Now we come to one of my favorite days of all our trip- Shopping at the bazaars (only in this part of the world, they are called "Souks")


First, we came to the gold souk. Imagine, if you will, street after street, row upon row, ENTIRE MALLS of gold jewelry. This was not just your run-of-the-mill, American mall kind of gold! This was very pure gold and VERY, very yellow in color. And, you can imagine, very expensive. Each little shop had a little digital read out on the wall, showing the day's price of gold per ounce, and all pieces were sold according to weight. Of course, each shop also levied a "craftsman's fee" on top of the actual sale weight of gold. Now, as to whether the scales were accurate...???


After tiring of looking at gold for about an hour, we wandered over to where one would cross "the Creek" to the other side of Dubai. To cross the river, you take a water taxi that looks like this:

Your average citizen, as well as every tourist, would take this taxi for about $.25 per ride; very reasonable I'd say :) The ride to the other side takes about 10 minutes and is very pleasant to plop one's tired derrier down and soak up the atmosphere. Along the way, you can see massive amounts of these:


They are actual cargo "dhows" that transport all manner of goods up and down the river to various ports along the way. They are fascinating! Imagine the taste of slightly salty air, the rhythmic drone of the afternoon calls to prayer coming from a hundred mosques, and the spicy, pungent scent of cloves and cinnamon wafting all around you, and you'll have put yourself right in the middle of Dubai Souk-ville. Fantastic!

After disembarking our little water craft, we came to the spice souk. Aromatic to the max! The guys had everything from nutmeg, vanilla beans, star anise, footlong cinnamon "baseball bats", and too many other things that I could not even guess at.


Every spice shop had kitchy litte souvenirs for the less astute souk shopper. However, our party passed up on these in lieu of a few pictures for posterity's sake. No way, baby, we're there for the real deal; and at a good price too! Steppe Sister can bargain with the best, and she came away with some awesome deals! Next week, I'll post some pix of my most excellent booty. (Get your minds out of the gutter! Not THAT booty, for heaven's sake, I mean the great stuff I got!)

My only regret was that I played the usual "no, the next stall will have it cheaper trick" and aced myself out of some fresh saffron. DOH!

Okay, do you love fabric?? Let's move on to the textiles part of the Old Town souks.

How about the colors here?? Can it get more amazing?? Yes, it could. Amongst the beauty, there was not one remnant, not one square inch, of 100% cotton fabric. NO. WAY! It was a travesty, I say! We did enjoy the feel of the silks though, and were amazed at how many ways an Indian sari could be made.

After, wandering more little alleyways that looked like this (see below), we started noticing the overpowering stench of incense and shoes being just sort of "stashed" in doorways. Okay, this is weird...

"Excuse me, madam, may I help you?"

"Uh, no thanks, just looking."

"Um, madam, this is Hindu Temple Area"

"Oooh, gee, so, uh, sorry! Um, we'll just be going now..."

Okay, that was the conversation between a worshipper and a touron. That's short, by the way, for tourist/moron.

Undaunted (too much) we headed to the Dubai Museum, which will have to wait until the next exciting episode of:

"Doin' Dubai"

Until Next Time,

Your SteppeSister

Desert Safari!

Ready for a safari?? How about a desert safari?? Let's go!!!

We start our journey with an exhilarating, 4-wheel drive excursion over the vast sand dunes at about 50 mph! This was much, much faster than I ever dreamed it would be when we signed up! Truly, it was thrilling! The drivers would turn the Landcruiser at just the right angles and speeds to throw immense amounts of sand up and over the car, and just enough to make feel like thoroughly PUKING by the end of our 30 minute ride! It was like Rockin' Roller Coaster (well, okay, more like Goofy's Barnstomer) for a 30 minute ride! I'm glad we had several hours for it to wear off before we had our scrumptious feast!


Next, we were let off at our "caravanserai"- which means gathering place for caravans. At first, we didn't know that this would be the place we would spend the next several hours- the remainder of our evening! The first thing they offered was a place for you to spend more money! Are you surprised?? Like most tourist traps, they are very industrious and creative at getting you to part with whatever you may have. For about $10 more, you could rent a 10 minute ride on a Quad. Some in our group did, some did NOT.
Just inside the outdoor seating/stage area- which was VERY large, were a series of covered "stalls" in a U-shape around our ground level tables and seating pillows. Here's what you could do at each "station":

What tourist experience would be complete without a place to buy souvenirs?? Here is NariLoo trying on the belly dancing wares. Not in your future, in your wildest dreams, kiddo! Fu-ged-u-boud-it!

These seemed to be a popular seller- sand in a bottle with your name, a camel, and Dubai written in it. Again, we weren't to be had. There was just no way this was going to make it home without being all mixed up!

The next little stall, offered a variety of Arabic clothing to try on for fun. Now, I have to explain something that was quite funny about our tour group. Our little group was comprised of about 30 people; a mix of single ladies, and 4 families. But each evening they fill the whole thing to capacity, which is about 300 people. Now, those of you who are familiar with the Muslim world, especially those from the Turkik areas celebrate a holiday called Nauruz. (Google it, it can also be spelled Navruz). Nauruz happened to be smack dab in the middle of our time in Dubai. It is HUGE! When we arrived we expected to see mostly Western tourists- Europeans, North Americans and the like- NOT on your life. We were the ONLY westerners there. You see, Iran celebrates this too. As it happens, an exiled Pop singer from Iran has moved to Dubai, and a huge contigent of fans came over from Iran to see a holiday concert of their beloved pop star, and they happened to choose "our" tour to be part of . Soooo, it was 30 Aussies and Americans, and 270 or so Iranians! It was a little weird... 'nuf said.

So, what do you think?? I love this picture, it makes me look about 30 years younger :)

After browsing around for a while, they brought out the camels. For us, it is not such a big deal! We have camels roaming all over the place, and have ridden them before. But the kids love a camel ride when they can get one. I suppose it is like pony rides anywhere else. Now, what Middle Eastern dinner party would be complete without a turn at the hookah pipe? The Water Guy says that the sheesha tasted very sweet, resembling strawberry flavored pipe tobacco. Not being a smoker, though, he only had a small sampling.

Now, it's the ladies' turn to have a little "beautification". Every Arabic and Indian man will tell you that henna tattoos make a woman extremely gorgeous and that they are a huge turn on. So, included in the price was a small, and come to find out, very rinky-dink, henna art. Here we are turnin' everyone on.

As the sun set, it was time for the show. First, we were treated to some excellent Farsi singing- Iranian-style! You see, as I explained before, a very famous Iranian pop singer was in town for a gig. Apparently, as best as we could make out through translation, this guy's brother would be the star of the show tonight. Not being very well versed in Iranian singing, I had no idea if his was good or not, but to our little western ears, this guy was GREAT! We loved his minor tones and keys, the trilling and weaving of notes that he could belt out! A real 2 thumbs up.

After his several songs, it was time for the belly dancing. How very ironic that she was from, of all places, somewhere in Russia! She really could shake her booty, and of course, all the men, who love to have their women covered from eyes to toes, watched with ravenous lust. It is such a strange paradigm. Go figure...

For all of you foodies out there, I only have one shot of the yumminess we experienced this evening. We enjoyed kebabs of ground lamb, beef, and chicken- yes, 3 kinds! Savory rice, yogurt, fruit salad, green salad, and the ubiquitous Arabic flat nan (bread- pronounced "nahn"). Soft drinks were free, but most were imbibing beer and other adult drinks. I guess, when you're not in Iran, it doesn't matter??!!

Well, that just about wraps up our desert safari. We had blast, ha! I crack myself up! All evening long, we'd been watching some thunderclouds build up. We were all anxious to see just what it was going to do. Just as we were about to leave, this ferocious desert storm came upon us with lightening, wind (you know what happens when you mix sand and wind, right?), and eventually not only rain, but severe HAIL!!. We made it back to our bus drop off point just in time for the skies to open up. We are told it only rains like this in Dubai about once a year! It was so bad the bus driver had to pull of the road and let it subside in order to drive safely.

Not only did we have a great time, we had a blast!

Truly Yours,

SteppeSister

Moving along our merry way, we must now venture out into the hazy brown air of the outskirts of Dubai. Yes, we lived for a week smack dab until the flight path of landing and leaving jets, waking up each morning at 5:30 AM.

I was particularly impressed with the size of the villa- houses! They are incredibly huge, and I mentioned before, as are the neighborhood malls. I didn't have all of my photos transferred to "my" computer last time I posted, so here are a couple of shots of some typical malls. One that was particularly impressive was the mall in which you could SKI!!! Yes, you read that right- you can ski inside the "Mall of the Emirates" on real, manmade snow! It was far, far too expensive for us, but for many it was not. Whatcha think??!!

The architecture was truly amazing! Did you know that the world's tallest building is in Dubai? Here is a picture of it. Notice the haze and dust in the air. I highly doubt an asthmatic would want to make this a permanent place of residence!
Well, I am foiled again in my attempts to get a whole lot done in posting. It always takes much longer with my slow-ish connection to get stuff uploaded. So, as usual, I will continue next time! Meantime, try to guess how tall this baby is!

Our Dubai Digs

In order to figure out WHY our gameboys and DS's were dead, you had to look at the spelling of our batteries! Look carefully! Normally, we buy the real deal, but here in Central Asia, they are very cunning in their theft! Our househelper, who isn't so astute in battery purchasing, was easily fooled into buying something that would power up your travel alarm clock for approximately 3 and a half seconds. Dubagels will now forever be on our 10 ten list of funniest family jokes!

So, let me start by giving you a few fun facts about our destination. Dubai is comprised of only about 15% native Arabs. The remaining 85% of the resident population is comprised of Pakistanis, Indians, Philipinos, and Europeans. Apparently, their oil reserves are expected to run OUT in about 10 years- so looking strategically to the future, the sheik (prince) has steered the economy towards foreign banking investments and tourism (mostly for shopping). The city of Dubai is actually only one city-state of several that make up the United Arab Emirates- the name of the country collectively.

Here is one feature prominent throughout the city of Dubai.

There are more cranes in operation in Dubai than anywhere else on earth! However, all the taxi drivers that we talked to said that the word financial crisis HAS affected Dubai, and that a lot of construction has come to a complete stand still. They do aid in building some of the most incredibly beautiful architection we have ever seen. I do have few pics. to show later.

Tired and dirty, we arrived at our guesthouse. It was beautiful! Most homes in Dubai are HUGE! We guessed that most are so large because most are Islamic and follow the custom of having more than one wife. These homes are obviously meant for a VERY large group of people with 10-12 bedrooms being quite common. Just a guess, though...

The first thing we did was go to the neighborhood mall. EVERY neighborhood as SEVERAL mosques and at least one mall. And every mall has a WESTERN FOOD COURT! WOO HOO! Everyone could choose whatever they wanted from McDonalds to KFC to Pizza Hut to local cuisine. The Water Guy and a couple of others chose Lebanese, while I and Macaroni and Pixie went for Burger King. A Whopper Jr. with cheese never tasted to good!!! My fried were cold though, which was a serious bummer! I was very, very sad.

Back at the guesthouse, after exchanging more money (this was certainly a common theme), and satiating our western taste buds, we settled into our lovely guesthouse. It was spacious, clean, and well stocked with every amenity to help a tired overseas worker relax.

We were fed very well during our stay, the first meal being a great dinner of Tikka chicken, rice made by our househelper who was from the Seychelles Islands, green salad (do you know how often we get to eat green salad?), and Arabic flat bread. Mmmm, so tasty! Oh yes, there was fresh hummus to smear all over every tastry morsel.

Our vacation really didn't start until the next day when we got to go feel the soft, imported sand on our toes-eys. (okay, how badly can someone butcher a word??!) Next up...

Desert Storm on the Beach- Or How Much Sand Can One Person Eat?

Coffee by the Skin of your Teeth

Time to continue with our journey! Let's go!

I promised to give you one more installment here on our 24-hour journey by train. You all probably think that I have gone to extreme excesses with describing things here, but honestly, my words here can never quite give you an acurate picture of just how exotic, stressful, long, uncomfortable, and, interesting a Central Asian train is all at the same time.

The train stops every few hours to pick up or let off passengers. At these stops of varying durations one can stock up on most anything from TP to toothpaste. Need a doctor? Gotcha covered. Police assistance? Got that too.

For music to entertain you- how about a dombra, anyone?



And if you're hungry, how about trying a steamed meat and onion dumpling? A fried potato filled dumpling? Fried fish or boiled potatoes? Gassy water, assorted juices, or fermented milk of from every farm animal can quench your thirst at every stop! Mmmm- tangy, foamy, camel's milk, anyone?

Okay, it's no secret I am an addict. The people here can't live without their tea; I on the other hand cannot live without my coffee! But what does one do when one has FORGOTTEN the coffee filter basket??!!! This is what a proper overseas worker does- IMPROVISES! Take one empty yogurt plastic container, poke holes in the bottom with a pin, put the (remembered) paper filter with the coffee grounds into the newly created maker, and pour the hot water on top. Voila! A perfect cup of hot, fresh, java, ready for bringing anyone out of the sway-induced stupor only a train can bring on.

Well, time to be on our way. I have no pictures between getting off the train, and our imminent landing in Dubai. So, in case you need a visual for the inside of a plane, here you go. I know, too exiciting; please contain yourselves. Okay, Mom, you don't have to contain yourself, I know you get far too few pics. of the grandkids.

Drumroll, please! We've arrived, well, we're arriving. Here's a birdseye view of one of the brand new suburbs going up near the airport. These are massive and ubiquitous. I think this one photo give the very best representation of the scope of development going on here. It also shows just how MUCH sand is in this vast expanse of desert!

Now, it's a very good thing we landed when we did because the gameboy batteries were all completely dead! Can you guess why?? First one to guess wins a special homebrew coffee :)

Next up.... our digs in Dubai.

Your SteppeSister

I left off with the inside of the train. Although, I didn't get very far. So, here are some pics. of what one might see in the new and improved "Chinese" train. Let's back up just a bit so I can fill you in on what the OTHER trains are like here. Let's just say that they are used- well used. Every part and piece has been patched, repaired, replaced, duct taped, or stolen. The toilets are unbelievably filthy!

But now, there is a new option. For more money, of course! But what an improvement! Here is a room with a view...

Each coupe' has 4 beds, a table, and a window, and of course a door. (that locks) They are cozy, and come with a set of clean of sheets.

Down the corridor on each end of the car are toilets. The newer Chinese trains have Turkish squatty pottys and are ever so much cleaner. Very nice improvement! Also, there is a boiling water spigot for tea. Our people go nowhere without their tea pot and cups!! NOWHERE! It is also very convenient for adding hot water to the bowls of top ramen that are our staple when travelling by train. In my next installment, I'll add some photos of what one might find at a stop. Many various and sundry food options are available at the stops!

One doesn't get too much sleep on the train, however! The constant clickety-clack most certainly prevents that!

Well, next up... On to Dubai! You'll get your first glimpses via our plane window! I know, you can hardly contain your excitement.

A Cosmopolitan Quest!

We're back! From a highly cosmopolitan, immensely fun, albeit too expensive, outrageously delicious experience in DUBAI!

I'll give you the blow by blow low down on how we conquered yet another strangely wonderful place we call planet Earth. But first things first. I feel compelled to have you travel with us to our jumping off point. That alone is adventure, ladies and gents! Let's take a train- A central Asian train, no less...

Our trip will take 24 hours thru the most BORING landscape on earth. It is desert, but not the beautiful desert of California or the exotic landscape of the middle east that is dotted with oases of palms. This is just bleak! Hard packed, salty soil, with interspersed sage brush type bushes and mangy cows and sheep is all one will find here. Throw in a nice mix of garbage all along the tracks- plastic pop bottles, a myriad of plastic shopping bags waving like Buddhist prayer flags on every bush, and an assortment of contruction materials- enough to build several homes if one is savvy, and voila, there you have it a picture of our mundane scenery for 1,000 miles. Let me illustrate for you:

The photo above was of interest to us. We suspect that this is actually a uranium mining operation, which is quite prolific in our area. Did you know, in Soviet times, the government would put the miners on trains with no windows, haul them to the mining sites on twisting, winding tracks for miles and miles and offload them underground so they could neither know where they were themselves, and consequently not be able to disclose the location of the deposits! Things are quite so bad now, mostly because western companies are overseeing the mining operations, but still, as you can see, a bit out of the way, and "hidden".

Now, what does the inside of a real live train look like? Well, let me show you! They are actually quite comfy, if NOT travelling with monkey children. For 18 years I have been saddled with the label of "mother of monkey children". Sad, but true. Oops! Lunch is ready, I'll have to continue in my next post. Sorry to leave you hanging like that, but we can't have burned rice now can we?

Until Next Time,

Your Steppe Sister