Dubai The City That Comes Alive at Night

So I am in Dubai for a conference. I left Kabul this morning at 40 degrees and landed in Dubai at 10:30 to 104 degrees. High temp today 108. What a big difference to the system. It is no wonder that this city comes alive after dark. Even though it is still in the 90's it is much more bearable than 108.

Pictures to come later.....

Rain...Rain....Rain.... And Snow Too

Well April has been a rainy month thus far. Rain almost everyday. Occassional we are treated to a thunderstorm. Of course being where I am, I always have to confirm that it was thunder and not an explosion somewhere. One evening I swear it sounded like mortar fire as it echoed through the valley that is Kabul.

The weather otherwise has been a bit cool for the region. Just as the snow was leaving the mountains they are again capped in white. We even awoke to some snow falling on Wednesday morning early even at Kabul elevation. Of course there was no accumulation. However, I had planned a trip to Mazar for the weekend that got cancelled due to the pass over the mountains being closed and poor road conditions.

Despite the rain we have a few really nice days here and there. Last Saturday, April 3, was one such day. Shear luck for us as we had planned a kite day on campus for that day. Students, faculty, and staff were treated with a seminar on kite making and flying from one of Kabul's famous kite makers. This guy was great. He made the kites and trained the folks for The Kite Runner one of the most recent famous moves about Afghanistan. Check it out, it is a good movie. I don't need to go into the kite stories again, I do not think. Refer to older posts if you want info. However, enjoy the slide show from Kite Day last weekend.