Dubai

In my last entry I forgot to include a blurb about my short visit to Dubai. So here it is. 

I arrived in Dubai and hour later than planned due to a late take off in New York. Geoff (an old friend from high school who lives in Dubai) had invited me for a visit and had given me directions to his apartment. He is a pliot for Emirates Airlines and they provide accomodation for all their foreign staff...crazy nice accommodation too!! Once I was through customs in the ridiculously spacious Dubai international airport, I found my way to the taxi ranks outside. In Dubai there are three different cues for taxis: for men, for foreigners and families, and for women. The women's taxis are pink and are driven by women....pretty cool for a country where women's rights are questionable. After a 20 minute ride, I arrived at Geoff's tower of an apartment building and went up to the 20 somethingth floor. It was great to reconnect with Geoff after 15 years!!! crazy. We chatted and caught up on what we've been doing all this time and he showed me the view from his balcony which was quite something. We could see the tallest building in the world from there...which was weird to tell you the truth. It was a thin spindly building (I guess I need to get a little closer to it to really appreciate it). Geoff was saying that most of it is rebar and concrete but that when they tried to pour concrete for the top little bit (several storeys) there was complications with the concrete due to the change in atmospheric pressure...So, they had to build the remainder out of steel. (Was it really that worth it?)

After great chats, good wine, and a short sleep, I woke early the next morning and made my way to the airport to check in for my flight to Cape Town. As noted in my last entry, the airport was really busy at 7:30am and after an hour walking back and forth looking for something reasonable to eat I boarded my plane for Cape Town.

Getting to Cape Town

So the journey has begun! At 6:00am yesterday I woke up, showered and headed for the Bathurst subway station in Toronto. Within two hours I had arrived at Toronto Pearson Airport, had checked in, had eaten a little breaky and was waiting to board the plane.

The weather when we left was overcast, however, as we ascended over Toronto I noticed three layers of clouds that seemed to be fairly evenly spaced apart and were so beautiful. I always love to experience of climbing up above the clouds...knowing that I have just come from a dreary rainy existence to one that is clear, bright and limitless.

So, I arrived in New York (well actually New Jersey but it is so close that it feels like New York) at around 11am and took NYC transit into Manhattan. I saw the coolest thing on the train - as we went through a tunnel I was gazing towards the blackness that I always gaze at when on the subway and I noticed images on the window. At first I thought it was a reflection but quickly realized that it was actually images on the wall of the subway track. The images worked like those little books I would create as a child with one picture on each page making up a moving picture when flipped through quickly. So on the wall of the subway were a series of images that made up a movie trailer!! It was wild! And such a good idea.

Once the train arrived to 33rd st I walked north to 47th and parked my backpack at a luggage storage place right near Times Square. New York City is full of energy....people everywhere...shopping EVERYWHERE! For someone who considers herself pretty much a minimalist, NYC was a little overwhelming, yet at the same time fascinating. I felt like I was in a TV show.

I walked north to Central Park taking pictures along the way, noting the amazing old architecture (and some new architecture) and watching people. I spent a few hours exploring the park and dropped in at the Metropolitan Museum which is halfway up on the east side of the park. I spent a few hours wandering in there which was interesting and then completed my loop of the park including the reservoir, a marionette theater and strawberry fields, dedicated to the late John Lennon. Then I ate a little dinner at a great salad place and headed to Times Square. It was dark by this point and NY was busy with folks everywhere. Times Square was wild...fully lit up with images everywhere. After witnessing a short bit of chaos there I headed back to my backpack and caught the subway to JFK airport.

Overall a great 12 hours spent...wish there had been a little less drizzle and a little more sun, but hey, it is just recently Spring. Right now I am in Dubai visiting my friend Geoff in his amazing apartment and will be heading to the airport in 20 minutes to catch my next flight to Cape Town.

I'll be in touch!

Wendy