When traveling there are few things worse than getting stuck in an airport for an extended period of time. My trip was from Chicago to Athens via Istanbul. The leg from Chicago to Istanbul we sat on the tarmac for 90 minutes for a reason that was never explained to us. I just knew I was going to miss my connection. Well, that left me with 12 hours to kill in the Istanbul airport with 3 meal vouchers. Istanbul was different than any airport I’ve ever experienced. Usually, no matter where I am, English is a very common language. That was not the case in Istanbul. Other than direct interactions with me, I heard no one speaking English with one exception—my new friend Mossa and his little brother. I was typing on my laptop, writing blog entries, and just killing time. Across the charging station from me I heard that American accent and had to ask where they were from. Moussa, who is 8 years old said they live in the UAE. I was impressed that a couple of UAE kids spoke English with no accent. Then I got the whole story. They are Palestinians born in Alabama and now live in Dubai. Their parents were laughing as I was coaxing the story out of Mossa. Mom and Dad apologized for them interrupting my work. No, it was the best half hour I had all day.
Saturday, August 14, 2021
8/12/21-8/26/21 - Israel Trip with Dad
For a couple of years I’ve been trying to plant the idea of a safe trip overseas with my dad. Finally, he agreed to go. I spent a good amount of time jumping through every hoop Israel had in place. The key date was August 1st, the first day Israel removed the quarantine requirement for American travelers. That deadline came, the requirement was lifted, and we were ready to go. Right up until a week before we were supposed to leave everything looked good, then they added the USA back to the quarantine list effective August 11th. That killed the trip. In the time of COVID things can change quickly.
6/2/21-6/12/21 - Dubai
I did a lot of google searches for “what countries can Americans travel to?” The European Union countries took a while to open up and most of the places to which I could travel to and fro were just not places that were either affordable or desirable. One place that really intrigued me was the United Arab Emirates. Six of the seven Emirates were allowing free travel. Abu Dhabi was still on lockdown at all of its border crossings, but was set to open back up on June 1st. Perfect.
Dubai is known for its over the top opulence, so I splurged on the flight. If you saw any of the Jennifer Aniston commercials from a couple of years ago for Emirates Air you get the picture. I didn’t fly first class, so I couldn’t take a mid flight shower or have my own fully enclosed room. I did fly business class, and that was an experience. From the slippers and socks they provide, to the fantastic toiletry kits they gave all of us, there were a lot of perks. In between, the service was phenomenal. Most importantly were the lay flat seats that reclined into a 6 foot bed. After dinner, they came around with mattresses to lay on. It made for the easiest 13 hour flight I’ve ever been on.
Going in, I knew it was going to be hot. I was not prepared for the humidity. I thought deserts were dry. With the combination of the moisture coming off of the sea and the river that runs through the city from the mountains, I learned what real sweat feels like. My flight arrived around 9:30 PM, and the moment I stepped out of the airport I felt it.
Given the reputation, I was prepared for Dubai to be very expensive and I was prepared for that. The condo I rented a few blocks from the beach and within eyesight of Palm Jumeirah, was far less expensive than what I would expect to pay for a similar place anywhere in the States. And the couple of excursions I signed up for were quite reasonable. My first other expense was the private car that picked me up from the airport. It was a nice Mercedes and the driver was waiting for me with the “Michael Komblevicz” sign held aloft. The drive was about 25 minutes and cost me less than $40. I could have requested a Bentley for about $60. I regret not doing so.
That ride made me feel like a turn of the century immigrant to America. I kept looking up, amazed at the size of the buildings. My condo was on the 30th level and I thought that was pretty high, but most of the buildings just put mine to shame. And then I saw my first Dubai Police car. It was a Bentley. They also have McLaren, Lamborghini, Porsche, Maserati and Mustangs in the fleet. I assumed it was an extravagant expense, but later found out the high end ones are repo cars.
My totally rational fear of heights would be tested every day on my trip. The apartment balcony really tested me, but I did get used to it. I moved the porch chairs right up against the wall to avoid the edge. I knew I had to get used to it as all the windows were floor to ceiling. There was no escaping it.
I decided to compound my fear of heights by visiting the top of Burj Khalifa. If you are not familiar, it is tallest building in the world by a rather large margin. I did the VIP tour which gives you access to levels 152-154. They allow 6 VIP’s up there for a 2 hour shift. It was pretty amazing. Along with the with the staff, the 6 of us were the only ones allowed on those floors. Unlimited drinks, amazing hors d'oeuvres, and traditional Emerati tea service. The food started out with very pretty pastries and crab puffs, and ended with Wagyu beef sliders. I took a lot of fun pictures on the 154th floor, but did not do so well on the outdoor observation deck on level 152. I took one step and worried that I was about to pass out. I don’t mind embarrassing myself here and there, but I surely did not want to end up in a Dubai hospital.
Getting to the Burj Khalifa was a bigger task than I had anticipated. The entrance to the Burj Khalifa is inside The Dubai Mall, not to be confused with the Dubai Mall. The mall has 1200 stores, the national aquarium, a skating rink, a whole bunch of adventure parks, and to top it off, Ski Dubai. Yes, there is a ski hill in there that includes live penguins. I didn’t get to see any of the ski hill as you can’t get in without a ticket, and that was a little pricey. The challenge was that my cab driver dropped me off and said keep going straight until you hit the fountain, then turn a right. I walked and walked, then walked some more convinced I misunderstood the directions somehow. After about 15 minutes of walking straight, I did hit that fountain and found it. If I were to visit again, a day at The Dubai Mall would be something to consider.
I mentioned earlier that I signed up for a couple of excursions. I like to book these through AirBNB. I have had great luck with these, particularly the cooking classes. I didn’t find any cooking classes that caught my eye, but I did sign up for a five hour yacht excursion and an 8 hour tour of 6 of the 7 Emirates. Both of these had a maximum capacity of 5 or 6 passengers and cost under $100. Well, in the time of COVID, the tourism business has not recovered as well as hoped. For both excursions, it was just me and my guide. I was really surprised that they did not cancel on me.
The boat trip was pretty cool. My captain just asked what I really wanted to do since I was the only one on the tour. I said I wanted to swim more than anything. We did do a full tour around Palm Jumeirah, the man made islands in the pattern of a palm tree. My captain could not stop laughing and texted his boss when I said the truth out loud: “I need to swim soon. I’ve really got to pee.” My captain, said “I know everyone does it. You’re the first person to say it out loud.” There was a head on the boat, but it was below deck. It was really hot down there, so I wanted nothing to do with it.
The road trip was even better. I got to see the parts of the UAE that tourists never see. Smaller towns, the plant market, the animal market, the farming region, some run down villages and wild animals. The wild animals were my favorite part of the trip. I’ve seen deer, elk, and pronghorns from the highway in the states. The UAE had wild camels and wild donkeys. The driver had a keen eye and slammed on the brakes and pulled over when they were along the road. He said Americans love that stuff, so he was watching out for them. He was correct in that assertion. This American loved that stuff. I did get the terse response to a question I had: “No. Don’t get out. They bite.” Dammit! We drove over 200 miles and it was well worth it to me.
Taxis were cheap and plentiful. Food and grocery delivery was a lot less expensive than in the States. And the number of activities never end. They shoot for the world’s largest or longest or fastest with everything they build. I did miss out on the purchase of a traditional Emerati outfit. Turns out they are all custom tailored and start at around $400. Maybe next time.
2020 - COVID-19
2020 didn’t work out well for any of us, and it really killed all of the travel I had pre-booked. On the night in March when President Trump announced the Europe travel ban I was at the grocery store picking up a couple of essentials as I was flying to Dublin the next morning. I am glad he announced it then and not the next day or a couple of days later. I am not really sure how I would have gotten home.
It took a while, but the airlines have been pretty good at issuing vouchers or refunds. My failed trips to Ireland in March, Rome in April, and Israel in November ended up paying for my 2021 travels. However, I did drag others into the the mess this time. Sandy Deitz, along with Amanda and Holden Olson were planning on joining me. I felt bad at first, but once the world fell apart, missing a trip to Rome was a pretty minimal sacrifice compared to what we were about to sacrifice the rest of the year.
11/18/19-11/21/19 - Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
I did my side trip to Israel because it was amazingly cheap to fly from Barcelona, and why not? Before leaving I had been paying close attention to the weather in Jerusalem. I was only bringing a backpack, so finding that the high temperature during my visit was, at most, 67 degrees. I was a bit unsure of the cultural norms, so I didn’t pack any shorts. That was a mistake. tI turned out that everyone wears typical American clothing, and it was 88 degrees in Tel Aviv when I landed. I should have been paying attention to the weather in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are only a 30 minute train ride apart, but are world’s apart for climate.
I register all of my trips with the state department. It has been very helpful during the time of COVID. However, my first morning waking up in Israel greeted me with an email warning Americans to avoid the Old City and West Bank because of renewed threats against Americans. Not exactly the news I wanted to hear.
My trip was short and uneventful. The highlight every morning was walking to the Mahane Yehuda Shuk near the old city of Jerusalem. The thrill of being among many different people speaking many different languages makes for some great people watching. The Jewish woman from New York who, in an accent straight from a movie, insisted I try a freshly squeezed juice from the Ethiopian fruit stand; the Muslim guy who gave me a falafel ball every morning to try despite me saying on the first day that I really don’t like falafel; and just sitting down and having a beer and watching everything happen around me. And all of the free samples of nuts, breads, spices, olives and rugelach really sealed the deal on my love of markets. I learned to keep baby wipes in my backpack as your hands get sticky really fast. The sampling in the market is like Costco on steroids.
6/1/19 - Amsterdam
I was not supposed to stay in Amsterdam, but they had a wind storm that shut down one of the runways. I knew I was going to miss my connection to Seattle when we sat on the tarmac in Krakow for 4 hours, then circled the Amsterdam airport for almost an hour waiting our turn to land. It was fascinating to watch as there were at least a dozen planes circling below us. Every couple of minutes we would drop a thousand feet.
The re-booking process was miserable as most of the flights into that airport were delayed. Waiting in line for another 3 hours proved that misery loves company. It is really easy to make friends in that situation. First, there was a French woman named Marianne who I met up with for a late dinner in Paris a few months later. We still keep in touch on occasion. She became my ally in calming the nerves of a few of our neighbors in line. One was a young man from Brazil who was moving with everything he owned somewhere in Europe. I cannot remember where. He had checked six bags and he was really worried about them. Marianne and I had traveled quite a bit in the past so we set his mind at ease. Then there was young Orthodox Jew who was returning to New York. His father was a prominent rabbi in New York and he did not allow his son to have a cell phone. WiFi was very slow in the airport so my calling was not working. After an hour of trying to figure out how to contact his Dad, I was able to email him. It worked out. I cannot remember the kid’s name, as it was something I had never heard before. Finally, when waiting for the shuttle to the hotel a super precocious seven year old kid from Kansas started asking where I was from since I talked ‘American.’ He was with his parents and his six month old sister. He explained to me that last time Mom and Dad went they left him home because they were busy making his little sister. At dinner I heard him yell my name and let me know they saved a seat for me, since I was they only friend they had in Amsterdam. That was kinda cool.
And it seems fitting that I am typing this out while I am stuck in Istanbul since the same damned thing happened to me today.
11/25/2019 - Paris
I pride myself that I can find the best deals on flights and housing. One lesson I learned on the Barcelona trip is to pay attention to the details. I didn’t realize I had an 18 hour layover in Paris. Non-refundable ticket, so I rolled with it. I got a hotel room right next to the airport and met up for dinner with Marianne, who I had met in Amsterdam a few months before. I didn’t get to do a lot as I was more worried about getting a good night of sleep.
On a side note, the hotel I stayed at was a really nice hotel, but it was Star Wars themed. It took me a bit to figure this out. At first, I wondered who the hell ran streaks of bleach across the carpets. I guess it was supposed to look like a laser fight in space.