1 month in Riyad - The good, the bad and the worst

Things you learn /see when in Riyo :) :

- Weird buildings

- Smart women, way more educated than men: at least the ones I got the chance to work with, but again one should consider that these women represents the elite of the Saudi society since they have this strong will to work (working women is not in the Saudi culture)

- Smelly taxis : this was the hardest part in the morning when heading to the office

- Junk food overdose : Hardee's, BK, Kudu, Pizza hut, Subway loop...

I really missed my mum's cooking

- Work work and work: When in Riyo you have a tendency to become workaholic, you hate week ends (Thursday and Friday) since you have nothing to do. Even the malls are restricted to single guys!

- Interesting projects big opportunities : the best part of my trip... Intranet governance, Online strategy, solution roadmaps etc... and guess what ? : they won't ask you about the cost... they just want it done !! Apparently KSA did not know about the financial crisis.

- On prayer times (5 times a day) you become a prisoner ! everything is closed

- Detox : Thanks to Saudi no alcohol policy, (munkar) I finally managed to keep away from alcohol for one whole month...

ok, it wasn't by choice, so I'm not claiming the credit, but my doctor is gonna be so happy

- Saudis are very kind people :like that guy at traffic red light stop who offered us his pizza and really insisted that we share it... otherwise he will divorce his wife ! (!علي الطلاق! علي الطلاق)

- Compounds : I hated these silos where foreigners and expats live

- Last but not least : Finally some time to blog

Bisous

Accommodation in Beirut - Finding a place to stay

Last week, Shane, an Irish guy who is planning to move to Beirut in the near future, asked for my help in finding an affordable and central accommodation in Beirut.

Since I couldn't come up with a decent suggestion he found this interesting site and asked me to check it out for him and advise on the place.

So I followed the directions on this hand drawn map:

at first I found it hard to find the little alley between el Mandaloune grill and the Coral gaz station. In fact the alley is so tiny that I passed it twice without noticing it (see it's behind the orange 'thing')


Taking down the alley, I was surprised to see this nice old building that serves as an Arabic language learning institute

Further down, this private garden that serves as a snack for the hostel , (you can see 2um Nazih baking on her Saj)

I give it to you, it's not the Grey or the Four seasons, but one could not but admire the old house architecture under renovation

below the reception,

and the double room setting :

Now comes the most interesting part : the rates that will highly interest any student or NGO worker such as Shane (25usd per night the single room on a monthly rate) also available, a shared dorm option.

Now why am I blogging about it ?

1 - I never knew we have such places in Lebanon

2 - I found it cute,decent and suitable for students / foreigners / tourists who cannot afford the expensive luxurious hotels we have... so spread the news

3 - On that same day , there was a candle light march in Beirut for preserving such old buildings from being destroyed and replaced by modern towers

A good example of how we can take advantage of those charming structures without destroying them.

Voila...

30 + TVA !

Long time no post !!

I know what you are probably saying : I am not a frequent blogger ! but what the hell, I blog when I have something to say... not for keeping high traffic to my blog !!

So no pressure and no stress…

For me, blogging is for letting loose, not for creating more burden or stress

Speaking of stress , lately I’ve been under a lot of stress and here are the reasons:

- I’m 33 years old or 30 + TVA like my friend Rubs like to say!! and YES we guys stress about age too

- I have been offered a very nice business opportunity , but involves high risk , so I have to get back with an answer soon enough , and to be honest I haven’t made up my mind yet

- And… I’ll spare you the details of my private life.

Anyway today’s post is gonna be about… (drums rolling )…..ma ba3rif (don't know) !

So I’ll choose a recent pic and tell you its story (wow It was so easier when this blog used to be a simple photo blog…)

The below pic was taken last Sunday, at my family house in the mountains, as u can see there are plenty of kids in it and thank god they are not mine…

BUT I am their godfather… (yeah… A pretty expensive role on xmas !!)

More seriously these little devils were my bday choir singing me happy bday until I shouted at them to shut up. And I enjoyed it more than David guetta’s F**** me im Famous, White and Sky bar celebrations with my friends (no offense guys)

Is it a sign that I’m getting old ???

I’d like to believe its not :)

PS here are the gifts I have received

Beirut night-life

Summer is here and the open air bars are in the hype again. (above is the sky bar opening night pic)

Everyone agrees that beirut is considered to be a reference in the night-life scene -

my expat-friends envy me for living in beyrouth all year round -

but lately I'm starting to get frustrated with it and here are the reasons :

1 - The reservation hassle : It is becoming harder and harder to get a table reserved in the trendy places. From june to september it becomes almost impossible to reserve.
It looks like the policy is : the harder it is to get a table, the trendier becomes the place !
Some hints and tips to improve your chances :
- Call from an international line number (preferably a european number , ultimately a Saudi one)
- Call yourself Jean-luc or Jean-louis and choose a reputable family name (Abella or Sursok)

- Take a superiority complex - attitude when talking to the manager (don't worry he will treat you the same way)

2- Door policy : Even if you have a reservation, the rude bouncer (or 'visagiste' like they like to call him) will give u hard time to get in!
For example he will make you wait 5 mins pretending he is looking for your name on the list
(this is normal knowing that he doesnt even hold a brevet degree) but given the size of his biceps you have to smile at him and be very polite (it is highly recommended NOT to piss him off!!!)

3- No one dances : Once inside (and you're glad to be among the happy few to pass the door),the trend is for definitely NOT to dance !!! You are allowed to make some small moves though and that is, if the place is not overcrowded! (Have you been to 'element' lately ?)
The main idea of the outing becomes : 'to see and to be seen' so get a spot with a nice view preferably where everyone can see you :)

4 -Lebanese girls attitude : overdressed, wedding style !! don't get me wrong I love classy Lebanese women, but this is way too much...

5- The recurrent "mistakes" in over-charging you on the bill (extra drinks , extra number of persons etc...)

6- Last but not least : the valet parking. you will wait 30 mins waiting for your car, unless you own a Ferrari (it will be parked at the door)

I am not complaining , it is still exciting to go out in Beirut, but I had to let loose !

Lebanese banks 101

We Lebanese, always brag about how great and solid our banking sector is, and how Lebanese banks managed to stay away from the global financial crisis.

But have you ever wondered why Lebanese banks are so profitable ?

Even though I'm definitely not a financial expert, here is my humble explanation :

1st - Lebanese banks (privately held) hold 80 % of the public Lebanese debt. This means that they are making huge money from the interests service, where the majority of the yearly state budget spending goes.

2nd - Lebanese banks are tightly governed by the central bank who prohibited them from speculating with high risk financial products (this is why Lebanon was spared from the financial crisis)

3rd and most importantly (and this is the core subject of this post) : they are suit-wearing thieves as they charge us, customers on every single transaction we make (from statement of account to phone bill payment to cheque deposit etc...)

But the most outrageous issue is 'the date de valeur' trick !!! let me explain :

Suppose you cash deposit 1000 usd to your account. They'll give you a 'date de valeur' of today +8 days. This means that the money wont be effectively available for use until 8 days have passed !!!

This means that if you did not have any money on your account before the deposit, you wont be able to withdraw any dime from your account until 8 days have passed !!

Even though you've just handed 1000 usd to the teller, she will tell you with a smile (yes they are very polite !!!) that you have nothing on your account!!!!

Bottom line: better keep the cash on you.

And I am not mentioning the mediocrity of their online services (if they exist)

I cant imagine what would a French consumer protection organisation would say about this illegal practice ?? Do you imagine 'UFC que choisir' working in Lebanon ????

Khay it feels so good to bad mouth them !!

Home coming process hints

21 months ago, I was packing my things in Paris and moving back to Beirut...

Today I remembered this period as I was having lunch with one of my friends who is currently experiencing the same 'home coming' process. (gladly I am not the only A**hole who took this step, as more and more of my friends are moving back)

As a 'subject matter expert' I was giving him some hints and tips on the issues he would be facing.

First hint : If you are shipping your things to Lebanon, and to get your things thru the airport customs, you have to have some good connections with the surete generale (Amn el 3am) especially if by mistake you decided to ship your CD and DVD collection. Apparently they need to go through censorship (ra2abeh) to make sure that the content is aligned with their values and ethics. If not, make sure to prepare a good bakhchich !

So for those of you guys thinking of bringing your porn collection ... re-consider :)

Second hint : when employed in Lebanon, it is a common practice for your employer not to declare your full salary to social security. Don't panic it's normal , this way they pay less charges, and no it wont affect the huge home loan you're planning to get from your bank ! Not that I encourage these practices, but this is the way it goes here

3rd hint : be patient ! especially with your parents, they will still think of you / treat you as the same young boy who left 9 years earlier! It will take some time for you and for them to adapt to the new situation

Anyway, welcome back dude ! it was good to see you...

Yes I'm blogging again !

After a long time with so few posts , I am back to blogging again !! much has happened since my last post ! I changed my work for example .... And this post is related to the new things / places I am discovering during my tiny lunch breaks (30 mins ! talk about slavery ... )

Today I tried l'atelier (resto d'application pour L'IGE) as you can see lunch was delicious !!! In addition to the good food, I really appreciated the 'ambiance'. surrounded by 'de bons vieux franchouillard' It reminded me of my lunch breaks in Paris (Nostalgia)

L'atelier facing CCF and french Consulat. Mathaf