LUGR Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 At the airport early getting in a few last smokes. Still waiting, no more smokes. Seeing what was going on outside. Not my plane. Transit in Holland. Bored. Kickin back in the smoking lounge. Transit in Kuwait City, staff would not let us get off the plane. Lot's of military on the plane. Left Kuwait City after an hour or so waiting in the plane and headed to Bahrain. Arrived in Bahrain and had about 30 minutes until curfew started. Headed over the border to KSA and saw this. Starving, so stopped for my first meal. Only eat this stuff overseas. Since we were not with any women we had to go to the single men's section. The restaurant was divided by a wall up to the counter. Got to the spot and slept. Woke up and ate this for brunch. After brunch, drove around to check out what was around. Got ready to fly out to Dubai, UAE. Checked on my currency. On the road back to Bahrain. On the road, Bedouin tent on the side of the road. At the border. Military presence close to what used to be Pearl Square in Bahrain. More of that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Driving in Bahrain. Someone built themselves a castle. Kids and women waiting on the side of the road. Lots of images of the King and other Royalty posted up. At the airport lounge....lulz. Doremon lulz. Flying out of Bahrain. View of Manama, Bahrain from the sky. View of Manama, Bahrain from the sky. Heading to Dubai. That way to Mecca. Flying over UAE. Flying over UAE. Lots of sand. Construction project in the desert. Where there is water there is greenery. Coming into Dubai. ... ... Lots of sand....everywhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inappropriate_Responder Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 great thread, besafe out there. enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Moar! Landed at Dubai International, massive airport and still under construction. Elevator at the airport. Coming down. Grabbed a Ladies Taxi. At first, thought it was only for women but turned out it has only women as drivers. The driver was a Pinay and she mentioned that she mainly only gets hassled for being a women driver by African men. Driving in Dubai. Buildings in Dubai. ... ... Current tallest building in the world in the background, The Burj Khalifa. Buildings everywhere. Metro station is the golden smaller building, never took one. Parked out front the hotel. ... View from the balcony. Went to the beach. Water was like a warm bath and very salty. Lots of construction still going on. Ate some Hamour and lentils. Checked out the local currency. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!@#$% Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 yes! you have some really nice photos in there and some interesting narration, thanks! would love to see more.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist 666 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsysue Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Really fascinating. Is it cheap there or expensive? How hot is it? What sort of entertainment do they have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Went to the Atlantis Hotel. http://www.atlantisthepalm.com/default.aspx Looking out at the pool at The Atlantis Hotel. Tons of fountains in the lobby. Dale Chihuly installment in the lobby. Checked out the aquarium they have off of the lobby. Tons of fishes and water in there. Walking through the lobby, wide variety of people from all over the world. After spending the morning at the beach and the Atlantis decided to go to the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world at the moment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa In the lobby. Also, in the lobby....gold ATM. ... ... On the observation deck on the 164th floor. 163 habitable floors plus 46 maintenance levels in the spire and 2 parking levels in the basement total. ... More of the view around Dubai. ... ... ... Mall parking lot. The rest of the way up from the platform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Are most of the images not showing up for people? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.crooked Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I see them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hahaha760 Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 good stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decyferon Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 looks like a wicked trip!! pics are showing up fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anything goes Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 AMAZING! thanks for taking the time to make this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wafflecakee Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnitzel Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 good stuff LUGR trust you got some gold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Really fascinating. Is it cheap there or expensive? How hot is it? What sort of entertainment do they have? It is pretty expensive, but as with anywhere it depends on your budget and what you are doing. Middle East was definitely really hot in the day but comfortable at night, in the 100's. Depending on the country and the rules determines the entertainment. Some you can drink in and party, others not so much. They all seemed to have slightly different rules. But it seemed most people would just stay out late drinking coffee, eating and driving luxury cars around. After the Burj Khalifa decided to cool down by heading to one of the malls to go snowboarding. http://www.skidxb.com/ Restaurants like TGI Fridays surronding the slope. They had regular chair lifts and a T-bar. They rent you all the gear including pants and jacket for 2 hours at a time. Just 2 routes on the slope so after 2 hours it gets a bit boring. But still fun and a great way to beat the heat. After snowboarding checked out these guys putting clay on to a car? Not sure what this was all about but I was definitely surprised. Then headed back to the beach to swim and lounge. Dubai was really fun. Great beaches and tons of development. Next day I packed up and headed out. If you have not flown Emirates before, I highly recommend it. Flying out of Dubai. Heading here. Not sure what this is, but looked interesting. Lots of random large buildings surronded by sand. Legit desert islands in the Arabian Gulf. Nothing on there but I bet the beach and water is nice. Ate this...was very good. Flew over Baghdad. Baghdad from the sky. ... Rivers in Iraq. Getting into Turkey, finally some green in the landscape! Listened to this. Emirates has a great in-flight entertainment program. Listened to the "Essential Album" collection the entire flight and was very impressed with the variety of their selection. Coming into Istanbul, flying over the Bosphorus. It forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosphorus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Buildings looking a bit different in Istanbul. Got in and settled, decided to get my lurk on. Seen a picture of DAO's Turkish father Nilgun posted on the wall. He is a wheatpaster. Turkish trashcans. Turkish public toilet. Lurk until I'm lost. Rested on these steps with a bunch of stray cats behind me. Kept walking. Saw a 3 on 1 street fight in traffic. 1 dude was gettin rocked by the 3 and lost his shoes until he finally managed to jump in a cab and flee. Woke up the next morning and headed out to check out the city during the day. Within 10 minutes I meet an older local who took me to the Asian side of Istanbul for chai and to check it out. Was a bit skeptical at first but the dude ended up being real cool. Arrived on the Asian side. Most people live on this side and commute to the city by ferry or over the 2 suspension bridges. Turks like to fish and so do I. Got to the chai spot. European side in the background and right on the edge of the water....lean the wrong way and you are going for a swim. After chai, headed back on a larger ferry. View from the boat. Part of the skyline of the European side. A few of the many Mosques also on skyline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Walked around. ... Checked out this Mosque by the Grand Bazaar. Went to the Grand Bazaar. You can try lots of the goods before you buy. Snack time. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Cheeze. Back outside. Hoped on a boat for a river cruise. Not my boat. ... Old palace or something on the river. Best hotel in Istanbul. I think it is the 4Seasons in a former palace. Armed guards included. This is just the river gate, not the main building. Dope boat flying US flag, old dude I met said many of the boats are bought in the US and brought here and fly the US flag. Didn't seem to make sense to me? Reppin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortFuse Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Awesome. A friend of mine works for an airline and were planning a trip to Paris come October. Hopefully all Ill have to pay is taxes for the flight. I cant wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!@#$% Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 oooooooooooooooo wow. first off, singapore airlines spoiled the fuck out of me. looks like emirates is comparable. i love nice airlines. second, i thought i wanted to go to istanbul before.. lovely. great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsysue Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Really neat to see. Thanks for posting all this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 oooooooooooooooo wow. first off, singapore airlines spoiled the fuck out of me. looks like emirates is comparable. i love nice airlines. second, i thought i wanted to go to istanbul before.. lovely. great stuff. Singapore had always been my favorite airline until I flew Emirates. Istanbul was awesome, if you can...GO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnitzel Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 did you go elsewhere in turkey? that country is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bojangles Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Awesome photos! I've been trying to figure out for years how some of you do these badass trips. Rich parents? Military? Waaaay better job than mine? All of the above? P.S. I'm not hatin'. I'm appreciatin'. Stuck_in_the_Midwest_infinitely_oner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist 666 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 this is great, i'm jealous. the bit of travelling i did via the military in that part of the world was super restricted/limited/controlled. those palace buildings in istanbul are incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!@#$% Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 lil off topic, sorry LUGR.. just to respond.. bojangles, i am so frugal it's really not even a little funny to people i barely drive (for years i had no car) and i ride a bike to work so i don't pay to park. i don't really eat out, i shop smart and cook at home.. don't drink, go to bars or movies, or pay for entertainment, i went to tons of live shows and raves when i was younger so i don't care anymore and i don't buy stuff. i occasionally now make clothes, but we pirate our media and have nice cameras and shit like that so i don't ever buy new things. i am a ridiculous energy nazi. i don't have AC and i won't turn the heat on for more than 3 months a year. if no one is in a room, the electricity in there must be off. i live in a kind of crappy hood in the inner city so my mortgage is cheap. biggest expense last year aside from the house/food was a tattoo. and weed. i am also crazy about finding travel deals, which is why i'll wanna go somewhere for years but don't, or just suddenly hear of a cool place and next thing i know, i'm going i've also been lucky to know a lot of foreigners who have let me crash at their homes, though that is far less frequent now that i'm older and have more money my man and i did so much traveling last year that this year it's been more muted and now i've been a ton of places so now it's just exotic shit and faraway places: japan, great wall, trans-siberian, buenos aires, patagonia, macchu piccu (sp), istanbul/turkey, back to the middle east, safari, etc. gotta save a little more for that i'll also do REALLY short trips, just to do it (3 days in london, another time did prague/dresden in 3 days, went to nassau for 2, etc etc.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john brown Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Lugr, you should have checked out Yemen. ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 I actually flew through your city on the way back but didn't get to leave the airport:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicineCabinet Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 damn it, lugr envy is the word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUGR Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Finally some time to get back to this thread... Still on that boat, about to go under 1 of the 2 suspension bridges on the Danube. I believe I was told that they are some of the most used bridges in the world by commuters. Super baller area of the Euro side of Istanbul. Supposedly this is were the celebrities and footbol stars live and hang out. Massive old fort on the river. Wish I could have gotten off the boat to explore... Smaller fort directly across the river on the Asian side.. Older palace/mansion on the Euro side... Another palace pon the river. Those Turks sure love to fish... ... This is a house from some of the most expensive houses in Istanbul along the Asian water front. People were saying they start at $100 million. This is the Kuleli Military High School in Istanbul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuleli_Military_High_School A Mosque on the Asian side. Another palace pon the river. Supposedly whoever commissioned this one hired live musicians to play music for the workers and it was built in record time. Palace gates. Done boating for the day. Decided to get my lurk on again once it was dark. Missed the chai party. Outside a Mosque, by the spice market I was at earlier. ... Nice ceilings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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