Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: December 9- December 17, 2008

If you build it, they will come! And oh is this so true in Dubai. The best way to describe Dubai is one huge construction zone! There is literally building taking place on every street! I have never seen so many construction cranes in one place before!

Dubai has pretty much everything that you would want. From an indoor ski slope to an artificial palm shaped island, to the worlds tallest building(under construction) to camel racing... you can find it all in Dubai. And only a short drive from Dubai, you are out in the middle of the desert. Dubai is unreal, literally and figuratively. It is fascinating to see a mosque on one corner and on the other is the Mall of the Emirates which is where Ski Dubai is. its like the emirates want to preserve their Muslim culture, but love the Wests' materialism. Very very interesting to say the least. Dubai has also been affected by the world financial crisis. There are some buildings that are half completed with construction cranes still in place, but no one working.

While in Dubai, I got the chance to meet up with some of my Norwegian friends and watch another one of our Norwegian friends play in the European Ladies Tour Championship in Dubai. This tour was also the legendary Annika Sorenstam's last tournament before retirement. She is the equivalent to the Tiger Woods of women's golf. It was really cool to watch a legend play, and even see her make a birdie put!

Henrik and I went skiing in Dubai too! Both of us were kind of skeptical about skiing at Ski Dubai, but were pleasantly surprised that it was not that bad. It took us about 10 seconds to get from top to bottom, but we really enjoyed ourselves. We worn the tacky snow suits provided to us and tested the less than par rental gear to its limits.

One night Henrik and I headed out to Atlantis, which is out on the fake palm island. Atlantis cost around $1.5 billion to build. With the financial crisis, they are having around 70% vacancy. The average room costs $2500 a night, spendy! Atlantis was pretty spectacular. In the middle of it, there is a 11 million liter fish tank, with over 150 species of fish. The final night we were in Dubai we headed out for a desert Safari, which included 4x4ing in the desert, watching the sun set, camel riding and an Arabian dinner. Our driver was crazy. Before we started on the dune, our driver started playing the AC/DC songs "Back in Black" followed by "Hell's Bells", so we knew it was going to be an exciting ride. Four Wheeling was so much fun!

Dubai was a very interesting place. It would be interesting to see what Dubai looks like in 5 years from now. With plans to build 2 more palm islands, artificial islands that look like the world, an 75km canal into the desert, Dubailand and another larger in door ski slope, I can imagine it will look a lot different than it did in 2008! I am glad I got the chance to see the "circus in the desert"!

Arabian Dinner out in the desert

Four Wheeling in the Desert

Camels at sunset in the desert

The Entourage out in the middle of the desert

My ride

Henrik, Petter and I

Petter, Marriann and Henrik

The New Dubai Skyline

European Ladies tour Championship

Riding a Camel in the Desert, the camel was not very happy to say the least

Ski Dubai!!

Bottom of Ski Dubai

Henrik and I going on the "experts only" lift!

Top looking down

The Seychelles Islands

The Seychelles Islands: November 29- December 9 2008

Welcome to the Seychelles Islands! Like the picture says above, the Seychelles are "Another World". This becomes very apparent the moment you step off the plane and walk across the tarmac into the terminal building. For those of you who need a geography lesson to know where the Seychelles Islands are... first find the country of Tanzania on the East coast of Africa(right below Kenya) and then draw a line 1,000 miles straight out into the Indian Ocean and you will find the Seychelles. The Seychelles Islands are made of up a 115 archipelago like islands, with the largest, most populous, and capital being found on the island of Mahe. Over 1/3 of the countries population of 85,000, live in the capital city of Victoria. The Seychelles Islands are a relatively new country, having only gained their independence from England in 1976. Now you have had your geography/ history lesson for the day, let me tell you a little more about my time in this tropical paradise.

The only place that I could compare the Seychelles Islands to would be Hawaii, but with fewer tourists and a much more pristine landscape. As I drove from the airport I was awestruck with how dense the vegetation was. Everything was so green! It seemed like there was fruit growing on almost every tree. I ate some of the best papaya and mango's I have ever had in the Seychelles. When arrived at my hotel, in the Beau Villon beach area, I headed straight for the beach, and spent most of my time in the Seychelles at the beach, enjoying the great 85 degree sunny weather : ) The marine life in the Seychelles was absolutely stunning. Snorkeling and Scuba diving was really cool and I saw a lot of different marine life that I had never seen before. I saw lots of the typical tropical looking fish, lobster, sea turtles and even some small black tip reef sharks. Its much different swimming in water that is 70 degrees instead of the chilly Puget Sound!

For the first time on my trip, I felt very isolated from the outside world. My blackberry didn't work for the first time on my trip, and the once place that had computers with internet you could use; the internet worked only half the time. I mean lets face it, I was out in the middle of the India Ocean. Although I was isolated from the outside world, it quickly got use to island life and enjoyed being dis attached from the happenings of the world! I can see why people visit the Seychelles, to get away from from it all. There is something to be said about sitting on a beach and literally having no worries! While sitting on a beach one day while listening to Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney and Bob Marley(all were on constant repeat on my Ipod), I realized that I was literally half way around the world from Seattle. I never thought about that before, but it was interesting to think about. If I went East or West I was about equal distance from home. Crazy to think about! The Seychelles were the last place that i thought I would meet any Americans. Boy was I wrong! It just so happened that the day I arrived, so did the American Destroyer the USS Roosevelt. There were a lot of "thirsty" American Sailors around Mahe while I was there. The Roosevelt had been out at sea for around 80 days "hunting pirates" as the sailors said. I even met some sailors who had been previously stationed at NAS Whidbey and Everett. It was nice to talk with people who knew about the Northwest.

The people in the Seychelles, the "Seychellia", are extremely friendly and nice. Their native language is Creole, but everyone speaks English which was nice.I would describe them as a free spirited people enjoying island life. The phrase "No Worries Man" is alive and well in the Seychelles!!! They would rather enjoy their cold beer on the beach then worry about making the mortgage payment. This was great to see people like that. There were definitely some who were living the 'island spirit' a little more than others! Even though the Seychellia are a relatively poor people(the average monthly income is about $600 U.S.) they take really good care of what they have. They really respect the environment that they live in, and realize that if they pollute their country, there isn't anywhere else they can go.

I spent a day touring around Mahe and saw many different beaches that I would have loved to just sit on for the whole day. At one beach we stopped at, there were sea turtles coming up and laying their eggs! Another day I took another tour to the islands of Praslin and La Digue(the second and third most populous islands in the Seychelles with 15,000 and 7,000 people) On Praslin I visited a beach that has been rated as one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. There is definitely not a shortage of beautiful beaches in the Seychelles!

Being in the Seychelles Islands really was like being in "another world". If you want to get away from it all, head to the Seychelles to experience paradise!

Port at Praslin

Rated as one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world

Old French Colonial house on La Digue with white horses grazing

Local school kids

Giant, non poisonous spider. They were everywhere on Mahe

Tour guide for the day Alan and his mini bus

Drew Seychelles 2008

View from Beau Villon Beach where I stayed in the Seychelles

Another view of Beau Villon Beach

Egypt

Egypt: November 19-28, 2008





Please note: I accidentally formatted the memory card on my camera, and have lost almost all my pictures from Egypt, including the Pyramids, Sphinx and Nile. That is why I have only a few pictures from Egypt.





Welcome to Cairo, also known as the city that never sleeps!





Egypt was the first Muslim country that I have visited before, and I experienced many things I had never experienced before.



I arrived in Cairo on a Wednesday evening. I was greeted at the airport by the "Tourist Police" who carried AK-47s. At first I was a little alarmed, but then realized that they were there for my protection. On the ride to my hotel in downtown Cairo, I was amazed at how the Egyptians drove. Most all the cars on the road in Cairo would be considered 'beaters' by anyone from the West. I was amazed that almost everyone drove without lights on at night, and used their car horn and high beams to communicate with each other. Lane travel was also interesting. There might be 3 lanes on the road going one direction, but those 3 lanes often turned into 5 or 6. It was just simply amazing to watch people drive. When I arrived at my hotel, I was once again surprised by the amount of security. Before we could even get to the front of the hotel, the van was searched and a bomb sniffing German Shepard was used to sniff for explosives. At the entrance to the hotel lobby, you were required to go through a metal detector. At first I thought it was all a little over kill, but then when the world was shocked by the terrorist attacks in India, I was very thankful for all the security at the hotel.



My first full day in Cairo I met up with my tour group. I was definitely one of the youngest people on the tour, the only younger people were an Asian family who had 3 boys in their late teens. The first day I connect up with Francis and Debbie from Australia and Joann, Pedro and Julie from the U.S. We were on the same bus together and we spent a lot of time touring around with each other at the different sites. They were great and it was great to meet some nice people right off the bat! I am looking forward to visiting Francis and Debbie when I get to Australia.



The first day was spent seeing the Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx and at night my tour group went to a light show out at the Pyramids and Sphinx. The Giza Pyramids are as spectacular as they look in pictures. The middle pyramid(Khafre) even has a entrance that you can go into. So of coarse I did! It was really hot and stuffy inside, but well worth the experience. At all the major tourist places, there are more of the "Tourist Police" along with Egyptians trying to sell you a bunch of cheap tourist items. It got quite annoying to be hassled all the time by these guys. But it was entertaining to watch them bug other tourists. What also struck me while touring around Cairo, was how poor of a country Egypt is compared to the States and Europe. Although Egypt is considered better than most parts of Africa and the Middle East. I was surprised by the amount of slummy neighborhoods. I saw a dead cow 'floating' in a canal the first day. The only thing I can compare the slummy neighborhoods and apartment buildings in Cairo to, is the projects in the States, but 10 times worse. The buildings were made of brick and they always seemed to be building on top of one another, it seemed construction was never complete. Even though everyone building seemed in shambles, every apartment seemed to have a satellite dish. What was also very different is to see women totally covered. Some wore the traditional headdress while others wore burkas, at the same time the men just wore 'normal' clothes; shirt and pants... very interesting. It was also interesting to hear prayers coming from the Mosques. Muslims pray 5 times a day, and there would be the call to prayer coming from the mosques at those different times. If you have ever seen opening scene from the movie "Blackhawk Down" with the music prayer, that is exactly what it sounds like in Egypt. You would know what time it was when the call to prayer started. I feel I gained a greater understanding of the the Muslim religion and culture. My last day in Cairo, I in fact even got to go into a Mosque, the Citadel. This was a very interesting experience and I am so grateful that I was able to be inside of a Mosque. Our tour guide, Abdu (who was a wonderful guide) explained to us about the Muslim religion while we sat inside the Citadel. I don't think there could have been a better setting to learn about Islam.



During my tour we cruised up the Nile River for 4 days from Luxor to Aswan. This was really cool! We would cruise and stop and tour different temples. All of the Egyptian Temples were very different from one another. One night we went to a temple in the evening. It was very cool to see the temple lit up by lights. Seeing all of the different things that the Egyptians build, is kind of like being in Rome and seeing what the Romans built. You begin to realize how technologically advanced the Egyptian civilization was for its time. When you see the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, and temples you being to realize how great of a society the Egyptians lived in and created. When you compare it to where Egypt is today, you can't help but realize how far great empires can tumble. One night while cruising up the Nile, everyone dressed up as Egyptians. For dinner we ate traditional Egyptian food. It was delicious. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dressed up and I think everyone had a lot of fun! The Valley of the King's was also really interesting. While we were there, another tomb had been discovered and it was in the process of being excavated.



I really enjoyed my time in Egypt. It was an eye opening experience being in a Muslim country, but after a couple days I grew some what accustomed to the way of life. I would really encourage everyone to visit Egypt. I think you will be pleasantly surprised on how interesting of a country it is!


The Nile River




Egyptian dress up night on the boat, Francis, me and Pedro.




Valley of the Kings



The Citadel Mosque in Cairo with the 'group' from my tour

View over Cairo

In front of the Citadel in Cairo

Austria

The next stop on my trip was Innsbruck Austria. The Austrian Tirol (Region of the Alps) was very different than the Berner Oberland and Swiss Alps. The Austrian Alps were not was dramatic as the Swiss Alps, however they were still very beautful.

Innsbruck was the host city of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. The only thing that remains from both of the Olympics is the where the Olympic flames were held, the Olympic rings, Ice center and Downhill coarse. The Original Ski Jump was torn down and replaced in 2000 by a beautiful new facility. In fact when I visited the ski jump, the Norwegian National Ski Jump Team was there practicing. I got to watch them practice which was really cool, and even got to meet a few of them and speak some Norwegian!

The next stop in Austria was Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart and the home of the movie "The Sound of Music".

Salzburg was a very cool city with lots of focus put on being the birthplace of Mozart. If you are a classical music lover, then Salzburg is the place for you. With many different concerts every night, you have many to choose from. I did not go to any, but some people in my hostel went to some, and seemed to enjoy them.

If any of you have seen the movie "The Sound of Music" you know that the Von Trapp family were from Salzburg. I was the typical tourist and went on the Original Sound of Music Tour. It was actually really fun and I saw the Austrian country side. During the bus ride everyone sang along to the sound of music songs, it was just alot of fun! The " Hills were alive with the sound of music!"



Salzburg





Innsbruck