Morocco

I spent 2 weeks in Morocco with another surveyor, working in the capital city of Rabat and Casablanca.  During this time we managed a weekend trip to Tangiers, the immigration point into Spain and the mountain village of Chefchaouen.  Morocco has some very beautiful scenery, especially in the mountains and along its miles and miles of coastline.  Almost all of the cities have a spectacular medina and kasbah, which are thoroughly protected by UNESCO.  They are beautiful, old, walled cities filled with markets and shopping.  Many of the crumbling walls have been protected since the 1500s and show off some beautiful ancient history that you can only see when you leave the US.

Plaza in Rabat, Morocco

That being said...Moroccans are BRUTAL.  They are absolutely the worst people I've ever had to deal with in my entire travelling history, and almost enough to warrant ruining the trip.  I apologize if you are reading this and Moroccan.  Many of my everyday interactions with taxi drivers and street vendors ended in a lot of shouting and anger.  Morocco seems to be one of those countries that is so overexposed to tourism that all of the inhabitants are used to haggling and annoying everyone who comes near them that might have a cent of money in their pocket.  Most taxi drivers will chase you down the street for a fare, and if they are lucky enough to get you in the cab..attempt to charge you between 5x and 10x the normal rate for that trip. When you refuse, they argue with you like you are crazy.  The idea of someone in Morocco helping you with a direction or simple answer to a questions is a ridiculous laughing matter.  

"Excuse me, is ___ street this way or this way?" 

"This way into my shop, I give you good price, cmon"

"Do you know where the bus station is?"

"There is no bus, but I can take you in my taxi.."

"Oh, I see it right across the street, thank you for being so helpful!"

This obviously isn't new to any foreign traveller but after a couple weeks it can start to drive you literally insane...

Rabat, Morocco

Morocco is located on the western side of North Africa, with Spain to its North and Algeria, Tunisia on the East.  It is an important immigration hub for North Africans to migrate into Spain and Europe through the port town of Tangiers.  Tangiers has long been famous for it's refuge to many cultural diversities.  It was long an espionage center during the Cold War and a famous artist's enclave in the mid 20th century for the likes of William S. Burroughs, Henri Matisse and Jack Kerouac, who all drew inspiration from the uniqueness of the city.

King Hassan II Mosque

Further down the coast, the cities of Rabat and Casablanca (only an hour apart) are the financial and commercial capitals of the country.  Casablanca is obviously famous for..well..Casablanca, "Here's looking at you kid."  There is even a replica Rick's Cafe located near the medina (where I ate dinner and bought a t-shirt since I'm a good American.)  Both of these cities are a bit rundown, however Casablanca owns the third largest moqsue in the world, the Hassan II.  This is one of the only mosques in the world non-muslims can enter and I was lucky enough to latch onto a 1 hour tour of the place.  Quite impressive!

Hassan II Mosque

The best part about the visit to Morocco was the mountain town of Chefchaouen.  After riding a few different methods of transportation (bus, train, grand taxi) we reached this beautiful village perched above the Rif Mountains.  There is a picturesque medina, set against the dramatic backdrop of the mountains.  It is filled with white-washed homes with distinctive powder-blue accents.  The call to prayer rings out here through several mosques during the day in chorus, and is quite peaceful.  This area is really well-known for its huge production of marijuana and hashish, which supplies 80% of Morocco.  My co-worker and I went for a day hike up into the mountains and just walked by acres upon acre of marijuana plantations.  Many farmers and women were chugging along, doing their business and friendly enough for a wave or a picture.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Medina in Chefchaouen, Morocco

Morocco has come a long way in the past 10 years.  Their king, Hassan II, was a traditonal older man, who kept the country as a strict, muslim state.  When he passed in 1999, his son, Mohammed VI took power and with him came a much more liberal approach to running the country.  He quickly passed laws granting women the power to vote, attend school, etc.  There are many more bars, and drinking and nightlife have begun to flourish, with the help of a strong tourism industry.  Now, Morocco feels more a bit more like a European country than it's neighbors Algeria and certainly Libya.

Speaking of Libya..next stop! Should have a good post from there soon.

Algeria

I spent a week in Algiers, doing a survey for the European Commission, a new contract we were awarded in the past month.  This client brings us a bunch of new money and a bigger profile in the European community, but with it comes a new 180 page survey.  The downside of these surveys is they are more than twice as long as the longest previous survey.  The upside is you get to travel with another surveyor to get it all done, which means more entertainment opportunities and someone to have dinner and complain about work with...I did my first survey of this length, the previous week in New York City, which was pretty easy and a nice exercise in learning all the new items in the basket of goods.

Road to Tipaza, Algeria

Algeria is the 2nd largest country in Africa and in the Arab world.  It is predominantly muslim (99.5%) and an interesting mix of French and African.  Algeria has had a long and sordid history starting with Ottoman and Roman rule, leading to French colonization, a terribly bloody independence war, and clashes between government and rebel groups killing 100,000's leading into this decade.  Algeria has developed in leaps and bounds in the past 10 years and the economy is quite strong.  However, in 2007 there were a few city bombings that killed and injured many; mostly targeted towards foreigners, and Al-Qaeda has a strong presence in the country.

Algerian bombings claimed by Al Qaeda

40 Terrorists dead in Algeria after exposure to Plague

Makam Echahid, Algerian Independence Memorial

Algeria has a booming oil reserve, thought to be the 8th largest in the world and this makes up for 95% of its export revenue; thus many major oil companies are set up here, and in turn bringing me to Algiers to conduct a foreign worker's cost-of-living survey.

"The White City"

Algiers is a beautiful mediterranean city, entrenched in white cement buildings donning it the nickname "The white city."  Like many developing cities, it has an old town with a french architectural influence and a modern town which is more developed and arab looking, both of them quite nice in their own respect.  Algiers is currently ranked lowest out of 132 capitals in the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality of life survey.  This survey takes into consideration 40 different criteria including: stability, health services, culture and environment, education and the availability of basic services.  Algiers was ranked lower than Karachi, Tripoli, Abidja and even Dhaka.  

Algiers City Blocks

The Casbah is the most well known part of the city, a World Heritage site in the north part of the city.  It is, however, not a very safe part of the city from pickpocketing, muggings and kidnappings.  Our driver said he must walk with us when we visited, to feel much safer.  This was appreciated of course.  The city is full of beautiful mosques, small and large, scattered around the city.

Djemma Mosque

Notre D'ame de Afrique

90 km west of the city is the ancient Roman ruins of Tipaza, buildings from the 1st century are preserved here quite well, and our visit was my first to a Roman ruins site.  Previously I had only seen Latin American ruins, and it was interesting to see the contrast.  Commercially this was an important Roman hub and was also an Unesco World Heritage site.  Along the way, we passed through some beautiful beach towns, stopped for some shopping and a fresh fish lunch on the harbor.  

Tipaza Ruins

Tipaza Ruins

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea lies on the eastern coast of the island, New Guinea, split in half with a territory owned by Indonesia in the South Pacific.  Papua is one of the rawest, most rugged spots on Earth, with thousands of indigenous people making up villages all over the country.  The majority of the people live in traditional societies and practice subsistence-based agriculture.  I was most excited about my trip here and scheduled it for my last stop on the survey.  The city of Port Moresby is quite small and the airport consists basically of a landing strip on a flat bit of land.  However, as you approach, you get a sense of the dense jungle and rugged mountainous terrain that makes up the country.  This has caused it to be difficult for any type of transportation infrastructure to exist.  To get anywhere, or even out of Port Moresby, you have to fly to one of the other small cities.  

Crowne Plaza Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea has a big expat population due to oil companies and shipping yards scattered around Port Moresby.  The country may be best known for its indigenous and tribal people living outside of the city, who most famously wear bones and other items pierced in their faces and some are still cannibalistic.  A common response to "I'm going to Papua New Guinea" was met with "Don't get eaten."  Port Moresby is also known as one of the most dangerous cities in the entire world; run by a gang of hoodlums known as 'Raskols' who carjack, rob and rape.  In fact, Port Moresby has had the most rapes per capita of any country in the world, several years in a row.  This is amazing to think about once you spend time there, as the general population appears to be the friendliest, gentlest people I have ever met.  Everything moves extremely slowly (you sometimes have to ask your waitress for your drink or check repeatedly before you might actually obtain it) and everyone seems quite happy; a true south pacific island.  

Port Moresby Homes

I had heard of some epic surf breaks off the coast of Papua, mostly on the north side, but I was desperate to find my way out to the ocean.  I made friends with some locals at a pub in town, and they pointed me towards the local surf club, which was made up of a bunch of guys on some rundown old boards (a couple with donations from some Aussies and South Africans who visited on surf trips) who frequented the islands around the mainland to take in some surf.  There wasn't much break, but I got to spend a day paddling around in the south Pacific with a bunch of Papua locals, quite the experience.  We finished the day with snorkeling around the neighboring islands which captivates the south side of the Great Barrier Reef, a natural wonder.

Loloatu Island

Islands of Papua

Singapore

Singapore was a great stop on my 3rd world country tour of Southern Asia, as it is developed as any city in the US or Europe and boasts wonderful hotels, cuisine, nightlife, etc.  I was able to recouperate here for a few days and hang out with an old roommate from Los Angeles before heading back out to the developing world of Asia. I ended up getting sick this week, possibly from eating too many dumplings and noodle bowls from 'hawker' carts around the city...but it was definitely worth it

Singapore is an island microstate, located on the tip of Malaysia, in southern Asia.  What was originally a tiny fishing village has now expanded into one of the top economic and business hubs in the world.  Singapore boasts a population of almost 5 million people, with a very diverse mix of people.  Chinese Malay is the most common, with Indian, Japanese, American , British and many other cultures making up the rest of the state.  

Clark Quay and Merlion

Singapore is an extremely powerful economic hub, and the world's 4th largest foreign exchange trading centre behind New York, Tokyo and London.  There are thousands of expatriates working in hundreds of multinational corporations, making it an extremely business-friendly economy.  Singapore is very much tied into the American markets, more so than the nearby Hong Kong, which has caused for it to weaken in the past year, similarly with our domestic US market.  Less companies are moving and expanding, and this shows in the global recession and especially Singapore.

Singapore is well known for its criminal law, which is of the strictest in the world.  Singapore still retains corporal (caning) and capital (hanging) punishment.  Many things which would seem normal in our culture (such as chewing gum on the bus or smoking in public) are major offences in Singapore and can be punishable to fines of thousands of dollars.  Drugs are also highly illegal in Singapore; possession of a small amount of marijuana will be punishable by death.  Due to all this, it is one of the safest cities in the world with an extremely low crime rate.  However, one way that Singapore law differs in the opposite way, is it's legalization of prositution.  Licensed brothels exist in designated areas where health checks are mandated, much like Amsterdam.  Street prostitution is not legal, but it is rampant all over the city and in bars.  Orchard Towers is a famous "shopping mall" of sex worker bars and massage parlours that exist with an extreme in-your-face sex market.  Being a tall, white man in Singapore is quite an invitation to get chased down the street in this city, but it is a rather interesting experience.

MRT sign

South India

Things got really busy on this last trip but I wanted to at least throw up a few photos to check out...

India was fantastic! Beautiful country, Beautiful people, Beautiful food.  One of the best places I've ever seen.  Spirituality and Religion mixed with overpopulation and crowding in a 3rd world country..doesn't get any better for me!

I spent 2 weeks in Bangalore and Chennai, which included sidetrips to Pondicherry and Mysore; a nice little tour of Southern India.   India is the 7th largest country by geographical area, the 2nd most populous country after China and the largest democracy in the world.  It is made up of 28 states, all of them being totally unique and different in their own way.  India holds an estimated 1.15 billion people, making up for 17% of the world's population.

Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka, a much developed city with an infrastructure based on IT and outsourcing.  Many tech companies are set up here and there is a huge business center. With this comes restaurants, hotels, bars, tourism, etc.  There are tons of expats living here and a lot of beautiful housing exists in the city and neighboring suburbs.

About a 2 hour train ride outside of the city is the town of Mysore.  Mysore is best known for it's palace which is luminescent with 100s of thousands of lights every Sunday.  

Entrance to Mysore Palace

Mysore Palace

Chennai is the 4th largest city in India and the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu.  This area of India is much more traditional than other parts of the country that have steadfastly developed.  Alcohol is almost non-existent and traditional values are noticeably more important here.  Chennai lies on the south-eastern corner of India.  I travelled down the coast to many of the smaller towns and the effects of the tsunami that ravaged these areas of southern Asia is still quite visual and apparent.  Many of the villages and beachside areas are still destroyed or in the process of being cleaned up.

Bangalore Bus Station

Further down the coast from Chennai is the former French colony, Puducherry, a beautiful seaside community with major French influence.  Many of the signs remain "Rue de..." and most of the people speak both languages.  The town is constructed with the same French influence and grouped into neat sectors and perpendicular streets.  Not far from Puducherry is the unique community of Auroville , which is definitely worth reading into.

 Chennai church

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka certainly ranks as one of the most interesting, fascinating and thought provoking cities I have ever visited. Upon first sight, it is almost horrifying. The poverty and visual deterioration of the city, coupled with the chaos and hecticness is an immensely stressful sight. The city is filled with gypsies and beggars, many of them with horrible deformaties, that will openly chase you on foot and tap your car window to ask for money. Dhaka is an amazing example of what horrible pollution can do to people, and the affect it has on the population. Many of the people are missing limbs and have distinguished growths coming from their bodies. It is not uncommon to see people and children, laying unconscious on the side of the street, possibly no longer living.

Street Beggars

Dhaka is a city of over 12 million people and growing rapidly, as is much of Southern asia and India. Dhaka is witnessing rapid growth and the city faces a number of challenges, including widespread poverty, hunger and corruption. It is a predominantly muslim state and deals with a lack of opportunities for women and much discrimination. Sari's are the only womens clothes available in stores, almost no western dress is obtainable. Dhaka is a hot, wet, tropical climate and was smack in the middle of a huge storm when I arrived with the addition of flooding right outside my hotel.

Old Town, Dhaka

Cycle and Auto Rickshaws dominate the overly crowded streets. It is stated that Dhaka has 400,000 rickshaws running daily, by far the most of any city in the world. Some of these are small, green automatic ones, but the majority is brightly colored cycle rickshaws that have no problem darting out in front of moving automobiles. Spending the day out in traffic in a taxi, or wandering around the markets of Old town Dhaka are activities that could never get boring. Every 10 seconds, you can see something that you have never seen before in your life.

Rickshaws, City Street

During the week I was surveying Dhaka, New Zealand was in town to play Bangladesh in an International test Cricket match. The first 3 of 5 days were rained out, but the 4th day was on and the city was abuzz in Cricket talk. The Bangladeshi's aren't well known for their skills but definitely for their passion of the sport. I mentioned to one of my business contacts that I wanted to try and head down to Mirpur Stadium and see if I could get a ticket to the match. I was lucky enough that he set me up with his friend, a Sports Journalist for Banglavision TV, and he got me a VIP seat in the press box. It was an awesome experience and I met a ton of locals that were all super friendly and loved to chat about politics, economy and the differences between USA and Bangladesh (of which there are a few). I was even invited on a Saturday fishing trip down one of their river deltas with a bunch of local guys. Unfortunately, I will have left for India, an invitation I am deeply saddened to have turned down.

Dhaka Stadium, Press Box

After my first day in Dhaka, I was almost mortified of the activity in the city and ready to head to my next location. By day 5, I've found Dhaka has really grown on me. Although it is a place

I would never want to live, it is still the most 'different' place I have ever experienced in my travels and a city I could never possibly forget.

Back in the Philippines...

My new trip sends me back to Asia and for the first time in my survey career, I've repeated a location, Manila, Philippines. I actually enjoyed my first go-around in Manila, in part to some family friends living in the city and a couple of extraordinary hotels, both contributing to my entertainment while on survey.

Manila city scene

The Philippines is a gorgeous country, consisting of over 7,000 islands and many of the world's most beautiful beaches. Unfortunately, after 2 visits I still haven't been able to experience any of this. Due to the geographic lay of the land, it involves time, flights, boats and most of all, money to get out of the major city and into the more touristy areas of the Philippines.

All I can comment on is downtown Makati City, Manila, which most Filipinos tell me is a shame. Manila is a huge city with one of the highest population densities in the world. The majority of it is huge sprawling urban ghettos, including some of the most impoverished areas I have ever seen on Earth. However, the business center and downtown (Makati) is quite the opposite. Lots of 5-star hotels and endless stretches of mall make the city center very upscale. The survey is Manila is rather easy, thanks in part to the gigantic miles of attached malls. The filipino economy must be thriving because I have never seen so much commerce and shopping readily available in one city.

Filipino Dunkin' Donuts

Although the official language of the Philippines is Tagalog (which sounds a little like spanish) almost everyone speaks English. Manila has taken heat and some attacks from the mostly Muslim south of Philippines, it is a place basically free to practice whatever religion you so choose. Due to that, there are a lot of Roman-Catholic churches built around the city. Intramuros is the the closest thing to an interesting sight in the city.

Intramuros, Manila

I met up with some friends the night after I arrived and went to dinner and some drinks. Afterwards we went to a live music bar and I saw a band called Spongecola, which was basically interprative death metal.

All in all, it was a great show. Unfortunately, both times I've been to Manila, it's been the beginning of an Asia trip and I am usually fighting off jet lag the whole time, this one has been a bit easier.

Anyway, not much to report on Manila, maybe because it's a repeat but here's a few more photos to hopefully make up for this short posting. The rest of my trip includes:

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bangalore, India

Chennai, India

Singapore

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

...and an overnight in Brisbane, Australia, so definitely check back for some more updates.

Jeepneys, common modes of transportation

Modern Art Museum

Cock fight in Roligon

Hyphy Records update**

Check out the new site up www.hyphyrecordsmusic.com links to some new music

look for an album- end of novemeber 2008

new artists coming...


Also, new trip coming mid October- locations TBA announced next week

Arabian Sands

*with pics*

I suppose I am getting this off to a late start, since I am on the last day of my last location on this survey, but Saudi Arabia will drive you to find anyway possible to entertain yourself.  Unfortunately, the internet connection in my hotel (which blocks me from accessing any questionable websites or ones that discuss women's rights) is letting me upload pics about as slow as smoke signals, so I'll have to wait til I get home, and I'll put some up asap.

Burj Al Arab, Dubai

I spent my first two weeks in the Middle East between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, getting acclimatized to weather (110 degrees) and the customs of the Muslim people.  Dubai is a fairly international city as you can imagine, so it wasn't nearly as intense as everyday life in Saudi Arabia.  You only hear the music play out of the mosques a couple of times a day in Dubai and life doesn't seem to miss a beat during prayer hours.  One of the first things you notice is the gold signs pointing to Mecca in every building, hotel room, restaurant, even my hotel gym had one near a weight bench...However muslim it may feel, Dubai is still 90% immigrants and 60% of those are from India.  The idea of the United Arab Emirates local is almost non-existent in two cities that were basically built out of the desert in the last 10 years.  You can still order alcohol in restaurants and nightclubs sound off until the wee hours of the night.  It is definitely a city designed for business and tourism alike. 

However, its neighbor to the west, Saudi Arabia is unlike any country in the world and a definite "trip" to experience.  I boarded my Saudi Arabian Airways flight to Jeddah at 10pm.  My visas were checked several times, I listened to a nice soothing prayer over the loud speaker, and we were on our way.  Saudi Arabian Airways has 3 rows in the back of the plane designated for a "prayer room" surrounded by a curtain...I was hoping to get away with a nap in there, but I thought better of it.  Instead, I stared at the video monitor in front of me, which had a little arrow pointing which direction off the plane Mecca was at all times...Thanks Saudi Arabian Airways!

Upon my arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport, I was pulled aside at passport services and asked to show my Passport and Visa to group of different customs agents, who asked me where I was coming from possibly 150 times.  An hour later, I had my bag and was heading into the city

Mosque, Musandam

Jeddah is the second largest city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after it's capital Riyahd.  It is considered the "cosmopolitan center" of Saudi Arabia, where you are free from attacks of the religious police and some pools and beaches have areas where women can bare their shoulders.  How 21st century.  Jeddah is also the prinicipal gateway to Mecca, which is about 10 miles outside of the city center.  Millions of people make the Haj to Mecca, a birthright trip, and every year the Saudi government deals with the issue of immigrants staying illegally.  Saudi Arabia is an immensely wealthy country with free healthcare and schooling.  It is primarily better off economically then the majority of its neighbors.  Interestingly enough, the government built a road curving around Mecca since non-muslims are forbidden from entering.  Stretched above the highway sit long, green signs that state "muslims" and "non-muslims" so you can continue to travel accordingly.  I suppose it is similar to the fork at I-95 and I-495 to Providence but with larger consequences for veering to the wrong direction.  The only westerners rumored to have entered are characters such as Thiesger and Richard Burton, who travelled with the Bedouin tribes through the empty quarter for years, wrote novels based on their experiences and were allowed to convert and visit the holy land of Mecca.

Port town, Oman

Jeddah is the arabic word for "grandmother" and was given that name as the tomb of Eve is said to be buried here (widely considered to be the grandmother of humanity).   The city recieved prominence in the 600's AD when muslim pilgrims started arriving to find Mecca.  Today, it is considered a major trading port due to it's location on the Red Sea and a tourist destination for diving around the coral reefs and sunken ship exploration.

Al Balad Coral Houses, Old Town Jeddah

On my first day in Jeddah, I hailed a cab outside of the hotel and headed off to the mall to collect some prices.  Almost immediately, distinguishing the differences in Saudi and the past muslim areas I had been in, was obvious.  Five times a day, music blares from the mosques around the city and immediately everything shuts down.  Shopkeepers usher you out of their stores and the metal grates go down.  The whole city's life ceases to exist for the next 20 minutes while everyone prays.  All stores then close from 1pm-5pm every single day as an imposed religious law.  Thus making work impossible to be done in the Kingdom.  I don't really understand how the Saudi residents get anything done.  The other complaint is it is a city full of cab drivers trying to take you for every cent they can get out of you.  This is to be expected in most places around the world, especially as an American.  However, the amount of time I spend with hired drivers starts to drive you nuts when you have to argue with every single one over the price of a fare...especially when they, all of a sudden, forget how to speak the english they knew 15 mins ago.

 As far as sights go, Jeddah boasts the tallest water fountain in the world, measuring in at over 350 meteres.  There is also a great market/old town to wander around.  Other than that...no alcohol...enough said.

Tomorrow, I am heading out back to the USA, via Amman, Jordan and into NYC.

2 observations of my time in the Middle East-

1. As much as the mosque music and prayer times can be a nuisance for work, if you can find the time to stop and listen, it is a beautiful experience.  It's serene and calm and invokes a definite feeling of mystery to a westerner.

   ...with the possible exception of the one that goes off at 4am outside my hotel window.

2. "It is illegal to serve a muslim alcohol."  In the UAE, alcohol is legal in hotels and to be served out of these dark warehouses if you have a permit.  But the law states "it is illegal to serve a muslim alcohol."  Shouldn't he just not want alcohol if he takes his religion that seriously?  I don't get that one yet.

Pics coming in a few days when I get home...