We had some kind of yucky weather while my parents were visiting. The temperatures weren't too bad, but the wind and dusty air gave them another kind of Middle Eastern weather experience. My mom really wanted to see some camels while they were here, and as that is one of my favorite things about living here, I wanted her to see them too, but I was also hoping for a more up close and personal camel experience...
We both got our wishes! This is Samel the camel, and they got to have their ride in the middle of a huge sandstorm!
We also drove out by the camel racetrack and saw thousands of camels being taken to and from the track for their workouts. Our favorite moment was when we were stopped on the side of the road taking pictures of the little groups of camels with their riders, and one of the riders took a picture of us taking a picture of him.
We went down to the old part of Dubai one afternoon and visited the spice souq, the gold souq and for lack of a better description, the souvenir souq:) We rode the abras across the creek for a dirham (about 30 cents) each and walked past all the cargo boats, and their piles of goods that are just stacked on the sidewalks. No one steals anything. Crazy.
And of course, we went to the top of the tallest building in the world- and even from the observation deck on the 124th floor, there was lots of building left. I believe it has more than 150 floors.
Finley didn't get to have this adventure with us - I worried about her in the super fast elevator where your ears pop at least three times as you ascend and descend. Will was pretty excited for this adventure though - finding the Burj Khalifa is one of his favorite things to do as we drive around Dubai.
This picture shows how many of our trips with Will were - he couldn't hold still long enough to be captured on film.
Before we came to Dubai, someone told us there were literal gold bar vending machines. Turns out they weren't lying after all. You can buy one ounce or various sizes of gold bars for a few thousand dirhams... We didn't try it to see what they looked like though.
My mom did brave one of the stalls in the gold souq when she saw a ring she really liked, but even with the "very good deal" the salesman offered, it was a bit more than she was willing to spend to commemorate her trip.
We drove out to Hatta to see the mountains, and some old forts, and they got to cross through a little bit of Oman.
And in no particular order, here are more photos of our abra ride, and the souvenir souq. Finley did a fantastic job in the baby carrier - it's like a sleeping pill for her; she falls asleep within minutes of being strapped in, and stays asleep until I take her out when we get home! My dad was a trooper about carrying the diaper bag most everywhere we went, so thanks Dad! And we went to the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding for an Arabic breakfast of dates, some vermicelli & egg pasta thing, some fried dough with date syrup and some flat bread, along with a question and answer session with Nasif and Mohammed. It was entertaining - Nasif had quite a sense of humor about many of the stereotypes, and the food was pretty good too. I didn't get any good pictures of that experience though, so these will have to suffice for our cultural experience!
We had some kind of yucky weather while my parents were visiting. The temperatures weren't too bad, but the wind and dusty air gave them another kind of Middle Eastern weather experience. My mom really wanted to see some camels while they were here, and as that is one of my favorite things about living here, I wanted her to see them too, but I was also hoping for a more up close and personal camel experience...
We both got our wishes! This is Samel the camel, and they got to have their ride in the middle of a huge sandstorm!
We also drove out by the camel racetrack and saw thousands of camels being taken to and from the track for their workouts. Our favorite moment was when we were stopped on the side of the road taking pictures of the little groups of camels with their riders, and one of the riders took a picture of us taking a picture of him.
We went down to the old part of Dubai one afternoon and visited the spice souq, the gold souq and for lack of a better description, the souvenir souq:) We rode the abras across the creek for a dirham (about 30 cents) each and walked past all the cargo boats, and their piles of goods that are just stacked on the sidewalks. No one steals anything. Crazy.
And of course, we went to the top of the tallest building in the world- and even from the observation deck on the 124th floor, there was lots of building left. I believe it has more than 150 floors. 
Finley didn't get to have this adventure with us - I worried about her in the super fast elevator where your ears pop at least three times as you ascend and descend. Will was pretty excited for this adventure though - finding the Burj Khalifa is one of his favorite things to do as we drive around Dubai.
This picture shows how many of our trips with Will were - he couldn't hold still long enough to be captured on film.
Before we came to Dubai, someone told us there were literal gold bar vending machines. Turns out they weren't lying after all. You can buy one ounce or various sizes of gold bars for a few thousand dirhams... We didn't try it to see what they looked like though.
My mom did brave one of the stalls in the gold souq when she saw a ring she really liked, but even with the "very good deal" the salesman offered, it was a bit more than she was willing to spend to commemorate her trip.
We drove out to Hatta to see the mountains, and some old forts, and they got to cross through a little bit of Oman. 
And in no particular order, here are more photos of our abra ride, and the souvenir souq. Finley did a fantastic job in the baby carrier - it's like a sleeping pill for her; she falls asleep within minutes of being strapped in, and stays asleep until I take her out when we get home! My dad was a trooper about carrying the diaper bag most everywhere we went, so thanks Dad! And we went to the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding for an Arabic breakfast of dates, some vermicelli & egg pasta thing, some fried dough with date syrup and some flat bread, along with a question and answer session with Nasif and Mohammed. It was entertaining - Nasif had quite a sense of humor about many of the stereotypes, and the food was pretty good too. I didn't get any good pictures of that experience though, so these will have to suffice for our cultural experience!
3 comments:
I think it looks like so much fun! I am glad that your family gets to visit :)
it looks so fun ... i wish i'd been there with them!
Look at the wonderful adventures you are having!!! So glad your parents made it there.
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