Jordan - The Dead Sea, Indiana Jones & Petra

          One of the advantages of living in the U.A.E is that you are at the heart of most of the world.  You literally have adventure in all directions.  So a trip to Jordan over a long weekend is more than feasible to get you back in time for dinner and work the next week.            

Crown Plaza Resort - Dead Sea

          Day one began with a trip towards the Dead Sea with some stops along the way.  I traveled in the company of my new co-workers who I sit by in the office, who have so kindly adopted me into their department (I am the only representative for my department onsite).  The group was Fummy, Deema, Justin and his fiance Sarah, Leo and his wife Erkia, Antione and of course my Sarah.
          First we went to mount Nebo, the famed mountain mentioned in the bible where Moses was given a glimpse of the promise land but never allowed to enter.  It is rumored he died in the region but the burial site has never been discovered.  Following the mountain visit we made way to the Dead Sea through the Crowne Plaza resort.  The resort itself was a very nice place with lush amenities, but still pales in comparison to the main attraction.  The Dead Sea is truly a unique place, the high salt content increases your normal level of buoyancy so that you can virtually lay on top of the water.

The Treasury

 It is a unique experience and one you could not replicate anywhere else in the world (don't let any of the water get in your mouth though, it tastes way worse than normal salt water).  No one told me not to shave to close to the time you swim in the Dead Sea so that was a rather interesting burning sensation.  My neck was bright red for the rest of the day so be advised to adjust your shaving schedule prior to your dip in the sea.  We also enjoyed slathering mud all over ourselves letting it dry and then washing it off in the sea.  The resort provided a nice bucket of mud to use.  Given my aversion to a myriad of textures I tolerated the mud on my body until it dried and immediately went into the sea.  I will say you can really tell a difference in your skin after "de-mudding" yourself.  After the Dead Sea we had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in the resort, the food was decent but it had one of those minimum buy in deals which makes you spend a certain amount before leaving which is always kind of lame.  Luckily between all of us we were able to make the cut.

Most Notable Angle Of Descent

My Mini-Donkey Compared
To Sarah's Normal Sized Donkey

          Day two started us on our way to the Petra site.  I have had Petra on my list for a while since I had done a great deal of research on the site without actually ever being there.  One of the professors I studied under in college had been intimately involved with a Petra project and had enough influence to bring a temporary museum to our home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The museum was housed on our college campus and we were able to view and research after hours when the public left.  Petra is a truly fascinating place and has been referred to as the "Las Vegas" of the ancient world.  Petra transformed from a town of bandits, to a noble city with its own water system, natural protection and they even had vineyards to make their own wine.
          Our group had six hours to walk the site through the narrow pathways to the

The Monastery

famous treasury building (featured in Indiana Jones: the last crusade) and at the very end of the similar but much larger monastery structure.  Sarah and I were the only ones who elected to travel up to the monastery, and I had the brilliant (sarcasm) idea to speed up our ascent of the 900 steps by commandeering some donkeys.  It was not until we passed by the rest of the group (that erupted in laughter) that I realized that my donkey was not proportionate relative to my size.  It became more obvious on the journey up to the monastery as my donkey showed signs of distress.  And by that I mean he took frequent breaks and either made motions to remove me from his back or considered ending it all by walking to the edge of the cliff and staring down into the abyss (as seen in the videos below).  At one point he also (I think purposefully) walked directly into a tent selling souvenirs bashing my left leg into the table causing all the trinkets to scatter everywhere.  Of course the woman running the tent chose to express her unhappiness about the situation to me, not the brains of the operation (Yes, the donkey).  When we arrived  it was clear the journey was well worth it, the monastery is truly a site to be seen, its monolithic and wonderful to behold.  So after the donkey ride back down we made our way back to the entrance for dinner.  We ate at a local Jordanian restaurant in the evening with our drivers and enjoyed the local environment before we had to head out to the airport in the morning.

           Jordan is a great place to visit, we had a fun group and a long weekend from Abu Dhabi gives a great amount of time to see the main attractions while maybe leaving room for a future visit down the road.  If you go and do decide to make the trip of those 900 steps, just make sure you rent a normal sized donkey.  Actually scratch that, watch my video carefully and print out one of my pictures because you should find my donkey and give him a carrot or two.  You know the poor guy has earned it.    
          The only other person I would recommend finding are the local "Jack Sparrow" looking chaps that are lending the donkeys and selling souvenirs at the Petra site.  If you look closely at my final video riding back down from the monastery you will see him galloping past me going full speed down the stairs.  For some reason he was overly excited about the day, but he rode past us so quickly that we were left to never know what he was so stoked about.
         
    

Abu Dhabi - Everyone at home thinks we moved to Dubai, Even though we say Abu Dhabi

Burj Khalifa

Downtown Dubai

          At first glance the city of Abu Dhabi and Dubai look very different for somewhat obvious reasons.  The architecture for one is much more diverse in Dubai.  Abu Dhabi has some very unique buildings but  Dubai seems to the front runner for creativity at the moment.  I'd like to clarify that we are by no means experts on the subject of Dubai having only stayed one night and one day trip.  What I do find funny is that everyone does in fact think we moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Dubai.  I can say the word "Abu Dhabi" to people and still they will ask me a few days later "How is life in Dubai?", its a strange phenomenon that I could go on about, but for now I will offer some insight into the "Las Vegas" of the middle east.  Tailing the Las Vegas comment, gambling is strictly forbidden in the country (which is a real bummer for me, I thought there was hope when I found out about camel racing, but alas, no dice) which is the one of the few major differences.  Outside of gambling you are likely to find many of the other activities you'd come to expect in a "Las Vegas" like place.  One of the lovely indulgences in Dubai and in the U.A.E. in general are the infamous brunches.  We are on our way to finding the best brunches in the area but yet to find an affordable one.  We are learning all the good brunches cost closer to 300-500 Dirhams ($100-150) where alcoholic beverages are included.  So when we find a good one, I will be sure to elaborate further on the subject.

Saeed and I

           One direct comparison of Dubai to Vegas is the tribute to the famous Bellagio fountain at the base of the tallest tower in the world: the Burj Khalifa.  This fountain was created by the same developers of the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas and is slightly larger in size.  We had the pleasure of walking to the fountain from the Dubai Mall where shops and cafes circle the great body of water.  I also called up my friend Saeed who is originally from Dubai who joined us for a short while as we enjoyed some hooka while we watched the musical fountain.  Dubai mall is a massive mall with basically every store you can think of inside it, in addition to the fountain there is a very large fish aquarium and lavish indoor fountains at many checkpoints.  We are slowly learning that in the warmest of weather (that we are currently walking into) everyone flocks to malls at the center for social engagement.  Half of the population at the mall is not seeking to actually buy anything, but rather walk or "lurk" around as my friend Saeed likes to put it.
          Dubai is also well known for many adventure activities like skydiving by the palm shaped islands, wake-boarding, skiing at the indoor ski park, etc.  We paid a visit to the ski park after the fountains; while it is an impressive feat to have a ski hill in the middle of the desert, the hill doesn't even rival hills I am used to in Michigan, which is not saying much.  But again, were in the middle of the desert so that is pretty cool.  I am finding that many of the rather expensive "living on the edge" endeavors are rather affordable here so my future posts from the hospital may not come as a surprise (knock on wood).

You can have this skull at Dubai Mall for $110,000

         Interestingly enough, on our first trip to Dubai where we stayed at the lovely Westin resort for Sarah's birthday we had a "near hospital experience".  The Westin resort lies at the foot of one of the palm tree islands right before Atlantis.  We stayed only one night and enjoyed good food, nice happy hours and the sun.  Before we left I decided to try wake-boarding in the gulf for the first time (see "We moved to Abu Dhabi" wake-boarding picture).  We rented a boat for a half hour session.  We had breakfast prior to our scheduled departure and it was at this time that Sarah inquired into the pain of a jelly fish sting.  I replied that I was not completely sure but I said if I was ever stung I would probably cry.  So about an hour later we walked over to the docks to board the
boat.  I hopped in and Sarah followed, as she sat in the boat she started to tell me that her foot was in pain.  I examined and saw no clear injury, but she described the pain as being unbearable.  The boat driver over heard and immediately said the word "jellyfish".  Poor Sarah was stung by a jellyfish after taking two steps in the ocean, while I sloshed around for thirty minutes in the Arabian gulf.  She slowly recovered over time, but she can explain better than I, recovery from a jelly fish sting is an interesting process.  

A thousand stings of the Jelly Fish inflicted upon Sarah's little piggies

          That is all I have to say about Dubai for the moment, I am certain our opinions will evolve as we frequent the "Las Vegas" of the middle east.  So if you have enjoyed the amenities of the real Las Vegas, try Dubai on for size.  We have a jelly fish free guest room waiting for you.