Dubai, United Arab Emirates 4 November - 8 November 2011

Dubai, there are a many different ways one can describe Dubai, from the food, the culture, the modernization and westernisation, the religion, the money…. However to me, the most amazing thing I saw was the intermixed cultures. Going to Dubai for the first time, I was very uncertain.

Uncertain on what to wear or how to behave. I knew it was a Muslim country and I have been to Muslim countries before, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t offending anyone; the last thing I want to do in any country I visit is to be ignorant of the people's culture.

It was safe to say I was shocked, in a fantastic way. Dubai was amazing. It was a microcosm of what the world should be and could be. Christians, Hindu’s, Muslims, Atheists, American, European, Arabic, African, Indian … all intermixing and blending in together into this one society in the UAE.

The first thing I did when I arrived in Dubai was go to the beach. I was shocked. Men and women in scandalous bathing suits soaking up the sun and enjoying the gorgeous green/blue sea and at the same time women in full dresses and burqas along the same beach. To top it off, 2 camels walked by.

I knew that Sex and the City 2 was completely racist, but something inside me still felt like I needed to be careful while in the UAE; just goes to show how easily one can be brainwashed from cinema. I can easily say that Sex and the City 2 did not depict life in the UAE at all. The only thing it showed was the lavish and rich life style, other than that it was completely false and I am still angered about how Sex and the City 2 could have so easily and blatantly depicted a country so ignorantly.

I saw the new Dubai, but my friends took me to the old Dubai as well so I could see the new versus the old and the transformation of Dubai. The old part of Dubai was so interesting. Old mosques, museums, and a shipping port. The state of these tiny wooden boats still amaze me. The fact that they are used for shipping from country to country along the Arabian Sea seemed ludicrous as they were so tiny and old.  In old Dubai, I did bring a scarf to cover my shoulders as there were a lot of mosques and I didn't want to be disrespectful, but ironically enough it was the Indian and Sri Lankan “pirates” from these boats that couldn’t stop staring as they haven’t seen a woman in months.

While in the old part of town, we had amazing food. From Kebabs, coconuts, falafel, curry. We ate anywhere and everywhere we could. The variety of food is endless; in the morning I had Israeli eggs and for dinner I went to an Ethiopian restaurant. I never imagined I would eat Ethiopian food, but it was delicious! My friends who live in Dubai were telling me that the reason why it is so fabulous to live in Dubai is that there are so many different cultures living in the city; because of that they get to eat and try so many different types of food that they wouldn't be able to otherwise. The great thing was that the food was amazing and cheap.

At the museums it showed the “old” houses and historic buildings of Dubai. The wonderful Sanded/Clay structures are what the people lived in before oil was discovered. What surprised me was that these historic buildings were only 30 to 50 years old. The quick transformation of Dubai is stunning.  Sand/clay houses to the tallest building in the world; The Burj Khalifa, all because they discovered oil. 

The most inspiring to me were the fountains outside the Dubai Mall. Firstly, the Dubai Mall was so big it could have been a city. It had an aquarium and amusement park inside. On the outside it had these amazing fountains. In Las Vegas, outside of the Bellagio, there are the Las Vegas fountains that perform to music. It is an amazing experience that somehow captivates people and can bring them to tears. Well, in Dubai everything is bigger and better...

The same guy who did the Las Vegas fountains did the ones in Dubai and they are about 3 times the size. We sat and watched the fountains for about 2 hours as it was so beautiful.

When it came time to leave Dubai, I was quite envious and jealous that my friends are living and working in Dubai. Not for the fact that their lives seemed to reflect those of the rich and famous, as they both are currently in the fashion industry which is new and booming in Dubai (okay maybe a little jealous of that!), but mostly because they were living in a city filled with culture. Dubai was absolutely amazing and 3 days there was just not enough. I cannot wait to go back.

Sri Lanka, 21 October - 4 November 2011

Sri Lanka is a small country off the south east coast of India, but just because it's small does not mean that it's not great. It is about the equivalent size of Ireland, but its climate’s diversity is amazing. From mountainous jungles, desert like shrubbery and stunning palm tree spotted beaches. 

Our 14 day Route: starting at Colombo making our way North East, then South and around back West to Colombo.

Even though Sri Lanka is truly spectacular I find it very hard to write about the country unbiased. I have a love-hate relationship about Sri Lanka due to the fact we were completely screwed over by our guide. In Sri Lanka, you can risk suicide on the buses, or take the EXTREMELY outdated and slow trains (they are fun, but they go about 1 mile an hour, no joke!). The only real option to do a backpackers trip is to hire a guide and car who spends the time with you and takes you around the Island country. We could have booked a really expensive tour, but we wanted to see Sri Lanka from a locals perspective not a luxury resort perspective.

Out side my car door on the way to our first stop, Habarana in the Cultural Triangle.

Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is now tainted for me as our guide really tried to take advantage of us, lied, and changed our itinerary from a day to day basis. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and Sri Lankans are very proud to show off their amazing country. However, it is an extremely poor country and some are happily willing to take money and screw over foreigners as most do assume that anyone foreign is wealthy. This unfortunately is the downfall of Sri Lanka. I wasn't going to mention the bad things about Sri Lanka, but I figured I needed to be honest for future travellers.

I will try my best to write about Sri Lanka as unbiased as possible as it is truly a fantastic beautiful country. Looking back at the time I spent there I really did see a lot and did have a great time, but it was a lot more stressful than it should have been. Future travellers, just make sure that you find a great guide and make sure price is agreed on before you give them any money. Things that you "agree" on seem to change on a day to day basis. I would even recommend paying extra money to go through a guide company; we did not and now have no one to complain to, get any money back, and there is no way to prevent our guide from lying, overcharging, and ruining another experience for future travellers to Sri Lanka. I can at least say I definitely had an adventure and an experience I will never forget. Sadly, for the first time visiting a country, I was ready to go home. So, without any more further complaint about the bad, I will do my best to share the good, as there is still a lot of good. Most importantly, I do not regret my trip as I have learned something new and am enlightened from my experiences in Sri Lanka.

Golden Temple, Dambulla, Cultural Triangle

Anuradhapura, Buddhist Temple, Cultural Triangle

Polunuwara, Cultural Triangle

I spent 2 full weeks in Sri Lanka, never staying more than 2 nights in a row in a single city.  We were on the move, determined to see as much of it as possible. We started off in the cultural triangle where we saw many Buddhist temples, sacred grounds, relics and 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites. To me, the most amazing World Heritage site was Sigirya, a large rock formed to look like a sleeping lion. It was a long 45 minute trek to the top, but it was worth it. Along the way we saw the painted women "frescoes", which are the most ancient paintings in Sri Lanka. Sigiriya also has been declared by UNESCO as the 8th Wonder of the World. It was used as a fort for Sri Lankan kings, then later on as a Buddhist monastery. It is incredible to think that monks had to climb to the top without modern day technology and stairs. The view from the top is incredible. Across the way you can see a towering white Buddha and the trees just seem to go on forever.   

The Sigiriya Frescoes

Sigiriya Lion Paws

The history and culture of Sri Lanka is very beautiful, but so is its natural beauty. On one of our first days we got to go on a Safari, we were warned that we may not see anything. Well, we were so fortunate to have seen The Gathering, the largest gathering of Asian Elephants in the world. We must have seen about 150 elephants, some were even mating in the water hole! It was a surreal site to see and an experience I will never forget. After, I had the opportunity to meet a "domesticated" elephant and even got to ride on top of him. It was incredible to have ridden an elephant then also see wild elephants on a safari all in the same day. 

We spent a lot of time in the Cultural Triangle learning about the culture and heritage of Sri Lanka, but then it was off to see the more tropical side of the country. On our way to the mountainous regions, we stopped at a herbal spice garden. The Herbal/Spice garden was very interesting. In Sri Lanka, they still very much believe in indigenous medicine. It was quite interesting to see how coffee, cinnamon, sandal wood and many other spices were grown and then used as natural medicines. That night we spent the evening in Kandy watching Sri Lankan cultural dance, but it was an early morning to make our journey to the Tea Plantation.   

The drive up to the Tea Plantation was stunning, you could see the climate change before your eyes. Small trees and shrubs slowly became larger and the temperature dropped. You were suddenly at the same level as the clouds in the sky. The tea plantation was just never ending green with waterfalls everywhere. The tea plantation we went to was called Mackwoods; the tea was absolutely fabulous. From there we went to the town of Nuwara-Eliya for a night and walked around the town for ages just wondering through all the local outdoor markets.

On the way up!

The train to Ella.

The next morning we took the train to Ella. We went about 35 miles and it took 5 hours. It was a packed train filled with locals all making their way up the mountain to Ella, the most beautiful place in Sri Lanka. The train was slow and uncomfortably crowded, but the views were breath taking. We were on the edges of mountains, going over old bridges and waterfalls, to make our way to the top. The train was diesel and was probably the original from when the British brought it over to Sri Lanka when it was a Great British colony. When we finally arrived to Ella, we were taken to our guest house. The rest of that day was spent just sitting outside the hotel taking in the view. Green, green, green, dramatic waterfalls, and a massive peak dropping straight down into a valley. We were at this point, higher than the clouds. The view honestly is indescribable. The photos do not give justice to the views we saw that day. After the hectic train, it was nice to be transported to a state of tranquillity. 

The view from our guest house, Ella.

We were fortunate enough to spend our last few days relaxing on the beach. It was much needed after day in and day out of waking up early and our go go go schedule. We stayed at a small guest house in Hikkaduwa called Mamma's. Even though our guide was horrible, Mamma was fabulous. Greeting us with hugs and kisses, cooking us food, and really just being so full of hospitality and kindness. I think the reason why we loved where we were staying so much was because of the hospitality of Mamma, her husband, and three sons. Mammas wasn't the nicest place to stay at, but I truly think it was the best! 

View from Mamma's, Hikkaduwa

  

I was very happy to see the true hospitality of Sri Lankans the last few days we were in the country. I honestly was blown away by the stories Mamma told me of the Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka a few years ago. She was one of the fortunate ones. Her family lived, and her guest house wasn't completely destroyed. She told me that on that day, she made a wish and prayed to Buddha. She truly believes that is the reason why she was so fortunate. That experience has shaped her into an amazing, strong woman. You could see her kindness and see how deeply spiritual she was. While we were there we had dinner alongside Buddhist monks as Mamma opened up her place to give them food and tea.

Hearing about the horrible Tsunami that affected all of Sri Lanka and seeing Sri Lanka after the Tsunami was a bit jaw dropping. Yet, the people all had smiles on their faces. With all the kindness and generosity I witnessed, I would never have guessed that these people had just gone through some of the most horrible hard ships any human had to ever to face. I think it was a blessing in disguise that we stayed with Mamma. She made me fall in love with Sri Lanka and its people's perseverance. Her story was incredible and with what she had gone through I couldn't believe how happy she seemed; it truly makes you appreciate your own life.

 Even though our guide left a bitter taste in my mouth, my trip was only bitter-sweet. I saw amazing rainforest's, jungles, wild animals on a safari, learned about the Buddhist culture, and relaxed on a beautiful beach. Most importantly, I met Mamma and heard her story which truly touched me.