DESERT RIDING IN DUBAI

Heading out to our location yesterday, I thought I would gather some some sights and sounds on what it was like riding in the dusty and windy desert. Unfortunately the air is really bad right now all over Dubai so it was a dry, sticky and thick heat to breathe in. A plane was passing by every few minutes. Sorry for the sniffles.

Great feeling of isolation out there, though I was able to see how one could easily get lost. One thing that I was completely surprised about is that you get full reception out there, despite us being well outside of the city and in no man's land.

DUBAI HERITAGE

Dubai culture promoting UAE Heritage at this past week's Horse fair.

Things aren't always going to go accordingly as planned and that is a big part of running a business. Unfortunately, everything that could have gone wrong today did, including getting scammed by a taxi driver and into a "he said she said" argument as I absolutely refused to being taken for my money. This is where language barriers can be an issue. Wish I had found out about these taxi scams prior but it's too late now.

I didn't want to get arrested so I just accepted it this one time simply because I am a tourist, but this incident has left a real sour taste in my mouth. Today is a forgettable day but it's just something that you have to overcome and learn from. Tomorrow is a new day :)

Thank you to the super friendly and polite girl working at the Lebanese food vendor for giving me the best falalfel's I've ever had. She asked how my day was going, I was honest and told her it could be better and she brought me some complimentary falafels. Thank you for your kindness. I made a post earlier in the week about how good the food is here and this is just another one of the items for anyone visiting Dubai to must try.

INSIDE A BARN IN DUBAI

Many of you wanted to see inside the barns in Dubai, well here you go. There was something truly special about being inside this barn, maybe it was the dry heat out in the desert, or maybe it was because it had a very distinct feel to it. I will just let you take in all the sights and sounds but it's an experience that I will never forget.

UPDATE: There are 3 of these barns, exact replicas next to each other.

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED SINCE ARRIVING IN DUBAI

10 things I've learned since arriving in Dubai:

𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆. 
Friday's are their quietest day of the week in terms of traffic.

𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰. 
It is a free for all on the roads. I wouldn't want to be a pedestrian in this city, you are yielding to the cars, not the other way around. Many of their traffic lights can have you sitting up to a solid 10 minutes at a red. If you don't like traffic this is not the place for you.

𝟯. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻. 
It's so large and it gets incredibly hot and from what I've been told unbearably hot to walk anywhere in the summer months, thankfully there is AC everywhere you go.

𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲.
From what I've seen and have been told just about anywhere in the city. Parking meters, parking patrols, you rarely see them. Calgary could take a big hint here. It's not always about the money.

𝟱. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
I'd imagine the very strict gun laws here play a big part. Very rarely do you see people litter or garbage disposed of in public places.

𝟲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
In this city of 5 million, people are just so nice and polite. Everyone has a story to tell. The level of service here is something I haven't seen in awhile.

𝟳. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱.
Just so good and very diverse. I've tried other ethnic foods that are better here than in their home country.

𝟴. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱.
It has shades of technology that you would see in Japan.

𝟵. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲. 
From what I've seen thus far, the people are happy. I do believe that the citizens here live life with low stress levels.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 
I am still trying to get into the some of the high skyscrapers but so far no luck without a big fee being charged for pictures. Oh well, no biggie to me, I am not a landscape photographer.

On a side note, I've had a few people try to convince me to move here permanently. Is this somewhere I would live permanently? Time will tell.

ACCEPTED INTO THE 2019 DUBAI WORLD CUP!

We are just finishing up the travel arrangements with me going into my second hotel next week. Earlier this month I received my answer from Dubai Racing Club, to notify me on my acceptance earning full Media Accreditation. I am officially in the 2019 Dubai World Cup!

This was not an easy feat. As an applicant in my shoes, one would rarely receive any rights since I am not on assignment working for an editorial or publication - I am working for myself. Thankfully the committee still reviewed my application, viewed my work and then concluded to bring me on board.

It's always been my motto to never give up in accomplishing what you truly want in life. To never take your foot off the gas and to keep pushing forward, no matter what barriers stand in your way. If it wasn't for the airline agent telling me a few weeks ago about the Travel Alert for India, there was a very likely chance that this all could have been called off due to me not finding out before it was too late to do anything. That would have been a very tough pill to swallow. This Travel Alert allowed me to extend my flight by three days to attend this event.

I know that I am still new, however, I truly feel with this achievement that I have just turned the page to a new chapter in my career.

FANTASTIC FOOD IN DUBAI

Being a food lover I have to say that the food here is just so good! The pancakes are to die for, I've never had anything like the ones here and I am not even a big fan of pancakes but I will eat the ones here. I won't even get started on the vegan ice cream, I am a huge fan. One could travel here just to gorge on the foods. The scary thing is that I haven't eaten outside of the hotel yet.