Searching for chickens with a GPS....

One big advantage of living in Eastern Province and in Al Khobar especially is the proximity to Bahrain. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are separated by 25 Km of sea. The two are now linked by one of the longest bridges in the world - The King Fahd Causeway. It was opened in 1986 and now handles around 20 million passengers per year.

We have now been to Bahrain a few times using this route. But as we are finding out it can mean long delays at the border post. We have done the crossing in as little as just over an hour and as long as 3 hours.

The very first time we crossed they knew that the car was leaving Saudi for the first time (rego picked up on the camera) so the paperwork took a bit longer. There are altogether 6 stops to be made whilst crossing.

1. Tollway on the Saudi side in Al Khobar (SR 20 fee)
2. Car clearance station
3. Saudi border control
4. Bahraini Border entry
5. Bahraini customs
6. Bahraini car insurance check. Here you pay SR 20 for 3 day insurance to drive in Bahrain.

Same applies when leaving Bahrain apart from the insurance.

It’s worth recalling our first time across. We were off with for our first meal and a movie. The meal had to be Nando’s. Since there is none of either in Al Khobar it was fitting that these two destinations would be the first.

To help us get around I bought a GPS, a Garmin 1350. It cost us SR 1,050 without the packaging. In a box it is SR 1,450. Not sure how this sans-ambalage thing works but it is a significant saving so who's to argue.

The GPS had 2 Nando’s locations in Bahrain. We knew that had to be wrong as the one in Seef mall did not exist. So we picked the other one and the GPS do its thing. As we arrived to the designated street It confidently announced that “the destination is on your right”. One small problem. There was no Nando’s at the announced destination. Such is the faith in technology however, that we refused to accept the evidence of our own eyes, that in fact there was no Nando’s to be seen. So we drove around the block a few times just to make sure. Same result. Mafi Nando’s.

Finally I asked a nearby shopkeeper if he knew anything about this missing Peri-Peri establishment. Of course he knew. It had not been there for years. It had moved to another district. So much for your maps Mr. Garmin.

So we headed off and soon afterwards found it. The sheer relief of having Nando’s back in our life was overwhelming. A fine quarter-chicken with extra hot peri-peri was enjoyed. But I must say that no one yet has managed to equal Karto’s Nando at Chirnside Park. That man knows how to prepare chicken.

After that it was off to a movie. We saw Shrek Forever in 3D at the Seef Mall cinemas. Best donkey role by far. The whole Shrek series is just so entertaining.

At any rate that was our first solo journey across the Causeway.

As far as the GPS goes the Garmin is very good but it just lacks a bit of finishing. It will get you very close to where you want to be, but then just gets a tad confused in the last bit. Nonetheless it is a life saving device. It is still surreal to follow the turns in completely unknown territory and arrive where you need to be. A vital and necessary investment for any newcomer here.

Evening crossing of the King Fahd Causeway

Poorly sorted rocks....

If one tries hard enough around here there are many interesting things that can be found to do and enjoy. Shortly after arriving we were put in touch with a society here in Dhahran with a very interesting mission. The name of is Dhahran Geoscience Society or DGS for short.

It started out years ago as an ARAMCO (World’s biggest oil company) club for the geologists. At first its membership was exclusive to that set of people who get very excited just by looking at rocks. But as time went by they opened the membership to anyone who was interested in their work.

It is heavily sponsored by ARAMCO as they also realized that there was a good deal to be had here in terms of PR and letting the world know how they go about the business of exploration.

The Society meets once a month for a presentation/dinner usually at a very prestigious hotel such as La Meridien or Carlton hotels. The format consists of a presentation which lasts for about 40 minutes followed by a sumptuous dinner at a cost of 25 Riyals per head. (AUD 7.65). Now that is the value that simply cannot be beaten. The dinners are full on buffet affairs including the traditional kepsa if that is what you are after. The photo below will show you just how classy the whole affair is.

But of course to get to eat you must sit through some wonderfully themed presentations bearing titles such as “Heterogeneity in glaciogenic reservoirs: examples from the Ordovician and Permo-Carboniferous of Saudi Arabia” addressing “Heterogeneities in glaciogenic reservoirs abound, and give rise to a complex reservoir architecture which derives from a disparate depositional facies mosaic that may be significantly further complicated (within synglacial deposits) by the effects of glacial tectonics, as well as numerous extremely irregular bounding surfaces related to multiple phases of glacial advance and retreat”. Got that?. Good. This was the first time ever that I had heard about “poorly sorted rocks”. Rocks!!! Poorly sorted?? I never suspected that there could be any other kind.

Another riveting topic was “Robust Workflows for Seismic Reservoir Characterization” where we learnt about “workflows to make predictions about lithology and fluid from seismic amplitudes where their current form is based around a few fairly simply steps: two-term AVO coordinate rotations, spectral shaping derived from a power-law Earth spectrum model, and map-based detuning and calibration”

Mind you they also do other far more accessible presentations on science and business so it all evens out. However you do learn a lot from them all. For example I had never realized that this entire Arabian peninsula was under kilometer thick glaciers and that the North pole was actually in this region at one stage. So there.

The other significant part of the societies activities is the field trips. They organize thes few times a year and take the members to some very interesting places. The two done this year were to an actual oil drilling station in the desert somewhere. You get flown by ARAMCO’s private airline (B737’s) and spend a day as a guest with everything laid on in 5 star comfort. The other one was a 2 day trip to the Red Sea to do some diving and look at some underwater geology. These are all for free for the members.

The membership costs SR 75 per year and that money goes towards your dinners. It is simply amazing value.

I guess if you are to spend some time in this part of the world than it is a very worthwhile way of learning about what makes it such a unique location and is an eye opener in terms of just what is required for oil exploration. You cannot fail to be awed by the human ingenuity and the state of knowledge and understanding of our world.

If anyone locally is interested in joining drop me an email and I will put you in touch with DGS. It is one of the most interesting things that you can do around here.

And btw they have a door prize of SR 200 at every meeting and I have won it twice already. How good is that.


Their website is http://dgsonline.org/index.php

DGS dinner typical entree