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- Dec 15, 2006
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Jaunty on the road- Peshawar to Dubai
So, left Peshawar yesterday morning. I used to think Islamabad airport was the worst, but now I realize I was wrong. The outside of both airports is like a rush hour bus-station, with big throngs of skinny Pakistani guys in shalwar chameez. You battle through them, and there is a massive long queue to get in, caused by the very slow and inefficient manual search. My "close protection" guy had to bribe someone to let me in by a side door (just security-wise it would probably be appalling for me to be out there in that queue for an hour, let alone the temperature and the missing my flight issues).
Getting to check-in was okay and (mercifully) I was upgraded to Business Class, but then it crappy again. Immigration was about 8 disorderly queues, after which you have to push your way back past all the queuing people in order to line up to have your passport checked a second time. On my way through, I was picked up by two guys who claimed to be security, and I guess probably were. They seemed thoroughly confused to see a foreigner there (I was the only white guy in the airport) and spent ages writing down my passport details and asking me again and again who I had been meeting, why I was there, what work I did and so on. They asked for endless contact details and so on, and only let me go when they asked me if I had an escort outside, and I said "Yes, he's called Captain xxxx, you can ring him" at which point they said "something something something military something something" and let me go. Then another chaotic queue, some more checks and stamps, and I was in departures. What made this particularly trying was that there was no signage or explanation of where to go and what sequence to go through the various checks. At least when I got to departures people were boarding and they waved me to the head of the queue without even checking to see that I was Business Class (just on the basis of being white, I guess). The flight was pleasant- 3 hours is not a long time and Emirates business class if quality.
In the evening in Dubai, I went to the downtown area to meet some friends for dinner. I'd never really been to that part- usually I stay in the old part of the city close to the airport. We were meeting in something like a shopping mall, but to be honest it was pretty f*cking amazing. It was constructed like an Arabian palace (IIRC) and was on the edge of the river, and to get there you had to come over a stone bridge, again in the Arabian style. The restaurant was very nice- swanky in the clean and modern style, Western food, very good. My friends chastised me for staying where I am staying. They always stay in 5* places that cost twice as much as where I am, which is a pretty solid "business travelers' type hotel". I'd never really considered it before- I'd pay that much or more when in holiday, but my attitude here is that it just has to be functional. That being said, now I see how gorgeous it is down there and how nice some of the hotels are, I'll probably be changing. Might go for dinner again there tonight, in which case I will grab some pics.
This morning I decided to pamper myself by getting a facial (my skin was in terrible condition). The girl who did it was pretty competent, so I got a massage too. Overall it was not bad, and she did some good work on my back. Seems that I am knotted to hell around the traps and scapular retractors. She didn't work them out completely, but did help.
Just now I decided to head out to one of the bigger shopping malls. I checked out a big sports store and actually had a range of compression-wear (shorts and shirts), in three different thicknesses. I was planning to wait to get rehband, but that requires a trip to the UK or complicated shipping arrangements, and these were right there, so I decided to go for it. I got the full length shorts and full length top in the heaviest thickness, which came to about $220. A bit expensive, but screw it. I had originally planned to get the shorter ones, but I realized that as I get both shin-splints and forearm tendinitis (as well as shoulder and hamstring problems, and problems in the middle and lower back) I need to stay warm pretty much everywhere. Tried as according to the measurements I was large and that seemed a bit doubtfull- it sort of slapped on like a combination of a wetsuit and a surgeon's glove. Very nice and snug, especially around the chest. Sadly, it doesn't seem to compress so much around the lower back, but this is probably unavoidable as my chest is so much bigger than my waist these days (43" chest and 30" waist- v-taper FTW).
Anyway, I am here for a few more days before I go off to Kabul. Planning to go and check out a beach-side restaurant this evening or tomorrow evening, other than that, nothing special planned.
So, left Peshawar yesterday morning. I used to think Islamabad airport was the worst, but now I realize I was wrong. The outside of both airports is like a rush hour bus-station, with big throngs of skinny Pakistani guys in shalwar chameez. You battle through them, and there is a massive long queue to get in, caused by the very slow and inefficient manual search. My "close protection" guy had to bribe someone to let me in by a side door (just security-wise it would probably be appalling for me to be out there in that queue for an hour, let alone the temperature and the missing my flight issues).
Getting to check-in was okay and (mercifully) I was upgraded to Business Class, but then it crappy again. Immigration was about 8 disorderly queues, after which you have to push your way back past all the queuing people in order to line up to have your passport checked a second time. On my way through, I was picked up by two guys who claimed to be security, and I guess probably were. They seemed thoroughly confused to see a foreigner there (I was the only white guy in the airport) and spent ages writing down my passport details and asking me again and again who I had been meeting, why I was there, what work I did and so on. They asked for endless contact details and so on, and only let me go when they asked me if I had an escort outside, and I said "Yes, he's called Captain xxxx, you can ring him" at which point they said "something something something military something something" and let me go. Then another chaotic queue, some more checks and stamps, and I was in departures. What made this particularly trying was that there was no signage or explanation of where to go and what sequence to go through the various checks. At least when I got to departures people were boarding and they waved me to the head of the queue without even checking to see that I was Business Class (just on the basis of being white, I guess). The flight was pleasant- 3 hours is not a long time and Emirates business class if quality.
In the evening in Dubai, I went to the downtown area to meet some friends for dinner. I'd never really been to that part- usually I stay in the old part of the city close to the airport. We were meeting in something like a shopping mall, but to be honest it was pretty f*cking amazing. It was constructed like an Arabian palace (IIRC) and was on the edge of the river, and to get there you had to come over a stone bridge, again in the Arabian style. The restaurant was very nice- swanky in the clean and modern style, Western food, very good. My friends chastised me for staying where I am staying. They always stay in 5* places that cost twice as much as where I am, which is a pretty solid "business travelers' type hotel". I'd never really considered it before- I'd pay that much or more when in holiday, but my attitude here is that it just has to be functional. That being said, now I see how gorgeous it is down there and how nice some of the hotels are, I'll probably be changing. Might go for dinner again there tonight, in which case I will grab some pics.
This morning I decided to pamper myself by getting a facial (my skin was in terrible condition). The girl who did it was pretty competent, so I got a massage too. Overall it was not bad, and she did some good work on my back. Seems that I am knotted to hell around the traps and scapular retractors. She didn't work them out completely, but did help.
Just now I decided to head out to one of the bigger shopping malls. I checked out a big sports store and actually had a range of compression-wear (shorts and shirts), in three different thicknesses. I was planning to wait to get rehband, but that requires a trip to the UK or complicated shipping arrangements, and these were right there, so I decided to go for it. I got the full length shorts and full length top in the heaviest thickness, which came to about $220. A bit expensive, but screw it. I had originally planned to get the shorter ones, but I realized that as I get both shin-splints and forearm tendinitis (as well as shoulder and hamstring problems, and problems in the middle and lower back) I need to stay warm pretty much everywhere. Tried as according to the measurements I was large and that seemed a bit doubtfull- it sort of slapped on like a combination of a wetsuit and a surgeon's glove. Very nice and snug, especially around the chest. Sadly, it doesn't seem to compress so much around the lower back, but this is probably unavoidable as my chest is so much bigger than my waist these days (43" chest and 30" waist- v-taper FTW).
Anyway, I am here for a few more days before I go off to Kabul. Planning to go and check out a beach-side restaurant this evening or tomorrow evening, other than that, nothing special planned.
