Halfway around the world...

On 31 Jan 2008, Bob and I flew out to Dubai and spent a couple of days there. Day 1 was blasted with a sand storm so we spent some time wondering around Dubai. It's amazing how much construction is going on in Dubai. There are at least 50-60 skyscrapers being built at the same time along with new roads and new light rail system! We heard that you had to pay a cover charge to get into the famous hotel Burj Al Arab, so we decided to just see it from the beach nearby. :-)
On day 2, we were able to watch Tiger play a little at the Desert Dubai Classic. He truly is unbelievable. We were watching him warm-up on the range and it was funny to see how other players and caddies were watching him too! We then spent the next two days in Abu Dhabi. My sister's friend from high school - Hanim and her husband, Andrew picked us up and off we went. Abu Dhabi is about 1 1/2 hours away from Dubai... and it is definitely a more organized city.
We went on a 4x4 safari trip about an hour away from Abu Dhabi. That was fun! Started out by stopping at a camel farm... no one was spat on, so that was good :-) And then, the guide took us out on the sand dunes. The first couple turns took us off guard, but after a few more twist and turns, it felt like a roller coaster ride. Whhhheeeeee....!!!
Before I move on to our next destination, I wanted to make a note of the cultural differences in UAE. For example, when we exited the airport, there was a "Ladies Only" greeting area. And at the banks, there are "Ladies Only" branches. At the Mall of Emirates, the mall guide indicated that there was no PDA allowed - no kissing or hugging in public!
From Dubai, we headed out to Bangalore, India where Bob had to work for a week. Geez... talk about chaos! Drivers are constantly honking at each other and swerving in and out of traffic. Doesn't help when there are so many motorcyclist on the road as well as these little tuk-tuks! Nonetheless, the honking never stopped. We could hear it from our hotel room ALL DAY LONG! Unbelievable. Needless to say, I was glad to leave after only spending one night there. And oh, thankfully I survived the one day in India... I was dodging traffic when I was trying to cross an intersection!
Thankfully, KK (Kota Kinabalu) is still quite peaceful. Although Chinese New Year was a lot more rowdy this year with the loud sounds of fire crackers,... despite it being illegal. Nothing an "ang pow" or little red packet filled with money can't do around here :-)