No Pil-i-pino

After checking out the weather conditions in the Philippines - I've decided to skip the country and head to Australia a little earlier than anticipated. However, I'm hoping to visit Laos and Cambodia as substitutions :)

Porcelain God!

I guess you can say I have been 'praying' to the 'Porcelain god' When you eat anything and everything in India - it's just a matter of time before you know where every toilet in a 1 km radius is located. It sort of becomes a second sense.

13 days in South India has been quite the experience.

I started off flying to Chennai from Dubai (stopover in Mumbai).

Spent a few days in Chennai. Met Aziz and Hafiz who showed me around the city and made sure I was all organized for my travels to Kerala.

On the eve of the 26th - I had dinner at the hotel, checked some email - organized some stuff for my trip and went up to the room. About 15 minutes later I had a knock at the door. When I opened it - there was Aziz, smiling, singing Happy Birthday with a cake and candle in his hands. (The candle wasn't in his hands it was in the cake) We enjoyed the chocolate cake with some good conversation. He returned home to his wife and I went to bed - another year older :)

For my Birthday - I met Hafiz, who took me to a crocodile park. I held a croc, python and turtle. In the evening, we went up with some of his friends and watched a Tamil Movie. No English - no English subtitles. So, I had to use non-verbal interpretation skills to try to understand what was going on. NO LUCK! My skills suck! haha

I had an overnight train to Alleppey where I booked a boathouse to myself for one night. I had a cook and two crew who were great! We travelled down the backwaters of Kerala, also known as the "Venice of the East" Absolutely beautiful! So peaceful! Even with the torrential rain!

I made my way to Kochin. Kochin is famous for the old Chinese Fishing Nets displayed on the waterfront. I also endulged with a Ayurvedic massage. Kerala is known for this type of treatment.

I then made my way back into the state of Tamil-Nadu to "The Temple City" of Madurai. I'll post pictures and they will explain everything. I stayed one night in Madurai and caught an early train to Thanjavur where I am now. (just killing some time before I catch a 6 hour bus back to Chennai...ugh!)

The food that I ate for dinner is still sitting nicely - howerver, I have been sitting for the past hour. I anticipate a mad rush to the toilet once I leave the internet cafe. Wish me luck!

Brotha from another Motha

Dubai

Dubai

Dubai

Who would have thought my trip to Dubai would have turned out the way it did. When planning my year away back in August 2008, I figured I wanted to go to Dubai but only spend a few nights since it was supposedly very expensive. It was. However, one could travel to Dubai and spend less money depending on the restaurants and accommodation chosen. I would say it’s no more expensive than Beirut.
What did I expect? Ahmed asked this question a few times and I really had to think about it. Buildings – tall buildings, desert, camels and large palaces for all the sheiks. Was I far off? Not really. Everything minus the camels – a desert safari trip is needed to see or ride the camels. There were more expensive cars in Dubai than I think I have seen in one city. It even beats out London. Beirut had a lot of nice cars but they were basically limited to Mercedes and BMWs. Dubai went above and beyond BMWs. Aston Martin and Bentley were both brands you would see daily.

I arrived late Saturday evening after almost missing my flight in Beirut. I owe Hamsa a lot for waking me up at noon. The Dubai airport is very nice! Probably one of the nicest airports I have been in. Free WIFI too! I caught a taxi from the airport to my hotel – The Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Méridien. It worked out to about 90CAD per night so I figured I could afford that for my 4 nights in Dubai. The hotel was recommended to me by Ahmed – someone I spoke with on couchsurfing.com. I asked him what areas are good, hotel recommendations. I chose this one since I get Starwood points. I ended up meeting Ahmed the following day. He picked me up in his Cadillac CTS and we went out for some food. We got along really well and decided to spend the following day together since he had the week off work.

We ate out what seemed like every 2 hours…either food, tea or both. I was taken to some amazing restaurants – probably some of the best in Dubai. For example, tea at the Intercontinental, overlooking the city would be enjoyed by everyone. We smoked some shee-shah – which definitely gave me a buzz. Ahmed and I had some really good conversations – I learnt a lot about Islam. Not the Islam you hear about on CNN – you know – how everyone in the Middle East is a terrorist and ready to destroy the West! I was informed of how similar Islam is to Christianity and Judaism for example, which I ignorantly did not know. Once again, we decided to hang out the following day.

I got to see the ‘Largest Mall in the World’ – the Mall of Dubai. It definitely lives up to the name. You honestly could spend the entire day there and still need to go back the next day to finish seeing the entire complex. From an indoor skating rink, to waterfalls, to a ‘movie theatre for kids – the mall has it all. For shops you have high end (LV, Channel, Armani, etc) as well as shops like Aldo, Pull and Bear, Adidas – which I ended up supporting by purchasing 2 pairs of runners. Having one backpack does not allow room to buy shoes and clothing but oh well, first time in Dubai so why not eh!?

It was suggested I sign up for a desert safari which ended up being so much fun. 4x4 through sand dunes, sandboarding (yes...SANDboarding y'all), watching belly dancing, camels, sheesha, food and drink - made for an awesome afternoon.

The departure time for my flight to India was at 21:40 on Wednesday. Ahmed graciously offered (more like insisted) he drive me to the airport. He met me at the hotel in the morning with a Khandora for me to wear all day. If you are not familiar with the word – google it or check out pictures on my blog and facebook. We ate again, met up with Mohammed for some dessert and tea, visited the Palm Island and said our goodbyes.

I’ve really come to realize that the best part of my trip has been the people I have met along the way.

Lebanon

more of Egypt

Egypt 2

Egypt

Close call

I'm at the airport in Bahrain, waiting for my connecting flight to Dubai to take off. However, I just about never made the flight this morning. Dubai - according to The New York Times is the number one place to visit in 2009. And there are a ton of reasons why I would agree with this. One of the reasons which plays a role in why I just about missed my flight - the nightlife. Getting in at 07:00 and having to wake up at 10:30 to pack, pick up laundry and catch a flight a few hours later is asking for trouble. I made my flight and that's the important part...if I forogt anything - time will tell.
If you have some bucks to spend and a couple people to hangout with, it's almost impossible not to have a good time in Beirut. Whether you fancy to enjoy the Mediterranean sun while hanging out on the beach, people watch while sipping an espresso in Place De E'toile or partying it up at some of the best nightclubs in the world, Beirut has it all!