Site Seeing in Italy

For far too many hours of nearly a year, this was my view of Italy. The corner of my desk at Telespazio (check out the quickBird satellite phots on the link )
i.e. Centro Spazio del Fucino Piero Fanti, in Italy’s Fucino Valley.

The Fucino valley is near Avezzano in Abruuzzo, in mountainous central Italy. The valley, once a lake, has no natural outlet, The lake was first drained by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago. . The site is major telecommunications portal and home to more than 100 satellite dishes, some more than 30 meters in diameter. The site is also home to the remains of the ship Marconi used to send his first wireless message. Click on the picture to see the view outside the office.

My three sons are seen in the picture in the center. It was taken far too long ago on the Shore of Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The aspirin bottle on the desk is nearly empty; that says a lot in it’s self. I miss my bright ceramic coffee mugs. I bought four different ones in a shop in Avezanno. I left them behind when I moved to my next assignment.

The book is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I liked the movie, I’m a big Nicholas Cage fan, and Penelope Cruz doesn’t hurt either. Buy it paperback and tear out the last chapter before reading it. The ending is just not believable. Watch the movie, the director does it better than the author.

An Evening Stroll in Dubai

A couple of days ago when I was playing with pictures, I talked about taking the abra across Dubai creek for dinner at Pancho Villa's. When temperature and humidity permit. A pleasant stroll back to the car after dinner can show a side of Dubai much different than the glitter of Burj- Al Arab and the shopping malls. This photo is the textile souk shortly after closing time. One shop still appears open at the end of the street. I like the wooden sidewalk covers. You can see the ever present sand and dust on the wood and on my lenses. It enhances the memory if not the photo. (Click on the picture for woodwork detail).

Golden Arrows Novelties and Gifts was the last shop to close on that evening.






Don't go back on the same abra I told you to use on the way to dinner. Instead, take the one closer to Pancho Villa's and closer to the mouth of the creek.


Linger by the dhow docks as working class Dubai ends its day.



Detour through the spice souk then the Heritage House area. This recently restored area of Dubai dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Click on the picture for a peep inside the window and a whisper of color from a beautiful carpet.

Playing with Pictures

I am just playing. I am trying to understand the various options for uploading & posting pictures. This photo of an Abra on Dubai Creek was posted as small image with no layout selected. We can pretty much see how well that works.

This time
I have posted using medium and left layout.

Another image of an Abra on the creek.

Not a very good look for text with a landscape picture is it?

Next is a large centered image. The Abra is the best way to cross the creek, except most of the year when it is too hot. Park on the Deira side of the creek, next to the Sheraton or opposite the Intercontinental. Stroll by he Dhows, stop for a fresh fruit cocktail and a falafal before crossing. Use the Abra stop nearest the Intercontinental. Walk through the old textile souk then left, right, left to the Ambassador Hotel and Pancho Villa's for dinner. It's much faster than a taxi and costs only 14 cents. Besides, there's no parking near Panch Villa's anyway.

This image of the Dubai's famous gold souk was posted as small, left layout.

The gold souk is don't miss for a visit to Dubai. You can get good deals if you remember a few things. First, the guy behind the counter is a better negotiator than you are. Always! Next, know the current market price of gold. The price you pay will be based on the daily gold price and the weight of the item plus a "workmanship fee". If you know the daily gold price, you can determine the "workmanship fee" that is what is negotiable.
Next, be paitent. You must be prepared to walk away from the first several purchases you attempt. The first dealers "best price" is your starting point at the next. Remember these guys really are better at this than you are. Do this a couple of times on similar items and you will have a pretty good idea of the "workmanship fee" floor. And I now have a pretty good idead of how to use left and right layout with small images.

Now posting large, left with portrait picture.The Dubai spice souk. One of the more interesting sections of old Diera Dubai. Certainly the most aromatic part of town.

Does show that there is enough room for text beside a large portrait size image post.


Now medium, right, portrait. This shot is also in the Diera Dubai spice souk.

A medium size portrait image provides a better look for text beside the picture.
This next post is large center layout. It is from the Dubai Dhow docks.

. This last post is a large image, centered. I cropped it to make it square.



In any case, I had a lot of trouble uploading pictures today. I frequently got the get the uploading screen but the DONE screen never appears and I get no html for a link. Any ideas?

Dubai Dhow Docks

Loading Oil in Dubai

I used to describe Dubai in two contrasting ways. Dubai was the Singapore of the Middle East and also the New Orleans of the Middle East. This was before Hurricane Katrina.

The Singapore reference is fairy obvious. Dubai is the business and shopping hub of the Middle East. Dubai’s rapid five star development has received a lot of recent attention. Michael Jackson shops there now.

The New Orleans reference is less obvious. Friends have suggested Las Vegas of the Middle East. I disagree. It’s not a “What happens in Dubai stays in Dubai” kind of place. And it doesn’t have the decadence of Las Vegas. It’s much more discreet. For the Middle East, Dubai is a New Orleans kind of city. It’s a place to go to relax, unwind a bit and enjoy life. Dubai is a place where the rules are just little more relaxed than at home. It’s not that the rules don’t apply; it’s more that people are just a little more forgiving, just a little more tolerant. A place where it’s just a little bit easier to see people as just fellow human beings trying to get by. Dubai is the New Orleans of the Middle East and that’s a good thing.

With all the glitter of modern Dubai, a place not to be missed is the Dhow docks. Right in the heart of the city on the banks of Dubai Creek, the Dubai Dhow docks are a part of maritime transportation network that anchors this city to the Arabian Gulf.

Strolling along the Dhow docks was a favorite thing to do in Dubai. If you are visiting Dubai you shouldn’t miss it. Dhows come from all over the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Sea; Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Oman. You will see every imaginable type of cargo being loaded and unloaded. The crews lounge onboard or relax in small groups by the docks. Stop and enjoy shawarma and a fresh fruit cocktail. Relax and watch life on the creek. It’s a world away from Emirates Tower and the glitter of Sheikh Zayed Road.

I have posted some pictures taken on the Dhow docks in Dubai and Sharjah in Dubai Dhow Docks a PhotoSet on Flickr. Please check them out

At Jim Thompson’s House

Bangkok was a brief vacation stop; less than a week. Bangkok was going to be some much needed R&R after a year in Bombay. I had heard lots of stories about Bangkok. I heard that it was dirty, crowded, and overrun by beggars and pushy crooked street hawkers. I heard that the only thing in Bangkok was sex and sleaze. That’s what I heard and that’s what I expected. It was an R&R trip.

Was I surprised. Bangkok is a jewel. It is spectacularly beautiful, the food is fantastic and the people are charming. OK it is crowded and traffic sucks but I was coming from Bombay. Bangkok was a breath of fresh air.

I explored the city using the Chao Phraya River ferry and canal taxis to get around; traveling by foot from the ferry stops. I shot 14 rolls of film in five days. I will post some pictures from time to time.

One highlight of my trip was a visit to Jim Thompson Thai House and Museum. Jim Thompson, an American, was once the OSS station chief in Bangkok. Later he became a very successful silk trader who built a traditional Thai home and garden in the center of the city. The house was built by transporting several traditional homes from the countryside and assembling them into a single larger structure enclosing a beautiful garden. Jim Thompson disappeared while vacationing in Malaysia in 1967 and was never heard from again. His home is now a museum. If you visit Bangkok, don’t miss it.

I have posted some photos from the gardens at the Jim Thompson house on my Flickr photo site. Please take a look and leave your comments.

My Apartment in Kazan

Part of 1997 was spent in this apartment in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. Click on the picture to see the kitchen. This was not 5 star accommodation but the apartment had character and provided a much better glimpse of life in Russia than a hotel stay would have.



The footballer was one of the many children in the apartment complex. The boys liked to play pranks on me like heating the #7 button on the elevator with a lighter so that when I pressed it, I smashed the button and burned my thumb. This guy tried to trick me into saying vulgar Russian phrases to the neighborhood girls.

Kazan is the capitol of Tatarstan and home to the Kazan Kremlin.

My friend Sergey has provided this link for more information on the Kazan Kremlin.

I have posted some photos from in and around Kazan. Stop by, take a look and please leave a comment.

My Neighborhood in Juhu

My Juhu Beach Neighbors

I lived and worked in Mumbai in 1998. India was a difficult assignment. A year in India changed my life; I gained 40 pound while there and still carry it today.

I shared an office with a woman from Bangalore for some time prior to leaving for India. She was vegetarian and complained frequently about the lack of vegetarian variety in American restaurants. She was very excited for me. Said I would love the vegetarian food selection there. I was looking forward to it; healthy vegetarian food would help me shed a couple of pounds picked up eating borsch, pellmani and smetana in Russia.

She never told me about ghee.

I stayed in Juhu beach. A walk in the neighborhood was frequently a walk on the beach. As a westerner, wherever you go in India, you will be pressed upon by the very poor. Beggars and children with there hands out are everywhere. They can be very persistent. Most westerners find that among the most difficult aspects of life in India.

That was not the case for me. I had little difficulty with the beggars and the very poor. When I walked I carried a small pocket full of wrapped candies. The beggar children in the neighborhood quickly learned that if I had six pieces of candy and there were eight children no one got any candy. They learned to approach me in small numbers. They also learned that if I had a candy, I would give it to them. If I had none, I said so. There was no need for persistence. They would run off and leave me to my walk.

The woman in the photo approached me on the beach one day. With very broken English she asked if I lived in a hotel. I was very puzzled and unsure why she was asking. Finally I understood. Baby Shampoo. She was asking if I had any of the little hotel shampoo bottles. She wanted shampoo for her daughter. After that, I always carried a couple of bottles of shampoo. It was the candy for the ladies.

I was at first surprised by how many people would ask to have there photo taken. I would take photos then, later after the film was processed, I would carry copies of the photos as I walked. If I encountered the same people, I gave them a photo. The smiles I received remain a highlight of my time in India.

I have posted some pictures of the people of Juhu Beach in My Juhu Neighbors a PhotoSet on Flickr. Check them out. Leave a comment. Let me know you’ve been there.