It was a pretty eventful weekend for me. Wednesday night was a nice relaxing evening at the fantastic PDO boat club watching the Exiles band play (the same band from the ANZO ball). Thursday evening was an eventful affair that ended up with a drunken bout of The Beatles Rock Band. I still managed to get high 90's. Ok it was on easy mode. The new band at the Safari bar, Oxygen, seemed ok. The two lead singers were wearing some pretty sexy outfits which seemed to pack the punters in, and the guitarist (from Norway, I think, or one of the Scandinavian countries) also demonstrated that he could actually play the guitar quite well.
Friday morning I woke up to find I'd won Tom Jones tickets in the recent prize draw over at
Muscat Confidential - score! But seeing as I've already bought my tickets, I am giving them away to fellow blogger
Delirious in the Desert.
And speaking of fellow bloggers, new girl on the scene English Girl in Oman has blogged again about life here, a dinner party this time. I wonder if anyone will comment with embarrassing dinner party stories. I hope they do because I find that sort of stuff really entertaining to read :)
Also, Reality in Oman has blogged twice in recent days. The first on haggling at the Muttrah Corniche (I so need her haggling skills when visiting the dodgy t-shirt guy in ruwi) and the second was an alarming commentary on the issues she is facing from her family for marrying an American "white boy". While one could argue that anyone marrying an American is cause for concern (because they're.... American?!) it is entirely dis-heartening to read what is happening to her and by extension, her immediate family as a result of her uncle's desire to be an asshole. An enlightening insight into the inner-workings of Omani family politics. My commiserations go out to her, but I'm sure in just a few short months when she is state-side, it'll be a distant memory.
The Jet Driver also blogged recently on the greed of some people in the 40th anniversary celebrations, worth a read because I think it's definitely something that rings true. I just wish he'd write more about the Basis Bus One because that had me in stitches of laughter.
In local regional news, I read with some amazement that the Qatari's have decided that they will now refuse to offer Visa's on arrival to European and North American passport holders. And rather bizarrely, one of Qatar's Diplomats caused a commotion on a United Airlines flight to the USA recently when he tried to sneak a quick smoke in the toilets. Obviously this set off alarms and then the guy joked that he was trying to set his shoes on fire. What a dick!
So, now, or after May 1st, in order to visit Qatar, if you are not on the magic Visa on Arrival list, you will need to obtain a visit visa ahead of time. That's really good for business that is. Suddenly Qatar is competing with the UAE to be more like Saudi. But understandable I guess. However, what really amazes me is that in order to get a visit visa, British nationals must now present bank statements of the last 3 months showing that they have at least $1300. That is a real corker! The Doha rugby club is a great venue and a great place, shame they are not going to be hosting many more games there because of this ruling!
Have a good week everyone.
le fin.
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Hey, thanks for the support!
ReplyDeleteI guess you can say that their reaction is expected but it's still sad.. I do hope that they get over themselves soon, but I doubt it. It will take years!
I just hate this sense of superiority that they have!
Thanks again for the tix Mr Sythe, just have to go buy some sexy undies to throw on stage for the Welsh crooner ;)
ReplyDeleteOh and Reality, my thoughts are with you and I feel your pain. FYI - my Father was disowned from his family (his father imposed it) for marrying my New-Zealand 'Maori' mother and for mixing the family bloody by having mixed kids...but when my parents had a son he took us all back, since the family name would be carried on.
You can't choose your family and many of ours are dysfunctional and make stupid decisions or comments, but I'm hoping they come around for the right reasons, if not to be a part of your future children's lives x
The qatari diplomat should be stripped of his immunity and be spanked. The world is changing,reciprocity is the new word.
ReplyDeleteThe incident of the Qatari diplomat has nothing to do with the new visa regulations. I think these regulations aim to tighten security after the killing of Mohammed Almabhouh and the abuse of European passports by Israel.
ReplyDeleteThe rumor was flying here in Doha before the incident that it MIGHT happen. However, it is thought that the diplomat situation pushed it over the edge. In addition...another VERY qatari government thing to do: they are just letting it be rumor...there has been NO OFFICIAL statement sent to the american embassy yet. I think they are just planning on doing it without any kind of real announcement. We are all getting quite upset over here...this change could definitely be detrimental to businesses and families. We are all hoping that they will take the new "law" back once they realize it just won't work. There have been articles in newspapers and quotes from people like the qatari london embassy, so it is possible it is being reconsidered. If you want to read some reactions from expats living in qatar go
ReplyDeletehere
http://www.expatwoman.com/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=101704
Thankfully, Qatar decided (correctly) that it was NOT in their best interest to stop visas-on-arrival. They tried to make a stand for reciprocity, but it failed. Thankfully, people can still get visas-on-arrival.
ReplyDelete