My schedule is all messed up.After flying through the night and having breakfast we landed
at sunset. In a few hours I get to that all again - just 6 hours for this leg. Don't think I'd ever want to visit here. It looks a big sprawly rich suburbia with big highways that disappear into the desert. The Burj tower was easy to spot - it's ridiculously tall and yet visually inoffensive...from a distance.
A few observations:
Given the amount of cigarettes and cigars (shops have humidor ROOMS for the pricey stogies) on sale I would say that smoking is encouraged here. Although the airport is fairly empty, the 2 enclosed, ventilated smoking rooms were packed. Someone who was thinking strategically placed a lovely big palm garden beside each enclave to freshen the air.
I've never seen more big bottles of booze on sale. This, from a country that bans booze. And what ever it is they have it. Two litre of 30 year old peaty scotch, magnums of $800 french champagne, jumbo hand painted bottles of Absolut vodka.
I thought that the food stands with the biggest crowd of locally dressed robed and chapeau-ed people would yield the best local food. But no, they were all lined up for MAC DONALDS!!! I guess the lure of the McArabia (chicken on a pita) was just too much.
All the wall clocks are by Rolex.
You can buy and Armani suit and a sports car - here, in the airport.
On the way back I am definitely buying some chocolate made from camel milk and some chocolate covered dates. Both have nice containers, the dates especially. They come in a "cookie tin" type of box in the shape of the Dome of the Rock. This is the mosque/shrine that was built over the site where Mohamed purportedly ascended to heaven. In the words of Homer Simpson, "Sacrilicious!"
For now, I'm just going to settle for my $7 freshly squeezed o.j. and wait and see if my airplane dinner will be as good as last night's.
at sunset. In a few hours I get to that all again - just 6 hours for this leg. Don't think I'd ever want to visit here. It looks a big sprawly rich suburbia with big highways that disappear into the desert. The Burj tower was easy to spot - it's ridiculously tall and yet visually inoffensive...from a distance.
A few observations:
Given the amount of cigarettes and cigars (shops have humidor ROOMS for the pricey stogies) on sale I would say that smoking is encouraged here. Although the airport is fairly empty, the 2 enclosed, ventilated smoking rooms were packed. Someone who was thinking strategically placed a lovely big palm garden beside each enclave to freshen the air.
I've never seen more big bottles of booze on sale. This, from a country that bans booze. And what ever it is they have it. Two litre of 30 year old peaty scotch, magnums of $800 french champagne, jumbo hand painted bottles of Absolut vodka.
I thought that the food stands with the biggest crowd of locally dressed robed and chapeau-ed people would yield the best local food. But no, they were all lined up for MAC DONALDS!!! I guess the lure of the McArabia (chicken on a pita) was just too much.
All the wall clocks are by Rolex.
You can buy and Armani suit and a sports car - here, in the airport.
On the way back I am definitely buying some chocolate made from camel milk and some chocolate covered dates. Both have nice containers, the dates especially. They come in a "cookie tin" type of box in the shape of the Dome of the Rock. This is the mosque/shrine that was built over the site where Mohamed purportedly ascended to heaven. In the words of Homer Simpson, "Sacrilicious!"
For now, I'm just going to settle for my $7 freshly squeezed o.j. and wait and see if my airplane dinner will be as good as last night's.
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