When are we leaving?

When are we leaving?

So this post might amuse @selfhelp4trolls as it will deal with living overseas...

What is that one place, country or location you do not want to visit. Ever.

I have flown all over the world. Having lived/visited or worked in 69 countries, flying was a big part of my life, it took me to some bizarre places, some great places but also some crappy places to put it mildly.

I sound like a fluffing parrot as I said this last week, and I do tend to repeat it every so often.

This is a post in response to a prompt from Hive-Naija, see the bottom of this post for details...

No nay never

I have worked in some absolute shitholes, that is often the case when you work in the oil industry anespecially if you work in the field and not the office!

I remember in Kazakhstan we had to wear gas masks when working on the Tengiz fields.

Reason being they were laden with Sulphur! Sulphur you know as rotten cabbage or rotten eggs smell, well magnify that smell and you get the idea.

In fact, talk about back assed flights to get there and then flying in deathtrap Tupolev 124 Russian planes...

Yes that was one of the worst locations I worked. And it was next to Russia, that is one country I have no wish to visit. Well not as long as that KGB murdering arsehole Putin is still alive.

So I have been to some godforsaken places.

Africa is an amazing continent and I have done my fair share of exploring.

From North to South from East to West it really has it all.

When I worked up in Algeria I had a blast. Well actually the President did, he was killed at Oran airport just as I was en route for some well deserved R&R!

My reward was a cancelled leave... I tell you Bechtel had some answers to answer. They were the company I worked for. A massive private company that was a way the CIA could move over the world so easily.

Our camp security yep you guessed it CIA guys... When I worked in Algeria it was at the time of FIS and their killings.

We worked in Arzew upgrading a LNG plant. Kelloggs had the same job renovating a next door plant.

Arzew was a small place about an hour from Oran, and was friendly, at least the locals were friendly to this strange Scotsman that spoke French and made an effort to learn Arabic and respect their Arabic traditions...

Unfortunately the terrorists came knocking and I remember the day an American from Kelloggs was killed at a petrol station filling his car up.

The CIA guys went nuts. Worse was to come though!

I was in charge of a team of engineers both Algerian and expats who were to asbuild the whole plant. That meant walking every pipe, climbing every column.

There were six identical trains each with 5 200 feet plus columns ... yep 30 in all. Now LNG oh boy that is cold stuff ... crygenics yep we are talking ice baby everywhere. Corrosive ice that had rotted the metal stairways and platform grating.

To cut a long story short, I climbed every column to make sure it was safe. As far as I was concerned if I could do it then my men could do it.

The American Tom Hill, security superintendant went fluffing mental. I could have been killed as often I didnt wear a harness blah blah and what would that do for PR... Like fluff off they just didn't want sued.

His response ... that is why you have Algerians in the team.

I was so close to hitting the guy at that point.

Well I had one of the Algerians Kasim who was really keen to learn English and he became a really good friend. I would go to his parents house and met his future wife.

I even went to his wedding, haha that Tom Hill blew a gasket at that one, I could have been taken hostage by the FIS.

Yeah that was a real dressing down I got.

Kasim meanwhile gave me a present. His uncle had just come back from Saudi Arabia. He had done his had.j to Mecca.

If you know me, then you know I like to tease, and I could get away teasing people of many cultures. As far as I am concerned whatwever someone believes in then that is their prerogtive, and it is not my business.

So I would tease him about what goes on in the wee Mecca house.

His uncle brought back a rug of the Kaala you see in the lead image.

Where would you like not to visit... everrrr?

All that was a massive long build up to the answer to this question.

I have worked in many Middle Eastern countries, from Israel to Iraq.

I believe in people, I love meeting different people from different cultures....

So I would go to any country or place at least once.

But whether I go back that is a different strory.

Let's zip back to Saudi Arabia.

I worked out of Jeddah for a while. Again with Bechtel.

I did not enjoy it at all. I disliked the religious police, I disliked seeing a woman being beaten in the street because she accidentally showed a bit of her arm and I totally disliked the way her man just stood and watched.

Ach there was a lot I disliked about the way they treated women.

I adore women, they should be worshipped, but yeah the way Saudi Arabia as a country treats women is bang out of order. The way men treat women, it is beyond my comprehension.

My favourite time was drinking vodka from watermelons in front of the religious police. Wrong I totally agree, but life is life.

Yeah, Saudi Arabie that is one place I would never go back to....

Hive Naija prompt!

This is an entry for this Hive Naija Weekly Prompt | Edition 36

Where would I not like to visit!

All ramblings are from me, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated, note lead image is generated with AI on pixlr .com from a prompt by me.

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