Happy New Year from Dubai!!!

Below is an email I wrote to friends and family after the New Year.... just wanted to add it in here and also wish everyone a Happy 2014! .....

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Dear Family and Friends,

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Dubai!!

Dubai, not surprisingly, brought in the New Year with a big bang, and it was amazing to be here for it!. We set the Guinness Book of World Record for the World's Largest Fireworks Display with over 400,000 fireworks used in 6 minutes!! It started with a spectacular display of fireworks off the the world's tallest building, the Burj Kalifa, followed by fireworks from one of the world's most luxurious hotels, the Burj Al Arab, THEN fireworks from our 2 man-made islands, the World and The Palm! Crazy! I was fortunate to celebrate with friends on the 55th floor at one of the tallest residential buildings in Dubai, which I have to mention is a 5 minute walk from me (yay!), and had a spot-on view of all of the Burj Kalifa and of this enormous display! It was truly awesome and a great way to start the new year!!! (BTW, I confess I cheated with a professional picture above!)

2013 marked a full 2nd here, and it was yet another action packed year with, no surprise, travel adventures being a big highlight :-)  Started with what was probably one of the biggest and most beautiful weddings I have ever been to, in New Delhi, India. This next led me to Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon, a magical small Himalayan country that prides themselves on honoring the happiness of their people with a Gross Happiness Index over Gross Domestic Product. How great is that??? Then came a nice R&R vacation to the Maldives, which can be described in just one world - Paradise. Finally, I fulfilled a dream to successfully climb and summit Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania! After the intense climb, did an amazing safari adventure through Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater and the big National Parks to see wildlife. I finally concluded with the beautiful island off of Tanzania - Zanzibar. A trip of a lifetime!!

Although 2014 is just starting, I have some exciting plans already in the works - from athletic endeavors to more exciting travels to career growth opportunities, so it will be a busy year ahead! 

I wish all of you a healthy and happy New Year and best wishes in 2014! As always, please be in touch! I always love to hear from you and get life updates as well :-)  It doesn't look so favorable that I will be coming back to the USA this year :-(, so please come and visit!

All the best in 2014!