FROM ZERO TO HERO

What amazes me most about Dubai is how fast it grew. That's what everyone talks about -- From a vast Arabian desert to a skyline that surpasses New York's, and the tallest building in the world in only thirty years. Our guide Dr. Norma loved the "Zero to Hero" phrase and repeated it at least a dozen times. I stand corrected. There was a typo on the itinerary. His name was actually Dr. Norman, but he would always be Dr. Norma to us.

For someone who has a fear of heights, going to the top of the Burj Khalifa was pretty daring. The elevator took only one minute to go 124 stories. My ears popped once, but otherwise I couldn't tell that I was moving. How do you describe the view from the tallest building in the world? If I didn't know better, I would say I saw the curvature of the earth, but the photos below will speak for themselves.

Everyone should try and visit Dubai at least once, but two days were enough and two days with Dr. Norma were enough too. Like the city, Dr. Norma was over the top. Our taxi from the Burj Khalifa to meet our friend at the Pyramid Wafi hotel was a Lexus 350. Our dinner at the hotel's Medzo restaurant may have been one of the best Italian meals we've had In our lives. Everything in this city is the biggest, the best, and the most expensive. To say I was almost run over by a Lamborghini is laughable! Despite all the glitz, the United Arab Emirates are rich in history and steeped in culture.

There are some things in life that are truly indescribable -- the wildebeest migration in Africa for one and Dubai for another.

OMAN is a different story, but I will have to save the Omani tales for another time. Tomorrow we leave the capital city of Muscat and head out into the desert. I won't count on any wifi out there. The adventure continues!!!