We met our hosts, "G" and "K", a couple who knew "L's" uncle Mamayya while they were in Oman. "G", "K", and their teenager "P" are extremely nice and hospitable people...we feel very blessed, especially since we've only known each other just through email within the past month.
Currently, the weather here is quite pleasant. It's breezy and cool, around 60's and 70's Fahrenheit. It's also quite overcast and hazy....the haze may be because of the wind blowing up sand. So it's a bit hard to see some of the city landscape, particularly the Burj Khalifa, the just-completed tallest building/structure in the world. "G" and "K" commented that it's rarely this hazy and overcast....usually it's cloudlessly clear. Just our luck.
After settling in, we took a long afternoon nap, then took a night drive around town. Lots of cranes and half-completed buildings to see. Some uncompleted buildings are suspended in uncertainty, due to the economic downturn that's hit Dubai hard of late. Still, there is much to marvel architecturally. We stopped by the famous Burj al-Arab hotel, one of the tallest, most expensive, and most opulent hotels in the world. We were more than content to play for free under its shadow in the sand (which, by the way, was the finest sand I've ever felt).
