Dubai

Muli Bwanji all,
My flight left Toronto and arrived in Dubai with no problems at all.  Emirates is a really nice airline to fly overseas with!  I got a solid 5 hours of sleep during  the 12 hour flight and arrived in Dubai at 6 pm.  The Emiraties sp?) working customs were very funny as they clearly don't give a shit as they gossiped among each other and occasionally served a customer.  Rami was waiting for me outside customs and it was great to be picked up.  He had the evening all planned.  First he took me to this fake souk (a mall built to look like a souk but which was actually indoors and air conditioned - not necessarily a bad thing when it's 42 out.).  We had a great Lebanes dinner outdoors on a patio overlooking a fake lake with the sail shaped Burj al Arab in the background.  That was to be our next stop.  Rami had made reservations for the sky view bar, on the 27th floor overlooking the Gulf.  It was a gorgeous hotel (7 stars apparently) and a very cool bar.  After 2 $30 dollar cocktails and after beating back the Russian call girls with a stick, we headed to Rami's house in the burbs of Dubai.  It is a very nice place, though the plumbing doesn't work and there's no water in the pool.  Good thing Rami is the kind of guy who just lets that stuff slide...  ;).
It was a great night and I was dropped off at teh airport hotel around midnight.  the next morning I was on my way to Lusaka!