Beach prices
On Friday night I went to the launch of a new beach. I was lounging in cushions, an almost full moon in the night sky, sipping white wine, eating lobster and prawns, watching the Germany-Costa Rica soccer match… It was utterly gorgeous if bewilderingly new.
A gay designer from the Philippines told me that as long as you’re low-key, not a Muslim and don’t get caught in the act, homosexuality is fine.
The Bahrain jetski champion was also the first person in the traditional white robes that I’ve spoken to. He was the security manager at the venue and surprisingly candid, if just a jock in different robes.
A flooring company owner, who is also a radio DJ that plays non-chart toppers, filled me in on the radio and music scene of Bahrain. It seems, like many other aspects of this country, unregulated and open to anarchy but lacking in taste.
The food and beverage manager of Mercure explained that to move up in the hotel business he has to marry, there’s definitely a glass ceiling here, and that the problem with Bahrain was that, besides the Muslims, there were three kinds of woman: the type you pay for, the air hostesses who are similar to the first kind but more of a long-term investment, and the okay women who are already taken.
The GM of one of the competition newspapers – a short, softly spoken Lebanese guy who had all the girls tripping over their feet with his George Clooney looks – explained that Bahrain was the friendliest and most liberated country in the Middle East. He’s also lived in Kuwait and Dubai.
This was affirmed by my accomplices who said that those warnings I was given about wearing a wedding ring and covering your shoulders apply to Dubai. As a single woman you can’t get an apartment and men hassle you on the streets there.
Not that they don’t hassle you on the streets here, but it’s not for the wedding ring, it’s for the western looks. Besides, it’s drive-by hassles from the Saudis. Everyone hates the Saudis. They pull in in their numbers on Thursday evenings and takeover the lesser-grade hotel area seeking booze and women. Act like uncouth hooligans and then fuck off on Saturday.
The key is apparently not to make eye-contact. The same with the beggars, who are relatively few coming from South Africa but uncannily relentless with tourists and westerners. While the older ones sit covered head-to-toe, not even their eyes showing, in the doorways to branded takeaway places like McDonalds, KFC and Burger King, the children audaciously hassle you at the table inside, trying to eat your food and take your drink. The managers ignore this. I’ve never liked giving money to beggars, really stingy I am, but after this display my hardheadedness refused to capitulate to the manipulation.
A country still full of contradictions to me, the non-Muslims seem to live above the law somehow. Apt considering that apparently 50% of the country’s residents are expats with no voting rights – mostly from India. One person I spoke to said that this pseudo-democracy the king has granted is in fact ideal for this country because, with the religious indoctrination, most of the residents can’t think for themselves. Thus, the king rules with a slightly progressive edge to encourage foreign investors while leaving the fray to debate the moral implications and ignore the economic growth and stability the king is generating. I don’t know enough about the situation yet to offer a viewpoint.
Apparently the queen entertains Michael Jackson. But no one really gives a shit, or maybe I missed the hot news about that.
At the moment the hot news is The Da Vinci Code, like the rest of the world, and the primary telecommunications company who are instilling soft caps on their internet connections to pay for the upgrade to broadband. The two aspects are kind of conjoined because the only people who have seen the movie are those that downloaded it off the internet.
I’m controversially on the side of the company, but the rest of the country has roused a consumer boycott – even though there’s no alternative. But coming from South Africa, consider this: For 30 dinar a month (about R540) you get 15Gig at 2MBps. Price wise about the same as SA, a little cheaper, but look at that speed! After you’ve reached your cap, you can either pay R2 a gig (practically nothing), or surf at 64KBps.
However, I suspect the big revolt is coming not from the paying users, but the illegal users. Apparently 10% of internet users here are hacking into other’s connections. The new system uses an itemized billing system and tighter security.
Ironically, despite their better internet structure, prices and general standard of living, Bahrain has a much smaller internet presence and economy compared to South Africa.
But then, maybe 30 dinar is a lot to them. (Multiply by about R18 for conversion). I’m still trying to bend my mind around the currency here. Eating conservatively, I could spend 90 dinar on food here. 3 dinar can buy you a pair of cheap shoes, a set of sheets, a head of broccoli or food for an entire day. Labels like Nine West, Hush Puppies, Levis, Nike etc start at about 20 dinar, which on conversion is cheap but for 10 dinar more you have an internet connection. It would be the opposite way around in South Africa – internet would be cheaper than these brands.
Yeah, everything is still “compared to South Africa” for me. They tease me about it in our creative brainstorms, but good-naturedly because it has also resulted in a couple of great ideas.
Oh, and apparently there’s also a Woolworthes and Truworths, exported directly from South Africa for the expats, which is heavily over-priced. I’ve been to the grocery shop the group also owns, which is pricier than the Muslim shops, but the only place you can get chamomile tea, Camels and basil.
So I’m smoking Gauloises again, which depending on where you buy it (you can find three different prices along the same street) ranges from R9 to R14. There’s one place near the hotel I was staying that sells them for R6. I must go buy a carton. And booze!? Ha! I haven’t bought any yet, but judging by the adverts in the newspaper 1 dinar, R18, is dirt cheap for a beer! In fact, all of the people from Friday night’s first response to me being from South Africa was that they’re planning a drinking holiday there.
So… My birthday’s coming up… Wink wink…
A gay designer from the Philippines told me that as long as you’re low-key, not a Muslim and don’t get caught in the act, homosexuality is fine.
The Bahrain jetski champion was also the first person in the traditional white robes that I’ve spoken to. He was the security manager at the venue and surprisingly candid, if just a jock in different robes.
A flooring company owner, who is also a radio DJ that plays non-chart toppers, filled me in on the radio and music scene of Bahrain. It seems, like many other aspects of this country, unregulated and open to anarchy but lacking in taste.
The food and beverage manager of Mercure explained that to move up in the hotel business he has to marry, there’s definitely a glass ceiling here, and that the problem with Bahrain was that, besides the Muslims, there were three kinds of woman: the type you pay for, the air hostesses who are similar to the first kind but more of a long-term investment, and the okay women who are already taken.
The GM of one of the competition newspapers – a short, softly spoken Lebanese guy who had all the girls tripping over their feet with his George Clooney looks – explained that Bahrain was the friendliest and most liberated country in the Middle East. He’s also lived in Kuwait and Dubai.
This was affirmed by my accomplices who said that those warnings I was given about wearing a wedding ring and covering your shoulders apply to Dubai. As a single woman you can’t get an apartment and men hassle you on the streets there.
Not that they don’t hassle you on the streets here, but it’s not for the wedding ring, it’s for the western looks. Besides, it’s drive-by hassles from the Saudis. Everyone hates the Saudis. They pull in in their numbers on Thursday evenings and takeover the lesser-grade hotel area seeking booze and women. Act like uncouth hooligans and then fuck off on Saturday.
The key is apparently not to make eye-contact. The same with the beggars, who are relatively few coming from South Africa but uncannily relentless with tourists and westerners. While the older ones sit covered head-to-toe, not even their eyes showing, in the doorways to branded takeaway places like McDonalds, KFC and Burger King, the children audaciously hassle you at the table inside, trying to eat your food and take your drink. The managers ignore this. I’ve never liked giving money to beggars, really stingy I am, but after this display my hardheadedness refused to capitulate to the manipulation.
A country still full of contradictions to me, the non-Muslims seem to live above the law somehow. Apt considering that apparently 50% of the country’s residents are expats with no voting rights – mostly from India. One person I spoke to said that this pseudo-democracy the king has granted is in fact ideal for this country because, with the religious indoctrination, most of the residents can’t think for themselves. Thus, the king rules with a slightly progressive edge to encourage foreign investors while leaving the fray to debate the moral implications and ignore the economic growth and stability the king is generating. I don’t know enough about the situation yet to offer a viewpoint.
Apparently the queen entertains Michael Jackson. But no one really gives a shit, or maybe I missed the hot news about that.
At the moment the hot news is The Da Vinci Code, like the rest of the world, and the primary telecommunications company who are instilling soft caps on their internet connections to pay for the upgrade to broadband. The two aspects are kind of conjoined because the only people who have seen the movie are those that downloaded it off the internet.
I’m controversially on the side of the company, but the rest of the country has roused a consumer boycott – even though there’s no alternative. But coming from South Africa, consider this: For 30 dinar a month (about R540) you get 15Gig at 2MBps. Price wise about the same as SA, a little cheaper, but look at that speed! After you’ve reached your cap, you can either pay R2 a gig (practically nothing), or surf at 64KBps.
However, I suspect the big revolt is coming not from the paying users, but the illegal users. Apparently 10% of internet users here are hacking into other’s connections. The new system uses an itemized billing system and tighter security.
Ironically, despite their better internet structure, prices and general standard of living, Bahrain has a much smaller internet presence and economy compared to South Africa.
But then, maybe 30 dinar is a lot to them. (Multiply by about R18 for conversion). I’m still trying to bend my mind around the currency here. Eating conservatively, I could spend 90 dinar on food here. 3 dinar can buy you a pair of cheap shoes, a set of sheets, a head of broccoli or food for an entire day. Labels like Nine West, Hush Puppies, Levis, Nike etc start at about 20 dinar, which on conversion is cheap but for 10 dinar more you have an internet connection. It would be the opposite way around in South Africa – internet would be cheaper than these brands.
Yeah, everything is still “compared to South Africa” for me. They tease me about it in our creative brainstorms, but good-naturedly because it has also resulted in a couple of great ideas.
Oh, and apparently there’s also a Woolworthes and Truworths, exported directly from South Africa for the expats, which is heavily over-priced. I’ve been to the grocery shop the group also owns, which is pricier than the Muslim shops, but the only place you can get chamomile tea, Camels and basil.
So I’m smoking Gauloises again, which depending on where you buy it (you can find three different prices along the same street) ranges from R9 to R14. There’s one place near the hotel I was staying that sells them for R6. I must go buy a carton. And booze!? Ha! I haven’t bought any yet, but judging by the adverts in the newspaper 1 dinar, R18, is dirt cheap for a beer! In fact, all of the people from Friday night’s first response to me being from South Africa was that they’re planning a drinking holiday there.
So… My birthday’s coming up… Wink wink…
posted by Nadine at 7:53 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home