Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

On a third business trip to United Arab Emirates I decided to explore the country beyond its high-rise dotted coastline. A day trip took me deep into the vast Arabian Desert to a city called Al Ain, bordering the neighboring country of Oman. Al Ain and the adjacent Omani town of Al Buraimi, both have over a dozen impressive castles, but these two (the one in this photo and the one in the other, also submitted) are truly dreamy. They evoke memories of my earliest childhood when I was building flimsy sand structures on the coldest sandy beaches of the Baltic coast. Here, by contrast, the weather was sizzling. The young British couple sharing the van with me wouldn't even come out but preferred to stay in the comfort of the air-conditioned vehicle. They did find out what they missed, though, when I shared with them the photos I took.