2009/02/10 arrival in wandegeya

my 24 hour travel to entebbe was quite exciting itself, as i had to stay at the airport in dubai for 8 hours. besides being fascinated by the cultural melting pot i chilled or rather went to sleep as everybody else did..



eva picked me up and i must say that from the minute a i walked out of the airport i was totally stunned by the wonderfully green landscape of uganda. i must admit that i had always figured that african countries have to be dry and savannah-ish; not greener than home!

the cab took us to wandegeya, the area where eva stays permanently at the akamwesi hostel.

besides the proximity to makarere university the area is known for being middle to low standard working class environment. which on the one hand means no luxury, but on the other ugandian every day life. i loved it!

2008/03/17 hotel intercontinental

i certainly had to check on my brother's workplace [as he invited us all to a fancy dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants..], too.

thanks to jumeirah beach park i was totally sunburnt..

..but i almost instantly cooled down when i saw the posh interior.

hotel bar:

escalator down to meeting rooms:

vip lounge [with VIP.to.me]


the buffet was so amazing that i forgot to take pictures and when i had to leave the next day, i still felt as i had eaten masses.

at the airport's duty free shop masses emerged as well.

the whole holiday was an awesome trip as the city is really interesting due to its crazyness.. but above that it was awesome to see my brother [and my sister in law] again!

2008/03/14-15 new dubai

on the third and fourth day we dedicated ourselves to visiting freaky new dubai and enjoying hearty meals and fancy clubs.

dubai - the largest construction site in the world, where 45% of all cranes worldwide are in use.

burj dubai - the highest building in the world although not even finished yet.. as it is impossible to catch it on one picture, we decided to take photos of ourselves.. pretty, too.

in dubai wealth and poverty are not too far apart.. that's why poor indian workers got to shower at public beaches in front of the most expensive hotel burj al arab..

..when we people from the west would shower at home and dress up real nice for dinner to enjoy the very same view.

2008/03/13 desert tour

thanks to the most perfect map from kate i made my way to al areesh club, where i could chill until i was picked up for the desert tour.

lucky as i am i got to know 4 amazing dubaian women who taught me a lot about their culture and their beliefs. what's more i hadn't been to the desert before, and that's why the whole day was an incredible experience! well, let the pictures speak for themselves..

2008/03/12 old dubai

barely being back home i continued my travelling by visiting my dear brother in dubai - the city where almost anythings seems to be possible.

as peter still was in russia on a business trip and my sister in law sigrid had to work as well i went to the city by myself to explore the famous gold and spice souks [which i did not enjoy due to the extremely touristy atmosphere, by the way. except the public restrooms, which are held in local design..].

i decided to linger along the beautifully turquoise creek..

..before exploring the tunnel to the other side.

although you get to the other side really quickly, the local 'abra' seems to be more charming to me..

at the end of my tour i took a ride on a cable car to watch the oldtown from above.

in the evening we watched the sunset from the appartment,..

..before sigi took me to dubai festival city where we had dinner in a marvelous atmosphere.