This blog is dedicated to all my travels around the world. You will gain insight on my feelings as I visit different places. I will share my preparations and tips for making the best of international travel. I hope that I will inspire you. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section of each post.
"The widely and extensively traveled is wiser and more knowledgeable than the gray haired (who scarcely traveled)."
Dubai was not a place that I wanted to visit. All the pictures and travel stories I heard made it seem like a mirage in the desert, and I had no interest in visiting a fake city. However, Dubai was randomly selected for a 2018 girls’ trip (that never happened), and so I included it as a destination on my list in anticipation of that trip. I have to admit it was a good place for me to transition from Asia to Africa, and when I saw an inexpensive flight to Dubai from Mumbai, I said, “Why not?”. As the plane began to descend over the city, I saw darkness with a few random lights in the sand dunes, and then the whole ground lit up with lights of different colors. Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, was so much better than I expected. I also toured the capital city, Abu Dhabi, for a day. It was an interesting experience that I will always remember.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a combination of 7 emirates that created a federation on December 2, 1971. The country hit the lottery when oil (black gold, Texas T) was discovered the late 50s and early 60s. Just like a lottery winner, the emirates changed their appearance immediately and bought all the things they always wanted and couldn’t afford. The old villages, nomadic Bedouin lifestyle, and pearl fisheries were replaced by sparkling new buildings and infrastructure. In some cases where they demolished old areas, they later went back and rebuilt those same places as tourist attractions to show the old way of life. The country is so rich that citizens of the UAE, Emiratis, are given free houses and free education. The UAE citizens are rich and highly educated. You definitely won’t find those people working cash registers in shops and cooking food in restaurants. Who does those jobs? Immigrants. There is a large population of Africans (from Cairo to Cape Town), Indians, and Filipinos, and people from all over the world who come to make a living in the UAE and send remittances back home. It is a salad bowl (not a melting pot), where everyone seems to retain their own culture without assimilating. For example, there was the widespread acknowledgement of the Indian festival of Diwali with stores and attractions sharing festive messages and hosting sales for the Festival of Lights, and apartment balconies were decorated with lanterns and colorful string lights when I arrived days after Diwali ended. I also saw Christmas trees and decorations at some of the stores at the mall. Immigrants can apply for citizenship after living 20 years in the UAE, and they must speak fluent Arabic.
Dubai is much bigger than I thought it would be, and it can cater to any taste. It reminds me of New York City, Las Vegas, Miami Beach, and Singapore all rolled into one. Dubai is like NYC, because you can find people and cultures there from all over the world, it’s the financial capital of the country, and it is fairly liberal and tolerant (of tourists) even though the UAE is a conservative Muslim country.
Dubai is like Vegas, because everything is a spectacle in the middle of the desert. There is so much to take in when it comes to the architecture, attractions, food, etc. because it is so different from anywhere else. The tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, is attached to the equally large Dubai Mall, which would probably take days to explore. Dubai creates its own islands (see the Al-Burj Hotel and Palm Jumeirah). Also, Dubai is like Vegas because there were “girls, girls, girls” cards strewn on the sidewalks in some areas of the city.
Dubai is like Miami Beach, because the city sits on the Persian Gulf, and the water is a big attraction. The beachfront homes and flashy vehicles remind me of the opulence of Miami Beach. Most of the homes I saw were shades of white to reflect the sun. I was expecting Crockett and Tubbs to show up at any moment. The city seemed to come to life at night after sunset and the sidewalks were filled with people walking and dining at outdoor restaurants.
Dubai is like Singapore, because Big Brother is always watching you and will fine you for anything you do that is out of line. I did not see the police or military the whole time I was in Dubai, but if something happened, I have no doubt they would be there in 2 minutes. There were cameras everywhere watching every move. I still haven’t grown accustomed to the unsettling sight of police and military guards with assault rifles in public spaces like airports, malls, and parks, which I saw in all the other countries I visited on this journey. I don’t know which is worse though, seeing them out in full force, or knowing that they are watching even when I don’t see them.
I can’t deny that the mirage charmed me. From the tour of Abu Dhabi to the Museum of Illusions, from the Burj Khalifa to the abra (boat) along the creek, from Jumeirah beach to Jumeirah Palm, and everything in between, I was mesmerized. If you don't mind constantly being monitored and recorded, and giving up the right to disagree with the government, then Dubai could be the place for you.
Palm Jumeirah
a flock of Teslas
Aquarium at Palm Jumeirah
Fancy school bus
Fines
Jumeirah Beach with Burj Khalifa in the background
Box Park
Museum of Illusions
Abra at Deira Creek
No jaywalking
Diwali lights
Air-conditioned bus stop
Bus stop
Burj Khalifa
model of the tallest building in the world - Burj Khalifa
For months, I have stood out because of my differences. Yesterday, I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, and no one noticed me. There were no stares. No one asked if my hair was real. I didn't see any fingers pointing at me. No one asked to take a picture with me. I just went about my business unbothered like everyone else. Being surrounded by people who look like my family and have hair like mine felt a little strange at first. I was part of the majority. The only thing I can compare it to is being on an HBCU campus again.
I am staying in Kensington near Maboneng, a trendy (aka gentrified) area of the city near downtown. The weather was warm and sunny, so I walked from my place to Maboneng yesterday. In between there were a lot of mechanic shops, beauty shops, and small grocery stores. It felt familiar. I walked around Maboneng for a while trying to figure out where I would eat. I settled on a restaurant and decided to sit at a table outside, because it felt so good. I moved inside a few minutes later when I felt chilly. The temperature seemed to drop so fast, and then it started raining. I wasn't prepared. It is summer in the southern hemisphere. Why are people wearing jackets? My weather app said it was 59 degrees. My shirt was sleeveless and I didn't have an umbrella. I finished my dinner and waited until the rain slowed to a drizzle before heading home. I wanted to get back before dark, and the sun was setting. There was no Wi-Fi for me to get a ride with Uber. I hurriedly walked down the sidewalks, cold and wet. After I passed the second or third liquor store with a cage (I think the total was 5), it finally dawned on me that I was walking through the hood. I almost started sprinting, but the sidewalks were cracked and missing in some areas, so I had to be careful and fast until I made it back home. As I neared my street, I said out loud, "Never do that again. You know better."
Today, I walked back to Maboneng for lunch. (I felt safe enough to walk in the daylight, but I was warned to keep my phone hidden.) I stopped at one of the salons that advertised relaxers, dreadlocks, manicures, pedicures, etc. on their wall, but this one stood out because they also had shea butter. I've been putting off retightening my hair for weeks and I need shea butter for my dry skin, so I decided to go in and check their prices. I walked out with a pedicure and shea butter, and I ended up making a hair appointment for tomorrow. I also stopped by a tailor's shop on my way to lunch. I'll have new custom-made outfits in a couple of days. It's a good thing I shipped my clothes from India back home, because I'm going to need the space. I went to a sushi restaurant, called "Blackanese". The waiter asked where I was from. (I might look like everyone else on the outside, but I can't hide my American accent.) I told him I was from America, and he said, "Welcome home". He also offered to make a list of the best places to visit while I'm here.
South Africa held the #3 spot on my travel bucket list for years behind Australia and Brazil. I'm so glad I finally made it, and I look forward to seeing as much of the country as I can. More to come.
P.S. I started on my Dubai post, but I need more time to finish. It's coming.
If I had to describe India in one word, it would be "overwhelming". It overloads the senses in unimaginable ways. It is beautiful. It is ugly. It is rich. It is devastatingly poor. It is super modern and high-tech. It is ancient and stuck in the past. It is a place of so many contrasts. Instead of trying to rationalize everything, sometimes all I can do is say, "This is India."
India was a lot for me to handle traveling by myself without the backing of a company this time around. I was constantly on edge and did not feel comfortable for much of my time in India. However, there were times when people helped me and were genuinely nice without trying to get something from me in return. I am grateful for my hosts in Ft. Cochin, and my Airbnb hosts in Mumbai, who made me feel welcomed and treated me like I was part of their family. My friend's family invited me to join them for lunch, and they included me in their post-Diwali celebration. The thing that I have always loved most about India is the people and the connections I formed. (I also love the abundance of vegetarian food options.)
A few highlights:
The Dehli Metro is surprisingly clean and orderly underground while the streets are filled with garbage, stray animals, and orange tobacco spit.
Diwali, also called the "Festival of Lights" is a large fall festival in India where people celebrate the victory of light over darkness. They decorate their homes and businesses with colorful lights and candles, as well as rangolis. Rangolis are beautiful designs of colorful powder or flowers. They also buy new items and make their homes spotless to welcome blessings and prosperity for the year. At night, you see and hear firecrackers, sparklers, and all kinds of fireworks. People return to their hometowns and spend the festive season with their families. I went to Mumbai hoping to reconnect with my friends and celebrate with them. However, we were unable to connect until after the festivities.
Diwali sari
celebrating with my Airbnb hosts
Rangoli
Rangoli
Flower Rangoli
Lunch with Anita and her family
Final night in India with Sushama
I found Sula wines on my last trip to India in 2011. I was pleased to discover that the main vineyard was located close to Mumbai, and I decided to take a tour. I'm so glad I decided to leave Mumbai and spend a day in Nashik. It was super crowded because so many people were on vacation due to Diwali. Sula Vineyard gives amazing wine tours and tastings, and they have great restaurants on site. Lots of families were there just enjoying being outside of the city.
my favorite wine
Indian Railways is not for the faint of heart. I learned that "General" class is not for me or anyone else who values their life. There are no assigned seats. Basically, you get in where you fit in, which means people crowd the aisles and sometimes hang out the door just to get on the train. The sleeper car is one step up from general, and is the spillover from general. Passengers have assigned seats, and the aisles and doors are filled with people who couldn't fit into the general compartment. It is pure chaos. I made the mistake of buying a general ticket and gave up for the day after not being able to get on 2 trains without risking my life. My Airbnb host helped me buy a sleeper ticket for the next day. I'm glad my trip from Mumbai to Nashik was only 3 hours.
people sleeping at the train station
local train
Toastmasters International was well represented in India. I visited Thane Toastmasters twice while I was in Mumbai.
Thane Toastmasters
Thane Toastmasters - Best Evaluator
Safety is not a priority. I found this to be the case across India, Indonesia, and Thailand. Developing countries need to transport people by whatever means necessary. They can't afford to be safe, yet. I've seen all kinds of "unusual" scenarios on motorbikes, such as families of 5; toddlers standing on bikes; people carrying ladders, surfboards, and large bird cages; and dogs riding bikes. (Check out the video below.) People do not wear helmets or seatbelts because they can't afford them and they are not always required. They will cram as many people as possible into auto rickshaws and cars, buses and trains too. Maybe in a few years, passenger safety will be more of a priority.
I can see huge growth in infrastructure from my last visit. There are new developments in housing, roads, and even basic necessities, like public toilets. I'm so glad that I didn't see anyone using the public sidewalks and roads as toilets this time around. I also noticed fewer blackouts. Either the electrical grids are stronger or more businesses have generators that make power blackouts less noticeable.
It was getting to be too much for me. I was ready to leave the country and had started looking for flights to anywhere else, but India. I originally planned to end my trip in Mumbai because I wanted to experience Diwali (Festival of Lights) in mid November with my friends, and I had already booked a flight out of Mumbai. I thought about flying to Australia or back to Thailand before returning to India for the week of Diwali. However, I made the decision to see southern India before leaving the country, and that made all the difference. Plus, flights were pretty expensive due to the festive season.
When I peered out the train window at Kerala, the first thing I noticed was that the homes along the tracks appeared bigger, some were ranch-style, and the second thing I noticed was that there were lots of churches. I exited the train at Ernakulam station after riding for two and a half days, and I crossed 2 bridges by taxi before arriving on the island of Ft. Cochin (also spelled Cochi, Kochi, Kochin). I arrived at ChristVille Homestay, which would be my home for 8 nights. A homestay is essentially a bed and breakfast run by a family who stays on the property too.
Backwater tour
My hosts arranged a tour for me and the company picked me up from the homestay. I traveled along the backwaters of a small village nearby on a very slow boat. We slowly drifted through tight canals that sometimes required the boat workers to push off inches from the bank as tree branches swept along the side openings. The two men steering the boat used long bamboo poles and swapped them out for longer poles when the water was deep. The local guide showed us how coconut fibers are turned into rope and he showed us a nutmeg tree. He also flagged down a small row boat with a man carrying what looked like a small gas can. It turns out that it wasn't gas, but "toddy", a prohibited fermented coconut drink that some people made in stills at home. He was a bootlegger. He was happy to sell his drink to a boat full of tourists. He asked that no one take pictures, of course. The people who bought it talked about how much it burned going down, which sounded like corn liquor to me. I passed.
We enjoyed a nice traditional lunch of vegetarian thali on a banana leaf. After lunch, we got back on the boat and drifted along thanks to the cool wind. It was so relaxing that just about everyone dozed off at some point during the ride. It was a good long lazy day on the water.
Captain of the boat and me
Reminder of home
Inside the boat
Our houseboat
Thali
Kathakali
Kerala is known for this traditional theater that requires years of training for the actors, musicians, and singers. The stories are acted out using mime, dramatic facial expressions, and sign language to entertain the audience without talking, and they are accompanied by drummers and a singer. All of the performers are males. The actors wear very elaborate costumes and makeup, which takes an hour or more to apply. The makeup session takes place on stage before the start of the show with the audience watching in awe at the dramatic transformation. They grate natural stones and minerals mixed with coconut oil to create the bright face paint. The color of the makeup also helps tell the story. Green represents good character. Yellow represents the female. Orange represents bad character, and black represents evil/demons. An actor with multiple colors displays the multiple facets of their character. For example, the story I saw had a character with mostly green makeup and some orange showing that he was usually good, but he had some bad tendencies - mostly during war/battles.
Ayurveda Kerala is also known for its health and wellness practice, called Ayurveda, which treats both the mind and body to heal various ailments. I decided to book an appointment for a massage and shirodhara treatment before leaving. For shirodhara, I laid my head back as warm oil dripped on my forehead. It felt so weird at first, and I told the woman treating me that it was too hot. Next thing I know, she was tapping me on the shoulder to wake up. I'd fallen asleep and was so relaxed for those few minutes.
Yoga/meditation
The thing that I loved the most about being in Ft. Kochi was that I could finally relax. The pace was slower, the people were friendlier, and I found ways to establish a routine for myself. There was a hotel nearby, called "Breathe Inn", that offered free daily medication followed by yoga (350 rupees for 1.5 hours). I took advantage of the sessions a few times during my stay. The woman who led the meditation and yoga also performed massages and other body treatments. I made an appointment for a 1-hour massage after yoga one day, and when she was finished, I asked if I could have another 30 minutes. I did not want to get up.
Running The streets around me were so clean and uncongested that I could run without obstacles. I woke up at 5:30am a few mornings so I could run before it became too hot, and I wasn't the only one with that idea. Lots of people walked and ran along the same roads. I saw young, old, couples, singles, parents with strollers, and more out for a morning stroll. I didn't see any other women running though. I made up for my missed miles during previous weeks in India, and ran more than 12 miles while I was there.
My fellow early morning exercisers
Voting
I completed my absentee ballot and mailed it while I was there in Ft. Cochin. On the same day that I mailed my ballot via speedy post (express mail), I also mailed a package to a friend via regular mail. My friend received the package a week and a half before Harris County acknowledged my ballot, which was on the last day that absentee ballots would be counted.
