United Arab Emirates (and Oman)

A note on blogging: 

One of the fellowship administrators at the University of Washington mentioned in our orientation that most Bonderman travelers who blog do so less and less after about the three month mark. The competitive and obstinate side of me wanted to prove that I can outlast this standard and keep up my "work" with the same pace and intensity for the whole year. However, with more than two months five countries between blog posts it has become clear that my blogging process needs to evolve. Perhaps devolve is a better way to put it. Posts will hopefully still give some detail and context to my adventures but in shorter lists in fewer words. Shorter posts, I hope, will still be able to share my experiences with the people who care enough to wonder where I am and what I am up to and, let's face it, make them a bit less daunting to read. I am also happy to shift more time from writing into resting, talking, eating, listening, watching, feeling, reading, thinking, being, doing, and loving. Maybe I will be better at writing emails too. A big Thank You to everyone who takes the time to peek in on my life this year via blog and for the comments you share - it always amazes me to find out people are actually reading this but I am also glad for a medium that avoids the awkward, six hour travel-photo-slideshow-party when I get home. Love and blessings.

02.10.2013

• Another Bonder-flight, today from Sao Paulo to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Mostly uneventful: watched two movies, wrote blog notes, talked to a guy from Mumbai which is my next stop after the UAE. Discovered some new musical artists: The Editors, Gabrielle Aplin, Forro in the Dark, Laura Mvula, Lianne La Hava. Then, or course, the impromptu plane concert. A group of women from Nova Era Kotekitai, a music group with members from all over Brasil from an NGO, were traveling to an international conference in Japan and decided to give a short show for the passengers. One attendant said he has never seen anything like this in his nine years of flying. Blessings and surprises everywhere. I got to chat with a few of the women who gave me their cards and a lovely bracelet with the colors of the Brasilian flag. What a lovely way to say goodbye to Brasil.  
• Amazing views of the sandy city on arrival to an eerily empty airport. Like, empty! Got some cash, a bottle of apple juice, and waited for a bus to downtown. City from the bus is whitewashed in summer heat reflecting off the white, open expanses of earth between glass buildings. Got a taxi to my hotel. Realized it was the wrong hotel. Got another taxi to another hotel. Checked into my room with a wonderful view of the city. Changed rooms due to a lack of good internet service and gave up a bathtub in the process: sigh. Stayed up as long as I could and went to bed late after a very long travel day(s).  

03.10.2013

• Set an alarm for 8am to chat with Kevin. Was still tired after our call and went back to sleep without an alarm. Alarmed to wake up at 2:30 in the afternoon. I guess I do get jet lag. Got ready and stepped out for lunch. Was famished and went to the first restaurant I saw: an Indian restaurant where I ordered chicken korma. I have been holding out on Indian food until I actually get to India. Oh well. It was tasty and cheap. 
• Grabbed a taxi to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center arriving in time for the afternoon tour. Out guide was both humorous and informative giving information about the mosque and Islamic practice. He said I made him nervous when I was taking notes and asked if I was writing an article and I assured him it was just a personal blog. I remembered a piece Kevin gave me to read by a photographer who said that one tour guide was annoyed with his note taking because people who take notes usually tip less than people who just take pictures. I do wonder sometimes how often people worry about all the things I write down - especially at restaurants where I might look like a lonely food critic. Maybe that's why I get such great service.
• It was one of the most beautiful spaces I have ever been to and I walked around the building after the tour enjoying the sun setting behind the minarets. It was magical and mystical, the rooted sense of spirituality blended with the remarkable show of financial force in the incredible architecture. A modern marvel if I have seen one. 
• Stopped at a Persian buffet on the way home for a very expensive (by UAE standards) but delicious assortment of Middle Eastern fare. Walk home to plan the next parts of my trip - a lot of logistics to figure out for the next week with no actual idea of what I am doing here. My original plan included seeing my friend Ahmed who lives in Abu Dhabi and whom I met on a train in Thailand last year. Alas, Ahmed is still on assignment in Libya. Missed connection but a new opportunity. 

04.10.2013

• A night unable to sleep is harder on a day when you know you can't nap. Reminded of getting home from Asia last year and falling asleep on my friend's couch at my coming home party in the middle of my friend telling a very emotional story about coming out to her family. "Am I boring you, Michael?" 
• Today started with a ride to Heritage Village which might have been interesting if all the exhibits weren't closed. It gave a bit of history to the region but was mostly replica work - more of a Disney history walk than museum. Walked half a mile back to a large mall where I arrive dripping in sweat in the 40 degree weather (104 F). Bought a refreshing drink and looked at shoes I am not going to buy and then got some groceries in a store beneath the mall. 
• Took a long bus ride home past the palace and more large images of the Sheikh whose face appears in most hotels and restaurants besides the occasional billboard or poster. Stop at my hotel to grab my bags. Quick walk over to the bus station and onto a bus to Dubai. Arrived and transferred to another bus to Sharjah, another of the Emirates (which are something like states but the size of large, sprawling cities). Took a while to get a taxi who was willing to drive me the short distance to my hotel where I eventually checked in after another long day of travel. The pace of the past week plus jet lag is finally getting to me. 13 days, 7 cities in 7 different regions of 3 different countries on 2 continents. Time for bed. #EmpathyForMichelleDesmond.

05.10.2013

• Breakfast downstairs in my hotel where they are far too generous to me. Caught a bus into Dubai and then the metro into downtown. Met a nice guy on the metro train (which is sparking clean) who pointed to the no-food-or-drinks sign as I opened my tea warning me of the substantial fine if I was caught. 
• Got off the metro at Dubai Mall and walked through the covered walkway to arrive at the entrance where sat a tour agency. I browsed their book, made a couple of selections and made on with my day. 
• A quick walk through the mall and then got into a cab driven by Tito, a very chummy fellow from Egypt. He dropped me at the Dubai Museum housed in the Al Fahidi Fort, the oldest building in Dubai, built in 1787. Glad to be in a real museum which gave context to history, culture, commerce, infrastructure, environment, and many other things related to life in the UAE. Amazing to see how much this city has developed in the lat 40, 30, 20 years - from a mostly empty dessert to oil to the world's tallest building. 
• Walked through the Bastakiya area which is an older section of town reconstructed to look like another heritage area. Stopped at the Shiek Mohammad Center for Cultural Understanding which gives the visitor some information about Arab culture from clothing to religion and customs as well as arranging cultural exchange dinners which I will not be in town for, sadly. 
• I walked along the water and caught a water taxi to the old part of Dubai and its markets (souks) where merchants sell gold, fabrics, spices, and other goods. I bought a traditional red and white Keffiyeh, a headdress common to the Bedouin peoples and worn by many men in the UAE. I wandered the markets for a while and then stopped for lunch at a local joint - more Indian food. Oh well. It's hard to avoid in a country with as much as 30% Indian population. 
• Bought some candy and got back on the metro toward Dubai Mall where I wandered past the two story aquarium, ice skating rink, large "gold souk," "shoe land," and posters for Vogue Fashion Week in Duabi. Watched two showings of the fountains set to music a la the Bellagio in Las Vegas but with Middle Eastern music and flare. 
• Grabbed a light dinner and then lined up for the elevator ride to At The Top, the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building (2,717 feet / 163 floors). It was an impressive view over the darkened city. A digital viewing station gave options for a real-time view, a day-time image of the same area being scanned in the dark, or a 1980 image of the would-be view which showed, well, a whole lot of very little.  
• The last bus to Sharjah would not wait for me and I could not linger at the top. Made it with enough time to get the metro back to my bus where I talked with a guy from Kerala, India. Took a cab ride home for a quick shower and a chat with Kevin before bed. I suppose the long list of activities for the day would indicate that I have my normal level of energy back. Ahh.

06.10.2013

• Tour day! Pick up from my hotel by 8:30am in a van with two Germans and a Spaniard our our guide who is originally from Pakistan. We made the two hour drive to Oman along a desolate but beautiful landscape. My cohorts slept while I did Sudoku. We crossed the border without trouble and drove to the marina where we boarded a large Dour (traditional boat). A group of Russian tourists joined us and we departed for a beautiful sail on the bright blue water along the coastline, arriving at an inlet for an afternoon of swimming, snorkeling, and even a banana boat ride behind a motor boat. We ate lunch, drank tea, sunned on the deck, splashed in the water. I talked with our Pakistani guide a good part of the day when I wasn't diving from the side rails or swimming into shallow caves. On the way home we went out to sea a bit for some simple line fishing. I didn't catch anything but some folks had better luck. We trolled for a while watching flocks of birds diving in groups near our boat either leading us to a good fishing spot or picking off our potential catch. It was a long ride home and the sun on my skin sent me off to sleep. I arrived home with enough time for a nice bath (!!!) and an episode of True Blood on my computer (I'm getting caught up, Molly!). I am not really the "tour group" type (whatever that really means) but I am learning when signing up for a day tour makes for an easy and fun way to do something new and make a few new friends. A good day was had. 

07.10.2013

• How quickly a week-ish in the Emirates goes. I wake up and check out of my hotel and catch the bus/metro into the Ethiad Airlines central office in the city. I actually fly out of Abu Dhabi tonight but Ethiad has a great shuttle service from Dubai directly to the Abu Dhabi airport. Sadly, they did not have a luggage hold as I expected and would be checking bags now and carrying my computer around for the day. 
• Caught a cab down to the Burj Al Arab (the famous building that looks like a giant sail). Apparently, one needs long pants, a jacket, and a reservation to eat at the restaurant there, even for lunch. And, one needs a reservation or a business appointment to even enter the building. So, new plan. I took another cab to the Dubai Marina and had lunch at Lebanese restaurant on the harbour - a delicious hummus with pine nuts, puffed pita bread, pickles, and dips. Simple but filling and probably the best meal I have had here. 
• I lingered for a while before getting the metro back to Ethiad and boarding my bus to Abu Dhabi airport. Met a delightful stray cat along the way who was worthy of a blog photo. Last purchase before leaving this nation state: camel milk chocolate with orange and almonds. Delicious. The UAE has been a very different experience than anywhere else I have been and very different than my life back home. The amount of money being flashed around in impressive architecture and modern amenities and expensive advertisements pushing Dubai as the next Wold Expo city were sometimes overwhelming. The literature in my hotel room talking about appropriate behaviour for the respect and protection of traditional culture was sometimes off-putting especially given my position as a gay man. But I was also impressed with the sense of peace and openness and worldliness as well as the embracing of other cultures in the effort to preserve an Arab/UAE identity. There is a connection to history that seems so close to its modernity which honors the work that has gone into improving the standard of living for so many in the country. I just got a glimpse of this vibrant and rapidly growing nation and leave with more questions than concrete understanding but I certainly have a variety of impressions to stew over as I transition, yet again, to something starkly new. Onward Bonder-fellow.