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Almost a Year

We are fast approaching our first anniversary of arriving in Saudi Arabia. Only 1 year ago we were busy packing up our house and arranging for storage, submitting our resignations and waiting for our visa’s to arrive. How quickly a year passes, and in some respects how slowly it seems to go when we think of our families at home and especially our new arrival this year, Hannah – she is growing so quickly.




I just had a 5 day weekend from work :) and how nice it was. The days were owed in lieu from back in April this year when I represented PMU at Seef Mall in Bahrain.

Jesse decided that seeing as I had this time off, that he would also take a day off, and we drove up to Riyadh where we did our patriotic duty and voted at the Aussie Embassy for the upcoming election. His passport was also due to expire so instead of sending it via DHL he could submit that at the same time for renewal and save the money – yeah rite – he had all the paperwork filled out, had his passport pics, the trouble was they were too small so no success with this task.

We took off from our compound on the Wednesday at 9am and arrived safely on the outskirts of Riyadh at about 12.30. It took a full tank of fuel to get there and as we went through the last checkpoint before Riyadh the fuel light was on and flashing – and petrol stations every 500 meters – all on the wrong side of the freeway! We reduced our speed back to use less petrol and safely made it to a petrol station a few kilometers further up the highway.If anyone is ever driving from Al Khobar to Riyadh and when they are about 1/2 way there and running low on fuel – then the last petrol stop is just after the red sand dunes, otherwise it becomes a bit worrying that it won’t be made to the next fuel stop – and it’s toooooooo hot to walk it!

All was going well and on time, as we expected and the car went like a dream. To save battery time on the GPS we didn’t turn it on until after we filled up with petrol. We punched in the Diplomatic Quarter for Riyadh where all the embassies are situated, and it promptly directed us to get off the freeway, do a u turn and go back the way we had come from.

As everyone knows, Jesse is not that good at directions, but even he thought this a bit “wrong” but we put our faith in the good old Garmin and went as directed. It directed us back about 7 km’s telling us to keep to the Dammam/Al Khobar road then once we had passed by virtually the last turn off it was showing as another 300 odd kilometers – back to where we had come from.Jesse very quickly pulled up on the side of the freeway, (sand spraying out from the tyres and back slewing almost sideways) – this was so we could drive through the sand back to the exit road if needed. We turned the GPS off, turned it back on and re-programmed it and as expected it was telling us to go back the way we came – we didn’t have to go through the sand as it was showing us an exit road close by and we came back into Riyadh by the old Dammam Highway.

This was a lot more picturesque than the regular route albeit a lot more bumpier road surface – think of roads in north Queensland back in the seventies. There were goat, sheep and camel markets quite a bit of the way in, complete with their hand built ply wood compounds (humpies)next to the animal pens.

We made it to the diplomatic quarter with no worries. We found an ATM no worries, as the embassy only accepts cash for passports – problem, it wouldn’t accept our Aussie card :( We then tried to find the embassy but that proved to be a bit more of a problem. The fire dept couldn’t tell us, various guards couldn’t tell us – a sweeper at a shopping centre told us it was at circle 8 so he knew a bit more than a lot more “official” type people.

We finally found our embassy and made it in to vote with 3 minutes to spare as the voting closed at 3pm…..lol and luckily found an ATM on the way that accepted our card – so voting done, now to find accommodation I have pics of this and I will post in the next few days of where we stayed and what we saw.

Going to Bahrain via King Fahd Causeway

We have been really enjoying our new car – and have made several trips now to Bahrain where it’s great to go to the cinema (they have hot caramel popcorn), get a great Chinese massage or just enjoy not being hunted out of the shops or sitting around waiting for them to open while prayer is on. You can even try clothes on before buying and are served by women assistants. Jesse especially likes the fact that there is a Nando’s over there but as he said in a previous blog it isn't as good as Chirnside Park.

The thought of going over the Causeway sometimes puts me off, but it is well worth any wait once we get to Bahrain. I think the longest we had to wait, was coming back at 2am on a Thursday night. I was amazed how crowded it was and we didn’t get home until about 4.30 am. It was lucky that it was Thursday as it meant I had all Friday to recover. We have tried different times and thought we would watch the last 12am movie and that it should be a breeze getting across – big mistake.

We later found out that this is the time that all the clubs, restaurants, movies etc etc close and is one of the peak times to come back.

It is fascinating, amusing and scary, as you approach the first checkpoint on the way out of Saudi. There are hundreds of cars, most with drivers who have no obvious sense of fatality or injury to themselves or others, pushing and jostling to get into what should be the uniform lanes leading to a booth with a green light on. They will literally push right in on you, and it is either give way or be hit. The cars will be within 1cm of the car in front to avoid someone pushing in, and it is not unseen to see someone actually touching the car in front or rear ending them.

It is also fascinating that once you get past this first checkpoint, that the lanes are then strictly adhered to and there is no horn honking or pushing and everything becomes orderly – as the driving in Bahrain is. Pure pleasure being driven there. It is very scary being on the roads in Saudi even though there is virtually no road rage even though it could be totally understood if it happened.

Jesse bought himself a sat-nav and it has been invaluable in getting us around especially with Jesse’s directionally challenged sense of location – I am constantly amazed that he managed to get himself around the world successfully before these wonderful machines were invented, as he is totally hopeless at knowing where he is.

I must say though that the brand we bought (Garmin) is just slightly “off” quite a bit of the time and seems to loose itself or send us the wrong way then make us do a u turn and come back. Lucky I seem to have an inbuilt navigation system in my brain and we are usually able to successfully arrive where we planned. I much prefer the Navman we have in Melbourne.

We have been going to Seef Mall in Bahrain as I know what shops are where and it isn’t too big to get around, and we have discovered a great French patisserie restaurant located up one end. It is called PAUL and they specialize in bread and pastries but their actual food is great as well.

We swiped some of the napkins to bring home for my son in-law (his name is Paul). They also make an ok cappuccino, much better than the ones I have had in Saudi. Jesse took a pic on his phone of me standing next to the sign outside Paul, but for some reason it didn't want to dowload.

We will try the newer and bigger City Central Mall next time as everyone tells us this is the one to go to – this one even has a Freedom Furniture store as well as a 20 cinema complex and very importantly a Paul. Getting off the subject we also have Payless Shoes and a Howard’s Storage World in our local Mall of Dharan.

It is so good to have nice bread and coffee – I don’t like any of the cappuccino’s I have had in Saudi, including ones from Starbucks, Costa, Dr. Café, Seattle’s Best, Joffrey or any other café I have tried as most places make it with UHT or it is so weak it is like drinking warmed up milk as well as being so scalding hot it burns everything from gums to mouth, and takes too long to drink. 

There is one decent coffee place in our local Mall of Dharan in a really pretty French patisserie…… but I can’t wait to get back to Melbourne to have some really decent coffee…mmmm and some really nice bread………mmmmmmmmmmm.

We won’t be going across to Bahrain for a few weeks now because Jesse’s Aussie passport is about to expire and it has to be taken to the Aus. Embassy in Riyadh to get renewed. Usually you DHL it to them with the fee, but as we have to go to the embassy to vote for the upcoming election we decided to take a day off work and drive up to Riyadh and put the passport in as well as vote. 

So we will be voting well in advance of all you mob at home . I am also using this as an excuse to have 3 extra days off work as it is owed to me from when I represented PMU in Bahrain back in April….. so roll on next week.

I’m Back :P

Yes I know, it’s been a long time since I had the inclination or anything much to write about (well to be honest, I have had a lot to write about but too lazy). Jesse has made me feel ashamed with all his great posts and me here contributing nada, zilch, zero, nothing – so I thought I had better get my A into G and write something……

I have settled into my role in the registrar’s office and am starting to learn many things such as what pre-requisites really are and how, if a class is over-ridden what impact is has on the student’s future learning outcome, especially if their grade is suffering with their chosen subject.

I recently did an audit on all the math courses offered and was totally awe-struck that the majority of women doing these classes had a mark of A or A+ right through all their courses. I had one young lady in recently to pick up her graduation certificate (one of our first graduates) and I had to print out her official transcript, and over the 4 years she studied, every class she took, which were many, were all A+. The audit I carried out was actually a great exercise for me as it really helped me to consolidate a lot of information I previously had to take in.

I learnt a few weeks after starting in this new position that for some reason when I was bringing up the software forms that we use called Banner, that more than 1/2 the information was missing from my screen. In many ways I was quite relieved that it was the computer and not me just being thick at having to seek information from my colleagues several times before I “got it”.

After much semi- aggressive campaigning and many phone discussions to the Banner Technician about what the actual problem was, it has been fixed and it is a delight to have all the information available to me. Well done to the PMU IT team is what I say (especially my husband – Director of IT)

At the moment, all talk at work is of Ramadan which is one month of fasting for all muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during daylight hours and will only eat well after the sun disappears. I have been told that the shops and restaurants will open from 10pm and will stay open for most of the night. So in effect life is lived backwards as far as body clock is concerned. We have different shorter class schedules as most of our students and staff are muslims, and we have to accomodate the change in their routine. At the end of this time is what they call the Eid which is in effect a nine day holiday to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Brush with the blues…

My life is now almost complete. I have finally acquired a guitar and an amp and can now resume my musical indulgences after a 10 month break. But first some background.

One of my most enjoyable activities throughout the years has been my guitar playing. I started playing shortly after I arrived in Australia back in the 70’s. But even before that whilst I was living in Sarajevo I had always wanted one. I remember being bitterly disappointed at not getting one for my 13th birthday. The memory of that is really that strong.

I also recall shortly after arriving in Australia in the early 70’s and settling in that wonderful Melbourne “flatlands” suburb of St. Albans having gone for a very early morning walk down the Main Street. I walked past a General store with its front window completely smashed in. Lo and behold there was a guitar in the display. It was one of those Jazz flat-tops with a sunburnt finish. It looked so gorgeous. For a fleeting moment I just wanted to reach in, pick it up and walk away. There really was no one around so it would have been so easy. My underdeveloped, teenage sense of morality had a brief battle with my conscientiousness and of course the right thing was done. I stood there for what seemed like ages daydreaming of being a Guitar God, a famous RockStar. I ended up working in IT eventually.

But all was not lost. Within a week I had come back to the same shop with my Dad and we ended up buying my first ever guitar. It was an acoustic, 6 string made in China. It was actually really, really horrible. The action was about ¾ of an inch off the fretboard, impossible to tune, bent neck and seized machine heads. But it was mine and I loved it with a totally misguided devotion. That it would be little better than fire wood should have been obvious from the start. The store where we bought it also sold military surplus gear, camping equipment and commercial kitchens. I remember seeing the guitar right next to a 5 ring gas burner that was about a meter in diameter. It was one of those that can be used to boil a 1,000 litre vat. Something should have told me that their guitar supplies would not have been acquired by a master luthier.

So I played, every day, to the point where my fingers bled. But it was my best friend at the time and it had opened up the world for me.

I have gone through many guitars in my life since then. At one point I actually had 23 of them around the house. I am now down to 3. My pride and joy is my Fender Stratocaster Custom Shop which was bought for me by my Mum just before she passed away. I have always wanted a Strat but having a CS one is just so special. It is a superb instrument. A piece of art that you use to make some art.

When I left for Saudi I left that in Australia as I did not want any transport damage. But I was missing it so much. In Australia I had it with me at all times. Wherever I went it went with me and it would come out at a slightest provocation.

Finally deciding to take a plunge we went to the Old Khobar markets where I found what I needed. I ended up getting a BC Rich cheapo and a small Kustom DS35 amp. I am back in heaven working on my “Jeff Beck” type of playing. Just to be able to sit down and play along with Eva Cassidy or others is a huge enjoyment and really sorts out all the crap in the day. So it’s back to the blues and back to sanity.

On the other hand it has made me realize how much I miss being around my kids and their music as well as my blues buddies Andrew and Freddy. Roll on January. (Our annual leave back to Oz)