Arrival Dubai

Today I arrived in Dubai, my new home. If you wish, you can draw painful comparisons and laugh about, that in about 8 weeks I will have lived in Dubai longer than I have lived in the house I purchased last year. Life is unpredictable, and I never thought I would be living in Dubai in 2010, but Ramsey and I are really excited for the chance.

I flew out of Houston on Friday night, on packed flight. There was not a single empty seat which I thought was odd because I booked my flight only three days prior on Tuesday without any trouble. I flew on Emirates air for the first time, their terminal in Houston is rather plain, lacking the glitz and glam of Continentals terminal C. What Emirates lack in Houston, they make up for in Dubai. The airport here is brand new, and tastefully done. It’s as modern as airports get, with signs in Arabic and English, I am not worried when Ramsey travels here alone in January, she should be fine.

When I arrived last night the temperature was about 70 degrees and it was raining slightly as we walked towards our waiting car. In Dubai, license plates for cars were issued first to influential families starting with the royal family, who were issued number 1. I was curious to see how low a license plate number I could see, and thereby see someone of influence. The minivan taking us to the airport was parked next to plate number 3, a white Mercedes S 500… effectively ending any eye-spy license plate game.

I am staying at a holiday inn express near the shipyard, it’s a nice hotel about 7 stories, and is very clean. The rooms are nicely appointed but small. Imagine living in one of the “example rooms” at Ikea, where they place a queen bed, couch, tv, bathroom, office space, and a closet in about 150 square feet. Its comfortable.

Dubai is a city built smack in the middle of the desert, and ironically enough it has rained all day today, a steady hard rain. I suspect in a few months I will dedicate 1000 words comparing the Dubai heat to the hellish Houston heat.

More updates coming.