2013-12-10

【Aiden in English】

        During the night, Nautica Oceania had sailed to Fujairah across the chokepoint- Strait of Hormuz from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Fujairah represents one of the seven emirates in UAE and is the only Trucial State that has a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman and none on the Persian Gulf like the six others.

        I was so excited for today because Mom and I were goi

2013-12-09

【Aiden in English】

        Today we were going to tour Sharjah, the Pearl of the Gulf. It used to be "the cultural capital of the Arab world" designated by UNESCO 15 years ago.

        Sharjah was one of the seven emirates right next to Dubai and was full of many different mosques, museums, and markets. The Cultural Square was ginormous including the Ruler's Office, Quran Monument, Ahmad Bin H

2013-12-08

【Aiden in English】

        I was really excited for today because this afternoon Mom and I were to board the Nautica Oceania cruise ship to the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. But first, we were going to the world's largest mall and the tallest tower in Dubai known as the city of merchants. I just couldn't wait to get started.

        When we arrived at Dubai Mall, it looked like the crowd of a

2013-12-07

【Aiden in English】

        When Mom and I got back from Dubai International Airport and checked in at the Raffles Hotel, the first thing I did was go to bed. Just as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep like a log.

        As Mom woke me up at the crack of dawn for the tour, I tumbled around for a while and was still half asleep. After a brief breakfast, we hopped onto a city tour bus to Abu Dhabi, the cap

2013-12-05

【Aiden in English】

        This was it! I couldn't believe that I would actually go to the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Already I was imagining the endless desert and the leisurely animals. Just thinking about it, the trip made me so hyper that half of the time at the airport, I would run ahead of Mom and tell her to hurry. But I didn't know that today was going to be one of the worst days of my life.