Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:38:22 +0000
Dubai Day 1 Index Too Much Bahrain
As a touristing day, today was a complete writeoff. I didn't venture outside the immediate neighbourhood.
I'm noticing some parallels with the way this travelling thing works. Each region starts with somewhere pretty boring, but fairly tourist-friendly. Sao Paulo, Singapore, and now Dubai. I fail to do anything interesting apart from organise the next leg of travel. After that, things start to get rather better. So hopefully this pattern will extend to Syria. I spent a fair bit of time reading up on Syria and planning what I'd like to do, and it sounds pretty fun. I decided not to go to Lebanon, partly because it sounds a little fraught, but mainly because the natural route back, through Syria, is closed off because I only have a single-entry visa. Another time maybe.
Apart from that... I had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Lulu hypermart. I wrote and posted a postcard. I had plans to go out and visit the Burj al Arab hotel, you know the one that features in every TV report that mentions Dubai. But in the end it would be a several hour jaunt just to take a couple of photographs of a skyscraper, and it's far too hot for that. In fact I looked up the weather and found that the BBC has a four day forecast of 38 degrees, every day. I thought it was hot. Damascus weather seems more variable, but definitely a bit cooler.
I got to chatting with, guess what, another travelling computer programmer. This one was from Ottawa, had been travelling for 7 months, and was now looking for work. Maybe a picture of me come 2009. Unfortunately I turned down the offer to go have a drink nearby that same hotel I was planning to photograph, since I have an early morning tomorrow.
So a pretty useless day all round. Tomorrow is another travelling day, getting to Damascus. I sent an email asking for a hotel reservation, but they haven't replied, so I may have to wing it again.