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Just a few snapshots that I've taken with my blackberry over the past three months.

Sunset on the way back from Bagram. Roshan advertising poking out

12 KM out of Kabul

Roshan branded volleyballs for Youth Sports Center opening next month

Hand-carved dresser I picked out at the furniture shops

Joel hard at work in the office

Fountains at Dubai Mall

Next to Burj Khalifa - world's tallest building, United Arab Emirates

Joel playing with our new puppy, given to us by the Afghan guards at Bagram Military Base. Joel is currently trying to figure out a way to sneak his new buddy back into America

Kam Air boarding pass to Delhi, Kabul International Airport. You would have never known I was going to Delhi, since there is nothing written on the ticket

Taxi getting involved in our card game

Boston Celtics and New England Patriots stickers on back of a Corolla, Kabul

Man on wall surveying his plot of land, just outside of Bagram

Line of ridiculous cars, Mall of the Emirates - Dubai, United Arab Emirates 



RIP Habibi's

Some of you may remember my post from October about my favorite burger place here in Kabul, Habibi's (Check out "Time Out: Kabul" here) 


I just found out that Habibi's has closed it's doors for good. Apparently the owner was running a prostitution ring out of the upstairs of his home, and a restaurant out back. I didn't even know Afghanistan had prostitutes. Never again will I taste a Habibi's cheeseburger.


Rest in peace old friend. 

Birthdays

Yesterday was my birthday and I turned twenty-seven. To celebrate, some friends took me out to Red Hot Sizzler on Friday night, where we ate nachos, fajitas, fake guacamole and sour cream and drank Long Island Iced Teas. My friend Dildar told me that according to Afghan tradition, it's usually the other way around: I am supposed to take all of my friends and family out to celebrate. Didn't happen that way, but it was a blast regardless - good company and good conversation.

The day itself was pretty tame: in the morning, I got into a minor car accident with the Director of Security. He was was driving a large Toyota SUV and as he was taking a left hand turn, a mini Corolla came out of no where and smashed into the back left tire. Not much harm was done to our car, but the aftermath was pretty chaotic. There is no insurance in Afghanistan and everyone drives like a freaking maniac, so accidents happen often. Following an accident, a crowd forms in the middle of the street, a police man rolls up, traffic gets congested, and everyone just yells really loudly at each other until it is decided who's fault it is. Then the other party pays for the damage. In cash, right there on the street. Since I was with two high level security guys, they simply called back to the office for another car/driver and we were wisked away after about fifteen minutes of hand gestures and yelling in Dari. I followed the security rules and stayed in the car and kept my eyes down. Car accidents are a legit way "they" can coax people out of the car to kidnap them.

Then later on in the day, just when I thought I was going to get out of the office early, we got a Security text saying that there were demonstrations on the road and that all locals and ex-pats were locked down until further notice. So, I was stuck working at the office until about 7:30 pm. Like I said, the day was pretty tame.

On another note, people say I'm lucky because I share the same birthday as the Aga Khan. He turned 74 yesterday, and has popped up all over the news recently. If you don't know who he is or what he does, check out the video below from MSNBC and article from CNN. He is a very insipirational man who is doing amazing things around the Middle East and Africa. His vision is also the reason Roshan exists today.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/10/healthy-speed-of-change/

Things I Miss Most about Home

1. Coffee: I was never a big coffee person. I grew up in a tea-drinking house. It wasn't until working at JWT did I start putting back at least one Americano every day. I'm not going to say that I miss Starbucks like a brat, but you have no idea how good a grande skinny vanilla latte tastes after three months of Nescafe grains from a jar.

2. Walking: Sure, being driven around in a van all the time sounds kind of awesome, but it's not. You have no idea what I would give to start at the Apple Store/The Plaza and walk down Fifth Avenue to the Union Square on a nice fall day in NYC. Or start in the East Village and walk through Soho to the West Side Highway and sit on a bench looking at the water. Even better, take a walk along the seawall in Vancouver and take in ocean, mountains and breathe fresh air all at the same time.

3. Air: This leads me to topic of air. The air in Kabul is thin because of the altitude and extremely dusty, well because of the dust. Sometimes it's hard to catch your breath when you wake up, let alone when you're running on the treadmill. To add to it, there is a rumor going around that 20-30% of the air here is filled with evaporated fecal matter... since some Afghans like to take dumps on the side of the street. I've seen it. It's gross. (That's not fair, they don't have access to proper means so they are forced to do it on the street. Doesn't make it any less gross when I breathe it in every day.)

4. Gossip Magazines: You all know the feeling. Come home from a long day; your head hurts, your feet hurt, you are annoyed, and all you want to do is curl up with a good trashy gossip magazine. I have many of those days and no magazines. You could argue that online gossip sites are a good replacement, but that's only if you have a fast enough Internet connection. There is nothing more frustrating than looking at a pink screen waiting for Perez to load because 75 other ex-pats are downloading Bollywood movies at the same time, eating up the bandwidth. I have caved a couple of times in airports when I see the full selection of American gossip mags calling my name. I am not ashamed to say that I've dropped almost $40 on 4 magazines. Hey people, I live in Afghanistan and earn money and have no expenses. Don't judge me for buying a $10 US Weekly.

5. Salads: They have salad in Afghanistan. The dining room will put out a really nice head of lettuce, some cucumbers and tomatoes at every meal. I eat them in moderation (I've realized everything here is about moderation, or you risk getting really sick.) But I also try and block out the story I was told about how the farmers get their lettuce looking so nice.

Once upon a time there was a farmer who produced some beautiful lettuce -- bright green, crispy and full of taste. He wouldn't share with the others how he got his lettuce to look and taste so nice. All of the other villagers were jealous of his heads of lettuce, popping up from the soil. Then one day, someone spotted the farmer on his way to collect his secret ingredient and found out his secret was human refuse, collected from the gutter on the street. He would wait until everyone was done with their morning dump, then scoop it up in a bucket and pour it allllll over his lettuce. 

First on the menu when I get back: Arugula and Parmesan with some fresh lemon. Or maybe spinach with goat cheese and a light mustard/vinaigrette dressing. Honestly, at this point, I'll settle for a good old fashioned Caesar.

Thailand: Part I-III

One of the biggest perks of working at Roshan is the vacation time. I was promised four "home-leaves" that total forty days of vacation, and the company pays for round trip tickets on these leaves. In addition to the home-leaves, there is a beautiful thing called public holidays. A couple of weeks ago, the Muslim world celebrated Eid and Afghanistan shut down for a week. Joel and I took advantage of this holiday by jetting off to Thailand for ten days. It was my first time in this glorious country and although we only had ten days, I think we nailed it. Below is a short summary of how awesome the trip was, and some tips on what to do if you're thinking about a quick trip.

Thailand Part I: Bangkok and Railay Beach

We arrived in Thailand 24-hours after leaving Kabul, tired and angry at the world. Six hours later we woke up in our guest house in Bangkok and took in the sights of Kho San Road. We ate, shopped, got Thai massages and drank buckets on our first night in Thailand before taking off to Krabi the next morning.

By 2pm the next day we were on the beach. Railay is marked by massive forested cliffs that push sharply into the sky. The water here is turquoise and the sand is soft between your toes. Railay beach is this tiny little town that actually compromises of Railay East and Railay West. West is for the day time: beach, kayaking, mango shakes at lunch and sunsets. East is for the evening: outdoor bars with live music, Jenga, Connect Four and most importantly, buckets. A bucket is a Thai phenomenon whereby they mix a 2-6 of Thai whiskey, coke and red bull together in a bucket, throw some straws in, and charge you $10. Then they make it even more attractive by offering you a promotion you'd be silly to pass up -- buy two buckets, get one free! Do the math... there were two of us. Krabi was a perfect start to the trip: we paid $40/night for an awesome room and the days/nights were filled with lounging, hanging, massages, napping and drinking.



Pad Thai and a Banana Shake for $1.50



Thailand Part II: Ko Phi Phi
Joel and I arrived in Ko Phi Phi overwhelmed and wishing we were back sipping banana shakes and green curry chicken on Railay Beach. This place is NOTHING like Railay. People everywhere; vendor stands, shops, restaurants, bars, bikes and lights on what felt like was a massive island. This was not the Ko Phi Phi that was made famous in the 90s with the movie "The Beach." Sure enough, after a bucket or two we opened up to the potential of the place. And by potential I mean Cancun-style parties on the beach at a place called "Slinky's." Slinky's was both awesome and terrifying.

Ko Phi Phi nights were a blur of buckets and Euro trance music. If you do find yourself in Ko Phi Phi, go to Carlito's on the opposite side of the island - it has a pretty impressive fire show every night. And two-for-one buckets.

Joel's first dive site, Bida Nok

Ko Phi Phi is also the place to dive. Joel and I did a full day of diving- his first scuba diving experience. He was little apprehensive in the beginning (the whole breathing underwater with an apparatus part doesn't always sit well) but before long, he was pushing me out of the way underwater to check out sea turtles and leopard sharks. He also insisted on being called, "Scuba Joel" for the rest of the trip.

In the end, Ko Phi Phi was my favorite stop. The highlight was this tiny hole-in-the-wall authentic Thai place called Papaya where I ate the best Pad Thai I've ever had. In addition to the food, I got to experience one of the things I love most about Joel. When he eats spicy food, you can actually gauge the spice level with the amount of sweat that forms on this head. It's truly amazing. Below is a before and after picture. 

Unfortunately, we overdid it by returning to Papaya twice in one day and Joel paid the price with a full day of the stomach flu. That's the nice way of saying he had diarrhea.

Thailand Part III: Ko Lanta and Bangkok

Ko Lanta is a massive island, and a boring one. The only good thing about this place, other than the truly breath-taking scenery, was that it produced perfect weather. We spent all day roasting in the sun, reading books and enjoying our legitimate beach front bungalow. After a week of sub par weather, it was a welcome change. (End of rainy season means generally comfortable temperatures but overcast days.) You can see how terrible Ko Lanta looks below. 

Joel and I were happy to return to Bangkok where we did more shopping, more eating and a little sightseeing. We topped off the whole experience with a "fish pedicure" where we dipped our feet into a tank filled with dead-skin-eating fish. It was horrifying at first, it felt like a torture device and insects were crawling all over my body. After 15 minutes it was fine, and after 30 I had super smooth feet. Check out the video below.

 

All in all, the trip was a huge success and a wonderful break from the monotony of Kabul. I would have spent an extra day in Phi Phi and Railay and skipped Lanta altogether but again, who am I to complain about spending a couple of days in total paradise and getting a beautiful tan?

Tree House bar we stumbed upon in Lanta

Beach front restaurant and bungalows, Ko Lanta

Death by Garbage Truck

The traffic in Kabul is terrible. There are no street signs, no traffic lights, no stop signs, no order, half the roads aren't paved and I often get directions such as "drive in the direction of the Italian Embassy, past the clinic and it's right behind there."

We are vulnerable when we are in the car. These days, our security team is most concerned about reports of robbery on the streets. Allegedly, the offenders like to slash tires and coax people out of the car in order to rob them. There have been no reports of kidnapping in these situations, but it could happen. We are told to be aware of our surroundings, stay in the car no matter what, and put ladies in the back seats.

Riding in the back didn't help me in this morning's incident. There were about seven mini vans fulls of ex-pats riding from RV to the office. The vans, following standard protocol, were driving in loose formation along Airport Road. As instructed, I'm in the back listening to my iPod, which is extremely vigilant of me. All of a sudden, I hear a loud popping sound and out of the corner of my eye I catch a ball of dust coming my way. In the lane parallel to me, a massive garbage truck tipped over, hit the pavement hard, and was sliding along the eerily empty street. Garbage was strewn across the width of the road and the truck lay on it's side, no movement coming from the drivers side. After a moment of watching the accident happen in slow motion, the reactions started. Our drivers led the convoy of vans away from the scene. A beige police pick-up truck cut off traffic behind the accident and military began swarming the area to see if the driver was O.K.


Unusually quiet Airport Road, Kabul

Everything happened very quickly, and as per instructions from the security team, the drivers didn't stick around long enough for us to figure out details. Some friends who were riding in the van behind me said they saw the driver get out and walk around, and we've also speculated that he was definitely speeding when he popped a tire. 

The irony is that if the opposite tire had popped, and the truck had tipped in our direction, it certainly would have been a classic case of death by garbage truck. After travelling all the way out to Afghanistan, that's really no way to go.

Tell us about a time in your professional experience where you were frustrated

I guess none of you would be surprised if I told you working in a conflict zone was challenging; frustration stems from my work on a daily basis. For my former colleagues at JWT, and those of you who understand the logistics of the advertising/marketing business, I'm going to take a couple of minutes to explain what I'm up against.

The country is slowly developing, so we can actually produce posters, banners, billboards and other out-of-home creative in Afghanistan. We can also purchase billboard space in prime locations all over the country... but we can't confirm that our creative went up in regions outside of the capital. (I'm definitely not taking a trip into Kandahar to check if my ads look nice.) Furthermore, even if they do put up my billboard today, they may replace it with a competitor's billboard next week. Contract? What contract? Oh yea, and there are no rules on real estate, so if someone decides to build another billboard directly in front of the one with Roshan advertising, I can't do anything to stop it. This clearly isn't ideal, but it's better than when they start tearing down our billboards to fortify their roofs when it starts raining or to use them for firewood in the winter.

There is no such thing as GRPs in Afghanistan. The television showed up in households less than five years ago, and there are under ten TV channels in the country. Our media and research agencies actually went out and built a GRP tool specifically for us... but who's to say it's accurate? It's the only tool of it's kind!

The list above is minor compared to issues with securing talent. There is nothing more difficult than putting a woman in advertising. Even if she agrees to the photo shoot/TV commercial, a woman needs her husband's and/or father's signature in addition to her own on the contract. It's also not unheard of for women to call up in tears saying that her father has threatened to kill her if we don't take down the billboard featuring her face. Have a dead woman on our conscience or keep our ads up? It's a clear choice, but it's definitely not a cost effective way to run a business.

Roshan is a telecommunications company that has nation-wide coverage, which means my customers are everywhere. Roshan is also committed to the Afghan people, with the slogan, "Nazdik Shodan" or "bringing people together." One of the basic challenges presented to Joel and I when we started was to bring more humanity to the brand. It was a simple proposition: represent the Afghan people in our advertising. In a country like Afghanistan, this means representing people from different ethnic and tribal backgrounds,who speak different languages and dialects, engage in different cultural nuances and relate to specific regional landscapes. Some of these people have never left their village.

Unfortunately for us, the agency sitting in Beirut is forced to choose from an online library of photos (i.e. Getty) and 99% of the people in the library are not Afghan and do not look Afghan. Clearly, this is big problem if I'm looking to show the full variety of Afghans in my ads.

A good leader will say there is a solution to every problem. To find solutions in Afghanistan, we are often forced to think outside the box a little. We found a very talented photographer (war photographer by profession) to travel around the country for three months shooting locals in various scenarios, essentially creating our own Photo Library that we can use for the next 3-5 years. (Click here to check out Jason Howe's site - his shots are awesome.) We are having the Roshan IT department actually build software that will enable us to track the quality and visibility of our out of home advertisements (no, this does not exist yet, they can't even tell me the number of cars that drive by a major intersection everyday.)

I have no good solution to the women's issue in Afghanistan, but seriously, find me someone who does. In the meantime, I will continue to brainstorm solutions to the problems I encounter every day and keep my frustration level to a minimum. If I help evolve this brand even slightly in the year that I'm here, I will have succeeded at my goal.

Weekend Update

Just a quick update on a jam-packed weekend:

On Thursday night, our market research company hosted a "White Party" at their guest house. When you think of a guest house in Kabul, think about a massive mansion where  ten or so employees live and work. A handful of them had just come in from Paris, where they are based, and decided to throw a shindig. The party was pretty sweet: they had unlimited booze (more than you can fit in a suitcase and smuggle across the border.) Don't ask where it came from, cause they wouldn't tell me... There was also a dance floor, bonfire, appetizers and great conversation. Je parle tres bien Francais apres deux verres du vin. But, as always, we had to leave just as the party was getting fun. Roshan has a midnight curfew on weekends and apparently people like to lovingly refer to us as the "Cinderalla Crew."

Friday was a big day of burger eating, arts and crafts viewing, furniture, DVD and grocery shopping. We started at Habibis (see post, "Time Out: Kabul") and then headed to the heart of Kabul's old city, to a place called Turquoise Mountain, to check out student art work. The Turquoise Mountain program was initiated back in 2006 by a non-profit organization specializing in urban regeneration, business development and education in tradtional arts and architecture. I browsed through calligraphy, jewelry and hand carved chess boards before purchasing a ceramic bowl for $10.

Next stop was to look at hand-carved furniture and carpet shops. Since my arrival in Kabul, I've visited a couple of friend's rooms and seen the most stunning, light and dark wood, hand-carved furniture. Chests of drawers, mirrors, coffee tables, armoires - you name it, they make it. No seriously, they will custom-make a piece for you.The quality is beautiful and the hand-carvings are impeccable. Pieces that would cost upwards of $1500 in the US can be haggled down to $160. So... that's exactly what I did. I haggled with a very nice gentleman for a very beautiful piece of furniture. Worth every penny - just not sure how I'm going to get it back to North America.

After a quick pop into the grocery store to buy goods for family dinner that evening, we made our final stop at Nezar DVD shop. This place was heaven. They had original, complete box sets of pretty much every series you could think of, from Lost to Seinfeld to The Sopranos. And the box sets were no more than $30 a piece. Joel and I walked away with complete series of Dexter, The Wire, King of Queens, season six of Lost and three movies. And I am definitely going back for the Seinfeld set before I leave.

Saturday was a well-deserved day of rest, a little work and of course, the perfect day for a full-body massage. There was no good reason why I wouldn't head to Kabul Health Club and have my body massaged for an hour at the lowly price of $45. It was my first time at KHC, but I've heard they often throw massive parties in the garden area. The massage was fantastic, and I was blown away by the salon. They have all sorts of facilities: a steam room, sauna and work out facility, but the Jolie Salon was a real treat. They offer an "evening makeup" service for only $80...and if that doesn't satisfy your black tie needs, they can also do a one hour "Jolie Makeover" for $150 USD.

All jokes aside, the place was really nice, and totally empty. The service was great and the fresh juices were super tasty. I will definitely head back there soon for a day of relaxation.

Time Out: Kabul

I'm a big fan of cheeseburgers. I rarely pass up the opportunity to eat a burger when I'm out, and I am constantly putting in the effort to educate myself (and of course test) every good burger within close vicinity. I'm not talking McDonald's or Wendy's burgers, I'm talking Grade A beef cooked medium rare, with extra sharp cheddar cheese, a thick slice of an onion, tomato, lettuce, ketchup, mustard and mayo. You heard me, mayo.

I don't need any of the fancy toppings like caramelized onions, blue cheese or mushrooms - I am a straight up cheese on my burger gal. A good burger with fries and a diet coke can turn my frown upside down any day.

You can imagine my surprise when a couple of weeks ago, someone said to me that a restaurant called Habibis makes the best burger in Kabul. I have since been twice and I can honestly say it's one of the top five favorite burgers I've ever had the pleasure of putting in my belly. It doesn't hurt that they also serve cold Heineken in frosted glasses, and the restaurant is literally located in the owner's back yard. Given the atmosphere, service and general deliciousness of the food, I give Habibis a 9.5 out of 10. If you're ever in the neighborhood, you should definitely pop in.

For your reference, my list is as follows:
1. Shake Shack, Madison Square Park, New York City
2. Burger Joint, Le Meridien Hotel, New York City
3. Habibis, down some dirt road by the Roshan office, Kabul
4. Schiller's, Lower East Side, New York City
5. Pastis, Meatpacking district, New York City

Date Night

It's a funny thing, working with your significant other. Joel and I knew it was going to be a challenging year: not only coming out to Afghanistan together, but also working as colleagues running the Marketing Communications department at Roshan.

For those of you who don't know us, we met working together at JWT (thank you Bing Case Study.) But working together for an hour every couple of days to get a case study video done and spending eight hours every day looking at him from my desk are two totally different scenarios. So in effort to distinguish between work time, hanging out/watching TV time and romantical time, we instituted date night.

Last Sunday, as the kick off to Date Night series, we took the opportunity to celebrate our 10 month anniversary. (10 months on 10-10-10, how's that for good numerology?) We got a recommendation from some friends and headed out to eat Italian food at Bella Italia. It was the first time we had gone out just the two of us since leaving New York. The driver dropped us off in a relatively secured parking lot: we had to go through a check point to get into the place, and there were a bunch of other cars parked along the side of the street.

(Side note: There are no addresses or street signs in Kabul, but you can always tell the where the restaurants or bars are located by the number of cars/drivers parked on the street, since they sit and wait for people to finish. The cars carrying off duty American soldiers are generally white or black Toyota Four Runners, with thick antennas on the front. The US soldiers are always wearing bulletproof vests, even after they get past the various levels of security.) 

We took a quick look around and realized the driver had dropped us off in the wrong place. We finally found a guard who spoke English, and he pointed us in the direction of Bella Italia. We ended up walking for five minutes along barricaded and barbed wire sidewalks. Five minutes = 300 seconds. It's not a short amount of time. The entire length of the walk there were Afghan guards with guns - think full camouflage uniforms and rifles. For some reason, I had decided not to wear a long top that night, so my rump was exposed to these guys and I was feeling extra uncomfortable. Before you judge you have to remember this was date night...I had to look somewhat sexual. The situation in which we found ourselves was totally shady for a couple of reasons - a) because it was night time, and b) we are never allowed to walk anywhere, at any time, for security reasons.

At the end of our five minute adventure on foot, we found ourselves at the doorstep of an adorable, albeit slightly run down Italian joint. We ordered a caprese salad, brushetta, pizza, an awesome spinach and ricotta special and a couple of glasses of wine. The wine was fizzy but hit the spot. The crazy Croatian who's family makes the homemade moonshine told me there is no way to control the temperature of the wine as it's getting transported into Afghanistan, so it often ends up slightly carbonated.

Overall, date night was a total success. We found out later that the restaurant is located inside an International Forces compound, and the guys with guns were just there to protect us. I guess some things just aren't as scary as they seem.

Dubai World

I just returned from a week in Dubai for work and play. I have visited this city many times over the past 4 years, but I thought it may be useful for some people to put my thoughts on Dubai down in writing.

Dubai is like Vegas on steroids.

Everything there is the biggest, tallest, fastest and/or longest in the world. It's almost as though the person in charge has the smallest penis known to mankind.

Dubai has an island in the shape of a palm, the world's biggest mall, the world's tallest building, a fountain show that puts the Bellagio to shame and canals that are more extensive than Venice itself. There are numerous Maybachs, Bentleys, Mercedes Mclarens, Ferraris and Lamborghinis racing down Sheikh Zayed road at any time. Literally, a Porche Boxter is what the poor man drives.



Souk Madinat

 The pillars of the seven star hotel are plated with gold, and they have broken the world record for the largest indoor aquarium in the world. You can ski, ice skate, scuba dive, sky dive and rock climb in the middle of the desert. Everything is fake and everything is excessive.


Divers at the world's largest aquarium, Dubai Mall

 What's more is that they take service to the next level: the movie theaters have "gold suites" which offer personalized butler services for an additional $40. But even for us common folk, every seat is assigned. That means you get there early, select your seat, and then proceed to spend additional time/money in the surrounding shops in the mall. That's the other thing -- everything there is located either in a mall or a hotel. You can't just name a restaurant and ask a taxi driver to go there, because they won't know where it is unless you specify the hotel in which it's located. Sound kind of like Vegas?

The similarities are quite extensive and don't end with the grandiose architecture and excessive lifestyle. Obviously there is no gambling in Dubai (which some may say is the only reason people visit Vegas) but there sure are prostitutes and a pretty international range of hot girls. Joel and I had dinner at Ruth's Chris on Friday night with my family, then proceeded to meet friends at Buddha Bar. I watched in amazement as one girl stood at the bar for almost two hours. She wasn't waiting for friends, wasn't on her way anywhere, totally glossed over what she did for work... and apparently that was subtle. At the club in the Hyatt Galleria hotel, the women have no shame throwing themselves at men and being very clear about their price -generally between $500 - $2000 USD. 

There is one critical difference between Vegas and Dubai. In Vegas, anything goes. In Dubai, there are strict rules. Check out the picture I snapped from a mall entrance: 

"No kissing or overt displays of affection" 
I guess the Sex and The City stereotype holds true in this sense. The story about the British couple making out on the beach, getting arrested and thrown in jail for almost 6 weeks is entirely true. I also held hands with Joel while walking through the mall and didn't get stoned to death.

Dubai continues to grow. Last February when I was there for a JWT seminar, it was in so much trouble that it had started de-constructing certain sites. Dubai has since began re-constructing it's newest venture, Dubai Pearl.


Artist rendering of Dubai Pearl

Dubai was hit so hard by the recession that it had to go to turn to it's neighboring province, Abu Dhabi, to ask for $10 billion dollars to bail Dubai out of debt. The Sheikh agreed - mostly to ensure completion of the world's tallest building- but on the condition that the building be renamed from "Burj Dubai" to "Burj Khalifa", after him.



Burj Dubai aka Burj Khalifa

I guess we know who's got an even smaller one.

Recent NYT article about Dubai click here: "Collapse of Real Estate Boom Spells Havoc in Dubai", October 6, 2010

Old Buddies and New Buddies

This is Jacques Cousteau. He likes licking faces, chasing balls in the park and sun-bathing in a dog bed that's too small for him in Sal's new apartment.

Meet Taxi. Her likes include running away from basketballs, sneaking into the dining hall and rolling onto her back so we can all rub her belly when we get back from work. Below you will find her enjoying the shade in Roshan Village. She is my new friend.