Saudi Arabia and Dubai -- huge trip planned for early next year! :)
It'll be my very first trip over seas... I'm super excited!!!
So, my brother-in-law, sister, nephew, and niece currently live in Dhahran, just outside of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. They've lived there for like 7 years or so, and I've not had the chance to ever visit...until now!!! I'm planning on visiting them on 26 Feb - 9 March.
My sister gifted me the "Field Guide to the Biodiversity of Dhahran" (https://www.deslegte.com/field-guide-to-the-biodiversity-of-dhahran-2352286/) last year, so I've been thinking about it for months! Anywho, I'm extra excited to visit the Kingdom of Saudi as well as Dubai.
On the 27th, I'll get to Dubai for a 9 hour layover. Fortunately, there's a nice park not far from the Dubai airport -- Mushrif National Park (https://www.visitdubai.com/en/places-to-visit/mushrif-national-park). I may be able to meet up with a couple other naturalists, @ahmed_almansoori , @broobas , and @khalidalastad, to explore a bit of the park. Super excited about this.
Then, I'll fly from Dubai to Dammam. My sister has a few places that we'll visit while I'm there. We'll do some desert camping at Judah Thumb (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/judah-thumb), we'll go to the beach by Half Moon Bay, and then walk around the Dhahran area quite a bit (which does have a few parks). Not sure exactly where all else we'll go -- although, probably not too too far away from Dhahran/Dammam.
Of course, I'll try to iNat EVERYTHING. I'm super excited about all of the new critters and plants that I'll see, and there aren't a ton of observations in the specific area (especially of the plants and bugs) -- maybe there will be a few new species for iNat!
Buuuuut, I do have a question to whomever has read it this far -- how long have you been on a plane, and what all did you do to stay sane?!? My flight will be 14.5 hours from DFW to Dubai, and this is what I'm most anxious about! Hopefully I can catch some sleep, but I've never really slept on a plane before (never had a trip this long though).
תגובות
Wow! That definitely sounds different. As for the plane bit, if you find out how to cope with long flights let me know. It's been 20 years since I've been on a flight that long (Dallas to Tokyo ~ 13 hours), so I don't know what in flight entertainment is like nowadays, but I'd say definitely stock up on entertainment options (movies, books, podcasts) in whatever format you can in case you are one of those (like me) who can't sleep on a plane. If they have internet, maybe you can just spend the whole time on iNat like normal. ;)
Hahah, thanks, @rymcdaniel -- I too have not slept on a plane before, but I've also never been on a flight this long! I've got my portable DVD player with the entire Office series, sooooo hopefully that will chew on a chunk of time.
And yes, if there's internet, I'll just be on iNat as usual!!!! :)
I'm so excited for you, Sam!
14-15 hours is no joke. I think I've flown from Atlanta to Johannesburg for that time or a little longer. I use plane flights to catch up on movies, so many movies. Some airlines still have the screens in the airplane but some provide wifi and an app that you can watch on your phone or laptop. If you have a streaming service like Netflix, you can also download a bunch before you go, but try to do this ahead of time on your home wifi. Also podcasts, download lots of podcasts. Happy to give you more recommendations over message.
Sleep if you can, and I've gotten into the habit of taking melatonin to sleep at night on arrival for the first few nights.
Oh, so you definitely want to bring a sleep aid and try to sleep through the middle of the flight. Get yourself some good earplugs and an eye mask if you're sensitive to light and other people's sounds. Outside of that, pack two books or if you have a tablet maybe load up some ebooks there (but I hate ebooks. ew), and then there will be a large movie selection to choose from. This will be your opportunity to watch every terrible movie you have missed this year. And pack some snacks. 14 hours is nothing if you have snacks and books. Lastly, stand up at least once an hour that you're awake.
Farkle is a good game you can play on a tray table, Cat Stax is another one, and there's a cute travel version of Boggle that's fun. Ooh, and crosswords. There is so much to do on a plane, why are you even asking this?
I'd definitely pack the movies and books, but I'm a stare-out-the-window guy, assuming you get a window seat. Just look at this awesome flight path you might take. https://www.airportdistancecalculator.com/dallas-united-states-to-dubai-united-arab-emirates-flight-time.html
There's also mobile games like candy crush or angry birds. Those sucked up days of my life at one point 🤦♂️
הוספת תגובה