It takes a lot of talent to buy a new pair of shades that fits my prolonged face and rather (for a lack of a better word) charismatic nose. It takes even more talent to lose them the next month on the Riyadh airport. And the amount of talent required to even start trying to […]
Category: Other escapades
Saudi Escapade #8
I take my fork and gently poke the grilled fish in front of me. One of the top 10, maybe top 5 fish dishes I ever had, including all sushi I ever had in Japan. Faisal sips from his glass filled with a non-alcoholic apple cider lemonade and continues in his monologue. “You know Michal, […]
Saudi Escapade #7
Taxi 1 The fever starts to come back again, this time supported by a heavy-caliber headache. I’ve ran out of paracetamol tablets in the morning, and with no pharmacies around I decide to survive the next hour in the taxi until I arrive at the hotel where I kept my stock. The uber car arrives, […]
The Nepali Escapade #1
“Hey man, walk on the left side, it’s Nepal.” I swiftly jump across two large puddles of water and three stray cats to get to the other side of the dirty road. My small backpack produces two light thumps as it hits my back. I’m trying to evade few rikshas and other random inhabitants of […]
The Saudi Escapade #6
I pop another piece of gold-fried sweet ball into my mouth and look into her eyes. “I love these! Please send my regards to your mother, amazing culinary skills!” “Yeah, I will.” “We both know you won’t.” My friend and I burst into laughter. It’s midnight and we are sitting at a table right next […]
The Saudi Escapade #5
The light afternoon breeze gently caresses my face. The gentle caressing of a 3000W hair blower with the turbo boost button pressed deep down. Oh yes. The toughly enjoyable 42 degrees Celsius and relentless sunshine weather typical for the Riyadh early spring has finally come and I already feel like jumping into a pool full of […]
The Emirati Escapade #1
It’s 3:30am and I’m looking outside of the uber car, letting the tall buildings flick in front of my eyes. Without even looking at me, my colleague reacts to one of my rather random comments: “No, Michal, you can’t possibly use ‘lovely’ in that context.” “I firmly believe I can use any word in any context I […]
The Saudi Escapade #4
“One Moroccan mint tea, please.” “Of course, sir.” The waiter throws at me a slight, formal smile and puts away the small notepad without writing down anything. A slight wave of doubt hits me. Moroccan mint tea in the capital of Saudi. Am I just being a cultural trashcan and basically ordering a Wiener Schnitzel in […]
The Iranian Escapade #3
“Name?” I repeat my name for the third time and despite the overall weakness of my body, I try to put some extra energy in my voice. The emergency room at the bottom station of the ski resort is extremely hot and I can feel droplets of sweat forming on my forehead. The doctor meticulously writes down my […]
The Saudi Escapade #3
„Regarding this issue, what I believe Saudi is missing the most right now, Michal, are clear, red lines between men and women.“ This sentence could be understood in too many ways. I look Khalid into his eyes in eager expectation for whatever he says next. We have been discussing the changes in the Saudi society […]