Early December

To begin on the final note of last week, it is a very sad tale of what expats have to go through when there is a death involved over here. The police have yet to finalize the case, and over here if it is not “solved” then it remains “pending.” And the real item is that if it remains “pending” then it is not added to the statistics! G’s company and the Australian Embassy have been very helpful, but bribes still have to be paid to see the body!

Now back to the slide. The slide was sent down to Abu Dhabi and repaired the next day. However, they then found that when the slide went through the windshield it destroyed the wiring harness for the emergency lights. A wiring harness was found in London and overnighted to Abu Dhabi, but now we have to wait for the contractor to reschedule the completion date. Meanwhile we can fly for a few more days. On a side note, our only strong competitor in Kabul blew their slide departing from Dubai yesterday and is now ground by the UAE authorities…and they were so quick to criticize us last week. I did have to call one of their pilots to see if they “needed any assistance.”

The schedule changes this Monday. We have been flying from Sharjah to Kabul and returning. This Monday we will actually begin flying Sharjah, Dubai, Kabul, Dubai, and returning to Sharjah. Dubai ranks up there with the major airports in Europe such as Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. And as I have mentioned previously, you can go to the Duty Free Store AFTER arrival, so the “dryness” of the area is lessened.

A should be arriving tonight having finished all the Christmas packages. I must admit, this is the earliest preparation we have ever had for Christmas. In a way I feel back in the military being away for the major holidays, but this is the last time. SMSDiscount and Skype will be working overtime on Christmas Day (provided they are not blocked)!

One of our pilots stepped out of the box Thursday. We have been staying pretty close to the hotel in Kabul or just at the airport when flying. However, we do now have some contacts in Kabul. He was interested in oriental carpets and had the brother of one of the senior members of the airline take him to the rug bazaar. He was surprised at how many rugs (and guns) were there and the prices were extremely reasonable. Remember, there is very little transportation required once the rug is completed to get to Kabul. The real problem lies when we have too much weight at the airport returning to the US. May have to check into shipping items back, but not overnight!