Fright Night

"I was working in the lab late one night 

When my eyes beheld an eerie sight:" 

"If there's something weird, in your neighborhood...

Who you gonna call?"

"And no one's gonna save you...

 from the beast about to strike."

 "I ain't afraid of no ghosts..."

 "Hey I'm a cherry ghost..."

 "I'd like to meet his tailor"

 "and grizzly ghouls from every tomb"

 "are closing in to seal your doom"

 "and though you fight to stay alive"

 "your body starts to shiver"

 "for no mere mortal can escape"

 "the evil of the the thriller!"

"...saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand...

Going to get himself a big dish of beef chow mein."

Sunset at Jemeirah Beach

When you think of the desert, water is not really a part of those visualizations.  Undulating sand dunes surround your ideas of a vast wasteland.  The desert conjures reds and browns folding into the distance with silhouetted camels walking under date palms.  And off to the south and east of Dubai, where the roads turn into sand and the brown expanse swallows the panorama, this vision is exactly right.  Big desert, my friend.

But the really cool geographic aspect of Dubai is the fact that it is a port city on the Persian Gulf.  And because Dubai is on the stretch of the Arabian Peninsula that juts out north, the city actually faces west onto the Gulf, allowing for amazing sunsets.  The red ball of sun appears to drop into the calm water on the horizon.

 The sun on the Gulf...

dropping further into the sea.

 Like most trips around Dubai, we caravan with our friends, neighbors and colleagues: Jackie and Sean and their two children. Here is Jackie posing with Jaden and Rosie.

The water is perfect at sunset.

The Burj al-Arab Hotel

South of old Dubai and only a few kilometers from our villa, lies Jumeirah Beach and the famous seven star Burj Al-Arab Hotel.  The Burj is built like a sail.  Notice the heli-port near the top on the left.  Back in 1998, Jill and I stayed in the Jumeirah Beach Resort (not in picture) before most of the buildings that make our skyline here today even existed.  This is now our closest beach and it is a long strip extending for many kilometers.  Located 10 minutes away, we love going to the beach, especially for sunset.

Bella films Dubai.

Bella loving the beach!

Sunsets are an amazing time in the desert as the temperatures drop immediately and the cool air feels so refreshing.  It's also one of the five prayer calls a day in the Muslim world.  There is something really cool about the Maghrib prayer call.

Prayer call.

Walk on-in water.

The sun gave way to a full moon that sat between the new and the old, a perfect symbol of Dubai.

This picture shows the world's tallest building in the distance twinkling on the left, the timeless moon in the middle and a mosque on the right to complete the scene.  The classic ending to a our sunset beach excursion.  We headed out for dinner in our sandy Pajero.

Happy BURday!

We spent our 41st birthdays (yes, we are a combined 82!) cruising the Dubai creek in a rented dhow (traditional local boat).  The girls stayed at home with the neighbors watching no less than 4 movies, and staying up till after midnight.  Since we NEVER go out without them, we felt it was a fair trade to let them have a fun time too.

We rented a boat that left from Bur Dubai.  Along with 33 of our closest new colleague friends and long time friend since Maui days, Jason; we departed for a 3 hour tour.  A 3 hour tour.

The weather did not get too rough and the sights were bright, even at night, in our fake plastic city.

Jay's got two turn tables and a microphone.  The 41 year-olds know the creek is where it's at!

It's your birthday, it's your birthday!

Eric, J and Phaedra: 3 Libras smile on the top deck.  E hit the big Four O this night!  40 and still running strong.

 Mr. Sean laughing at the birthday boys.  The lower deck is a scene!

 Dirhams down!

 The dining hall before....

 "Really, you want another sprite...let me see..."

 Jill and Jackie pose next to Peter, yet another birthday guest of honor.

 More spice on this plate than four years in Norway.  I'm just saying.

We really love our new colleagues and one reason why is that so many of us share the same birthday month (even the same days) and thus the same star sign.  Libras are birds of a feather so under the Arabian sky, full of stars, we found our balance of old (the creek and the imitation dhow) and the new (glitzy lights and dance music).  The Libran scales started tipping further towards the new as the night went on.  The next stop was a full on fun factor.

So weird got weirder once back on land.  We decided to hit the Temple of Luxor...I mean Carters at Wafi.  The Egyptian theme was amazingly overdone, right down to hieroglyphs.  Disney and Vegas have spawned a child and its name is Do Buy.  We were buying this night.

 Egypt?  Bahksheesh?  

J, leave Alexander the Great alone!

 OK, so I got this birthday thing that was as tall as the tallest building in our town...

 And then they lit the thing on fire in a crazy, fast spreading insane type of way....

 Thanks for the applause but methinks the old man is done!

The crew says yahoo.  The clock said 1 bell.  Um, don't we have kids starting movie number 5?
Check please.

One Snowy Day in Dubai

After four years in Norway, our family knows the amazing beauty of driving along the fjords and looking out to the snow peaked mountains.  There is something magical about ski mountains gradually growing closer as you drive until you are at their base and begin the climb.

The stark contrast between the five minute drive from our villa to Ski Dubai was less aesthetically pretty, but no less amazing.  With the Chili Peppers encouraging us to "hey, Oh, listen what I say, Oh", our Pajero cruised along the flat, dusty desert road.

Our destination: a sloping human-made giant cement mountain; our party to celebrate Rosie's 10th birthday.

Located in the Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai has many distinctions.  In addition to being the world's largest indoor ski mountain, Ski Dubai has workers from nineteen different countries (including Norway), lessons on snow boarding and skiing and authentic style alpine chalets with fake fires burning in fake fireplaces where you can buy very real, very expensive food.  More facts about Ski Dubai.

It's also the world's most classic example of hubris. Ski Dubai boasts the highest carbon footprint of any building on earth, a fact not lost on Rosie, Bella and Rosie's new friend, Zina.

While the air outside hit 39 degrees celsius, we were quite chilly at -4 in our frozen ski slope.  Ski Dubai provides boots, snowsuits and ski/sledding gear.  For hygienic reasons, patrons are asked to bring their own hats and gloves.  Of course Ski Dubai sells these for tourists who may not have packed such gear for their desert vacation.  The former Norwegians had no trouble providing their own gear.

Bella enjoyed the small sled runs.  Helmets are required for the children.  

Bella and I enjoyed the two person tube run where you are spun by a worker and so you are hurtling down the hill and spinning at the same time producing a stomach wrenching, scream filled fun ride.

Rosie, Zina, Doug and Jill enjoy the bobsled runs.

Rosie is 10!  Double digits!  A decade!

Escalators and moving steps keep people riding up and down non-stop from
10AM to midnight EVERYDAY!

The surreal Hoth planet style frozen fort in the background is quite real.

This is the view out of the frozen cave that has a mini labyrinth, ice sculptures, ice windows, ice bridges and one big power generator blasting cold air 24/7.

Here is Jill posing near one of the fake evergreens spread throughout to give the real feel.  Notice the glass windows in the background that show the rest of the mall.  Many tourists took our photos while standing on the other side of the glass in their shorts.  We threw snow at the glass to make them feel a part of the experience. 

Bella halfway up the mountain at the hot chocolate chalet stop.  The ski lift was a fun part of the experience and Rosie's friend Zina, from Syria, had never been in snow before.  It was amazing to watch her discover snow as we marveled at it all.

The view from the halfway point looking down.

The view from the halfway point looking up.

The fans keep it cool as the skiers turn the halfway point to head down.

The girls enjoyed the ski lift ride down from the top.  It was quite an experience.  Rosie will always remember her tenth birthday.