Dubai- Around the World Stop #1

As we were preparing to travel home to the US for the summer, from China, hubby wondered if it would be cost effective to travel all the way around the world. It was and so we did!

First stop: Dubai!

When I travel to a new city for the first time I usually like to hop on a tour bus. In this case we only had one day to sight see so this was the way to go!

It was HOT! The thermometer sat around 110 degrees the entire time, but this 110 felt like 125!

Wafi City Shopping Centre

 The arabian architecture was magnificent!

You may ask why we wanted to go to Dubai. It is not a hugely popular destination for Americans, but it is for Europeans. Being in China we see commercials for Dubai and Abu Dhabi all the time. The architecture and opulence peaked our interest.

I have heard Dubai compared to Las Vegas a lot. I didn't think it was much like Vegas. My impression was that the wealth was more subtle, but you definitely knew it was there. 

Not so "in your face". 

An example of a beachside mansion.

Many of the "over the top" attractions are inside malls in Dubai. We hopped off our bus at The Mall of the Emirates. This was pretty exciting to all of us because it was more of an American-style mall than what we see in China. We stopped for a treat at Krispy Kreme Donuts and headed to the main attraction...an indoor ski resort!


There is plenty for everyone to do inside this ski resort. If you glance to the top left corner you will see that the mountain continues up to more advanced slopes. We enjoyed a yummy lunch while watching the "bubble balls", snow boarders and tubes come down the mountain.

The next mall we hit was The Dubai Mall. My opinion between the two of these malls is that this mall has more "locals" but is a little more "high end" than the other. 

The famous three story water fall inside The Dubai Mall.

 The next portion of our bus tour was the "beach region" of Dubai. It was exciting to see the Persian Gulf, after hearing about it so much. The hotels out here are, by far, the most impressive hotels in the world!

Burj Al Arab

 The Burj Al Arab hotel (above and below) is quickly becoming an icon of Dubai. I have to say, seeing this hotel (modeled after a ship sail) was super impressive in person. Pictures cannot do it any justice! The Burj Al Arab is known for being on it's own island and can only be accessed by helicopter or submarine. As a matter of fact, if you look closely on the left side near the top floor, you can see a circular helicopter pad. Guests can take a helicopter from the airport directly to the hotel. I'll tell you, with this type of resort you will not need to see anything else in Dubai nor be affected by the heat!

Near the Burj Al Arab is another amazing architectural resort called The Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It is shaped like a wave and I urge you to google pictures of it to see how it is lit up at night. Amazing!

 We then headed out to the Palm Island of Dubai. For me, this is what I had been looking forward to the most! But you will have to wait for my next blog post for that...it's a biggie!

The one thing I will show you now is what the beach houses look like on the "palm frond" portions of the island. Because of the shape of the island each and every home is a beach front property. I would love to live here, for even one week!

 One of the highlights in Dubai is the TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD! I had psyched myself into going to the top and found out you need reservations! We got a time on our last day at 10am. It was now or never!

 This picture IS NOT from the internet. Hubby took it and it is amazing. The Burj Khalifa is 124 stories and almost a half a mile tall. More than three times the height of the Eiffel Tower!


Watch this short video below to ride the very entertaining elevator ride to the top with us!

The view of the desert from the top!

Proof I actually did it. Although I was not happy to be near the edge.

The beautiful landscape at the base of the building.

 Another popular icon of Dubai are the World Islands that are being built. Below you can see what they will look like from space. Very rich people can purchase a "country" island. 

pic courtesy of Google 

 Look closely you can see the "world islands" from the top of the building. 

Dubai was very impressive. It was nice to peak inside another culture that I really did not know much about. The women, adorned in their burkas, demand much respect for their faith and modesty. Oh how many issues could be resolved if we were covered head to toe (body issues, modesty, fashion obsessions...)

 Stay tuned for the creme de la creme of Dubai...

The Atlantis Resort on the Palm Island!

US Shopping List- Kitchen & Misc

This post, and the last one, is for those of you who email me and ask me what to bring when you move to China. A reminder that some of these things are sold here, but are either too expensive or are just not good enough.

• Running shoes/inserts
• Dryer sheets
• Zipfizz
• Crystal Light
• Slim Fast powder
• Gel packs for running
• Transportable dishes with carry handles and lids
• Almond extract
• Mint extract
• Birthday cards (especially boys)
• Scotch tape
• Hair Straightener (I have tried 3 Chinese ones, all stink. Will use a large converter just for this!)
• Modest swimsuits
• Clothes including undies
• Flax seed

** here are some items we stocked up on over Christmas. Since then, American Airlines has limited international travel to one free bag. So these items are no longer cost effective to bring with us.

• Chocolate chips
• Brownie mixes
• Cake mixes

US Shopping List- Toiletries

A big question when moving to China is "what should I bring from home?" This question is as individual as each person, but here is my evolving US bathroom inventory. These items are either things we brought originally and run out of or they are items we have realized we prefer from home. It is important to mention that some of these items cannot be found here, but the ones that can be are either too expensive or the quality is not to our liking. 

The ones marked * are an absolute MUST.

All expats shop in the US but many of my friends have found that TaoBao and Amazon.cn work well. Also, we have lucky friends here with the US government that can receive shipping from US companies! For me, this is how we roll....and pray our suitcases aren't over in weight.

Up next: US Shopping List- Kitchen & Misc!

Band Aids
Benedryal oral
Benedryal stick*
Day Quil
Night Quil
Advil*
Tylenol PM
Pepto liquid
Pepto tablet
shampoo/conditioner
deoderant (men)*
deoderant (women)*
deoderant (certain dri)
Icy Hot
Vicks Vapo Rub
Antifungal foot cream
Hand Sanitizer
Allergy Tablets
Allergy oral kids
cough drops
vaginal cream
Tampons*
Razors
Q-tips*
Desitin
"Neosporin"
Itch Relief Cream
Calamine Lotion
Swimmer Ear
Lotion
Scented Candles*
Chap Stick*
Facial Scrub (Apricot)*
Face moisturizer
mascara
foundation*
face powder *
lipstick
eye liner
Rose Salve*
Vitamins
Nail polish Remover pads Aloe Vera Gel Sunscreen

Cub Scouts in China

I know I shouldn't be admitting this, but one of the perks about moving to China for me was a break from scouts:) I thought D and I would work through the book together, on our own...Oh no! We became a part of a grand pack here in Beijing. The Cub Master is a go-getter, but unfortunately many of the activities (including pack meeting) were held out in the suburbs which is about 45 minutes from where we live in the city. This posed to be quite a challenge for many things and caused some stress at times. But with our amazing den leader, she powered these boys through the Webolo I & II program in less than one year. Each of them received their Arrow of Light award!

Please excuse my terrible video skills and photography below. But these pictures are priceless and I wanted to document the event. Look at proud dad (an eagle Scout) lighting the candle.

Our Webolo Den! Sorry about the red eyes!

D and his Den Leader

 These are D's best buds! The huge blessing of cub scouts was these guys got to see each other outside of church. D goes to a different school and relished in their time together at scouts. Sadly, his den leader (one of my great friends) and her family (one of these guys below) are moving next month. One hard thing about being an expat...people go:(

Despite the logistical challenges, it was an experience in cub scouts. Now onto Boy Scouts! (thankfully after summer so we can have a break!) Oh, and isn't Boy Scouts more of a "dad thing" than a "mom thing"? Please?

Pajama Breakfast Party

Before my blog became an "everything about moving and living in China blog" it used to be a creative blog designed for me to be inspired by others and to inspire. "BC" (before China) I was happiest when I hosted functions and social events at my house. In China it has been difficult to carry this out, but this weekend I hosted a Pajama Breakfast Party for teenage girls from church.

Invitations

I bought inexpensive eye masks and used hand-written tags with the information.

 Menu

peach, orange and apple juice

watermelon and pineapple

bacon

chocolate chip pancakes

Favors

"The early bird Catches the Worm" 

with a scripture from Doctrine and Covenants 88:124 

“…cease to sleep longer than is needful;

retire to thy bed early,

that ye may not be weary;

arise early, that your bodies and

your minds may be invigorated.”

 Of course it was attached to gummy worms.

Activity 

Besides eating and chatting I thought it would be fun for them to make pillowcases with a reminder to say their morning and nighttime prayers. Each girl chose her own color pillowcase and decorated it.

Prizes

I gave a prize for cutest pajamas and best bed head. The prizes were loofahs and invigorating body wash.

It was a fun activity and it was fun to finally host something here at our apartment!

Camping on the Great Wall~ Jiankou

Last weekend was Labor Day weekend in China. The boys headed to the wall for a backpacking camping trip on the wall.

They took a bus and hired a car. Unfortunately, the car dropped them off at the wrong side of the wall. Luckily hubby was in contact with a friend who sent a driver out to take them to the right side of the wall.

Camp for night one

Boys will  be boys

Base camp

When I saw this I was happy I did not go

King of the wall

Camp for night two

Mom's Version of the Trip: They hiked a lot. They carried all the water for three days since there was no water source. They bonded. They climbed something called "Heavenly Ladder"...I don't want to know anything more than that. They got into a car accident (fender bender) on the way home and I got a prank call from a crying boy saying they were bleeding and going to the hospital...NOT COOL! 

All in all, they had a great time!

Nine months baby!

This week was my nine month anniversary in Beijing! 

I thought I'd just share a few random 

thoughts with you to celebrate.

Wife of the Year

This picture was taken last Thursday night at Da Dong. The reason I said "wife of the year" in the caption is that I had been sick in bed for two days but had committed to going to a dinner for hubby's work. By 3:00 I still did not know how I was going to make it, but I got up and showered and got dressed up. I walked, in the RAIN, to the subway and took the subway to a reception. Usually these things are really, really boring so I was happy to find a nice lady to talk to about the art of bargaining in Beijing. She was just visiting and wanted to shop. Later I found out that she was the wife of the president of the association of which this reception was for. I am a good schmoozer. We then took a taxi to the above restaurant which is highly acclaimed and very yummy! Notice the leaf placemat and napkin ring.

So, I don't think I need to do a big old update of my last nine months here considering I update A LOT. But I do think it is freaky that it has been an entire pregnancy that we've lived here!

I want to thank those of you who have stumbled upon my blog, for whatever reasons, and continued to read. I love getting emails from people I've never met, saying that my blog post has helped them or validated them in some way. YAY! That is the main reason I write this blog (oh, and to update family and friends back home too). I used to gauge how many readers I had based on the amount of comments I receive....depressing! I don't think the readers are big on commenting BUT they are big on emailing me which makes me giddy with excitement! So keep them coming! I've received emails from all over the world with questions and comments and compliments. I am truly grateful that this crazy adventure is interesting to someone!

On that same note...I was not very happy when Blogger updated their format....until I found the stats page! Holy cow! I can track how many people reading my blog daily, what posts they read, and where they linked from. It even tells me what type of computer they are on. Cool for me, kinda creepy for you! It tickles me to know that someone in the Netherlands reads my blog! If you are with Blogger I highly recommend checking out your stats!

The last nine months have been filled with smiles and tears, laughter and tantrums (mostly me), rickshaws and walking shoes, tones and characters, joy and frustration, bus rides and plane rides, weight gained and weight lost, friends and acquaintances and lots and lots of gong bao jiding! (kung pao chicken)

Here is to the next six weeks when we go here, here and HERE!