Dubai and Doha

Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Doha in Qatar are popular get away destinations from Khartoum, in no small part because you can fly to each one directly and fairly cheaply.

In my mind, Dubai was going to be like Vegas.  It had a reputation for opulence and over-the-top spectacles like the worlds tallest building, biggest mall, fanciest hotel, and largest indoor ski slope.  Doha was going to be like a mini-Dubai.

We spent a weekend in Dubai recently, and a few months back we spent a day in Doha when we missed a connection.  I do think the two cities are very similar, but I think the comparison to Las Vegas does not really hold up.

The best thing about both of these cites is the architecture.  Modern Islamic architecture is really interesting.  The shapes and colors are impressive.  Because of the nature of our visit to these 2 cities, I was not really focused on photography (no pun intended).  In my short visits, the thing I most regret is that I did not do a better job capturing the wide variety of buildings.

Doha

Doha

Doha

Dubai - The Burj Khalifa - The world's tallest building.

I have never been much of a mall person, but since living in Khartoum, I very much appreciated the malls of these two countries.  They were clean, well lit and had great air conditioning. If that seems like a pretty low bar, well, come live in Africa.  The crowds in the malls were a model of diversity and tolerance.  There were people of many races and nationalities wearing a wide range of clothes.  People in very traditional, very conservative Arab garb mixed with people in shorts and t-shirts.  And there was everything in between - Indian Saris, designer clothes, jeans, you name it.

The mall in Doha we went to had an indoor hockey rink.  The mall In Dubai had the famous ski slope.  Both were fun to see.

Doha

Dubai

Dubai also has the worlds only 6 star hotel, the Burj al arab.  I would have liked to see it, but if you don't have a room, or a dinner reservation, they will not even let you in the building.

The closest we could get

But in the end, I did not find these cities to be like Las Vegas.  The best way I can describe it is that in Vegas, the range of choices of things to do are wider and deeper.  Wider in the sense that there is a huge variety - gambling, shows, restaurants, bars, roller coasters, art museums, and on and on.  And deeper in the sense that there is something at every price point.  Penny slots to high roller tables.  Free water fountain shows to Cirque du Soleil.  All you can eat buffets to fine dining.

So if you want my advice, if you live in Africa or the middle east, go to Doha and Dubai for a great break.  If you live in North America or Europe, don't bother.

Thoughts on a Safari - Part 3 - The Experience

A safari is more than just ticking off animals on a list to see how many you see.  It is an experience.  Or rather, it is a collection of experiences.  Today, I will do my best to describe what it is like to go on a safari.

The heart of any safari is the game drives.  Two times a day, you load up in a open-topped truck to go spot the animals.  The early drive is often before breakfast, and the late one is mid-afternoon.  Even though there are a lot of tour companies competing for your business, all the drivers cooperate.  They talk to each other of the radios, or stop when passing other trucks, and pass information about the location of the animals.  It greatly increases your odds of seeing something spectacular.

One thing we saw often were dust devils.  They look like mini-tornadoes, although the physics that produce dust devils and tornadoes are completely different.  In the morning we would see few, if any, but in the afternoon as the heat of the day wore on, we would see many.  I once counted 10 in view at once spread over the plains at varying distances.  You could actually see the path they carved on the ground.

Safaris are of course about the animals, and there is something exhilarating about seeing groups of large animals in the wild.  Even if they are doing nothing but walking.  But one of my goals on this trip was to see some real action: the great migration - thousands of wildebeests moving in herds across the plains and the rivers.

The highlight of the trip was a hot air balloon ride.  We had to get up several hours before dawn, and then drive for an hour to get to the launch site.  We were assigned to one of several balloons, and briefed by our pilot.  As the sun rose, we launched.

Riding in a balloon is a very different than other modes of transportation.  Because you are being moved by the wind, you cannot feel the air moving.  So there is no breeze to give you a feeling of motion.  Neither is there much acceleration, so there are no g-forces telling you that you are speeding up.  You are merely floating, being moved along by the air.  As you travel, the balloon is gently drifting.  Sometimes you are facing in the direction of travel, sometimes not.  

Even though it did not feel like we were moving very fast, it looked like we were.  The wind was fairly strong that day, so the landscape was rushing past us.  Our altitude varied from as low as 20 feet to as high as 200.  When we were low, it looked like we were zooming.  In reality, we were probably going about 25 mph.

Animals on the ground would run from the sight of the balloon, or the sound of our propane burner.  As we came rambling through, the sight of the animals running was like watching a nature show of TV,  It was an experience that calls out for video!

Landing a balloon in high wind can be a bumpy ride, and ours was quite exciting.  Once we touched down, we were dragged along, and bounced back in the air a couple times before coming to a stop on our side.  It was like a roller coaster.  Very fun.

When you launch, the ground crew knows which way the wind is blowing, and goes out ahead to meet you.  When we landed, we were met by champagne (a ballooning tradition) and a breakfast set up on the plains of Africa.  This is not something any of us will soon forget.

Finally, before I leave the subject of the safari and start blogging about other travels, I must say a few words about our traveling companions for this trip.  When Carole and I came to Africa, I knew we would do a safari.  I thought there was a chance that my sister and her husband would come.  But as we started planning, our group grew, and sometimes in completely unexpected ways.  We ended up  with a diverse set of people - cousins, in-laws, boyfriends - some I knew, some I didn't.  Most had never been to Africa.

This trip was way out of the comfort zone for many.  But for me, that is what travel is all about.  Seeing the world as it really is - big and diverse, sometimes messy and uncomfortable, but always interesting and photogenic.

So Cathy, David, Craig, Nan, Anne, Sean and Barbara - Carole and I say thank you for such a great trip.

Thoughts on a Safari - Part 2 - The Animals

Safaris are all about the animals.  Seeing these animals in the wild is a real thrill.  Today's post will focus on them, but first a word about the “Big Five.” 

Whenever you see marketing material about safaris, you are almost guaranteed to hear about the Big Five.  They are the Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Cape Buffalo and Rhino.  We did see all of them, but I have to ask, what is so special about these?  There are a lot more animals than these, and some of them are pretty interesting.  I found the most striking animal to be the giraffe.  Not in the Big Five.  Hippos were far more interesting than I expected.  Not in the Big Five.  Ostriches?  Nope.  Zebras? Nope.  Wildebeest, Crocodiles, or any of the colorful birds?  No, no and no.

So what is the Big Five?  According to Wikipedia (so it must be right) it a list made years ago by big game hunters of the hardest animals to hunt on foot.  Really?  This industry is still being driven by that?  Go figure.

Enough with the rant.  Onto the pictures and commentary.  Here is my list of animals, roughly in order of how interesting I found them.

First up, my favorite, the giraffe.  I think the reason I like them is because they are nothing like anything I encountered growing up in North America.  There is really nothing in the world I know of that looks like a giraffe.  Its scale and proportions are unique.  But even its motion is very different.  Its majestic.

After giraffes comes the Elephants.  They are obviously huge.  It’s amazing to see a herd of them just walking along.  You can really see them communicating with each other, especially mothers and children, mostly by using their trunks and sense of touch

Rhinoceros.  These are among the most endangered species on earth.  People value their horns, and attribute mystical powers to them.  Seeing them in the wild was a special treat

Hippopotamus.  I did not expect to be taken by hippos, but they were fascinating. We were brought to a spot where there were about 25 of them in a slow moving section of a river.  Each one was about 3 tons, so they are massive.  They were loud and rowdy.  And again, they are nothing like wildlife you encounter in America.

Wildebeest score high on my list, less because of how interesting they are individually, and more because of their herd behavior.  Seeing the “Great Migration” was my number 1 goal on this trip, and it was a great spectacle.  The wildebeest gather by the hundreds or thousands on one side of the river.  It’s clear they are all afraid to make the crossing, but they all desperately want to.  Finally one will jump in, or more likely, is pushed, and starts the crossing, and then the rest start following.  The crossing is chaotic with jumping, splashing, strong currents, possible predators lurking.  They emerge on the other side and suddenly the wildebeest are calm and orderly.  They form a line and continue on their journey. 

Next up are the cats:  Lions and Cheetahs.  As much as I like some of animals because they are so different, the cats are on the list because they are so familiar.  Cats are cats, even when they weigh a thousand pounds.  I did find it surprising how indifferent they are to safari trucks and the people in them.  At one point, we saw a male lion, and he passed within a foot of our truck as I stood taking his picture, completely unprotected.  Had he jumped onto our vehicle, there would have been nothing I could do to stop him.  He passed, uninterested.

While you are on a safari, if there is one visual that dominates, it is Zebras.  They are ubiquitous and their black and white stripes are striking.  I think we saw more of them than any other animals.

To me, Warthogs look a little like mini rhinos.  We saw many of them, and even baby wart hogs.

Given the size of Ostrich, I don’t even think of them as birds.  They are huge and exhibit all kinds of unusual behaviors.  We saw them roll around in the dirt to clean themselves.  We saw mating rituals.  Even their gate is fun to watch.  One of the most common things I see for sale in Africa is decorated Ostrich eggs, but truthfully, I see so many, I am not sure how many are real, and how many are plastic.

We saw many other birds, which actually makes me feel bad sometimes.  I know many people are “birders,” including some of my friends.  They keep life lists of species spotted.  Carole and I have been to some of the worlds greatest locations for birders - the Galapagos, the Amazon Rain Forest, Africa, etc.  While it is fun to see these sometimes exotic animals, I just can’t get into the keeping track of them.  So here are some of the many birds we saw.

Cape buffalo are part of the Big Five, so I was expecting them to be more interesting.  But they are basically very similar to bulls.  There are lots of them and they stay in herds, but after a while, they are only so-so

I mentioned the cats already and now comes the dogs:  Hyena and Jackals.  For the most part, these animals are nocturnal.  We were lucky to see them. 

There were many deer like animals – I am sure they all have interesting features and names, but most of them are just a blur to me.

I always like seeing Crocodile.  They look so prehistoric.  But they were the biggest disappointment of the trip.  I really wanted to see one take down a wildebeest during the river crossing, but it was not to be.  Pity.

There is both a 12 foot long croc and a cheetah in this picture

Hippos in the river, crocs on the shore.