Sorry, it’s been waaaaaaay too long since I last updated you, but I’ve been super busy. I left off right at the beginning of birthday week. It was the first birthday in a while I have celebrated without my twin brother, but I made up for that with some really cool things.
For pictures, look on Facebook, there should be a ton from Hanna’s visit, Beirut, and maybe some from the US.
Also, this is very long, so be warned. You might want to break it up into pieces.
MAY (Beirut Birthday)
First, I had a yacht party. I didn’t rent out the yacht, but a group of friends all went on the same yacht the Saturday before my birthday. On the yacht, you can get food, drinks, and they have a DJ. You sail around Dubai, stop to swim, party, and have a good time. Immediately after the yacht party, I had a villa party! I met a girl who has the same birthday as me, and she knew an American with a villa, who agreed to let us throw a party at his place. It was an awesome time, extremely diverse group of people, half of them whom I didn’t even know. Needless to say, lots of dancing and partying. I ended up catching a ride with some random Indians, who got lost, so I jumped out, grabbed a cab back home, made friends with the cab driver, made him smoke sheesha with me, and then finally passed out around 6am.
On my actual birthday I flew to BEIRUT!!! I went with a friend out here, and we met up with Kristine Khouri, a friend from U of C, who lives in Beirut. It was such a ridiculously awesome trip that we did not want to come home.
We landed in Beirut around 10pm, met up with Kristine, and then went barhopping. We had amazing Lebanese food at a pub, had a couple drinks, then went to a couple other places. It was amazing to go to small bars, that are not in hotels, and meet really cool people. One of the bars was a hipster bar, Danys, which was awesome because my favorite bar in Chicago is a hipster bar named Dannys also!
The next day, my friend Ben and I rented a car and drove north of Beirut. We stopped at a couple towns, the main attraction being Byblos, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. People have been living there since 9000 BC and there were a ton of ruins. Nothing spectacular, but ruins from every age you can imagine, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Byzantine, etc, with ruins piled on top of each other everywhere.
On the way back from Byblos, we took random roads trying to get to the top of the mountains that overlook the Lebanon coast. We reached the top, where there was a huge Virgin Mary statue. On the way down, we stopped at a café that overlooked the whole coast and had sheesha while watching the sunset. That night, we met up with Kristine again and went barhopping, meeting a lot of her friends, many who are in the art crowd there, and had a great night.
The following day, we walked around a lot of Beirut, seeing the newly rebuilt downtown area, some ruins in the city, a synagogue, the corniche, or waterfront area, some parts of the city that have still not been rebuilt after the civil war, and went to a great restaurant where they serve traditional country Lebanese food. That evening, we went to a famous Armenian restaurant, that only has 4 tables, and where the owner comes to your table and tells you what he is offering for dinner that night. It was fantastic. We had frog legs, liver, and many other great dishes that I can’t remember. From dinner, we went to one of Kristine’s friends going away parties at a cool/ restaurant bar. Then Ben and I decided to meet up with some of Kristine’s other friends and we had a classic Beirut party night. We went to a couple bars, then went to a cool bar that is in the shape of a tube where the roof opens up to the sky. I think it was called Centraale. After Centraale closed at around 230, we went to the most famous Beirut club, B51. It is underneath a parking lot, where the roof opens up to the sky. It was an amazing club, lots of good music and crazy dancing. Around 6am when it closed, we went to Zaatar W Zeit, a classic Lebanese fast food restaurant where everyone goes after a night of partying to get food. Finally, we smoked sheesha as the sun came up on the corniche, and finally passed out at around 8am.
When we woke up, we met up with Kristine and headed north to the beach! The beaches in Lebanon are not your normal sandy beaches. They are very narrow, rocky beaches, but people have set up restaurants with beach chairs all along the coast. We went to a cool place called Pierre and Friends, went swimming, had some great food, and just chilled out. A great way to spend the day after an intense night of partying.
After a quick nap, we headed out to Kristine’s friends party. Her friend had an apartment with an awesome view looking over a cool neighborhood in Beirut called Gemmayze. Around 1am we headed out to a really cool bar. It was a pretty lowkey night, but the highlight was one of the best pole dances I have ever seen, involving two of Kristine’s friends.
The next day, Sunday, the last day of our trip to Beirut, we met up with Kristine and a bunch of her friends, and headed to the Bekaa valley, along the road to Damascus. The Bekaa valley is known for its vineyards, and we went for an awesome brunch. The weather in Beirut was hot, but in the Bekaa valley it was very cool. It was amazing to breathe fresh air, with flowers and trees all around. You get very tired of the desert air in Dubai. We had a great time at brunch and stayed from about 1-6. By the time we got back to Beirut, it was time to go to the airport, and sadly, the Beirut trip was over.
I was extremely sad to leave, bc it was an absolutely amazing time, being in a real middle eastern city with tons of culture, great food, nice people, beautiful women, and an insane nightlife. I put up a couple albums on facebook, so check out the pictures.
JUNE (Chicago, DC, New York)
Going back to Dubai after having such an amazing time in Beirut was kind of depressing. I really didn’t want to be in Dubai, but I just had to stick it out for 2 weeks before I went to the US. So I laid low for most of that time, with the only exciting thing being watching the Blackhawks game at 4am with a friend I met from Chicago.
I took a direct flight from Dubai to New York, then took a cab from JFK to Laguardia and jumped on another flight to Chicago. At the airport I was asking everyone if they knew the score of the Blackhawks game (it was game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals the night before), and the cab driver was the first person to know. As soon as I got to Chicago I met up with my little bro, walked around campus, met up with a couple friends, then went to Jimmys, where the bartenders still recognize me and don’t ID me, and even got disappointed when I asked them what was on tap. Then I went to my bros Phi Beta Kappa ceremony, went out to dinner with my mom and bro, and then went to Weed street for my little bros senior night pub crawl. Having done mine 3 years before, it was fun and weird to be doing it again.
The next day, I went to the BLACKHAWKS STANELY CUP PARADE, which was absolutely insane. There were thousands of people in the streets, celebrating the hawks first win since the 60s, and I was so lucky I got to be there. I joked that the city was throwing a party for my return, but I was definitely the person that traveled the farthest to be there. Later, my whole family arrived, we went to the MSI senior night, then went to dinner at L20, which was the best meal of my life. It’s a seafood restaurant, I had 12 courses, and the dinner was over 4 hours long.
The next day was graduation, which was sad because the last of the Zainulbhais has finally graduated from the U of C, and because the graduation was at the exact same time as the USA England world cup match. But my family probably made the most noise out of anyone when my brother was called up to stage. That morning, I had walked around downtown for an hour looking for a blow horn.
That night, we went on a booze trolley for my older bros bachelor party, and had a ridiculously amazing time, driving around Chicago on the trolley and stopping at random bars, and yelling at Cubs fans in Wrigleyville. All around great day and night.
The next morning I went to a drunk brunch with some friends, my favorite thing to do in Chicago, then went to a couple bars. I told all my friends that if they wanted to see me, they would have to meet me at the bar, and many people came out. I iced a bro for the first time, twice, went bowling, changed my flight back to DC, twice, hung out at a friends apartment, and had a blast on my last night in Chicago. The next morning I woke up at 6am to drive with my bro back to DC.
For the next week, I was in DC with tons of family preparing for the final receptions for my bros wedding. To recap, I was in India for 2 weeks in March for 10-15 wedding parties, so this was the culmination of all of that. Family from all around the world flew in, we had a tent built in our backyard, and all week we were preparing, hanging out, swimming, grilling, and having a good time.
The first ceremony was on a Friday night, for all of our religious community in DC. It was at our house, under the tent. The food was amazing and everyone had a great time. The main event was Saturday night, at the Reagan center in downtown DC. It was in a huge, beautiful lobby, over 300 people, and by the end of the night, we had everyone on the dance floor, not wanting to leave. One of the highlights was an Indian dance that Tameem and I did with Anju and Elif. After the wedding, many people came back to our house to relax and hang out, many staying till past 4 in the morning. FINALLY, on Sunday, we had a brunch in the tent, for most of the out of town family and friends, which turned into a huge world cup viewing party and pool party. Everyone was glad that the wedding was finally over, but also sad that everyone had to leave bc it was such an amazing time.
Most of the week after was recovery from the wedding and putting our house back to normal, and of course, watching world cup. When the US scored against Algeria my little bro and I went absolutely nuts.
Late in the week, I went to NYC for a classic weekend of partying. Some of the highlights include: A family friends 50th birthday and 25th wedding anniversary, with great food and tons of dancing, followed by another friends birthday party that night. The next day was even crazier, with a huge gathering of friends to watch the US – Ghana match, including a Ghanaian cab driver I had met the night before, calling me (I made a bet with him that the US would win, and if they did, he would have to drive me around all day for free), and so when Ghana won, he called me and said “Hello, this is the cab driver” then absolute pandemonium and screaming in the background.
After the match, I went to a friends day party, then out to dinner with family friends for a birthday dinner, then to another friends party in my honor, then back to the birthday girls karaoke party, then running around soho meeting tons of random friends, then finally watching the sun rise in Brooklyn. The next day was more of the same, running around to friends places, swimming at a friends pool in the city! Finally ending with watching the season premier of entourage.
The next morning I was completely exhausted and caught a plane back to Dubai, sleeping the whole way, and after landing, sleeping again from 9am-6pm. I was not at all happy to be back in Dubai after 3 crazy weeks, but I had my second visitor coming with another crazy week to ensue!
JULY (Hanna’s Visit)
Hanna arrived the night after I got back to Dubai. The morning after she arrived, she went to Dubai Mall, one of the largest malls in the world, with Dean and Deluca, Magnolias, Bloomingdales, and other US stores. After the mall, we went to the gym, then home for lunch. Its so hot here in the middle of the day, that after lunch, you have to take a nap because you literally cannot go outside. In the evening we walked around the spice souk, full of spice stores, and the Gold Souk, a market area with hundreds of gold shops, packed with tourists. After, we went out to an apartment party (typical apartment party in Dubai, waiter serving alcohol, extremely diverse, and slightly older crowd), then headed out to an Indian dance club and danced to Bollywood music for the rest of the night. Then, we stopped at my favorite sheesha place and played backgammon and smoked till the sun came up.
The next day, we walked around the Dubai International Finance Center and the Emirates Towers, which have some very cool architecture, then went sailing! I have to admit, I got seasick for the first time in my life, but it was great being out on the water and checking out the views of Dubai from the water. After sailing, we watched one of the World Cup quarterfinals at the sailing club. In the evening, we went to Souk al Bahar, a mini mall with classic Arabic architecture, next to Dubai Mall, for dinner. In between Dubai Mall and the Souk is a huge lagoon with the largest water fountain show in the world. Behind the lagoon is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. At night, it is one of the coolest places in Dubai, with the Mall, the building, the market, and the water show all in one location. We watched the world cup match during dinner, then went to Neos, a really cool lounge on the 46th floor of a hotel next to the Souk and Dubai Mall, looking over the whole city.
I was completely exhausted the next morning, so Hanna went out with my friend Ben for a little offroading, and a tour of the Palm Jumeira (a huge man made island in the shape of a palm tree) and the Atlantis hotel (same as the one in the Caribbean). Next, Hanna and I went indoor skiing! Completely awesome and crazy, we went to an indoor ski slope in Dubai. You get everything there, including a ski suit, skis, boots, etc. and get 2 hours to ski. It was great fun, especially to say that you skied in the desert. Immediately after skiing, we went to Barasti, a beach bar, that built a huge tent on the beach to watch the world cup. We went to the Argentina Germany match, and being inside this tent was honestly like being inside a stadium. It had the biggest TV screen I have ever seen, with tons of vuvuzelas blowing, and it was so loud you could barely hear yourself think. After, we went to a friends place for a couple drinks and a view of the Dubai Marina, a huge development built around a fake marina, with about 60 skyscrapers. It’s the area of town where most of the Europeans live. Later that night we went to another development called JBR, which has a nice beach walk, got some food, then met up with some more people for sheesha and another world cup match.
Sunday, Hanna’s final day, was July 4th! I called my friend who hosted my birthday party at his villa, and convinced him to host a party. In the morning, I went to work, but Hanna went shopping for some saffron, rose oil, a backgammon board (I convinced her how awesome backgammon is), and a cake for the party. In the afternoon, after creating a US flag on a sheet cake from Magnolia, we headed out to the July 4th party. There were a ton of Americans and foreigners, and we grilled and chilled all afternoon and evening. A great way to celebrate July 4th in Dubai, and a great way to end Hanna’s visit!
Now it’s mid July in Dubai, the hottest time of year, with temperature regularly reaching 115 degrees and humidity at 60%. It sucks to go outside, so most people don’t, although in the afternoons I am working outside now in a warehouse. I just started taking GMAT classes and will be applying to B school this fall, hopefully. I’m also looking to move to Bombay in the next couple of months, so I am applying to jobs there as well. So, while it is hot as shit in Dubai, I am keeping busy, but can’t wait for another adventure!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Crocs are awesome!
For all of you that hate crocs, check out this article. They are lifesavers!
http://www.newser.com/story/91028/crocs-save-shocked-boy.html
http://www.newser.com/story/91028/crocs-save-shocked-boy.html
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Crrrrrazzzzzzzyyyyy Month
Crazy Month
Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long, but so much has been going on. Here are some of the highlights:
Went on an overnight trip to Ras Al Khaimah, which is another city in the UAE. I went went with a big group of people to some hot springs, and we had a wine and cheese night when we got there, and then had some group games and hot springing the next day.
That night, I went to a David Guetta concert in Dubai, which was actually really disappointing. It was set up badly and he just didn’t play that well. I think I just had too high expectations.
The weekend after, I went to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, to see WOMAD, the World of Arts, Music, and Dance festival. It’s a huge outdoor festival with lots of international bands, demonstrations, workshops, etc. It was cool to see Abu Dhabi and all these international acts, like drummers from Burundi.
I started a new part-time jobs in the evenings, to make a little extra money and keep me occupied. I’m working for a social sports company out here, just like Chicago Sport and Social. I help run the basketball and flag football leagues, so 3 days a week, from 7-10, I’m out refereeing games and making sure things run smoothly. It’s a fairly new company, so I’m also trying to help them out with ideas. Since my real job is quite boring, it keeps me occupied and thinking.
Because of this part-time job, my work schedule is pretty crazy. I go into one office for my real job at 9:30am, and stay there until 1. Then I go to the gym for a while, and then come home for lunch. Around 4:30, I head to another office for my real job, and stay there until around 630. Then from 7-11 I will work the part-time job. One or two nights a week I will try and go out, Tuesday nights here are like Thursday nights in the U.S.
I had my first visitor from Chicago! My friend, Karl, who I’ve known since 7th grade, visited me for around 9 days. We went camping on the beach in Oman with a group of French people, then went a day cruise in some lagoons in and around the mountains and went snorkeling and saw tons of dolphins. The mountains in this part of Oman are gorgeous, with big cliffs and tons of beaches and lagoons that are only accessible by boat.
Throughout the week I took him to see all the sights in Dubai, including all the cool buildings, shoppings malls, and beaches. One day we went to the Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah (the man made island shaped like a palm tree). We checked out the hotel which is incredible, and went to the waterpark, Aquaventure, which not only had great rides, but also great views of Dubai. He also went on a plane tour of Dubai and got to see the sights from above.
I met a Jordanian who grew up in Canada who loves to sail. He joined a sailing club and can take out boats for really cheap. We now go sailing once a week, and sail around the World islands, the Burj al Arab hotel, and other cool sites in Dubai.
My birthday is coming up, and I will have a birthday week like I always do, but this time I have stepped it up a notch. This coming weekend, I will be having a yacht party and a villa party on the same day! I met an American who has the same bday as me, and she knew someone with a villa and convinced him to let us throw a party at his place. In the same group of friends, someone organized a yacht party for everyone that has upcoming birthdays, so we will cruise around Dubai in a catamaran with food and drinks.
Later in the week, I am heading to BEIRUT!!! - Party capital of the world! I’m going with a friend from Dubai and meeting up with a friend from U of C who lives there. It should be a ridiculous time, and I will update you on all the craziness that ensues.
If you want to see some good pictures of Dubai, check out my Faceebook pics, as Karl and I just put up all the pictures from his visit.
Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long, but so much has been going on. Here are some of the highlights:
Went on an overnight trip to Ras Al Khaimah, which is another city in the UAE. I went went with a big group of people to some hot springs, and we had a wine and cheese night when we got there, and then had some group games and hot springing the next day.
That night, I went to a David Guetta concert in Dubai, which was actually really disappointing. It was set up badly and he just didn’t play that well. I think I just had too high expectations.
The weekend after, I went to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, to see WOMAD, the World of Arts, Music, and Dance festival. It’s a huge outdoor festival with lots of international bands, demonstrations, workshops, etc. It was cool to see Abu Dhabi and all these international acts, like drummers from Burundi.
I started a new part-time jobs in the evenings, to make a little extra money and keep me occupied. I’m working for a social sports company out here, just like Chicago Sport and Social. I help run the basketball and flag football leagues, so 3 days a week, from 7-10, I’m out refereeing games and making sure things run smoothly. It’s a fairly new company, so I’m also trying to help them out with ideas. Since my real job is quite boring, it keeps me occupied and thinking.
Because of this part-time job, my work schedule is pretty crazy. I go into one office for my real job at 9:30am, and stay there until 1. Then I go to the gym for a while, and then come home for lunch. Around 4:30, I head to another office for my real job, and stay there until around 630. Then from 7-11 I will work the part-time job. One or two nights a week I will try and go out, Tuesday nights here are like Thursday nights in the U.S.
I had my first visitor from Chicago! My friend, Karl, who I’ve known since 7th grade, visited me for around 9 days. We went camping on the beach in Oman with a group of French people, then went a day cruise in some lagoons in and around the mountains and went snorkeling and saw tons of dolphins. The mountains in this part of Oman are gorgeous, with big cliffs and tons of beaches and lagoons that are only accessible by boat.
Throughout the week I took him to see all the sights in Dubai, including all the cool buildings, shoppings malls, and beaches. One day we went to the Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah (the man made island shaped like a palm tree). We checked out the hotel which is incredible, and went to the waterpark, Aquaventure, which not only had great rides, but also great views of Dubai. He also went on a plane tour of Dubai and got to see the sights from above.
I met a Jordanian who grew up in Canada who loves to sail. He joined a sailing club and can take out boats for really cheap. We now go sailing once a week, and sail around the World islands, the Burj al Arab hotel, and other cool sites in Dubai.
My birthday is coming up, and I will have a birthday week like I always do, but this time I have stepped it up a notch. This coming weekend, I will be having a yacht party and a villa party on the same day! I met an American who has the same bday as me, and she knew someone with a villa and convinced him to let us throw a party at his place. In the same group of friends, someone organized a yacht party for everyone that has upcoming birthdays, so we will cruise around Dubai in a catamaran with food and drinks.
Later in the week, I am heading to BEIRUT!!! - Party capital of the world! I’m going with a friend from Dubai and meeting up with a friend from U of C who lives there. It should be a ridiculous time, and I will update you on all the craziness that ensues.
If you want to see some good pictures of Dubai, check out my Faceebook pics, as Karl and I just put up all the pictures from his visit.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Reminders of Home
The last 2 weeks, since I came back from my brother’s wedding, have been insane! Lots of parties, meeting tons of people, and having an amazing time. I actually met a ton of people who reminded me of things or friends back in the states, hence the title of this post.
The first weekend I was back, I went out to a lounge opening with my cousin and some of her friends. It was pretty cool, free booze, and I actually met an Indian girl who grew up in Dubai, but went to University of Illinois for undergrad. I said something sarcastic to her at the beginning of the night, and she basically ignored me, but at somepoint she overheard me talking about going to U of C, and she got all excited.
The next day, I went to my first drunk brunch, for a Turkish friend’s bday, at a hotel called Al Qasr. It was insanely expensive, about $115, but totally worth it. It was all you can eat and drink for 3.5 hours, with live music. The food was insane. It was all set up throughout a huge seating area, indoors/ outdoors, around a pool, etc. Each station had food from a different area of the world. I had lobster, shrimp, sushi, steak, burgers, kebabs, mojitos, chocolate, candy, etc. In the end, it is actually worth it because if you ordered these items a la carte anywhere in Dubai, the price would be way higher. After brunch, we all went back to the bday boy’s apartment and had a pool party. By 10 I was exhausted (I haven’t been day drinking in ages) but another friend picked me up and we went to a chill house party where a couple people played guitar and we all sang along to songs we knew. I kept requesting Don’t Stop Believing, but when they finally played it, I forgot the words!
This past weekend, I went to a couple beach parties. There’s a website called meetup.com, which is a great way to meet people when you are new to a place. There’s a group in Dubai called Dubai New in Town, and every week they have events for people to meet each other. This weekend they organized a meet up at the beach, and 80 people showed up! Everyone brought food, we BBQed, ate, played beach volleyball, went swimming, and even had an easter egg hunt! People from all over the world were there, Russians, Egyptians, Americans, even a Mexican. It was really cool meeting all these people, from all over the world. I am planning on attending many more of these events, and now it’s a whole new social scene that I am part of. After this beach excursion, many of us decided to go to a beach party at a bar called Nassimi Beach. The bar is on the beach, at the Atlantis Hotel (the same as the one in the Caribbean) in a part of Dubai called the Palm Jumeirah, which is a manmade island in the shape of a Palm tree. It is a really cool place, especially bc there is no dress code and I was able to wear a Hawaiian shirt! Tons of people were there, and I randomly ran into 2 people I know, which is the first time that has happened to me in Dubai. As most of you know, I love running into random people, and one of them was the cousin of my sister in law who I just met at Azeem’s wedding.
On Saturday, I went to a really cool sports bar and watched the Man U Chelsea match. It was the first time I was able to call people and organize an event on my own, which was very exciting, and now I finally know a place where I can watch American sports!
Overall, a very exciting 2 weeks and I met tons of people from all over the world, including a girl from Rockville, Maryland, a couple American students studying abroad in Dubai, a bunch of Indians, some people from Chicago, people that love NHL (Canadians, of course). I think I finally feel settled in Dubai now, especially that I have a good group of friends that I can always go out with.
The first weekend I was back, I went out to a lounge opening with my cousin and some of her friends. It was pretty cool, free booze, and I actually met an Indian girl who grew up in Dubai, but went to University of Illinois for undergrad. I said something sarcastic to her at the beginning of the night, and she basically ignored me, but at somepoint she overheard me talking about going to U of C, and she got all excited.
The next day, I went to my first drunk brunch, for a Turkish friend’s bday, at a hotel called Al Qasr. It was insanely expensive, about $115, but totally worth it. It was all you can eat and drink for 3.5 hours, with live music. The food was insane. It was all set up throughout a huge seating area, indoors/ outdoors, around a pool, etc. Each station had food from a different area of the world. I had lobster, shrimp, sushi, steak, burgers, kebabs, mojitos, chocolate, candy, etc. In the end, it is actually worth it because if you ordered these items a la carte anywhere in Dubai, the price would be way higher. After brunch, we all went back to the bday boy’s apartment and had a pool party. By 10 I was exhausted (I haven’t been day drinking in ages) but another friend picked me up and we went to a chill house party where a couple people played guitar and we all sang along to songs we knew. I kept requesting Don’t Stop Believing, but when they finally played it, I forgot the words!
This past weekend, I went to a couple beach parties. There’s a website called meetup.com, which is a great way to meet people when you are new to a place. There’s a group in Dubai called Dubai New in Town, and every week they have events for people to meet each other. This weekend they organized a meet up at the beach, and 80 people showed up! Everyone brought food, we BBQed, ate, played beach volleyball, went swimming, and even had an easter egg hunt! People from all over the world were there, Russians, Egyptians, Americans, even a Mexican. It was really cool meeting all these people, from all over the world. I am planning on attending many more of these events, and now it’s a whole new social scene that I am part of. After this beach excursion, many of us decided to go to a beach party at a bar called Nassimi Beach. The bar is on the beach, at the Atlantis Hotel (the same as the one in the Caribbean) in a part of Dubai called the Palm Jumeirah, which is a manmade island in the shape of a Palm tree. It is a really cool place, especially bc there is no dress code and I was able to wear a Hawaiian shirt! Tons of people were there, and I randomly ran into 2 people I know, which is the first time that has happened to me in Dubai. As most of you know, I love running into random people, and one of them was the cousin of my sister in law who I just met at Azeem’s wedding.
On Saturday, I went to a really cool sports bar and watched the Man U Chelsea match. It was the first time I was able to call people and organize an event on my own, which was very exciting, and now I finally know a place where I can watch American sports!
Overall, a very exciting 2 weeks and I met tons of people from all over the world, including a girl from Rockville, Maryland, a couple American students studying abroad in Dubai, a bunch of Indians, some people from Chicago, people that love NHL (Canadians, of course). I think I finally feel settled in Dubai now, especially that I have a good group of friends that I can always go out with.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Wedding!!!
Azeem’s (my older brother) wedding in India was amazing but exhausting. I was there for about 2 weeks, and on 10 of those days, there were wedding functions, including multiple functions on many days. Tons of friends any family came in from all over the world, and it was a truly special occasion.
Our apartment in India was like a factory with tons of people running around, getting ready for events, friends and family visiting, gifts being dropped off, clothes being put together/ironed/fitted, etc. There were so many functions that we literally put up a schedule of events all over the apartment to remind everyone of what was going on each day.
Azeem and Simran were actually married in February, and even the actual ceremony was crazy. There was a Hindu ceremony, a Muslim ceremony, and the court ceremony, so technically, they had 3 weddings!
Here’s a quick recap of all the receptions and other functions:
Also, Vannu = Family Function
Saturday – Vannu (Family Function) Lunch thrown by Great Aunt (Father’s mother’s sister) and family
Saturday – Vannu Dinner thrown by Great, great Uncle (Father’s Father’s uncle) and family
Sunday – Afternoon sailing with friends and family
Sunday – Vannu Dinner, traditional Muslim dinner and religious function, thrown by father’s parents
Monday – Dinner hosted by the wife’s (Simran) family
Tuesday – Vanne Tanne (Fun function where you have a ceremony with 4 aunts who grind some spices, and then there is a big fight with silly string, shaving cream, glitter, water guns, etc. In the old days they would bring rats, eggs, cockroaches, etc. but now it has tamed down a bit. After the function was a dinner)
Tuesday - Kids party (We rented out a lounge and had drinks and dancing fora ll of Azeem and Simran's friends)
Wednesday – Vanne dinner by mom’s sister
Thursday – Mehndi (This is where the women get mehndi/ henna on their hands and feet. Both sides of the family had one. We hosted one during the day on an amazing terrace in the building we live, and there were literally 40 women getting mehndi, kids running around, and really good food being served. In the evening, Simran’s family hosted a Mehndi at a restaurant, and since her side of the family is Hindi, not Muslim, there was booze and dancing. Azeem and Simran’s friends prepared some dances and later everyone was dancing. Many friends and family came back to our place for more drinks and hanging out afterwards)
Friday – Simran’s family’s main function (This was the best function of the wedding. There were plenty of drinks, great food, and tons and tons of dancing. A couple groups of people choreographed dances, and Tameem and I, along with Simran’s sister, and Azeem’s friend Charlene did an amazing dance that got the party started, SASA style. I was dancing so much that I didn’t even have time to eat. Everyone had an amazing time)
Saturday – Our main reception (This was held at an outdoor venue in the navy compound in Bombay, so security was tight, and it was really humid out. Typical Muslim receptions are actually quite boring. The couple getting married literally stand for hours taking pictures with and greeting every guest that comes. A line of guests forms to do this, and the line was at least an hour long at certain points. I greeted people, passed out sweets at the door like Indians do at all functions, and hung out with family and friends. But by this point everyone was exhausted, and without drinks and music, it was not as fun as the night before)
However, after the ceremony, the real fun began! Another Muslim tradition (when I say Muslim tradition, I mean a Bohri tradition, and Bohri is my sect of Islam) is to decorate the bride/groom’s room. Instead of a hotel room, Azeem and Simran decided to stay in his room, so my brothers, cousins and I decorated his room during the day. The goal is to decorate with some dirty/ playful things, but also some really annoying things. So we decorated with bananas, blown up condoms, etc., and hid alarm clocks all over the room, taped on top of the fan, under the bed, etc. and set them to go off at odd hours of the night. Now, when the couple arrives home, all the friends and cousins are waiting in the room. These people have to demand certain things from the couple in order to leave. So for 2 hours, we asked Azeem and Simran for many things, like money, but also to sing, dance, etc. Finally, after 2 hours, we were all satisfied with our bribes, and left the room.
Sunday – The FINAL function. One of Simran’s uncles threw a final dinner party, and Azeem and Simran left straight from the party to their honeymoon.
There is still, however, Wedding Part 2 which moves to DC in June for a couple more functions.
The wedding was fantastic and it was incredible to see so many friends and family. By the end, we were all completely exhausted. By Sunday night pretty much everyone had left but me. Luckily, on Monday night, my dad got free tickets to a Mumbai Indians, IPL cricket match, which was amazing. At the match they served McDonalds veggie burgers, Indian style, and they were actually damn good. IPL is a cricket league in India, like a soccer league anywhere, that is incredibly successful in only its third season, using the Twenty20 format of cricket, and in just 2 years, teams have tripled their worth from around $100 million dollars to over $300 million. It as popular in India as baseball, but only 7 weeks long and a total of 20 matches.
PICTURES: There are way too many pictures to put up from the wedding, but as soon as we get the pictures back from the photographers, they will be put up online and I will put the link on the blog. In the meantime, if you are dying to see pictures, I have to admit, I did have some awesome outfits, look at my facebook pictures. From those pictures, you can see a couple people’s albums of the wedding. Some good ones are Ceyda’s, Anju’s, and Sarah Walzer’s albums.
Now I’m finally back in Dubai, and it feels a little strange to be almost alone after being with so many people for so long. Every lunch in India some family or friends would come over, so there were very few times when I was actually alone. I was even more spoiled in India than I was in Dubai, so I’ll see how I cope with that. My grandparents are coming back from India soon, so I’ll definitely have to deal with that, because at this point I have lived without them longer than with them.
In other news, I did get my driving license! So I can officially drive around Dubai, which is tough because there are an insane amount of ramps, roundabouts, and streets with no names, so you really have to know where you are going. But its nice not to have to take cabs everywhere, and when I go to the office, I can ask the transport guy to get it washed, fill gas, etc. It was actually funny how long it took me to get gas the first time, because I had to ask my grandfather what type of gas was used in the car, but he didn’t know, so I called the driver, but he was on vacation in India and his phone was not turned on, so finally I asked the transport guy just to do it for me, and luckily he knew what type of gas to use.
So now I’m getting re-settled in Dubai as the hot season approaches, already 95 and humid during the day. I’ll keep you updated on all my random happenings and craziness.
Our apartment in India was like a factory with tons of people running around, getting ready for events, friends and family visiting, gifts being dropped off, clothes being put together/ironed/fitted, etc. There were so many functions that we literally put up a schedule of events all over the apartment to remind everyone of what was going on each day.
Azeem and Simran were actually married in February, and even the actual ceremony was crazy. There was a Hindu ceremony, a Muslim ceremony, and the court ceremony, so technically, they had 3 weddings!
Here’s a quick recap of all the receptions and other functions:
Also, Vannu = Family Function
Saturday – Vannu (Family Function) Lunch thrown by Great Aunt (Father’s mother’s sister) and family
Saturday – Vannu Dinner thrown by Great, great Uncle (Father’s Father’s uncle) and family
Sunday – Afternoon sailing with friends and family
Sunday – Vannu Dinner, traditional Muslim dinner and religious function, thrown by father’s parents
Monday – Dinner hosted by the wife’s (Simran) family
Tuesday – Vanne Tanne (Fun function where you have a ceremony with 4 aunts who grind some spices, and then there is a big fight with silly string, shaving cream, glitter, water guns, etc. In the old days they would bring rats, eggs, cockroaches, etc. but now it has tamed down a bit. After the function was a dinner)
Tuesday - Kids party (We rented out a lounge and had drinks and dancing fora ll of Azeem and Simran's friends)
Wednesday – Vanne dinner by mom’s sister
Thursday – Mehndi (This is where the women get mehndi/ henna on their hands and feet. Both sides of the family had one. We hosted one during the day on an amazing terrace in the building we live, and there were literally 40 women getting mehndi, kids running around, and really good food being served. In the evening, Simran’s family hosted a Mehndi at a restaurant, and since her side of the family is Hindi, not Muslim, there was booze and dancing. Azeem and Simran’s friends prepared some dances and later everyone was dancing. Many friends and family came back to our place for more drinks and hanging out afterwards)
Friday – Simran’s family’s main function (This was the best function of the wedding. There were plenty of drinks, great food, and tons and tons of dancing. A couple groups of people choreographed dances, and Tameem and I, along with Simran’s sister, and Azeem’s friend Charlene did an amazing dance that got the party started, SASA style. I was dancing so much that I didn’t even have time to eat. Everyone had an amazing time)
Saturday – Our main reception (This was held at an outdoor venue in the navy compound in Bombay, so security was tight, and it was really humid out. Typical Muslim receptions are actually quite boring. The couple getting married literally stand for hours taking pictures with and greeting every guest that comes. A line of guests forms to do this, and the line was at least an hour long at certain points. I greeted people, passed out sweets at the door like Indians do at all functions, and hung out with family and friends. But by this point everyone was exhausted, and without drinks and music, it was not as fun as the night before)
However, after the ceremony, the real fun began! Another Muslim tradition (when I say Muslim tradition, I mean a Bohri tradition, and Bohri is my sect of Islam) is to decorate the bride/groom’s room. Instead of a hotel room, Azeem and Simran decided to stay in his room, so my brothers, cousins and I decorated his room during the day. The goal is to decorate with some dirty/ playful things, but also some really annoying things. So we decorated with bananas, blown up condoms, etc., and hid alarm clocks all over the room, taped on top of the fan, under the bed, etc. and set them to go off at odd hours of the night. Now, when the couple arrives home, all the friends and cousins are waiting in the room. These people have to demand certain things from the couple in order to leave. So for 2 hours, we asked Azeem and Simran for many things, like money, but also to sing, dance, etc. Finally, after 2 hours, we were all satisfied with our bribes, and left the room.
Sunday – The FINAL function. One of Simran’s uncles threw a final dinner party, and Azeem and Simran left straight from the party to their honeymoon.
There is still, however, Wedding Part 2 which moves to DC in June for a couple more functions.
The wedding was fantastic and it was incredible to see so many friends and family. By the end, we were all completely exhausted. By Sunday night pretty much everyone had left but me. Luckily, on Monday night, my dad got free tickets to a Mumbai Indians, IPL cricket match, which was amazing. At the match they served McDonalds veggie burgers, Indian style, and they were actually damn good. IPL is a cricket league in India, like a soccer league anywhere, that is incredibly successful in only its third season, using the Twenty20 format of cricket, and in just 2 years, teams have tripled their worth from around $100 million dollars to over $300 million. It as popular in India as baseball, but only 7 weeks long and a total of 20 matches.
PICTURES: There are way too many pictures to put up from the wedding, but as soon as we get the pictures back from the photographers, they will be put up online and I will put the link on the blog. In the meantime, if you are dying to see pictures, I have to admit, I did have some awesome outfits, look at my facebook pictures. From those pictures, you can see a couple people’s albums of the wedding. Some good ones are Ceyda’s, Anju’s, and Sarah Walzer’s albums.
Now I’m finally back in Dubai, and it feels a little strange to be almost alone after being with so many people for so long. Every lunch in India some family or friends would come over, so there were very few times when I was actually alone. I was even more spoiled in India than I was in Dubai, so I’ll see how I cope with that. My grandparents are coming back from India soon, so I’ll definitely have to deal with that, because at this point I have lived without them longer than with them.
In other news, I did get my driving license! So I can officially drive around Dubai, which is tough because there are an insane amount of ramps, roundabouts, and streets with no names, so you really have to know where you are going. But its nice not to have to take cabs everywhere, and when I go to the office, I can ask the transport guy to get it washed, fill gas, etc. It was actually funny how long it took me to get gas the first time, because I had to ask my grandfather what type of gas was used in the car, but he didn’t know, so I called the driver, but he was on vacation in India and his phone was not turned on, so finally I asked the transport guy just to do it for me, and luckily he knew what type of gas to use.
So now I’m getting re-settled in Dubai as the hot season approaches, already 95 and humid during the day. I’ll keep you updated on all my random happenings and craziness.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Istanbul!
Istanbul is an amazing city. It is vibrant, hustling, bustling, and full of history. I arrived Wednesday at midnight and Elif and I went to her friend’s place to stay (on the Asian side). Istanbul is split by the Bosphorus, so one side is Europe and the other side is Asia. All the old historical buildings and the old city of
Next we headed to Topkapi palace which was the palace for most of the Ottoman emperors. You can see Ottoman architecture at its finest, and its built on a hill overlooking the see, so the view was gorgeous. We stopped at a café for a beer, and then headed to the Grand Bazaar. It was huge. Literally hundreds and hundreds of stalls in an enclosed space, with vendors selling jewelry, clothes, carpets, beads, etc. After wandering around for an hour, we walked down to the waterfront, checked out some local bazaars, and then headed to a small area under one of the bridges famous for its seafood restaurants. We got to pick a type of fish and how it was cooked, and the fish was served whole. Extremely fresh! With dinner, we had some Raki, which is like Ouzo, a liquorish tasting alcohol that you mix with water. It was already an extremely tiring day, but the fun was just beginning!
After dinner, we walked across the bridge and took the oldest metro in the world, which is literally only one stop, from the bridge to a neighborhood called Taksim. Taksim is an amazing area, along a street where no cars are allowed, full of shops, restaurants, and bars. We met up with a bunch of Elif’s friends at a Nargyla (hookah) place, had a couple drinks and shisha, and then headed to some bars. Most European cities have areas like this, packed with bars in a small area, and it was awesome to go out and explore. Once the bars shut down, we all walked down the street and got late night food. There was an interesting bathroom experience that I had, so if you are interested, I will tell you personally. What a fun and exhausting day!
Day 2 was a bit more relaxed, but we did almost as much! In the morning, we met up with Elifs mom and had a late breakfast at a nice restaurant overlooking the sea on the Asian side. I’d never had a Turkish breakfast before, eggs, cheese, olives, and meat, so I was pretty impressed. However, Elif and her mom told me that it was subpar. We walked around the neighborhood and went to an ice scream store and then headed to the Maiden’s tower. It’s an old lighthouse just off the shore of the Asian side with a great view of the whole city. After some tea, Elif and I headed to the European side to check out a quaint neighborhood known for its food. In the neighborhood, there are 10 stalls in a row that sell baked potatoes with every topping imaginable and stuffed mussels. I decided to pass on the potato and stick with mussels, but Elif got a potato with a crazy combination of toppings. These stalls are quite famous, and the vendors yell at you, competing for business.
Completely tired from all the sightseeing, we headed out to a Hamam, or Turkish bath, back on the Asian side. At the bath, you strip down, put on a towel, and lie down on a hot stone. All the baths in
After the bath, relaxed and refreshed, we walked around Elif’s neighborhood. To me, most neighborhoods in
At this point, thoroughly exhausted, and carrying a lot of fish we headed to Elif’s apartment and met her mom, little brother, sister, and one of her friends. Elif’s mom cooked an amazing dinner and we lounged around for a couple hours eating and drinking tea. Elif’s little brother, Mhmet, or Memo, is very good at English and loved talking to me to show off his English. He’s a very funny kid.
Finally I headed to the airport and took a redeye flight back to Dubai, completely and utterly exhausted.
Istanbul is amazing. It’s almost completely Turkish with no foreigners, and a huge city with over 12 million people. There are no slums in the city, which I found very surprising for a city that size. The people are very friendly, but outside the tourist areas, very few people speak English. They might be able to understand it, but they don’t give that impression. All in all an amazing fantastic trip.
I put a lot of pics up on Facebook, so check them out. There were way too many to put up on the blog.
And for the next two weeks I will be in
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cousins and Thunderstorm
Sandstorm whiting out the Dubai skyline
I went to Abu Dhabi last Saturday to seem my first cousin, Shakeel, and his family. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, but its much smaller and not as Vegas like as Dubai. Check out the pics of my cousins and his two awesome kids.
While in Abu Dhabi, a huge thunderstorm hit. Being in the desert, I just assumed that it never rained. But, it does rain every couple of months, and very violently. There are huge storms with tons of lightning, torrential downpours, but it never lasts more than an hour. No cities here are equipped to handle any amount of water, and sand does not absorb water at all. This leads to crazy flash floods, and completely flooded roads, that take days to clear up. The government literally has to pump water into tanks to be transported away. Check out the pics!
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