Em's Twisting Kaleidoscope

Dubai. There is no way to tell , when you're in the middle of the city, that it's in the middle of a desert, an actual desert. It's overflowing with skyscrapers so tall, New York City would get a complex. The Shaikh Zayed Road is basically the main highway which cuts in between this huge pyramid of gigantic concrete towers. It's what they call a concrete jungle,  no kidding. If you told someone a few decades ago they could transform a desert into what Dubai today is, they'd tell you you were off your rocker. But then they would be one of those maniacs who underestimate the power of money, will and sheer brilliance. Dubai tells you what the human brain is capable of doing. You could never tell going to the beautiful beaches in the middle of the city that they weren't wonders of nature. Bt that's not the only wondrous thing about the Emirates (I pronounces it Eh-mi-rah-tees when I wrote that. Haha.) The United Arab Emirates was also the first time I found...

Lesson #552: Walk. Walk the city that you just found yourself in. You never quite learn as much about a city as you do when you walk its streets on your own two feet, stumbling across new and old, unusual and familiar, all kinds of things and explore its beauty by yourself. I think the reason I remember New York City so well is because I walked its streets so much. My most memorable moments are the ones I spent counting down the blocks left for the destination to arrive.  I just happen to be in one of those moods where I close my eyes and find myself walking down 3rd Avenue again. Walking from 3rd Avenue to Times Square. It was the night of the 17th of May 2013, my dad’s birthday and our first night in New York City. We’d just enjoyed a Turkish dinner at 3rd Ave which is usually the place for a lot of restaurants, all in line. The day had involved a lot of driving from Jersey and into the City, with a lunch in a Mexican bistro followed by the yummiest local produce str...