Reporting from Dubai!

Updated Daily

Day 1

Arrived at the Dusit hotel after getting picked up from Dubai airport by a new BMW 7-series (hey, u only live once!)... I loved the hotel, but felt like an illeterate bedoin when I fundled with the hotel-shaped room key trying to figure out how the hell to unlock the door! LooL

After settling in, we took a taxi (my rental will be ready tomorrow) to Mall of Emirates to catch a movie, and was surprised by paying 40 AED for the taxi! We watched "You, me, and Dupree" which wasnt that great... We then returned to the hotel for sa7oor and calling it a day for now...
I called up My friend Joe from DA (who told me I sound like a TV or Radio presenter, lool) and we agreed to meet soon for coffee... sounds great! Hope I get to meet as much deviants as I can while I am here... I also found a miss call from Karth but kept trying to reach him again but his mobile is always out of reach! Get out of the batcave man, lool...

I wana go to somewhere with nature... and I heard Hatta is a good place for that...

Day 2:

I got my car rental which I had to say was a total dissaster! It seemed like someone was living in it for the past week... so I called up my agent and wiped the floor with him and demanded a new car... He will send it tomorrow but of corse I have to use this crappy thing (which was a 2005 Honda Accord, beat up with a stick) till I get something better tomorrow...

We left the hotel in time for iftar and headed to MOE again (it is kinda addictive!), we had iftar in Japengo (which Dxbutterfly from DA recomended), it was amazing and the sushi was great! Thanks sis!

We then saw "Joe Tucker Must Die" which I am sure makes every girl in the world happy.. but overall the movie was great! Better than what I saw yesterday at least... We are looking forward to the first day of Eid when they will put new movies, including (omarat ya'aqobyan), I wonder how much they will censor from it...

After that we strolled in the mall, I found this shop which had 75% off and I shopped for some work clothes... I got 3 suits, 10 shirts, 6 ties, all Ted Lapidus and Piere Cardain for AED 3,200... the original bill was *gasp* AED 9,800!!! So I guess I got a fair deal! lool

Now enough with MOE (for today, lool) we decided to head to the marina which alot of u have recomended... I called up my buddy Joe for directions... and even though he seemed busy he was nice enough to stay on the line while I got lost and managed to get to the Marina at last... it was pretty cool and we sat down at "The Chandlier" for some dessert, coffee, and sheesha... We then called it a day but b4 we went back we took a nice drive by the Jumeirah and relived some of the memories when we stayed at the Jumeirah Beach for 2 weeks when we were in Dubai 2 years ago (beleive it or not, the rate at that time was AED 900 per night!!!)

Question... whats a good spa in Dubai? And btw, I am a homophobe, lool.. so NO men touch me ok?? I need a lady massage, lool

Day 3

I got my new car... a 2007 Mazda 6! cool and better than that other crap... Today we decided to discover Ibn Batoota mall... so we went there for breaking the fast... We decided on Havana Cafe (thanks to =DxButterfly and *Omardxb for the suggestion!) and had a geat meal...

we then strolled through the mall and managed to cover ALL the courts: Egyptian, Persian, Indian, Tunisian... I really liked the style of the mall...We then drove to MOE after I got a call from *Omardxb that they are there in Costa Coffee... I went there and met with him, =Psy-Pro , and ~mtrais who all turned out to be great cool guys I then said my good byes and headed to Virgin Megastore on my way out... Davinci Code is out! Yay! Buy! Buy! I also got the new Evenscense CD and also "Lost in Translation" DVD because I LOVE that movie and lost the DVD a year back...

on the way out I noticed a poster about Eid parties... seems like a great combination! concerts by Elissa, Fadl Shaker, Nawal, Majed Mohandes, Hussain Jesmi, and Nancy Ajram!! Seems I may consider attending (though the hefty price tag of 600 - 1000 AED per person!!!), all will take place in Madinat Jumeirah during the 3 days of Eid...

There might be a big deviant meeting next Wednesday, I am really looking forward to meeting people from Deviant art...

Day 4

Well one thing I hate about hotels is the timings of the breakfast buffet! 6 to 10??? u gotta be kidding me! I barely woke up at 9:30 and dressed up like crazy only to find I arrived at 10:05 and no more breakfast!

So what did I do? I went back to sleep! Slept all the way till 4 PM... I then woke up and we went to Madinat Jumeirah because the smart girl who sold us the concert tickets yesterday sold us the tickets for Fadhl and Elissa instead of Jesmi and Nancy which we wanted! We exchanged the tickets then had lunch at The Noodle House.

After strolling in the Madinah, we went to MOE to catch "Omarat Yaaqobyan"... I was surprised NOTHING was censored from it, which is a good thing cause if you take anything out you will ruin the movie... But be warned, its not for sensitive viewers or kids!
The movie finished at 11 PM which only gave us 30 minutes to get to the Grosvenor House in time for our dinner reservation at the Buddha Bar. I was impressed by the overall mood and music... but theres nothing to justify the crazy prices!!! Sushi costs like its made of gold, main dishes range from 180 - 250 AED! I ended paying AED 320 for 6 peices of Maki and a Thai Chicken! But the show the bar tenders put on with the fire was sooo cool!

But one thing I really noticed.. I dont feel at all like I am in an Arab Islamic country (no offense)... The things you see around you just make you loose all feeling of being in an Islamic Country... I am really surprised how anyone can fast in Dubai except to stay at home!

Day 5

We woke up in time for the breakfast buffet then headed off to Hatta... On the way we stopped at a buggy rental and had a blast bashing dunes on beach buggies! Then our driver went kinda crazy (I think he had too much Red Bull) and took the Landcruiser for some hard core dune bashing! The guy was nuts!! I swear we were gonna tip over several times! But it was amazing!

We then took the road to the water hole in Hatta... it was an amazing view seeing cool fresh water (with fish!) in between the mountain rocks... lottsa people were swimming, some were BBQing, and others were just putting up their tents... I took loads of pics which I will submit later on ;-)

We then headed home and of corse we dosed off in the car from the exhaustion... Sleep at the hotel? There is no time for sleep when ur in Dubai! Took a shower and hit the road again, back to MOE and precisely to Armani Cafe where we met :develixile: and soon :devkarth: followed up (pics commin dont worry! lool). I loved the place, so chic and posh...

After we said bye to the guys we did a small shopping spree then headed to the Irish Village for dinner at my fave Italian Joint: La Vigna! Had amazing pasta and pizza then headed back to the hotel to call it a day... Time to leave is coming near :-(

Day 6

Today we overslept and missed our breakfast... we barely left the hotel at 4 PM and went to Ibn Batoota mall to get some gifts for relatives who wanted "3ooda" and we heard "Yaas" was one of the best... By the time we got there and finished our shopping it was almost 6... And I still had my suits to pick up from Ted Lapidius, so it seems I will not catch the dev meet today :-(

When I realized that, I thought we would make use of our stay in IBM so we saw "The Departed"... EXCELLENT movie which I recomend to see!! We then had lunch at Tony Roman's, I loved their steak and also their burger was to die for!
We then headed off to MOE to pick up my suits... I got SMSs from OmarDXB and MTrais (Both from Deviant Art) asking where I was and if I can make it... I tried to squeeze it in to see them at Johnny Rocket's after I picked up my suits but it was already 9:30 and I got a concert to get ready for! Sorry guys :-(

We reached the hotel, I showered, shaved and got dressed then we head towards Meena Salam for the concert!! We had trouble being seated at first cause poeple wont stick to their numbers... the opening singer (cant remember her name) was a disaster... her voice sucked and she only sang songs of other people... Then Nancy came on stage! I have to say I really enjoyed her performance, she has this kinda "style" and "spirit" on stage... around 2 AM it was time for the master Hussein Al-Jesmi! He brought down the roof with his amazing songs! Everyone went wild, dancing and jumping, men, women, bos, girls, all nationalities! He ended with Al-Shaki at 4 AM and we left after a wonderful evening! Dont worry, I got pics (very close, thanks to my 70-300 lense) and I will upload them soon ;-)

Wow I am dead tired... see ya guys...

Plan -B-

Well no more Beirut cause:

a- We couldnt get an OK flight back

b- My parents didnt like that I am goin to a place which had 2 explosions 2 days ago

So plan B is Dubai...! Though I went there 3 times, and its nothing new to me, its the best I can think of on such a short notice... Besides there is no way I am staying in Jeddah and spending money in the same places I always go to! Not to mention the great wetaher we have...

So see you in a week! Maybe I will blog when I am there, maybe not.. Cheers...

Beirut.. or Bust!

After we werent willing to go anywhere in Eid, suddenly a crazy plan came up to go to Beirut! Crazy? Could be... with the war that just ended 2 months ago, BUT prices are as low as ever plus Beirut wasnt hit by any bombings anyway... And most importantly, its a great chance to put my new Nikon D70s to good use!

Being the organized person I am, I am really having a hard time fixing everything on such a short notice. Imagine a guy who plans his travel 1-2 months in advance suddenly making plans for a trip next week! Yeah thats how frustrated I am...

Plus the geniouses in our staff department made my exit re-entry visa for 1 week! Who on earth gives a visa for one week? What I know is that the minimum you get is 01 month except if you're a plumber or a driver or something... What if I get sick? Get caught in an accident? Well I didnt stay quiet and I wrote a complain and sent it direct to our vice president!

Tomorrow I should get my visa to Lebanon, and my flights are still waiting list, AND I didnt book a hotel yet... thats so not me... But with this week being the last week at work I also got alot of pending stuff to finish, combined with the hectic schedule of Ramadan, its no easy tasy!

Oh yeah and the last of good news, the stock market crashed... So no extra money for the trip! Someone shoot me... BANG! Thanks...

I wish I was half as you...

Another sign that Allah loves this man (Khaled), his brother managed to get the visa to enter Saudi Arabia in just 2 hours, which is something very difficult... today he entered the office, and it was the first time I saw him face to face... Did I mention they were twins? It was like Khaled was standing right in front of me... "subhan Allah"...

As soon as Amr saw his twin brother's empty desk, he burst into tears... it was so moving...Today after "Aasr" prayer we went and prayed the burial prayers, we were happy and proud when the "emam" told us that Khaled was not "mukaffan" (wrapped in the usual burial clothings), nor was he washed as regular deaths... because he was wearing his "ehram" when he died... Even his face was not covered... The emam told us that on the day of judgement, he will appear with his ehram and "mulabyan" (calling out pilgrimage prayers) labayk Allahuma labeek... labeek la shareeka laka labeek...

The people walked in carrying him on their shoulders, and I saw his face... it was bright as day, and I swear to Allah there was a faint smile on his face... His face was so relaxed... as if he knows where he is going and what is waiting for him...
After the prayer we carried him to the van where they drove him off to the grave yards... It was a hot day, and as they were lowering him to the grave, I saw small sweat droplets form on his forehead.... just as he is a living person and not someone who was dead for the past 48 hours..."wala ta7sabana alazeena qotelo fee sabeel Allah amwatan bal a7ya2an 3end rabehem yorzaqoon" sadaq Allah al azeem...

We buried Khaled , and we prayed for him and said our good byes... this is how we will all end, under a pile of sand and pebbles and rocks... rich or poor, driving a Porsche or a Hyundai, living in a villa by the beach or in a 2 room apartment, we will all die and end up under the ground, in the dark, with only what Allah has in store for us...
We must all wake up... I know I have... I vow to Allah that I will change to the better.. I want to be just like Khaled...

We will Miss you...

I got this phone call from Egypt last night, and it was from Amr who is the brother of Khaled, our colleague at work... he asked me if I know anything about Khaled as the last they know of him was Friday night when he called his wife (who is in Egypt) and told her he just finished "Omra" (a kind of Muslim pilgrimage) and he is on his way to the city of Jeddah...
I tried calling Khaled's mobile but it was off... I didnt go to work yesterday because of a bad flu so I called my manager and he told me Khaled did not come to work... We just hoped he was jailed for speeding or crossing a traffic light or something...

Today morning I came to work... and while we were discussing who does what and searches where... We got a phone call from the Police station telling us that Khaled died yesterday in a car accident on the way from Makkah to Jeddah.. it appears his car had a flat tire and he went out to fix it and a speeding car (probably because it was 3 AM and dark) hit him... He didnt die right away, but stayed in the hospital from Friday to Saturday... He died wearing his "ehram" (white clothing worn for pilgrimage)...

I am shocked... still unbeleiving... I just saw the guy on Thursday at work, he sits on the desk right next to mine... I cant beleive he is gone, I have known him now for 3 years, I will really miss him...
I will miss our joking around...I will miss when he asks me about English spelling,as he writes his emails...I will miss seeing him walking around,with his small cup of tea and ciggerette...And that annoying mobile ring tone of his...
He was a real man in a time when men are barely found... Whenever one of us gets sick or tired, he was the first to ask and offer help... Whenever someone was stuck he was the first to take out his wallet and offer support... May Allah bless him...

I want to take this opprutonity to talk to you all my brother and sister Muslims... See how life is so cheap and how we are so weak... We can die just like that... at any time...We are now in the month of Ramadan.. Lets go back to Allah and ask his forgivness for what we have sinned...
If you drink, stop drinking...If you have sexual relations without marriage, stop...If you like having a girlfriend and enjoy your relations and being a playboy, start thinking of taking the right path and settling down...

If you dont pray regularly, start praying...

If you my Muslim sister go out wearing reveiling clothing, swim suits, and dont care about men staring at your body, start thinking again about Allah and judgement day...

If you have taken anything thats not yours, return it...If you stand with your friends flirting and staring at girls, stop that and go do something useful...

Allah is forgiving beyond what you think... Prophet Mohammed "peace be upon him" said that nothing makes Allah more happy than his worshipper realizing his wrong doings and asking for forgivness...

May Allah bless us all... Please pray for him...
Your brother,

Ahmed