Sunday, October 21, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Tolerable
My weekend (Thurs/Fri) was alright this week... On Thursday me and 11 others took a bus to Cairo for a "pub night" at the Canadian embassy, which turned out to be pretty fun. There was a lot of expats there, plus a pork roast bbq!! woo hoo! After the embassy we went to the Hard Rock where we ate some more and then danced for a bit once the "nightclub" started... all in all a good time. We got back to Stella around 3:30am which was a little hard because I had a golf tournament to play in at noon on Friday, but I made it up in time! Didn't play too well though which sucks, but whatev.
Friday evening I did some housesitting for fellow Canadians (the GM of the operations team, he and his wife will be here for 3-5 years)... fed his cat and dog and chilled out at his place on the beach about a 15 minute drive south of Stella Di Mare. It was great to sleep in an actual bed and not a hotel bed... Too bad we have to stay in the hotel here instead of being able to rent villas, I think it would make our stay here a lot more tolerable.
Keep on...
Friday evening I did some housesitting for fellow Canadians (the GM of the operations team, he and his wife will be here for 3-5 years)... fed his cat and dog and chilled out at his place on the beach about a 15 minute drive south of Stella Di Mare. It was great to sleep in an actual bed and not a hotel bed... Too bad we have to stay in the hotel here instead of being able to rent villas, I think it would make our stay here a lot more tolerable.
Keep on...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Ali-baba
Well, it's been a wild and crazy few days... First off the last weekend of Ramadan where we had from Friday to Monday off was a bit of a runaway, as per usual I s'pose. For those of us expats who hung around the resort we planned a tournament each day. Friday was golf, Saturday was Poker and college football (via slingbox), and Sunday was pool. I was relatively well behaved Friday and Saturday nights even though I had dressed up in my galabeya (spelling?!) to play golf... But Sunday was a little different. After he pool tournament it turned into crazy expat karaoke, followed by drunkin' room rally in my room, followed by even more drunkin' beach crashing... I only remember about a 2/3 of the evening, and I'm not proud of that either. Needless to say the sun was well up when we finally crashed and I didn't wake up until 3:30pm Monday afternoon. I'll try and post some pictures as there was a guy taking some until the wee hours... You could safely compare him to "that guy" that takes a camera to a bachelor party, I thought what happens in Egypt stays in Egypt.
So then I had a squash game lined up for Tuesday evening. So I get back to my room after work around 6pm, realise I'm running low on Egytian money so I take $400 US out of my safe and put it with my wallet so I remember to take it to work the next day to change. I leave my room at 6:25pm to play squash and return at 7:40pm to find the US cash, my Egyptian cash, and both my mobile phones gone. No signs of forced entry, but also not all "valuables" are gone, only the cash and phones. So the rest of the evening is spent convincing hotel security that I didn't just misplace it all and it didn't fall behind the desk. It all seems a little sketchy for my liking, even by Egyptian standards. I'm hoping the perp is a hotel guest who's gone now, but if it was staff then we're all f'd.
Bottom line, I'm out about $600 in mobile phone technology and $500 US equivalent in cash and an uneasy feeling leaving anything of value in my room. But where do I hide a laptop and related electronics, sunglasses, watches, personal documents, pictures, etc in a 250 square foot hotel room with a .5 cubic foot safe? Son of a... So I had to call Rogers and deactivate my YYC SIM card/number so don't bother calling that one. Mind you I've been here 8 months and the only calls I field are Scotiabank trying to sign me up for credit card insurance. I'll replace the SIM and reactivate the # at Christmas when I'm back on the continent.
I grew a goatee over the weekend (ok ok, last 2 weeks)... I don't think I like it and haven't decided if I'll share it with anyone. blah!
So then I had a squash game lined up for Tuesday evening. So I get back to my room after work around 6pm, realise I'm running low on Egytian money so I take $400 US out of my safe and put it with my wallet so I remember to take it to work the next day to change. I leave my room at 6:25pm to play squash and return at 7:40pm to find the US cash, my Egyptian cash, and both my mobile phones gone. No signs of forced entry, but also not all "valuables" are gone, only the cash and phones. So the rest of the evening is spent convincing hotel security that I didn't just misplace it all and it didn't fall behind the desk. It all seems a little sketchy for my liking, even by Egyptian standards. I'm hoping the perp is a hotel guest who's gone now, but if it was staff then we're all f'd.
Bottom line, I'm out about $600 in mobile phone technology and $500 US equivalent in cash and an uneasy feeling leaving anything of value in my room. But where do I hide a laptop and related electronics, sunglasses, watches, personal documents, pictures, etc in a 250 square foot hotel room with a .5 cubic foot safe? Son of a... So I had to call Rogers and deactivate my YYC SIM card/number so don't bother calling that one. Mind you I've been here 8 months and the only calls I field are Scotiabank trying to sign me up for credit card insurance. I'll replace the SIM and reactivate the # at Christmas when I'm back on the continent.
I grew a goatee over the weekend (ok ok, last 2 weeks)... I don't think I like it and haven't decided if I'll share it with anyone. blah!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ramadan
Below is a presentation that was forwarded to me via email that Shell put together for their non-Muslim employees to let them know a little about Ramadan. It has been Ramadan here in Egypt for nearly a month and it's ending this Friday... As a foreigner working in a predominantly Muslim country it has been quite the experience that I'm glad to have had. Living in a "European" style hotel run by a Coptic Christian Egyptian hasn't exactly been too effected by Ramadan, but my work environment and other interaction with Muslims has been enlightening.
This weekend, starting Friday, we get 4 days off... Some of my co-workers are taking off to Europe or other places to take a break, while me and some others are sticking around the resort. We've planned a weekend of tournaments, including golf, poker, pool, and couple others. I'm looking forward to a relaxing and fun weekend, glad to have a break from travelling...
Hope all is well in your part of the world.
This weekend, starting Friday, we get 4 days off... Some of my co-workers are taking off to Europe or other places to take a break, while me and some others are sticking around the resort. We've planned a weekend of tournaments, including golf, poker, pool, and couple others. I'm looking forward to a relaxing and fun weekend, glad to have a break from travelling...
Hope all is well in your part of the world.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Slingbox
Does anyone in Canada have access to a SlingBox connection that they want to share with me so I can watch Flames' games? One hooked up to a PVR would be prime, that way if I sleep through it I can watch it the next day...?
P p p p pleeeeaaaasssseeeee...
P p p p pleeeeaaaasssseeeee...
Monday, October 01, 2007
Europe Vid
Here's a quick video compliation I put together of the recent trip to Prague. Sort of amateur, but whatever. Enjoy...
Eastern Europe Pics
Here's a link to about 50 pics from the Europe trip on Facebook... hope you can get to Facebook from work...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56093&l=a12f0&id=666980653
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56093&l=a12f0&id=666980653
Insert Homer Simpson scream here.
From: Amani.Shenouda@dfat.gov.au [mailto:Amani.Shenouda@dfat.gov.au]
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 1:09 PM
Subject: <> [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
The travel advice for Egypt has been reviewed and reissued. It contains
new information in the Summary and under Terrorism (Israeli government
warns of very high risk of attack and kidnapping in the Sinai at this
time). The overall level of the advice has not changed.
The full text of the revised advisory on Egypt can be found on the internet
at: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au
Please find below the text of the Summary & Terrorism sections of the
Travel Advice:
Summary:
We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Egypt because of the
high threat of terrorist attack. Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere
in Egypt.
Tourist areas and popular destinations such as Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan,
Giza, Alexandria, Red Sea and Sinai resorts, Upper Egypt and places
throughout the rest of Egypt are potential terrorist targets, as are
commercial and public areas known to be frequented by foreigners. We
continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks against a
range of targets, including but not limited to places frequented by
foreigners. These include tourist resorts and hotels, transport
infrastructure, including the Cairo metro system and its stations, and
other symbols of the Egyptian government.
From: Amani.Shenouda@dfat.gov.au [mailto:Amani.Shenouda@dfat.gov.au]
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 1:09 PM
Subject: <> [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
The travel advice for Egypt has been reviewed and reissued. It contains
new information in the Summary and under Terrorism (Israeli government
warns of very high risk of attack and kidnapping in the Sinai at this
time). The overall level of the advice has not changed.
The full text of the revised advisory on Egypt can be found on the internet
at: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au
Please find below the text of the Summary & Terrorism sections of the
Travel Advice:
Summary:
We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Egypt because of the
high threat of terrorist attack. Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere
in Egypt.
Tourist areas and popular destinations such as Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan,
Giza, Alexandria, Red Sea and Sinai resorts, Upper Egypt and places
throughout the rest of Egypt are potential terrorist targets, as are
commercial and public areas known to be frequented by foreigners. We
continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks against a
range of targets, including but not limited to places frequented by
foreigners. These include tourist resorts and hotels, transport
infrastructure, including the Cairo metro system and its stations, and
other symbols of the Egyptian government.
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