Just some clean up from Dubai...

OK, OK...for those of you pestering me to see the pictures from Dubai...Here they are. And let me caveat the pictures...I'm NO photographer. I've had my camera for three years and before this trip...I've taken approximately 20 pics. So be kind! I'm sure with practice, my pics will eventually hit the "adequate" stage. For those who are just dying to hit me with some sarcasm...remember..."block" is a powerful tool.

The first three pictures are of my buddy Darryn's villa (no he doesn't own it unfortunately) that I spent a day at. Yes, now were starting to talk about new Dubai...not old Dubai where I stayed as you see in the pictures below. Darryn informed me that the owner of the villa is proud to comment on his 2500+ potted plants/trees located on the premises. Yes, it did look like a jungle. The woman(Bibi) in the top picture is their homekeeper who lives in the smaller bunk house located on the property as well. So needless to say...Darryn doesn't cook or clean. Now that's a pretty good gig.

The next couple of shots were taken from a beach I spent an afternoon at on the Arabian Sea which is about half a block from Darryn's place. The vehicles parked beside the villas shown here were quite impressive. Darryn told me the the one villa pictured usually has 6-8 cars parked at any given time...and no...we're not talking K-cars.

I'll throw a couple tidbits on Dubai here. For example...every restaurant that I dined in had Kleenex instead of napkins or serviettes. And yes, these were real restaurants...thank you very much. I figured this would be handy for the spicy food, but I really didn't find it too spicy at all. I think I impressed them staff when I emptied a half a bottle of hot sauce on most of my meals. My favourite meal was definitely chicken tikka which I would associate a lightly seasoned jerk chicken to. For 20 dirham (about 6-7 Cdn dollars, you got 4 kabobs, soup, salad, spicy rice, bread and hummus. I usually shy away from hummus, but I must admit, it was the best I've ever tasted. They also have very tasty juices by the hundreds, but I guess that's because they can't sell alcohol in most restaurants. I would have taken a cold Alexander Keith's anytime.

I thought I would add this picture as it really depicts both old Dubai and new Dubai from a retail point of view. The streets were lined with shop fronts as far as the eyes could see. A couple points on these...often they are clustered together when selling the same type of item. For example...computer shops, banks, etc are often found in a row. For navigations purposes, many of the streets are referred to the shops found on the streets...ie computer street, bank street, etc. The other thing I noticed was that most of the shops referred to themselves as "trading companies" I thought this was peculiar until Darryn informed me that the only way you can do business in Dubai is to be sponsored by a resident. Therefore, wealthy family create these "trading companies" so that foreigners can set up shop.

Now we are getting to my favourite part of Dubai...the water taxis or "abras"...or as I like to call them...bumper boats. The creek really isn't that big and I read that there were approximately 150 abras in service. Just like ants running around and bumping into each other. Unfortunately, the pictures don't do them justice since I was usually holding on pretty tight when they decided to ram each other for their preferred docking stages.

Another thing to ponder...when was the last time you brushed you teeth in warm/hot water? Prior to Dubai...this didn't really appeal to me...and since leaving Dubai...it still doesn't appeal to me. However, it's so hot over there and many of the water tanks are located on or near the roof that even when you turn on the cold water tap...out comes nice hot water. I learned that lesson pretty quickly during my first shower when turning on the hot water tap...it's scalding!! Therefore, bottled water for drinking was the only way to go.

The last two pictures were taken from my hotel room. It was a jungle in the streets. I wish my night time pictures would have turned out as they would have shown the chaos even better. So don't let these pictures fool you, most of you wouldn't have lasted the week staying in my room. I you want to take up the challenge, I'm more than happy to give you the name of the "hotel".

The Aussie Adventure Begins...Cairns

I hate to start with a painful visualization, but since I actually had to live through it...I figured I would pass the pain along. Picture yourself sitting in a middle seat with the person in front of you reclining their seat for a 17 hour duration flight. Tell me how your legs feel? I think I'm over the insanity, but only time will tell. The only bearable part of the trip was that the two guys on either side of me were backpackers as well. The Aussie was just getting home from a 4 month excursion throughout Europe and the US and the Belguim guy was just starting a 12 month tour of Australia. Both really good guys.




And since you're already laughing at me, why don't I add fuel to the fire. Let me share a very good piece of advice with you. Be aware that when you create a blog from a computer attached to a server that isn't set to the English language like I did when in Dubai...your blog back-end sets everything to that new language. And unfortuately, I don't read Arabic. It took me some time clicking on various words/symbols to figure out how to sign-in and then even more time to figure out how to change the language back to English so that I could start this new posting! OK...enough rambling.


I've been in Australia for a week now and the highlight to date is definitely getting my PADI scuba certification through "PRO DIVE" and diving the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). And for those who only open this blog for the pictures...as you can see...it appears the glitch has been fixed. I hope you enjoy the pics. And no...I didn't take any of them, but they are from other divers and/or the crew itself.



As many of you know...I can be somewhat competitive at times, but I found out very quickly that many other countries put more onus on swimming than Canada does as I was dead last (by a full length of the pool) in my group for swimming the necessary 16 laps (200 metres) in the pool. It might have something to do with most of the group was between 19-25 as well. And if that wasn't bad enough, than I had to tread water for 10 minutes with only a very short break as the other had time to catch their breath as they watched the old Canadian guy fight through the final couple lengths of the pool. I thought this was supposed to be vacation...not working my butt off! But hey, I stuck it out, put my pride aside and got my PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors) card. And boy was it worth it!!!



I don't even know what to say about my experience diving in the GBR...it was awe inspiring. I now have 8 dives in the GBR under my belt with several shark sightings (fairly small 3-5 feet white-tip reef sharks) ; numerous sea turtles (they are very cool); barracudas; lots of Nemo's (clown fish); small stingrays; giant clams; puffer fish; a very poisonous lionfish (see picture directly underneath); countless other fish and more types of beautiful coral than I can even talk to. It was pretty overwhelming.



It was also fairly nerve racking as we swam through some pretty tight crevaces and tunnels (as I'm sure you other divers can attest...neutral bouyancy only comes with lots of practice) It's certainly not for those who get claustrophobic especially when you're trying not to bump into any coral. We also did a night dive which isn't for the light-hearted as you jump into the pitch black water knowing there are sharks down there and they feed at night. However, once you took the plunge, you soon found out that the moon and your light gave you a fair bit of visibility and I would say it was my favourite dive. The ocean is already a different world and when you add the darkness...it becomes even more foreign. As I said...I don't really know how to put it into words.



Even though I didn't take any of these pictures myself (I was too busy trying to take everything in and yes...also trying to remember to breath properly so I didn't drown), I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

And for all you Canadian women who thought I was hitting on you with my heavy breathing (and maybe I was), but it turns out I am naturally a heavy breather and suck the air out of the scuba tanks fairly quickly. I need to work on that. Can I practice on any of you women?

I'm sure my words don't do the GBR experience justice and the pictures only tell the part of the story, but I would highly recommend to anyone...that if you get the chance...get the scuba gear out and explore the world beneath us...whether it be the GBR or the Great Lakes. It will totally blow your mind!

That's it for now...the next few days in Cairns will find me back on the GBR, in the rainforest and on some beautiful beaches. Then it's time to start heading south. Cheers...

A Diary from Dubai...

No jail time for me. Nice!! At least not yet.

Where to start?? This has definitely been the biggest culture shock I've yet to experience.

After13 plus hours of travel from Toronto to London Heathrow to Dubai, I found myself at the cusp of my adventure and in a strange land. Things started when my taxi driver had never heard of my hotel but knew the landmarks that I remember when booking on-line. I was to find out later that taxi drivers find their destinations by landmarks...NOT addresses. Even after being dropped off at said landmark and seeing the sign for my hotel...I couldn't find the entrance. Let's just say...on-line "booker" beware! This was no five star hotel (and I knew it wouldn't be since I'm now on a backpacker's budget), but it would have been nice had it been a two star hotel even.

Upon entering my room, I was to find complete darkness as none of the lights seemed to work. After holding my door open for about five minutes for the dim light of the hall, I finally figured out that you had to place your room key into a slot to make some sort of circuit connection and voila...lights. It would have been nice had they told me this. It would have also been nice had they told me that I had to hand in my key in order for them to clean my room. After two exhausting days of 3-5 hours of walking tours in mid-to-high 30 degree weather and still no housecleaning, I finally went to downstairs (since the phone doesn't work) to the main desk (basically a cubicle) to get the answer.

Pictures from my hotel room. (I won't scare you with pictures of my hotel room)

Alrighty...computer glitch...no pictures for you today...sorry!!

My hotel was located in a suburb of Dubai called Deira in what most people call Old Dubai. I would say it's very lower to middle class, but definitely gave me a perspective of the city that I wouldn't have experienced had I been in New Dubai. For the first two days, (during the day) I was the only white person I saw and remember...I walked for hours. At night time you would see some more tourists. I was also the only person wearing shorts and was generally a head taller than even the taller locals And no...they weren't looking at my chicken legs...OK...maybe they were. I was starting to think I was insulting the locals as everyone seemed to be spitting around me, but I later found out that spitting is very normal in Dubai.

I was on my own for the first two days as my buddy Darryn ran into some unforeseen work issues, so lots of exploring and I still think one of my highlights was the water taxis (abras) or as I called them...bumper boats. These wooden boats carried people across the Dubai creek back and forth between Old Dubai and New Dubai. The fare was 1 dirham or about 33 Cdn cents. A few times I would hop on them just to watch the drivers yell at each other and ram each other as they jockeyed for position. Too funny!

Much of Dubai is made up of small store front shops selling anything you can imagine. They typically only sell one sort of item (ie, shoes, shirts, wallets, dresses, embroidered silk or linen) Many of these shops are grouped together to form bazaars and souks (markets) are sometimes created for shops selling the same type of item. The coolest two souks had to be the Gold Souk and the Textile Souk. I can't even explain the Gold Souk. Think about 20-30 shops all selling gold and jewelry. And I don't mean the cheap stuff. I saw pieces of gold that could almost be considered body armour it was so large. I would guess down this dirty, down trodden alley...millions of dollars of items were laid out or just behind glass with no security in sight. It was something to behold.

Now getting back to a favourite topic of mine...alcohol. You need a license to purchase alcohol anywhere other than restaurants attached to hotels. And no...my hotel didn't have a restaurant attached, but they did have 3 false fire alarms. I ate at many locals restaurants and no alcohol in sight. I have to get out of this city!! Luckily, my friend Darryn came to my rescue on my third day in Dubai. He provided an awesome walking tour and more importantly, he brought me to the "Irish Village" where I could enjoy my first beer. OK...maybe we spent a good part of the afternoon and early evening there. Beer costs anywhere from 30-35 dirham or about 10-11 bucks Canadian for a pint. After enjoying "several" pints and some food, we left to a bill of over 600 dirham when you added in a tip.

On my fourth day, I found out where some of the money is in Dubai. Darryn graciously gave me the run of the villa he lives in with three other gents. It's a good thing I didn't stay with Darryn or I would never have seen any culture. The villa is breathtaking and only a 30 sec walk from a beach on the Arabian sea. Even on a Monday, there were lots of Jumierah "janes" as the locals call them...we might call them trophy wives. Life is good in New Dubai. The water was as warm as a bathtub and the beach sand was made up of broken seashells. Very cool. The only thing that surprised me was the salt content of the sea. I've been in several oceans, but the salt content here was nasty on the eyes and mouth.

OK...I'm not sure if I've bored you to death or not (let me know if these posts need to be shorter, but there is so much to tell), but I'll end this posting on the topic of traffic. The word that comes to mind for Dubai traffic is INSANE!!!!!! Give me Toronto traffic during rush hour any day. I also think the first driving lesson here is how to use the HORN. Come on people, if 10 people are already using the horn...do you think your horn is going to change the situation any? As a pedestrian, you need to be on your toes, but at night...the pedestrians rule the streets as the city comes alive as darkness falls and the climate cools to a bearable mid-to-high 20s. The store fronts spill onto the sidewalks and people flood the streets.

Good bye Dubai...onto Australia. I'm not looking forward to my 17 hour flight tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be worth it when I get there.

Game Day...

Wow, the fans are restless. I've already been getting flak for not having a current posting over the last few weeks. People...I haven't left yet!

But that's about to change...it's game day and I'm still in the "on-deck" circle as I need to finish packing and few other "odds and sods" such as a new blog posting. Check this baby off the list!

Just a few highlights to note...I'm sure a few of you will find it funny (especially since I delayed my trip for alcohol) that my first booking of any accomodations for my trip landed me in a "dry" part of Dubai. Thankfully, my buddy Darryn informed me of this. He thought I should try my accomodation booking skills again since even smelling alcohol on a person in this part of town may find them in jail for 4 days. Although being in jail would certainly cut down on my living expenses (and make better fodder for my blog) I thought it might be nice to see a few other parts of Dubai while I'm there.

My brother Scott has also helped me immensely in pre-booking some excursions out of Cairns (my starting point in Australia). These include getting my scuba certification in the Great Barrier Reef (that is if my shark phobia doesn't kick in too bad...people who saw Jaws at a young age like myself should understand); a Rainforest experience and another eco-tour. Sounds like a great start. More to come on those.

And what does someone pack for a 10 month trip? Great question! I'm looking at my backpack and still wondering...how in the hell? For you hardened travellers...you'll probably laugh at how much I'm taking...for those less travelled like myself...how will I survive on such few clothes.

So the backpack looks like this. Of course you have to start with toilet paper...who wouldn't? I also have 10 pairs of underwear. Done!

Ok, maybe not...that would be hard core. And since one of my friends called me high maintenance, I must have more packed. And yes, I do! In addition to the underwear, I have 12 microfiber short sleeve shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts to help stave off malaria, 2 pairs of pants that zip off to create shorts, add another pair of shorts, a bathing suit, a sweat shirt, a rain jacket, some ankle socks, running shoes, sandals and flip flops. That's it for wearables! Would you survive?

It's now time to get into the batter's box. I'm off!!! Be safe everyone...Until we meet again :)