Work rest and return….. (Part 3)

Ok so this isn’t quite the end yet but I promise we are very close. So when we left off last time I had arrived at Schipol Airport and was headed back to the Departure hall. When I arrived up top I headed to claim my bags that I had placed in storage. I found everything in tact and gathered the bags up and headed to check-in. The line was fairly short but to my dismay when I finally made it to the front of the line I was told that I was only allowed 20 kilos of baggage to Dubai. When I explained my circumstances to the young lady she got on the phone and called her supervisor. When she arrived I showed her my Passport explained what I had been through but there was nothing she could do. Bottom line I had to pay a lot of Euro’s to get me and my bags to Dubai. I checked everything in paid my fees and headed to Immigration and then to the gate. I had no more than 30 minutes left when I finally made it through and got to the gate in time to go through x-ray and had just enough time to call ahead and get a room reserved. We boarded the plane 5 minutes later and were in the air less than 10 minutes later. The flight was a short 7 hours and 20 minutes. After having a nice lunch of chicken, salad and some kind of custard, I settled in for a good movie. The two hours went by quickly and turned to my book for awhile. Once again they came by with the carts and had a beverage service. I picked up my book and enveloped myself for another 3 hours. I decided to watch another movie and before I knew it we were making our decent into Dubai. We landed a few minutes early and taxied to the gate. If you have never been to Dubai or any other International airport, you have never experienced the long walk to immigration. I think I have mentioned before that they out the gates as far away as possible so you are completely exhausted by the time you get there. This trip was no different and I walked forever and finally reached the hall.

Unbelievably the line was very short and I was through Immigration in less than 5 minutes and at the carousel picking up my bags. I headed through the door, out to the waiting crowds through the exit and towards the taxis. I called Diane to let her know I had made it safely and I would call her when I got to the hotel. The drive was about 10 minutes and was greeted as I got out. As I tried to pay for the ride, the driver explained he couldn’t take credit and all I had was US currency. He obliged by taking my $14 dollars and I headed to check-in. Once I arrived at the desk, they informed me that my reservation was at a hotel across town. I think I forgot to mention that while I was in Amsterdam I had called and made my reservation and realized when I got my confirmation they had made it at the wrong hotel. So I called them back and thought they were booking me in the right one. Well the night manager got on the phone and called the hotel explained my situation and got the cancellation charges dropped, canceled my reservation and gave me a discounted rate for my troubles. I knew it was late but had failed to look at my watch. By the time I reached the room and my bags were delivered I called Diane and we talked for a short while. It was then that I realized that it was 2:30 in the morning and I really needed to get to bed. We said our goodnight and I headed to bed. I tossed and turned for awhile and decided to get up and read a little to see if sleep would finally come. When I finally felt sleep begin to come it was after 4 am. I set my clock for 8 and fell fast asleep. The annoying alarm woke me up so I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. By the time I had finished and was ready for breakfast it was getting close to 10. I grabbed a quick bite and then headed down to the office just a short walking distance away. When I arrived they were all surprised to see me and I had to go through another rendition of my journey. They set me up with a cubicle so I setup my computer and started to tackle the awaiting emails.

As the day progressed I was able to speak with the HR department and they explained what would need to happen. In concert with the Saudi GRO (Government Relations Officer) they were able to get the required documents and begin the process. As afternoon came I began to feel tiredness and wondered if I would be able to last the rest of the day. I got up and walked around for a few minutes and felt refreshed enough to go back to my computer and continue on. The rest of the day went fairly quick and by the time I knew it, it was 6 pm. I shut down my computer, loaded everything up in my backpack and headed back to the hotel. When I arrived I noticed a Friday’s under the hotel and made a mental note to grab some dinner there. I went up to my room and unloaded and headed back down. The meal was pleasant not really very crowded. I meandered for about an hour and decided to head back to the room and call it an early night. I sent Diane a text because I knew she was in class but she had less than an hour left. I told her I would be up for an hour and for her to call me when she got home. So I got changed for bed and waited reading my book for awhile. Well it wasn’t long and my eyelids were heavy and she still hadn’t called. I figured she either didn’t get the message or she was busy with something else so I headed to bed. Sleep came easy and I awoke to the annoying alarm at 5:30. I jumped in the shower got dressed and headed down to breakfast. The breakfast is always good at the hotel, another International style buffet but this one you could order eggs like you wanted. I ordered a green chilies and cheese omelet and gathered the remaining items while I waited. As usual breakfast was good and a short while later I was back on the street headed for the office.

Once back in my cube, I worked on project issues that had cropped up since the day before. I called my boss and talked to him for awhile and assured him I was working diligently and not on the streets of Dubai shopping and sight seeing. He affirmed and as usual told me to stay out of trouble. Needless to stay I never get in trouble except when I am traveling through airports as this re-enactment confirms. I sent an email enquiring about my renewal and received an email from the local GRO asking me to call him. I placed the call and he explained where they were at and that he would be by shortly to pickup my Passport. I continued on with my work and realized that it was getting close to time for some lunch. I walked in to my SLM’s (Service Level Manager) office and asked if he was interested. Earlier the Manager, he and I had made arrangements to meet for dinner that night at my hotel. So David declined and said he would be fine until that evening. So I rode the elevator down and walked next door to my favorite little grocery and picked up a sandwich some chips and a Pepsi Max. I paid for it and headed back up to the office. I sat and ate my lunch and checked the news on the Internet and just chilled for awhile. A little while later I heard someone come through the door and ask where I was at. I heard them say that way and he showed up at my cube and asked for my Passport. We talked for a few minutes at how all of this had transpired and he said he thought it would be a few days and I would probably have it by Monday. So I confirmed that I should go ahead and book my flight but he said Inshalla Monday, which if you remember means Allah’s will. Basically he had no clue so I thanked him and he was on his way. When I travel on rotation I don’t take a lot of clothes with me because I have plenty at home. So I was in a bind because I had two shirts with me and a couple of new jeans I had picked up while I was home. I went in and told David that I was going to have to go somewhere and get a few shirts to tie me over since it would probably be a few days. He offered to take me because he knew of a place not far that had what I was looking for. So we planned to head out around 4 for a few minutes and then come back because he had a conference call.

At 4 he arrived at my cube and said lets go. So we rode down to the ground level and went to his car parked behind in a parking garage. As we drove he told me about the place we were going and for me to be sure to barter with the guy because it was expected. I had been there before and knew quite well what was expected. We arrived a short time later and pointed out the stores I needed to try. I walked into the first one and immediately found what I was looking for. They were knockoffs of a designer label at the stamped price of 215 Dirhams. This calculated was around $59 US dollars. I explained to him I didn’t even pay that for the originals and he said he would give them to me for 165. This was still pretty expensive but the quality was good and I agreed. I walked out of there with what I needed and went in search of David. I called his cell and he was around in a few minutes. We headed back to the office and finished out the day. Later around 8 that evening Martin, David and I we met at the restaurant in the hotel and had a nice dinner of cheese burgers and fries. We enjoyed ourselves in conversation and food and before we knew it, it was nearly 11:30. I told them I needed to get to bed, they agreed and we paid the bill and headed in our separate directions. I headed back to my room once again dressed for bed and crashed only to be awoken again at 5:30 by the annoying alarm. Again I jumped out of bed got ready and headed off to the office. I stopped in Costa for a quick caffeine fix and arrived as normal around 7’ish. I immediately started in on project issues and the day progressed quickly. Around 12 I stopped in to see Martin and asked if he was up for some KFC for lunch so we headed out. It was a short walk and we conversed over chicken and Pepsi. When we returned to the office we planned on meeting that afternoon to discuss some issues at site and I was back at my cube pounding out emails and history to be discussed. We met later that afternoon and before I knew it, it was time to leave the day had flown by very quickly.

Again sleep came very easily and I knew that my body clock was back in sync with the local time and drifted off. Tomorrow was Friday and my day off and I planned to sleep in as long as possible. When the alarm went off around 8, I crawled out of bed and enjoyed a hot long shower and pondered what to do with myself for the day. Lazily I got dressed went down to breakfast and enjoyed a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and cereal. I went back to my room grabbed my book, turned on FOX News and read for an hour or so. I decided that I didn’t want to be cooped up in my room all day so I decided to walk to the office, catch up on emails and work on the Blog. So you are all caught up now with my adventure. It is now Friday close to 2 pm and I am ready to grab some lunch maybe take a nap and just VEG out with some TIVO. Hope you have enjoyed this with me so far and the end is close. I will hopefully complete my journey in a few days and will be sure to bring you up to date and how it all ends.