Day 8 - Dubai (Halloween)

Dubai by night is much more than I ever could have anticipated. My cousin from San Fran (Raj) told me to reach out to one of his good friends here. I gave Alicia a call and met up with her and some of her crew at the Dubai marina. Headed to Chi Lodge for a halloween party...huge club with a great atmosphere as you can see from the pics. Great night and it was nice to check out the nightlife here, but I could have lived without the $8 Heinekens...oh well.

Dubai overall -- great place with a Las Vegas feel. In my 4 nights not once was I approachd by a beggar and all the locals were very helpful as I walked around and needed directions. Will plan to visit here again!

After waking up with a headache and scrambling to pack, I have a few hours before my next flight. Going to hit the streets to find a t-shirt and then its off to the airport. Next stop....Amman, Jordan.

Day 7 - Dubai

Keeping track of the day of the week is hard enough, but the day of the month...its going to be impossible. Walking out of the hotel a few minutes ago I saw a few young girls dressed as witches and it dawned on me that today is Halloween. Happy Halloween! Not so sure how they celebrate Halloween here, but I'll let you know soon...

About the desert safari...what a great afternoon! Went with a company called Oasis Palm who sent Rex, a Philipino guy who separated from his accounting job about 5 years ago to drive Land Cruisers in the desert bashing sand dunes...After some interesting conversation we picked up 4 Chinese people from the Marriott and we were off to the desert. 45 minutes later we found ourselves going up, down, sideways through the dunes in the endless desert...Little while later we met up with the rest of the convoy...40+ Land Cruisers packed with tourists. After everyone arrived it was back to dune bashing and time for sandboarding. Got to get a taste and it was easier than I thought. Will have to do a longer session next time! The sand is red, soft and it felt good to lose the sandals and sift sand between the toes. As we sat out in the desert and watched the sunset, I met Engdee (Andy) a solo traveler from Singapore and we quickly became picture buddies. After the sunset we were off to the campsite for a good barbeque dinner. As we arrived at the camp, I noticed a few camels and Andy and I quickly jumped on for a ride. The barbecue was good and feeling stuffed we migrated over to the shisha area. A few pulls later and I think I found a new favorite...very calming, relaxing, need I say more. Back to the table for the belly dancing show to close out the evening. I'm uploading the pictures now so take a look if you get a chance. I would recommend this to anyone who comes to Dubai, but its probably worth hiring your own car/driver with your group to really take in all of the activities....but still no complaints.

It was back to the hotel and time to get ready for an Indian Diwali Party...A friend from DC put me in touch with her cousin here who offered to take me around. After some good Indian food, plenty of drinks and good fun, I made it back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Its Friday evening here now and time for some apetizers/drinks at the club lounge and then a night of clubbing. No costume...but I don't think that should matter. Until next time!

Day 6 - Dubai

So I'm less than a week into the trip and I'm already losing track of days so the titles will start changing once I get totally confused. My first day was pretty low-key, got my room, crashed for a few hours and then hit the pool with some brochures from the concierge to figure out a game plan. Yesterday on the other hand....what a crazy city this place is. I got up at 8am to get an early start and I'm glad I did. Hopped on a tour bus for a beach tour with stops at the Jumeriah Mosque, Burj al Arab (7-star hotel), Jumeriah Beach, and a tour of the Palm Islands. The weather is unreal, about 88 degrees with absolutely no clouds in the sky....I think I can get used to this place. We also stopped at about 10 shopping malls and I got the sense that we didn't even hit all that this city had to offer. One of the corny tour jokes was that there is so much to "do" and "buy" in Dubai...ha! After the beach tour, I joined the city tour where I got to check out the Wafi (Egyptian themed shopping paradise), the Dubai Museum, Karama (Little India), the Gold Souk (market) along with a few other stops. Decided to try out some local flavor so I picked u some mixed kebabs (3 meats - chicken, lamb and ?) and sat on a bench overlooking creek to watch the sunset. Finished that up and jumped on a dhow tour on the creek for an hour and was beat. Came back to the hotel, killed some food/drinks in the club lounge and crashed. I got some good pics that I'll get uploaded soon. Anyways, its 3pm on Thursday here and I'm about to take off on my desert safari. Should be a good time!

Day 5 - Dubai

After getting caught in London traffic and barely making it to the aiport for my overnight flight to Dubai, I finally arrived. This place is unreal, a massive developed desert with perfect weather, 80 degrees right now. Circling the airport I think I got a glimpse of the world islands under construction but we were too low to be certain. Today is Diwali, Hindu Festival of Lights, typically spent with the family so its different to be on my own in an unknown place. I guess I got to get used to that since there is going to be a lot of solo time starting now. I'm waiting for my room at the Renaissance (gotta love points) and enjoying the luxuries of access to the club lounge. Time to figure out a plan for the next few days and I'll check in soon.

Day 4 - London

So my time in London has come to an end after three nights that flew by pretty fast. Between geting adjusted to the time difference and visits with all the cousins, I visited an unbelievable Hindhu temple (hand-carved marble!) and took in a couple of late nights checking out the London nightlife. I've done the tourist stuff in the past, so I didn't waste anytime there. Overall...it was a great weekend and am glad I got to see the family. Just finished packing up the backpack and am beginning to realize there is going to be a lot more to come. I pulled out some things that I won't need until Africa so the pack is a little lighter! Next stop...Middle East! Cheers.

Day 1 - London

So after a long overnight flight to London without any real sleep I made my way to my cousin Reema's place to get settled in. She lives right next to the North Ealing tube station which is going to make it easy to get around this huge city. Day 1 was pretty low-key given the jet-lag and overcast weather outside (standard for London). Lunch and a good Thai dinner catching up with the cousins with a solid nap in between pretty much made up the day since we planned a day trip to Birmingham to see my aunt/uncle on Saturday. Been to London a few times before so no need to go to the tourist sites. I plan to spend most of my time here meeting up with all of the family...probably a good idea since they'll be the last familiar faces I'll see until South Africa. Going to meet up with Fernandez and others in the city Saturday night and trying to score some tickets to the Chargers/Saints game in London Sunday. Should make for a good weekend.

Day of Departure

So after a few weeks of relaxation, lots of packing/re-packing, and scrambling to get everything in order...my time to take-off is here. Leaving from Raleigh this evening for London where I will be able to catch up with family I haven't seen in a few years. I uploaded a few pictures on the picture site showing my gear. For those that are curious, here is what made the cut:

• 7 t-shirts
• 3 polo shirts
• 2 convertible pants
• 1 jeans
• 1 shorts
• 1 bathing suit
• 1 hooded sweatshirt
• 1 rain jacket
• Shower sandals
• Shoes (NB Tennis shoes, light hiking boots, and comfortable sandals)
• Undergarments/socks
• Mosquito Net
• Camping Towel
• Toiletry kit
• First Aid Kit

Might sound like a lot...but I took some old clothes that I don't mind discarding along the way to make way for things I may pick up. The backpack weighs 40 pounds now, but when I get rid of all the cosmetics for my mom sent for my family here it should certainly lighten the load and give me some extra space! Here we go...

Not quite ready...

So after spending all day trying to wrap up the loose ends before I leave tomorrow...it didn't get done. Rather than rush the start of my trip, I decided to push it off a day to make sure everything is in order. Still need to work out some issues with the backpack, register some legal documents, call the credit card companies...list never ends. Anyways, now leaving Thursday so I'll be back with some updates soon!

Introduction

Welcome to the blog for my round the world adventure. In early October I took a 6 month leave of absence from work with the plan to backpack through the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and India. Not sure what really lies ahead...but I'm looking forward to finding out! I'm not taking a computer with me so I'll update this as I get internet access. Pictures will be uploaded at http://picasaweb.google.com/sim.lakhiani

Happy Reading! See you in April!