Dubai and The Visa Debarkle

System? What System? Is basically the motto in Kuwait. Have spent the past week in total disarray with being fed misinformation about my working visa for Kuwait. I have never in my life encountered such total lack of communication and organisation and all I could do was be moved from pillar to post. Let me explain....No to long, let me summarize....

On the first of January we are told that a new law has come into place which forces people wishing to obtain a permanent visa must go back to their country of origin to get the stamp in their pass port. So my boss was in a flurry as sending me back to oz would prove rather expensive and I would be out of action for a week so she bitched and fought her way with every body in government that she could. But no one was willing to help or tell us why I had to go home all they said was to bad she has to go back to Australia. So the next plan was to get her brother a general in the Kuwait to throw his weight around. However just as he was about to try the Emir died (King of Kuwait) so all government departments shutdown and so everyone decides that yes I do need to go so mad rush now to find flights and have everything arranged which of course I do my self, find cheap flights on the net and have everything sorted. I have the go ahead that this is the plan and that I will leave Saturday. Of course I now start to get a little excited at the prospect of seeing Mum and spending some time in a "normal" country. However....This is Kuwait nothing goes to plan!

Saturday morning I am due to fly out that night they get word that there has been no law change just that some nob head in the ministry started telling everyone this after Bahrain said they will nolonger accept people coming over to get their visas! So now my boss decides that even though I have everything booked for Australia I will now just go to Dubai. Grrrrrrrr

She of course is given the personal guarantee from the top immigration minister that all I need to do is rock up to the embassy in Kuwait get them to sign a form to say yes I do exist and stamp my passport...But this is Kuwait so do you think that happens?

Arrive Monday night in Dubai am told they have booked me a hotel in Sharjah an emirate just out of Dubai of course this emirate also does not allow the sale of alcohol...Just my luck so I buy a bottle of real red wine, whooo hoooo, from the airport and get a cab out to the hotel. Of course I arrive and there is no bottle opener at the hotel, ask for one but denied as they bloody hotel doesn't have one. Therefore I had to resort to the old push the cork in the bottle trick which resulted in red wine spurting every where....Talk about desperate. How sad! Finally get some wine in to me and think ahhh all is well now.....NO! Bottle openers prove to be the least of my problems instead I fight with stupid ass taxi drivers who don't know where anything is, am told by the embassy that the top immigration guys guarantee is nothing and I need to get a medical and an xray blah blah blah.

Therefore spent the rest of my time running around Dubai getting all this sorted out. Finally can relax at the Irish Village which is a glorious oasis. A normal looking pub selling real beer and wine ahhhh spent the arvo there drinking booze and eating ham was in heaven. Of course the next day the fiasco begins again with me then being told I need passport photos before they will finish anything run around like a mad woman again. I tell you will someone please educate those taxi drivers in Dubai. I asked one guy to take me to the Kuwait Embassy and was told "but your in Dubai" I am like I know I am in Dubai I want to go to the Kuwait Em..ba..ssy. Jebus! Frustration levels were pretty high at this stage and tolerance levels pretty bloody low!

Finally the dude at the embassy stamps my passport and says please come back and visit us again soon. Ahhh no I don't think so!

Escaped Dubai on a plane that was of course delayed so now I think I have my visa to work in Kuwait, I think, but I am not sure as who knows what story I will be told next. I would like to go back to Dubai again one day to enjoy it for the party town it is known to be but since I was so up to 90 I didn't really get a good chance. My first impression though was that it was clean but everywhere seems clean compared to hear. My second was all the construction. It's kind of spread out a lot so will just have to go back and explore again sometime.

But for now shall continue with life in Kuwait with all the frustrations it brings. If anything this experience shall make me a stronger person and will never again complain about how things are done in Australia, we are so organised let me tell you. Till next time......