What a Christmas! After the long hours spent in Dubai airport we arrived in France's Charles De Gaulle airport and waited in the long queue to get through passport control. There was a loud cheer as another officer joined the sole person who had been processing the plane load of passengers.
All of our luggage arrived safely with us and we were off to catch the RER B train to Gare du Nord which is our closest train station. The Hotel Magenta where we're staying is about a block away from the station and we rapidly discovered that even with our culling of random luggage we've still got too much stuff...
We had our first meal at Hippopotamus which is like a French fast restaurant chain (Sizzler without the buffet). The wine was lovely.
Christmas day was spent with some of Lisa's friends who kindly took us in, fed us and allowed us to share in their Christmas meal.
Yesterday my post-show blues/cold sank in. That was less good but was helped by my brand new lined boots which are much warmer than my other shoes and Gene's purchase of cold/flu tablets for me today. We also checked out Montemarte, Sacre Cour and Notre Dame. Plenty of pictures taken. Mulled wine is a definite favourite over here.
Tonight we'll visit the Champes Elysees and enjoy dinner with Lisa again.
Must run as my laptop is running out of battery rapidly... must fix that at some stage. Off to bed to rest a little before re-packing gear for our train trip to London tomorrow.
Gene's Aunt Jackie has kindly offered to put us up in a place in Guildford which is where we'll be basing ourselves for the coming weeks until we journey to Norway & southern France.
A bientot!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Three Ships
I saw three ships a sailing...
and I was glad. It meant that the show was going on! I was lucky enough to see the show from the field and watch the final fireworks with Gene beside me.
The load out went well despite the rain. I've decided that rain is a definite event during a load out. Interestingly the bin-liners lasted longer as rain protection than the plastic rain jackets that we'd bought by the hundreds.
Several nights of celebration have since passed and before I knew it I was sitting outside an Irish pub with Gene & Nick in Dubai airport wondering how to pass the seven hours before our flight. Blogging, shopping and looking up accommodation for the UK. Not sure when we're going to be there yet but figured it'd be good to start looking anyhow. Wish the exchange rate was a little friendlier but hey, who's counting... ahem.
It was a little crazy today. Doing the final packing up of our villa and saying goodbye to Fred (after the character in Angel) the cat who'd started to call our villa home. We picked up our tickets for our final return leg today at the Emirates office before having dinner in the Old Souq. Then it was back to the villa to pass an hour before the car came to pick us up. At the airport we bumped into the last of the skilled crew who were on their way home that night. There were hugs and kisses and then we were off.
So now we're in Dubai airport. I've picked up my Christmas shopping for Gene & Nick and now we're just passing time until it's time to board our flight to Paris. It hasn't even come up on the departures list yet...
I had grand plans for a well thought out and written post but it would seem that last night's final hurrah at Garvey's has taken more out of me than I expected... there was much whiskey & beer had by all.
There is one more thing that I will say though and that is that Doha has been an amazing experience and I've met some incredible people and learnt more than I could have imagined. Today while we were at the Souq a guy came up to me and asked if I'd been working at Khalifa. He was one of the many hundreds of local crew who we'd been working with over the past few weeks just wanting to wish me a safe travel as he'd finished working with us. Experiences like that are just the tip of the iceberg of how amazing this experience this has been.
It's going to take me awhile to remember to introduce myself as "Sarah" and not "Swong" because that's how it's been for the last four and a half months. Can't wait till the next one :)
Stopping this post now before I fall asleep typing. May join in the game of uno going on beside me. I'm sure that Nick & Gene say hi...
Catch you all from France!
and I was glad. It meant that the show was going on! I was lucky enough to see the show from the field and watch the final fireworks with Gene beside me.
The load out went well despite the rain. I've decided that rain is a definite event during a load out. Interestingly the bin-liners lasted longer as rain protection than the plastic rain jackets that we'd bought by the hundreds.
Several nights of celebration have since passed and before I knew it I was sitting outside an Irish pub with Gene & Nick in Dubai airport wondering how to pass the seven hours before our flight. Blogging, shopping and looking up accommodation for the UK. Not sure when we're going to be there yet but figured it'd be good to start looking anyhow. Wish the exchange rate was a little friendlier but hey, who's counting... ahem.
It was a little crazy today. Doing the final packing up of our villa and saying goodbye to Fred (after the character in Angel) the cat who'd started to call our villa home. We picked up our tickets for our final return leg today at the Emirates office before having dinner in the Old Souq. Then it was back to the villa to pass an hour before the car came to pick us up. At the airport we bumped into the last of the skilled crew who were on their way home that night. There were hugs and kisses and then we were off.
So now we're in Dubai airport. I've picked up my Christmas shopping for Gene & Nick and now we're just passing time until it's time to board our flight to Paris. It hasn't even come up on the departures list yet...
I had grand plans for a well thought out and written post but it would seem that last night's final hurrah at Garvey's has taken more out of me than I expected... there was much whiskey & beer had by all.
There is one more thing that I will say though and that is that Doha has been an amazing experience and I've met some incredible people and learnt more than I could have imagined. Today while we were at the Souq a guy came up to me and asked if I'd been working at Khalifa. He was one of the many hundreds of local crew who we'd been working with over the past few weeks just wanting to wish me a safe travel as he'd finished working with us. Experiences like that are just the tip of the iceberg of how amazing this experience this has been.
It's going to take me awhile to remember to introduce myself as "Sarah" and not "Swong" because that's how it's been for the last four and a half months. Can't wait till the next one :)
Stopping this post now before I fall asleep typing. May join in the game of uno going on beside me. I'm sure that Nick & Gene say hi...
Catch you all from France!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Almost There
I'd like to think that I've adjusted to night shift but in reality I think I've just adjusted to shorter sleeping hours and more adrenalin.
For those of you who might not know the Closing Ceremony is tomorrow night for us here in Doha. December really has flown past. I have no idea where the time has gone. Admittedly I'm strugging to remember what day of the week it is so that doesn't help! I love the nightshift. It suits my nocturnal habits and general love of darkness. It does make it hard to track time though because you arrive in the evening, finish work in the morning and come back the same day you finished. I love it!
Off to do a coffee and biscuit run while there's time. Anyone in Oz who wants to check out the show should tune into SBS on Saturday at 1300 (1pm).
Not long to go until it's all over and I wander about the world feeling lost until the next show... at least I'll be wandering about in a new place with two of my best friends :)
For those of you who might not know the Closing Ceremony is tomorrow night for us here in Doha. December really has flown past. I have no idea where the time has gone. Admittedly I'm strugging to remember what day of the week it is so that doesn't help! I love the nightshift. It suits my nocturnal habits and general love of darkness. It does make it hard to track time though because you arrive in the evening, finish work in the morning and come back the same day you finished. I love it!
Off to do a coffee and biscuit run while there's time. Anyone in Oz who wants to check out the show should tune into SBS on Saturday at 1300 (1pm).
Not long to go until it's all over and I wander about the world feeling lost until the next show... at least I'll be wandering about in a new place with two of my best friends :)
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Shows
Last night I headed down to the Corniche with Amy to watch the multimedia show at Fisherman's Harbour. After an interesting detour from our cab driver we made it there late but the show started about 20 minutes late.
It was an interesting idea doing a laser show on the harbour as the wind blew away half the smoke but luckily the pyro produced enough to keep up the effects. While the story was a little lacking (they stopped telling it for about a third of the show and then picked it up again at random) and nothing seemed to be in time it was a pretty good deal for the 10QR (AU$3) ticket price.
After the show we went for dinner at one of the nearby restaurants and had fresh hommus and lebanese mixed grill. It was good :)
All Naomi's talk of swing dancing reminds me that I should post the picture that the lovely Rick Dobbie sent me yesterday of Gene & I swing dancing in the 40 degree Doha morning. It seems like an age has passed since the picture was taken!
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It was an interesting idea doing a laser show on the harbour as the wind blew away half the smoke but luckily the pyro produced enough to keep up the effects. While the story was a little lacking (they stopped telling it for about a third of the show and then picked it up again at random) and nothing seemed to be in time it was a pretty good deal for the 10QR (AU$3) ticket price.
After the show we went for dinner at one of the nearby restaurants and had fresh hommus and lebanese mixed grill. It was good :)
All Naomi's talk of swing dancing reminds me that I should post the picture that the lovely Rick Dobbie sent me yesterday of Gene & I swing dancing in the 40 degree Doha morning. It seems like an age has passed since the picture was taken!
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Saturday, December 09, 2006
A Scattered Update
Finally made it to the Corniche yesterday. It's only taken me four months! Even managed to find the Old Souqs. Well, okay, I was driven there but that's not the point...
There were some lovely tea houses along the way and it was a pleasant walk (about 3.5km). I must say that they know how to make a good cup of tea here.
Along the Corniche there were some boats that ferried you across the harbour if you didn't want to walk. There was also a pyro and laser light display on Palm Tree Island. They do love their lasers here too :)
I'd also like to clarify that Palm Tree Island has one tree on it. It's more like an elongated sand bank. The tree (from a distance) appears to be dead. It's a little Six Feet Under really. Still very beautiful though.
Back to the Corniche, there was an exhibition set up called The Corniche Experience which had some food stalls and four rooms set up for all the senses except sound. "Taste" was a little lacking in terms of only being able to do it through smoking a shisha pipe. For some reason there was a treadmill at the end of it for you to run 100m and check your time on. Not sure what that had to do with taste. Anyhow, "Scent" was awesome. They had a series of covered pipes with test tubes of scents in them and you had to guess what you were smelling. I think I guessed one, "rose". I failled miserably on "equestrian", "running track" and "parquet". It was a little overwhelming though to have smelled so many frangrances at once so we moved on to "touch". This was pretty awesome too. Lots of things in dark boxes that you had to stick your hand in and work out what was there. I wasn't a fan of the falcon feathers. At the end of the "touch" exhibit they had a whole heap of string hanging down that you had to make your way through. Again I failled and walked straight into the black flats at the end. Yeah, I was a little tired. Sight was pretty with lights and a projection against the city buildings. Still, I think my favourites were touch and scent because they were the most interactive.
Apologies if this post is a bit scattered. I proceeded to follow up my long walk yesterday with returnig home to sit up watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets until 0400. The 1030 bus was a little painful to catch.
So as always I'm vowing for a quiet and somewhat early night tonight. I'm contemplating seeing some sport just for something different but they events that I want to see (kayaking) aren't on until the 11th when I'm fairly sure I'll be frantic again... Something about a show on the 15th?
Oh and wish me luck. I have 23 days to learn how to juggle three balls and I'll have kept all my resolutions for the year... should probably go get myself some juggling balls...
Hope you're all well!
There were some lovely tea houses along the way and it was a pleasant walk (about 3.5km). I must say that they know how to make a good cup of tea here.
Along the Corniche there were some boats that ferried you across the harbour if you didn't want to walk. There was also a pyro and laser light display on Palm Tree Island. They do love their lasers here too :)
I'd also like to clarify that Palm Tree Island has one tree on it. It's more like an elongated sand bank. The tree (from a distance) appears to be dead. It's a little Six Feet Under really. Still very beautiful though.
Back to the Corniche, there was an exhibition set up called The Corniche Experience which had some food stalls and four rooms set up for all the senses except sound. "Taste" was a little lacking in terms of only being able to do it through smoking a shisha pipe. For some reason there was a treadmill at the end of it for you to run 100m and check your time on. Not sure what that had to do with taste. Anyhow, "Scent" was awesome. They had a series of covered pipes with test tubes of scents in them and you had to guess what you were smelling. I think I guessed one, "rose". I failled miserably on "equestrian", "running track" and "parquet". It was a little overwhelming though to have smelled so many frangrances at once so we moved on to "touch". This was pretty awesome too. Lots of things in dark boxes that you had to stick your hand in and work out what was there. I wasn't a fan of the falcon feathers. At the end of the "touch" exhibit they had a whole heap of string hanging down that you had to make your way through. Again I failled and walked straight into the black flats at the end. Yeah, I was a little tired. Sight was pretty with lights and a projection against the city buildings. Still, I think my favourites were touch and scent because they were the most interactive.
Apologies if this post is a bit scattered. I proceeded to follow up my long walk yesterday with returnig home to sit up watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets until 0400. The 1030 bus was a little painful to catch.
So as always I'm vowing for a quiet and somewhat early night tonight. I'm contemplating seeing some sport just for something different but they events that I want to see (kayaking) aren't on until the 11th when I'm fairly sure I'll be frantic again... Something about a show on the 15th?
Oh and wish me luck. I have 23 days to learn how to juggle three balls and I'll have kept all my resolutions for the year... should probably go get myself some juggling balls...
Hope you're all well!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Trundling
Eight days to go until the Closing Ceremony and I can't believe how much rain has fallen. After all we are in the desert... we're only meant to have half an inch of rain this month according to the averages. We had that alone on the 1st & 2nd December! The forecast for the next week is looking much the same. Hopefully it will clear up by the end of the week!
Life is trundling along. The usual work, with reduced hours for the next few days before we do it all over again. There have been some lovely gatherings which have meant better quality sleep but less of it. Can't win them all eh?
My copy of the Stardust audio book (narrated by the author and unabridged) arrived the day before yesterday which was wonderful. I love hearing authors read their own work because you get to hear their inflections on their words. I guess I imagine it's like hearing how it should go in their mind. Love it! Nick's copy of Fragile Things arrived with it but I haven't managed to catch him to give it to him. Belated birthday/early Christmas pressie.
Nothing is new aside from that! Getting ready to start knitting again. After all the weather is perfect for it. Planning to make Lisa a pair of socks. Hopefully that will go faster than the pair I'm making for Mum. (One sock's complete though Mum, I'm getting there!).
Okay going to go be productive now. Or dance in the rain. It's hard to tell...
Life is trundling along. The usual work, with reduced hours for the next few days before we do it all over again. There have been some lovely gatherings which have meant better quality sleep but less of it. Can't win them all eh?
My copy of the Stardust audio book (narrated by the author and unabridged) arrived the day before yesterday which was wonderful. I love hearing authors read their own work because you get to hear their inflections on their words. I guess I imagine it's like hearing how it should go in their mind. Love it! Nick's copy of Fragile Things arrived with it but I haven't managed to catch him to give it to him. Belated birthday/early Christmas pressie.
Nothing is new aside from that! Getting ready to start knitting again. After all the weather is perfect for it. Planning to make Lisa a pair of socks. Hopefully that will go faster than the pair I'm making for Mum. (One sock's complete though Mum, I'm getting there!).
Okay going to go be productive now. Or dance in the rain. It's hard to tell...
Monday, December 04, 2006
Middle Ground
One down, one to go.
The Opening Ceremony went well despite the inclement weather. It rained for much of the day of the show and proceeded to drizzle and rain through most of the night. The show still looked amazing from the few parts that I was able to watch. Nura looked amazing on the huge LED screen and the fireworks, well they were pretty too! Photos from the night are mainly centred around City of the Future because that's when I was on the field. Nick took some great shots of the final fireworks display. There's going to be the usual trading of pictures among workmates and I'll be sure to bring them all home.
I was lucky enough to work the first overnight shift of the bump-out (transition to sport) which we were expecting to get rather wet in the rain. We were not surprised to find this the case. What did surprise us was the golf-ball sized hail that fell in the wee hours of the morning. Talk about random desert weather! We've officially seen it all in terms of weather in Doha. From extreme heat to ice. What can I say? That's Doha for you.
After leaving work in the morning I headed back to work that night and was happy to find it no longer raining. The temperature however had dropped to a cool 16˚C. I was very grateful at having left my QR55 100% PVC Matrix-esque jacket at work from the night before.
That was yesterday morning I think. Today I've been given a luxurious day off and I'm struggling a little. After all I've had a decent amount of sleep albeit at the wrong end of the day. I'm moving back into a slightly more day-oriented shift now. My brain has no idea what to do with itself.
The day started with the sound of running water. By running water I mean gushing water. The pipe to the bidet downstairs had burst and the downstairs bathroom had started to flood into the stairwell and was making a good effort towards the front door. Gene got up and helped me move the beer out of the water flow and then the cleaners and maintenance guys came and fixed the pipe. I knew it was going to be a good day. So far so good. A bit of shopping for tomorrow and a quiet evening at home hanging out with Nick. It's just like being in Melbourne only not.
Tomorrow's looking to be a pretty good day too. Lisa & Dave have given me a half day and then there's the party at Bayti which has proved an excellent night in the past. I doubt the party will help me reset my body clock but at least it will be fun! I'm baking cookies to bring as promised in the wee hours of the transition.
I doubt I'll recognise the stadium tomorrow when I get into work. There will be grass there. Crazy sporting event. In fact, I doubt I'll be allowed near the stadium during the sports so it'll be a good day of paperwork.
My willpower is a little lacking today. I think I'll have a quick nap before Nick arrives to hang out.
Foilled! Or saved depending on which way you look at it. Nick's here so I'm going to run off and be sociable.
The Opening Ceremony went well despite the inclement weather. It rained for much of the day of the show and proceeded to drizzle and rain through most of the night. The show still looked amazing from the few parts that I was able to watch. Nura looked amazing on the huge LED screen and the fireworks, well they were pretty too! Photos from the night are mainly centred around City of the Future because that's when I was on the field. Nick took some great shots of the final fireworks display. There's going to be the usual trading of pictures among workmates and I'll be sure to bring them all home.
I was lucky enough to work the first overnight shift of the bump-out (transition to sport) which we were expecting to get rather wet in the rain. We were not surprised to find this the case. What did surprise us was the golf-ball sized hail that fell in the wee hours of the morning. Talk about random desert weather! We've officially seen it all in terms of weather in Doha. From extreme heat to ice. What can I say? That's Doha for you.
After leaving work in the morning I headed back to work that night and was happy to find it no longer raining. The temperature however had dropped to a cool 16˚C. I was very grateful at having left my QR55 100% PVC Matrix-esque jacket at work from the night before.
That was yesterday morning I think. Today I've been given a luxurious day off and I'm struggling a little. After all I've had a decent amount of sleep albeit at the wrong end of the day. I'm moving back into a slightly more day-oriented shift now. My brain has no idea what to do with itself.
The day started with the sound of running water. By running water I mean gushing water. The pipe to the bidet downstairs had burst and the downstairs bathroom had started to flood into the stairwell and was making a good effort towards the front door. Gene got up and helped me move the beer out of the water flow and then the cleaners and maintenance guys came and fixed the pipe. I knew it was going to be a good day. So far so good. A bit of shopping for tomorrow and a quiet evening at home hanging out with Nick. It's just like being in Melbourne only not.
Tomorrow's looking to be a pretty good day too. Lisa & Dave have given me a half day and then there's the party at Bayti which has proved an excellent night in the past. I doubt the party will help me reset my body clock but at least it will be fun! I'm baking cookies to bring as promised in the wee hours of the transition.
I doubt I'll recognise the stadium tomorrow when I get into work. There will be grass there. Crazy sporting event. In fact, I doubt I'll be allowed near the stadium during the sports so it'll be a good day of paperwork.
My willpower is a little lacking today. I think I'll have a quick nap before Nick arrives to hang out.
Foilled! Or saved depending on which way you look at it. Nick's here so I'm going to run off and be sociable.
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