Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

All I can say is WOW to describe this vacation!  For 16 days of relaxation and exploring we set out for the United Arab Emirates  ولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة‎ . Just a little geography lesson first, this is a Arab country in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar and Iran.  We visited two of the seven Emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  This was the closest I had ever been to my heritage and it was such a positive and fun experience for us all. 

Let me begin with Dubai which lies in the Arabian Desert.  The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture.  However the city of Dubai is a highly cosmopolitan.  Most of the males wore a kandura (ankle-length white shirt) and women wear an abaya (a black over-garment covering most parts of the body).  The thing to mention is Western-style clothing is dominant because of the large expatriate population.  We stayed on the The Palm Island which is an artificial island constructed from sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf.  Our resort was Atlantis and this was 5 star at its finest for adults and children complete with a water park, aquarium and so much more.  Within the resort we enjoyed the Aquaventure Water Park, Lost Chambers Aquarium and also snorkeling. 

Each evening we would taxi to the Dubai Mall which is the world's largest mall.  It is here and also the Emirates Mall that we had our choice of so many western restaurants which we have missed so much.  Also this is the location where we visited the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world.  We ventured up to the 124th floor where we saw how the city is surrounded by the Arabian Desert and took in some beautiful views.  Dubai is also know for jewelry making and thus Natalie purchased a necklace with her name in Arabic and I bought a new wedding band with everyone's name engraved in Arabic, both great mementos from our trip. 

Next we headed for Abu Dhabi the capital of U.A.E.  Here we stayed at the Emirates Palace, a 7-star resort.  Costing over 6 billion to build, you could spend days just walking about and looking at the architecture.  We quickly became accustomed to pool attendants laying out our beach towels, fresh fruit in the morning and also the price tags the comes with such luxury ;)  The resort even had camel rides on the beach for everyone to enjoy.  I spent sometime paddle boarding in the ocean, Cooper enjoyed collecting shells on one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen with crystal clear water, and we all even went for a Banana boat ride one afternoon.

   

One afternoon we did a Safari in the Al Katim Desert.  We took a very exciting ride in a four-wheel vehicle, otherwise known as Dune Bashing finding ourselves flying over hills and sliding through the sand at high speeds.  As we ended the ride it was a chance to visit with some camels and watch the sunset from the dunes. We then reached a traditional Arabic camp where we had the opportunity to try a host of activities like henna painting and smoke some Shisha.  We also took a few four-wheelers for a spin in the desert.    Once the meal was concluded we were treated to a belly dancing show.  It was a great night and we were treated to traditional Arabic hospitality.  

 Another fun filled day, as Cooper listed as one of the best five in his life, was spent at Yas Water World.  We had a complete day of water park fun!  Even to our surprise after warming up a bit to the park Brady even went on the roller coaster so we all had some great family laughs!  

One morning we travel to see the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The mosque site is equivalent to the size five football fields approximately, truly amazing to see.  In order to enter the Mosque Natalie had to wear the traditional abaya to respect the culture, I just had to pull my shorts below my knees ;)

This was a vacation that we will never forget, most certainly in our top three.  There are still moments that I cannot comprehend our visit to UAE as we are so blessed to be experiencing so many cultures.   On to the next in December!

Chennai, India

Recently in the past six months I had some additional responsibilities come to fruition at work and with this came a staff located in Chennai, India.  So off I went to meet all the team for a week.  The morning I landed in Chennai it was a holiday celebrating Ganesha Chaturthi, the Hindu Festival celebrated on the birthday (rebirth) of the god Ganesha.  Ganesha is widely worshiped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of travel.  So with this new adventure two of my team members very nicely picked me up in the morning and took me to a few places that I wanted to see and that they also recommended.

First we headed directly to Kapaleeswarar Temple, built around the 7th century.  The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the holy/oldest temples situated in Chennai.  It is here my friend explained to me many aspects of Indian culture while I was amazed by the craftsmanship  of the Temple (so many intricacies and beautiful colors).

Next we traveled to Dakshinachitra (literally means – “a picture of the south”) which is a non-profit community service projected aimed at cultural preservation.  It was here that I was able to view the crafts and architecture of South India. 

Our third stop was an authentic Indian lunch with my two Supervisors pictured below.  The food was good as expected with great company.

Lastly we stopped on the way back to my hotel at Tiger Cave.  The Tiger Cave is a rock-cut Hindu temple complex.  It gets its name from the carvings of tiger heads on the mouth of a cave which forms a part of the complex. The Tiger Cave is considered to be one of the Mahabalipuram rock-cut temples constructed by the Pallavas in the 8th century AD. The site is located on the Bay of Bengal coast.  Had a nice walk among the formations and also took in some views of the coast. 

After a week of work the traveling to and from Nanjing is never easy.  The result was a seven hour layover in Hang Kong.  As I landed I decided to be a little adventurous and took the airport express train into downtown Hong Kong where I then caught a cab to Victoria Peak.  This was a special place for Natalie and I as we visited here many years ago.  This is a mountain on the western half of Hong Kong with an altitude of 1,811 ft, it is the highest mountain on the island.   

While only spending a day of leisure in India and doing a limited amount of sightseeing, I was able to absorb yet another fascinating culture first hand and for that I am grateful.  I look forward to bringing Natalie and the kids back to Northern India in the third quarter of next year for a wonderful vacation.

Second time is a charm! Returning to the USA for a second time as Expats!

During the kids summer school break we headed back to Michigan to see our much missed family and friends. As expected our summer was filled with such happiness and great memories as we stayed with Grandma Joan, the Coopes Family (Aunt Stacey, Uncle Mike, Madison and Connor) and Grandma Cindy / Papa Jim. It would be impossible to write on each thing we did so instead I have chosen to list the highlights and show the smiles on our family / friends faces!

• Spending time at Grandma Joan's cottage on Ore Lake
• 4th of July Brighton Parade
• Kalahari Resort and Waterpark with our Friends and Family
• Cedar Point
• Cranbrook Muesum - Dinosaurs of the Lost World
• Silver Lake Sand Dunes
• Dune Ride
• Fishing on Lake Michigan for King Salmon
• Tiger Baseball game
• Visiting Grandma and Papa at Tellico Village in Knoxsville, TN
• Feeding the animals at the Farm in TN
• Knoxsville Zoo
• Visiting Opryland in Nashville
• ..... and so much more that we will never forget in this coming year as we return home to China for the second half of our adventure!

Does not get any better than this....