Healing in Kerala : Dubai stopover

First trip to Asia... India....excited and nervous all at the same time. To compensate I waited till the last moment to pack, with the crazy idea that this would help me get over my jitters. :) Before departing, I went had a treatment done by Gastroentrologist (stomach/colon dr for those who don't know). The day after taking the pre medicine for my treatment, my face exploded to double its size and it felt like sandpaper. I'm really mad at myself because I know most allopathic medicine gives me a bad reaction. Urgghh... The next day, the rest of my skin blossomed with itchy red pokadots, so hence the continuous head cover. But I realized that the Dr's in India would have a live thing to treat and maybe this would help them in my treatment plan. I flew Emirates airlines which made my trip so much better. They had 10 types of dishes for people with allergies!! The reduced stress helped to balance the itching and irritation of my skin. Fly Emirates.. I don't get a discount for saying this.

I had a stopover in Dubai for 7 hours and decided to take a tour. No visa required. I think they do this all to make people stop over and have a look. I joined a German couple that was backpacking, so we were on the same spending budget! We visited the 6th largest mall in the world (12 million sq ft) of shopping. Wow (bewilderment, not awe).. is all I have to say. And Dubai's 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab with rooms going for $11k to $45k a night. Yes that k is for "000." The cab driver joked that this hotel is only for mafia people. We also visited the beach which was an oxymoron to me in a place like UAE. There were westerners in bikini's and shorts and no arabs on the beach. Dubai is supposed to be the growing destination for tourists. Feels like the city grew soo fast without much character. Nothing compared to the coastal beaches of Sharm El Sheik. It was interesting, but a bit of a let down. I like places with character, little food shops etc. This felt like Las Vegas without the cohesive entertainment. I guess we have to give it a few more years to see how it progresses. But for the shopper, this is your heaven.