Traveling in Dubai UAE, part 2

As Westerners who traveled in Dubai in May of 2005, my husband and I found out a few details of travel there that I'll share here in part 2:

Lodging in Dubai:

If you are staying at the Burj al Arab in Dubai, then none of the following applies to you. However, if your pocketbook will stretch only to a more conventional stay, here's the best advice I have to offer:

Pick your hotel very carefully. Stay in the 5-star hotels only. To read the rating of a Dubai hotel, take off a star from the rating system you are accustomed to in the West. It doesn't really matter where the hotel is located in terms of whether it's in the city or near the airport or which side of the water. What does matter is the amenities at the hotel. You will spend a lot of time there. Choose your hotel for the room size, the restaurants available at the hotel, the club and bar facilities, and swimming pool and other outdoor facilities. Dubai has no "night-life" in the terms that Westerners are accustomed. There are clubs and bars where you can drink and dance and smooze; all of these are located in hotels. The hotels are spread out across the city so a bar crawl is not a real possibility. Therefore, if night-life is your bag, it's going to be happening most likely at the hotel where you are staying. Likewise, most of your breakfasts and dinner meals will be eaten at your hotel. Check-in at the hotel can be hectic with lots of waiting around for a room. Evidently, hotel service help is difficult to keep. The desk will apologize but it won't get any better during your stay than it was at the start.

There is a Western-style grocery store which is a godsend. After checking into your hotel, catch a cab for Carrefour supermarket. Get lots of bottled water and drinks, mixers and snacks, cheese, etc. for the little frig in the hotel room. Be sure to buy some plastic ware. There is a cab queue outside Carrefour so it's easy to get back to your hotel. There is another popular supermarket called Spinney's, but since we only went to Carrefour, I don't know what the Spinney's experience is like. There are more Spinneys around than Carrefours. We saw another Carrefour in a mall, but I don't remember which one. To get to any location in Dubai, jump in the car and give the name like "Carrefours" or "Spinney's" and the cabbie will drive you straight to the nearest one.

The hotels rock until after midnight so if your room is near the bars or clubs, expect to hear the racket or join in the fun!

This post links to this previous post.

It's a Girl!

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has given birth to a baby girl. Both baby and mother are doing well. The Crown Prince was in attendance at the birth. When asked how Mary reacted when she understood it was a girl, he said, "Like a mother to a newborn, with motherly love." Here's the official announcement on the Crown Prince Couple's website.

The above photo is Frederick and Mary walking Christian the day before her delivery.

Danish Royal Watchers blog has a photo series of Mary from announcement of her pregnancy to birth.

Biggio Gets Career Third Grand Slam

Against the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astro old-timer Craig Biggio hit his first grand slam in 13 years with one out in the ninth and the score tied 2-2. The Astros 6-5 win over the Brew Crew last night extended their winning streak to five. It was Biggio's first grand slam since July 24, 1994, against Pittsburgh. His other came in 1989. The Astros are now 6-1 on the road to start the season.

I Love My iPod!

Me: This iPod has changed my life!

Aussie: This iPod has changed my wife!

Traveling in Dubai UAE, part 1

As Westerners who traveled in Dubai in May of 2005, my husband and I found out a few details of travel there that I'll share here in part 1:

Dubai International Airport

Before you leave the airport, be sure to stop by Duty Free for your alcohol. It's very reasonably priced and the selection is excellent.

When you walk into the arrivals' hall, you will be shocked. It's bigger than a football field, and it is filled to capacity with people in queues waiting to be processed. Aussie went looking for a shorter line and thankfully found that business class passengers had a special line which was very short and very efficient. Look for that line. Even if you are not a business class passenger, if you line up near that line, you could get called over to it after the business class passengers are cleared.

In October 2005 we went through Dubai Airport a second time. This time we were connecting from London to Cairo through Dubai. We had about 12 hours in Dubai to wait for our connecting flight. We checked in at the airport in-transit hotel which is in the international terminal, had a shower, and a good sleep. We got a wake up call for 2 hours before the flight, ate a good meal at the restaurant, stopped by Duty Free for alcohol, and then went to our gate. If you have a long stopover in Dubai, I highly recommend this. You must take your change of clothes in your carry-on bag because you do not have access to your luggage while in transit.

This post links to this previous post.

Filmspotting Does Noir!

Even though I've talked about my favorite podcast in this blog in another post, I'm making another pitch here in light of filmspotting starting a film noir marathon on May 18. Adam and Sam will discuss the following films:

• Double Indemnity (1944)
• The Killers (1946)
• Out of the Past (1947)
• Gun Crazy (1949)
• The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
• Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

There is a lot interest on the filmspotting boards for this marathon. If you have any interest in gaining some background in this excellent film genre, join us all at http://filmspotting.net/

Traveling in Dubai UAE

In May 2005, Aussie and I toured Dubai UAE. We had a wonderful experience and learned much about the city, the people, and being a tourist in the Emirates. My intention was to post a mini travel guide for Dubai, but as I was writing it, I realized that it was too long to post as one article. So I'm going to split it among several posts all entitled Traveling in Dubai UAE with part 1 etc affixed to the title. The information comes only from our personal experience, not a guide book or internet listing. There is a lot of advice on-line; I'm adding to that which is already available. Look for part 1 which will be about the airport soon. I also plan to post about our experiences in Cairo and in the English countryside in other sets of posts later in the spring.

The World According to Snoop Dogg

It seems we'll have to give the last word on the Imus affair to Snoop Doggy Dog.

Here's Snoop Dogg:

"It's a completely different scenario. Rappers are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh--, that's trying to get a n---a for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them mutha----as say we in the same league as him."

At the time of this interview, Snoop's arraignment on felony charges (possession of a firearm and sale or transportation of marijuana) was looming, but on Wednesday afternoon (April 11), he pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to five years' probation and 800 hours of community service; a three-year prison sentence was suspended.

It all makes so much sense now!

Good Writing

Who are the best two writers on the internet? Well, I don't know. The best two I know of are Stephen Metcalf who is critic-at-large of slate.com and Dave White who is the movie critic for movies.com and sometimes at MSNBC.com. These two writers are poles apart. Metcalf is erudite and pensive and expressive. White is a voice of pop-culture. I love reading them both. They add to my day! You can find articles by Metcalf by searching at the slate.com site. Dave White's column is on the opening page of movies.com.

Snowed Out in the Windy City

Astros v Cubs, game 3, was cancelled Wednesday due to a snow-covered Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Astros had taken the first two 2 games of the 3 game series. They play in Philadelphia this weekend where the weather doesn't look much better. The Friday game will probably be played but Saturday and Sunday are in doubt due to expected rain and snow in the Philly area. At home the Astros are indifferent to the weather due to their park having a retractable roof which is especially nice in the hot Houston summers.

Coming to the Party Late

Aussie and I are finally going to know what all the talk is about! We're renting Season 1 and working our way through all the seasons of HBO's The Sopranos. Living in and out of the US, we can't keep up with series as they occur. This is our chance to get current. We also plan to catch up with 24 in the same way. It's next!

Eight Rules for Writing

From Kurt Vonnegut:

Now lend me your ears. Here is Creative Writing 101:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

RIP: Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut died today at the age of 84. He never recovered from head injuries suffered in a fall in his home in New York. He wrote the amazing Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle. His eight rules for writers are widely published. (see next post)

Vonnegut once said that of all the ways to die, he'd prefer to go out in an airplane crash on the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. He often joked about the difficulties of old age.

"When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon," Vonnegut said in 2005.

HAPPY EASTER!