Dawned on me this week that this weekend is the last weekend before Ramadan! Not that I know what Ramadan will actually mean for us, but I am guessing it will be all about keeping low and not eating out doors. Work is weird... some people say it really slows down and others say its business as usual for westerners. I find that hard to believe because all Muslim staff will be leaving at about 2pm everyday for a month... you just cant be as efficient.
But they also say that at night, the place is buzzing as the Muslims take on "Iftar" each evening and the restaurants, malls and hotels are packed with revelers... I am intrigued to say the least.
At the end of Ramadan, there is a 3 day holiday called Eid and we get half a week off with a rumour yet to be confirmed that the government will decry the last two days of that week as Government Holidays. This means "government workers", which include me as my company is govt owned, will be given the whole week off. But as usual, official confirmation is slow. So, we may get 3 days or a week off in late September.
So, what to do? Well we're considering going to Oman for a look, but we're suprised how expensive it is... we thought we'd go away for a week, but the costs are prohibitive... pretty much nearly A$1000 a night for any hotel... and thats not a special rate for Eid... thats the going rate!! Someone today suggested going to Jordan as its cheaper and cooler and very historic (Petra etc, birthplace of civilisation etc).
Who knows!
On a local level though, I finally got my new residency visa to match my change of company (if you recall I was transferred from my original company to the parent company and then seconded back to the same job... means I had to re-do ALL my paperwork) and now Niki is ready to do her Medical for her residency visa. We'll look to do this Sunday.
But they also say that at night, the place is buzzing as the Muslims take on "Iftar" each evening and the restaurants, malls and hotels are packed with revelers... I am intrigued to say the least.
At the end of Ramadan, there is a 3 day holiday called Eid and we get half a week off with a rumour yet to be confirmed that the government will decry the last two days of that week as Government Holidays. This means "government workers", which include me as my company is govt owned, will be given the whole week off. But as usual, official confirmation is slow. So, we may get 3 days or a week off in late September.
So, what to do? Well we're considering going to Oman for a look, but we're suprised how expensive it is... we thought we'd go away for a week, but the costs are prohibitive... pretty much nearly A$1000 a night for any hotel... and thats not a special rate for Eid... thats the going rate!! Someone today suggested going to Jordan as its cheaper and cooler and very historic (Petra etc, birthplace of civilisation etc).
Who knows!
On a local level though, I finally got my new residency visa to match my change of company (if you recall I was transferred from my original company to the parent company and then seconded back to the same job... means I had to re-do ALL my paperwork) and now Niki is ready to do her Medical for her residency visa. We'll look to do this Sunday.
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