miss).

Recent Discoveries:

• The Arab weekend lasts Friday thru Saturday, so Sunday is the start of the workweek here (equivalent to our Monday).

• Dubai is truly a tourist "hotspot." In just this short time, we've observed nearly every nationality on earth.

• Both hotels required that we turn over our passports during check-in. We regained possession of them in the morning, but it was rather unnerving the first night we handed over our only assurance for admission back to the states!

• Neither hotel supplied hair conditioner. I suppose they don't believe in it over here.

• Not sure anyone even remotely understands the meaning of the words "share the road." We've witnessed very little common courtesy among drivers.

• Abiding by the Arab policy that forbids public displays of affection has proved to be more challenging than we thought. We've already forgotten ourselves on more than one occasion (and stolen a kiss or two in the elevator... shhh). ;-)

• Grocery stores are called "hypermarkets" (not supermarkets) out here. Seems almost appropriate, since our first trip to LuLu's Hypermarket was like maneuvering our way through a Walmart on Black Friday. LuLu's packaged a really good Greek salad and a great spicy hummus, by the way.

• Rachel can actually subsist on raw almonds, raw cashews, and Ramen. Yes, Ramen. But only when she's sick, and both she and her poor, crippled husband lack the energy to venture onto the streets of a foreign city in search of real food.
• In light of the current political unrest in neighboring countries, we appreciated this recent blog post by John Piper. Please remember the Middle East in your prayers!