Link Traveling to Dubai

by Adrienne Wilson on

Everywhere I click on the web it seems I keep seeing Dubai, Dubai, and Dubai. Is now the time to go or what? I feel as though I’m missing out on something BIG here and the chances of me jetting over in the near future are very slim. Yes, pity me, please. Anyhow I thought I might as well offer an opportunity to explore some of what I’ve been hearing or reading about Dubai lately through some of the links found below just in case someone setting out to do some hardcore Dubai travel planning soon.

  • Dubai Shopping Festival – Looks as though the DSF for 2006 is taking place right now, but if you plan well and save tons of money attending the 2007 event should be a breeze.
  • Feel like running in the desert oasis anytime soon? Registration for the Dubai Marathon on January 12, 2007 doesn’t close until New Year’s Eve. Get out there and run!
  • Gridskipper points out an excellent spot to mix, mingle and sing a song or three during karaoke. Karaoke in Dubai? Yes, they sing and make a fool of themselves here too.
  • Dubai International Film Festival – Sadly this event ends on the 17th of December and don’t say I didn’t tell you it was approaching. I did my part.
  • Perhaps you’re trying to find a nice last minute destination for the Christmas holiday. Why not consider Dubai? From this Go World Travel story I found not too long ago, the writer shares her dazzling surreal X-Mas experience in the UAE.

Dubai International Film Festival

by Adrienne Wilson on

While I’m in Persian Gulf I thougt I might as well mention the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) taking place December 10-17, 2006. According to their news ticker the red carpet promises some of Hollywood, Bollywood, and the Arab worlds (Arab-wood?) hottest stars from the silver screen right in the flesh. If your interest rests only in the films, trust me when I say the selection is also rather sizzling. Spanning from Africa, Asia, Europe and the local talents there isn’t a corner on the planet missed. If stroke of luck can get you to Dubai in such short notice, a trip to the festival might not be such a bad idea. Volver, Fast Food Nation and Babel are only a sampling of the 115 films from 47 countries on the lineup. Check out Gridskipper or the official site for additional details.

Marathon Tours

by Adrienne Wilson on

Only 17 days remain between now and the moment in which I’ll run my first 26.2 mile full marathon in Detroit. Am I excited? Heck yeah, you bet I am. And you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you this, but I despise running. I hate the high impact and grueling feeling it has on my knees. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the sense of community and spirit amongst runners, the feeling of achievement and most certainly the opportunity to go places, but it’s so hard for me to remain mentally positive when my body is wondering why I’m pushing it the way I am. Anyhow, what I’m trying to say is if you’re in Detroit or Windsor on October 29, come out and cheer me on! I’ll need the support.

Moving right along now that I’ve managed to squeeze my own shameless promotion into the plug, I suppose I should point running loving individuals or people who may want to get into the sport to this Marathon Tours site. First off, if you’re truly a marathon fanatic you’re probably already aware of this site, but even then I encourage you to check it out and start planning some serious marathon trips. Perhaps you’ve exhausted some of your options, favorite races, scenic routes or whatever. Why not run Antarctica or Dubai? To be quite honest it’s destinations like these and doing some so crazy that may keep into all this running jazz. Seriously, how cool would that be? Marathon Tours makes it easier if you’re looking to head abroad and check out the local scene in places like Iceland, Jamaica, Stockholm, Kenya and Australia. With all the other prep going into the race I’d imagine their services to be a huge load off one’s plate.

Snow in the Desert

by Erik Olsen on

You think of the great accomplishments of man:
curing polio and decoding the genome, landing on the moon, Ulysses, Pop Rocks. And then you see something like this and
you ask yourself whether it qualifies as a great human accomplishment, or whether its falls under a more suspicious
category of quintessential human folly.

I’m talking about the idea, nay the reality, of building a ski area in the desert.
We’ve blogged about this a couple of times before, but I was thinking about it this morning and an interesting question
occurred to me. But first, the facts: In Dubai, one of the world’s riches, oil-soaked Sheikdoms/Emirates/etc.,
conspicuous consumption has reached such unfathomable heights that they have put permanent snow where once there was
only sand. Here’s something for the religiously-inclined among you to ponder:

Could such an act as
building a ski area where He put a desert be in any way construed as defiance of God’s will? Just food for
thought on this Thursday morning.