Under the desert moon ...

Greetings from Dubai.

It is 11:25 p.m. local time and have just completed a 15-hour flight from Atlanta and a 30 minute cab ride from Dubai International Airport to the hotel.

Anyone who has ever driven down the Las Vegas Strip at night kind of has an idea what the Dubai skyline is like when lit up after sunset.

We will hit the ground running a little over six hours from now as we will be heading to Al Quoz to see the Godolphin horses during the Dubai-based stable's annual Wednesday morning open house and media event, which features THE best fresh pineapple and mango juice I have ever had.

Not sure what the middle of the day will bring, but the post position draw will take place in the early evening. The first four races on the card alread have drawn, but the three big races--the $5-million Guangsha Group Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-G1), the $5-million Dubai Duty Free (UAE-G1), and the $10-million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) all will be drawn live on Wednesday evening.

As soon as I know an exact time in the morning, I will post it for those interested.

Before I sign off and try to get a few hours of sleep (you'd think I'd have had plenty of time for that on the plane!), I'd like to leave you with a few thoughts and observations after a long journey and a couple of hours in one of the world's most dynamic cities:

1. Never, EVER, decide to start a new weight lifting regimen the morning you are scheduled to get on a transatlantic flight. Even if you feel great when you get done, those last few hours on the plane will leave you walking like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz;

2. What all can a person do on a 15-hour plane flight? How's this: watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, eat, sleep for an hour and a half, play 90 minutes of blackjack while listening to a medley of tunes from the plane's entertainment system that varied from Sarah McLachlan to Foo Fighters to Bob Marley; sleep for another hour; watch Martin Scorsese's documentary film about the Rolling Stones called Shine a Light (two enthusiastic thumbs up, and I'm much more of a Beatles fan), eat again, watch Michael Jackson's This Is It (1 1/2 thumbs up), talk to several military men in seats nearby that were headed back from the states to Afghanistan for the next 90 days (thanks for all you do for us, guys. And stay safe over there); listened to more music (Sting and the Police), and finished up watching about half The Box with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden (thank goodness it was free).

And you wonder why I am tired?

3. Zoinks! I've come to the conclusion that scripts for every Bollywood movie were taken right from episodes of Scooby Doo. Watch one for yourself and see if I'm kidding.

4. Like Texas, everything is bigger in Dubai. We stopped at a shopping center called Carrefour, which is Dubai's version of Wal Mart-except that you could fit two Super Wal Marts under the one roof of this store, located in the Mall of the Emirates. INstead of a supermarket, it is called a hypermarket. And how.

5. And finally, I always am struck by how friendly and helpful people are here, from the cab drivers, to the folks whow work the hotels and restaurants, to the people you pass on the street. They do everything possible to make you feel safe and welcome, a feature we could use a little more of in the good ol' U S of A.

Anyway, it's off to see the horses in the morning. Check back in as much as you'd like as I am going to try make posts about each activity of the day. And please feel free to respond with any feedback or questions. I may not have all the answers, but I'll see what I can do.

Until tomorrow (or late Tuesday night your time).