That's All Folks

It's back to reality (or as close as it gets to reality living in Berkeley...). After travel that lasted over 34 hours and spanned three countries, 4+ airplane meals, and a selection of over 100+ movies to make it all worthwhile, we've arrived safely back in the United States. It's been three weeks filled with the contradictions of the old and the new blending themselves to form an experience that none of us will soon forget. Thanks for taking this journey with us.

OMG, we're off!

Feasibility Study - done!
Presentation - done!
Spending our last few riyals on two crepes - done!

We're on our way home!

Work hard, play hard

It may look like from all of our posts and photos that we just play all day, but that couldn't be further from the truth! Soon after we finished the workshops, we began finishing up our feasibility study for the MBA program. After interviewing faculty and employers, conducting focus groups, entering collected survey data, and translating financial statements from Eastern Arabic to Western Arabic numerals, we put together a comprehensive paper documenting our research, program recommendations, and financial analysis. Tomorrow, we'll present it to the Dean of the school. Wish us luck!

But I did want to write about a fantastic trip last weekend! We were able to go snorkeling at a local private Jeddah beach. I had heard about the amazing coral reefs of the Red Sea, but experiencing it first hand was something else... My prior snorkeling experience is limited to a sixth grade trip to the Florida Keys, but this was exactly like Finding Nemo but in real life! We snorkeled along the edge of the beautiful reef and all these amazingly colorful and gorgeous fish swam all around us. It was a wonderful and magical experience. Since we didn't have an underwater camera with us, I chose an Internet photo which best represented the experience.

Only 2 more days!

We've been a busy bunch this week wrapping up our feasibility study! 60 pages later (plus a 108 page appendix), here we are, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Not much to add...oh, except I met a Prince today. In the gym. I was sorely underdressed.

And we're having a big fat party in September. All you blog followers, we expect to see you there!

Signing off for now,
Jedi

Corniche Art!

Depending on whether we're heading south for downtown or north to the ritzy malls, we ride past many of the artwork for which the Jeddah Corniche is famous. Deb has already posted about our self-guided walking tour of part of the Corniche last weekend. I wanted to share some more photographs of the strange and beautiful statues we've seen during our stay in this city. Here are some of my personal favorites.

In the middle of a particular roundabout, there are four hanging lanterns. At night, these lanterns light up beautifully with special stained glass designs. 

This structure reminds me of Super Mario Brothers. I wonder whether anyone has ever tried to scale it.

Being a city by the sea, Jeddah offers many maritime inspired art and architecture. Here's another roundabout center piece. 

We presume this is an office building... 

Who made these structures? The truth is out there... 

Perhaps we should stay out of the midday heat....

This self-photo preceeded the octopus sighting (whose red color I'm convinced meant that it was fiery mad about us lurking over its quivering mass), so it can't be blamed on the motion of the sea or the after effects of seeing multicolored creatures swimming all around us. Perhaps it could have been our four days of workshops or our excitement to be eating dinner at the normal Saudi time (11pm).

We eventually managed to pull it together for at least the semblance of a decent photo.

Sighted: Octopus!

We went snorkeling today and saw this! Alas, I had no underwater camera, so this is what he would have looked like if we had gotten a photo. Our octo-friend was undulating on a rock...not really sure what that means, but the Red Sea sure is a comfy place to be!

Success!

Today was the last day of the Women in Entrepreneurship Workshop, and we’re sad to see it end. The portion we were teaching actually ended yesterday with a session in leadership and project management. We had a lot of fun creating exercises for the women and going through them together. We had the group do a “Trip to the Moon” exercise. For you Haasies out there, it was very similar to Desert Survival, but for some reason, we felt that a desert survival game just wouldn’t translate well in Saudi Arabia! Talking about leadership, such a culturally sensitive topic, gave us the amazing opportunity to hear about the challenges these women face on a daily basis. We ended the workshop feeling like we had learned just as much from them as we hope they learned from us.

For today’s final session on social entrepreneurship and the challenges Saudi businesswomen face, the pressure was off, and we were lucky enough to enjoy the session from the audience. The speakers were incredible and the day ended with closing words from Dr. Suhair, certificates for the participants, and a BIG cake, decorated with the Haas logo no less (pictures to come). As another treat, we had a closing dinner at a beautiful open-air restaurant by the water with some of the DAH administration and workshop participants. We sat on grand couches with lots of pillows and traditional décor and had a real taste of local food (pictures of this to come as well). Just one problem – we were the only ones in the restaurant - again. Sure our usual 6:30PM dinners are a little early for Saudi tastes, so this time we held out until 9. But it wasn’t until we were leaving at 11PM that the place started getting crowded and the music turned on (on a weekday). Our conversation with our driver on the ride home was reinforcement that our time schedule just isn’t aligned with Saudi culture. When we told him about walks we take along the waterfront at 12 noon on the weekends, he advised us to learn Kung-Fu in case we run into any problems in an abandoned city that doesn’t wake up until 4PM. But tomorrow is Wednesday, which equals Friday for us, so we’ll see what our next (and last) weekend in Jeddah brings. Hint, there could be some Red Sea snorkeling involved.

Making History

You may be wondering, where did these Jedis in Jeddah go? We were posting so frequently, so why the silence now? Well, people, we are busy! We started our 3-day Women in Entrepreneurship Workshop yesterday and have been going nonstop, presenting for 3 hours of the day (with lots of prep time beforehand), and working on the feasibility study and marketing plan (our primary delivarables) the rest of our waking hours.

Yesterday, we made history. For the first time in Dar Al-Hekma history (and most likely the first time in Saudi Arabia), we had a male guest enter the school building during the day. Of course, all the rules were followed and every woman wore her abaya and hijab, but still, this was unprecedented because usually men would only enter the building from a side entrance. But, due to our presentation being in a room inaccessible by an alternate entrance, the male guests came through the front. The most exciting part was who this particular man was -- Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical, whom Dean Suhair had met the previous evening and invited for the special occasion.

While the first day of workshop didn't go off perfectly (what presentation does?), we heard that many of the women enjoyed it and most importantly, felt that our offerings were valuable. And, after today's Day 2 of the workshop, we feel another small boost in confidence. Our topic today, Marketing, certainly was appealing to the group, enciting lively discussion and a range of smiles throughout the crowd. Tomorrow, we'll be presenting Leadership and Project Management. Wish us luck!

Being really busy with work doesn't mean we don't have time to sit back and relax at least a little bit. Tonight, we returned to Teayana, which has been my favorite restaurant in Jeddah thus far (excluding the amazing private dinner at Naseef House).

"Bubble Milk Tea" with rose petals and a Lebanese manouche (breakfast pizza). Yum!

Where are all the people?

Just a quick comment to say that you may be wondering why you haven't seen anyone but us in our photos. That's because here you really aren't supposed to take photos with any recognizeable faces in them. So hopefully you'll be able to get a sense of our surroundings from the photos and our descriptions can fill you in on the details.

A few words of advice...

....Take a plane to the U.S. But wait...I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning of the day.

Best laid plans aside, we woke when the sun was already streaming way above our heads, beating down upon our black robed bodies. We strode outside anyway, armed with our distinctive bags such that anyone who couldn't tell by the haphazard way our hijabs were cobbled to our heads (or tucked under our shoulder straps) could use to identify us as foreigners. We set out to the Corniche. We had been thus far thwarted in our attempts to find an infamous fountain that supposedly could not be missed. Knowing that daylight would preclude this discovery, we instead ventured forth into the bespeckeled landscape of over 600 sculptures that had been installed along the Corniche during the 1970s. While others sought shade beneath their towering shapes, it sufficed for us to wander alongst the path, passing by non-Saudi fisherman and Saudi families out on the playground.


We made our way to the mosque at our end of the Corniche, which would soon be filled with men for Friday prayer. We instead opted for the Friday equivalent of Sunday brunch, at the soon to be frequented Teayana. It was the oasis we had been searching for after 45 minutes under the sun had left us pools of parched black robes. We nursed our fruit tea smoothies and then made our way back to our residence to practice our presentations for this coming week's workshop.

We then loaded in to the van to head out to the Naseef House, which was highly anticipated considering (spoiler alert for the quiz below) it was the residence of the women to first plant a tree in Jeddah and that women happens to be the sister in law of the Dean of the college at which we are working. As we got out admist the hustle and bustle of the old part of town, we had no idea the experience we were in for. We were greeted by our host and from the moment we were ushered in to the closed building by ourselves for a slide show, we knew we were in for a treat. After a brief introduction to the house built for one of the most prominent families, we strolled around the old neighborhood with its mix of immigrant families from worn torn regions of Africa to its garment shops closed for Friday prayer. We wound our way back to the Naseef House and proceeded up several flights of stairs, across the roof, and up into an enclosed roof sitting high above the surrounding buildings. As we sat down upon the carpets laid from wall to wall, our senses were soon overtaken by the evening call to prayer, which echoed out from loudspeakers on all sides. We sipped our tea and soon feasted on our best ever meal yet as were regalled by our host with entertaining stories about his days avoiding vampires and marriage in Oakland and erudite commentary about Obama's toughest challenges in the Middle East and the emerging status of women in the workplace. And then talk turned to our workshops. It was as we began to describe the VIPs that are to attend our workshop that the not so subtle advice to flee while we still could was issued. Somehow by the end of the evening, we were able to convince our host that we were indeed preped and ready to deliver. We sure hope so (inshallah)....

Thoughts on fashion

Saudi abayas are generally black. Some fashionable or less conservative women will bling theirs up with embroideries or crystals and don matching hijabs, but they're still all black. There are several advantages and disadvantages of black abayas.

Advantages

• Black withstands stains. Unlike the men's white robes, black is very stain-friendly. This is helpful as we have to wear the same abaya for the three weeks that we are here. 
  
• Black can be slimming. Okay, so the abaya is a giant black mumu, and it's not exactly figure  flattering -- or else it would defeat the purpose. But I guess I wanted to offer more than one advantage. 

Disadvantages

• Black is very hot. Saudi Arabia is very sunny and hot. Having your head wrapped in a black cloth and wearing black make you feel like you are enduring cruel and unusual punishment. 
• Black is hard to see. So our neighborhood doesn't really have sidewalks so we opt to walk on less busy streets to go have dinner or to the stores. The four of us get very nervous about cars not being able to see us at night. 

Interactive excercise

Two truths and one lie:

- Our driver refused to let us out of the car until we were fully covered. 

- The sister-in-law of our school dean planted the first tree in Jeddah.

- Many celebrities and VIPs will be attending our entrepreneurship workshop next week. 

Post a comment about which one you think is the lie. 

Back from Red Sea Mall!

We're back. Here's the obligatory group abaya photo.

And here's a photo of the music water show they had in the mall. It's like Bellagio but indoors.

 

Cat Town

Better/More Illustrative photo of CAT CENTRAL.

I don't know if they're Jellicle cats, but these kitties are a dime a dozen in Jeddah. They survive on scraps and are scavenging geniuses. They're tiny and cute, but we have to keep our distance for fear of bites, scratches, allergies, and oh yes, rabies.

TGIW!

Thank Goodness It's Wednesday!

In the Kingdom, the work week is Saturday through Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday are the weekend, with Friday being the day of prayer. We had another eventful day at work. Today was the career fair at the college, and we had the opportunity to talk to employers about career opportunities for the graduates. In general, we learned that employers like Dar Al-Hekma graduates because they tend to have very good English abilities and have the confidence that women who graduate from public colleges lack.

Since tonight is the exciting Wednesday night, we're going to hit up the most happening part of town -- the Red Sea mall! Apparently, the mall is so large that you can drive a golf cart in it. In fact, women are also allowed to drive these golf carts so it's one of the few place in the Kingdom where women can drive. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much to do beyond shopping and eating here in Jeddah. A dialogue with a staff member at the school reflects this dilemma.

"What do you recommend to do beyond shopping and eating?" 

"Starbucks -- you don't have to eat. You can just sit there."

The Family Section

So as we’re approaching our weekend (Saturday – Wednesday work weeks in Saudi), we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out in Jeddah. Plus, now that our abayas actually fit us, we’re kinda excited to put them on and hit the town. And every day, we get a little bit closer to mastering the hijab. We might actually have it down by the time we leave. Our first attempt was to go back to the restaurant that was on fire yesterday. Probably a bit premature. It was open and seemed to be operating normally, but after sitting down for 5 minutes, the lingering smell of smoke mixed in with incense was a bit overwhelming. So under the guidance of trusty jeddahfood.com, we wandered over to an area full of restaurants to find something else.

Among lots of options was an Indian restaurant that looked good. Like most restaurants in Jeddah, this one had a “family section” upstairs for both women dining alone and families. Single men are seated in a separate area (usually downstairs). We sat in a private booth, a partition went up to block us from sight of the rest of the restaurant, and we had some privacy to remove our hijabs and eat a little more comfortably. After ordering a ton of food, it was nice to be able to let loose (relatively speaking), have a LOT of laughs (thanks largely in part to Feng’s attempts to flag down a waiter from behind a partition) and enjoy that bit of freedom. Our only complaint – we couldn’t see what everyone else was ordering!

Glimpses of everyday life

You've read about the stirring vitality inside the school's walls and our forays past honking taxis, firey blazes, abandoned lots, and skeletal cats to dinner. Now take a peek inside our everyday world: our residence, a view of our street, and the entrance to the school.

Uhhh...is that our hotel on fire?

While our days at school produce fond memories, our night-time "mishaps," shall we say, produce more...laughable...memories.

Cases in point:

a) Before yesterday, three of our abayas were about 6 inches too long. This caused us to either constantly trip all over ourselves OR hike up our abayas way too short, resulting in scandalous leg showing. But after our pals Heba and Batul at school had the abayas hemmed yesterday, the problem is no longer!

b) Every time we walk outside, we get honked at. And this isn't just once or twice, it's pretty much a constant metronome of honks. The taxis really want our business, and they know women can't drive. But, we'd much rather walk.

c) We found the perfect restaurant last night and walked outside in delight and hunger for the delicious food. As soon as we started heading in that direction, we noticed something funny -- thick, dark smoke...oh, the restaurant was on FIRE! Talk about being foiled. We hope everyone was okay. And, we are glad it wasn't our hotel.

First impressions of the college

Our client is Dar Al-Hekma College, a private all-girls college in Jeddah. We've met many of the amazing, highly motivated and brilliant vice deans who have very ambitious plans for the college. The school facilities are also excellent, as they were custom built 10 years ago with advanced, modern features with women's education in mind. The school is an extremely lively and vibrant environment. This week, the marketing fair is taking place at the school, and students are encouraged to market the tourism of certain countries. In the foyer of the school, there are many displays set up, from a sushi and karaoke station advertising Japan to a manicure and pedicure station advertising France. We're looking forward to the career fair later this week to talk to potential recruiters about some of the career opportunities for graduates of this college. 

The campus itself is enclosed in one giant building, with an opaque glass gate. Some aspects of the school remind me more of an exclusive private high school in the US, than a college. For example, most of the students live at home and get picked up by private drivers. They need written permission from their parents if anyone other than their private driver is picking them up at school. Also, the campus hours are pretty much 8am to 5pm, with the vast majority of students and staff leaving the building after 5pm. After 5pm is also when male maintenance workers will come, so everyone covers up after hours. It was a bit startling to see the female security guards at the gate in tan, police-like uniforms in the morning change into being fully covered in black (except eyes) in the evening. 

Across the street is a public university that is co-education but offers segregated classrooms. There, female students listen and interact the the male professor in a different room via live broadcast and individual microphones installed at each desk. They can see the professor, but the professor cannot see them. As one of the vice deans put it, segregation in KSA is sometimes the result of luxury, meaning only a wealthy country can afford these high tech arrangements. 

We will show you some pictures of the school soon. Not of student life, unfortunately, but the very nice facilities. 

First day of work!

Today, we finally met with our clients at Dar Al-Hekma College. They were very gracious hostesses and it was great to see the students as well. We also fully realized the extent of our workload, but are excited to be working on such an interesting and impactful project.

On the wardrobe side, Jessica is the only one of us who has mastered how to wear a hijab. Despite my own study on this subject via YouTube videos, mine keeps on slipping down and it's nearly impossible to keep my bangs tucked inside. Luckily, wearing hijab isn't that strictly enforced in liberal Jeddah for foreign women. In fact, we are not legally obligated to wear it -- only the abaya, but all four of us choose to wear it so we can better fit in. Inside Dar Al-Hekma, the fashion is to take off the hijab and wear your abaya open, with it flowing behind you as you walk around. All the students look very graceful in this style, but the four of us choose to take ours off as we are still pretty clumsy. In fact, we are convinced that the man who works in our hotel lobby suppresses a laugh every time he sees the four of us fumbling with our outfits as we prepare to exit the building.

We've Arrived (Take 2)!

We have now officially arrived at our destination: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After having immersed ourselves in the Dubai of old, the previous day, we set out yesterday morning to explore the planned vision for the future. After another scrumptous feast at our b&b, we piled in to a cab and headed to the Atlantis hotel which rests upon the Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island. We cruised past a series of identical apartment buildings over which a monorail hovered and then made our final approach to the hotel through a tunnel burried beneath the last stretch of man made beach. As we emerged from the air conditioned cool of the car and stepped quickly into the double wide doors of the hotel, we looked around and realized we had finally found all the tourists - they were on line for the Aquaventure (clearly for the lazy river)! We strolled around past the high end shops and stood enamored in front of the massive acquarium, our attention riveted by the schools of shimmering fish, the smiling rays gliding by, and the lone hulking shark swimming circles far above our heads. And then it was off on the monorail to capture a glimpse of the private villas (only at 10% capacity thus far) seated on the palm fronds.

We managed to hail another cab precariously on the side of the highway and were off to see the infamous indoor ski slope at the Mall of the Emirates. Our attention was diverted slightly by the incredible visual illusions of Patrick Hughes in the display cases of Harvey Nichols before we wandered to the other end of this super high end mall to watch a jumble of people skiing down the gentle indoor slope, lessons, helmted kids and all. Then it was off to catch our final must see sight of the trip, the Burj Al Arab. Determing that it might not be in our best interests to try to sneak past the multiple security guards stationed outside the entrance of the hotel, we were satisfied to snap some photos of the iconic hotel at a distance.

It was then off to Saudi. Even as the plane was descending, we could feel the subtle shift between the atmosphere in Dubai and that in Jeddah. The women seated around us on the plane had transformed, throwing on their abayas as we landed. Some folks back in Berkeley had told us that it was important that we promptly get off the plane when we arrived. It was only as those around us grabbed their belongings and hopped over us to get to the aisles and then rushed to the immigration counters that we saw why. About two hours waiting in line making sure the tenacious little old ladies and white cloaked men that sidled up to us did not actually cut in front, we held our ground in front of the immigration officer, were finger printed and photoed and then with the resounding stamp of officialdom, were passed through in to the waiting welcome of our driver from Dar Al-Hekma. We piled in to the van that would take us to our new home and were handed our own abayas. The lack of omnipresent English signs or ads as we made our way to our hotel was a stark contrast from Dubai.

To be continued....our driver has arrived to take us to Dar Al-Hekma!

Full Day in Dubai

Yesterday was a really busy day. We did a bit of everything: visisted Jumeirah Mosque, Dubai Museum, took a water taxi to the souks, had cocktails at Emirates Tower, and capped off the night with some yummy Lebanese food. It was uber hot and humid, so we did a mix of indoor and outoor activities, including resting up in these amazing outdoor air conditioned enclosed bus stops. I'm sure others will post more, but here are two photos that contrast the new and the old.                                                                                                                                                                                

Emirates Towers

Dubai Creek

The Curious Intrigue of Dubai

It's really worked out in our favor to have these 36 hours in Dubai. We've gotten to adjust ourselves to being in the Middle East (time change, surviving in the heat, and cultural understanding) in just a short time, plus we've experienced the curious intrigue of this glittering city. At only one day, it's been an appetizer to all that Dubai offers. Walking around yesterday to all the famous tourist sites, we noticed a few odd things that make me use the words "curious" and "intrigue" together.

Why so curious? Several times yesterday, we were surprised at how empty the streets were. Maybe we were the only ones foolish enough to walk in the Bastakiya Quarter (windy old city streets with small art galleries) in 100 degree weather, but darn it, we were going to experience Dubai! And, we had brought a lot of water. And, we had scarfs to protect from the heat. But alas, we only ran into a few tourists. Most streets were deserted.
Perhaps also because of the heat, we didn't really see any locals in the souqs or restaurants we visited.


For lunch, we ate at a good Indian restaurant downtown. A live sitar player serenaded us as we dined on biryani, naan, and curry. The silverware and plates definitely fell into the field of "fine dining," and the glass was probably the heaviest metal water glass I had ever used (a la Indiana Jones). While the food was quite good and the company excellent, it was just strange that we were dining in the restaurant alone (and that the last two restaurants we had looked had been deserted too!).

And now, the intrigue: for a city that could seem a bit standoffish or high-fallutin', Dubai opens its arms wide to tourists. Case in point: the Dubai Museum, where an entire city of life-size mannequins works away underground. You can see what traditional Middle Eastern life is all about. Case in point 2: the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, our first stop of the day. Our tour guide answered questions from the crowd about Islamic culture and gave us a deeper look at some of the cultural norms we'll get to experience in Saudi Arabia. It was fascinating to be inside the Jumeirah Mosque and see him wash, pray, and tell us about the way of Islam.

And finally, as my girls know, I must talk about our amazing dining experience last night for dinner. No, it wasn't Chez Panisse Dubai, but for me, it exemplified my perfect tourist meal. You know me, I'm cheap. I like a good deal. When I'm traveling, the perfect place to eat is cheap, tasty, local, clean, efficient, and friendly. The Saj Express fit all of these criteria and more. Number A - the pita bread was free! Number B - there were locals eating there! Number C - it was delicious and no frills! If there was Yelp in Dubai, I would give it 5 stars.

Ok, ok, enough about food. Just kidding. Now I have to tell you why this blog post is so long. I have been trying to wait out the time between waking up and eating this amazing breakfast we have at the hotel!!!! On Fridays, it starts at 9 am. Woe is me! I'm dreaming of croissants, eggs, chicken nuggets, and whole-fat yogurt.


And finally...HAPPY BIRTHDAY FENG!!! This humongous birthday breakfast is for YOU, kiddo!

Who Is Jed?

I know the question is there swirling around in the back of your mind. Who could he be? Who is this mysterious Jed? Is he the taxi driver that circled back to pick us up, driving 5 minutes down the road to make a u turn? Is he the recent med school graduate on a trip more or less around the world that dined and wandered with us this afternoon? Is he the abra (water taxi) driver that scuttled us on board and ferried us across the creek in one swift puttering motion? He must be the waiter that dropped off our check as we perched 51 stories about the twinkling buildings, stooped cranes, and expecting sands littering the ground below our hotel footprint, no? Or perhaps he just might be another taxi driver, one of many whose knowledge of our neighborhood streets is second to our own floundering navigational skills?

As you may have surmised (or not spent time thinking about at all), Jed is not any of the above. Nor is Jed our much discussed Saudi driver to be. Rather it is us, the 'Jedis' who will be in Saudi. Who knew we were Star Wars fans....we certainly didn't before a loopy jet lagged brainstorm hit us.

(Please note: this post is mostly for the benefit of Heather, who clearly is not a Star Wars fan. I do know a Jed, but I doubt very much he is in Jeddah.)

Taxis for Ladies

So far, the highlight of the trip for me has been our taxi ride from the airport to our hotel. (Hey, we just got here!) We were directed to the Ladies Taxi line where we were greeted by a woman driver in a pink and white uniform driving a pink and white Toyota RAV-4. The rates are steeper than regular taxis, but the novelty factor made it totally worth it! 

Unfortunately, I didn't snap a great photo as we were in a hurry. But you can read more about this service on the company's website. It's the only Ladies Only taxi service in the Arabic world. 

Pink Cadillacs and Silver Hummers

So I suppose the title is a misnomer since the taxis weren't exactly pink cadillacs, it just would have been poetic had they been. After the wave of heat that met us upon stepping out of the airconditioned enclave that was the Dubai airport, we were casually directed to the "ladies taxis". A second line of taxi vans just beyond the first line were lined up down the curve. The difference - they were all detailed in pink with women drivers doning pinkish outfits. Perhaps had we asked, we would have been able to take a regular taxi, but before we knew it we were off cruising down the wide laned highway out to Jumeirah. And soon we were pulling up in front of our b&b, the silver hummer crouched outside signaling that we had arrived in the right place.

As Jessica mentioned, our two night resting spot here in Dubai is quite the spread (pics to come) high ceiling rooms and a winding staircase leading down to the heavy wooden common table where breakfast will be served (hours from now of course since no non jet lagged person would be listening to the chirping of birds and watching the sun peak through the edges of the (fake?) crushed velvet shades). We ventured down the road into a glitzy, touristy if not quite welcome airconditioned maze of shops set up to look like a modern day souq where we could catch a glance at the purple and blue hued visage of the Burj hotel. Or rather the top of half of it visible to the eye of those not actually residing in the confines of the nearby swish hotels.

It's unclear what version of reality exists here in Dubai, but we're soon to uncover more sides as we venture through our day today.

We've arrived!

After 15 hours of movies, tv, sleeping, and eating on a swanky Emirates plane, we've arrived in Dubai! We're here for 36 hours of fun and excitement.

1) It's hot! Remember the heatwave a few weeks ago in the Bay Area? This kind of heat makes those days seem like the frigid winter. Here, it smells hot, breathes hot, and feels hot.

2) Our hotel is a really, really nice bed and breakfast. The owners have two gorgeous Dalmatians, and there's a huge spiral staircase up to our rooms. Perhaps in its past life, this building was a family's home...quite a nice home.

3) It's 12:30 am, and we just got back from dinner. Standard!

Tomorrow will be an exciting day as we tour Jumeirah Mosque, the souqs, and maybe even sneak into the Burj Al-Arab (the one that looks like a sail!)