Photos and Pak update

Here's a pick of glitzy downtown Dubai, and here's the two of us on our way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai on the bus. Can you tell we haven't slept in a few days?

I think I've come to the conclusion that Dubai is an interesting place to visit but I definitely couldn't live here! Everything is not only really modern but extravagant to the extreme. They have indoor snow skiing in the Mall of the Emirates. Today we saw construction on the Palm Deira, a hotel which will be made up of private islands in Arabian Gulf. The crazy thing is they are CREATING the islands. http://www.gowealthy.com/realestate/uae/dubai/palm/
They are also making one with 300 private islands which makes the shape of the globe. Materialism at its best. Really they've even outdone the USA. I just went to the nearby 'Hypermarket' which is aptly named to say the least. It's a combination grocery store and mall, only bigger. Think Super Walmart on steroids. And this is located about 20 minutes drive from the city center. You can get everything and anything at the grocery section. There are WAY more choices than there are in the US. They must import everyone's favorite products from home. Any Brits will be happy to know you can buy Quality Street candy. Americans, if you move to Dubai don't worry about bringing any of those comfort foods with you. You can surely buy them in Dubai, and if not i'm sure you could find someone to order it.

If you haven't heard the US bombed northern Pakistan the other day, inciting riots in the streets. It was the top headline in the NYTimes today. Thanks to mom for giving me the heads up on the story. I have a lot of things in my head which I'd like to say to whoever planned these attacks, but you can guess what they are.... The area where they bombed is quite far west of where I'm planning to be but it's the same region (Federally Administered Tribal Areas - FATA). Not sure what this means for the trip, but we'll be based in Lahore for the first few weeks so we'll be sure to avoid the mountainous area where they think Zawahiri is.
http://nytimes.com/2006/01/15/international/asia/15pakistan.html?hp&ex=1137387600&en=7df241858f72459a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Next update should be from Lahore! Please write comments. :)