Who Says You Can't Have It All??

They should come to Dubai!!

In the past 24 hours we have:

1. Had dinner and drinks at the world's largest all-suite luxury hotel

2. Seen souks (markets) filled with beautiful spices and the shiniest yellowiest gold 

3. Been to the Middle East's largest mall which includes every designer and regular store ever, an aquarium, a skating rink, a dinosaur?, and waterfalls. And this wasn't even the one with the ski slopes...

4. Been to the top of the world's tallest building and free-standing structure to see the views of Dubai- a desert filled with high-rises and continuous construction projects for even more. 

5. Seen a fountain show by the same person who designed the Bellagio show in Las Vegas. 

If you also want to have it all, come to Dubai! The glitz and glamour will be waiting for you!

POINTS!

Today was the easiest country point* collection in history. We three sheikhs got four country points in about a one hour time span!

Last night my dad, AT, and I all converged in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai is one of the seven emirates and has been a top destination for me for quite some time. It's a crazy modern city built in the middle of the desert and has gone to all extremes. The world's tallest building is here! The largest all-suite hotel with a helipad is here! There is a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree! The mall has a black diamond ski slope! I mean, come on!! I want to see that!!!

We arrived late in the evening and rendezvoused at the hotel for a good ol' cheeseburger with none of the Indian food worries. From the airport to the hotel AT and I marveled at the first-world-ness of it all. The litter was gone, cars drove in lanes without honking, and I've yet to see a cow or any of it's trappings.**

This morning we had a car trip planned to see four of the other emirates (and every one of them is a point!). We drove directly to the farthest emirate, Ras Al Khainah, and then worked our way back to Dubai from there. We drove through three emirates on the way which brings AT to a whopping 107 countries, me to 88, and Dad to 67. But who's counting?***

The views along the way ranged from barren desert 

to high-rise central 

to Persian Gulf views. 

There was an obligatory fort-turned museum stop where I climbed towers, Dad and AT talked with mannequins, and we all read about shells to stay in air conditioning. 

From there, we backtracked to another emirate, Umm Al Quwain. In it we had a seaside stop and some lunch. Lunch will be a difficult time this whole trip because we are here during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a period of reflection, charity, and gratitude for Islamic people and they fast during the daylight hours. This means many places are closed and it's even considered impolite to eat or drink in public. Accordingly, we had fast food in the car. Shameful, I know, but a necessity. The McDonald's**** is not pictured, though I definitely should have!

We continued on back to Dubai with drives and quick stops in Ajman and Sharjah. Ajman was full of palatial private residences and official buildings while Sharjah was the big honking city (pictured toward the top) where all the people live. We also learned about the royal families and, thankfully, there was a billboard to illustrate. 

In no time we were back to Dubai and this killer view:

Tonight we're heading to the most-exclusive hotel to view the ultra-glamorous Palm Island. Dazzle us, Dubai!

*I know I've talked about this before but it was an entire blog location ago. AT is a current member of the Traveler's Century Club and my dad and I are hoping to make it as members one day! To join, you will have traveled to at least 100 countries on their pre-approved list, which is available here: http://travelerscenturyclub.org/countries-and-territories Go ahead. Count yours up!! 

**"Trappings" is a very polite code for something else. 

***WE ARE! And we're more than a little obsessed. Obviously. 

****I know. Don't even start with me, I don't even eat there at home. If there had been a Wendy's...

Hi Dad!!!

Happy belated Father's Day and welcome to the country counting, Dad!!

AT and I have been at this for about a month and are so excited to have you along. Here are a few pointers for traveling with us:

1. We prioritize meal time. Want to see one more temple/mosque/UNESCO site but it's dinner time? Too bad. That thing has been there for thousands of years and will definitely still be there next time you visit. Menu, please. 

2. Speaking of meal times, AT requires an iced tea at lunch and KT requires a diet coke. Coke Zero is a poor substitute but will do if that's all you're offering. Don't you dare put lemon or sugar in AT's iced tea, either. 

3. Want to get up for the sunrise tour? Take lots of pictures and tell us all about it!!

4. "We can totally walk there" -Kelly

"Too d--n far and too d--n hot" -Terry

We look forward to you being our tiebreaker. 

5. KT would like that crossword and sudoku from your newspaper, please. "Ooh, there's a Hitori??? I love it here!"

6. Learn how to look busy in a store. AT will take about 150% longer to examine everything than you were expecting. 

7. We haven't turned on a television yet, but we know you like your international news programs. Not a problem unless you pass an episode of "Friends" dubbed in Arabic. That looks like a real winner. 

8. There are some things hugs can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard. 

Namaste, India

This picture just about sums up the end of our India visit. We flew back to Delhi from Jaipur and flew to Varanasi the next day. Varanasi is known as the spiritual center of India. There are hundreds of thousands of temples throughout the city. The main attraction, though, is the Ganges river that runs through the center of town. Hindu pilgrims from all over the country come to bathe in it.  

Remember the prince that packed the urns of special water? This is that water. We did not bathe in it but we did take a boat ride and see the views of the city as well as the crematoriums located on the river that are still used today. 

Oh, AT did get splashed by the holy water. 

The highlight of the Varanasi trip was seeing the evening ceremony by the Ganges. Every night the people gather to thank the gods for the day. The ceremony was about an hour long and included traditional Indian music, group chanting and a clap-along, flowers, priests dancing, and fire! Truly something for everyone. 

The eye-opening part of the trip was leaving the ceremony and being caught in the sheer rush of humanity. I think this cow captured our emotions the best. 

The lowlight of the trip has been AT's continued stomach issues. We'll probably be subsisting for the rest of the trip on energy bars I packed from home and have complained about schlepping for the past month. Huzzah, it has not all been in vain! We think a big celebratory meal in Dubai will be just what the doctor (who visited today and says we'll survive) ordered. 

#lovewins

Jaipur Tour!

India has definitely been a mix of the old world meeting the new world. For example, today in Jaipur, I went up a hill on an elephant!

And as we neared the top, my driver talked on his cell phone. To my knowledge, there are no anti-"texting while herding" laws and so there was no problem with this. I do not feel his reaction time was hindered by taking this call. 

For every truly beautiful thing you see, there is also litter in the streets, a cow grazing on trash, and a lack of city planning--most notably proper sewage and water. It can be a lot to take in. The people we have talked with have all been very kind and welcoming but also honest about the problems in their country. Our tour guides have answered all our questions generously. At this point, I think the best thing a tourist can do is visit and experience the country while being grateful for our #firstworldproblems back home. (I wrote an entire entry about hairdryers, for gods' sake. (Shout out to the Hindi!))

As far as this blog goes, I want you (my devoted family and friends) to read it and visit places to see the beautiful things and also the reality things. I find myself taking pictures of only the beautiful things but I know they won't be my strongest memory. All that being said, I'll return you to your regularly scheduled tourism blog programming and thank you for this time out real talk. 

The elephant's destination was the Amber Fort, a walled-in city that predates Jaipur but now watches over it. The kings of the state of Rajasthan lived there beginning in the late 1500's and every successive king added on to the grounds. My favorites were the frescoes decorated with colors from flowers and vegetables,

the room of mirrors,

and the view in general. 

Following the fort, we descended back to Jaipur. Jaipur is known as the "pink city" but really it is more of a terra cotta orange. The city was originally painted in the late 1800's for visiting British monarchs. The result was so popular that the tradition has continued and every ten years the entire city gets a fresh coat of paint. I love a theme so I say, "get it, Jaipur!"

Our next visit was to Jantar Mantar, a park that holds large astronomical instruments including the world's largest sundial that is accurate within 20 seconds.  As it was explained to me, some kings loved fighting and conquering, but this one king really loved math. You do you, King. 

Where my libras at?

The last stop of the day was to the City Palace. The palace is still home to Jaipur's royal family though they have no royal power now and are more like celebrities. If the flag is up, they're home! 

They did not come out to greet me, but I understand they have a lot of other obligations and I am trying not to take he slight personally. Besides, I did get to hear my favorite story of the day while standing in their courtyard:

 In 1901, the maharajah of the time was invited to England for Edward VII's coronation. He couldn't turn down the trip but he was a devout Hindu and did not think the European waters were fit for drinking or religious ceremonies. What do you do, right? You build Guinness Book of World Record-sized silver urns to transport enough water from the Ganges River with you on the boat, of course!

I feel like this man and I have taken drastically different paths in life as I have gone out of my way this trip to consume European waters. Speaking of, AT was feeling sickly today and is notably absent from pictures and excursions. She has been resting and eating plain things. I expect her to make a full recovery. If she is not better tomorrow for our day of handicraft shopping, I'll know it's really an emergency and will call the MediAlert helicopter to have her transported home. She's never turned down shopping. 

Fort Your Consideration

The past few days have been fortuitous. 

We have discovered India's forte. 

We never tile of sight-seeing. 

We column like we see 'em. 

You can almost hear the pitter-pattern of maharaja's feet. 

Arch you glad we went to India?

Bus-ted.