Leaving the Middle East

Leaving Amman

Spending a pleasant morning in Amman... yes... sleeping in the hotel. That's it!
But that's the best treat for my exhausted body and along with a gorgeous breakfast, I think I've recovered quite a bit. I was still sleepy at the lounge at the airport but the flight was just less than three hours to Dubai.


my gorgeous breakfast!

a gorgeous view from the hotel...

and the pool...
but I only had around 30 minutes to enjoy the view!
oh, maybe next time!

In Dubai!

And here I am in Dubai writing this diary waiting for my flight which is scheduled for 2:50AM. I took about an hour just to tour the duty free shops which I only could briefly do four years ago when after I stayed a night in the city to renew my visa for Kuwait (I had a multiple visa but the longest stay with each entry was one month and I had to get to another country to renew the entry and I chose UAE for the renewal) As I look at my passport I can see the stamp of Feb. 10th and 11th of 2004. I remember running around the city looking for a place to drink alcohol and I remember I was refreshed when I had a Japanese meal at the hotel with a young cameraman. Next time I'd like to be here for fun and not for a short stay or a transit like today!


the strict internet access code... they won't even let me access the horse racing pages of Sankei Sports!

the 24 hour Duty Free Shopping Zone... what should I buy for a souvenir!?

Landing on Iraqi soil...

Baghdad Day 1

Landing on Iraqi soil...

To be honest, I'm a little drunk now... drinking scotch whisky we bought at the duty free shop in Amman, I'm feeling great!

After taking off at around 11AM from Jordan, I stepped on Iraqi land for the first time in my life at around 1:30PM. After leaving the airport with heavy security, we made it to our office without any abnormality.

hopping on to Royal Jordanian's "Jessica" at Amman


my first sight of Baghdad... the unsketchy view of former Saddam Hussein Airport

I saw many people out on the streets with less than a week after a large bomber attack on February 1st, and though I may have been a illusion, I saw hope in the eyes of the Iraqi people. I know it will become a tough six weeks for me, but I will try my best to smile all the time, and write articles that will bring hope to this troubled nation.

Good night Baghdad!

P.S. I will only write my diary on my off duty hours, so I may not be able to update this diary frequently, but I will always write down something everyday on my notebook PC.
AND I WILL NOT WRITE DOWN ANY MATERIAL NOR UPLOAD ANY PICS THAT COULD LEAD TO THREATENING OUR CREW'S SECURITY STATUS.

Still time to relax

Amman Day 2

My second day in Amman.
Suffering from jet lag, I woke up about five times and the watch was showing time like 3AM, 4:45AM, 6AM and so on until I finally woke up at around 10AM.
I had a very expensive lunch inside the hotel...

chicken curry dish!
I paid 15JD for this with rice and water including tax and tips!

The city is so peaceful and it was also a great day! So I decided to walk to the "7th Circle" where I had an appointment. It took me 58 minutes to walk, but it was quite interesting to walk the main road of the city.

walking through Zahran Street


western style fast food restaurants to high-tech skyscrapers in construction:
they're surely getting developed!

It took me just over an hour on my way back as I was a little tired.
At night, my elder colleague joined me at the hotel and with another mate we went out to get some Chinese food with Amstel Beer.

You get really thirsty in this country, and before returning to the hotel, I got some soft drinks to quench my thirst. The night is passing by and the final moment to head for Iraq is coming...


time to relax with some juice and Pepsi!
Good night...

Visiting the neighboring country...

Amman Day 1

I arrived in Dubai at around 6AM and then headed to Amman on the Royal Jordanian.

a shopping frenzy at this airport even from the earliest hours!
many were sleeping on the floor though, waiting for their flight...

And at around 9:30AM, I arrived in Jordan. I was surprised to see snow on the ground while heading to my hotel. They say there were heavy snow for two days stopping everything in the city last week. I was lucky that wasn't today!

Amman City...


with snow...


having some Turkish coffee...

After spending some time with a Japanese organization, I went back to my hotel waiting to go out for dinner... but... at around 5:30PM (just around midnight in Japan) I fell dead on my bed... When I woke up it was before 10PM...
Oh well, I'll try my best to wear the fatigue away and get great food tomorrow!