Dubai and the Middle East

[Investigator-manager]

I have been fortunate enough to travel back to Dubai for a few days to conduct training.  On this occasion though I then travel throughout the MIddle East including Jeddah, Has, Bahrain, Manama and Riyadh where I am looking forward to catching up with Phil (Phild on the Forum).

I have been asked to conduct training in Investigations for some of the large utilities amd government agencies here and am very much looking forward to working with the Saudi's who from past experience are very hospitable.

The heat is challenging, after an 11.5 hour flight from Perth where it was 17 degrees I walk into 44 degrees at the airport in Dubai.  It takes a few days to aclimatise but I prefer the heat to the cold.

The Middle East will be interesting, Dubai for anyone who has been here is more like a large western city and is very liberal whereas I have been told that the Middle East is very different.

It is a very closed country.  I had to jump though many hoops to obtain entry on a business visa but after persistence I was successful.

The courses are being run back to back and I am here for nearly a month so for those that are interested I will provide some feedback on my trip.

Colin and Amy are at the office looking after any queries whilst I am away and we have lots of new courses coming up so there is always someone there to talk to.

For anyone that takes on work in the MIddle East or the UAE make sure that you give me a call as I can give you a lot of hints as to where to stay, what to be careful about an how to conduct business in general.

 I thought I would include a view from my hotel.    


Adrian Francis
ASSI

[PhilD]

It is a spectacular part of the world. Adrian if you cross the Baniyas road  in front of your hotel and turn right a few hundred meters away on the promenade of Dubai Creek in the evening you will come across the aroma of the middle east, the shisha pipe tobacco. Nice place for a cold drink and a puff on the pipe. Enjoy your trip and looking forward to catching up soon.

[Investigator-manager]

Hahahahah  Phil, have you got a surveillance team on me !!!  I was there last night having a cool drink watching the dows going up and down the river.

There is no mistake about the shishas wafting their aromas through the air, an environment that would be hard to duplicate anywhere else.

Lookin forward to catching up.  Looks like another dust strom coming this way.

Adrian

[PhilD]

No surveillance team mate, just many hours walking along the river bank. If you go down past the shisha place watch how they unload the dows that still bring goods into Dubai. I can imagine the look on Australian wharfies faces.

I wasn't game to name your hotel on the open forum or give your room a call at midnight.

Talk later

[Investigator-manager]

Well I have now been in Dubai for three days and the weather just gets hotter.  45 degrees today and went for a walk in the markets after the course finished today and nearly passed out with the heat.

I have been with 15 incredible people today on the course and it never ceases to amaze me how much you can learn from others even though I am the instructor.

Did you know that the Middle East has some of the largest Gold Mines in the world !!!.

We spoke about personal safety here and whilst I would be the first to say that you have to be aware no matter where you go, I have never felt safer.  People go about their business and life goes on.

Tommorrow is the last day and then off to Jeddah on the other side of the gulf, the real Middle East they say.  

I thought I would include a distant picture of the Bur Dubai taken from my hotel balcony which is the tallest building in the world at over 800 metres.  It dwarfs the skyscapers nearby and I am going to the base tommorrow.

More stories to follow.

Adrian Francis
ASSI

[Investigator-manager]

The adventure continues....

I flew out of Dubai yesterday and arrived in Jeddah about three hours later.  Not a lot to see on the flight except sand !!!!

Arrival at the airport was surreal.  Thousands of men dressed in nothing but a white sheet or white bath towels, nothing else on and I mean nothing.  I found out that they are all on the way to Mecca which is near Jeddah and something that certain religions must do once in their lifetime.

The airport was unnerving, thousands of people pushing and shouting and customs officials that did not care.  It took more than 15mins per person to process and the officials did what they want.  Cups of coffee, wandering off for 10 mins when they felt like it and young children behind the counters.  Gives a new meaning to daycare.

Then there were some nast incidents, an indian man wrestled to the ground and dragged off with his family screaming as he tried to push through th crowd.  A woman slapped by an officer for saying something to him that he did not like and then she was dragged off.

I got pulled out of the crowd and frisked and then my passport taken by an officer but returned a few minutes later.  Very scary stuff.

After 3 hrs I got through and after a few arguments with the cab driver who turned his meter off and quoted $US100 to the hotel.  I ended up paying 100 riyals which is about $AUD30.00.

The hotel is 5 star but is more like a 3 star in Australia, no hot water, small room, concrete bed.  Atmosphere like you are an outcast.

If you dont like Dubai then dont come to Jeddah.  In comparison,  Dubai is paradise.  This is the real Middle East and so far I am not impressed but then it is early days and I am about to be picked up to be taken to the training venue which is about a 2 hr drive through the desert.

I am looking forward to meeting the training manager who is a Canadian and who I have met in the past and is a great guy.

Hopefully my impressions will change soon and I can start enjoying myself.

Travelling is always difficult, my daughter is a victim of swine flu in Australia after getting off the Pacific Dawn cruise ship and you can imagine how that plays on my mind.  She is fine though.  That is another story and based on her experiences, the health department needs an overhaul as to their procedures.

Never a dull moment in my life and I will write more of my adventures tonite.

Adrian Francis
ASSI

NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL LEG ROOM !!!!!!

[Dax]

Thank you so much for your updates and photos, Adrian. Very very interesting for those of us who haven't been to that part of the world. Do pass our best wishes onto your daughter.....

Rowan.

[Investigator-manager]

The adventure continues....

AFter hanging around the hotel most of Thursday morning I was picked up by my Canadian friend, Dave and taken out to one of the largest oil refineries in the MIddle East.  The refinery sits about 200 km from Jeddah and is accessed by a very well kept highway that basically cuts through the desert.

Dave asked me if I was worried about speed as they all drive fast and I told him that with many of the good roads in Australia, sitting on 110kph is fine.  He laughed and wound the Holden Commodore Equivalent to 200kph with the speedo hitting 215kph on a number of occasions and only slowing to 180 kph when a wind gust took us from lane 4 to lane 2 in a second.  

My hair was even greyer when we got to the refinery in 1hr and 5 mins !!!

The countryside is simply desert, no other way to describe it.  Jeddah, is actually a big city and after talking with Dave I found out that it is as safe as Dubai but the security is high after the attacks in 2003 -06.

ON entering the refinery we had a major hassle with my ID, basically becuase one security supervisor had not spoken with another.  Took 20 mins to get a pass whilst we were told to wait in out car with a guard standing next to us sporting a very shiny Hekler and Koch sub machine gun.  Thats not to mention the guy sitting on the back of the utility with a mounted 45 calibre machine gun to take planes down !!!!.

Security was incredible with state of the art fencing etc.

The refinery was simply jaw dropping.  A city of pipes which was described to me as being a 10 sq kilometre bomb.  There are things going on in this place that had the potential to kill everone in a 10 km radius.

The control rooms and emergency control centres absolutely state of the art and gave me goosebumps.  Hopefully a bit of training here in the near future and what a delight that will be.

After discussing some issues with emergency responce it was off to the compound where all the ex pats live.  It is really a small city with pools, shops, schools and even a private beach with a dive shop.  All provided free to the employees.  Even the petrol station had no prices as the fuel is free.

The compound as they like to call t was guarded by sub maching gun toting guards and another 45 calibre vehicle mounted gun.

Had an amazing supper of rice in vine leaves and other delicacies and then a 1hr 30min trip back to Jeddah, this guy drove like an old man about 180kph !!!

Hit the pillow and had a good sleep

Training starts tommorow and I am looking forward to that.

Adrian

[Investigator-manager]

As always, training takes a lot out of me as I put 150% into everything I do.  Training in another country especially Saudi is not without its problems, namely customs, language and simply the way they do business.  To a trainer this adds to the complexity of delivering the material in a manner that gets the message across.

The team of Senior Security Managers I am working with though put my mind a rest.  I have never come across such a hospitable group of people whos only concern is that I am ok.

Jeddah is a strangely beautiful place in that you have the very new mixed with the very old.  Even though it is still very strict such as women are noy under any circumstances allowed to drive and women not covering their body is frowned upon in many areas, it is also very liberal and some of the fears I had before I came here have quickly dissapeared.

The guy that points his 45 calibre gun at me every morning at the entrance to the Intercontinental Hotel is something you get used to.  I tried to take a photo of him yesterday but his finger got closer to the trigger.....hmmm...probably give that one a miss.

I have attached a photo of the training room.  I am used to the 8metre by 8 metre room with the coffee pot in the corner. You can see that over here they do things with style.

It is late so as I doze off to the wail of the holy man calling the muslims to prayer across the city  (it is actually quite haunting) I wonder what Riyadh has in store for me.  Everyone warns me that it is very different to Jeddah.  WE shall see.......

Adrian Francis
ASSI

[Investigator-manager]

I couldnt sleep last night.  I wasnt going to let that trigger happy soldier get the better of me and stop me from taking a photograph of him and his 45 calibre rocket launcher or whatever it is on the top of his hummer.

Must be the surveillance investigator coming out in me !!!

Mission accomplished.  YOu can see the gun mounted on top.

Yes,yes I know, could be clearer but hey, what do you want under the circumstances.  I reckon 5 out of 10.

Adrian Francis

[PhilD]

Small catch Mate! Wait till you get to Riyadh, you will no doubt have fun spotting the different types of hardware out in the open.

Surprisingly the only place you will not see security or armed guards is around the gold souks(markets). People are just not game to do armed hold ups in the Kingdom. It is one of the 5 "crimes" that result in the death penalty.

Its interesting you found the call to prayer haunting. It is at first but after hearing it 4 out of the 5 times a day ( the first call is anywhere between 3 am and dawn) you get used to it. After a while you rate different callers on how good they are. Best experience I had was listening to one early morning call to prayer and the guy had a coughing fit halfway through, needless to say a minute of glottal sounds later he carried on.

Hope the weather is not getting to you and everything is going well.

If you want a good Italian feed go to the Sands Hotel in Jeddah and walk a few hundred meters down the street towards the Supermarket (on the opposite side of the road) and there is a door leading down to a good eatery(same side as hotel).

See you soon

[Investigator-manager]

Hey Phil

Seems that this is the best way to talk at the moment ss the internet is down again.

Spent today doing some paperwork and catching up with jobs at home so a pretty uninteresting day.

I am on a flight to Riyadh tommorrow lunch time and as long as I dont get stuck behind Air Force 1 which is going there tommorrow I think with President Obama, I will be at the hotel late afternoon.

We will catch up maybe late Thursday if you have time.  I have some meetings.

I did go to the Downtown area of Jeddah last night which was depressing.  I was expecting to see old markets like in Qatar but all I saw was a busy city with designer shops and gaudy shopfronts with markets selling cheap chinese crap.  Very sad.

I hope tonite to go to the real Jeddah with a couple of the guys from the course.

The heat is not a problem anymore, you get used to the feeling of sticking your head in an oven everytime you go out but as you know, really you go from the air conditioned car to the air conditioned hotel to the air conditioned shop etc etc.

Looking forward to a change of hotel, I am getting sick of Chicken curry and coke.

Hopefully I will buy a local SIM card tonite and can give you a call.  I found out today that to send an sms is 90 cents Australian, and I counted 200 that I have sent!!!! Might stick to Skype which has been my saviour.

If anyone is planning on doing business in the Middle East talk to me or Phil D

Adrian

[Investigator-manager]

What a night !!!  Couple of the guys took me to the real Jeddah and the old souks (markets) where I saw buildings that defied belief.  Probabaly 17th century and who knows what was keeping them together.

Then it was off to a traditional restaurant where slabs of fatty lamb were served on rice whilst sitting on the floor in white tiled room in a back alley.

Neve experienced anything like it but I tell you that the Saudis I have met so far are some of the most caring and hospitable people I have ever met.  Gifts, meals and a good laugh were all had.

Then as expected, a trip to the hubbly bubbly place where we all sit around smoking flavoured tobacco in massive sheesha pipes and sipping mint tea.  Very relaxing but who the hell put that dope in my pipe...hahahahahaha.  No, definately no drugs, just a great night and I leave Jeddah with fond memories.

Ohh and I just called into the new ASSI office in the Middle East.  Thought I would make a couple of calls.

[Investigator-manager]

The adventure continues.........

Flew into Riyadh on Wednesday on a 747 Jumbo which was unusual for a 1 hr flight.  I am pleased to say that my experience at Jeddah airport and Riyadh airport was very pleasant and I think this is beciase these are domestic terminals and not international.  Flying to and from Dubai is considered an international flight.

First impressions on Riyadh were that is is a moderate sized city in the middle of the desert.  It is the capital of Saudi Arabia.  The city is very modern with lots of new buildings.  The traffic is still crazy and you take your life in your hands when you go out.

It was about a 1 hr drive to the hotel and wow !! "very naaace" as Borat would say.

I have a very large room with my own office in one corner.  Very snazzy.  Free 24hr Gym, Steam room, large swimming pool not to mention a private tenpin bowling alley, 9 hole synthetic grass golf course and squash courts.

Sounds great but to be honest, I am missing home and living out of a bag and having to put your clothes in for laundry and eating in restaurants starts to get boring.  How I long for a meal cooked at home and a glass or red.  I shoud add that alchohol is banned and if you are caught with it you are in serious trouble.

I have had lots of meetings as is required but I start training again tommorrow with a new group and lookin forward to that.

In erms of communications, 90c per sms and about $12.00 per min to call home so Skype has been my saviour.  I can call mobiles and landlines in Australia and talk for about 20 mins for around $3.00.

If you traveloverseas please have skype installed.  It is crystal clear and most hotels have free intrnet connection.

Anyway, emails to write so I will update those that are interested inthe next day or so.

Hopefully catchng up wth PhilD tonite for a feed.

Adrian FRancis
ASSI

Photo of my office in the hotel room  ---  Very Naace !!!!

[ELIZABETH]

Genie land

USA One of the many great nations of today who is reinventing itself via New President Obama, and new beginning - recently unison bettween muslims, christians, jews has always been my first port of call mainly due to career advancement and wanting to live the Holywood dream, but when I witnessed the snap shot of Dubai in the evening it fascinated me. Nothing as I would have imagined.

Pity we haven't invented aroma-a-vision yet as it would have completed the portrait perfectly.

When I think of the middle east (besides the Great Pyramids, Egypt) I seem to recall the cinematographic movie delight Lawrence of Arabia - starring the chrismatic Peter O'Toole, pictured riding high on the back of a crankeous camel as he succumbs to the hostile, unhospitable environment and people, hallucinating along the way i.e. singing out loud- englishmen go out in the midday sun.
Things of course have changed somewhat and what a difference having valuable resources that others so desperately desire..i.e. texas tea makes.  But from observation of the photographs there still appears to be some elements that still exist - high speed driving antics and military presence.

Looking forward to more pixs.

Shalom

elizabeth
Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness