Sheikh Yerbouti

2009-08-31T01:27:00.001-07:00

listening to "Never Forget You" ♫ http://blip.fm/~clj32

2009-08-12T06:15:00.001-07:00

listening to "Powderfinger - Waiting for the Sun" ♫ http://blip.fm/~bkq2o

2009-03-26T01:05:00.001-07:00

4th April - World Pillow Fight Day

2009-03-26T00:41:00.001-07:00

playing with Ping.fm

Mobily good... Zajil bad.

2007-06-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Having been here in KSA for three months now, I've had reason to tool around with trying a couple of ISPs... and let me tell you that service levels vary wildly.

I can unequivocally say that award for the worst customer service I have ever experienced from an internet service provider goes to Zajil.net. Connectivity was intermittent, they charge extortionate rates, and their technical support was non-existent. In fact myself, along with a number of colleagues, have had tech support operators just hang up on us mid-sentence.

When I first tried to get set up with them at home, they sent out an "engineer", who was qualified to insert the CD in my laptop and let autorun do its thing. When the install didn't work, he set about making a complete mess of my laptop (I have Windows Vista Ultimate installed - something he'd never seen, but insisted he could make it work). When he'd finished messing about, it took me an hour to repair the damage. If this kid was a qualified "engineer", then I'm Lawrence of Arabia. So when considering an ISP in Saudi Arabia, remember these words: Zajil.net are f@#*&ing useless.

At the complete opposite end of the scale are Mobily. They are the new kids on the block in the mobile communications market here in Kingdom. After I ditched those cretins at Zajil.net I went into my local Mobily office. It was a big spacious building all decked out in trendy furniture, with a cafe and some of the most friendly and helpful staff. I bought a pay-as-you-go 3.5G internet card for my laptop and they even installed the software for me then and there. High speed mobile internet - I am very impressed so far. There are a few patchy areas of service around Riyadh, but generally I'm very happy.

Today I had to call the Mobily customer service number. I haven't been able to ftp my personal website where I post pics of my adventures for my family and friends to view. The guy on the other end was very polite when I explained my problem and said that he was very sorry but Mobily don't offer that protocol yet, but it is planned. He then took my mobile number and said that he would check with his superiors as to when that service is likely to be introduced and then call me back personally with the information. Now that's more like it... well done Mobily!

Sand, sand and more sand.

2007-06-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

The social network is slowly starting to expand which is presenting more opportunities to do stuff other than sit in my air conditioned flat.

This morning a small group of us went out to the desert for a spot of quad biking. It was all arranged by Christian, a young Danish guy who works in IT. We met at his Queen's birthday event at the Danish Embassy. Also along for the trip was Edmund, and English chap who works at BAE doing similar work to me. A couple of French guys from Eid Compound came as well as a few other Danish guys who had their own bikes.

We set off at about 7.30am to beat the heat (it's regularly topping 45̊ degrees C during the day now) and headed about 1/2 hour out of town. We pulled up at the camp where we hired the bikes. A couple of arabs live on the site with all mod cons... a bed, a generator, satellite TV and a tent.

The price was negotiated and we were let loose on the bikes with no basic training or helmets. One of the French guys got on, fired it up and promtly hit another parked big, giving himself a nice bruise and mild concussion. So that's one down before we get started.

The guys with their own bikes took off on thier own and the four of us on the rentals set off up the first dune we saw.

At first the sand was dotted with small shrubs...

Which as it turns out, is perfect for grazing camels.

For the rest of the pics from the day click here.

To catch a thief...

2007-04-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

I know it's not right to find amusement in cultural differences, but when I saw this in the paper yesterday, I did chuckle.

If you need to read past the headline and picture, you should go away and never come back here again.

Even the cars are watching you...

2007-04-15T01:13:00.000-07:00

Here in Saudi, they have a reputation for keeping the wayward in line. Although less prevalent than in the past, the Muttawa patrol the streets ensuring the strict application of Sharia law.

You've all heard the stories of women getting a swift crack across the back of the legs with a cane and being sent home if their abayas are too short and flash too much ankle.

But today I saw something I was quite unprepared for... even the cars are now fitted with devices to detect unusual behaviour. This shipping label was on a new car which pulled up beside me at the lights on my way to work this morning...

I'm in trouble.

Spooky Saudi weather?

2007-04-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

At about 4.30pm yesterday when I was half way home from work, this enormous sand storm blew in from the north. Visibility dropped to about 100 metres and I could actually hear the sand blasting against the windscreen. I got home 5 minutes later and had to dash from the car to the house, spitting sand and dust out.

Then the sandstorm was followed by an incredible electrical storm with patches of heavy rain. I tried to catch it on camera, but wasn't quick enough. This was as best as I got...

Another friend in Riyadh at the time described it as "Spooky". Dunno about that but it was certainly bizarre.

The sand and dust blew in again today. This was the view up my "street" on the compound.

Right then, I'm off!

2007-02-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

This may well be news to many of you, but I’m taking off for a year to live and work in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.I’ve been looking for a new challenge for a little while now and in this job I think I’ve found just what I’m looking for.

I’ll be working at Ma’aden, the wholly Saudi government owned mining company. I’ll actually be employed by Hill & Knowlton, one of the world’s largest public relations firms, but seconded into their client (Ma’aden). Ma’aden mine precious and base metals, phosphates, bauxite and magnesite. Later this year they’re planning an IPO of 50 percent of the company, which equates to about USD 4 billion. No small potatoes!

The company was only set up in 1997 and to date has only a basic comms infrastructure in place. I’ll be there on the ground building that team, developing policies and procedures and generally ensuring that the company is ready to face the challenges of being a significant global player in a very short period of time. There aren’t many (if any) opportunities in the world today to work with such a blank canvas that involves an $8 billion company. To say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement. I’ll be working alongside their newly appointed Corporate Communications Manager (a British expat with years of experience in the Gulf) the team at Gulf Hill & Knowlton and Ma’aden’s senior management.

I’m also really looking forward to immersing myself in the people and culture of the country and indeed the whole region. Those I’ve met in the last 24 hours have been truly welcoming and have ranged from exiled Yemeni princes, to Oxbridge scholars, to young Saudis full of ambition and hope for the future. In such a short time I’ve come to realise that this is a country more misunderstood in the western hemisphere than I could have possibly imagined. I’m also hoping to learn the basics of Arabic whilst I’m there.

On the home front, I’ll be living in a residential compound. Not sure which one yet, but Arabian Homes is looking the likely candidate. Bit like a holiday resort really. A dozen swimming pools, gardens, restaurants, shops etc and very secure (10’ high concrete fence, razor wire and an armoured vehicle out front with a bloody great armour piercing cannon thing on top!). But I can assure you, it’s a very safe city. Well, probably safer than London anyway.

Kay won’t be coming to live with me … at least not at the start. British Airways doesn’t currently fly to Riyadh (not since the last bombings in 2003) but there’s talk the flights may be reinstated soon. We’re going to rent out the house in Winchester and she’s going to avail herself of the facilities at her parents’ house. Should BA start flying out of Riyadh again, she’ll be able to base herself there. If not, well, it IS only 12 months. We’ll see each other at various times throughout the year, whether it be my trips to the , her flights to , Doha and Dubai, or our holidays together elsewhere in the world.

In terms of Hallmark PR, we’re treating it like a sabbatical. I’ll run silent for a year (although I’ll always be on the end of the phone/internet) and return at the end of the contract. During that time the plan is to use my salary to undertake some new business development, something we’ve been dragging our feet on for too long.

So, when is this all going to happen? Pretty damn quickly. I’m typing this in the departure lounge of King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh having just signed my contract and just about to board a flight home, via Zurich. When I get in, I’ll have a few hours nap before heading off to the hospital to have my collar bone smashed up, grafted and bolted back together again. Basically, as soon as the stitches are out 2 weeks later, I’m off.

Assuming all goes well, I’ll be moving to the desert on or about 12 March. It has all fallen into place incredibly swiftly and at short notice.