So far, Yemen's been beautiful & incredibly safe. Maybe safer than all the other countries. But that's because I've been kidnapped by the most hospitable, generous man.

The owner of my hotel here in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, has declared that he's unofficially kidnapped me & calls me the queen. (He's obviously got a huge crush on me, but thankfully, not in an annoying way.)

In the past week I've probably spent just 2hrs away from him or one of the hotel staff. Constantly having a body guard is more like being a tourist & not a traveler, which I don't like. But considering I'm paying only $9/night (half the rate) for a great room in a 500yr old building, all my meals are cooked especially for me or I'm taken to a nice restaurant, have a car & driver or anything else I want at my beckon call & I've been given jewelry, I can deal with the tourist feeling... or maybe it's more like being a kept woman... haven't quite decided yet.

A few days ago he took me for 2 nights to a beautiful village high in the mountains. During the day we drove to the tops of incredible mountains & at night sang & danced with locals. And I even got to go to a woman only wedding celebration!

But most of my time in Yemen been spent sitting in a large room with beautiful textiles on the walls & with lots of pillows on the floor chewing qat while about a dozen different people rotate in & out. Chewing qat is the national pastime. It involves eating the leaves off branches, a lot like an animal, until your cheek fills up like a chipmunk or Dizzy Gillespie. It gives you a nice, mild amphetamine feel. And then when you start to come down 4hrs later, you smoke sheesa. Love it!

And all the people coming in & out of this room are fascinating! Starting with the owner who at the age of 9 was taken by the Taliban & trained to go fight against the Russians in Afghanistan. (His parents eventually rescued him.) Then there's a dignified older Sheik who doesn't speak much English but has a great laugh, helps me with my Arabic & makes sure everyone behaves properly in front of the lady (me). And if not, there are swords & guns in the room to keep everyone in check! In addition to the other locals, there's an interesting German guy who's working here on the upcoming elections & a really nice Italian guy studying Arabic - both of whom been adopted by the owner too.

Basically, having a wonderful time here in beautiful, safe Yemen. (Despite the fact that 2 tourist were kidnapped today.)