Priorities

Now I can't really talk about crazy bars or films in The Kingdom, so here is an interesting piece of news. (There is no public entertainment here - no cinemas or public TV, but there are public executions i believe. Hmmmmm)

The Gulf Times had an article that was on most newspapers a couple days back, on the topic of allowing women to drive in The Kingdom or not. Oh yes, women cannot drive here. Anyway, the interior minister was quoted saying "This is a secondary issue and is not on our priorities (list) ... I urge everyone to forget about it ". Classic!

I can't say which is funnier, that the issue was just dismissed as unimportant or that maybe he was suggesting that roads are safer without women drivers. Either which way, Insurance companies can now breathe a sigh of relief ;-)

He went on to say that it would be better if "we achieved rights that are more important for Saudi women," such as voting in municipal elections. Maybe I have my priorities all wrong, but were I a Saudi woman I would think voting in municipal elections just is not number one on my list of rights.

Till Kingdom Come

Weirdness for the week:

- Restaurants in The Kingdom have a curtain at booths or tables for families. Most restaurants have separate sections for families and others. Now that is not in itself that bad, but given that women here wear Burkhas I am not quite sure what additional "protection" curtains have to offer.
- Apparently Danish parents make their babies sleep outdoors in the afternoon - regardless of whether it is sunny or not.
- You have to carry identification with you at all times in The Kingdom or risk being taken to the police station until somebody gets identification for you and shows it to the police. Bit too much i think - this applies to everyone, not just people who look a bit dodgy. I suppose that may be because most people in the Kingdom look dodgy ;-)
- For a country with so much Oil Money, there seems to be a lot of 80's American cars that look like junk in Dammam / Hofuf. Confusing part is why everyone has old, dirty cars and that too from the same time.

Alcoholic

Alcoholic
n.
A person who drinks alcoholic substances habitually and to excess or who suffers from alcoholism.

Suffers? I don't suffer, I love every minute of it. Except closing time, of course.

Don't think I quite qualify for an alcoholic just yet, but i do feel like one today as I am very excited about a client taking me for a drink. It's not that I haven't had anything to drink, lunch today was accompanied by a glass of very average white wine. I think what I am addicted to is the whole going for a drink thing - heading to a nice bar, getting a few drinks and hopefully admiring the pretty girls at the bar. Who just might one day walk up to me, offer to buy me a drink and then whisper sweet nothings in my ear. Turns out they need to be drunk for that kind of thing and the sweet nothings turn out to be loud complaints of how they can't stand straight. Anywho, I'm off now, excitable as a boy going to burn his first snail alive.

Quiche

Or just a quickie spelt wrong. Afternoon's are for rest here so I'm going to catch up on my database + PHP work.

Bahrain is the second country on my month long "tour" of the Middle East (since this is our biggest market, henceforth will be referred to as Wheeee Land), been to Dubai already and after this Kuwait, Saudi (17 days!) and lastly Jordan. No, I'm not going to bother getting a US visa after this for quite a while.

So far the trip has been interesting. It certainly is more fun meeting clients face-to-face and selling them goods rather than all the admin to deal with back home. Dubai was such a funny city, it's either very shady or Over The Top. *Very* OTT.

Bahrain on the other hand is just shady. The only country in Wheeee Land which allows normal licensing of bars and alcohol shops, it attracts Arabs from Saudi (just 20 odd KM away), Qatar, etc. But the shady bit is the prostitutes. Went downstairs for a snack at the bar and for a second was just perplexed by the large ratio of oriental women to everyone else, till i figured they weren't just smiling at me for my good looks. The other restaurants have "dancers" and one bar actually has a stage which is suitable for strippers. Of course I don't think they actually do strip, but i didn't stay to find out. Our host here later told me that he actually specified to the hotel that we were not to be "disturbed" at night, apparently it's common to have your door knocked on in the middle of the night.

Of course wait till i get to Saudi, am sure I will miss all of this then. I hear they cut your hand off for most regular offences. Wonder what you get for chatting up a lady in a burkha (besides an angry girlfriend).