Fly Emirates

No, seriously - fly Emirates.

Hello, all. I know, I know - I still have TONS to tell you about the Middle East, and worry not, I am keeping the memories fresh in my head. I haven't had much downtime in the past week to really put my head down and focus (and you know how long it takes me to decide to put one word after another). However, I plan on getting to it very soon, after my trip to...DUBAI!

Yes, I've found my way into the city where Arabs have toooooooo much money to spend, and they have spent it to build an incredible place. I decided to fly through Dubai on my way back from Israel and spend a few days - Afnan is showing up in a few hours and we plan on flying back to Mumbai together on Thursday. And a bit of good news this morning, although my Lebanon trip never panned out (more later on how obscure it is that Israel and Lebanon share a border yet traveling between the countries is unspeakable), David "The Killer" Abraham happens to be in Dubai at the very same moment (I was to meet him in Lebanon) so all ends up working out well.

I landed in Dubai at 3AM, and for those of you who have traveled Emirates and have seen Terminal 3, it's something out of a dream. At 3AM, it's something out of a crazy dream. The Emirates terminal is essentially a Vegas casino on cocaine - lights, big, clean, wonderful. (And free Wi-Fi!). The Emirates flight from Istanbul was most probably the nicest plane I have ever been on - plush seats, brand new, big screen TVs with millions of entertainment options, delicious 4 course meals, etc. Although I should have slept I ended up getting through Quantum of Solace and half of The Soloist, listened to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Jhoole Jhoole Lal (the original)) on the radio, and flipped through the latest episodes of Conchords. From now on, the first place I look for tickets to India will be Emirates, for sure. I was thinking that it must be so easy to be in PR for Emirates and come up with slogans. I thought of a few:

Fly Emirates - Our Big Ass Planes Are The Most Comfortable And Have Nice Electronics

Fly Emirates - It Will Be The Best Flight You've Ever Had

Fly Emirates - We Spend More Money On Our Planes Then Any Other Airline

Fly Emirates - Don't Be Dumb

Fly Emirates - Don't Fly Degenerates (WINNER!)

I'm still trying to think about how to tell you all about Israel and Jordan. Since we went back and forth between the countries and since I'd like to discuss a lot about the history, people, religions, wars, thoughts, etc., it doesn't make sense to write a post on each country per se, so I'll keep it chronological to our trip.

I should have downtime during the afternoons here because, A. It's Ramadan, and nothing happens, B. It's hot.

That's all for now, it's check out time, so weeeeeee gotta go, weeeeeee gotta goooooo.

R

A FOB named Jyotindra shows up to a new job in the States. His coworkers, having trouble with his name, ask him if he has a nickname they can use. He says, "Not so much, yaar, but how about we just cut off the end of my name and you can call me Joe". The coworkers loved it, and Joe became his name.

The next week, another FOB named Fakhruddin starts up at the office. His colleagues, having difficulty pronouncing his name, ask him if he has a pet name he goes by. He says, "No, I don't have one, do you have any ideas?". Needless to say, they decided to learn how to pronounce his name.

Footnote: CC Khiroya. He told me this joke 15 years ago and I still love it. As soon as I saw this billboard I laughed out loud...