Accidents and fictions
Oooh aaah France… Swoon!
Anyway I survived another car accident yesterday (what is it with me!?), although I wasn’t driving. This shaikha, nattering away on her cellphone (there’s no rule about that here yet), just drove straight through the red light, into us, without even braking. She did up a leg injury or something.
It did result in me getting to see the ridiculous get up of traffic cops here: Navy blue paints that balloon around the thighs and then are tucked into knee-high black rubber boots. A white jacket, colonial style, with gold brocade and pins. And then finally wrapped in strips of reflecting checked orange squares, like a Christmas tree.
Yes, I have been quiet this week. I guess it’s all starting to become too familiar for me.
I did learn what Islamic banking is – as opposed to well, um, banking. There’s no interest in Islamic banking – apparently interest goes against the Koran somehow. So, an Islamic bank would buy something on your behalf and then sell it back to you at a profit. Going to have to do some more research as to how this is really different and not just a case of semiotics.
And the “truth” about the real estate industry here. Apparently, according to a real estate agent who used to run a jazz club, it’s a lot of hot air. It all looks good on paper, there are all these great figures, but, as I suspected, most of these buildings actually stand empty eventually. Do the maths: a Population of less than a million and ten 50-storey skyscrapers being raised a year. It’s more about strategic buying and selling than actual occupation. On such a small island, what else do you spend your money on? There has to be “asset generation” for the nouveau riche.
Oh and, apparently, in the olden days Bahrain was considered a holy place because it has a sweet water and salt water sea. So this island was used as a massive burial ground for royalty from all over the Middle East. In the centre of the island, used to be layers and layers of archaeological history in this form. Now, well um, where do you think they’re getting the sand to “reclaim” the sea?
I don’t know if any of this is true, I’m just surfing between opinions and snippets.
What I do know is: A tank of petrol costs BD6. That’s about R110 or three beers.
Anyway I survived another car accident yesterday (what is it with me!?), although I wasn’t driving. This shaikha, nattering away on her cellphone (there’s no rule about that here yet), just drove straight through the red light, into us, without even braking. She did up a leg injury or something.
It did result in me getting to see the ridiculous get up of traffic cops here: Navy blue paints that balloon around the thighs and then are tucked into knee-high black rubber boots. A white jacket, colonial style, with gold brocade and pins. And then finally wrapped in strips of reflecting checked orange squares, like a Christmas tree.
Yes, I have been quiet this week. I guess it’s all starting to become too familiar for me.
I did learn what Islamic banking is – as opposed to well, um, banking. There’s no interest in Islamic banking – apparently interest goes against the Koran somehow. So, an Islamic bank would buy something on your behalf and then sell it back to you at a profit. Going to have to do some more research as to how this is really different and not just a case of semiotics.
And the “truth” about the real estate industry here. Apparently, according to a real estate agent who used to run a jazz club, it’s a lot of hot air. It all looks good on paper, there are all these great figures, but, as I suspected, most of these buildings actually stand empty eventually. Do the maths: a Population of less than a million and ten 50-storey skyscrapers being raised a year. It’s more about strategic buying and selling than actual occupation. On such a small island, what else do you spend your money on? There has to be “asset generation” for the nouveau riche.
Oh and, apparently, in the olden days Bahrain was considered a holy place because it has a sweet water and salt water sea. So this island was used as a massive burial ground for royalty from all over the Middle East. In the centre of the island, used to be layers and layers of archaeological history in this form. Now, well um, where do you think they’re getting the sand to “reclaim” the sea?
I don’t know if any of this is true, I’m just surfing between opinions and snippets.
What I do know is: A tank of petrol costs BD6. That’s about R110 or three beers.
posted by Nadine at 8:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home