So, this may not be blog worthy (because this is a travel blog after all) however this pertains to a cool pair shoes and if that's not awesome, well then I don't know what to tell you other than stop reading right now...
Anyway, tonight a bunch of us headed over to the ADNEC Convention Center for an exhibit featuring crafts and traditional goods. I read about it in the complimentary magazine I found in my room and online at TimeOut Abu Dhabi (which is turning out to be a pretty handy website). It looked like a local to-do, so I figured, why not!
After a traditional Iftar meal (well, as traditional as you can get in a convention center) for $5, we headed into one of two halls. Oh, and I have to mention as a side note that they sell corn in a cup! Like, you can get a medium or large cup of corn with butter, salt, pepper, spices, whatever. I mean, is that not just awesome??
Sorry, but c'mon. Fantastic...
Anyway, after 5 minutes we hit nirvana . . . a shoe stand. After deciding I could not afford one of each I narrowed it down to two pair. I managed to get him down from 250Dirham each to 270 for both pair. Although I am sure they are worth far less than what I paid for them, I was proud of my first haggling and my cute pair of sandals. I have to say, however, that my favorite moment of that shopping experience was when one of the nice Indian men asked me if I liked shoes. I must of given him a look that said, "Are you actually asking me that question?" After a smirk on his part, I replied with a, "Do I like shoes? Does the sun shine?" (with my palms facing the sky, which I thought was a nice touch) I got a giggle out a few of them and made my purchase.
The rest of the stands consisted of Sponge Bob artifacts (don't even ask), dresses, incense, jewelry and a few other odds and ends. They are a pushy people, but it was especially interesting being only one of maybe 15 white people in the entire convention center. Oh, and when I say they are pushy, I mean the foreign workers. The local Emiratis don't really 'work' as much as they help out, volunteer, or work for the extra spending money. I will be working with Emirati women, but they get paid double or even triple what I do and they do it for the extra spending cash.
Anyway, that is my shoe shopping (think Carrie in Sex in the City II) moment. You can check them out below:
I am off to a Desert Safari tomorrow. There is a great website that is kind of like a Groupon for Abu Dhabi. It is half off ($30) for a half day safari with dune driving, sand boarding and dinner. I figured I would torture myself even further and hang out, outside. My mother has my last will and testament, so I should be good. But who gets the shoes??
'Night . . .
Anyway, tonight a bunch of us headed over to the ADNEC Convention Center for an exhibit featuring crafts and traditional goods. I read about it in the complimentary magazine I found in my room and online at TimeOut Abu Dhabi (which is turning out to be a pretty handy website). It looked like a local to-do, so I figured, why not!
After a traditional Iftar meal (well, as traditional as you can get in a convention center) for $5, we headed into one of two halls. Oh, and I have to mention as a side note that they sell corn in a cup! Like, you can get a medium or large cup of corn with butter, salt, pepper, spices, whatever. I mean, is that not just awesome??
Sorry, but c'mon. Fantastic...
Anyway, after 5 minutes we hit nirvana . . . a shoe stand. After deciding I could not afford one of each I narrowed it down to two pair. I managed to get him down from 250Dirham each to 270 for both pair. Although I am sure they are worth far less than what I paid for them, I was proud of my first haggling and my cute pair of sandals. I have to say, however, that my favorite moment of that shopping experience was when one of the nice Indian men asked me if I liked shoes. I must of given him a look that said, "Are you actually asking me that question?" After a smirk on his part, I replied with a, "Do I like shoes? Does the sun shine?" (with my palms facing the sky, which I thought was a nice touch) I got a giggle out a few of them and made my purchase.
The rest of the stands consisted of Sponge Bob artifacts (don't even ask), dresses, incense, jewelry and a few other odds and ends. They are a pushy people, but it was especially interesting being only one of maybe 15 white people in the entire convention center. Oh, and when I say they are pushy, I mean the foreign workers. The local Emiratis don't really 'work' as much as they help out, volunteer, or work for the extra spending money. I will be working with Emirati women, but they get paid double or even triple what I do and they do it for the extra spending cash.
Anyway, that is my shoe shopping (think Carrie in Sex in the City II) moment. You can check them out below:
I am off to a Desert Safari tomorrow. There is a great website that is kind of like a Groupon for Abu Dhabi. It is half off ($30) for a half day safari with dune driving, sand boarding and dinner. I figured I would torture myself even further and hang out, outside. My mother has my last will and testament, so I should be good. But who gets the shoes??
'Night . . .
WHAT SIZE R U? HAHAHA
ReplyDeleteUmmm I get the shoes! And Carrie bought the aladdin version of your sandals when she was in Abu Dhabi. ;-) sounds like such an awesome place. And corn...seriously? That's amazing and yummy!
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