Safari!

Yesterday afternoon I went on a desert safari that I had been looking forward to going on, I had heard good reviews so I figured it was worth a go. Well the whole experience can be summed up by saying "frikken hilarious!"

Now let me lead into this by saying I really didn't know what to expect. I had been trying to contact a tour company that was recommended in my Lonely Planet while I was in Kandahar and they never replied to my e-mails. Once I got to Dubai I gave them a call and made the arrangements. Well on Tuesday around noon (with the tour supposed to start at 3:30pm) they called me to tell me that they would have to reschedule me because they had damage to their base camp and needed to do some repairs. So just a note: don't book a tour with Alpha Tours Dubai... bad experience.

So I scrambeled and booked with another company called Lama Tours. I'd give them two thumbs up... book your desert safaris here. Anyways as I said, I didn't know what to expect on this tour and when the driver showed up to pick me up it was me and a family of four in the truck. I didn't know if that meant it was going to be just the five of us all evening? I had images of me jumping in all their family photos, maybe they would adopt me and be my Dubai family. Little Rasheef gave me some of this candy on the drive out to the desert so I was pretty happy with how it was all starting.

Well I quickly figured out by the number of tour trucks that we saw on the highway that we were clearly not going to be the only ones. There were dozens of trucks from several different companies all heading in the same general direction.

Well the tour itself started off with a nausiating ride through the dunes. I should note that I was stuck on the back bench of the SUV and with all the ups and downs I was starting to feel sea sick.

When we eventually got to the base camp it was really pretty nice. They had a "traditional?" (I say that because I have no idea what a traditional bedouin camp looks like but that's what they told us) bedouin camp set-up with tables and chairs around the central stage area. All-in-all it was pretty good.

They had a number of activities that you could participate in if you liked: camel rides, henna, smoking sheesha (or hubbly bubbly as they kept referring to it). I wanted to ride a camel and I'll tell you that was the most uncomfortable experience ever! I just couldn't find a position where my boys weren't being crushed. Thank god it was a short ride because I basically had to hold myself off the saddle the whole time. I think the guy leading the ride knew what my problem was because he had a big knowing grin on his face.

So after the camel ride I went to relax and smoke some sheesha. While over there I met a couple of Californians who were on their way back from a wedding in Sri Lanka but I can't for the life of me remember their names. Well there were also a bunch of Chinese tourists trying the sheesha and it was just about the funniest thing I've ever seen. Some of them I couldn't actually tell if they were sucking or blowing on the pipe. When they would draw their face would clench up and they would put such effort into it and then you would see a single bubble in the pipe and they would stop and cough and the rest of them would laugh at the smoker. My new american friends and I couldn't stop laughing at this. If instead of a dancing show they had just put a couple of these Chinese guys up on stage with a pipe it would have been the perfect entertainment for the evening. This experience alone made the tour worth every penny!

So as for the show, thirs they had a guy wearing a dress and spinning. Now I'm going to sound ignorent, but they didn't tell us anything about what we were watching and I had never seen anything like this before so from my un-enlightened perspective it was a guy spinning around in a dress. That said, he was really quite good at it... he spun and spun and spun. Then they turned off the lights and his dress lit up so he looked like a UFO. Again, the Americans and I couldn't stop laughing, it was a good show but the lights were a little too much.

So then we had supper (which was really quite good) and after supper they had the belly dancing show. Now the way that they introduced the dancer kind of made me think I was in a strip club. In a deep radio DJ voice the announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this next dancer has performed in shows all over Asia. Put your hands together and welcome to the stage... OLGA!" and then out came Olga to laser sounds and the Arab techno music started with her "Olga" theme song. Again, peals of laughter!

I did rather enjoy that she sort of had audience participation from the men sitting in the front row. At some point she was shaking everything she had right up in front of some guy while his 10 year old son sat next to him with a look of amazement on his face. Amazing! Overall, this tour was worth every cent. Definitely do this if you're in Dubai!

Let the vacation begin!

Oh wow! Where do I start? It's been so long since I've updated this thing that I have a ton to say. I would also imagine that anyone who has been checking in regularly to see what I've been up to has long since stopped so I'm probably writing this now just for my own sake but here I go anyways.

Well to start way back from where I left off... My last week in Kandahar was a little hectic trying to get all my work closed off before I left. Why is it that whenever time runs short that's exactly when you get the largest workload? It's like the irony of sleeping in the morning... why is it that the best time to sleep is the exact moment that you have to get out of bed?

It wasn't just the work that made the week chaotic, the process of leaving was chaotic too. Nobody seemed to really give me any instructions and i've obviously never done this before so how should I know what I should be doing and when? In the end it all worked out, but it just seemed like I had to jump through a lot of hoops in order to leave.

I had to do an "exit interview" in case I had any complaints or needed to pass on any security concerns or anything like that. Well it's somehow not just as simple as going to the interview, I had to have an escort to get there and back. now you would think that the travel/HR department would provide that person. They got me to the base afterall, don't you think it should be their job to get me home too? Turns out... no. It was up to me to find someone. Oh, and it can't just be anyone, it has to be someone who is certified to escort you to the interview.

"Ask your boss," they said.
"I did," I said, "He's not certified."
"That's ok," they said.
"It's ok if my escort isn't an authorized requestor?"
"No. Ask your boss."
"What?"

That conversation didn't really go anywhere. In the end I found someone who found someone else to escort me and it all worked out, but what a pain.

I think I got out of Kandahar just in time actually. The heat for the last few days was really opressive. It felt like it had actual weight to it and it's still nowhere near the summertime temperatures. I can't imagine what that's like.

On the plane ride back to Dubai they served beer. To quote the brilliant Will Ferrel "It's so good once it hits your lips." Yeah, it's true. Good one Will.

Oh! And I almost forgot, as I was sitting on the plane staring out the window I saw a mid-air refueling taking place! It was awesome! The two planes crossed directly under our path with one tucked in right behind the other.

Well I arrived in Dubai on Sunday afternoon and went on to my hostel and checked in. Now I had been writing back and forth with a friend from my MBA days who's currently living in Dubai now and he invited me to stay with him. Unfortunately I didn't get that e-mail until after I had already checked in, but what are hostels if they aren't cheap, so after checking my e-mail I proptly checked back out again and went to stay with him. Thanks Amine, you've been a great host!

So sunday evening wasn't too eventful. I met up with Judy for a late supper and a beer... the second time was just as good as the first... and then when I got to Amine's we went for more food. It was good to catch up with Amine and I'm glad i got the opportunity to. Mind you it sounds like he wants me to move here. It would be a nice city to live in, but it's just too hot!

I'm realizing that this blog post doesn't really sound too interesting... if you've stuck with me so far please don't give up yet. It gets better I promise.

On Monday I got up and went to the area around the creek to go to the souks and do some exploring. I really do love this plpace, it's so diverse and it's such a comfortable city. I'm not really sure what I mean by comfortable, but I've never felt out of place or uncomfortable about being anywhere. I just always felt like I belonged wherever I went.

While wandering the souks I got the distinct impression that i had the word "sucker" written across my forehead. I kept geting drawn into stores and once I was inside there was probably about a 4 in 5 chance that I was leaving with less money than I went in with. The highlight was probably a swquence that started with me walking through a narrow alleyway in the gold souk and a guy shiftily coming up to me and saying in a low voice, "Wanna buy a watch?"

Well no, I didn't really want to buy a watch but I was curious to see where this would go so I followed him through some alleys to a small shop. The alley where the shop was couldn't have been more than about 5 feet wide at best. Now first of all, who decideds that this is a good spot to open a store? This location required a guide in order to find it in the first place... not good business planning. Second, when I say it was a "small shop" that's a bit of an understatement. The store was a room about 6 feet wide by about 10 feet deep. Small.

Anyways I went in and "the guide" closed the door behind me and left. Hmmm... curious. So the guy in the store says "You want watch?" Well I look around the store and there are no watches anywhere, the store seemed like it was mostely focussed on selling junk. Just a lot of really random junk. Well the guy goes to the back wall and slides a hook out of the way and bangs on a panel (honestly, I couldn't make this up) and a little secret door opens up and he pulls out a box of watches.

"You want Rolex? You want Tagg? You want Breitling? You want Omega?" and he starts pulling watches out of the box. Well remember how I said that there was a 4 in 5 chance of me buying someing once they got me into a store? I've always wanted an Omega so... I bought one. $90 and made in Korea but it looks nice and I'm sure it's of *very* high quality ;)

So here's something I don't understand. Well I do understand the traditional arab outfits... long, white, loose fitting, it all makes sense and they look very comfortable. What I don't get is why the women get screwed over by having to wear black! The sun here is just too hot to be draping yourself in black! I would melt.

My last blog from Afghanistan

I figured I would make one last post from Afghanistan as I lay here wide awake listening to my roommate snore. Tomorrow I'll be giving my computer to Jim to take home with him so here on out it will be internet cafes in more tropical locations.

I can't say that I haven't enjoyed my time here, but I'll certainly be happy to see the end of it. It's been an adventure and I'm glad I took the opportunity but it's not something I would like to do long term. Some of the guys here have been doing this kind of thing for years. While it would certainly be financially beneficial, this isn't the life I'm looking to live. Well as far as I'm concerned, this really is no life at all. This is living your work and having three months a year to go home to visit your real life.

7 days from now I'll be back in Dubai. Can't wait!

I've always been a fan of Darwin, but...

How is it that natural selection hasn't taken care of snoring yet? I mean, what purpose does it serve other than increasing your likelihood of having someone smother you with a pillow while you sleep? Also, wouldn't snoring be a natural barrier to mating? Although I guess by the time you find out they snore it's probably too late.

9 days...

Turns out my new roommate is a snorer. Oh well, that's what iPods were invented for isn't it?

10 Days to Go

So my countdown has officially started, I'm just over a week until I'm done here. Unfortunately I've also become incredibly busy at work so it's going to be a tough week, at least it should go by pretty fast. I've got my doubts though that I'll be able to get through everything that my boss wants me to get done before I go. Somehow for every problem I solve, two more pop up. That seems to be the nature of things around here though, nothing was done properly in the first place it was just hammered together well enough to get by. Unfortunately that means when you start trying to make improvements everything kind of falls down around your ears because it was only being held together with duct tape and shoe laces to begin with. I am continually amazed at the state of some things around here. We really would be better off tearing things down and starting fresh in a lot of cases.

So Scott will be leaving on Saturday and then Jim will leave on Monday. I'm planning on giving Jim my computer to take home with him because I don't really want to travel with it. Unfortunately that means I'll have to do without for my last week here. I guess I'll finally get to do some reading. Not that I haven't had the chance, I just haven't made the time.

So Dean (the billeting guy) dropped by my office again today to tell me I'd be getting a roommate. This is the third time he's told me that in the last week. The last two times never happened. I think this time I might actually get one though because when I got back to my room after work the second bed was made up and there was a new desk in the room. I thought I had actually walked into the wrong room. On the upside, Dean said that the guy he was putting in with me is just a "visitor" and he was only going to be here for three days. I think I can handle having a roommate for three days.

It's hard to believe it's been nearly three months now. Feels like I just got here.

... doing the backstroke I guess

I almost ate a fly this morning. It was swimming in my coffee and when I took a sip I felt something in my mouth. Very gross!

So oddly it's rained here the last two nights in a row. Not for very long, but it came down pretty hard. This evening I walked over to the mess just after the rain stopped and it was so clear out. The rain took all the dust out of the air and it just seemed very clean and fresh out. It was really quite nice.

Well 15 days to go...

Moved

Well yesterday was a pretty productive day for me especially considering it was my day off. I got a good sleep-in and then wandered over to get some brunch around 11am. After brunch I figured I would bake in the sun a little so I got changed and went up to the sun deck. There was already someone up there and we started talking. It turns out he was the billeting guy, a good Cape Bretoner named Dean. As we were chatting it came up that I was still in B-block and he said I should go see him after lunch to arrange my move to S-block. Perfect!

So I laid out in the sun for a bit and then went over to see Dean. It pays to be friendly, he gave me my new room key and although I technically have a roommate he'll be out on leave until after I'm gone. Even better!

So I got all packed up and Jim and Judy helped me move over to my new accomodations. They're pretty much identical to my old accomodations, just closer to work. Oh, and now I have wireless which is nice.

I did have a good laugh my first time through the bathroom though, they have these signs posted above the toilets.

Pooping. Yer doin' it wrong!

The Final Plan

So I don't think I ever updated here to actually explain my final plan for my post KAF trip. I booked my tickets a couple of weeks ago and it's basically going to be a month of travelling and relaxing in Borneo. I'll leave KAF on April 24th to fly out to Dubai and I'll stay there until the 27th. I figure I might as well spend a couple of days to see the city and I'll probably take a day to go out on a desert safari. I was actually hoping to do an overnight safari but of the three operators that I've been recommended, none of them do overnight tours on the days I'll be there. Oh well, a day tour will be fine I'm sure.

 

Anyways, on the 27th I'll catch an overnight flight to Tawau, Malaysia and then I'll hop on a bus to go to Semporna, that's where I'll take my scuba lessons. I'll take five days to do the open water and advanced open water dive courses and then I expect I'll spend another four or five days diving off of islands in the area. The dive operator I'm going to book with is based in town and they have a hostel across the street from the docks so I'll stay there while I do the course. Following that I might move out to a resort on Mabul island to spend the rest of my time there. I'll definitely spend a day diving at Sipidan island, it's supposed to be one of the top dive locations in the world.

 

So after I'm done in Semporna I'll head inland. There are a couple of nature reserves in northern Borneo and I'll definitely stop in at one of them on my way past. One is renowned for it's orangutans and the other is a proboscis monkey reserve. I'm kind of leaning towards the orangutans but we'll see when the time comes.

 

After that I'll continue to the west coast to Kota Kinabalu which is the largest town in Malaysian Borneo (I think). From there I would like to climb Mount Kinabalu, the view from the summit is supposedly spectacular. After KK, I think I'll head out to some islands off the coast. There is a nature reserve there called Tunku Abdul Rahman park (for any of you MBAer's that are reading, that guy is seriously connected). I may do some more diving there or just explore and relax.

 

After that I'll take my time heading south along the coast, maybe passing through Brunei. There are lots of little areas to explore along the way and I don't know how much time I'll have left by then so I may need to rush through it a bit. I've not planned that part of the trip in much detail because I feel like things will change a lot along the way. I have to be back in KK by May 21st and I'll catch a flight to Singapore. I'll have a 2 day layover in Singapore and then I'll catch my final flight home.

 

I'm really looking forward to this trip now. I only have three weeks to go here and I'll be free. It's going to be great!

 

ps. I bought some new running shoes today. As much as I hate that I had to do it I only paid $85 for the shoes and they would have cost me $150+HST at home so I should just be happy that I got a good deal... right? I hate thieves.

Give me back my shoes!

The office was pretty quiet today because over 140 people got on the plane this afternoon to head home. There is a bunch more that have moved over to other companies too. I'm not really sure how many are left, but it sure was quiet this afternoon.

The parking lot between A and B block was a disaster today. Everyone moving out had tons of garbage to get rid of so there was junk everywhere. On top of that, for some reason the company wanted everyone moving out to bring their mattresses outside too so there was a big mountain of mattresses there.

While everyone was moving out and getting rid of junk they don't want anymore there were others picking through the junk to claim their prizes. I figured that I would move my shoes inside my room because I didn't want anyone making the mistake of thinking that I was getting rid of them. When I got home from the gym this evening after all the moving madness was over I made the mistake of leaving them on the rack outside my room as I usually do. Well I went to supper and when I got back, guess what? Some asshole had stolen my shoes.

I'm really pissed! I just bought those shoes last month specifically to go to the gym because you can't use outdoor shoes at the gym here. The ridiculous thing is I have size 13 feet and I am sure there isn't a person left in the building that would come close to fitting in those shoes.