Month: October 2018

It is our 15th day. The time has just flown by. Just about everyone has been “under the weather” at least one day, but no one has tripped and fallen. And, we have not had a hospital visit.  Thanks for praying for us.

Nothing was planned for today.  For one reason, the hotel costs are way too expensive. That is one advantage of group travel, the guests don’t know exactly what they paid for each component. For the Shangri-La they would say “you shouldn’t have, but I’m so glad you did”

Two photos From our balcony

    

One photo from our lounge chairs.

A photo around the grounds.

 

Two photos of our rooms from outside.

    

Two photos of the Gulf of Oman just off the Arabian Sea.

   

It is absolutely beautiful here.  Photos give you an idea, but seeing the beauty in person cannot be beat. Off we go to dinner.

 

Today we went to abudhabi.  This is the correct spelling.  It is also spelled       Abu Dhabi, two words.

Our guide today, Hi-Sam, was Egyptian. He has been in Dubai for 4 years.  He was quite knowledgeable.  Our first stop was the mosque.  It is the first in the world.  Not because it is the biggest, (trust me, it was big) but because it is white.  The outside is white marble from Greece and the inside is white marble from Italy.  It took 11 years to build from 1966  to 2007.   It is only 11 years old. It cost 1/2 billion dollars and utilized  about 25,000 workers. The mosque was paid for by the royal family and they still maintain the facility.  It also had semi precious stones inlaid in the marble like the Taj. This mosque can hold 41,000 worshippers at a time.  Usually on Friday about 10,000 come to worship.  This mosque also has the biggest carpet in the world. I can’t remember the size but it weighed 47 tons. It was woven as one piece but they had to cut it in order to get it in the building.  That seemed strange to me, like they did not think it through before they started the project. Obviously, I do not know all the facts.

        

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the 7 Emirates. The 7 Emirates became a  country  in 1971. There are 12 million people in the Emirates. About  10 million come from other countries in both capacities of workers and wealth.

In 1958 oil was discovered in the desert. The land belonged to the government, so the government owns the oil. The Royal Family runs the government.  There is a connection here. The ruler (see his name below) was a very clever person. He is known as the Father of the Country, and he ruled from 1971 until his death in 2004.  He took the oil money and invested it in roads and other forms of transportation, as well as skyscrapers. All this to attract foreign business.  He also invested in education, saying it was not an expense but an investment in the future. Today’s pride is that UAE has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The illiteracy rate has been less than 1% since 2014. There is no tax on land, or homes. However, just this year January 1, a 5% VAT tax was added on things you buy.  The Emirates have a president.  He is the son of the former ruler. The royal family does not consist of just a few people, but it could be 100s of people.  Each of the 7 Emirates have their own royal family.  There are no kings, only princes. The founder of the UAE is Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi.  His son is now the president.

It was very, very hot today.  Each day upon waking and looking out the window, they is a lot of haze.  It really never burned off, even though the sun was very, very hot.  Electricity is generated by gas now, but they are working on using the sun as the generator. Sounds like a splendid idea as hot as it is here.  It has been close to 100 during the first 14 days of our trip.

We heard again today, that Dubai is working on a new building that would be taller than the Burj Kaliafa, and it should be ready for the Dubai Expo in 2020.

 Our guide took us do the 74th floor, an observation deck, where we could see the royal palace and the government palace  in Abu Dhabi. Both were Impressive.  In the Third picture is the Fairmont hotel. The picture was taken  from inside a not exactly clean window.  Anyway, The Fairmont looks like a gate to the ocean. It was beautiful. The other pictures did not come out.

Our first stop was at the Ferrari world which was an amusement park.  We only stopped for a coffee and rest rooms and pictures.

  em

    

I could not publish this last night.  We are now on our way to Oman and the Shangha-la hotel.  I hope I have good pictures today.

Thanks for joining us in the UAE.

 

 

Today was our second day of our hop on hop off bus tour in Dubai.

Our guide today said the Dubai Mall took up 12 million square meters, not one million. Which ever is correct it is a lot of space.

Today we realized how many, many buildings were under construction. Do you think they are all skyscrapers? You can bet your life on that one.

We stopped by the Egyptian Souk.     My was it beautiful.  I did not take many pictures today, but look at this stairway.

    

I had Carol stand by the stairs so you would know these pictures were taken on geogous stairs.  The stones on the posts were all different colors.

We passed up the gold market and stopped at the spice market. No one bought spices, but I bought tea and a scarf. Here is a picture of the scarf.  Too bad you can’t see the little diamonds on it.

We took a boat ride on the canal and saw some of the princes homes.  However there were signs reading “No photography” so we did not.  It was very hot again today.

Our hotel is in a very large mall. At one end there is an indoor ski slope. Plus it has other things to do in the snow.  It is another amazing thing in Dubai.

 

I 

Here is a picture of the Burj Kaliafa at night.  The tallest building in the world.

I leave you again tonight amazed at all the things they are doing in Dubai.  Let me mention a few more things.  Dubai does not mind copying other countries.  The have a building for “Big Ben.” They have copied the Sidney Opera House, and the water fountains are copied from Las Vegas.  They are also working on a building that looks like the Singapore skyline. Plus a lot of other buildings similar to one from another country.  It’s amazing.

 

 

Yes, it is our 2nd day in Dubai and the city holds all the superlatives.

yesterday we flew from Delhi India, a rather dirty place, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a city that is superlative in every way.  Six went to the “Top of the Burj,” the tallest building in the world and loved every minute of their excursion.  Cathy and I stayed back and looked at other things, but were most intrigued with the furniture styles and colors.

After the top of the Burj Khalid’s we watched a delightful water show at the Dubai Mall, I would presume the biggest mall in the world.  Surprise! It is filled with all the high end stores, and all the fast food restaurants of America.  Our young waiter this morning said, the people of Dubai love it, but it doesn’t hold much interest for Americans.  Correct!

Words cannot explain the size and magnitude of the buildings here. Also the architectural work is very, very modern and stunning.  We noticed one building made a 1/4 turn as it reached for the sky.  We did the hop on hop off this morning, but it was so hot we came back to our room about 3 pm to get out of the heat.  We plan to do the night tour at 7:30 pm tonight.  No doubt it will be super.

In 2020 Dubai is hosting the Dubai Expo and they are gearing up for it.  They will have the tallest Ferris wheel in the world when it is finished.  Work began on it in 2012.  I say they better hurry up if they want to finish it in 18 months.  It is expected to draw 3 million guests each year.

We also went to the area called “The  Palms  Jumeirah”  which began work in 2000.  They dredged sand from the Arabian Sea and got rocks from the Himalaya mountains to make the (sea turned into land) look like a palm tree with fronds. This was an amazing sight. Just about unbelievable. And it is all luxury apartments, shopping, and eating. We stayed on the bus this time.  Too expensive for our blood.  Guess what? They are building a second palm about 20 kilometers from this one and it is going to be half again as big.  Really???

I’ve got to meet the gang for our evening bus ride.  When it is 10:00 am in Michigan, it is already 6:00 pm in Dubai.

just a few more facts and pictures.

the Dubai Mall covers 1 million square meters.  A meter is a little over a yard.  It attracts 100 million visitors a year.  I think most of them were there last night.

In 10 years 300 skyscrapers were built.  I can understand why it is the fastest growing city in the world.

     

Yes,  that is the picture frame building.  It has two skyscrapers attache at the top with more real estate.  The second picture is a hotel.  Ron says it is billed as a 15 star with prices to match.

I leave you today very, very impressed with the magnificence of this city.

 

What a wonderful day we had. The hotel provided a boxed breakfast. Our driver picked us up and took us to the extremely huge train station. I think Ron and I could have figured out how to get to the platform, but it was very nice to have Adi with us. Cathy and I decided India is a country of those who have almost everything and those who have almost nothing, (Including no underwear for young children.) It was at the train station and in Agra that we saw the most beggars. Some were absolutely pitiful with all kinds of deformity. Yes, we were concerned, but Adi told us the government provides for deformed people and those who are sick. They even have hospitals for these people. For this reason and others, the cities suggest tourists do not support beggars. 

Again more than one class of service on the train. We had air conditioning and reserved seats on the express train to Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal. Plus they served us breakfast, our second one of the day.

It was extremely hot and humid outside. The local guide met us and took us to see the Taj.  Upon arrival on the grounds, we were met with a nice looking building made of sandstone. As we continued into the grounds, we came to an archway, that perfectly framed the most gorgeous building I have ever seen, The Taj Mahal.

           

Some Taj Mahal statistics.

It was finished in 16??  It took 22 years and 20,000 workers.  It was built to honor the builders most favorite wife. Therefore, it is the only spectacular building built for love.  Most are built to gods or to government, but this one was built for a departed wife.  She died in childbirth for her 14th child. The workers came from all over the continent, many from Persia.  Many never returned to their home land, but stayed in Agra. 1200 families of the descendants, who were workers, still live in Agra and take care of the Taj.  The Taj is closed on Fridays and that is when the upkeep takes place. There are no descendants of the royal family so the government maintains the building, with pretty strict rules.  They expect it to last another thousand years unless someone vandalizes it.  During the British rule, the army tried to take the precious stones, but they would need to destroy the gems to get them freed from the glue, so they gave up on the project. They have 40,000 visitors a day. 

                   

The building is made from the finest marble available. It is a built by a Muslim king and he had verses from the Koran inscribed around the entrance gate. It is hard to believe, but the inscriptions are in black onyx. The artisans carved from the marble and glued the stones into the cavities. I hope you can see the Arabic writings around the front entrance. One more thing. At no time during the day is a shadow cast on the wording.

Continue reading “2nd day in India”

Since we arrived late last night and it was midnight local time before bedtime, we all opted for an 11:00 am departure time with our local tour guide. 

• However our driver was about an hour late so we left late witih our tour guide, nicknamed, Mountie, and our representative Adi.  She notified me that she would be with us during our stay in India. That turned out to be a good thing.
• Pictures below are.  Sandra and Carol in their rickshaw. The Cathy and Robbin in their rickshaw.  Ron and Sue on the steps of a temple.  Two street scenes in Delhi. Two pictures of beautiful Indian girls.  I have another picture with 4 girls but I could not get it to upload. The gang in front of a temple with our orange scarfs on.
• O
• Our guide discussed with us Hindu and sheikh religion.  However sheikh is not a religion but a way of life. A man who did not like some of the 9000 rules and rituals of the Hindu founded the sheikh way of life.  About 30% of Indians are sheikhs.  They do not cut their hair.  Men wear turbans to cover their long hair.

Today is the 150th birthday of Mahatma  Ghandi and it was a holiday in India. There are 20 million people Who live in greater Delhi. 8 million live in Old Delhi and 12 in New Delhi. Since it was a holiday we think 10 million were at the parks enjoying their family and friends. The other 10 million were at the Spice market and all in their very own vehicle.  There are 1.3 billion people in India second only to China that has 4+ billion people.

India was under British rule from 18?? To 1946.  Centuries before that, there were about 400 kingdoms. Finally the king ordered a united India. However, there are still places that refuse to unite, like Belarus. 

Our first stop was at the sheikh temple.  No shoes or socks and a head scarf were required.  As the custom is, we cleansed our feet by walking through a shallow pool. We listened for a few minutes as the priest was reciting a sermon to thousands of people.  Our next stop was to see the kitchen where volunteers were preparing vegetables. They serve 3 times a day adding up to 6000 meals a day. The vats for rice were enormous. As we departed we noticed how beautiful the young girls are in their colorful, bordering on brilliant, native dress.  They really know how to pose.  A young man was having his picture taken and I photo bombed him.  The photographer liked it and wanted one more.  Then he wanted a picture with Maria and me and him poising.  I suppose the guys were in their early 20s.  Another time we took a picture of 4 girls and they also wanted our picture.  We walked through the shallow pool to retrieve our shoes and we were off to Old town for a rickshaw ride.  

Two guests per ride.  Ron and I were the heaviest and we had the oldest peddler.  I guess he was pushing 40, but the other guys were 20 something.  At one time, going up hill, a friend of our peddler came along side and pushed the rickshaw up the hill, just to help us catch up.  We had the rickshaws for about 1 1/2 hours but we got off and and walked around  and took pictures at a temple. We also drove by rickshaw to the spice market. The rides in India kind of remind you of “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” Tuk Tuks and rickshaws, and motor bikes and cars and trucks are all vying for first place.  Five or six vehicles wide on the streets with the same amount coming directly toward you. Beep beep! I am sure they learn this process of driving in elementary school.  Beep beep! At one time a tuk tuk got too close to our rickshaw and the driver gave it a smack, and peddled on. Beep beep! See some street scenes above. We were told that if anyone drove like that in Jophar, they would be fined.  I have been to three cities of India and they all drive the same.  Trust me, you have to see the traffic to believe it. Beep beep! 

It was so hot today.  We were happy to go to a craft shop even knowing they would try to sell us something.  Carol bought a beautiful loose ruby and Sandra bought a gorgeous red dress.  Some of us were tempted to buy some silks, but we resisted.

We had a great lunch at an upscale Indian restaurant.  It was a little too spicey for my liking.  We were there about 2 hours.  It took us a long time to order from the menu.  Normal time to eat. A very long time to pay the bill.  Again another day with just 2 meals.  That is working out very well.

Thanks for sharing the ride. Tomorrow we visit The Taj Mahal.

 

Today we were ready to go at 8 am.  We returned at 8 pm. I was feeling a little taken advantage of because we paid $60 USD for our day trip, and I saw it advertised on the street for $29 USD.  However, to be fair, we all decided we wanted a private tour.

Our same guide and driver picked us up at our hotel.  To HaLong Bay is a 3 1/2 hour drive away. Of course there is a rest stop with unusual things to purchase and the ladies and men are working on the craft before your eyes.  This makes the product more valuable. Don’t you agree? These are beautiful embroidered Vietnamese scenes with very tiny stitches.  Carol, Cathy, and I all bought one. Maria got a beautiful topaz ring, Gerard bought a beautiful bowl and urn. He had the urn shipped. All I saw that Sandra bought was 2 ice cream bars.  She doesn’t have to carry anything. Ron and Robbin also bought ice cream. ( I tried and tried to upload pictures of the gals working on the embroidery put, I just could not upload them.

It was quite different in the country than in Old Town.  The traffic was thinner but still lots of motor scooters and now we add relatively large trucks.  Very few semis.  We passed luscious rice fields and learned that they are ready to harvest when the tops turn yellow.   Most of the fields were green.  We also saw a good number of water buffalo. Many of the homes we passed had pretty fronts with nice balconies.  Also they are very narrow, but always more than one story. We understand it has to do with taxes per square meter.  Makes sense!  Just as nice as they were in the front, almost none of them had finished sides and I presume backs.  They still had the bare concrete showing.

Ah, Ha Long Bay.   First things first.  Lunch.  Now I realize what a private tour is.  There were only the 8 of us on a boat that probably holds 100 or so.  Our meal was a seafood dinner.  The gals brought out plate after plate of delicacies of the sea, including dishes we were unsure about.  I did not like the breaded squid. We had tiny clams and stuffed crab and shrimp, no cocktail sauce, and a wonderful regular fish with millions of bones.  I liked it the best.  See picture below. Our guide said HaLong Bay is one of the 7 wonders of the world. The mountains coming out of the bay were beautiful.  There are about 2,000 large and small mountains. It was so peaceful and we took lots of pictures. See some above.  Peaceful yes, but we learned they have 500 boats that ply the waters for tourists and Vietnamese vacationers.  It’s a great place for wedding pictures.

Included in the tour was a walk to a gorgeous cave just below the earth’s surface.  It was hot and humid in there.

Then we boarded our large van and headed home.  Carol sat in the front and she was questioning whether we would make or not.  She cannot figure out why they have a center line because no one observes it.   Alas we made it back and we all had a smoothie on the street.  FRESH and delicious and only $1.50 USD.  Will I ever be able to pay $6.00 again for the price of a smoothie? The only

Our next day was a travel day.  We went from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpor, changed planes and got into Deli at about 9:00 pm.

Thanks for traveling with us today. I wish you could be here to enjoy the sights, scenes, scents, and special audio sounds in person.