The end...or maybe the beginning.

For me, visiting a new city and definitely a new country is completely terrifying but at the same time completely exhilarating. I have not found anything like the experience that boosts my anxiety but fuels my  happiness at the same time. For example, I am afraid of heights and elevators but I do not get any pleasure or sense of achievement from cramping myself in a tiny lift and heading 50 stories up a tall building. When I travel somewhere new however, especially somewhere completely unlike where I have been before, I feel invigorated. Deep down I am screaming with delight, even when I am trying to be calm and collected. Traveling can be definitely be addicting and there is a downside to this addiction.  Although I miss South Dakota, I know now that I won’t be satisfied there, at least this is how I feel now. I want to keep moving, seeing, learning. My sister Taryn recommended a book to me recently. Wanderlust is a story of a girl with the “lust” for travel. There are a few quotes in the book that remind me of my taste of travel so far. “Traveling makes men wiser, but less happy…..To have imagination is inevitably to be dissatisfied with where you live.”

There are some things I have not mentioned about my trip to the UAE yet.  Emirates palace is a 7 star hotel located in Abu Dhabi. If you have seen some of the pictures I have posted already, just look for gold-tinted scenes and it is probably of us at Emirates Palace. There were even real bits of gold on our cakes and cappuccinos!

Some of the best views of Abu Dhabi I had experienced were at the revolving restaurant.  Once you sat down you realized you were moving in a circular direction which didn’t help my motion sickness. Overall though, the food was delicious and the view made the experience worth it.

Harvey's dad Gerry eating at the revolving restaurant.

Saying goodbye to my “New Year” trip was difficult. I knew I had a long journey ahead of me and I also knew when I arrived back in England I would be awaiting University and cold and rainy weather. January marks 6 months of living in Southampton and while the days have disappeared unbelievably fast, I am already imagining my next step. I believe some of it is my urge to graduate. I dream of the day when the world opens up to me and I am not tied to Black Hills State or South Dakota or even America. A part might be that I know I am leaving and it is harder to stay when you know you are going to leave.  Whatever it is, with the time dwindling down there is still much for me to see.

Paris is essential. I will visit France before I leave England. I am also very keen on heading to Stockholm where my good friend Elli originates. I want to visit Scotland and Ireland. I would love to go somewhere in Italy or Greece. I also have much more of England to see. I still want to visit Bath, Manchester, and Liverpool. I need to go to London again..because I miss London! Only 5-6 months left here, the halfway mark has passed!

Me eating coldstone for the first time in 6 months!

Riding along the corniche

Dubai

Dubai

On Wednesday morning we headed to the club to have breakfast while Karen had a tennis lesson. After, we headed to Dubai.

Dubai is only 45 minutes from Abu Dhabi by car. From the moment we arrived in Dubai I was astonished. According to Karen, Dubai contains more of a younger crowd than Abu Dhabi. There are more bars and the people are much more liberal. The first stop we made was to a Souk which is a marketplace of sorts. We had to cross the ocean on abra boat to get to the Souk. There were lots of clothing, scarves, and other items you can buy from the marketplace. I bought some postcards and a pair of red shoes (Gerry haggled from 120 dirham’s down to 70 dirham’s!) from the Souk.

After the marketplace, we headed to the Dubai mall which is right next to the Burj Khalifa (world’s tallest building). The mall was amazing but by the time we arrived, we were starving. We headed to the food court and I searched everywhere for the Taco Bell that I had heard was there. In the end, I couldn’t find it and we settled for another taco place.

 After reviving ourselves with some food we headed outside to take pictures of the Khalifa. The world’s tallest building was quite impressive. I mean, it’s the world’s tallest building. And…Tom Cruise jumped off of in the newest Mission impossible. J. At 6pm, there is a light and fountain show at the base of the Burj Khalifa.

Harvey’s friend Christian lives in Dubai and picked us up from the mall around 615. We headed to his apartment that is around the marina. Christian lives on the 26^th floor of his building and it was not until I got up there did I realize how afraid of heights I was. My knees were knocking!  The view from his balcony was incredible.

After a drink, we headed to a bar called the barista for supper. Harvey had a seafood pizza (crab, shrimp, kalamari) while I had a beef pizza. After, we headed to the main part of the bar to have shisha (hooka). Grape and mint!

We met up with the rest of the family (Grace, James, Gerry, Karen) at a restaurant next to the Burj Al Arab which is a seven star hotel in Dubai. 7 stars out of 5, crazy! Apparently, having afternoon tea at the Al Arab will set you back about 70 pounds or 120ish dollars. The only other 7 star hotel is the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi which we are visiting on Sunday.

Dubai was in short, an enormously great experience. It ended as quickly as it started and I am determined to go back someday.

Grand Mosque and Yas Island circuit

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

On Tuesday morning Grace, James, Harvey, and I visited the Grand Mosque. We had driven by the mosque every time we went to the club so I was enormously excited to catch a tour.

There are only 2 mosques in which non-Muslims are able to visit. As I had heard many times from tour guides, the grand mosque is “not only a place of religious worship but also a learning experience.” It is a way for people to better understand the Muslim religion. The word unbelievable does not even do it justice. As you step inside the mosque, women are shown to a dressing room because burkhas must be worn inside the mosque. The burkha is made out of light material and covers the entire body and hair.  If a man is wearing shorts, they are to put on a dishdasha which is the long white collarless gown.  Harvey’s shorts were long enough but James was told to put on a dishdasha.

I learned many things about the Muslim religion from the tour. The religion requires 5 prayer times a day. The prayer times are determined by the sun and moons rotation. There were many clocks in the mosque that stated the specific time.  Women and men do not pray together. There is a special room for women to pray so that they are not a distraction from the men. Men are supposed to go to a mosque each time they pray but women can pray at home.

The entire mosque is made of white marble. The gold parts on the mosque are just that, 24 carat gold leaf. There are 82 domes on the mosque and inside the main dome holds the largest chandelier in the world. The carpet in the mosque is the largest one piece of carpet in the world and was made by 1,200 Iranian women.  It took them 2 years. The Mosque’s 1,000 columns in its outer areas have more than 20,000 marble panels inlaid with semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and mother of pearl.  The 96 columns in the main prayer hall are round in shape and inlaid with mother of pearl.

Yas Island Marina Circuit

On Tuesday night we headed to Yas Island to bike and run along the Marina Circuit. You have probably heard of Formula One racing. The first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix took place in November 2009. It was Formula One’s first ever day-night race. I can’t lie and tell you that racing is my favorite sport, but running along a massive and beautiful 5k racing track was exhilarating. I biked around the 3 mile track twice, and then Harvey and I walked halfway around the circuit and ran the rest.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

I did not know what to expect before I arrived in Abu Dhabi. Truthfully, I had not even heard of it or had any idea where it is located until I met Harvey. He had told me that I needed to wear conservative clothing, that drinking in public could get you deported, and other stories that made me wary of visiting. After spending just a day here, I realized how lucky I am to visit this amazing place.

To give you a bit of history, Abu Dhabi is located in the UAE. UAE stands for United Arab Emirates and is located on an island. There are 7 emirates that make up the UAE although Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the most populated. UAE nationals make up just 20% where the other 80% of people here are foreign.  Abu Dhabi was a pearling industry before the 1930’s when oil exploration began and a potential oil field was found here. The United Arab Emirates formed in December, 1971 after Britain decided to leave the country in 1966 and the ruler, Sheikh Zayed, saw the opportunity to become independent. Since the 40 year anniversary of the UAE was this year, houses around Abu Dhabi are covered in the UAE flag. Abu Dhabi nationals are also very loyal to Sheikh Zayed who died in 2004.

The first time I went to the British club, Gerry showed me pictures of the club before it became “the club.” Just 40-45 years ago, the club was only a hut surrounded by sand with a few men in front of it. Now, it is a full service facility with a pool, restaurants, gym, tennis courts, etc. In 40 years Abu Dhabi has completely changed from a small desert city to an industrial and economic giant. It is truly astonishing.

The nationals here have a lot of money. Well, more than a lot, they have a stupid amount of money. The nationals drive beyond amazing cars. They have boats. The Sheikhs, or royal family of Abu Dhabi, have more money than they can spend. They have palaces. Really large palaces.

Abu Dhabi is very westernized. In the grocery store at the villa where Harvey’s dad lives, there are many American and British products. Mostly though, it is mostly American. The roads basically the same as they are in America. There is Subway, Coldstone, Mcdonalds, Popeyes, KFC, etc. There is also Taco Bell in some places, but I have not been lucky enough to find one yet.

Christmas and New Year

Hello everyone! Christmas has come and gone and felt like a moment instead of a day. Harvey and I spent Christmas at his sisters surrounded by family, food, and drinks. We headed back to our apartment on boxing day (day after Christmas) and quickly got ready for our trip to Abu Dhabi.

We headed to London around 8:30 the night of the 29^th and stayed at the Ibis. Our flight for Abu Dhabi was scheduled to leave at 8 am on the 30^th so we left the hotel at 5am that morning. We flew Qatar airways and arrived in Abu Dhabi exhausted at 11pm that night.  Since the 31^st was the first day we spent in Abu Dhabi, we needed to go to the British Club and become members for the New Year’s party that night. Harvey’s Dad Gerry and his wife Karen have lived in Abu Dhabi for 4 or 5 years. Their favorite hangout spot in Abu Dhabi is the British Club. You are not allowed to drink publicly in Abu Dhabi and you have to have a license to drink in your own home here. There is absolutely zero tolerance to drunk driving. Most of the places you are allowed to drink are hotels that have licenses. They will have restaurants and bars. The British club is a safe place to drink, wear a bikini, and let your hair down. We got our memberships that afternoon and came back to Gerry’s and Karen’s home to start getting ready for the party.

The New Year’s party started at 8 and ended at 4 in the morning. I was apprehensive about this because staying up until 4am drinking and eating sounds appealing, but for me, is not an easy task. The dress code was fancy, with many women in ball gowns and men in suits. We arrived at the club around 8 and were welcomed into a champagne reception. The view at the club is beautiful. It has its own part of the beach and has a view of the skyline. We settled in to eat at 9pm. There were approximately 500 people at the New year’s party, but they had food to feed a thousand. There was a starter buffet which had pate’, shrimp, an assortment of cheese, smoked salmon, oysters, etc. I tried my first oyster and was pleasantly surprised. It was tasty! The main buffet was lamb, the best prime rib Harvey had ever tasted, the best turkey I had ever tasted, and cooked salmon. There were more choices of vegetables than I could imagine to eat. The picture below was of the dessert table. I mean, seriously? Delicious!!

 

We drank and ate and 12pm came unbelievably fast. We rang in the New Year with cheek kisses and a firework show. We danced the night away until 3am when we were served a hearty breakfast. We left the party at 4amtired but satisfied. It was the best “New Year” I have ever had.