Happy Diwali!

RBS celebrated in style Thursday with a Diwali event andcelebration in our canteen. We had rangoli (see pic) and dance/singing competitions, chaat/samosa counters, best dressed contests, a Red Crescent charity raffle and then a jam-packed dance floor for about 500 staff in the Dubai Outsource Zone. The atmosphere felt like the last day of school, with women showing off their beautiful saris/salwars (including me and Tori) and people handing out ladoos like candy.

Happy festival of lights and wishing all a prosperous new year :)

Lebanon

We spent the first Eid holiday, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, in Lebanon. It was a great week, complete with fantastic food, beautiful scenery, beaches, wineries, and ruins. And oh yes, police checkpoints and Hezbollah posters.

We started with a few days in Beirut's Al Hamra neighborhood with its great eats and bars; Nadine and Jeanine, two of Jon's colleagues at PwC, first took us out for a great mezze meal overlooking the Mediterranean and then for sushi and drinks in a trendy Ashrafieh district. Even though it was still Ramadan, we had no trouble enjoying eating and drinking outside during the day. Beirut has a great buzz about it, and you can see why the NYT recommended it as a top destination for 2009.

We then braved driving (if you can call it that) to the north to stay in our coast-side chalet near Byblos in Lebanon's only campsite run by a group of bohemian students (?). A few highlights of what we saw: the Jeita Grotto, the cedar reserve, beaches in Batroun, Baalbeck (on the way to the Syrian border; once known as Heliopolis and the site of the largest temple to Jupiter) and the Ksara winery. For the most part, we went sightseeing in the mornings and then to a beach in the afternoon.

For those looking for their next trip, highly recommend Lebanon! It's a small country, but with lots to offer :) Here's a link to our pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/simigambhir/SeptemberLebanon?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPZ8u2Y07zsugE&feat=email