I'm back in Dubai again for a couple of weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The weather is very pleasant now, with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. There are lots of activities and events going on as the 40th UAE National Day comes up on December 2. Each year the celebrations get more elaborate; the "day" has now morphed into a five-day period from November 29-December 3. The events have reached the Palm this year with a temporary park full of fun things for kids to do: horse and camel rides; petting zoo with baby camels, goats, Saluki dogs, and falcons; henna painting for hands and feet; desert tents and campfires; and desert food.
The Palm also has more visitors from the air. I am seeing flocks of birds for the first time. Also, many men flying fast to the ground by parachute, alarming until you realize how accurate they are. The world parachute championships are underway.
A brave pedestrian can get extremely close to such events, as I did by walking over to the parachute landing site near Frond O. The apparent lack of concern for security and safety is troubling, so I don't venture very close.
Also in the news: several deaths of children falling out of windows from high-rise buildings, four just this week. With the mild weather, people must be opening their windows and neglecting to watch the small ones. One distraught mother jumped out of the same window her son fell through.
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