Back from Dubai Back to the Grind

The Beijing Tebos at Jumeira Beach

(5 minutes from where Toby and Deb live)

In the background is the Tower Khalifa,

which is the tallest building in the world.

Travis and I in Arabic dress, looking very oppressed.

The "Arabian Nights Desert Safari."

I'm showing off my henna tattoo on my wrist.

This is an example of what we did on the Desert Safari. FUN!

We drove past a camel farm. Camels are a prized possesion. You pay a $200,000 fine if you kill one.

Camel racing is a popular sport here,

we watched a little on the TV.

Toby, me, and Debbie

You haven't lived until you've played in desert sand...

it brings out the kid in you...

We were all a bit sad to say goodbye to the Tebos and the city of Dubai. It's such  a great place to visit and we made some wonderful memories...

It's hard to pick our favorite part of the trip, but Travis and I both agreed that the Desert Safari was pretty amazing. We were picked-up in a Toyota Landcruiser by our driver (Yousif from Iraq- nice guy) and drove towards Oman to where the desert is. We took lots of pictures and played in the sand... I've never been in a desert and I've never seen sand that felt so silky. It was orange-ish in color and the wind made really neat ripples in the sand. The best part was driving up and down all the and dunes. We were sliding and slipping all over the place. It was awesome! It was like one huge sandy rollercoaster... we drove sideways down hills and zoomed up hills... we loved it! We stopped and saw the sun set and then we were off to our Arabian feast. As I mentioned earlier, we love middle eastern food. We smoked out of the sheesha, dressed up as Arabs, saw some belly dancing, and Debbie and I got a henna tattoo.

It was fun watching the kids play. Wesley calls Gabby "Babby" or "Rabby." He calls out for her when she's not around. He's a happy love bug who likes to dance and smile. Stu is awesome too and is super curious about the world and loves his books. It's fun watching them grow and it makes me miss my other niece (Emerson) and nephew (Langston) back in Washington... Visiting Dubai has really opened up my mind to Arabic culture... considering that my only real reference was the Disney movie "Aladdin" and news stories about terrorists. I really enjoyed  myself and could see us living there someday... Who knows what will happen? But we do know that we will be going back next year!

Now we're back at work and to life in Beijing. Busy-busy.