Back In Seattle

Recently arrived back into Seattle for a relaxing two week holiday. Had a few issues with Lebanese stamps in my passport, but eventually made it through customs. Having been gone for two months there has definitely been a few changes. The weirdest thing for me so far is being around so many Americans coming from what I like to call the Hub of the world.

It's nice to be back -- talking in as much as I can.




Beautiful Seattle





The Famous Pike Place Market





International Fountain - Standing Outside in the Rain!





Something You Don't See in Dubai

Dubai & Dogs

One of my friends was heading out to his car like any other normal day when he came across the discovery of little Rotteweiler puppy hiding underneath his vehicle. Upon further investigation of the surroundings, he came across more puppies in the nearby dumpster that had already met their fate. Faced with the orphaned puppy, it was decided that him and his girlfriend (the compassionate people that they are) would adopt the dog to live with them in their humble studio.

Having been interested at one time to adopt a dog, this story makes me even more observant of animals in this region. It's definitely not as common to see pets out in public nor is something that many people desire. With the transient nature of Dubai, I've been told it's not unusual for a person who is moving to 'set their pet free.' You have to think how much is involved with moving a pet across borders and what's the easier option but to drop the animal off in a dumpster where acts like these tend to go on rather unchecked.

So those of you living in Dubai, read this blog, see the pictures of the adorable dog below, and remember animal cruelty is unacceptable where ever it may occur.

80s Party - Happy Birthday Guillermo

To celebrate my favorite Peruvian in Dubai's birthday, an 80's party was thrown in the Greens with 80's music and 80's attire. I loved seeing all the Miami Vice look likes, Madonna's, and 21 jump streets inspired outfits. Themed house parties, just another random fun element to Dubai.

Middle East in Pictures

Musandamn, Oman - Dive Trip



Jumeirah Beach Hotel



Souq District of Dubai



Snorkeling Guide in Oman



Community Water Supply - Sri Lanka

Dream Experiment

So I've been dreaming loads over the last couple of days and most of them have had something to do with the States. I'm not quite sure if this has to do with me heading home for two weeks at the end of May or what. Regardless, I was talking with a friend and they mentioned how drinking a lot of water before you go to bed supposedly aids in the retention of dreams long after you wake up.

I'm experimenting and posting pictures of back home to give me some inspiration before I head off to sleep.



This isn't Seattle, but I definitely dreamed about SF -- wicked city



View from my room in Seattle

The Expat Brunch

My friends and I have unintentionally set a weekend tradition living here in Dubai, the Friday Brunch. As Dubai is a Muslim country, the weekend here is Friday and Saturday for most. Friday is considered a holy day in Islam, equivalent to the Christian Sundays, and as a result most of the stores and other places of business are closed in observance of the day.

So my friends and I found other ways to keep ourselves entertained, the Friday brunch where we gather to recap the events of the night before and talk about the absurdities of Dubai.

Biggest Failure or Biggest Success?

Reading the front page of the Gulf News and just couldn't help but laugh at Dubai's latest project:


Dubai to get Dh100b ($27.7b) tourism and leisure complex

Dubai: A Dubai company will build the world's longest hotel strip as part of a Dh100 billion tourist and leisure resort in the city, its developers said yesterday.
It will feature a cluster of 31 hotels offering more than 29,000 rooms and 100 theatres presenting live cultural shows.
…..The centrepiece of Bawadi will be the world's largest hotel, Asia-Asia, which alone will provide 6,500 rooms, combining 5,100 four star and an additional 1,400 five star rooms.

Of the total investment needed, Tatweer will spend Dh30 billion ($8.3 Billion) in developing hotels and another Dh10 billion on infrastructure that will be raised through its own private equity and debt. The rest is expected to come from investors.

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And this is when I sigh, thinking to myself, why couldn't they take the money to build more affordable housing? Or build better civil infrastructures to battle the growing traffic problems? Or social welfare facilities?

But no, Asia Asia -- the world's biggest hotel.

This makes you wonder, will Dubai be the world's biggest failure or is what they're doing sustainable?

*Check out the proposed buildings in the model, the architecture is impressive!