Gubbi of Arabia: Expat Life in Dubai

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Home from AMS! Although she is looking a little worse for the wear ever since getting rolled around in the mud in northern Nigeria late last year, the Pink Princess only gets 8 days off before we embark upon the next leg of our “Big Fat Ethnic Wedding” World Tour: the weekend after next, Alex’s Chinese-Indian (but Kenyan, by passport) friend from university is marrying his Tanzanian-Dutch girlfriend in Mombasa, Kenya, and far be it from us to miss nuptials that are a only a 5-hour flight away. Living in Dubai, and given the geographic spread of most of our friends, that’s about the relative convenience-equivalent of an hour-long drive… you can’t not show up when you’re that close, although to be fair, we didn’t exactly need convincing.  (And yes, as an aside for those who are keeping track, this couple’s kids will be quadri-racial… you can’t make this stuff up. Yellow-brown-black-white HOLLA!) So enjoy the rest, PP - but don’t get too comfortable. You’ll be called into service again soon. 

Home from AMS!

Although she is looking a little worse for the wear ever since getting rolled around in the mud in northern Nigeria late last year, the Pink Princess only gets 8 days off before we embark upon the next leg of our “Big Fat Ethnic Wedding” World Tour: the weekend after next, Alex’s Chinese-Indian (but Kenyan, by passport) friend from university is marrying his Tanzanian-Dutch girlfriend in Mombasa, Kenya, and far be it from us to miss nuptials that are a only a 5-hour flight away. Living in Dubai, and given the geographic spread of most of our friends, that’s about the relative convenience-equivalent of an hour-long drive… you can’t not show up when you’re that close, although to be fair, we didn’t exactly need convincing. 

(And yes, as an aside for those who are keeping track, this couple’s kids will be quadri-racial… you can’t make this stuff up. Yellow-brown-black-white HOLLA!)

So enjoy the rest, PP - but don’t get too comfortable. You’ll be called into service again soon. 

GPOYTW*: “How I Roll in Africa” Edition. In keeping with this week’s “ZOMG Nigeria in 6 5 4 Days!” theme, I thought I would clear up any questions about how I roll (teehee, get it? roll… ing suitcase?!) in Africa. Lest any of you suspect that I would be a luggage sell-out for this kind of trip and go with a less, uh… inappropriately garish and stereotypically feminine suitcase, rest assured that the Pink Princess will remain my packing vessel of choice. After all, it went with me to Iraq this summer, it spent a year being ridiculed by colleagues on my weekly commute to Saudi Arabia, and in the above picture, it braved a terrifying Zan Air prop plane flight from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar on our trip to Tanzania for New Year’s… and to be fair, it didn’t even benefit from the calming influence of the 4 5 6 Kilimanjaro Lagers I chugged before I was willing to concede to that kind of air travel. So over the next week or two, as I’m boarding all manner of bootleg Air Nigeria, Arik Air, and Fly Aero flights to get me across Africa’s most populous country and back again… well, at least the Pink Princess will be with me. Because even in Africa, that’s how I roll. (December 2009 in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania) *Gratuitous Picture of Your Travels Wednesday

GPOYTW*: “How I Roll in Africa” Edition.

In keeping with this week’s “ZOMG Nigeria in 6 5 4 Days!” theme, I thought I would clear up any questions about how I roll (teehee, get it? roll… ing suitcase?!) in Africa. Lest any of you suspect that I would be a luggage sell-out for this kind of trip and go with a less, uh… inappropriately garish and stereotypically feminine suitcase, rest assured that the Pink Princess will remain my packing vessel of choice.

After all, it went with me to Iraq this summer, it spent a year being ridiculed by colleagues on my weekly commute to Saudi Arabia, and in the above picture, it braved a terrifying Zan Air prop plane flight from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar on our trip to Tanzania for New Year’s… and to be fair, it didn’t even benefit from the calming influence of the 4 5 6 Kilimanjaro Lagers I chugged before I was willing to concede to that kind of air travel.

So over the next week or two, as I’m boarding all manner of bootleg Air Nigeria, Arik Air, and Fly Aero flights to get me across Africa’s most populous country and back again… well, at least the Pink Princess will be with me. Because even in Africa, that’s how I roll.

(December 2009 in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)

*Gratuitous Picture of Your Travels Wednesday