Half way around the world in 40 hours
The flight from Albuquerque to Minneapolis was fairly uneventful and
not interesting. The flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam was on an
Airbus 330. It's a nice plane. As Northwest has them outfitted in
coach class there is an entertainment center that could do a number of
things.
A map of where you are on the trip:
Various data screens:
On arriving at Amsterdam I noticed that Schipol is the world's leading
consumer of moving sidewalks:
Here was an interesting apple tort with a topping consisting of every
nut known to man:
A useful addition to one's standard fast food garbage bin:
Quite a few duty free shops with almost everything one can imagine.
It is hard to believe that the the little duty free shops one used to
see that handled primarily booze, watches, and tobacco have grown into
what is essentially an enormous shopping mall.
There is no escape:
The trip from Amsterdam to Dubai was hell on wings. The seats on the
Boeing 777 are so close together that I couldn't talk for fear of
eating the seat in front of me. Unlike airlines in civilized
countries there were no air vents to provide precious oxygen to
passengers before they fainted. So it was hot, stuffy, cramped and
miserable. The KLM staff was good though. And they served us an
actual meal with real utensils. One can do things like this when one
doesn't go out of the way to anger the rest of the world.
The stay in Dubai was incredible. For 150 dirhams (about USD 50) I
was able to engage a personal tour guide. He took me to see most of
the famous sites and a few that are not as well known.
The smog made a lot of pictures less than perfect. Here is a picture
of Burj Al Arab, probably the most famous landmark in Dubai:
And another angle:
And yet another:
This the Jumeirah Beach Resort. It is near the Burj Al Arab and run
by the same company. There is a water park called "Wild Wadi" in
between them. Why one would spend a few thousand dollars and fly half
way around the world to visit a water park is beyond me.
Since English is left to right and Arabic is right to left is makes it
easy to put everything side by side. One doesn't even need to worry
about offending because one language is listed "first". They are both
first in their respective languages.
This is called the Old Village. It is a bit of area built in the
manner of the old architecture for the tourists:
A mosque. As one might expect these are abundant.
This architectural motif was seen everywhere. Even in places where it
was quite obviously for show. I'm not sure what purpose it originally
served:
These are a couple of towers going up in the Free City. There is a
big push to get foreigners to buy resort property. You can get a
lifetime visa for buying property in the Free City. They also relax
many of the Islamic rules there (like the ban on alcohol).
We went to the palace of the Emir of Dubai. He has a large flock of
peacocks on the ground. I saw at least 25 or so. Here is one putting
on a display::
There is still no escape:
Ate at an interesting place called Automatic Cafe. I had a really
great meal.
The complimentary appetizers:
Hommos and the best lentil soup I have ever had:
Lebneh:
Alas I didn't have time take pictures of the duty free mall at Dubai
airport. This place isn't even really a mall. It is more like a
temple to consumerism. You could buy almost anything. Everywhere you
look there were raffles for various things including one for your own
private jet. I am not making this up.
The flight to Lahore was on Emirates. This is easily the best airline
I have ever flown. Everything was excellent. The meal was actually
something to anticipate. The cabin temperature was great and it was
quite roomy.
Arrival in Lahore was something else. The porters are dressed in what
looks like it must be a prison uniform. Something like blue
surgical scrubs but dirtier and with a big number painted on it.
Strangely there was no customs at all. The porter just got my bags
and we walked out. I was told later that the customs officials are
well known for not even bothering to show up at times.
Pakistan is as abysmally poor as you might expect. And any Westerner
might as well be wearing a large sign that says "I have too much money
please help me get rid of it" around their neck, Most places are
crowded. This differs from the crowds in a place like say New York.
I had to think why this was and I realize that everyone in these
crowds is having a rather loud conversation. They are practically
yelling. Picture a giant stock exchange floor.
Here is a picture of the building I work in:
And Sinclair Hall, the main adminstration building on campus:
One of the the friends I am visiting works in this chapel:
Some random pictures of a market here:
What all the National Geographic pictures in the world cannot convey
is the absolute stench in these markets. Take every horrible smell
known to man and combine them all at once. It is something that has
to be experienced to truly be appreciated.
not interesting. The flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam was on an
Airbus 330. It's a nice plane. As Northwest has them outfitted in
coach class there is an entertainment center that could do a number of
things.
A map of where you are on the trip:
Various data screens:
On arriving at Amsterdam I noticed that Schipol is the world's leading
consumer of moving sidewalks:
Here was an interesting apple tort with a topping consisting of every
nut known to man:
A useful addition to one's standard fast food garbage bin:
Quite a few duty free shops with almost everything one can imagine.
It is hard to believe that the the little duty free shops one used to
see that handled primarily booze, watches, and tobacco have grown into
what is essentially an enormous shopping mall.
There is no escape:
The trip from Amsterdam to Dubai was hell on wings. The seats on the
Boeing 777 are so close together that I couldn't talk for fear of
eating the seat in front of me. Unlike airlines in civilized
countries there were no air vents to provide precious oxygen to
passengers before they fainted. So it was hot, stuffy, cramped and
miserable. The KLM staff was good though. And they served us an
actual meal with real utensils. One can do things like this when one
doesn't go out of the way to anger the rest of the world.
The stay in Dubai was incredible. For 150 dirhams (about USD 50) I
was able to engage a personal tour guide. He took me to see most of
the famous sites and a few that are not as well known.
The smog made a lot of pictures less than perfect. Here is a picture
of Burj Al Arab, probably the most famous landmark in Dubai:
And another angle:
And yet another:
This the Jumeirah Beach Resort. It is near the Burj Al Arab and run
by the same company. There is a water park called "Wild Wadi" in
between them. Why one would spend a few thousand dollars and fly half
way around the world to visit a water park is beyond me.
Since English is left to right and Arabic is right to left is makes it
easy to put everything side by side. One doesn't even need to worry
about offending because one language is listed "first". They are both
first in their respective languages.
This is called the Old Village. It is a bit of area built in the
manner of the old architecture for the tourists:
A mosque. As one might expect these are abundant.
This architectural motif was seen everywhere. Even in places where it
was quite obviously for show. I'm not sure what purpose it originally
served:
These are a couple of towers going up in the Free City. There is a
big push to get foreigners to buy resort property. You can get a
lifetime visa for buying property in the Free City. They also relax
many of the Islamic rules there (like the ban on alcohol).
We went to the palace of the Emir of Dubai. He has a large flock of
peacocks on the ground. I saw at least 25 or so. Here is one putting
on a display::
There is still no escape:
Ate at an interesting place called Automatic Cafe. I had a really
great meal.
The complimentary appetizers:
Hommos and the best lentil soup I have ever had:
Lebneh:
Alas I didn't have time take pictures of the duty free mall at Dubai
airport. This place isn't even really a mall. It is more like a
temple to consumerism. You could buy almost anything. Everywhere you
look there were raffles for various things including one for your own
private jet. I am not making this up.
The flight to Lahore was on Emirates. This is easily the best airline
I have ever flown. Everything was excellent. The meal was actually
something to anticipate. The cabin temperature was great and it was
quite roomy.
Arrival in Lahore was something else. The porters are dressed in what
looks like it must be a prison uniform. Something like blue
surgical scrubs but dirtier and with a big number painted on it.
Strangely there was no customs at all. The porter just got my bags
and we walked out. I was told later that the customs officials are
well known for not even bothering to show up at times.
Pakistan is as abysmally poor as you might expect. And any Westerner
might as well be wearing a large sign that says "I have too much money
please help me get rid of it" around their neck, Most places are
crowded. This differs from the crowds in a place like say New York.
I had to think why this was and I realize that everyone in these
crowds is having a rather loud conversation. They are practically
yelling. Picture a giant stock exchange floor.
Here is a picture of the building I work in:
And Sinclair Hall, the main adminstration building on campus:
One of the the friends I am visiting works in this chapel:
Some random pictures of a market here:
What all the National Geographic pictures in the world cannot convey
is the absolute stench in these markets. Take every horrible smell
known to man and combine them all at once. It is something that has
to be experienced to truly be appreciated.