Okay we’ve been busy since I last updated on our adventure. While I’m writing this,we’re in Kochi, India – but that’s getting pretty far ahead of where we left off so a few notes about that first.
We left Budapest and headed to Dubai – city of surprises. It has everything you’ve heard of, like the world’s tallest building and the world’s largest/tallest/biggest things you didn’t know needed to be made larger. This is complemented by the flashiest cars/shops/people you can imagine (ever wondered what a Ferrari, Lamborghini or McLaren look – wait 5 minutes and you’ll see all three, we did!). However, at the same time as all of this, there is another side to the city, the side that feels like every other giant city, full of hard working people just trying to get ahead.
We split our time by staying in two different parts of the city, first the Marina area, second the Bur Dubai area. Our first 4 nights were packed with vacation-style fun as we built them around Lauren’s 10th birthday. We took in the beach, some hotel-pool time, a desert safari, a water park and the famed combination of the Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa/Dubai Fountain. The next 4 nights we saw the older part of the city which felt like the real foundation that everything else is built upon. We toured the Dubai Museum (awesome overview of the history of the area, all for a couple dollar entry fee), the old Souks (covered markets), saw rain in the desert and met with some friends living here who gave us the rundown on what you don’t see and why. The city is in many ways still growing up. It is recognized as a great international city (Perhaps only Toronto can compete for number of nationalities present), and the government is taking great steps to develop a culture of mutual respect and understanding among the many cultures; though it sometimes feels like a teenager still maturing into a body that grew a little too quickly.
I’ll try to add some stories about our adventures, but since we’re now in India, I have a feeling it won’t be long before this experience is eclipsed by another.
