Admiring the Tallest in the World, Dubai, UAE

787 Dreamliner Large WindowLeaving Doha, we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves on a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The inside was beautiful! There was a ton of overhead space and the walkways were not cramped. There were large windows that tinted for the sun rather than completely blocking the view with a plastic shade. The seats felt spacious and very comfortable. Too bad our flight to Dubai was only 45 minutes long! Once we arrived, we had another quick and easy transfer to our hotel.

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Dinner at Afghan Kabab House – mixed kebabs and chicken kadai

The heat was still present along with fasting for Ramadan. Our hotel, Landmark Plaza, was right across the street from a metro station so we only had to briefly brave the heat while crossing the street. We hid in our hotel room the rest of the afternoon while waiting for fasting Continue reading

Fasting in Doha, Qatar

The minute we landed in at Doha International Airport from Kenya to when we arrived at our hotel was quick and easy. As we left the cool air conditioning of the airport, we were greeted with a blast of desert heat. The bus we needed was outside waiting for us and we hastily made our way onboard. There was none of the usual hustle and bustle expected at an airport, it was eerily quiet and relaxed. Even when leaving the bus, the driver pointed out how to get to our hotel. These are the friendliest locals we have encountered on our journey sofar.

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Doha skyline

We checked into the hotel and relaxed until sundown. Qatar is an Islamic country with strict laws during Ramadan. We first learned that Continue reading

Ending our African Safari in Nairobi, Kenya

Day 29

After a night reminiscing about our time in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, we woke for an early breakfast at the Ndoro Lodge. It was a quiet morning at the table assumably because it was the last day for most of us or maybe it was just too early. We all made sandwiches for lunch during the drive because we anticipated traffic as we drove back through Arusha and when we hit Nairobi. Will again felt sick when he woke up which made me worried for the long day.

As expected, Arusha was slow going but we made it through town and headed north as the sun began to heat up the day. Will looked uncomfortable during Continue reading

Completing the Big Five in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Day 27

FullSizeRender42Our safari group said goodbye to Serengeti National Park and Godlove retraced our steps back to Ngorongoro Crater. We headed straight to camp which was a beautiful grassy area right on the crater rim. When we arrived, there was a dazzle of zebras grazing in the tall grasses on the edge of the camp! We saw several tourists approach them to take selfies – Sara and Erin couldn’t resist either. After putting our belongings in the pre-pitched tents, we arranged happy hour with the senior truck and our guides. While everybody reminisced about the last 48 hours of epic-ness, I snuck away to climb the tree we were sitting under hoping to find a better sunset view. Instead, I found spider webs and everyone wondering why I was climbing the tree. The short climb was actually the most exercise I’ve had in the last week!

Day 28

Waking up at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater felt like being on a cloud – more precisely, in a cloud. There could have been lions Continue reading