2009 - July 21 (Dubai)

Departure day. No real problems. Finding the rental return was a bit of a problem since I can't read Arabic, and guess what the direction signs were written in? Regardless I did find the drop off spot and got rid of old Blackie. The car was nice and I will try to get it or an Audi A4 on my next visit. They are in the same price class at Hertz in Dubai. Got through check in at the airport with no problems at all. Got my ticket and directions to the lounge to wait. The lounge nice except for screaming children being attended by what appeared to be a Filipino au pair. Apparently the parents insisted that no discipline was allowed. They ran, they screamed, and they cried about every action taken by the au pair that involved any restriction. The family only intervened (if that is the right word) when they started to leave. At that point the children were put in strollers. They then walked quietly and politely beside their parents while the au pair followed behind obviously relieved at being relieved of her charges. But the story did not end there. Boarding the plane put another woman and child directly behind me. I had picked a front row seat under the theory that few children flew in business class. Wrong oh mighty travelers and blog-a-holics. This dwarf humanoid unit was subversive. Completely quiet for anywhere from two to ten minutes. Blissful and drowsy I was, to quote Yoda. Then a sudden blood-curdling scream for upwards of half a minute with your ears bleeding. Lovely. More alcohol please. And a ritual suicide pill. Oh, and one for my little guest please. Thank you. Specibo.


Lunch was served (I will put pictures on Facebook). It started with a cold service. The sandwiches were cheese and tongue-in-cheese. No, really! The somewhat crunchy tongue was not bad. Vegetables are ALWAYS cucumbers and tomatoes, or pickles (cucumber again). Or cheese and dried fruit. This is the normal meal. Really not bad but it does get monotonous. The hot portion arrived. I had a choice of chicken and mushrooms in a cheese sauce with rotinni pasta, beef in brown sauce with egg noodles, or lamb balls (not the two-per-lamb type, just ground up lamb meat). I had the chicken but I need to warn one of my readers, the chicken was white and dark meat. Then there is the bread thing. If served, and it will be, always eat all of it. This culture has a special relationship to hunger and the availability of bread. Courtesy says to only take what you want and eat all you take. So if bread is part of your prepared plate, plan on eating all of it even if you leave something else behind. So kiss goodbye your Pritikin's or South Beach diet. And all you no-carb muscle boys can just stay home. The grilled cold chicken skewer was very good. Their olives and pickles are to die for. The cheeses are good and have flavor. Even the soft cheeses are tasty and I don't really eat much cheese. So most meals really are based around bread, cheese and butter, fresh fruits, tomatoes and cucumbers in summer, dried fruits of apricots, dates, pineapple (a special treat), nuts, pickles, and a little bit of meat for garnish. This is actually a pretty healthy diet for someone who is more than marginally active. Even a bit of a romantic concept as a picnic or a poet's idea of the perfect European lifestyle.

Now I get a shock. The little sonic boom behind me is loose in the aisles looking precocious. I hate precocious. But at least she wasn't screaming. The damn pills didn't work on me or her. I want a refund. She keeps popping around the edge of my seat to smile at me. Her smile says "You can not possess the little Goddess, No! And you cannot stop me either, evil old man." I have been outsmarted by evolutionary survival skills. The midgets of the species grow stronger each generation. I swear to take vengeance in my dotage. I will pull out my teeth and chase children with them. Warp their little psyches like mine was.

Rough flight toward Baku. New blog for Baku coming up.