Dubai It Is

Lori got it right - I was skiing in Dubai!

I took a delightfully luxurious vacation to the desert oasis. It was 75 degrees there (in late November!) and diviiiine.

So this is what an indoor ski park looks like:

The ski slope itself is rather boring. There are 2 sides to go down and that's it. It's no Stowe. But what's wild is, you have this waiting for you outside:

Just look at that beach!

Also, there's a river (they call it a creek but whatever) and, of course, the ocean. I live inland and, as a genetic New Englander, have been dying to be close to the ocean again. I didn't realize how much living in the middle of the desert has affected me until I realized how crazy happy I was just to walk along the river in Dubai.

We also watched another winter sport - ice hockey - in one of the malls, and then checked out the aquarium and light show.

The legendary gold market was rather disappointing. I was expecting walls of gold and more over the top displays. It just looked like a bunch of jewelry stores all on the same road.

There's really good Indian, Thai, and Pakistani food if you go to the older district where a lot of the Asian workers live.

The modern sections of the city look rather space agey. Driving down the highways made me feel like I was in a Tom Cruise movie :).