Patchwork

2010-05-20, Amman
Fri, 21st May 2010, Amman

Despite the fact that (with my apologies) the site is about as patchy as the avaliability of internet to fix it, justhost are recordingover 10,000 hits a month without any listing on the major search engines.

So yeah, apologies. Upcomin...

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Indestructible Cameras

2010-05-16, Sur
Sun, 16th May 2010, Amman

I have just broken my 5th ""indestructible"" camera. According to Olympus the thing should be able to survive 10m of water, -25 Celsius, a drop of 5m and being sat on, but not, alas, me.

Jumping off a bridge it seems, is too much for it...

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As seen on the fridge

2010-05-13, Beirut
Thu, 13th May 2010, Beirut

Beirut is an interesting city. Lebanon is an interesting country. Think in parts high rise refugee camps, in parts Monaco with a significant military presence, except as safe as Monaco and as friendly as the Gulf.
Even down south, where ...

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In other news..

2010-05-09, Saida
Mon, 10th May 2010, Beirut

The war might have ended officially two years ago but the fear in South Lebanon did not. In a desperate fight agains Israeli and domestic forces which has lasted over sixty years since liberation from France at the end of WWII and buckling unde...

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Notes on Haggling

2010-05-04, Tyre
Tue, 4th May 2010, Beirut

Although there are many times when the price is the price, there are also lots of places this does not hold true. The premise of haggling is simple: you want to pay as little as possible, the vendor wants to get as much money as possible. Somew...

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Entry to Syria

2010-05-02, Damascus
Mon, 3rd May 2010, Damascus

As confirmed (but not entirely believed) from a very fruitless trip to the Syrian Embassy in London, it is entirely possible to get a visa upon entry to the country at both Damascus International Airport and at all of the land borders expect th...

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Shiela

2010-04-28, Sur
Wed, 28th Apr 2010, Muscat

There is an OR5 charge if you take your EuropeCar back dirty. This does not seem to apply if you don't take it back at all.

Firstly, there should be a law against being able to walk into an Airport and emerge five minutes later with the ...

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The Curse of... Cartography

2010-04-27, Wahiba Sands
Wed, 28th Apr 2010, Muscat

Irony is delicious. Presented almost a month ago with a Bhuddist prayer scarf, the words that accompanied it (""good luck"") could not have been less appropriate. Passing a group of schoolgirls with the thought that going back and staying one m...

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Camels on the beach

2010-04-25, Salallah
Wed, 28th Apr 2010, Muscat

Plain and simple, camels are awesome. Seemingly fearless behemoths of captivating mastication. All that needs to be said really.

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The American Dream

2010-04-20, Muscat
Wed, 21st Apr 2010, Muscat

Walking through a park late at night we find several groups of people sat around seeming to enjoy their evening. Our presence is noticed, heads turn in our direction and a group walks towards us.
A fairground sells candyfloss and childre...

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