Jeddah

Well I don’t know what I expected, but Jeddah is not what I expected.

It is split between somewhat poor and palatial estates. The old city was poor, old and rundown. But it had an unusual architectural aspect. All the buildings had wooden additions that kind of looked like balconies added as an afterthought. (There is a term for this architectural feature but for the life of me I can’t remember it.)



Outside the old city there were palatial compounds reminiscent of multi-million dollar houses in Florida, with a slightly Middle Eastern feel.



The city is full of empty lots with piles of garbage sometimes smack dab between two amazing palaces. There did not appear to be any zoning. Houses were next to gas stations.

There were sculptures all over town. The city had more sculptures than any city I have ever been to.



That being said, due to Islamic rule, not a single sculpture was in the image of man. They were all modern art. And if they had a distinct directional aspect, they were always oriented to point to Mecca according to our guide.

The city seriously siestas. Everything is closed from 1-5pm and the streets become ghost towns. This naturally arose from it being the hottest time of the day, in an extraordinarily hot place, and people avoiding the heat.

So some interesting information I picked up about Jeddah. Women are not allowed to drive. They are allowed to have what our guide referred to as soft professions; they can be doctors, bankers and teachers. I think what he meant by soft is not physically challenging professions. But they must have a driver if they want to get anywhere.

Despite our guide saying that women were treated fairly, it was quite noticeable that there were far fewer women on the street than men. (And the women were quite noticeable as they were all in black.) All women wear abayas, the black wrist to neck to feet garb. We were told that this is Saudi tradition. In order to respect local tradition and custom, and for all I know to prevent us from being hung, this included us tourists. So I wore an abaya for the day.

This is an abaya shop in old town.



I could help but notice the fact that American franchises were everywhere. I mean, I guess I expected McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC and Baskin Robbins, which are ever present in the Middle East. But they had every American Franchise ever known, Chili’s, Fuddruckers, Hardee’s, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday’s, T.G.I. Fridays, Chucky Cheeses, Krispy Kremes, Pizza Hut and more. It was a bit strange.

Just about everything was in Arabic and English, which surprised me. And I couldn’t help but notice that the graffiti was mostly in English. For a culture which is so distinctly different, they sure seemed to have taken to our language and franchises.

We were as much interested in them as they were interested in us. A media outfit actually followed us around to get video of the mostly American tourists. That was a bit weird. Oh, and we were not allowed to go ashore unescorted. We had to be on a guided tour. This, as alien as it sounds, is also the case for most people in Russia. However, in Russia, it is possible to get a visa to go unescorted, it is just an effort and expensive so most people don’t.

Oh and the fish market. I am not sure why the fish market is considered an attraction, but it seems like every city I go on tour in, we stop to see the fish market. I am not clear on the appeal. It stinks and there are fish. But here is the obligatory picture.



Finally the museum, which was quite picturesque. The museum itself was packed full of interesting exhibits, from modern art, to Islamic art, to medieval weapons, to vases, to science exhibits. It was quite impressive and worth hours if not days.



Oh, and I can't write a blog about Jeddah without including a picture of a mosque.



The immigrant population should also be mentioned. Like most of the urban Middle East, Jeddah has a huge population of Indians and Filipinos.

My final experience in Jeddah, after going back through customs, there was a man handing to each of us Islamic proselytizing packets complete with CD.



Cool: having been to Saudi Arabia

Dubai

Gosh, where to start.

I have been there multiple times since 2001 and it still continues to stun me. The highlights of my stop in Dubai were tea at the Burj Al Arab (the only seven star hotel in the world), Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world), Palm Island (the man-made island in the shape of a palm tree) and the Dubai Fountain (which makes the Bellagio’s water performances look like a small child’s toy).

The infamous Burj Al Arab, the hotel in the shape of a sail on a man-made island, is so exclusive you need a reservation just to get within 300 meters of the building. So our Chief Accountant, Nadja, and I made reservations for “Sky Tea.”

This is the Burj Al Arab on a regrettably hazy day.



The building is incredible in a lot of ways, but the feature I appreciated the most was the atrium. This is what you see looking up the 27 floor atrium in the lobby.



The building was ornate in a slightly middle-eastern way, for example, the elevators for example were entirely covered with stylish Arabic calligraphy. (I should have taken more pictures.)

“Sky Tea,” on the 27th floor, over looks all of Dubai. In one direction is the city, in another direction is “The World” (a collection of man-made, sense a theme here, islands designed to appear to be a map of the world when viewed from above) and in another direction is Palm Island. (I should have taken more pictures.)

Tea began with Champagne and berries with cream, followed by a tower (in the shape of a sail) of decadent crust less sandwiches and canapés, scones with clotted creams and jams and finally petits fours. It was a lovely afternoon with a ridiculous amount of food. (I should have taken more pictures.)

Dubai has a thing for aquariums. There were aquariums everywhere. It seems kind of odd to have aquariums in the desert but Dubai began as a fishing village, so maybe it is not so strange. And these were aquariums unlike any you have ever seen before. They were done Dubai style, which is to say massive. I honestly think that the aquarium at the Dubai Mall is bigger than anything the Monterey Bay Aquarium has. This is a picture of just part of the aquarium in the Dubai Mall.



The Dubai Fountain is a huge lake in front of the Burj Khalif with scheduled fountain shows much like the Bellagio’s but on a much grander scale. One of the things that makes it such an experience is the music that the water performs to is traditional Arab music. It is the sort of thing you have to see to appreciate. (I should have taken pictures.)

This is the Burj Khalifa.



So let’s talk about Dubai’s bus stops. Strange topic, I know… but they are air conditioned, so they have to be mentioned.

The bus stop is on the right.



Islam touches aspects of life which never occurred to me. There was a park where, on Mondays, only women and children were permitted.

As with most any where, the re is a dark side to Dubai and to be well-rounded I should really mention the underclass of predominantly Indians which work slavery hours to continue to build the city for laughable wages or the way some women are treated and practically imprisoned. (OK, points mentioned.)

It is, nonetheless, an incredible city.

Cool: Dubai

Stupid: Not taking enough pictures

Bandar Abbas, Iran and Kuwait

So I am now one of the few Americans who have been to Iran. I went on an organized tour of Bandar Abbas. The organized tour, while nice, and safe, didn’t really give me the opportunity to get a sense of the local culture.

The Shiite Syed Mozafar Mosque (cool)





Here is what I did take away. Bandar Abbas is a very poor city and I don’t know if that is representative of the nation. The people were curious and very friendly. There was a surprising amount of English written around the city. That is not to say there was a lot, but there were signs that said things like "City Center" and street names. I did not expect to see English. People at the sites knew a couple English words, such as "Thank you." Although Muslim, it did not seem oppressively so. Our tour guide, a woman who laughed a lot, wore something which covered her hair only in the most token of fashion. In general, though some were dressed in what I would classify as western attire, women were covered from wrists to neck to ankles. Most were dressed in more traditional Muslim attire however.

All in all, I regret (though my parents most definitely do not) that I did not venture out to the city center outside the organized tour to get a real sense of the place. Though I have been to Iran, I don’t really feel that I experienced the place. (stupid)

Iranian money (my only souvenir from Iran)



As we traveled away from Iran in the night, we passed oil rigs with burning release valves. I have sailed a lot of seas, but seeing what appears to be fire in a light fog on the ocean at night is very eerie.

Today we are in Kuwait City which is fairly western. The skyline of high rises could just as easily be an American city. The dress code is casual and people were allowed to go ashore in any attire they desired. (The ship, in order to protect our guests and crew, has been enforcing the local dress customs as we travel to Muslim countries. People who are not properly dressed according to local customs are forbidden to leave the ship.)



There was a haze in the air of Kuwait City. I thought the haze was fog, but I have been told that it is actually smoke from the burning oil fields.

I was not able to go ashore, but fellow crew members came back with tales of McDonalds, malls, nice beaches, lots of large SUVs (gas prices not being an issue) and a few Americans tried to get to the border with Iraq (crazy people).

Kuwaiti money (my only souvenir from Kuwait)



Tomorrow, Bahrain.

Iran Tomorrow

I sit in my cabin, in rough seas, pondering tomorrow.

I will be in Bandar Abbas, Iran tomorrow. Talk about places I never thought I would ever see.

As an American, traveling with fifty to a hundred fifty other Americans, all wealthy, I can’t help but think that we are the perfect target.

Nonetheless, I am looking forward to the thrill and to see what feels like a forbidden land. (I have my headscarf all laid out for the morning.)

The ship has gone through some interesting preparations for tomorrow. We have to be a completely dry (alcohol-free) ship while in port and in Iranian waters. In case you have never been on a cruise, a dry cruise is practically a contradiction. It is quite an effort to collect every last ounce of alcohol on a cruise ship, from every crew cabin, every guest cabin, every mini-bar, every bar and every office (and there is a lot of alcohol in offices, my office had about 12 bottles).

Areas of the ship, such as our promenade deck, are being closed for our time in port. This is to adhere to local dressing customs. Rather than run the risk that women and men will not properly cover themselves while in areas of the ship readily visible to shore, the ship has decided to close those areas.

We are still somewhat curious as to how those officials who come onboard will react to the women onboard who will be dressed according to western standards. We are especially curious because our officers onboard in charge of immigration processing are women.

Anyway, the rough seas are getting to me. So I am going to sign off.

Stupid: Terrorism and fear (and rough seas)

Cool: Seeing forbidden land.

Safari

I went on safari in Africa… and I have the nice white girl sunburn and peeling skin to prove it.

So it was 8:15 in the morning. I was sitting in my office starting a normal day at work, talking to my coworker when he says, “Why don’t you go on the crew tour?”

I thought a moment. Could I really blow off a day at work?

Then reality check came in and said sarcastically, “You are going to be in Africa sooooo frequently in life. Why blow off a day sitting at a computer for a day in the African sun potentially seeing big game?”

So poof, I ran out of my office, changed into my safari attire, grabbed my camera, water and not enough sun block from my cabin. Ten minutes later I was on the dock in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, with a bunch of other cruise ship crew members, waiting for a bus that would take us to a game reserve.

An hour bus ride later we arrived at Lalibela Game Reserve. We were greeted with champagne flutes of orange-like juice and an African musical performance. (While we enjoyed the performance, we were politely asked to sign away our rights to sue them if we got eaten by a lion.)

Then we piled into an open top jeep that amazingly sat ten people comfortably.
I must admit, my expectations were low. I figured a nice day driving around the African wilderness enjoying the sunshine would be worth blowing off work and the cost of the crew tour.



And ten minutes into the ride… we were 30 feet from a pride of lions. It is a bit of a thrill to be sitting so close and so vulnerable so near to a bunch of lions. I mean really, there was nothing stopping them from making us lunch, except mid-day lethargy, the heat and perhaps the overpowering smell of sun block. We enjoyed watching the lions for a while, and the lions seemed a bit annoyed but tolerant of us. (It is, after all, a game reserve; they see the jeeps in the morning, afternoon and evening.)



We continued our drive on roughly forged trails through the African landscape passing herds of antelope like things (I didn’t catch the names of all the animals), zebras and giraffes.





Our next major thrill was a family of elephants huddled beneath the shade of a tree. Elephants, being more docile than the lions, allowed the jeep to come real close. We could not have been more than ten feet away from the elephants. They watched us, watching them as they flapped their ears continuously to cool themselves.



Then we heard a noise from behind us. There was another group of elephants behind us. This made our guide very nervous. Apparently you don’t want to be between two groups of elephants. They passed right around us, reach out and touch them close. We survived the encounter.



From there, the guide went searching for rhinos, through valleys, over hills, through meadows. Bounce bounce bounce in the jeep, frying in the hot mid-day African sun. Drinking lots of water, applying again and again sun block.

And then the guide delivered, and there was a rhino. The rhino was the most bothered by our presence and walked casually away.

Our final sighting was a bunch of bumps on the water. They were hippos, but honestly, they just looked like some bumps on the water. All they had exposed was their eyes and noses.



Following a few hours on safari, we returned to a lodge for a delicious late lunch. I really liked the lodge for the details, like antler door knobs and ostridge egg chandeliers.



An hour drive later, a quick costume change, and I was back in the office at work.

(If you are going to play hooky from work, why not go on safari in Africa!)

Cool: Safari.

Return to Ship Life

Well I have returned, after nearly two years land-bound, to ship life. And with my return comes a return to adventure.

My journey started at my home in Los Angeles, where it was 70F, and my destination was Cape Town, where it was 80F. I tell you this because, in this context, wearing sandals, light-weight pants, and a t-shirt on the plane seems a reasonable choice. Perhaps not so much when changing terminals through snow at JFK. Silly me, thinking I would not have to leave the terminal to catch my connection. (Stupid: flight connection transfers that require you to walk through snow.) Boy my toes were cold.

The trip was LA to New York (5 hours), a layover in New York (4 hours), plane de-icing in New York (2 hours on the tarmac), New York to Johannesburg (15 hours), quick run through immigration in Johannesburg (1.5 hours), and Johannesburg to Cape Town (2 hours).

Now, trips like this I am fairly used to. This is the second time I have flown to Cape Town from LA. And I have done other long hauls like LA to Auckland, New Zealand. The one thing I really want after a trip like that, a nice hot shower. (Do you see where this is going?) Stupid: Hotels without hot water.

OK, two stupids out of the way.

Cape Town is a stunningly topographically beautiful city with a series of huge bays and of course its central feature Table Mountain, a huge plateau in the middle of the city. (Cool: How gorgeous Cape Town is.)


(My picture really does not do it justice.)

Having been to Cape Town before, my goal was more social than sight-seeing. My girlfriend, who I worked with in Santa Barbara California, now lives in Cape Town with her husband. So a quick cold shower and text message later, she picked me up and we were off to have drinks. (Cool: Catching up with old friends.) The following morning she gave me a tour of Cape Town.

Then it was off to work on the ship. Returning to the ship after vacation, or in my case, nearly two years on land, I imagine is a lot like being a rock star. Every person you pass greets you warmly and welcomes you back. Many people are excited to see you and can’t wait to catch up. You get to be the exciting popular person of the day. People would stop by my office just to welcome me back and there were lots of hugs. It is an awesome experience. (Cool: returning to warm welcomes onboard.)

More coming…