This week’s Mama Heart’s Photo Challenge is WOW. I don’t know that I really have any photos that qualify for this theme, but I do have some shots from Dubai that I’ve never really shared…so I thought I’d use this theme as my launch pad!
I flew into Dubai on a Saturday evening…I thought I’d be able to catch up on my rest on Sunday. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until I’d landed that their work week starts on Sunday…so I was off to work. Thank goodness I had a personal assistant that brought me coffee as soon as I came in. However, it didn’t really help…after lunch, I crashed.
Each day, a driver would pick me up and drive me to the office. It’s amazing how different the culture is and yet, still very similar. My family was very concerned for my safety…but I’ve never felt more safe. The one major difference in their work day vs. mine is that you pull up to the office and there are men covering the cars when sheets. They do this to protect the cars from getting too hot. During the day, the sheets will be removed…the cars cleaned…and then the sheets placed back on the car. I thought that was kinda different.
There are some pretty strict rules in Dubai (well, the middle east in general) that as long as you follow…life is good. However, seat belts always seemed to be a suggestion. I once saw this woman driving down the road with her baby in her lap. You don’t see that every day. Oh, and no I didn’t have to wear anything special while I was there…just my everyday work and street clothes.
These are just a few of the views from around town. Different clothing and a different language…but so many similarities.
The last day of my trip, one of the ladies at the office took me to the Gold Souk. It felt a lot like I was walking the streets of New York City as vendors shouted out their best prices and encouraged you to check out their shops. If you’ve seen Sex and the City II…they are so right, you should definitely not go into anyone’s private shop.
That night, I decided I would go on a Desert Safari. A tour guide picked us up at the hotel in his SUV and drove us out into the desert. Once the caravan was together, we drove through the dunes…it was equivalent to a roller coaster. We did stop to see the camels.
Although I have pictures of myself with a camel, I am not going to burn your eyes with those pictures…I look entirely too hot and tired. By the way, do you see those yellow flip flops…I think that qualifies for Mellow Yellow Monday.
This is probably my favorite shot from the set. It’s my wow moment…the guy on the right looks so relaxed as he holds the bird…and the child is just in awe.
So anyways, that’s another trip down memory lane for me. For those of you that are now wondering what exactly I do…I’m a consultant…and no, I don’t travel like this any more although I do still travel domestically. For more WOW photos, go to:
