Dune Bashing in Dubai

August 24, 2008 ·  

Dune Bashing in Dubai – adventure for the spirited

It looked, for a moment, like a mirage gone mad. There on the rolling sand dunes were scores of misshapen four-wheelers racing up and down, kicking up clouds of sand as they went. The first thought that leapt to my mind was that a pack of daredevil circus stuntmen had been let loose in the desert. Nope. This wasn’t a mirage. I was 30 minutes out of Dubai and there, with their throttles revved up, were the dune-bashers pelting across the desert in their dune... [Read more]

Habibi

June 22, 2008 ·  

“You married or single?” Ali asks me bluntly. I am in Iraq wearing a flak jacket and Kevlar helmet – I do not feel feminine at all. I am not surprised when I am greeted as “sir” in all my gear so his question takes me off guard.

“What?” I ask. I have just introduced myself to this man.

“Are you married? With husband? Or single.” He asks pointing at the gold Claddagh ring I wear on my left hand.

“Oh, I’m single,” I reply and immediately add, “I have a boyfriend,” which... [Read more]

Covering My Head in Pakistan

May 28, 2008 ·  

Sitting on the plane from Kuwait to Islamabad, I kept wondering how big an issue wearing a headscarf would be – I am a woman entering a Muslim country after all. Friends who had been to Pakistan several years ago said they had been given bad looks for having their ankles showing and that they wore head scarves everywhere. I had a diaphanous, purple and blue scarf that I had bought in India with me. It was stuffed in my shoulder bag. I finally decided that I would wear the scarf draped around my neck over the light,... [Read more]