The Palm Jumeirah

One of the most famous parts of the "skyline" of Dubai is a group of man made islands in the shape of a palm. The Palm Jumeirah is home to many prominent and wealthy members of society, as well as several beautiful hotels. The most famous hotel is Atlantis, which houses a number of restaurants, a water park, and an aquarium. I took a drive out on the Palm to see the sights!

May The Best Camel Win...

Last weekend, I drove 45 minutes outside of the city to visit the camel racetrack by Al Ain. Currently, there are approximately 14,000 active racing camels in the UAE. The local Emirati population and the highest levels of society belong to the Dubai Camel Racing Club. Camel jockeys in the past were young boys between the ages of 6 and 7, which obviously incited complaints from the international community. So now, there are little robotic jockeys in the form of colored boxes that sit atop the camels "holding" whips that operate at regular intervals! I also managed to see the camel market, where the owners buy their camel supplies (pictured here are workers uncovering a mountain of greens for the camels to eat.) The races only take place at 7:30am on weekends...but it is worth getting up early for such an amazing sight!

The Souks- An Afternoon downtown

I went to Bur Dubai, the old and more traditional part of the city, to explore the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk. The word "souk" means market in Arabic. The spice souk sells cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, incense amongst many others, and the gold souk has the most glittery yellow gold necklaces I have ever seen in my life

Christmas in India

Kerala, Bangalore, Delhi, Agra, and Goa in two weeks :) And the best part was that my best friend Stephanie joined me all the way from the USA!!!

Dubai Beach Day!

One of the best things about living in Dubai is my proximity to the beach! Though I don't see it everyday, it is a great stress-buster to spend some time by the water. These pictures were taken at Jumeirah Beach, where there was a kite surfing competition going on right around sunset :) This beach is right next to the Burj Al Arab, the famous sail-shaped hotel pictured below.