In the last few weeks I had the chance of a lifetime to visit Dubai, U.A.E. and also was summoned to bring my mother back to the states. You see, my mom who suffers from Alzheimer's was desperately wanting to come to her home in New Mexico. She had been with my sister who lives in Kuwait for the last year or so and they were vacationing in Dubai. Her condition was detioriating. I have included some pics and thought you all might enjoy the views.
We flew into Paris and then eventually 23 hours later we landed in Dubai city. I have to write about Dubai-it is absolutely fantastic to say the least. The architecture is incredibly amazing and the beautiful buildings go on forever. The very tall sky scrappers fill the horizon making it the "mother of all modern cities" in this universe.
Dubai, the city for the rich and famous is dripping with trend setters and the heartbeat of economic 
rumblings is every which way you look. The backdrop settings is the aqua colored water in the Persian/Arab gulf- the jewel of the city.
George, my husband and my brother in law, Bader came back from the Gulf looking like sun scorched lobsters after spending four hours in the bath temperature water. The beaches are beautiful and conservative and public displays of affection is forbidden. Even holding hands is looked upon as a sin and is hardly seen. The city is dry (no alcohol is allowed/sold)- so if you want to kick up your heals, the best bet is to catch a show, attend the theatres, dine out, take a boat ride in Dubai Creek or shop til you drop! While taking a boat ride, we were able to see the old Dubai of years past as the wooden boats and Bedouins lined the creek and old buildings. We visited the tourist attractions like the "Palm Jumeirah" and "The World" man made islands" and we drove past the tallest building in the world, Burj Dubai and Burj Al Arab, the tallest hotel in the world on a man made island. We also went into Ski Dubai an inside ski destination- part of the Mall of the Emirates --- unbelievable!! To think you can ski in the middle of the desert where it is 30 degrees inside and outside it is burning like hell, is unimaginable. 
When we walked to the beach - 10 minutes away I felt like I had been baked inside and out. August is certainly not the time to visit Dubai, they say Feb. and March are the best times. 
Now, this is a city that understands economic development---if only Queen Anne's County had such a glimpse. Anyway, my sister and her husband have a flat in Jumeirah ( a high rise) on the 18th floor next to the Palms. It features the promenade below offering four outdoor pools and a short walk to the private beach and designer stores line the walkway.
The many multi-cultured restaurants fill the downtown streets and most of the people you see are foreigners or tourists, like we were. During the days, the heat can climb up to 120 degrees, which is why Dubai looks like a ghost town during the day and by 6 pm the city comes to life!
The only people you see during the day are the low paid workers 
who work in that dreadful heat for pennies a day. Every mile or so you would see some fifty male workers lining up waiting for non air conditioned buses to take them to the trailers where they live in the desert. 
One of the kewl things to see in Dubai are the glorious designs of the building. Under construction right smack in the city is the the mono rail that winds up and above and around the existing free ways and roads in the city.
One thing we learned for sure is you need to have plenty of cash or have the luxury of being a guest in Dubai. It was evident that we were among the very rich when coffee at Starbucks was $11 a cup, eight bananas were $6.00 and a twenty minute ride on a camel for two people was $100.00
A nite of lodging at a basic hotel in Dubai runs around $320.00 per person. Thank the Lord, my sister and brother in law insisted on paying for everything. In fact, we became spoiled as the maid took care of our cleaning, laundry and cooking. 
I certainly checked out the real estate and as you guessed it, "We couldn't touch it" but, there is plenty of work for Realtors. However, there is talk that the build out maybe coming to an end in a couple of years. I thought of staying there and selling real estate, but that quickly passed when I realized I can only speak a dozen or so words in Arabic. 
Although, most everyone there is fluent in English, except the workers. Dubai is so much more Americanized than Kuwait...and Kuwait has most of the franchises you would find here in the US, but Dubai takes the lead of the American influence.
Well, we brought my mother back on the plane- and that was quite an experience. If any of you, have ever cared for Alzheimer patients....... you know the kind of patience one must muster up.
Our plane ride to Paris was uneventful, but all hell broke loose when we boarded Air France to fly back to Dulles airport. Unfortunately, my mother became frightened and had a couple of bizarre episodes and started yelling, Help, Help and a few other rantings! She attracted a captive audience (some 500 passengers) in the middle of the Atlantic ocean and I was praying to God for a divine intervention. But it didn't happen right away, my mom royally embarrassed us by causing a scene to the point of having the airline security come and visit us.
I immediately informed them what her problem was and they tried ever so kindly to calm her down. (She was insisting on wanting to get off the plane and commenting how the people on board looked strange to her.) I was praying for her medicine to kick in and it did after about 15 minutes of appealing to her. We wanted to crawl up into a ball and disappear out of sheer humiliation. We were never so happy when the light switch went off in my mom's brain and she became docile again and returned to her seat. I think for the first time my husband hated me, and I couldn't have blamed him. Thank goodness, we did not know any of the passengers nor do we ever have to see those people again.
In hindsight, it was a frightening experience for my mom and can't imagine how scared or insecure she was feeling. When parts of the brain stop working, it must be unbearable to comprehend your surroundings and stay calm. Thank God we remained calm and everyone seemed to understand and tolerate her outbreaks.
I finally ended up taking my mom back to her home in Las Cruces, New Mexico a few weeks ago. For those that have parents with Alzheimer's my heart goes out to you - it is a daily chore.
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