Amman & the Kingdom of Bahrain

So the past week has been very interesting for me. As I stated I had big plans for my last night. And it lived up to my expectations. We stated out at the Grovsenor House Hotel on the 44^th floor looking out towards the palm harbor and the marina which was great. Then after packing and getting everything ready we made our way to the Burj Al Arab which is said to be the only seven star hotel in the world. I have spoken about it several times it is on its own private island and is built in the shape of a sail. You have to go through to security checks right before crossing the bridge which is defiantly interesting. The interior of the hotel defiantly fits the design of the hotel which is completely over the top. The centerpiece is a set of fountains that go up in the air about fifty feet that also have lighting the accompany it. With huge aquariums on both sides. You take escalators inbetween the two to get to the upper part of the lobby and to where the elevators are. Of course they offered Arabic tea and dates when we arrived. The elevators are glass and look out to the sea, but it wasn’t that great because of it being dark. In a way it felt like I was heading to my dinner table on a cruise.

The restaurant which is on the topfront of the hotel is on a bridge looking thing that jets out lengths wise out from the hotel. The first thing you notice is the paneling that is tons of little lights that look like a computer main frame lighting up like you are entering a main frame. Then they sat us at our huge table next to the window and the three piece jazz band. We had originally thought that we were going to have a light dinner here, but considering drinks were $25US a piece we decided not to, To give you a comparison of the rest of the menu the ribeye steak was $350 and a bottle of Opus One (recent vintage) $1,500 so lets just say it was the most expensive restaurant I have ever seen or heard of. Because you can’t see out the windows because it was night they had to do something over the top to make the restaurant interesting. They started with the computer lighting entrance but on the ceiling in the restaurant was rolling plains looking things that were in every kind of rainbow color (red, green, blue etc.) and after enjoying my drink I agreed with what the girls said. That the hotel company had gone soo over the top that it was just tacky. Lets just say anyone would be surprised when they walked in there but maybe that’s what they were going for.

Our next stop was at another top hotel the Shangrala which was having an invitation only party that was hosted by Moet Champaigne. Of course we weren’t on the list but we walked to the front of the line and showed them our press passes and they opened the velvet rope right up for us. We ended up meeting up with some friends of our that had a VIP table that was nice, and there was some DJ that they had flown in that was someone that I was suppose to know but didn’t. IT was cool because they went around pouring moet for everyone etc. The girls begged me to stay out later but by 2 I was ready to go because I had a flight to catch the next morning. So I left and about the time I was getting up to catch my flight the girls came in from one of the after parties that they had been invited too at one of our friends houses.

I flew gulf air from Dubai to Bahrain which was nice it was only an hour flight but they still served a hot meal. Something that the airlines in America think will cause them to go broke if they serve peanuts (really makes you think). Flying into the kingdom of Bahrain was nice it is about half way from Dubai and Jordan. It has a really beautiful cost line and nice sandy beaches. Once I arrived in Jordan the girls had arranged for the hotel to pick me up. There was a guy there holding a sign with my name on it that carried my luggage for me. And the first thing that I noticed was the amazing weather as soon as I stepped outside. It was just perfect, I think it was the first time I was sweating in over a month.

The views as we drove through Jordan was much different then what I expected. To tell you the truth I am not sure exactly what I expect maybe just like Dubai a ton of sand. Although geographically speaking comparing Dubai and Jordan is like comparing Florida with Seattle. The first thing that I noticed was the rolling hills and all of the building were built out of the same local sand stone with a light white/creamish color. About every 15 feet for the first five miles was kids on the side of the road trying to sell cucumbers which was really strange but apparently the kids are out of school and that’s something that they can do.

After talking with the hotel driver for a while he asked if I wanted to see some of Amman, not having any other plans I said why not. So he drove me into some of the neighborhoods which were full of what he called palaces but were just businessmens homes that were enourmous, and then through down town. As we pulled up to the hotel the view was not what I had seen on the website of the hotel because the picture was taken from the back. It was interesting because the first thing you notice is a really nice hotel. The next is the fact that there is a cement wall that is about five feet out from the curb, so there is no place to pull up and valet or to drop off luggage in the circle drive. Although there is a circle drive but because of the baracades you can’t drive in it. Then you notice the 2 military guys with machine guns but that wasn’t so out of place because the city tour I saw lots of police boths and military people standing out keeping an eye out. There is also a police car and officer outside the hotel along with a tent outside the entrance of the hotel that has hotel security guards checking bags/briefcases and a metal detector for everyone that comes into the hotel.

As I check in Colleen my sales manager meets me at the front desk. She is pleasant and takes me up to my room where I meet the two trainees. One is a girl from Chicago and the other a guy from the UK. They all seem very nice and we head to the pool for the afternoon.

Colleen says that she is hungry and that we should catch an early dinner because we have work to do that night. So we walk to an area of two streets not far from the hotel that is a row of cafes with tons of people sitting outside enjoying (there Friday night Out) it is interesting because it is like the perfect tempature outside. And everyone is out enjoying and every table has a hooka with people smoking shesha at it.

We work that night and the next morning we have a meeting with a four star hotel. I do the interview part of the meeting and make my first close for $75,000 not a bad close for my first job assignment. It is actually a barter agreement for 160 suite nights at the hotel including breakfast, Dinner, dry cleaning, and internet.

We worked long and hard that day and yesterday putting in ateast 12.5 hours usually more. But I have been enjoying the fast pace. The hotel amenities (it really is crazy to me to think that I am living in a 5 star hotel) tonight we worked late. And then a member of one of the other teams here in Amman came over to the hotel and went to dinner with us. It was good getting to hear about their experiences. As I begin to start my new project I pray that I am able to continually adjust to life in a new place, that I am able to find a church that I like, and that I am able to learn and be successful on my new assignment. All for now I have posted some new pics if you want to take a look. I will try to take more this weekend. Oh btw pray that tomorrow goes well we are meeting with the four seasons so I wouldn’t mind living there for a month as well.

Chad