Goats

I was expecting to see camels here...it just goes with the territory. What was surprising was seeing the goats which seem to roam in the residential areas. The pictures you see are taken outside of my villa as I was walking to the store around the corner. Since they are goats, they eat anything. This has become evident to my neighbor who has to put up a goat guard to protect his prized garden. If he didn't, the goats would feast on his plants. They are not strays, but are owned by someone in the area. Every night, they go home to relax after a hard day of eating the weeds in the area.

Welcome to a Camel Race

We went to the camel races this morning and you will be able to see what we did. Enjoy.

Cheap Crash Pad

Okay, the plan was to go to Global Village in Dubai. I took the bus from Ras Al Khaimah to the bus station in Dubai. Since the plan was to see Global Village, it may have been difficult to return that night so I decided to remain in Dubai since the event was open from 4p-1a. After walking a few blocks I found a bunch of hotels. All I was looking for was a cheap crash pad. Well, I found paradise at the Sweet Palace Hotel. The staff was actually pretty nice. For 200 dirhams ($54.50 USD) I scored this little gem. In Mexico or Central America, a place like this probably not cost more than twenty bucks. It is better than being homeless for a night. I think it will be difficult to find a place that is cheaper in the city.

A Day at Global Village

This is Global Village-Dubai. It is a 3-month event which showcases various cultures and goods from around the world. I guess it compares to a county fair without the barnyard animals. Thankfully they had a good international food court as well as snacks available with in the respective section for each participating country. The event attracted 4.4 million visitors in 2009. It felt like there were there that many on the day I visited. There was fun for the whole family.

Exhibitions

As you wander through Global Village, this is what the exhibitions look like during the day.

During the Day

They had a canal in the facility and a boats was taking passengers on a slow ride. Sorry, for not providing a picture of the boat. Every time a boat came by, my camera was turned off.

A Night at Global Village

This is what it looked like when the event was lit up at night. I think half of the population of the UAE was here.

Shopping at Global Village

Global Village was one big shopping opportunity. If you were into textiles, jewelry or other treasure this was the place for you. The only thing I bought was some honey. The picture of the empty booth was where I picked up a small jar. He was out getting change for me. After going in and out of the exhibition of each country, all of it seemed to look the same.

Fish Massage

Went into one of the exhibitions and they had a fish massage. I heard the lady in the middle of the bottom picture laughing so I figured it was worth a try. You stick your feet in the tubs and the fish start eating the dead skin on your feet. I put my little piggies in the water and the fish went to work. For the first couple of minutes, I have to admit the fish were tickling my feet. Then I stuck a hand in there and they went to my hand. Afterward, my feet were a smoother. Overall, it was an interesting experience and relaxing after walking around all day.

Locals Performing

While walking around Global Village, I heard music and saw a small gathering. This is what we saw that night. It would have been nice to include other performance video but all of the stages were so crowded and it was difficult to get a good spot.

A Falcon and Me

Today at the College, we had Arts and Heritage Day. Each class had a tent where they featured an aspect of global society. One of my classes served various coffees from the world with desserts. Others based their tent on a country and some included Japan, Italy and Korea. A few tents showed other countries in the region. This tent, had weapons from various eras, coins from all around the world and this falcon. When and where else would I be able to do this?

Ummmmm.....Shawarma

Here is an Iranian place that sells a regional favorite. It is a wrap with meat and pita. Some have a pickle wedge, others have potato. The Mexican Shawarma is the closest thing I can get to Pastor here and they are relatively easy to find. Of all the things I failed to do here is get my picture with one of these delicious little things stuffed into my face. Well, it gives me a reason to go back. Best of all it is cheap, usually costing less than a dollar each.

Mall of the Emirates

We have heard of the place. This is the mall with the ski facility. Had to see the thing just so I can say I've seen people ski indoors. I laugh at them now but when it his 120F here in the summer, I may pay to go in and make snow angels.

Masala Dosa

With Indian people making up about half of the population of the UAE, finding real Indian food is not a problem. There is one thing makes going into these restaurants difficult. I don't know what most of the things are on menu. Instead of asking what twenty items are on the menu, I just pick one. The pick for today...masala dosa. The shell was crispy and the filling consisted of potato and peas with a couple types of chutney on the side. It was okay. Included is a can of Sprite with English and Arabic. The mango juice was the highlight of the meal. For 24 dirhams ($6.54) you can't go wrong.

Me and Burj

Here I am with the Burj Khalifa. At some point in time, I will go to the observation deck. Shortly after it opened, the tours closed due to a malfunctioning elevator. Guess that is a small problem in such a tall building. In the other picture you can see the Burj in the distance.