All my previous knowledge of Dubai stemmed from those sky-crane pictures of the building boom that circulated the internet a couple years ago. Of course, I had heard of the man made islands and Ski Dubai but after spending a couple days here, the sheer amount of things to do on budget (or off) are staggering. So, [...]
There was a joke a few years back that the national bird of the Unites Arab Emirates is the sky crane. It was estimated that 16% of the world’s sky cranes were in Dubai alone. Today, the almighty sky crane still shoots into the Dubai horizon but it’s numbers have far dwindled and sadly, some [...]
The Burj Khalifa currently holds the title of the tallest building in the world. It stands a staggering 2,717 feet with 160 floors. The elevator ride to the 124th floor viewing area itself takes about 60 seconds and your ears will pop. Some current records (courtesy of wikipedia): Tallest skyscraper to top of spire: 828 m [...]
In the city that glitters, not all is gold, especially when one finds themselves in shopping district of Al Karama. Al Karama is absolutely one of the best places in Dubai to find high quality genuine fakes. You name it and it’s here: Prada, Marc Jacobs, Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Chloe, Rolex,Chanel, etc. Did you know [...]
And so another installment of Riley, Party of 1 hits the blog. Since needing a new Turkish visa, I decided to pop over to Dubai in order to renew my visa and celebrate 2011 arab style. With only 3 days here to celebrate, I still managed to tread the tourist terrain. Here are some solo Riley shots for [...]
Since embarking on my mission of an RTW trip, I have taken heap loads of pictures and since of the greatest pleasures on the road is taking pictures, I have plenty of me. Most Solo traveler pictures consist of a high angle shot to ensure your head is in the magestic background you are trying [...]
Among the many fabulous sites of Cappadocia are the Fairy Chimneys. These strange, nature-made rock formations dot the Cappadocian valley for miles. They were formed by lava flows that covered the land while a little earth, wind, and fire (not the musical group popular in the 70′s), did the rest. The largest cluster of these [...]
Please do not adjust your computer screen, objects appear larger than they actually are…ok, you got me, those suckers are huge and they are everywhere sprouting out of the earth like phallic mushrooms. Welcome to Love Valley in Kapadokya ( we non-Turkish write it: Capadocia) Standing erect between the Goreme open air museum and the [...]
This magic carpet ride of a city will seduce you with it’s spice laden cuisine and mesmerize you with it’s whirling dervishes. I must admit my ignorance about coming here but quickly got my groove. Here are the top 10 things you should do/see/eat/feel in Istanbul, Turkey. 1. Blue Mosque- most famous landmark in Istanbul, [...]
Just when you think road signs can’t get anymore mystifying, you go to Amsterdam and they jump out at you. 1. What the heck does this sign mean? I see that dogs are not allowed. but what about the sign above it? You can or can not drink in the park? Or you can drink [...]
