Dubai

Last week, I went to a musical in Dubai at the Madinat Jumeirah. I'm not sure what I expected, perhaps a lot of laughter, some singing, and dancing. Well...Blood Brothers was interesting and I'm glad that I saw it, but it was very sad. At the end, both I and my friend thought, "Oh." The actors (I'm not sure if that's the correct term) had incredibly beautiful voices. They were awesome. It's always nice to dress up a little and sit with somewhat cultured people, but perhaps something a little more uplifting next time.

The Madinat Jumeirah was a place that I had never been, but it was very pleasant to sit outside in cool but pleasant temperatures and eat a nice Italian dinner, drink a glass of Italian wine, and watch abras (well, touristy abras) putt by. The wind towers and the traditional setting was worth the visit. The whole complex is nicely done.






The next day, I was at the Dubai Mall, and I always regret not taking a proper camera. One weekend, they had a young man trying to break the Guinness Book of Records for keeping a football in the air (I don't know how that ended.). Another time they had foosball tables set up for some kind of tournament. Last weekend, they had a judo tournament in one area, and, in another area, they had the most opulent car display (Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW) I've ever seen - including a car I've dreamed about for years. I had mixed feelings. The cars were awesome. I would have loved to sit in one, or, better yet, take one for a spin. Yet...to spend so much money on what is essentially just a car seems unconscionable when the world is full of people who are suffering. By strange coincidence, after drooling over the cars for a bit, I went up to the 3rd floor and sat in Caribou Coffee, had a soy latte, and read a book called Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom by Joseph Goldstein. One of the first lines I came across was "If a practice does not cool the fires of greed, aversion, and ignorance, it is worthless." I could have cried. This is such a strange place.