Jason snow shoveling

Amsterdam

Myself and couple co-workers spent a night in Amsterdam on the way home from Dubai. Got into town early enough to take a little walk around downtown.
More bikes than you can shake a stick at, but 95% of them were not being ridden. Tons of people on the street but all walking. The sidewalks were choked off with bikes chained and padlocked to anything they could get a cable around. Guess they're parked till Spring?

There were a few bikes running around, though.
Outside a bike shop.
Bike taxi.
Bridge over a canal. One of the few spots that wasn't bike after bike locked up.
Tons of canals.
Women with her baby...neat little windshield.
Another utility bike. Many of them around.
3 hr. wait to get in...skipped it.
A lot of house boats docked in the canals. This was one of the nicer ones.
Back door.
Views of a couple canals.

They don't like anyone taking pics in the Red Light District. This was at the end of our excursion through the area.

Dubai Work Trip

The company I work for decided that Dubai would be a great location to host our International Sales Meeting this year. Pretty much everyone, from Countries all around the world, to a person agreed it's a neat place to visit, but it lacks character. Best description I can make it reminds me of a Hollywood set. Some called it plastic, contrived, phony. Totally built to entice tourists, it has less character than half a block in Amsterdam....which is the topic of my next posting.
The view from the hotel was pretty nice, we were right on the water. Rather hazy and it even rained. I guess that was rather unusual as it's a desert. You can see the huge crowds!!
Co-worker from Canada took a swim over lunch one day, just to say he did it.
Taken from our dinner cruise.

The City seems to pride it's self in large, high building. They have the world's tallest structure. I saw it as we moved around the city, but never went up in it. Cost was $30 and you only got to go 1/2 way up...but it's almost a half mile high, that's pretty impressive in any case.
taken from the net
1 minute walk from the hotel...early morning. I didn't have the desire to swim nor "put my toe" in the Persian Golf. Don't ask me why.
From a distance, PALM ISLAND.


Taken from the 23rd story waiting for the elevator.
We also went skiing.....in the desert.
Next two pics taken from the net. We're not the only people over spending.


Friend from work. Swedish national that lives in USA.




Then we went on a desert jeep ride to a fake Bedouin Camp....via 4-wheelers.


Guy from Brazil.
Chinese co-workers.
To be honest, the driver was cool, from India (the captain of the dinner cruise was from Nepal, no locals seem to actually hold jobs here....the benefit of oil ownership?) but the ride was pretty lame.
I teased him that I was glad we were praying to the same God to keep us safe....
Camel breeding farm, for the local races.


They like Falconry here. Coincidentally, I'm reading a book titled NORTH TO THE NIGHT. In it the author spends a winter ice bound in northern Greenland. Gyrfalcons come to nest in the spring. In the book, written in 1998 from his 1995 adventure, there contains a few pages about a $250,000 standing offer from a Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia for 1 of the birds or and egg.
The guy in the book rather wimps out and seems to have allowed 2 of the rare Gyrfalcons to leave the Arctic. They are the largest bird in the the falcon family.
Aussie far left, Sweden center in the background.
This guy handed me his bird (above) and he took my iphone and snapped a shot....then he asked for $10 dirhams (appr. $3). Free enterprise.
Camel rides!! Whoopee!
Stephan from Germany.
Chinese co-worker in front, French contingency on the rear camel.
Ski lift for......
Sand boarding.
Dick, from Sweden giving it a shot.