West, East, West Five Times Fast

The Ballad of East and West


Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

[...] 

Mont Blanc, Ialy/France

The world is a much smaller place since Kipling wrote his 1889 poem. 



If there was just one thing I have learned this summer it is that Asia is as sophisticated and as historically and culturally vast as the Europe I have known since I was that little girl traveling 10+ hours in the jumpseat of dads L1011, and as the twenty-something year old that rendezvoused in Italy for a year as an artist. 

This August we flew East, then West, then East then... West.. then East... then West. 

Jet lag? By the time we were done our bodies did not know which way was up.  

The wonderful thing about living in the Middle East is that you're quite literally in "the Middle" (not to be confused with my favorite sitcom).  Six hours west, "bonjour Geneva," and 3 943 miles and eight hours east, "ni how Hong Kong!" We are never too far from any destination, and certainly not far enough for me to not jump at the opportunity (and onto a plane) to head off to anywhere for three days or less. --Bonus if there's champagne!.. and lobster... and a giant seat that reclines into a bed; then there is no question what I won't be doing in the desert heat (staying home watching tv, that's for sure!). 




I sing "It's a small world after all" in my head all the way to the plane... Who would have known the world doesn't fall off at the furtherest Caribbean Airlines shopping destination? 



World here I come! I said I'd get out east one way or another, and with a nice gentle great big shove by my management team at CAL, and a tug from a handsome best friend from flight school and here I am. Thank you team, you're in the right position to kiss my -. 


So here's what my August looked like!

Chanting in the Hundred Dragons Hall, Buddha Relic, Singapore.

Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore's oldest Hindu temple (1827).

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Geneva

United Nations, Geneva

Star Ferry, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Zurich

Homeward bound

The Thing With The Visa ...and The Other Visa

The thing with the passport I possess is that to travel to most places I must obtain a travel visa. There was no exception when it came to our Thai honeymoon (see post 'From One (Amazing Day) To Ten)', so off we went to the Royal Thai Embassy in Doha with passports and supporting documents in hand.

Ryan walked up to the visa counter while I took a seat behind a couple Qataris. He returned moments later and sat next to me with an expression on his face that told me I was about to receive some bad news. I had a moment of panic.

What?! What had happened that we can't go on our spectacular vacation?!

We had all of our documents, Ry explained. All but one.

"Um, I have to give you written permission to travel."

Silence.

"Well,... if you want me on our honeymoon then you better write that letter of permission."

"Right... got it!"

He hustled back to the counter and scribbled something on a plain piece of A4 printing paper along the lines of 'I hereby allow my wife to travel with me to Thailand...'

Was this what I was being warned about all this time? That wasn't so bad, kind of like ripping off a band-aid. Once you've had your autonomy threatened in the M.E you realize it's actually not an unpleasant experience (once you have an accommodating spouse), nor is it the end of the world. Gasp! Did I really just say that? To be fair this was a requirement for the Thai visa and not something I have to get every time I leave Qatar.

Being the strong, fiercely independent third-wave feminist he knows me to be, Ryan was still worried I may have been holding back my anger as we got into the car. However, I genuinely found it amusing that he had to write a letter of permission for me for anything. Saying that, I am sure I would have been furious wasting time at the embassy had he not been there. That's the nice thing about toting your doting husband around everywhere.

"Will you stop asking me if I'm okay? I'm glad I got my visa, regardless of how I got it. Now, would you just drive please?"


The Thing with the Other Visa...

On our way home I called our bank to activate my credit card that had just been issued to me.
It was 'simple' the bank teller said to me the day before, just call the number on the card, give them my name and Qatar ID number and...

"Ms. Shannon, can I speak to your husband?"
"Excuse me?"
"Is Ryan there?"
"Ha! Sure!"

I put the phone on speaker...

"Mr. Ryan, is it okay that we activate your wife's credit card?"
"Yes, it's okay. You can activate her card."
Ryan grins at me.
I roll my eyes as I hang up and he laughs.

Did I mention that every time I use the credit card a text message is sent to Ryan letting him know where I have been shopping and how much I spent?

Some men get text messages every time their wives leave and re-enter the country (they are allowed three,.. wives that is). We're not sure why Ryan does not get these text messages but he only has one wife to keep track of, so that shouldn't be too hard for him to handle.

People are surprised that I find none of this intrusive or offensive. I find it no different and far more transparent than other countries that have CCTV, access to your financial information, personal records, etc. Things that I can't do in public include giving someone the finger and stealing someone's falcon, along with a list of other things I probably shouldn't be doing anyway. It does not in any way affect my day to day life, and when things like these come up I oblige. Why? Because we have a happy life here. That's why. In the meantime I am afforded far more liberties here than I was where I am from because of safety. 

Know Your Thobe

Web - Censorship

They block websites that contain unsavory content here.

I say 'They' in my art-school proverbial-status-quo decision-making-powers-that-be kind of way. The 'they' we used to use in our academic writing in University that started with a capital " T ", as we penned our left-wing papers on advertising, education, subject matter in art, propaganda, and political decision-making.

One service provider in Qatar has "a clear policy that aims to prevent damage to the values of the community from harmful material on websites" that they claim is backed strongly by the locals.  

Some of these websites include social-networking sites, celebrity gossip sites, video streaming, and then of course some of the more obvious offenders like those with pornographic content. 

Here's the cute pink page that comes up with these goofy little guys telling you that the content is prohibited.