Saudi Life

9th WorleyParsons Bowling Tournament March -April 2012

Judas Cave 360 Degree View

Snow in Saudi Arabia

Our route from office to villa for three months or until the main highway is finished

Fish for Sale.  Mas mura kasi sa sidewalk lang. This was taken
in front of Queens Bakery in Khobar.
Fish is for sale for SR5-10 per plastic bag

Dangerous Lives. Crossing the Street (now a temporary highway)
in front of our office. Requires extra care when crossing.



This is our new villa. Click Play for a mini tour.


Pingpong. One of Favorite Past time in our old villa (picture below). 
Unfortunately there is no space for our new villa to set up the table. 
Kaya nasa loob na lang kami ng kwarto most of time. 
Edward and Ed playing in the video

The Best Villa So Far ...
Unfortunately we have to transfer after 4 years of stay
Some Good Things Never Last

My Lunch. Rice and Adobong Manok. Our Lunch is delivered daily
(SR7 each) and we pay every end of the month.
Actually for me I get it for free. Hati kami ni Ninong Ed.
Hindi kasi niya nauubos ang lunch niya.
So instead of throwing it, hati na lang kami. Libre kasi ang lunch niya kasi
siya ang coordinator dito sa office ng restaurant na nagdedeliver. Kain na!

SR1 Bread. Our breakfast every morning in the office.
In good days, may kasamang palaman. In most days, sawsaw lang sa kape
At hindi mawawala ang early morning kwentuhan

This was not actually taken on this day. This was made in honor of
our friend Danny O who is leaving for Jeddah

Danny Ocampo's Last Day in Communications Department

Danny Ocampo's Last Day in Khobar (January 29, 2012)

Danny Ocampo's Last Day in Khobar (January 29, 2012)

Funny Mcdonald's Commercial (Arab Style)

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2011

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Judas Cave 2011. I first went here back in 1998. Tagal ko na sa Saudi

CBU Filipinos - Matira ang Matibay. This was taken during the Iftar Party

Pingpong Area/Get Together Area

Half Moon Beach Forever

CBU 2011 Less and Less

Pakain ng mga uuwi

1. 
   

Our New Villa in 25th Street Thoqbah. Khobar

Christmas Dinner

My Altar inside my room 

Office Desk - Looks clean and organized.
Wala kasing masyadong ginagawa  the time I took the picture

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2010

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Bowling Tournament Again. Dami trophy pero hindi kami nanalo

Kabsa Time! Sarap. This was in our Office Dining Area 

Half Moon Beach AGAIN! 

This was during my birthday. Kamayan lang

Comms Bowling Team. Never Say Die Team

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2009

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

This was during Lakay Rey's Daugter Birthday Party

Bowling Na Naman. We won 2nd place Best In Uniform

Iftar Party Again

My Yearly Meeting with Lamb Head. Every year during Iftar Party, I get
the head of the lamb and open it and its eyes and eveything inside.

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2008

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Tennis Naman. 

May Fishing Din

Half Moon Beach

Konting salo salo sa Hallway

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2007

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Basketball Practice at IPSA

Inter-Department Basketball Tournament. Now here I got to played more minutes.
Kami Kami lang naman kaya mas masaya

Bowling Again

Corniche before going jogging. Trying to pull up

Zing with me here during my Pakain bago magbakasyon

We transferred to this new office building this year

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2006

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Adobong Manok. Kain na

Konting kantahan at katuwaan

I am always the designated singer hehehe

If I remember it right this is when I treat everyone pizza when my sister Joy
passed the Medicine Board Exam. Proud Brother me.

This is while waiting for our Cheese Kubos early thursday morning.
May OT pa

My Dinner Treat in Carinderia (Thai Restaurant)  before going
back to the Philippines. Kainan na. Uwian pa

My Corner of the Office

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2005

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Company Yearend Party. The first and the last

Bowling Ulit

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2004

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

This is the year I contacted Steven Johnson Disease.

This was taken a few days after I got back to office from my month
long stay in the hospital because of Steven Johnson. My face is bloated
and my eyes still hurts.

This was taken in Bahrain. 

Papicture sa opisina. Simula ng mauso ang digital camera mahilig
nang magpapicture basta may camera

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2003

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Tennis Tournament

KKK sa Pantry. Kainan, Kwentuhan at Kodakan sa Pantry

Payat ko pa

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2002

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Iftar Party. Bakit kaya ako nakasimangot? Gutom na siguro

Inside my room. Dami kong toys from Happy Meal Mcdo. Pinalibutan ko
ng Christmas Lights para mafeel kahit konti ang Pasko

Toy Story Saudi Edition. Naglalaro sila pag tulog ako

New Year Salo Salo sa hallway

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2001


Or watch the slide show after the last picture

This was taken in Comms Department Area. Malaki pa ang mga computer
monitor. We had a lot of work back then

This was taken inside my room. The couch is already very old at di na
maganda tingnan kaya binalutan ko na lang ng kumot.

My place in the office. Wala pang cubicle. 

For more pictures from this year check the link: KSA2000

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

I joined the company Basketball Team kahit di naman ako talagang player.
This was on an Inter Company Tournament. If I remember it right I only
played once maybe for about 2 minutes hehehe. Anyway it is during practice
that I played more. At least kami kami na lang 

I also tried scuba diving but eventually ended up to snorkling.
I had problems with my ears and I had a hard time equalizing underwater.
But I also stopped snorkling because I always had feet cramps. Anyway
I enjoyed it while it last.

If I am not mistaken this is the year that we started going inside Aramco Camp
and having parties with some of our Filipina friends living inside Aramco.
This picture is taken in one of the parties we attended

Here are some pictures when I celebrated my first birthday here in Saudi. We had a dinner the night before in our humble flat and then on the day of my birthday we went to Half Moon Beach.

For more pictures from this year check the link below:

1998-1999

Or watch the slide show after the last picture

Ed and Me

Kuyang and Me

Zing and me

Just me

Mga Bawal

As-Salaam Alaykum

As-Salaam Alaykum means Peace be upon you. If said to you, try to respond with the same words backwards:Alaykuum As Salaam which means Upon you Peace. In a social situation involving males,, shake hands, not too firmly with all nearby persons, starting with the most senior. These social signals are highly cost effective in terms of the minor effort needed in preparation. However, some fervent Muslims dislike Westerners using an Islamic greeting and caution will be needed when in such company.

Restriction on Women

In the Middle East women face restriction on dress, and in Saudi Arabia in particular they also face restriction over the men who may accompany them (in a car, at a restaurant, or on a journey, for example). Only men of the immediate family are acceptable, which poses problems for expatriate women who usually only have one close male relative available. Such person is known in Arabic as a Mahram i.e. a woman's husband or any close blood relative whom she is forbidden to marry, i.e. father, brother, son etc. A woman may not appear in the company of a male whom she is, in law, permitted to marry, i.e. a male friend or colleague or, indeed, even her cousin. This restriction does not apply to a driver specifically employed as the family driver.

Photography

Most people do not enjoy strangers deliberately and publicly taking their photographs without their permission and this is as true in the Gulf as anywhere else. There are Islamic dimensions to be considered as well: Islam condemns all forms of graven image and personal aggrandizement and some Muslim will claim that this restriction embraces the photography of humans. Where an important Gulf figure is clearly and publicly carrying out an official or similar duty, such as prize giving, there are no objections to photography; it may even be expected and welcome. But openly to take pictures of Arab women in the market, for example, is intrusive and lacks sensitivity and should be avoided. Photography near military installations could lead to arrest in almost all Gulf countries.

Know your Customers

A disappointed salesman of Coca Cola returns from his Middle East assignment. A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Arabs?" The salesman explained "When I got posted in the Middle East , I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there. But, I had a problem I didn't know to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through three posters...

  

First poster: A man lying in the hot desert sand...totally exhausted and fainting.

Second poster: The man is drinking our Cola.

Third poster: Our man is now totally refreshed.

And Then these posters were pasted all over the place

"Then that should have worked!" said the friend.

"The hell it should had!? said the salesman. I didn't realize that Arabs read from right to left"

Sand Storm

A blinding sandstorm such as shown below are a common natural phenomenon in the middle east which usually disrupts air and ground traffic and even oil exports. People are advised to stay indoors.