Category: Travel

My Trip To Dubai (Part 3)

Posted on by LFFL

Me

Excited for my next adventure today.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Today was the day I took a trip to Abu Dhabi to see the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.  I took a charter bus to get to Abu Dhabi from Dubai and it took about an hour and a half to get there.

I thought the charter bus would take me all the way to the mosque, but it dropped off at the bus station and I had to take a city bus the rest of the way to the mosque which was another 20-30 minute ride.

The bus station in Abu Dhabi was segregated with a “ladies waiting area” and a men’s waiting area.  I had no idea until I saw a sign.  Interesting that the ladies had such a small waiting area while the men had massive room for seating.  What’s that about?  But I just went straight outside to wait for the bus.

The bus schedule from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
Charter bus in Dubai headed for Abu Dhabi.
The ladies waiting area at the Abu Dhabi bus station.
The men’s waiting area at the Abu Dhabi bus station.
The prayer room at the Abu Dhabi bus station.
Ladies waiting area on an Abu Dhabi city bus.
Ladies at the front of the city bus, men in the back.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque up ahead.
Getting closer to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Walking across the bridge to the Grand Mosque.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

There’s also a prayer room inside the bus station and people were taking off their shoes going inside to pray.

When I got onto the city bus, I didn’t realize the men and women had their own separate sitting areas.  I almost sat with all the men but turned around and saw an empty seat next to a lady—so I sat down.  That’s when I looked up and saw a sign that said “ladies only.”  Whew!

You also have to open the door on the city bus yourself by pressing a button.  You have to do this whether you’re getting on or off the bus.  Of course, I stood there waiting for the driver to open the door for me until he told me.  (I mean—how lazy can a bus driver be?!)

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My Trip To Dubai (Part 2)

Posted on by LFFL

Me

Roaming the streets of Dubai—with my apple juice in a large cup from McDonald’s that I can’t seem to get in the States.

There are seven emirates in the UAE—Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah.  I was in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and briefly touched down in Sharjah.  But the goal next time is to visit all the emirates no matter how briefly—just so I can say I’ve been to them all.  And you know I’ll do it just because!

The Palm Jumeirah & Dubai Creek

I had my own personal escort to the beautiful Palm Jumeirah and the Dubai Creek.  I can’t even begin to describe the beauty I saw as we drove around the crescent of Palm Jumeirah.  It’s a sight to behold.  We also went to a couple of nightclubs that week and I had a blast.  It was not a problem for me to be out late at night especially since it was still daytime in America—my body clock was still trying to adjust to the time difference.

At the Dubai Creek.
At club Q43 at Media One Hotel in Media City.
At Barasti Beach club at Jumeirah Beach.
At Barasti Beach club at Jumeirah Beach.
Rollin’ in a BMW at the Palm Jumeirah.
In front of Atlantis The Palm in Palm Jumeirah.
In a phone booth at the Creek.

The time difference in the Middle East took some getting used to at first, but I survived.  Since we had just turned the clocks back an hour in the States, I was in a country that was 10 hours ahead of America.  But the first day I landed, I was determined to get on the Middle East schedule.  And, boy, did I have fun once I did!

We’re BMW rollin’ through that tunnel thing at the Palm.
At the Dubai Creek.
Feeding the fishes at the creek.
The art of smoking shisha and drinking fresh-squeezed watermelon juice.
Shisha at Zyara Cafe in Media City.
Waiting to go out.

Here’s a video I found from the “Documentary & Life Discovery Channel” on how the Palm Jumeirah came about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAo6cCDXF0

The Dubai Mall

The Dubai Mall is so massively huge that I didn’t have time to hit all parts of it.  But I did see some of the highlights.  I actually went to the mall on two different occasions with two different gentlemen who were kind enough to keep me company.

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My Trip To Dubai (Part 1)

Posted on by LFFL
On the way to the airport. No time for makeup yet.
Freaking out at the airport. It’s just starting to sink in what I’m doing.

This girl woke up early on Wednesday, Nov 12, 2014 doing her usual “getting ready for work” thing like any other normal day—and within an hour of getting dressed for the day decided out of the TOTAL BLUE that she was going to go to the Middle East the very next day all by herself!

With absolutely NO PLAN, NO FORETHOUGHT, and NO IDEA HOW to pull it off she set her mind to it.  My bosses at work looked at me crazy for giving them ONE day’s notice—but even I only had a day’s notice to plan everything since I had just decided that very morning to do something so, obviously, insane.

And with the help of a few awesome friends, I was able to pull off the impossible and figure it all out and left the next day on a 12-hour flight overseas to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for 10 days!  THAT GIRL’S A THUG!!  WHO DOES THAT?!

(I have SO many beautiful pictures and videos that this will be a 6-part series.  I hope you enjoy all the videos and pictures from my time in the UAE.  Wish you could have been there!)

The Dubai airport customs line.
My very own personal TV screen.
The map of where the plane was flying at any given moment. Going over Istanbul, Turkey here.

This trip was so last-minute that I still didn’t even have a hotel reservation when my friend arrived at my house to take me to the airport!  I was booking one on my computer as she stood there waiting for me.  Then off I ran out the door!

My family and friends were freaking out and texting me all day when I was overseas checking on me—“where are you, what are you doing, who are you with?”

I don’t travel and have hardly been anywhere in my life that doesn’t involve cars, buses, or trains because I’m terrified of planes.  Hence, my face in the second picture above when it just dawns on me at the airport what is about to happen!  First of all, BY MYSELF; second of all MIDDLE EAST; third of all PLANE!

The living room in my hotel apartment.
The bedroom.
The bathroom.
My lovely hotel in Media City, Dubai.
The kitchen.
Guest information.
The Arabic news.
A Nancy Grace-like debate on television. Lol.
My personal bidet. Who knew?
President & Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nayhan (Ruler of Abu Dhabi) and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Ruler of Dubai).

I don’t know why I snapped when I woke up that morning but I did.  And now my life was about to get even more exciting.  I didn’t have time to research ONE THING about this place I was going to.  So I figured when I landed I was just going to “wing it” each day.  Yes, I clearly lost my mind.

But, ohhhhhh, how I absolutely fell in LOVE with this city—and the entire country.  As soon as I landed and got through the insane customs line, I pulled out of the airport in a cab and within 20 seconds I swore I never wanted to go back to America.

Someone asked me if I felt “safe” in this country.  I felt much MORE safe than I ever feel in America.  I did things in this country by myself that I would never even attempt to do in America.  The emirati have this country on lock.  They don’t play.  Cameras are everywhere, too.

Me

I just loved waking up every morning in my new home away from home.

I loved meeting so many people along the way.  I was wedged between two awesome guys on the plane in a really tight space.  We took selfies together.  One lived in the States but was from Tehran, Iran and was going to visit family; the other guy was from America and told me all about his travels to Afghanistan and such.

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A Trip To The South Bronx

Posted on by LFFL

Me in Chicago, IL

Well in the middle of October, I finally made it to New York after all these years.  My dad hadn’t seen his mother since he was around 20 years old!  So it was about time!

We decided to take a LONG train ride there because my dad isn’t getting on a plane unless it’s life or death—and even then we don’t really know.  I’m not a big fan of planes either—let’s get real.

I had never been on a train before—so I was looking forward to it.

Waiting for the train at 5:30 in the morning.
Boarding the train.
Leaving the station. The train is rocking too much.
On a stop to NYC.
On a stop to NYC.
A bird wandering the train station in NYC. Apparently, this is normal as no one looked twice.
The drug-sniffing dog at the train station all up in everyone’s business.
The drug-sniffing dog at the train station all up in everyone’s business.

The train ride on the way to New York wasn’t bad at all—especially if you can manage to get two seats to yourself to spread yourself out and relax.  The scenery out the window wasn’t much to write home about though.

The food on the train was even less exciting.  Not only were the prices outrageous as I would only expect them to be—but the food pretty much tasted just like it looked.  Thank goodness I brought lots of food and drinks from home, too.

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