Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world. It was here that a massacre occurred in 1989 when the Chinese army randomly shot and killed around 3,000 unarmed protesters at a peaceful democratic rally. NEVER TAKE YOUR FREEDOM FOR GRANTED!

Behind me is a picture of Mao Zedong, the first Chairman of the Communist Party of China. Although he died in 1976, he is still revered here and his brand of communist policies are collectively known as Maoism.

Chinese Flag
The best word I could use to describe the Chinese people is sullen. There is no joy in this place.

Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is supposed to be the largest "palace" in the world. It's nothing more than a big courtyard followed by the building you see behind us. Behind that building is another enormous courtyard followed by a building that looks EXACTLY like this one. There are no chandeliers, no dining halls, no kitchens, no libraries, no guest quarters, no enormous gardens, etc. What a huge let down. Give me Versailles any day!

Great Wall

Wouldn't you have an English speaker proof this gigantic sign before you printed it? It says, "Welcome to the mutianyu Great wall next time."

Boy were we ever fortunate. When we arrived at the Great Wall, there were only three guys present and they headed in the opposite direction. We had the place to ourselves for at least an hour.

Dinner at JW Marriott

After our China Air fiasco, we were starving for REAL food. I thought this presentation of bread at dinner was very unique. It was served with sides of roasted garlic, sun-dried tomato paste, baked eggplant, and butter.

Wow, what an AWESOME dinner. I had a petite steak which was cooked to perfection. Jonathon had a steak and prawn HARPOON! HA

China Air

Here's a good piece of advice - DON'T FLY CHINA AIR! Believe it or not, after flying 8 hours and 20 minutes to Beijing, this was our breakfast - 2 fish sandwich halves with the crusts removed wrapped in plastic.

Rainforest Cafe

For our Aussie friends who have never seen one, the Rainforest Cafe is a rainforest-themed restaurant. Animatronic robots (gorillas, elephants, tiger, snake, giraffe, monkey, etc) can be found lurking all over and simulated thunderstorms occur every 30 minutes. It is so much fun!

Animatronic Robot

Animatronic Robot

Eden in Dubai

We were walking through the Dubai Mall and found this men's clothing store - EDEN Park!

Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo

Dubai's Aquarium and Underwater Zoo has the world's largest acrylic panel at 32.88 meters wide and 8.3 meters tall. It houses 33,000 critters and has a 48-meter long tunnel that is 11 meters below the surface of the water.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Seafood for dinner!"

This is my friend Mary Rose, a Christian who works at the aquarium. What a sweetie! She spent so much time talking to me about octopi, my favourite creature to see when we go scuba diving. Thank you Mary Rose for sharing your wealth of knowledge!

Dubai Starbucks

I asked Jonathon to take a photo of the Starbucks sign in Arabic. What I didn't know is that the employee was going to go BALLISTIC. Sorry Babe for making you the target of his wrath.

Lucky for me, I am married to a very mellow and easy-going man.

Fatburger

I could not believe how many American restaurant chains are represented in Dubai - Taco Bell, Chilis, Rain Forest Cafe, Macaroni Grill, Tony Roma's, etc. Oh my, what we would give to have these options in Australia!

I was in heaven dining on my Boca (vegetarian) burger and onion rings. Does anybody have a really good recipe for onion rings?

When Jonathon can find Dr. Pepper in Australia, it costs $50 for 24 cans!

Burj Khalifa Tower

This is the Burj Khalifa Tower, the tallest building in the world at nearly 3,000 feet and 160 stories. It just opened on January 10. Office space rents for $4,000 (US) per SQUARE FOOT or $37,500 (US) per square meter. "The completion of this tower coincided with the worldwide economic slump and overbuilding causing it to be described as 'the latest in a string of monuments to architectural vacancy.' "

Part of the entertainment complex includes this lake which is the stage for water shows which begin at 6:00 PM. It's Dubai's version of The Bellagio.

I had to approach the edge of the observation deck BACKWARDS because I was getting so queasy looking at the skyline.

Dubai

Our first morning in Dubai. Funny, they don't have USA Today here...HA

I died laughing when Jonathon came out of the bathroom in his Arabian outfit. He said, "Do I blend?" Most of the men here where these long white pajama-looking dresses, with a white tablecloth on their heads which is secured in place with a black rope. Most of the women wear burqas and some even have an additional veil COMPLETELY COVERING their face. They look like Cousin It from "The Addam's Family."

Arbel

We missed seeing the views at Arbel by 1 hour and 5 minutes. Doh!!

Mount Arbel is the peak on the right and is 181 meters above sea level with panoramic views of almost all of the Sea of Galilee all the way to the Golan Heights. You can hike down the north face which is a whopping 400 meter drop. They have driven metal handholds into the rock because the climb is SO steep. We didn't do it this time because the Arbel was closed and we would have no way to reach our car at the top of the mountain anyway. This hike is definitely NOT for those afraid of heights (or of dying for that matter)! : )

Sea of Galilee

Jonathon and I at the Sea of Galilee

It's so sad to see how low the water level has dropped. This dock is now several meters above the water.

This sign says, "Swimmung Prohibited." I don't think swimming is allowed either!

Galilee Boat

T & J at the Boat of Galilee Museum

A model of what the boat actually looked like.

"From Fishers of Fish to Fishers of Men"

Maccas

I thought these photos were so funny. This is Maccas in Hebrew.

Here is the back of the Hebrew sign.

...and here is the McDrive sign. HA

Aromas with Alicia and Anton

We met Anton and Alicia for breakfast at the Israeli equivalent of a Starbucks. Jonathon and I learned to look for the red and white logo since we couldn't read Hebrew. Funny that we decided to call the place "He Brews" until Alicia told us that it is actually called "Aromas."

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This breakfast lasted FOUR HOURS. We had such a great time with them. They answered so many of our questions about politics, culture and history. What a sweet couple.

Funny Advertisements

Maybe "The Great French Chef David" should stick to writing in FRENCH. His grammar and spelling in English are atrocious!

"Elegant hairstyle for weddings".....Hmmm, I think I'll pass.

Alicia

When we arrived at the Orchid Hotel, it was time for lunch. How convenient....this is the restaurant that has my FAVOURITE tuna sandwich!

This is my friend Alicia. She is such a doll. I constantly peppered her with questions about the Jewish people, customs and culture. She was so kind to us and gave us much of her time. We made plans to meet her and her boyfriend tomorrow for brekky.


Alicia got Jonathon hooked on this lemonade. The green colour comes from mint which is pureed in the drink. I think the vitamin C boost helped him over his cold too.

Salwat

Salwat is another Christian I met in Nuweiba. He sold me my long sleeved red shirt on our first night here because I was SOOOOO cold.

Pier

Jonathon and I went to walk the pier. I had a devil of a time trying to convey to two Russian tourists not to feed the fish.

We saw four lion fish hanging out in shallow water. This is the first time we have ever been to the Red Sea and not gone scuba diving. It is just too cold this time of year to go 30 meters down into the sea. I am very content to enjoy God's creatures from up here this time. : )

Ahhhh, this is relaxing.