Moving To Brunei

Well it looks like our little sojourn in the desert is going to come to an end in the next three weeks. We're off to the wilds of Borneo... or Brunei to be more precise. Tony's picked up a 2 year contract with Shell so our sand and a camel are going to be changed for a Monkey and More. (I'll be setting up a separate blog and posting the address in the next few weeks.

At the moment we're in Limbo while we wait for our tickets and the movers to notify us. Tony's got to go into Saudi for two weeks on Sunday so that all the paperwork and finalization of visa cancellation gets sorted. I'm going to be sorting out the house... most likely painting bits and pieces and sorting out real estate agents... should be 'fun'.

At the moment I'm having a day off after a pretty full on few weeks. The problem is that I don't know what to do with myself if I'm not doing much and I'm already bored with this kicking back business but can't be arsed doing anything... oh woe is me!

So this was my birthday present from Aisha, Kamal and Maha

Aisha, the sneaky wench got me to go downtown Khobar with her yesterday to pick up a picture from the framers. It turns out it was my b'day present. A blown up picture of this, changed to Sepia. It looks gorgeous and its on my bedroom wall:)

Belated Photos of Greece

Its been ages since I've been able to sit my rump down and do some updating because the last month has been all over the place. SO we went to greece. It was bloody amazing. So much like Australia though that Tony got homesick. We stayed in the Plaka (old city) in athens which was a walk away from the acropolis which seems to STILL be under construction a few thousand years after they began it. So below is the acropolis at night



The Greeks are fantastic... all the men are named Nick from what I can tell and every single conversation they have is held at full volume with more hand gestures than an italian orchestral conductor convention. The absolute highlight of Athens was a tortise that we shall call 'Keeper of the Monuments' who was wandering around a statue exhibit at the foot of the acropolis. For the sake of Greek tradition... We shall call him/her Nick.



We then flew out to Santorini the next day. Its the rim of a giant exploded volcano with a younger version of the same beastie forming again in the middle. Every now and then it impolitely burps out a bit of gas and the island has to rebuild again. We'd booked a taxi from the airport and were collected by a brisque guy (named Nick) who informed us that 'others' were still coming. The others turned out to be a couple from the States and Bolivia (respectively) who had met in Bahrain years ago... small world. We then all proceeded to form a mutual bond of screaming for our lives as our cab driver competed for the greatest 'number of blind corners on cliffs that you can take on the wrong side of the road' title. I think he won.

So we were deposited at Ia or Oia (No one pronounced the O... I think its just there to make the tourists feel like wallys) and found out that its all walking from there. All the way down little windy streets, up and down steps until we were taken out to the edge of a cliff and told this is where we'd be staying. Once I picked Tony up from his faint we realised that there were steps headed down the sheer drop and we were downstairs from the tiny little building that we could see in front of us.



We managed to spend an unbelievable 8 days killing ourselves walking our incredibly unfit asses off and ate a lot of dodgy food but all up it was an amazing holiday in a really beautiful location... below are just a few more pictures from our balcony and around Oia. The one overlooking the sea with the pink flowers was taken by me sitting on the balcony and the town ones were from there too

Stuck in Saudi With No Internet

Well we've been in Saudi for the last week or so with absolutely no internet and I've had almost no phone communication with the outside world. Some silly bugger messed up our residency visas here and we had one day warning to pack everything up and scoot over the causeway. AHHHH...

The joy of being in the Middle East!

So much has happened over here though but I've only got limited net time (Using Aisha's computer while she's out to get the paper... she's very trusting leaving me in the house... think of all the nefarious things I could do... like... ok not much but at least the thoughts entertaining temporarily.)

We're off to Santorini in a week and a bits time for a much needed holiday. Really looking forward to eating ridiculous amounts of mousaka and drinking dodgy beer. Will post photos and bits and pieces when we return.

This is just creepy

http://www.onemotion.com/flash/spider/

So I've got these guys banging my wall...

About an hour ago three strange men decided to knock on my door and are presently chizelling half of my apartment wall away... hmmmm maybe this is a serial offending thing... maybe I should do something about it.... but they seem so industrious... hmmm

I just realised I wear Load Bearing Pillars HA!

Go to http://nonadventures.com/ Tony decided to share this with me this morning:) Just click on the image and it should become bigger.

Smokin'

So I met up with Aisha Kamal and Maha the other weekend and decided to cart them out with Mersedeh and Peds for Shisha. Here's Tony and Mersedeh kickin back in the haze

Rain and Thunder and TV and a Wii

Well

Happy Easter to everyone out there and many chocolate bunnies to you all. I know I'm a day late but no one tells you its easter here and its easy not to remember!

There was a huge rain and thunder storm last night here which was lovely and there's puddles everywhere out and about. I'm sitting here waiting for a bookcase to be delivered (will be coming any time in the next 10 hours knowing these guys) that I picked up in what I'm going to call the 'credit crisis sale spectacular' because almost everywhere is having 'special sales' at the moment.

So for the fun news. Tony and I might be on TV this coming week. Well its local Bahraini TV on a special program about Bahrain expats. A friend of our is the feature and we're going along for the ride. So I'll have to post how that goes later.

We also just got ourselves a wii for Easter and have been having fun with it ever since. I like the boxing myself as it means I can clock Tony a few times if he drives me mental.

I'd write more but its 6 something in the morning and I think I'll be sneaky and go back to bed for an hour before the delivery guys get here.

Where's the potatoes?

So its been a pretty interesting few weeks of not much. I've just come off of a 7 day Neuro-linguistic Training programming course which is essentially a problem solving method that is very congruent with the hypnotherapy/psychotherapy I've been practicing. It was a hell of a lot of fun and it was fascinating to see who turned up. There was a Brigadeer General from the Bahraini military, Medical People, A Kickboxing Instructor and Entrepreneur and a bunch of therapists all running around like headless chooks. I wish I'd taken some photos...but if you go to the instructor Phillip's website

www.NLPNOW.com

you might see something in the near future.

There was a horrific thunder and rain storm that came in from inland Saudi Arabia about two nights ago that saw the whole of the Abqaiq Camp (about four hours from RT) flattened. We just got all the rain which dumped all the dust out of the air onto my windows so that I can hardly see out at the moment. Hopefully the guys at building maintenance will do a window wash soon but I'm not holding out any hopes because there's more Shamal due in later this month.

Its going to be a pretty full on weekend this weekend as we've got friends Reina and Eric coming over the causeway to catch up for a few hours before their flight to Istanbul and then we're headed off to dinner over the other side of Bahrain at another friends house. She lives near a pretty surly Shea are so hopefully we don't see too many burning tyres and protests.

Oh! I ask you, how do they get all the bloody tyres? Do mum and dad take the kids out on an outing replete with full packed picnic and thermos of tea down to the south to pick them up? One really has to wonder...

Come Friday afternoon dad declares that he's taking the kids out to make a bonfire... in the middle of the road... and while he's at it is it ok if mum sews up an effigy because it'd look bad for the kids at school if they didn't have one... GAH the logic to these things!

For all the look of the thing, I've not heard of much more happening than a bunch of people standing embarrassed around a black smoking mass wondering who bought the potatoes in aluminium foil for roasting.

Anyways I've got some work to do reformatting someone's website so off to work for me.

Belated Pictures of Craig and Ayumi's Going Away and the Singing Construction Worker

Tony and I purchased this cake in Bahrain and took it out to RT for Craig and Ayumi's going away (I would post more photos but they aren't loading) which provided us with a rather amusing interlude.

Me: I'd like to have (points) that cake with a message on it if I could.
Extraordinarily polite filipino sales assistant: Yes ma'am what message would you like
Me: How about I write it down for you (Writes 'Bugger Off')
Extraordinarily polite filipino sales assistant: Bugger Off Ma'am?
Me: Yes Bugger off
Extraordinarily polite filipino sales assistant: Oh, BUGGER OFF!
me: Yes, Bugger off
(Group of American ladies sitting at morning tea behind me looking slightly flustered)
Extraordinarily polite filipino sales assistant:: I'll just do that ma'am now)
Voices from kitchen: a lot of tagalog then... 'Bugger Off' ...Bugger Off! (laughing)
Extraordinarily polite filipino sales assistant: (Producing Cake) Here you go ma'am is this ok? Bugger off!
Me: Yes that's just fine thanks
Cashier: Good choice of cake ma'am, very meaningful message, Bugger Off, come again (magestic plastic smile)

Oh and there's a construction guy in the building next door who gets to work at 5am every morning without fail and belts out Bollywood show tunes. He actually sung Dhoom Machale this morning AT my building while banging out the beat on some poor unfortunate piece of iron. I would throw a shoe at him if I could stop pissing myself laughing. Its turning into a tradition that I get up and have a coffee, see Tony off and listen to his lasted musical spectacular. I think I'll be slightly sad when the building next to us is finished...

GOOD DRIVER!

So I went over to Saudi the other day to catch up with the girls and the highlight of my day was one particular taxi driver. (You know you can never get enough of these stories).

When we picked up the cab at Rashid Mall in Khobar the guy gave us a big smile and said GOOD DRIVER, and a pretty fair price to go to Dhahran Mall so we jumped in and found to our delight the added always welcome option of 'seat belts'.

So

In between running red lights, going the wrong way down major highways, Taking back roads sideways and yelling at some young Saudi boys on Motorbikes in arabic, he turned to us frequently and said with his winning smile 'GOOD DRIVER', 'GOOD DRIVER.'

Its a mark of our sheer jadedness in all things Saudi driving that we got out of the cab at the end, shrugged and wandered off into the mall.

In retrospect... I think he was serious

I've Been Blocked and the Mail system of the apocalypse

So I tried to log on to my blog the other week and found out that it had been blocked by the Bahraini vice and virtue squad, or whatever they are, by accident. A few weeks later however I am back and able to report that I am now not really banned if I get into my blog from the back way. GAH

So to update... well a number of fascinating things have happened over the last few weeks not the least of which was trying to send a parcel through Bahraini post.

For starters no where in bahrain sells boxes, so I thought... 'why not try that nice supermarket and get one from there' so I did. Wrapping it up nicely, taping over all labels in masking tape and clearly writing on the address.

Me: I'd like to send this to Australia please
Mr Mail Man: No
Me: No? No... why?
Mr Mail Man: No
Me: Is it the box?
Mr Mail Man: No it is not the box, it is the colour of the box. Your parcel must be white.
Me: 'Slaps head thinking gee aren't I a wally' Ok so if I colour this in white paper it should be ok?
Mr Mail Man: Maybe... Maybe it could be ok... let me check with my supervisor... (15 minute interlude) No... next customer please.
Me: (DEEEEEEEEEEEEEP RELAXATION GEORGE DEEEEEP RELAXATION)

a few days later

Me: I'd like to send this to Australia please
Cranky the Mail Man: No, we are closing now (15 minutes early) come back tomorrow
Me: GAH

So... the only box I could find after a number of visits that fit regulation size was a beer carton which I covered in black plastic, white printer paper and ten tons of cellophane.

Tony: I'd like to send this to Australia please
Indifferent the Mail Man(15 minutes... after scratching his nose...talking to his boss about lunch and answering his phone) Oh, ok.
Tony: How much?
Indifferent: hmmm (looks pensive... pulls number out of arse) 12 bd.
Tony: ok
Indifferent: You have forms to fill out sir
Tony: (45 minutes later) there is that all?...
Indifferent: well yes, but your return to sender address has not been waterproofed by your reel of cellophane... this might be a problem
George: (Walking in on the scene) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Indifferent: But I think maybe it could be ok today (running away out back)

needless to say after a month of failed attempts our parcel got sent and no one was maimed in the process. Although I do have a slight twitch when I walk past a post office

Go to youtube

and type in

moymoypalaboy

trust me

Settled In

So well we've been in Bahrain now for a few months on and off with many a trip back to Saudi to renew visa et al in between. I love this country. Where else lights up all its buildings with LED lighting just for the hell of it and then forgets to take them all down until they go out one by one. Putting all new lighting up over the old the next year!

What other country shuts down completely so its prime minister can cruise round with his posse whenever he feels like it and has civil riots where they let a car with someone who is 90 percent sure to be an American Expat through while shouting anti American slogans...

What do we want?
No AMERICANS...but this one...
When do we want it?
IN A MINUTE...when he's gotten his car past us and hasn't run any of us over... yeah thats right...

Its pretty cruizy here. We're seeing more of our Saudi mates than ever before in a weird way because having a friend to stop in and see in Bahrain is a lot cheaper than the hotels which can clock in at $400 AUD a night so we're having many a nice night out.

AJ's mum and dad just spent a week and a bit with us and got to experience the sheer joy of Middle Eastern driving just to prove they couldn't get enough of it after a month in Egypt!

The only sad but happy news at the moment is our mates Ayumi and Craig are leaving the region for Singapore but that just means someone in SE Asia to welch off of MUWHAHAHA. I'm arranging a 'bugger off' cake at the local patisserie to take out to RT on the weekend for their going away... I'm sure there will be embarrassing photos to post.

Our much missed mates from WA Mersedeh and Peddy moved to Bahrain almost a month ago and I've seen them probably a sum total of twice so far due to the sheer insanity of setting up a house here... I so don't envy them their trips to immigration right now! Think a very very large hall of sweaty 'musky' men staring at you and talking about you in Arabic and you've got the picture. I'm sure they're relishing eeeeevery moment... I know I did!

We've also started to get the hang of the place and I'm pretty good now at getting lost in interesting places and then realising that I've been there before on my adventures flying over speedbumps when our friends Renee and Tom obligingly humoured me in my quest to find something interesting to show them!

Other than that... its latish and I need a beer...