Goa, Mumbai and Dubai

Seeing the Taj Mahal is always amazing, but getting to it may help destroy its image a bit. I won't comment so much on what can destroy the excitement of seeing the Taj Mahal right now since I will be posting my memoirs of my first trip to India from 7 years ago. Rich won out on the remainder of the India trip since locals were blocking trains to Rajasthan so I caved in to Rich's dreams of going to Goa. Supposedly Goa is a place that Israeli's and others go to hang on the beach and party, so of course, rich thinks it is something he and all people should strive to do since he thinks young Israeli's are trend setters. We logged into an internet cafe in Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) and looked into booking hotels. I quickly learned that Goa is a region and not a city, so we were both lost at where the "whoa dude, party" people hang out. I found a Kepinski Hotel online and decided I wanted to relax more than be around hippy-esque youngsters trying to delay adult life by becoming beach bumbs and renting $8 rooms (wow, that was me 7 years ago! Did I really say that?).

Anyway, we lazed around the hotel in Goa for 3 days just before the Monsoon season hit. I was finally able to relax and chill. Rich then wanted to go to Mumbai instead of Jodphur or Jaipur (two cities in Rajasthan that are truly magical). I caved in again with all of my warnings that Mumbai is a big dreary city, but hey, I was in no need to have Rich nag me. Of course we arrive in Mumbai just as the Monsoon started. After taking a day tour of the city, we headed for the airport. Monsoon equals massive flooding. Well, watch the video and you'll see what can happen. We got stuck and at one point our taxi was floating and water entered the car. Nevertheless we made it to the airport just in time for the flight to be delayed 3 hours.

After a quick night in Delhi the following morning we headed again to the airport and Rich learned of the secret destination I kept from him: Dubai. We flew on Gulf Air www.gulfair.com to Bahrain and then on to Dubai. When we arrived in Dubai Rich finally learned of the last surprise as a concierge from the Burj Al Arab www.burj-al-arab.com met us and whisked us through immigration and customs and to a private BMW. Rich and I have always dreamed of staying at the Burj al Arab, so I decided to finally implement the plan (they have a special through the end of summer that if you stay 3 nights, you receive free breakfast and a one way transfer in a BMW from the airport). I will describe the hotel as nothing less than magnificent (see my video clip of the room). Off to bed for now, but will update more soon.