Merry Christmas and Happy 'Eid'

Hi all,

I'll try and stay away from any religious ramblings or work bashing in this blog! I wrote the last entry after finishing my training and subsequently a fair few drinks with Dale, Cath and Franklin for a 'validation celebration'...(try saying that 5 times fast)

My Oman stress release valve, that had been tightening for 6 months, finally popped in blog form. The last push was when Franklin told me that when/if I go to Panama I have to give thanks to the Saint he has been praying to, on my behalf, throughout our training? Apparently I am indebted, although I made it clear to Frank from the begining I am not religious. I found this particularly annoying as Frank has been known on occasions to break one of God's big 10 while he's been here....hmmm

*n.b last blog entry hidden for O,H+S issues, i.e so I don't get fired, lashed or thrown in jail.

GOLF. Dale and I headed out for 9 holes last week on one of Muscats 3 sand courses. You start out by buying a disc of artificial turf, which is the only turf on the course.

Next a couple of Indian blokes offer to carry your bags, and your turf, for 2.5 Rials, or about $7.50. It's probably one of the 'better' labouring jobs around here for the many Indians, Bangladeshi's etc, however still not much for 2+ hours work. I'd prefer be a caddy though than one of the thousands of construction workers here who labour around the clock in intense heat for minimum wage.

As shown above, you tee off on a concrete slab, with a rubber disc in the middle studded with tee holes. Pack a lot of tees as they invariably snap on contact! Firstly, however, you have to work out where the sand ends and the fairway starts.
Can you spot the fairway on the first hole? To the left of the sand bank on the right, you can just see the yellow gravel path, which runs down the middle of each fairway, starting on the other side of the road

The fairway is bounded by black pegs. If you land within the fairway you get to play off your disc, if not....well, you are essentially in a bunker! All the proper marker pegs are displayed, i.e, 200 metres, 150 metres etc, although often this is no comfort when hitting from a 'sand rough'.

The 'Greens' are black. They are covered with a layer of some kind of oil, which when mixed into the sand create quite a level surface, and are really quite good. After your ball hits the green you mark a big V indicating the spot, then use a carpet broom and sweep your line to the hole. You replace your ball at where you judge the now swept away tip end of the V to be and putt. The good thing is all the greens are the same pace, and lines are fairly easy to see.

Here's a few more pictures to get an idea of the layout.

I have wanted to go on a boys night out for a while, so the day after golf Dale and I headed out on the town for a few drinks. First stop was the Rock Bottom Cafe, a sports themed bar in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Most bars are located in the major hotels, and each hotel has at least 2 or 3.

We had a couple of beers at the Rock Bottom while chatting to Peter, an English bloke who has been working in the gulf for a while. It was going along fine until his whinging pom side came out, and he started haranging the Russian barmaid for not filling up my pint to the top. My drink i remind you, not even his! This was the point where we left him and sat down for a feed of steak for me, and lamb chops for Dale. A good meal for a 'blokes' night out.

Next stop was Left Bank. A new, modernish bar/restaurant situated on a small hill which provides a good view over part of Muscat and the ocean. There we met a fair few of the other ATC ex-pats who were out for Brendans 'validation celebration'. (My new favorite phrase)

After enjoying numerous beers there, and a couple of celebratory cigars, we headed towards the Safari Bar at the Intercontinental Hotel. This is a safari themed bar, funnily enough, and said to be one of the better bars in town, and a noted pick-up joint.

Unfortunately when Peter, Dale and I arrived it was closed, however Copocabana, the hotels other club was open, so we paid the 10 Rials, got our 2 complimentary drink cards and went in. When i returned from the bar Pete was talking to a couple of Tanzanian girls who work in Oman. I joined in the conversation and thought everything was going smoothly when at 0300, blind drunk, I left with one of them in a taxi towards home. 5 minutes into the ride I understood what line of work they were in and was asked to pay 100 Rials for my new friends 'company' for the night. Thankfully I wasn't drunk enough, or hard enough up, so to speak, to part with $300 of my hard earned wages. Plus, as one expat reliably assures me, you can get 2 Russians for that price! (Hi Mum :)

Christmas came early for me this year. For a vaidation present I bought myself a new 2.7L, V6 Kia Sportage. Just for interests sake, it cost 8000 Rials, including insurance for both Oman and the UAE. What you may not be intersted to know is that fuel here is currently about 35 cents a litre!

I know you are curious as to what 'Kia' actually means though? Ki means 'to arise from the world' or 'to come up out of the world'. a means 'Asia'. Therefore Kia means 'to arise from' or 'to come up out of Asia'.....you can all go to bed happy now.

Franklin advised me that I should bless my new car. I told him I would buy a bottle of Champagne and crack it over the bumper. I don't think that is what he had in mind!

Christmas here is co-inciding with the second Eid celebrations. Essentially the Omanis gather together with family, lots and lots of family, and eat lots and lots of food. I guess the only major difference is the lack of decorated trees, presents and alcohol. I'm sure there is the standard practice of an uncle or grandfather asleep on the couch later on in the afternoon though.

I swapped out of my shift xmas morning with a local controller who wanted to celebrate Eid with his family, therefore it worked out quite well both ways. Dale and Cath have been kind enough to have me over to celebrate with their family, Caths' sisters family, and a couple of other friends, so that will be nice. For New Years we are going to a desert camp in the Wahiba Sands. I like the sound of camel riding and dune boarding to bring in the New Year!

I hope you guys have a safe and happy holidays.......(Be careful who you go home with!)

:) Craig