Rather than take a fixed job in an office in Chicago, Ben is experimenting with a novel concept of his doing international strategy and business development while being permanently “on the road, as there are considerable cost benefits to avoiding repeated long distance expensive flights to and from the US.
Since Ben has free reign to identify and develop business opportunities pretty much anywhere outside the United States, our selection of countries is based on 3 criteria: 1) Legitimate business prospects, 2) Countries / cities where we can fly to and stay inexpensively, and 3) destinations we want to discover and spend time in.
Sooo, after an amazing fourteen months living and traveling in Asia, we are headed WEST!
Those fourteen months in Asia culminated with six weeks in India. One cannot really prepare for the intensity of India. Even though we had been there before and knew what to expect, the extreme beauty and chaos of India is unparalleled anywhere else. It is an assault on all the senses, enriching and exhausting at the same time.
We are going via Sharjah, to Turkey!
Turkey bridges Asia and Europe and the city of Istanbul sits in both continents. Turkey is a strong U.S. military ally and has a vibrant commercial aviation activity. So from a business point of view, Turkey is a good target. Flights are inexpensive and relatively short to go from India to Turkey.
On a personal front we wanted to go to Turkey many years ago and in fact had a trip booked with a departure scheduled for late September 2001. The events of 9/11 derailed that visit…
Life with Ben is rich and unpredictable. I never really know where we will be and for how long. For some, this might be unsettling; but I enjoy the ever changing scenarios and the discussions we have about how we want to sculpt our lives. Our plans evolve organically and spontaneously.
Case and point: We were “debating” between staying in Pushkar for a few months as a base, (Ben’s choice) and heading North to Dharamsala, (my inclination) where the Dalai Lama has created a Tibetan enclave and government in exile. We went between these options for a few days with no urgency to come to a firm decision. And then suddenly, Ben’s business priorities materialised and poof… we are on our way to Turkey.
Have you ever heard of Sharjah?
Sharjah is one of the small city States that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Enormously wealthy due to the abundance of oil in the UAE, each of the comprising states has developed a “brand” over the past few decades.
If Bahrain is a center for trading and Dubai has become synonymous with the world of finance and aerospace, Sharjah’s ruler took a different tack. Over the past 4 decades of his rule, he has forged a reputation for Sharjah to become recognized as the Islamic cultural capital of the UAE.
We are in Sharjah for a very short 16 hour lay over and decide to make the most of our stay to see some of the museums that have contributed to Sharjah’s reputation as a leading cultural islamic center.
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| First views of Sharjah – the dress here is distinctly different ~ long flowing robes… Buildings are creamy white and modern and there are not too many trees other than rows of palm trees outside the airport. Spotlessly clean everywhere ~ sharp contrast to India! |
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| On the edge of the Arabian Sea, bordering a desert – the city has a river like estuary running through it. (Always nice to get in some good stretching between flights.) |
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| Gone are the Hindu temples of India, hello mosques and their minarets… |
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| Tile work is most impressive |
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Love the calligraphy ! even on a stop sign it’s beautiful! The streets are spotlessly clean. |
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Love the sign at this beauty salon ~ Men not allowed! In an environment with a prevalent gender separation it’s amusing to see one that bans men. |
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| Breakfast in Sharjah! Hummus with pine nuts. Yum! |
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| If Ben wore sarongs in Indonesia and the “lungi” (Indian version of sarong) in India, it is not surprising that he would don the local flowing white full body robe, the “gandoora” in the UAE… |
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| Fits in his surroundings rather well, don’t you think? |
Sharjah has an extensive collection of oil paintings that so beautifully depict scenes from “the Orient” as it was referred to, by traveling European artists ~ in search of the exoticism of Islamic cultures in the 18th and 19th Century.
The highlight of our short stay in Sharjah is the Museum of Islamic Culture. Currently featuring an exposition of the Sheikh’s personal collection of oil paintings.
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| The size of the gigantic statues is brought into perspective nicely by the incidence of relatively tiny human figures. |
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| 200 year old scene – but could be Pushkar today… |
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| Appreciating the masterful oil depiction of a desert scene |
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| magnificent detail on larger painting |
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| In climates such as that of the Persian Gulf, one of the main reasons men and women wear long light robes and keep themselves as covered as possible is for protection from the searing sun. |
Our flight from Jaipur left at 4a.m. and was only 3.5 hours, so we had a very short night indeed. By mid day, we are wilting. At UAE hotel rates, going in for a snooze at a hotel is a cost prohibitive option. Our option? the plush carpet at the Islamic Culture and Art Museum, under the “stars”.
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| Islam was way ahead of Europe for centuries when it comes to the study of astronomy… This domed ceiling has a beautiful mural of the star system. As we wrap up a very short stay in Sharjah, we are both excited about going on to Istanbul. The mere name of Istanbul triggers images of exotic bazaars and the sounds of the call to prayers from the city’s many minarets. The painting below (in the museum in Sharjah), shows Istanbul as it was 200 years ago…
One more 3 hour flight and we will be in Istanbul.
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How different from India..I like the cleanliness and the white…Ben, you look good in the robe… The paintings in the museum are beautiful. Can’t wait to see pictures in Istanbul !!!!
Thanks Madame Bell. I like wearing the robe, it’s super comfortable. Not sure about wearing this outside of the Middle East though – I thought I might try wearing it next time I go through a US airport, just to see the kind of treatment I get, just because of the robe…
Do you feel changed by your time in Asia? By your nomadic style? What have you gained, lost, how are you different from when you began?
Thanks Sharon – Actually, your questions are prompting a dedicated post about our reflections post Asia… Stay tuned…
Good luck for your time in Sharjah. I had heard of it once before when a friend and her family went there for a few months to work. This was about 8 years ago. Your travels look amazing, and what a contrast between all the colour of India and the bright sunlit whites and pinks of Sharjah. Keep us posted. sz
The contrast was quite striking, both in color and intensity… The spartan cleanliness of Sharjah! – there couldn’t be a stronger contrast… Interestingly enough, the population is 80% Indian in Sharjah!
Hey Ben, what are you working on out there? Development for a particular program?
I truly enjoy a life that is unpredictable and rich (in anything other than money apparently :-)) as well. As long as you are flexible, the list of opportunities and discoveries is endless. Traveling long-term does get tiring, however, which is why we are house sitting right now. But, our feet are getting itchy again and reading your posts doesn’t help. One of these years, when we have reduced our self-induced responsibilities to close to none… 🙂
Apologies Liesbet for making the situation worse…. 🙂
For many years I was unable to travel in an unrestrained way and always wanted to travel without time or border restrictions. Once we became empty nesters (when the youngest of four sons finished high school) we were able to dramatically change our lifestyle by moving to Nicaragua, where we lived for 6 years. We definitely made a conscious decision to prioritize experiences, over stuff, much like yourselves.
Where do you think you will start off, when you hit the seas again? Dreaming now….
Peta
With the business that we are running, we have some flexibility, but we also know from experience that traveling while having to work full-time is more frustrating than it is fun. So, whenever we figure that one out, we hope to buy a round-the-world ticket and combine travel with house sitting internationally. In the meantime, we might just keep house sitting in North America and/or get a camper to give us some more flexibility and adventure. I hope to get my US citizenship in about two years (which is one of the reasons we are hanging around this country right now) to be totally free to come and go as I please. Many possibilities out there as you know. 🙂