This is a great shot of the metro construction along Sheikh Zayed Road. In the background is an area called Business Bay. The handfull of towers which look mostly alike (Executive Towers) were for sale with no money down but for just over a million dirhams for a one bedroom in early 2007. Today, looking back, that price was a steal! That same apartment is now going for over 2.2 million Dirhams. 
For a guy who said he would never buy an SUV, Barry certainly signed up for the Explore Dubai event quickly. For AED250 Barry and Todd signed up for a day of 4x4ing which included breakfast at Hatta Fort Hotel, lunch in the desert, dinner and show at Jumana. Not going to get a better deal than that! Fire twirling and belly dancing too. Above are a few pictures of our truck in action and the last one is not our SUV but an example of desert driving gone bad.
Dubai is for sale! This is a picture I took from the car while driving down Sheikh Zayed Road (SZR). Typical views - the metro being built, ads for property, construction cranes and cones.
Our one-year apartment lease was up for renewal and was subject to the new rent cap laws put in place by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed. Contrary to what we thought, our landlord did not sell his property or move into it which meant we got to renew for one more year. This is very good news because a one-bedroom similar to ours is now going for AED110,000/year!
This is a picture taken along Sheikh Zayed Road which shows the machine being used to build the metro tracks. In the background is the tallest building in the world - the Burj Dubai. 
Ras Al Jinz was stunning and is known for turtle watching. Barry and I found a cave to prepare a BBQ lunch and afterwards went for a walk down the beach. There was a camping area further up from the water where we stopped into the restroom before heading back to the road. The floor, which was titled, was totally caved in. Regardless I tip-toed into a stall and back out to wash my hands without being engulfed by the floor. There was a girl, early-mid twenties, and her mother in the restroom both dressed in Abayas and had only their faces showing. The mother only spoke Arabic but the girl was translating for me. She said that I was very beautiful but no Omani man would want me because I was showing too much of my body. I thought I was being discreet because my long shorts only showed my leg below the knee and my arms were totally covered. In regards to my being beautiful, in this part of the world pale skin is beautiful so I didn't let this remark go to my head. I explained that I thought her daughter was more beautiful than me - she was. The ladies were very friendly and invited me to their camp. I regretfully declined and got back into the truck with my Fiancé who thought I was way too covered up for this heat.
