"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller

Christmas Dinner at Benihana

Christmas Vacation with my Fave Girl!!!

Excited doesn't even capture what I was feeling about finally reuniting with my fave girl.  We have never been separated for this long, and the 4 months were only eased through constant video chatting and social media posts.  I was eager to share with her my new home away from home and immediately began thinking about what adventures awaited us through travel.  It is absolutely realistic to make travel plans here without worrying about breaking the bank, and I was anxious and excited to begin my travel experiences with Camryn.

The first leg of our adventure originally included a trip to Cairo, Egypt, but recent unrest within the country gave me second thoughts about that journey (We will still go someday.),  so we settled on exploring some of the treasures of Kuwait to begin our adventure.  There are some nice shopping options, and I knew Camryn would love haggling with vendors at the souq.  Luckily, one suitcase she brought was full of items I requested from home (Dang, I forgot the grits!!),  and I think she was trying to fill it with things to take back.  At City Centre, a sonq-like shopping mall, she found some fabulous buys on Uggs and came away with three pairs, a couple pairs of platform sneakers and some super cute mesh loafers.  Later, we went out to the souq in Fahaheel and haggled with the shopkeepers over handbags and watches.  She bartered over a pair of Beats, while I warned her about authenticity to no avail.  She bought them anyway and left the with me. :-)    Nonetheless, we spent the day there and came home exhausted.

After a few days in Kuwait, we moved on to Dubai where the adventures took center stage.  There was no way I could have even imagined the shenanigans we could encounter.

Day 1 - From the moment we arrived at the airport, I should have heeded the signs that this trip was going to be full of twists and turns.  In spite of my strategic planning for an early flight (8:30) so we could be tourists and sightsee, we were grounded by extreme fog in Dubai that gave us a 2 hour-delay in an overcrowded airport.  After long lines in customs, we were finally able to check into our hotel around 4:30, completely exhausted.  Instead of venturing out, we decided to shower order room service, get an early night's sleep and be ready to go the next day.

Big Bus Ridin'

Day 2 - We started this day with the Big Bus hop on, hop off tour.  We had great seats on the upper deck and decided to just ride the entire route to see the city and hop off as we made our way around the second time to take in the local favorites.  Little did we know, our first hop off would be our only. Before we could even get to the sidewalk, we were approached by several men asking if we wanted to see goods ranging from handbags to pashminas to jewelry.  We followed two guys to a shop filled with fabric, and I mentioned that we wanted to see handbags.  He eagerly motioned for us to follow, and we were led down an alley to the back of building and into an apartment building.  Sensing my apprehension, the guy kept assuring me that it was okay and safe, just illegal!!!!!  He led us to an apartment door that opened to reveal a "store" with multiple displays of handbags, sunglasses, watches, etc. There wasn't a designer alive whose items weren't on display.  At first, I didn't see what I wanted, so one of the other guys quickly pulled a lever and the wall gave way to a secret panel in the display shelves that opened to a room  where he retrieved additional handbags...the kind of stuff you see in movies.  All of this made me nervous; I was sweating bullets and giving Camryn side eyes all the while calculating the distance from where I was standing to the door.     We made a couple selections; he offered a price; I declined; he lowered; I declined again and again and decided it was time haul tail. Just as we made it to the door, another man entered and joined in the banter.  He kept sidestepping, blocking our path, followed by one of the men who yelled at us because we weren't buying. I gave Camryn a knowing glance, and we made a mad dash through the door and to the elevator and got the hell out of there!!!  Once back on the main street, we caught our breath purchased some things from a few vendors there and journeyed back to the hotel with a story to tell.  I was hoping that would be the highlight of the day, but the fun just kept on coming.

Later that evening, we decided to hit the marina for dinner and boarded the metro.  Halfway through the ride, we discovered that we had boarded the train going in the opposite direction of our destination.  Going with the flow, we figured we would just ride it to the end and back until we found the restaurants...NOT!  As we approached the last stop on that line, we hear, "All passengers must exit the train!"  SMH  Laughing hysterically, we got off, boarded in the other direction and tried again for the marina.  When we got to the correct stop, and tried to exit the station, our metro passes would not work.  Seems we had crossed zones without proper tickets and  were sufficiently chastised by the policeman as he ushered us to the attendant to purchase new tickets.  Finally, at about 9:00pm, we made it to dinner at a Chinese/Indian bistro where the food was delicious and plentiful.  This was just day 2, and I still had high hopes the remainder would be a little less eventful, but it wasn't.  

Day 3 - We had big plans to visit the Dubai Mall  and Aquarium and the Burj Khalifa. The walk from the train station into the mall and down to the attraction was longer than The Green Mile!!  A stop at the restroom was definitely in order, so I navigated my way there while Camryn waited for me outside.  No sooner than I came out, she came walking over to me pretty quickly. It seems some random guy, pretending to be on the phone, started walking close to her and offered her some little packet of something he had in his hand.     Telling him, "No," she picked up her pace to come find me.  As she was telling me, we looked back to see him waving very happily at her.  He and his friend then followed us around the mall, into a crowed elevator and continued to follow us, waving until we go lost in the vast waiting crowd at the Burj Khalifa, yet another story for the books.  We finished this day with a trip to the aquarium, got henna tattoos and did some more shopping before retiring for the night.

Day 4 - We saved the best of our trip for last full day...the dessert safari.  We had a great driver who showed up in his crisp white dishdasha and a bright yellow hat with big black letters that said, "Tell me what you think?"  We drove quite a distance to the desert riding by rows and rows of power lines that looked like tall women waving and beckoning us to come on join the fun. Rolling dunes and free roaming camel could be seen on either side.  We stopped at a small, crowded road side store where we could use the bathroom and grab some snacks.  Camryn held and posed with a falcon before we jumped back in the car only after getting the tires inflated for dune bashing.     Once in the desert sand, we spun, and thrashed, and screamed our way through the dunes.  At the campsite, we smoked shisha (yes, I let her smoke a little) got more henna tattoos and enjoyed the colorful and festive show of traditional dances.  We ended the evening with a late snack at Denny's and rang in the New Year together in the comfort of our cozy hotel beds.   

Day 5 - By day 5, we were both ready to go and had our fill of Dubai and all the foolishness.  After breakfast and a stop in the mall to pick up more stuff to fill her suitcase for the return flight to the states, we caught the train to the airport, each of our arms loaded down with bags.  Of course as luck would have it, somehow between the first and last stops, Camryn put her Victoria Secret bag down and left it, and I was the one who had to go trudging back along the route to find it not really believing that I would, but I did!  (A testament to the people and their beliefs, someone had given it to a guard on duty, and the bag was returned with all of its contents.)  At last, we boarded our plane and ended this trip just as we had started it...with a delay.  One hour and 20 minutes later, we were on our way.  

Two days later, my fave girl boarded a flight back home, and I have been counting down the days till we are together again!!!  Summer 2017 is sure to be a blast!!!