I forgot my pirate costume!

Apparently it was pirate night at the hotel Ali and I ended up staying at. Hearing pirate talk with a middle eastern accent has got to be the funniest thing I have ever heard! In fact, they could make a subscription channel of this in the USA and it would make millions.

So Ali and I decided to go to a pirate party, and it was pretty fun. I didn't know pirates did salsa dancing, but apparently that is the impression the have here in the ME. I was also selected as a celebrity judge for the best dressed pirate contest. This was especially fun, because in my opinion most of the pirates looked in fact like gypsies. In the end number 3 won the prize, because he looked like he wanted it the most.

The only thing that really is a bummer about Bahrain is all the prostitutes. It seems like everywhere you go, there is some girl who wants to sit with you and talk, which makes it hard to just go and have a relaxing weekend. Also, when you go with a Saudi, generally they want to talk with the women, so it is hard to get them to leave you alone. It wasn't too bad this time though, and most of the women got the hint after about half an hour.

Ali and I woke up early this AM and got the hotel breakfast, which to my dismay did not have bacon. Note to self, don't put all your eggs in the basket you intend to put your bacon in because the bacon may never show up, causing you to want to throw the eggs at the cook. Have you guys ever heard that saying before? Then we went back to sleep until about noon...

Since it was about the hottest time of the day, we decided it was time to depart for the water park. It was really pretty cool. We went to Lost Paradise (I think it was lost because it is so far away from everything) and had a great time. For those of you from my home in Arlington, it was basically like Hurricane Harbor, only a bit smaller. It had similar rides. One big difference between water parks in the USA and water parks in the ME is that in America, parks are required to have "engineering controls" (also known as SAFETY MEASURES). I am almost positive that they had no real concern for safety here. Most of the rides that should have two riders in a double tube ended up with 5 or 6 riders, people were jumping off lifeguard stands, it was pretty much every man for himself. Also, I saw quite a few burquinis, the Muslim female bathing suit. I don't know why, but it still kind of surprises me. There were women in more traditional bathing suits, and also a few in bikinis, but from. The way most of the guys stared, I can understand why a girl would want to cover up...

I also found out that i have not developed my "desert feet" yet. What this means is that I do not have the ability to walk on ground that is 5,000 degrees hot in my bare feet. All the ME folks have good desert feet, i however, do not, which means that a lot of my time was spent between shady spots and patches of grass, fanning my hoofs in between pools of water...I would say my feet are a nice medium rare right now. Beautifully seared outside, with a cool red center...let me know if you want them a little darker, i will send them back to the kitchen.

Crossing back into KSA wasn't too bad. We did not get searched this time...which frustrates me, because I wanted to smuggle two pigs and a 55 gallon barrel of vodka, but Ali said we would get screened. There is always next trip i guess.

We are currently back in Dammam. Ali is getting some clothes from his parents house, and then we will be on the road. We will probably arrive back home by midnight, which will give me enough time to fix my car window (it is stuck in the down position) and get some rest before my stretch of 7 shifts in a row starts tomorrow.

Did i mention I got my Land Rover back? The suspension and cooling system are good, but the passenger rear window is stuck down. This is a huge problem for two reasons. One, it is a million degrees outside. Two, I have 5 lbs. of sand in my car every morning. Hopefully i can get in there with a screw driver and a little Texas know how and at least get it stuck in the up positon. It is either that, or the always popular trash bag taped over the window. Either way, it will be fixed.

I will post pictures of which window repair won out tomorrow.

3 days down and i am managing to get the posts up! Keep reading!