Guest Blogger # 3

Well My Mother and Michael have been trekking about everyday, cramming in as many of the sites of the UAE they can. We leave for a Desert Safari with Nick and Hayley in a little over an hour, they head home to the United States in about 30 hours....Without further ado, from the Hamilton Taft class of 1979, here is my brother, Michael D. Bruck, with the third guest blog....

      "Well, well quite the adventure so far and tonight we Safari, tomorrow we visit the White Mosque, then home to the USA. As John mentioned we have trekked and Metro'd and even took a few cabs all over Dubai, even did the Creek in a Dhow all very enjoyable.
        MALLS-  Dubai has malls as you may know, we have visited them all, and covered some of most of them logging about 6 miles a day just in the Malls alone. and yes you could fit the Mall of America into any one of the a few times, these are MALLS in Dubai!  My favorite shopping and cultural experience I must say was a visit to the Souks by the Creek, this the oldest part of Dubai, is full of Markets that are built row upon row clustered together so that as you walk down between the buildings all you can see for the entire block are spices, then utensils, then gold, then the fish market, another gold market and more textiles, quite an amazing day combing through all these markets hearing many languages, watching and participating in the bartering to buy souvenirs and gifts for friends and family in the US.
COWORKERS-  Another wonderful aspect of coming to see my brother was actually getting to meet some of the people he works with here in Dubai, and writes about weekly.  Nick, who was gracious enough to let me stay at his Apt, (so I did not have to sleep on a air mattress in John's living room) Has been a font of information and let me know about some of the local customs and particulars of the population. I have also met Hayley, a New York native,  who escorted us to dinner and to the Global Village,  Kelly a Canadian, with a penchant for Lebanese food, that she used to order us an exquisite meal, also  Elie and Sonia, who have lived here many years and we were able to have a grand discussion on the merits of Dubai, and how it has grown over the years.
GROWTH- As I said Elie and I discussed what changes he has seen in his years here and he shared stories of getting lost in the desert and the military outposts they actually left from and returned to.  Mom having been hear last March, only 10 short months ago also pointed to changes that have occurred in that short time,  John has a new and very nice apt, out in the desert, away from the hustle of Dubai Mall. Speaking of the Dubai Mall the tallest building in the world, is co-located there, so we of course visited the tower and went to the observation deck, having been to the Sears Tower, jumped out of airplanes etc, it was still an amazing sight to be able to stand, not at the top but close to it and see over the horizon a bit.
ODD Things-  OK now then, things to live by....  Water cost money, tea refills are free, so drink tea, when you visit.  The METRO is clean, not just trash free, but shiny clean, worked on by a team at every stop, and by a crew that actually rides the Metro and they clean as they go, with me living in DC, well let's just say it is pretty amazing to see such a high state of cleanliness, this is not even mentioning the conductor less trains that are on time and move without failure from stop to stop, that's another thing the DC Metro can not dream of doing.
 Actually while everything gets dusty everyday (the also have crews that clean buildings, sidewalks, streets and everything else that sits still)  the UAE is the cleanest country I have ever visited.  Traffic, well i do not understand why there are not more Formula 1 drivers from this area, the speed limits are pretty high and with highways 12 and 14 lanes wide, they (including my brother) have plenty of space to move freely from lane to lane or from 5 lanes over anyone time, I sometimes have forgotten to look out and around at the desert, because the ride is just interesting, maneuvering in around and about traffic all at a tremendous pace.
  DINING-  John has taken us to dinner every night, Kelly as I said before ordered the Lebanese cuisine it was an excellent dinner, we have also had American food for dinner enjoying the restaurants that John's company sells to.  Mom and I well lunch being on our own decided to eat more of the local fare and we have enjoyed everything from Indian to Street Food to Fresh seafood from that day's catch.
      Well we are about to head out on the safari, so I will go.  It has been a great time and I have appreciated my brothers and the UAE's hospitality."

Well another guest blogger has left his mark, I think they have both enjoyed their visit. Rumor has it that I am getting Internet and cable on Sunday!!!!
Catch up with you soon....