Holidays
One thing I can't complain of in Dubai is the holidays. That is one BIG o advantage of being out here. When I think about the States and our little days off, literally less than 10 (New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanskgiving, and Xmas day) it is a meager 6 days off, it makes me appreciate these days off I am getting here. It's not just 3-day weekends, it can be 4-5 and more. Loooove it! I have to admit the 1st half of the year can drag a bit because of the LACK of days off, but then wah-la, the 2nd half comes along and the days off keep coming. 1st we had Ramadan which technically isn't days off, but we're working 30 hours instead of 50 for the same pay, and umm... that might as well be days off. :-) After Ramadan we had the 1st Eid, which was 4-days off (I used that to go to Serbia). Then 2 months after the 1st Eid comes the 2nd Eid, where we get ANOTHER 4-days off. That was just a few weeks ago and I used it as a stay-cation, which was awesome - caught up on admin stuff, SLEEP, and rested the wearing body. NOW, this weekend (again, just a few weeks after this last Eid) we have Islamic New Year where we get a nice 3-day weekend. THEN in just another couple of weeks there is "National Day," which is yet another 1-2 days off. How awesome is that? I'm again using this Islamic New Year as a stay-cation, well-needed one because in 2 weeks, exactly 2 weeks, I am on a flight home to CHICAGO and have a lot of random things to take care of before then because I'll be gone for like 5 weeks. Woooo hoooooo! 5 weeks? Yes, you read correctly. Because of all these random days off and some comp days I've accrued, although I am physically gone for 37 days, yes, 37 days, it actually ends up being 22 working days. Yesssssssssssss! Life is good.
Health
Well, life can also be NOT good. So just a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to one of the docs here and more out of curiosity, was asking if I should/can do a MRI of my back. I thought it would be interesting to just see what it looked like 1-year post-herniation AND something to show my dad (radiologist). He asked me, "why? Is something wrong?" And I said that NO, it was this time last year that it went away and I have been 110% since then. He kinda laughed it off. Well, I think I jinxed myself. I had just done a very strong 12 mile run that morning and then right after did my routine of stretching by going to bikram HOT yoga. I was doing a pose which is actually my least favorite and I thought to try this extra move that I have tried before but usually don't do because I don't have the correct form, and then BAM! TOTALLY got this major spasm and sharp pain in my back. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I almost died. I had a flashback of the trauma I went through last year. I breathed through it and thought it was somewhat "lucky," if you can even say that, that this happened in a hot environment where my muscles are totally relaxed. It sounds Nazi, but this studio doesn't allow you to leave, so I took it easy the rest of the class and ONLY did poses that I knew would be good for me and help. It definitely didn't feel as debilitating as last year, but was still upsetting because I was doing so well AND that next weekend had back-to-back races I have been training for for months. "Fortunately," the next day I had work and consulted one of our spine docs who put me on the pain med of Arcoxia and I laid low and did some PT exercises and stretches and again, reverted myself back to a being a patient. ALL of the docs, myself included, say swimming is good for backs, so the next day, I was feeling more or less the same, central low back pain, and went for my Masters Swim Club, he he, and of course the 1st flip turn and push off the wall my back kinda spasm'd a bit. Uh oh. I then had to focus on core tightening for the rest of the flip-turns and after swimming it did more or less feel better. Not to bore with details, but slowly yet surely as the week went by, the back pain resolved, and although I am a horrible patient because the doctor I saw and this other spine doctor (and my parents, shhhhhh) were like "NO RUNNING!" I tried to convince them otherwise with a lot of "but, but" and they all did the ... "NO RUNNING!" So what did I do? That next weekend as I felt 99.9% better, I ran the 1/2 marathon as I had planned (did one of my better times! YEA!) also did right after that bikram yoga (but didn't do that one pose), AND the next day did this 10K run/1.6k swim - ALL felt fine and I now feel back to "normal." Smart decision? Anyone's guess, probably not. I'm self-diagnosing it as a muscle spasm, BUT the one smart thing I am doing is getting a MRI early next week "just to see" (and because it's easily covered by insurance here) AND am going to go to PT myself. The spine is NOT something to mess with and it is a GOOD wake up call to NOT take your health for granted. I know it doesn't sound like I am being responsible for my health, but I'm going to continue my activities till I leave, then will officially take a rest the 5 weeks I am home. I swear! :-) So lesson has been learned!
On another not-related note, I don't know if I will get another update in before i leave, probably not, so it might not be till 2013 when I re-visit my "Life as an Expat" blog, so HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone just in case!!! See you then!!!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Celebrations!!
On October 17th, I celebrated my 1-year anniversary living in Dubai (actually, didn't actually DO anything in particular for it except write a blog and tell people!).
Today, October 30th, is my 1-year anniversary at Dubai Bone and Joint Center! I again and "celebrating" with writing a blog.
However, both these things can be something later I will celebrate with, like if I want to buy something fun or treat myself to something fun. Life in Dubai is all about "rewarding" yourself because we all tend to work long hours and there is NEVER a lack of people saying that "you deserve it, you work hard enough!" :-)
THEN, other celebrations are I had 2 successful presentations! One was sponsored by my company, so it was ALL of our staff and then medical staff from the neighboring clinics and hospitals. It's a loooong loooong story, but I not only somehow got "stuck" doing this presentation (I was the only PT presenting, the rest were all docs), but also "stuck" with a topic ... umm... to be nice, I am not passionate about - the hand and wrist. Sooo.. mentally it was a struggle just to prepare it because i'm not interested in it, but alas, I did it and I think it went well. I HATE public speaking AND tend to mumble, so my goals were: to not mumble and to stick to the alloted 15 minutes. So I did both and that was enough for me! Here's a pic of me at the Conference:
The other presentation was at an actual PT Conference, so this was more "serious" presenting in front of my colleagues and I got to chose my topic, so I did it on something I am interested in, the shoulder (Scapular Dyskinesia, to be exact). I TRIED to get it started earlier, procrastinated a bit, but when the time came, was ready. Fortunately, I was the 2nd speaker, so I got it done with early, and also the guy in front of me gave a total un-structured, un-organized, and distorted presentation. So when I came up next, having all those things, everyone seemed very pleased with my presentation. Yea!!! It was SUCH a relief having BOTH those things out of the way and BOTH of them having gone well.
A 4th-celebration was that I am just coming back from a 4-day looooooong weekend for the 2nd Eid. I may complain about some things in the Arab world but one of this is NOT the lack of long holidays. I REALLY debated about going somewhere, BUT held back because both my trip home next month is going to be expensivo, and also just wanted to chillax at home. So I did just that and looooved it! Caught up on some American shows, am reading a great book (Steve Jobs autobiography), spent some time at the beach, did some athletic things, but not too much, so my body feels more rested (I think I was overdo'ing it before), and broke my healthy eating for some "fun" foods. All and all, the next month is going to be nutty, so I'm super glad I got to REST this past weekend!
And now my final celebration is the countdown! In almost exactly a month I will be going.... H-O-M-E!! To say I'm excited, is an understatement. Because I will only be in Chicago a week, I'm already booking up with people to see and things to do (my mom has been request to make her famous borscht soup AND I am requesting to do something cultural, like a symphony, opera, or theatre, because I haven't done any of that stuff ALL YEAR). Soooo.... heads up to you Chicago people, I'll be around November 30th to December 7th... then off to my other travels!
I'll try to do at least one more blog update before I leave... it might be about my first athletic races in Dubai! I'm doing a 1/2 marathon, 10k run/1/6k swim, and 10 mile run... all within this month of November! Once I finish those, more reasons to celebrate!!! :-)
Today, October 30th, is my 1-year anniversary at Dubai Bone and Joint Center! I again and "celebrating" with writing a blog.
However, both these things can be something later I will celebrate with, like if I want to buy something fun or treat myself to something fun. Life in Dubai is all about "rewarding" yourself because we all tend to work long hours and there is NEVER a lack of people saying that "you deserve it, you work hard enough!" :-)
THEN, other celebrations are I had 2 successful presentations! One was sponsored by my company, so it was ALL of our staff and then medical staff from the neighboring clinics and hospitals. It's a loooong loooong story, but I not only somehow got "stuck" doing this presentation (I was the only PT presenting, the rest were all docs), but also "stuck" with a topic ... umm... to be nice, I am not passionate about - the hand and wrist. Sooo.. mentally it was a struggle just to prepare it because i'm not interested in it, but alas, I did it and I think it went well. I HATE public speaking AND tend to mumble, so my goals were: to not mumble and to stick to the alloted 15 minutes. So I did both and that was enough for me! Here's a pic of me at the Conference:
The other presentation was at an actual PT Conference, so this was more "serious" presenting in front of my colleagues and I got to chose my topic, so I did it on something I am interested in, the shoulder (Scapular Dyskinesia, to be exact). I TRIED to get it started earlier, procrastinated a bit, but when the time came, was ready. Fortunately, I was the 2nd speaker, so I got it done with early, and also the guy in front of me gave a total un-structured, un-organized, and distorted presentation. So when I came up next, having all those things, everyone seemed very pleased with my presentation. Yea!!! It was SUCH a relief having BOTH those things out of the way and BOTH of them having gone well.
A 4th-celebration was that I am just coming back from a 4-day looooooong weekend for the 2nd Eid. I may complain about some things in the Arab world but one of this is NOT the lack of long holidays. I REALLY debated about going somewhere, BUT held back because both my trip home next month is going to be expensivo, and also just wanted to chillax at home. So I did just that and looooved it! Caught up on some American shows, am reading a great book (Steve Jobs autobiography), spent some time at the beach, did some athletic things, but not too much, so my body feels more rested (I think I was overdo'ing it before), and broke my healthy eating for some "fun" foods. All and all, the next month is going to be nutty, so I'm super glad I got to REST this past weekend!
And now my final celebration is the countdown! In almost exactly a month I will be going.... H-O-M-E!! To say I'm excited, is an understatement. Because I will only be in Chicago a week, I'm already booking up with people to see and things to do (my mom has been request to make her famous borscht soup AND I am requesting to do something cultural, like a symphony, opera, or theatre, because I haven't done any of that stuff ALL YEAR). Soooo.... heads up to you Chicago people, I'll be around November 30th to December 7th... then off to my other travels!
I'll try to do at least one more blog update before I leave... it might be about my first athletic races in Dubai! I'm doing a 1/2 marathon, 10k run/1/6k swim, and 10 mile run... all within this month of November! Once I finish those, more reasons to celebrate!!! :-)
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
1-year down, ??? to go. 1-year Anniversary in Dubai!
It's official! This exact day. October 17th, 2011, was when I left USA for Dubai. I remember that day and those previous days quite clearly. 2 days prior I had a big hooplah going away party - catered Mexican food, mariachi band, 30-40+ friends and family. I remember at that time feeling excited and "ready." The next day was just packing up and getting the last of my things sorted. Then the day that I was leaving (I had a night flight), I remember waking up and feeling knots in my stomach and thinking, "holy s***.... I'm MOVING. TODAY. To DUBAI!" Those "excited" feelings quickly turned into... anxiety, nervousness... a bit of panic. Deep breaths.... deep breaths. Luckily I still had some last minute packing and re-organizing to do and the hours went by quickly. Then... my mom came a bit earlier than planned and.... it HIT me. BAD. Her coming was the sign for me leaving. For.... who knows how long? I ha then proceeded to have a total breakdown. A lot was to do with doing a last walk-through of my house and literally having a flashback of a LIFETIME of memories. I had been in that house for 20+ years, so memories from my youth flooded into my head followed by tears, my grandparents (who are now deceased) staying with us, numerous friends and family living there, Thanksgiving dinners, BBQ's - both me hosting and just low key family events, etc etc. What REALLY hit me, and I don't know why it didn't hit me earlier (denial?) that.... who knows where life would take me and I may never be in that house again. That's what really started the flood work of tears. And these weren't "sniff sniff" tears, it was "SOB SOB SOB...." like I could hardly talk. My mom and I went to our local Thai restaurant... I tried to compose myself but the minute I started thinking about memories of the house and maybe NOT ever going back there, they started up again, and.... it was just a mess. My mom was patient and just kept talking about random things and saying everything will be okay, etc etc. Before I knew it, my uncle came to pick me up, I had my last last walk through of the house, and.... adios!
Fast forward ONE YEAR, and here I am today. I have a new home, new friends, new environment, pretty much everything new. Are things okay? Yes! (mom's are always right). The time FLEW by and I really can't believe it.
Soo... as I am going to Bhutan next spring, I'm going to use their "Index of Happiness" to evaluate my last year (and yes, they actually have a formal and official rating system to evaluate the happiness of the people . How cool is that!:
1st 3 months: 25%
Some of that percentage is obvious stuff, having every single aspect of my life turned upside down, coming here alone and not having a support system (I REALLY missed fam and friends!), sleeping on an uncomfortable couch in a small'ish one bedroom apt at our family friends couples apt, being a bit isolated (they live in a quiet and bit far away neighborhood), not having a car and relying on taxi's, etc etc. Others were more external - me being stupid and deciding to single-handily move and pack a HOUSE -> which lead to 2 major low back herniations -> PAIN! Also, it took forever to get my resident visa, which here you can't really do anything without that visa. Work was a bit difficult physically because of the back and also mentally because of a difficult manager. It was basically a LOT harder than I thought to adjust think because of the so few "comfort" things I had at that time to get me through it. As I was not familiar with Middle Eastern mentality, I waaay to easily was getting frustrated and angry about the inefficiency, tardiness, over-promising, and vagueness of everything. For example, there is an "easy" way to do something, which seemed too obvious to me, and then the "Dubai" way, which was complicated and lacks common sense. But that's the way they do things here and I couldn't understand that (now I can). I guess my American upbringing is to blame for that :-).
6 months: 45%
During this time frame, I cured my own back (heheh!), I got my visa (yea!), got my own apartment (yeaaaa!) and got a car (woo hooo!). Although all those things were stressful, it was a great learning experience and introduction to life here. I was and still am proud that I did all that by myself. I've been too spoiled in the States with relying and/or being dependent on other people. So that was an accomplishment. I had been meeting people, but no close friends just yet. My eating and exercising were waaay off, work still had its' challenges with a difficult person, and at this point was still ready to pack up and go home the minimum 2+ years I promised myself I would be out here.
1 year: 75%
The last 6 months have definitely taken a turn for the better. I can finally say after a year I feel relatively happy, comfortable, and relaxed being here. I've gotten used to the intricacies (frustrating ones at that) of life here, and now embrace them without getting my blood pressure up. A bit part of that positive transition was re-vamping my eating (enough said about that in my blogs!) and lifestyle. Again, having tidbits of your "old" life in your "new" life can do wonders, and for me incorporating exercise my routine did just that. Although I don't have nearly the amount of friends I had back at home, it's not about quantity but quality and the handful of friends I have are pretty cool people. I REALLY love the area where I live, and have made an attitude adjustment to difficult people at work and now work has been enjoyable and pleasant. It helps I really love what I do! I do have to same time REALLY flies by, and I'm glad I am incorporating my passion for traveling also - my summer and fall trips were fab-u-lous!
Sooo... there you have it. Happy Anniversary to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. 1-year down, ??? to go. And this is now really open-ended of when I'll be returning home to the States.
Random side note -. I'll be home in Chicago the 1st week in Chicago, I'm super excited to go home and have some "normalcy." Here in Dubai, yes, it's called Las Vegas of the Middle East, and it will be nice to have some normalcy back in my life!
Fast forward ONE YEAR, and here I am today. I have a new home, new friends, new environment, pretty much everything new. Are things okay? Yes! (mom's are always right). The time FLEW by and I really can't believe it.
Soo... as I am going to Bhutan next spring, I'm going to use their "Index of Happiness" to evaluate my last year (and yes, they actually have a formal and official rating system to evaluate the happiness of the people . How cool is that!:
1st 3 months: 25%
Some of that percentage is obvious stuff, having every single aspect of my life turned upside down, coming here alone and not having a support system (I REALLY missed fam and friends!), sleeping on an uncomfortable couch in a small'ish one bedroom apt at our family friends couples apt, being a bit isolated (they live in a quiet and bit far away neighborhood), not having a car and relying on taxi's, etc etc. Others were more external - me being stupid and deciding to single-handily move and pack a HOUSE -> which lead to 2 major low back herniations -> PAIN! Also, it took forever to get my resident visa, which here you can't really do anything without that visa. Work was a bit difficult physically because of the back and also mentally because of a difficult manager. It was basically a LOT harder than I thought to adjust think because of the so few "comfort" things I had at that time to get me through it. As I was not familiar with Middle Eastern mentality, I waaay to easily was getting frustrated and angry about the inefficiency, tardiness, over-promising, and vagueness of everything. For example, there is an "easy" way to do something, which seemed too obvious to me, and then the "Dubai" way, which was complicated and lacks common sense. But that's the way they do things here and I couldn't understand that (now I can). I guess my American upbringing is to blame for that :-).
6 months: 45%
During this time frame, I cured my own back (heheh!), I got my visa (yea!), got my own apartment (yeaaaa!) and got a car (woo hooo!). Although all those things were stressful, it was a great learning experience and introduction to life here. I was and still am proud that I did all that by myself. I've been too spoiled in the States with relying and/or being dependent on other people. So that was an accomplishment. I had been meeting people, but no close friends just yet. My eating and exercising were waaay off, work still had its' challenges with a difficult person, and at this point was still ready to pack up and go home the minimum 2+ years I promised myself I would be out here.
1 year: 75%
The last 6 months have definitely taken a turn for the better. I can finally say after a year I feel relatively happy, comfortable, and relaxed being here. I've gotten used to the intricacies (frustrating ones at that) of life here, and now embrace them without getting my blood pressure up. A bit part of that positive transition was re-vamping my eating (enough said about that in my blogs!) and lifestyle. Again, having tidbits of your "old" life in your "new" life can do wonders, and for me incorporating exercise my routine did just that. Although I don't have nearly the amount of friends I had back at home, it's not about quantity but quality and the handful of friends I have are pretty cool people. I REALLY love the area where I live, and have made an attitude adjustment to difficult people at work and now work has been enjoyable and pleasant. It helps I really love what I do! I do have to same time REALLY flies by, and I'm glad I am incorporating my passion for traveling also - my summer and fall trips were fab-u-lous!
Sooo... there you have it. Happy Anniversary to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. 1-year down, ??? to go. And this is now really open-ended of when I'll be returning home to the States.
Random side note -. I'll be home in Chicago the 1st week in Chicago, I'm super excited to go home and have some "normalcy." Here in Dubai, yes, it's called Las Vegas of the Middle East, and it will be nice to have some normalcy back in my life!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Magical Jordan
Where have I been lately?
Yes, MIA! I will blame me being MIA on my recent trip to Jordan, but will try not to be too vocal that it was for less than a week, he he.
So I finally embarked on exploring the neighboring regions, one of my goals of being here. Jordan is a hop and a skip away, about 2.5 hours from Dubai. I originally was going to go a bit later ... maybe in October, but a friend was going in mid-Sept, I invited myself along (hehe) with her friend, and then she brought another friend. As you can imagine, when you have 4 different types of people with different interests and thoughts, we were a bit all over the place with our planning, but finally my friend and I made executive decisions and stuck to it. Although it was a nice change to travel with a group, I also appreciated all the independent travel I have done - just love that freedom and flexibility to do what you want, when you want. We all had a great time and got our individual and group interests in.
But anyhoo, on to the trip. We basically had 4 full days, and we I can now say we really did see Jordan in a nutshell. The 1st day was in/around Amman - Aljoun Castle (12th Century), Jerash (one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in all of the Middle East), Mt. Nebo (where Moses was given a view of the "promise" land, and also according to the bible, Moses was buried there by God Himself), Madaba (best known for it's mosaics, especially the one in the St. George Byzantina church, part of it contains the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and Jerusalem... dates back to 6th century AD!) -> all "real" and historic cities with tons of religious and historical relevance (versus Dubai!).
Here are a few snaps:
You can hardly see it, but at the top middle you see a bridge... well, that is what we climbed up!
Mini bridge, 1/0910983234th of the other bridge that took us 3 hours to climb!
Amazing desert sunset
Yes, MIA! I will blame me being MIA on my recent trip to Jordan, but will try not to be too vocal that it was for less than a week, he he.
So I finally embarked on exploring the neighboring regions, one of my goals of being here. Jordan is a hop and a skip away, about 2.5 hours from Dubai. I originally was going to go a bit later ... maybe in October, but a friend was going in mid-Sept, I invited myself along (hehe) with her friend, and then she brought another friend. As you can imagine, when you have 4 different types of people with different interests and thoughts, we were a bit all over the place with our planning, but finally my friend and I made executive decisions and stuck to it. Although it was a nice change to travel with a group, I also appreciated all the independent travel I have done - just love that freedom and flexibility to do what you want, when you want. We all had a great time and got our individual and group interests in.
But anyhoo, on to the trip. We basically had 4 full days, and we I can now say we really did see Jordan in a nutshell. The 1st day was in/around Amman - Aljoun Castle (12th Century), Jerash (one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in all of the Middle East), Mt. Nebo (where Moses was given a view of the "promise" land, and also according to the bible, Moses was buried there by God Himself), Madaba (best known for it's mosaics, especially the one in the St. George Byzantina church, part of it contains the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and Jerusalem... dates back to 6th century AD!) -> all "real" and historic cities with tons of religious and historical relevance (versus Dubai!).
Here are a few snaps:
Lyn-Si, Richard, Janci and I at Aljoun Castle
Aljoun Castle
Jerash
Jerash
Jerash
Mt. Nebo
St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba
The famous 6th century AD mosaic "holy land" map
Madaba
After that, with an early start and 3 hour car drive later, we came to Petra at 11am.... juuuuust in time for the mid-day heat. Buuuuut, as we were coming from Dubai where you have heat AND humidity, here it was just hot, so it was a walk in the park for us. Petra, as you know, is one of the "new" 7 Wonders of the World, a truly amazing site.... it was an ancient city built out of sandstone and where the famous Indiana Jones and the Last Crusader had been filmed. It has a super interesting history, it was the capital of the Nabateaen Kingdom around the 6th Century BC, and then later was taken over by the Roman Empire in AD 105 and then the city was expanded and became an important center for trade and commerce. Unfortunately, a catastrophic earthquake not only destroyed the city but also destroyed the water system in AD 600 something. The City was then abandoned and hidden from the world until some explorers, who were disguised as Arabs in the early 1800's revealed this magical city. However, the real excavations didn't happen until the early 1900's and with that and the Steven King India Jones movie, it has become a main attraction of Jordan. Rightfully so! You do really feel like a character out of a movie, walking in between there narrow sandstone rock passageways with really cool rock formations and colors, and then it's like "wah la" you come across the "Treasury" which is simply glorifying!
The famous Treasury
Then comes the other amazing sites:
The Monastery! A good 1 hour climb up 900 or so steps
Next stop.... Wadi Rum! A big o vast desert valley that has beautiful cliffs and is relatively unspoiled except for it is the home to Bedouins, or desert dwelling Arabs. They still live fairly basic lives, often in little "caves" in the mountain and are semi-nomadic. We went through a company called Jordan Tracks and did a jeep tour around some sites around the valley, and then did what is called, "rock scrambling," almost like rock climbing without the gear for 3 hours. Yes 3 hours, to get to this famous Umm Fruth bridge (you'll see this bridge in many advertisements of Jordan, it really is spectacular) and the climb was pretty intense! Maybe it is the yoga I have been doing, but I was a lot more balanced and coordinated than I thought! :-) Here are some pics from the day/night:
This is centuries old and basically symbols that is encarved on the rock to tell travelers where and how to find water.
No lie when I say he was making the tea from scratch!
Our bedouin guide
I wasn't that crazy to jump like that! It's our bedouin guide :- )
You can hardly see it, but at the top middle you see a bridge... well, that is what we climbed up!
At the top!
Mini bridge, 1/0910983234th of the other bridge that took us 3 hours to climb!
Us rock scrambling
Another view of Umm Fruth Rock bridge
Amazing desert sunset
The Bedouins dancing for us
Okay everyone, here is my first time "camping." This is where we slept
Our "camp site"
Alas came our final day... this was to visit Kerak Castle, one of the largest crusader castles in Jordan... much different and much bigger than the Aljoun Castle we saw earlier:
And finally, what we all have been waiting for.... the DEAD SEA!!!! The world's most saltiest water.... the earth's most lowest elevation on land, it is -400 something meters below sea level. It really is amazing driving down... and down... and down. NOTHING lives in the water because it is soo salty. It is known to have many therapeutic benefits for skin and health, and I can attest! After doing a couple of 10-15 minute intervals , with also mudding myself, my skin felt soooo soft and nice! It is really magical! You cannot swim in the water because you are just too buoyant, yes, I tried and failed. It was definitely a highlight of a the trip and a nice way to cap off the journey - maxin' and relaxin' and enjoying the last bit of sunshine, fresh air, clear skies, and just floating away...
The land on the other side of the Dead Sea is Israel!
Unfortunately, and it is hard to see here, but the water levels in the Dead Sea is shrinking... every year it goes down a few inches and this could lead to some trouble.
How cool is that? The water levels were at -400+ meters.
Ahh.... this is the life :-)
Nice view from the Marriott Hotel
That's that! I returned home with smooth detoxed skin and hair, refreshed from all the activity and fresh air, and now.... back to work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)