Cambodia Part I (Jan 19 - Feb 3?)

The typical streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia

So, after three flights, (Dubai - Bangkok - Siem Reap), I made it to Siem Reap Cambodia, my first time in Asia! Just from the Bangkok airport I sensed that something was different; the people are more accommodating and nicer than in America or the middle east. I detected this almost immediately.
When I first got off the plane in Siem Reap I saw the lush vegetation all around and I shed a tear, thinking about how over 2 years ago I was introduced to this non-profit dam project in Cambodia and here I am... I feel so fortunate to be able to come and see it for myself.
Siem Reap is a charming quaint city. I was taken from the airport to the city center by a "tuk tuk", a metal framed carriage attached to a motor bike. It was a 20 minute drive that cost $2, and was a great intro to this charming place. (They accept American dollars here, but have their own currency, "Riel". 4,000 Riel = $1 US dollar.)
The main roads are paved, but a few blocks away all the roads are dirt and the air is perpetually dusty. I learned how dusty when I tried to go for a run one morning and was inhaling the dust!... its no wonder you see many locals with masks on their faces.
The city is developed enough for me to easily adjust, but there is a simplicity to the place that reminds you that you are hundereds of miles away from home, not to mention the constant warmth.
It was incredible watching the inauguration from a bar in Siem Reap, which was packed with Americans and travellers and locals, all packed in to see history unfold. I was a great experience.
We had some interviews in Phenom Penh which is the capital of the country. Phenom Penh has a completely different feel to it than Siem Reap. The quaintness is gone, and theres a general sense of coldness in this area. There are plenty of nice restaurants and hotels, but the people are harsher and there are many more pushy beggars... the Kings palace is here which is beautiful and full of Hindu / Buddhist temples. Its really hard to tell which temples are Hindu or Buddhist... Today we went to the killing fields from the Khmer Rouge regime only 20 years ago. Apparently from 1976 to 1980 the communist Khmer Rouge regime, head by Pol Pot, in an attempt to cleanse this country and create an agrarian society of farmers and laborers, he ordered the detention and execution of over 1.5 million intellectuals, politicians, monks, women and children. His regime killed over 20% of Cambodia's population and much of the cities were destroyed. It was a holocaust that took place during our lifetimes that no one seems to know about. The results of the genocide can be found in the hearts of the people here, many of whom lived through it. This is perhaps why Cambodia is a hot spot for non-profit organization intervention. I was already introduced to over 10 NGO's in the past few days. And there is still so much to do!

UAE - Jan 9th to Jan 18

Me at the lobby of the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Hello! I made it to Dubai and I'm actually in the capitol of Cambodia right now, Phenom Penh... I have not really had a chance to update since I left on Jan 9th; its already been quite an adventure. Ill attempt to recap what I thought of United Arab Emirates...

First of all, upon arrival to the Dubai international airport, it was really interesting to see the men dressed in the traditional white robe and head scarf... (native Emirate women wear something similar in all black)...it was the first time seeing it up close, and considering what an issue it is in the states when women wear a head scarf, in UAE women do not have a strong case, since men too have that as part of their traditional dress. The big difference obviously is that in UAE, the dress is a status symbol more than anything else. Despite the way it looks, i think its widely understood that it is not a symbol of faith or religiousness in any way... its interesting..

So anyways, my brother picked me up from the airport, (he and my Dad were there a week before me, so they were staying at our cousins apartment in Sharjah, an emirate just outside Dubai)... and within minutes it was clear that the roads there were a complicated mess of detours and highway exits with no signs... it took him 15 minutes to get to the airport, and an hour to get back... the traffic is insane at times, rivaling even the most irritating traffic issues of New York City... but I guess considering that Dubai is probably 60%-70% under construction, they manage the detours rather well... anywhere you look you will see cranes in the background...

So it was great to be with my family in this rather bizarre country. As it turns out, the night I arrived we were invited to a cousins house in Abu Dhabi, which is the more wealthy and more conservative emirate, 2 hours south west of Dubai... it was a beautiful place, and it was great to have a home cooked meal and see my cousin Ranya and her beautiful family...

The next day was my brothers last day in Dubai so we went on a dessert safari and rode in 4 wheel drive Toyota's through the dunes... we got stuck sideways at one point!, but it was great... we also sand-boarded... then we had a delicious meal on the dessert... As a complete surprise later that night, we found out our cousin Husam and his family was in town... he lives in Saudi Arabia and was coming to Dubai for a 2 week vacation... crazy how things work out sometimes without plans...and in a few days his parents, also close cousins, would be joining us!

I almost saw as much of my family as I did when I went to Jordan two summers ago!

Here is a bunch of us in front of at Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest building in the world, over 2,200 feet!

The next day was my Dad's birthday so we stayed in a nice hotel in Dubai along Jumeriah beach... that was the first time I realized how westernized Dubai was. Everyone spoke English and they had Starbucks, Pizza Hut, even Le Pain Quotidian... it was America with an accent and alot more dust... Im still torn whether I like all the American influence there or not... well needless to say, it was not hard to adjust to Dubai... we had dinner with yet another cousin, Samer, who lives in Dubai with his wife... we had a ball. I got some beach time there, the beautiful crystal blue ocean was a awesome and the waves were huge!

We went to the Palm Jumeriah island that has the Atlantis hotel at the far end that so many people talk about... and its very surreal. Its hard to imagine when you are driving on the 6 lane highway that everything below you was ocean only a few short years ago... walking through the hotel was like reading out of a fictional tale of wonder...every ceiling, column and entrance way was detailed with vibrant colors to carry on the ocean theme, with the aquarium as a main feature. The most basic room is $1,000 per night... nothing I would EVER consider spending since I think walking through was more than enough of an experience. Oh and every hotel in UAE has to have a prayer room, so we checked out the prayer room at Atlantis and I thought, this is how I can stay here overnight for free! I can stay in the hotel mosque! (Seriously, I would do that if I was there alone... if they found me sleeping there over night I could say I fell asleep during prayer...!)

As a side note, it was great not worrying about pork, having everything halal, not having alcohol as a centerpoint of all things social, and having mosques so close by everywhere I went... it makes being muslim easier, and I think we all go through points where that would help... and of course, hearing the athan in the background all the time is great as well....

The next few days we went to Al Ain, a more "sub urban" town in Abu Dhabi where our cousin Ibtissam lives with her family. It was a beautiful, quiet town which has enough groundwater to sustain grass and trees with limited supplements... (in all the other areas I visited there was not grass, and the palm trees or flowers were watered by a narrow black hose which literally can be found at the base of EVERY tree, bush, or plant, basically anything green, its nuts! So although I love to see a road lined with palm trees, it comes at a high price)... so anyways, it was great to see our family in Al Ain.. we had great food and I yet again tried to brush up on my Arabic!

So it is a weird mix of cultures in Dubia... there are more Filipino's, Indians and Pakistanis than Emirate people... and all of them are "laborers", or at least the vast majority... I hate to see such a consistent class separation based on culture, but I suppose America was built up in a similar way; immigrant workers who are underpaid and under-appreciated build the foundation of the country... I just wish it didn't have to be like that. For the most part the Indians I encountered were rude, impatient and generally irritated, (not a great preview of my trip to India) but I dont blame them; that is not a good place to be if you are not American, European, or of course a native Emirate...Our cousin Ismail who has lived and worked in UAE for over 10 years is obviously Palestinian and told me that there is a lot of discrimination toward non-Emirate Arabs as well... the society is set up to cater to their own so expect no special treatment just because you are Arab. I will say that the Emirate people I encountered were very nice and helpful to us; one time we got our rental car stuck in the dessert and at least 5 natives in SUV's stopped to help bail us out but there is an underlying understanding that Emirate people stay with their own kind and a line is drawn... it was apparent to me almost immediately, and our cousins that live there confirm it....

At least UAE is one arab country that is turning heads in a positive way, and hopefully the class wars and disproportionality of development in the neighboring Emirates will even out...

It was a great visit and the perfect amount of time... Im so grateful for the opportunity to go.... but now onto Asia!