Likely why I returned so completely exhausted.
{ 0 comments }
October 2008
It's been almost a week since I've returned from my middle east tour. I have been completely, physically wrecked. Exhausted beyond words. Two straight weeks of hot weather and zero sleep caught up to me this week and I had to take the afternoon off yesterday to just sleep. I'm feeling much better on this beautiful Friday morning.
So, I've been grappling with my Dubai trip report for a week now and it still doesn't feel quite right to me so I am going to wait to post it. I am still gaining perspective on the experience, even a week after getting back. I'll try to post before end of next week.
I had planned on resting some more this weekend but Cynthia and I decided to take the train to Paris this weekend. =) We're going to have a girly few days of shopping, eating, drinking, dancing! So much for REST!!!! More on THAT trip in a few days!
{ 0 comments }
I'll write a more elaborate post about the fantastic evening I had in Dubai tonight (meeting new friends, dancing to reggae and salsa at a old dive bar, driving through crazy traffic and shopping like a mad woman).
This post is about my really great hotel bathroom. =) It's modern, black granite, with a rubber ducky sitting on the side of the tub. I came home totally exhausted after four hours of dancing in heels and I decided to have a bath! I haven't had a bath in years and frankly, I've always disliked them because I get really bored! Well, this bathtub was inviting. I lit the floating candles, dumped the entire jar of bath salts and turned off all the lights. I ran hot water and just reeeelaxed! It was SO nice. I love this alone time. After a crazy night out socializing with some really great new friends (who I only just met today!), it's so nice to be able to come back to my own room and have this time to myself. I took a shower in candlelight as well and it was such a nice experience. I'm going to make it a real point to use candles more often when I'm at home. Candlelight is gorgeous.
Anyway, tonight was SO MUCH FUN. I haven't danced like that and sweated like that in a very long time! It's hot and humid here in Dubai but I've met some really great new people. S, C, K and R! R is a DJ and will be taking me out again sometime in the next week. K is starting his own media business and is a super interesting person – we're planning to meet up again tomorrow. Dubai is very similar to London in that it is FULL of expats. I love London because you get to meet people from every corner of the planet. I feel like Dubai is very very similar!! =)
Tomorrow, I am going to try and see the Burj Arab Hotel. Locals hate it. Tourists want to see why.
{ 0 comments }
The taxi line is an hour long. There's a yellow enzo ferrari parked
beside me. And its ridiculously hot and humid.
{ 0 comments }
Dubai is total crazy madness. What kind of planet have I landed on? This place is insane! I ordered an airport pick up from the hotel. I didn’t realize that in doing so, I would be treated like the sultan’s wife or something! Two people met me at the airport gates, another guy fast tracked me through the three hour immigration line, another guy helps me with my luggage, another then brings me to my car, where the driver (of an S class 350 Mercedes) is waiting for me with a hot towel and water. We arrive at the hotel and another guy takes my luggage, a woman offers me tea and another takes me up to my room and checks me in at my own desk! I must have met 20 people from the Jumeirah Hotel group tonight! It’s 2am Dubai time. What kind of crazy planet have I landed on? I am floored.
Whenever I visit a new city, I always try to come up with ONE word to describe the place. Istanbul is Magic, Cairo is Chaos, Mykonos is Bliss. Dubai is, by no doubt and in every bit of the word, all about Opulence.
I can't even speak.
Today I'm off to the Mall of the Emirates and to the Burj Arab. RIDICULOUS. More soon.
{ 0 comments }
You know you've found your soul sister when, while you're away on business, she folds your laundry and makes a pile of old underwear that you need to trash. The kind of underwear that you can't be caught dead in by the fireman because there are holes in them!
My mom has always yelled at me about keeping old, holey underwear. =) She would be so proud now.
{ 0 comments }
I flew from LHR to DXB to CAI on Monday night. I haven't slept in nearly three days. I don't even know how it's possible for me to write a cohesive sentence.
But I wanted to report on my Emirates flight. Why have I never flown Emirates before? It is amazing! Top notch. World class. Even as an economy passenger, you feel like a queen. They give a menu, the seats are high quality, they have over 500 channels of information, entertainment and music. They give you hot towels at the beginning of the flight and after your meal. The lighting is coordinated to your flight. If you're on the red eye, the cabin is dimmed a soft orange with a sprinkling of stars on the roof to resemble a night sky. Lights dim on and off and stewards are impeccably dressed. Who designed their uniforms? Just beautiful and classy. They have a bilingual staff and the very best part - they fly to the greatest places on the planet: basically Africa, the Middle East, South Asia
United and American are the crappers. Seriously.
{ 0 comments }
Is it possible to fall in love with a city?
With its
people
experiences
foods
corners
parks
skies
chaos
unexpected moments of bliss
little moments
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/london_from_above_at_night.html
{ 0 comments }
He holds the record for the best text message I've ever received thus far:
"Chica, next time you random-dial me and leave a consciousness-stream's worth of conversational gossip on my answerphone, speak up a bit…"
I am tickled pink by the wit and the structure of that sentence. Add to that the fact that Cynthia and I were walking to our favourite bakery in Holland Park actually sharing a consciousness-stream's worth of conversational gossip between the two of us! Brill-i-ant.
{ 0 comments }
I had one of the best weekends ever. Friday night, I went to an INSEAD alumni association black-tie dinner and dance with a friend. It was a great excuse to get all dressed up and finally get into a pair of ridiculously glamorous heels again. The orthopedic surgeon this week actually told me that I’ve got the only foot condition where wearing heels is good for me! I was just born for this stuff! =) The party was in Pall Mall London, one of the glitziest streets in the West End. There was a live jazz singer and champagne and wine. My friend J, who took me to this thing, is an insanely smart, witty guy and I was expecting to meet similar people at this function but I was disappointed! We were the rowdiest there and after having had three or four glasses of wine, I had shed all inhibitions and we were ripping it up on the dance floor! We requested The Pussycat Dolls and were dancing circles around everyone to the hoochiest teen-pop music out there. It was such great fun!
One of my best girl friends, Maria, came for the weekend. We went on a double date to this place called “Dans Le Noir”, a restaurant where you eat in complete pitch black darkness. It was such a unique experience! The waiters are all blind and you basically feel your way through the entire evening. We got a choice of four different dishes: Surprise veggie, surprise seafood, surprise meat and surprise surprise (which could be anything!). Supposedly, not being able to see your food enhances the eating experience. I found it really really challenging! Everything tasted salty but the texture of food was definitely enhanced. Socially, it was a really great way to spend time with friends. Somehow, in the dark, you are more open to talking about certain things because for some strange reason, you are a little more uninhibited. The lack of instant feedback (in terms of eye contact and body language) from others makes it easier to just let things roll off your tongue. It was such a great time!! F, who ordered the Suprise surprise, ended up eating snails for dinner, which he thought were eggs! Ewwwww!
Today was a lazy rainy Sunday. We had a late brunch at a great place in Fullham, went for a walk in the rain and then watched movies inside. I love rainy Sundays.
What a fabulous fabulous weekend.
{ 0 comments }
