You're Obviously Not a Gulfer

I think I'm past the point of apologizing for the pace at which I crank out these posts, so I'll simply continue where we left off on my time here in the Middle East. I did manage to finish my 4-week class back in Abu Dhabi, and while the class itself was pretty cool, even better was the time we all got off. As I think I mentioned before, the class didn't really have homework and we actually got full weekends off (aka 2 days), which is rare in the SLB training catalog.

Our first weekend off the reservation, we just decided to check out downtown Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and Abu Dhabi has the unofficial title of the 'World's Richest City.' Judging by the vast amounts of luxury hotels, the ever-growing skyline, the extremely well-kept streets, and the superfluous number of fashionable European clothing stores at the malls, I'd say the name probably fits. On Friday, we took a cab down to Ferrari World, which is an almost completely indoor amusement park. As you can imagine, it's a tribute to Ferrari, which is wildly popular in the Middle East. I rarely go a day without seeing some 20-something or teen branding the logo somewhere on their garb. The amusement park itself didn't really offer a full day's worth of activities, but they manage a few highlights. The world's fastest roller coaster resides in Ferrari World. For those of you familiar with Cedar Point, it's basically a combination of Millenium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. The difference is that you accelerate from 0 to 150 mph in under 5 seconds. Those 5 seconds are pretty amazing too. The moment you think you're done accelerating, you have a whole 'nother second of intensity. You actually have to wear glasses, kind of like in skydiving, which is fitting because you actually go faster than tandem skydivers do.  We rode it 4 times and then decided to check out the rest of the park, which included a couple not-so-great simulators, a very weak attempt at a Gemini-like racing roller coaster, and a fog and laser-light performance that could only be described as.....about 45 minutes long.

Thing could fly

Had to go front row

150mph

Under the roof

The Ferrari performance

This is probably what Enzo Ferrari had in mind

They are still classy though

We also walked around the Yas Marina area, where they hold Formula 1 races. The whole area was pretty impressive, but we definitely got fatigued by the end of a  full day of walking. The next day we decided to go check out the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which is apparently the 7th largest mosque in the world. It was absolutely stunning. White marble everywhere and thousands upon thousands of other marble tiles from all over the world. We had an Emirati tour guide teach us a little bit about the prayer process and some information about Islam as well. The women still had to wear the abaya, covering up their hair and shoulders, while men were encouraged to wear pants and long sleeves. We removed our shoes as we entered the main prayer hall and saw one of the largest carpets in the world. It was a pretty cool experience, mostly because of just how massive and elaborate the mosque was.

One of the minarets where the call to prayer is made (via speakers these days)

Inside the main prayer hall

The next weekend we managed to go off to Dubai for 2 quick, but exciting days. Driving into Dubai was pretty awesome because the first thing I really saw was the Burj Al Arab shimmering in the dark of the night. That was quickly followed by me turning my head 90 degrees and seeing the tallest building on earth, the Burj Khalifa. The thing was absolutely towering. After we settled into our hotel, we headed down to see the tower up close. It is part of this whole complex in a central part of Dubai that also includes the Dubai Mall, one of the largest in the world. Just to give you an idea of how tall it is, take the Empire State Building.....and then double it! It's over 2700 feet tall. The comical thing is that it was completed just a few years ago, and then naturally Saudi Arabia, not to be outdone by a Gulf neighbor, announced they would build the tallest building in the world in Jeddah, planned at over 3000 feet. The pissing contest continues.

However, the whole area around the Burj was really awesome. The Dubai fountains are right in the middle of it all and they put on a nightly show that was easily worth paying for (we didn't). They also have a really nice Souq (market) that has a motley of good restaurants including French, Italian, and Lebanese cuisines.

Day 2 brought us out to the Burj Al Arab, which is a mammoth "7-Star" Hotel right on the water in Dubai that is shaped somewhat like a giant sail. It was a crowning symbol of Dubai's modern 'renaissance.' Apparently you needed a reservation to get in, so we could only ogle from outside the gates.

That night we decided to take a trip into the desert on safari. We hopped into a big Toyota Landcruiser, threw on our shmarr's (the red 'turban' that Emiratis, Bahrainis, Kuwaitis, and Saudis wear), and headed into the desert about 30 minutes outside of Dubai. Our driver took a bunch of air out of the tires and then we did some 'dune'-ing around the desert for a while. It was pretty fun, although I immediately regretted not having an actual dune buggy. We were treated to a fairly Arab (actually Indian) dinner and some shisha, a belly dancer, and some casual camel rides. Pretty excellent Friday afternoon.

Burj Al Arab

Khalifa in the daytime

The Souk at the Dubai Mall

Preppin for the safari

Drastic psi reduction

Dune-ing

These guys got the spiritual side of it

Sarah taking in the sunset

traditional Arab conversation

Our lovely group

Camel time

Dancer time

Shisha time......alone.......time to go

Our final day, I decided to do some solo work and went to the observation deck up at the Burj Khalifa, conveniently called 'At The Top.' It was at the 124th floor, which was something like 1450 feet high, making it the highest observation deck in the world. The tower can be seen 50km away and there were plenty of amazing views of the rest of Dubai. Afterwards, I met up with the rest of the group and we headed to the Mall of the Emirates, where the rest of the group did some shopping and watched the skiers conquer the indoor ski slopes at 'Ski Dubai.' I myself decided to see 'Mission Impossible IV' for the sole reason that there were numerous scenes shot in Dubai, especially in and around the Burj Khalifa. Decent movie, made way cooler by having been up in the Burj mere hours earlier. Then we packed up our stuff and headed back to Abu Dhabi for the next week of class.

Little lesson on UAE history

Observation deck is waaaaay up there

Elevator was pretty cool

View from above

Vertigo shot

Was nice to finally get some alone time

'The World' islands 

Why not have a gold bar ATM?

Our third week in class was pretty cool as we finally got to have a practical evaluation where we actually ran the tools that we'd been learning. We had a nice 'final dinner' at the Shangri-La Hotel, which was the exact spot I'd had dinner in my first week in the Middle East all the way back in 2010. All of us passed the class, although we were lucky enough to have another 1-week course where we would learn additional tools to be run in the well. That also meant that we got one more free weekend, so I decided to go somewhere I'd literally dreamed about for 2 years.

For those of you who remember, when I originally signed with big blue, I had signed up to go to Oman. 6 and 3 rotation (6 weeks working, 3 weeks playing) and an excellent geographical coefficient. However, visa issues prevented from going there so I ended up in Saudi. Luckily I managed to maintain some of my contacts in Oman and I decided to pay some friends a visit during that extra weekend. Me and 2 of my other classmates took a quick 1-hour flight from Abu Dhabi to Muscat, where we met up with one of my old SLB friends who was currently working there. One of my buddies who used to work in Saudi transferred back to Oman, and although he was working that weekend, he was gracious enough to send his cousin to show us around! Omani hospitality was really quite special, and I sincerely hope I can repay the favor someday!

That Friday we headed out of the city with my friend's cousin, Salim, and he took us to a place called Nizwa, where there was an ancient fort and livestock and produce market, with auctions and everything. We took a look through the touristy shops, gazed at the procession of goats, lambs, and camels as they were paraded and auctioned off. It was definitely a cool cultural experience and I'm glad we got to experience it. We did our share of shopping, then took a nice look around the fort.  We finished our morning by dabbling with a light lunch there as well.

From there, we drove about an hour to the Hoota Cave. There were miles of newly discovered caves, although much of them were underwater. We were taken on a very touristy tour of the main caverns, where we got good looks at tremendous stalactites, stalagmites, and one enormous rock that looked like a lion's head. Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed inside the cave, so you'll just have to use your imagination. We then traversed back to Muscat, but stopped on the way at the ancient city of Tanuf, where we encountered basically just extremely old remnants of the city.

On the way back to Muscat, we stopped for some traditional Omani grub. The other American who came with us had never eaten with her hands before, but she performed admirably while delving into some rice and chicken. The restaurant ended up actually being Yemeni, but the delicacies were basically the same. When we finally reached Muscat, we went to the Omani Heritage Festival in Muscat. It was actually really cool as we saw performances of some of the sailors that have been going on for centuries. There were open markets with very traditional Omani foods and cooking practices. There were stand-up comedians performing, as well as a hefty amount of singing and dancing. All in all, it was a great day and I don't think I could've possibly felt more Omani by the end of it.

Nice to know Omanis deal so many dangerous goods

Whats up Marquette circa 1992

Best tour guide ever, Salim!

View from atop the fort

This is how Mexicans treat Americans in Oman

Unless we're having peaceful carpet time

That sounds less like an 'embrace' and more like a 'you better fricking join now'

These forts dotted the entire country

City of Tanuf

Eating with the hands again!

Omani Festival in Muscat

Sailors doing their traditional song and dance

The meat market in Nizwa

I honestly didn't feel unsafe

The fort at Nizwa

Outside the Hoota Cave

Tanuf

Day 2 in Oman started with another lovely breakfast in the hotel and then we trekked out to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Located in Muscat, it is the largest mosque in the country, and oh was it grand. Us males were told to wear pants and cover arms, while the womenfolk were asked to cover shoulders and hair as well. The main prayer hall was pretty exquisite, but not as over-the-top as the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. There was marble throughout the entire mosque area and walking without shoes felt both normal and appropriate. I really didn't want to dirty up any part of it. We were lucky enough to get there with very few people around, so we felt like we had it to ourselves.

After the mosque, we went down to Riyam Park and Mutrah, which is a famed corniche of Muscat. We trekked up a couple of the old forts that lined the corniche. One of them in particular offered great views of the whole Mutrah port and even other parts of Muscat. Muscat is really a cool city, with beaches and ports, but also split between a lot of mountains. It's by far the largest city in Oman, but the Omani people have tried to keep it close to their roots. It's not at all lavish like other places in the Gulf, probably because most Omani's actually work. Labor isn't imported as much as places like the UAE or Saudi. I'd highly recommend putting Oman on your travel list, especially if the Arab world interests you.

We checked out some more of the shops along the Mutrah corniche. We were also approached by a hilarious Omani man who informed us that he was skipping work at the airport to relax and chat with us. He might've been the friendliest man I'd ever met and he went on to tell us how he admired Saudi Arabia for it's strict religiousness, probably due to his own shortcomings. He went into great detail with his descriptions of the women he'd been with from different countries. He had much worse things to say about Omani women than American women, which was both shocking and comforting. Either way, it was probably the most unexpected and random conversation I've had in the Middle East, but also one of the funniest. Literally right as that gentleman stopped talking to us, Salim came by and we went down to check out the Sultan's Palace in the old part of Muscat.  The whole area felt very official, with huge government offices and buildings lining the Palace. Naturally, more old forts dotted the old city as well. One final stop at the Shangri-La resort in Muscat capped our evening and one of the best weekend trips I've ever had.

In front of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

No shoes please

Inside the main prayer hall

The marble was quite exquisite

:)

In Riyam Park. This thing is actually a giant incense burner

Enjoying the view from one of the forts

Mutrah Corniche

Sultan's private yacht (it's not the one in front)

Mutrah fort

Outside the gate to the Old City

In front of the Sultan's Palace

Residence of Sultan Qaboos

Shangri-La Resort. I highly endorse it. 

Field trip picture inside the mosque's main prayer hall

The forts are still lit up at night

After we got back from Oman, I finished up my last week of training in Abu Dhabi. We covered more advanced tools and more uses for our fiber optics. Very interesting stuff and I know I'll use it in Saudi soon. There was also a basketball tournament our last week in Abu Dhabi which proved to be quite detrimental to my health. I was feeling pretty good going into the game (which ended up being a giant 5-on-5 game), and even threw down a pre-game dunk. I'm pretty sure the hoops at the learning center are shorter than 10 feet, but naturally I'll claim it as a dunk. However, during the 2nd quarter of the game, I went up for a rebound and came down on the side of my left foot. The ankle rolled over and all of my weight immediately shifted to the contorted joint. I gimped my way off the court and the ankle ballooned to about triple its' normal size in like 90 seconds. I immediately went to first aid and got some ice. I thought it was just a mild sprain, but I would learn later I had grade 2 sprains on multiple ligaments in my ankle. This would ruin my next hitch in Saudi.

Either way, our class ended with some nice dinners and some traditional beer pong at PJ's and a lot of late-night dancing and sweating. I made my way back to the Kingdom wounded, but not dead.