4. Arabia
Days 466-472: A Dead End
11.04.10 – 17.04.10: So there’s always plan B, right? Well, it all seemed simple enough. According to the Lonely Planet
Days 473-479: Kuwaiting For Godot
18.04.10-24.04.10: My second week in Kuwait was a little more sedate than the first. I managed to pull some awesome
Days 480-486: Boiling Point
25.04.10–01.05.10: This week I’ve been staying with a guy from Austria called Martin. His flat is spanking – it’s in
Days 487-493: Quiz Night
02.05.10-08.05.10: On Sunday morning came the news I was waiting for – my Saudi invitation was in the bag! Within
Days 494-500: No Dice
09.05.10-15.05.10: Well then, it should all be over, shouldn’t it? First thing Sunday morning I hurried down to the copy
Days 501-507: What Happened, Happened
16.05.10-22.05.10: 500 days on the road and a good 200 of them have been wasted waiting for either visas or
Day 508: Deliverance
23.05.10: Tracking numbers are so cool. I got to watch online as my passport arrived in Bahrain yesterday and then
Day 509: The Last Lost
24.05.10: I could tell you I got up bright and early and rang the bus company only to discover that
Day 510: Singin’ In The Bahrain
25.05.10: Oh yes, I’m back ON THE ROAD! After saying my final farewell to the delectable Kassie I bundled myself
Day 511: Qatar On A Hot Tin Roof
26.05.10: Urgh me drinkie too muchie. I’ve seriously put on a stone in the last six weeks, what with all
Day 512: There’s Always An Irish Pub…
27.05.11: As if Qatar hadn’t done enough to upset me, today it well and truly rained on my parade. I
Day 513: Curse of the Black Pearl
28.05.10: So with a day to kill, Tracy and I headed out to the museum of Islamic Art. As I’ve
Day 514: Cyclic Redundancy Check
29.05.10: UAE: I arrived in Dubai at precisely three hours later than the bus company promised, but that just meant
Day 515: Encounter at Farpoint
30.05.10: UAE: The big task of the day was getting my bumper to bumper passport back to the UK so
Record Breakers United!
Last Sunday I had the great pleasure of meeting the legend that is Mr. Kashi Samaddar – the current Guinness
Day 516: The Burj Is The Word
31.05.10: UAE: Damien kicked me awake at the marvellous hour of 6:30am (5:30am in my still-in-Kuwait time zone) and after
Day 517: Salalalalalalalalalalalah!
01.06.10: OMAN: Last night I travelled through The Empty Quarter – the rather large swathe of the Arabian Peninsular that
Day 518: Midnight At The Oasis
02.06.10: I was planning to do my hop over to Yemen today, but looking at the bus schedules I thought
Day 519: Left of Port
03.06.10: One thing that’s great about Salalah is that all of the Port Agents are in the one place, which
Day 520: Yemen Jelly
04.06.10: Bright and early Luke’s mate Dave dropped me at the bus station for the bus to Yemen, but there
Day 521: At World’s End
05.06.10: So everyone was keen on taking me on board the DAL Mauritius except for the owners, and they didn’t
Days 522-529: Frankincensed
06.06.10-13.06.10: The mission this week was to clamber on board the MV San Cristobal bound for The Seychelles. As emails
Day 530: Somali Piracy: Q&A
14.06.10: Yesterday I discovered that the chances of anybody taking me onboard a ship bound for The Seychelles was about
Day 531: Less Than Zero
15.06.10: Back in November 2009 when I was trying to sail the 166nm from Diego Suarez in Madagascar to the
Day 532: The Cunning Plan
16.06.10: After again saying my farewells to Luke and Dave, our mate Alasdair gave me a lift to the bus
Day 533: Burning Up On Re-Entry
17.06.10: The bus rolled into jolly old Dubai at around six in the morning. If there is a time of
Days 534 & 535: The Sands Of Time
18.06.10-19.06.10: So after a good night’s kip I had a the best part of a day to shake off my
Day 536: And All That Hejaz
20.06.10: Turki’s apartment in the north of Jeddah was as sweet as sweet can be. Not only did I get
Day 537: OK, Where’s The Catch?
21.06.10: Turki gets up at some horrendously early hour of the morning, but I was allowed to sleep in until
Day 538: The Old Jeddah Mind Trick
22.06.10: Turki had tried in vain all yesterday to get in touch with Baaboud Shipping and arrange a meeting with
Days 539 & 540: Back In The Red
23.06.10-24.06.10: We had to be at Baaboud Shipping for 7.30am, and, once again, Turki took time away from the office
Day 541: Africa’s Final Fortress
25.06.10: We arrived in Massawa Port, Eritrea just after noon. As I sauntered down the gangplank my head, usually filled
Day 542: Eritrea Uncovered
26.06.10: This morning I was invited around to a local girl’s place for some traditional Eritrean breakfast. Saba and I
Day 542: (Finally) Out Of Africa
27.06.10: We were supposed to cast off at 8am, or is that knitting? Might be getting my lingo muddled. Either
Days 544 & 545: Another Mad Scheme
28.06.10-29.06.10: I was a little iniquitous last time I left Africa, and for that I am truly sorry. Africa is
Day 546: Gra’m Crackers
30.06.10: I got a call of the Mandster saying that her mum’s mate had seen a trailer for my television
Day 547: Nothing To See Here, Move Along
01.07.10: I arrived in Riyadh around 12 noon and thought about heading out to the town as I had a
Day 548: World Cup Pool Party
02.07.10: So I rolled back into Dubai for the third time of asking. After a delightful chat with the Filipino
Days 549-577: Delayed in Dubai
03.07.10–01.08.10: So I wound up stuck in Dubai for four weeks. Tons of stuff happened, but not much of it