My first Air France flight was 10 hours and carved a perfect arc on the map between LAX and Paris. The route from Paris to Dubai was more circuitous, though, and took 7 hours. Looking at the flight map, I see that we didn’t cross into air space over Turkey, Syria or Saudi Arabia, which required a more creative flight plan than taking the shortest path. I didn’t mind!
Late Night Ramblings of a Jet Lagged Mind:
Jet lag results from moving rapidly across time zones, disrupting our body’s circadian rhythms, The jet doors close in Los Angeles and open in Paris; they close in Paris and open in Dubai. And when I emerge, it’s midnight here even though it’s noon at home. But another powerful phenomenon occurs when traveling from a privileged first-world life to the strangeness and cultural disparity of a foreign country. Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker calls this feeling “place lag,” the “inability of our deep old sense of place to keep up with our airplanes.”
I don't think people have evolved enough physically or mentally to comfortably accommodate modern travel, surely not flying to the opposite side of the world in a mere 20 hours, yet it’s what travelers have become accustomed to. It will take time to adjust.
Late Night Ramblings of a Jet Lagged Mind:
Jet lag results from moving rapidly across time zones, disrupting our body’s circadian rhythms, The jet doors close in Los Angeles and open in Paris; they close in Paris and open in Dubai. And when I emerge, it’s midnight here even though it’s noon at home. But another powerful phenomenon occurs when traveling from a privileged first-world life to the strangeness and cultural disparity of a foreign country. Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker calls this feeling “place lag,” the “inability of our deep old sense of place to keep up with our airplanes.”
I don't think people have evolved enough physically or mentally to comfortably accommodate modern travel, surely not flying to the opposite side of the world in a mere 20 hours, yet it’s what travelers have become accustomed to. It will take time to adjust.
Dubai
I didn't take the above photo, but it gives you an idea of the scope of this place. It looks more science fiction than real, sandwiched between the Persian Gulf and the vast Arabian desert.
Not all that long ago, Dubai was a dusty Bedouin village strategically sited on the shores of The Creek, a saltwater inlet that was historically a small port for trading vessels coming from India and East Africa. Pearls found in The Creek and fishing were mainstays of the economy. But in a mere 50 years, it morphed into the fastest growing and most opulent city on earth, with a futuristic flair and superlatives we’re all familiar with (tallest building, biggest shopping mall, a man-made island shaped like a palm tree that can be seen from space, etc. etc.). And the world’s only 7-star hotel with rooms from $1,500 to $24,000 a night (not a typo).
Today’s Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, is everything the rest of the Arab world isn't: a glittering and tolerant capitalist oasis that’s one of the world's safest places, a stone's throw from its most dangerous.
Tomorrow I'll head out to explore!
Not all that long ago, Dubai was a dusty Bedouin village strategically sited on the shores of The Creek, a saltwater inlet that was historically a small port for trading vessels coming from India and East Africa. Pearls found in The Creek and fishing were mainstays of the economy. But in a mere 50 years, it morphed into the fastest growing and most opulent city on earth, with a futuristic flair and superlatives we’re all familiar with (tallest building, biggest shopping mall, a man-made island shaped like a palm tree that can be seen from space, etc. etc.). And the world’s only 7-star hotel with rooms from $1,500 to $24,000 a night (not a typo).
Today’s Dubai, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, is everything the rest of the Arab world isn't: a glittering and tolerant capitalist oasis that’s one of the world's safest places, a stone's throw from its most dangerous.
Tomorrow I'll head out to explore!
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