Not been on the Forum for a while now as your intrepid Dubai Knight is working waaay out in the wilds of western Saudi Arabia!
I would say that Dubai and where I am are the opposite ends of the universe...however the cultural differences are interesting to say the least. If I come here fresh from Europe, it would have been difficult to acclimatise, however a few years in the UAE have taught me the basics of protocol. I am in a tiny fishing village called Al Quamah on the Red Sea coast about 5.5 hours drive south of Jeddah and 2 hours from the city of Abha. Its an area of volcanic lava flow wilderness surrounded by mangrove swamp, sand and palms called 'Dom'. The largest population here are moths the size of helicopters and buzzards!
Surprisingly, the Supreme Council for Tourism are organising (or trying to!) a huge festival here to promote the region and its my lot to be living in a tent on the shore for the last few weeks to get the show on the road. We get a night in a hotel once a week...and it has internet!
Hope to be back in civilisation mid February, so will be logging in from time to time (this is the fastest connection I can get and its 28kbps!) to see what events are forthcoming at the end of Feb.
See y'all then!
Mas Salama!
Knight
