Hello again! Sorry for the prolonged absence, but we've been caught up in the routine things of life here in the kingdom for the past month or so. There really wasn't much to report, but then all of a sudden it became fast and furious. Now that we have a breather, it's time to capture the highlights.
VOLLEYBALL
First: Jayci's volleyball team had a great season. Their amazing coach (Krishna) was tasked with taking 20 girls of varying abilities and create 3 teams. The idea was to give all those who tried out an opportunity to play. She did a masterful job of organizing teams where the girls were matched up by ability thus creating a fun and competitive experience. There was an end of season tourney where only the "A" team would compete against 16 other teams from all over Saudi Arabia. Also, these teams had older and bigger girls on them. Our team's tallest girl was Jayci and collectively the 7 players were so scrawny that a good breeze would have knocked them all over. Needless to say, when they entered the gym, not only were the other teams not impressed, but they wanted to buy them lunch to help fill them out a little.
Long story short, the girls played amazing on the final day of the tournament and ended up winning it. So in a way, they are national champions and should feel very good about their performance. It is the first time that a team from Ras Tanura has won this title and people are very proud of them.
Emri also played on the Dhahran International high school team. They had two strong players, her and a Megan Johnston. They boarded a plan to a place on the red sea called Kaust. She and Danielle (her best friend) stayed with a host family and became good friends with their daughter, Megan Harris - from South Africa. After 2 days of competition, it became quite clear that Emri's team was the class of the field and had little problem with their matches. In the end they took home the gold. So, we have three national champions in the Haynie house. Once again, dad is looking like dead weight.
TRIPS:
SHAYBA
YANBU & JEDDAH
10/27/11 Kris and I headed to the West Coast. We were fortunate enough to hitch a ride on the company jet for a double dip excursion to Yanbu and Jeddah.
People had told us that the Red Sea is the world's best diving area and that Yanbu held some spectacular dives. Kris and I are not certified, so we opted to snorkel instead. After some creative planning and a little luck, we were able to visit a spot that had been closed to the general public for several years (thanks to a very nice coast guard officer who made an exception for us).
Words cannot describe how beautiful the underwater scenery was. Between countless numbers and varieties of fish, coupled with a true victory garden of coral it really was mind blowing to try and assimilate all the sea life we saw. It truly was a world class snorkelingexperience! We had the whole ocean to ourselves and I felt like I was experiencing the red sea just as inhabitants had 1000s of years ago. The most exhilarating moment was when I came face to face with a moray eel. I swear it had the head of a pit bull and chuck full of teeth that compared to any shark mouth around. I quietly swam away and wished him well.
The next day we did some quick sight seeing and then boarded the second leg of our journey to Jeddah. It was the best and worst time to be there. I say that because we happened to be arriving at the same time around 3 million of the Islamic faithful were too. It was great to see Jeddah come alive with the Hajj (pilgrimage in full swing). We saw the dedicated Hajj terminal along with several Pilgrims dressed in their white robes.
On our first full day there we hitched a ride with a flight crew from Turkey airlines and stowed away on a private beach. It was nice, it had tiki huts and refreshment shacks So, when we weren't snorkeling around the perimeter, we kicked back on a lounge chair and cat napped. The snorkeling was good, but because we had been spoiled in Yanbu, it didn't have quite the same thrill factor.
Day 2 we hired a driver to take us around the city and we see saw a lot of very interesting places. Old town (balad) had some great original buildings and souks that kept us busy. We saw a fish market with every kind imaginable species still flopping around. The turn abouts had some really cools statues, including a 75 foot tall bicycle. We saw the famous floating mosque as well as a monument dedicated to Eve. I tried to get in and take pictures but the keepers wouldn't let me stay because I wasn't Muslim.
All in all it was a great trip and very affordable due to the generosity of Aramco and their private fleet.
OMAN 11/4/11
The Haynie family has become good friends with the Decoopmans, mainly due to Emri's pal-ing around with Danielle. They are a great family and we felt lucky that they chose to go to Oman with us. We originally got the idea travel there from Randy M. He showed us some pictures of the country one night and we were hooked. He loaned us a book and we spent many weeks planning out our agenda. There is so much you can do there and it takes many trips to see all the different sides of it. Luckily it is just a short flight away, so we expect to visit it often.
Upon arriving in Muscat, we noticed right away how clean and organized the city appeared. There was a real feeling of "pride of ownership". Our hotel was called the Tiger house and it was something you would see in a kid's Disney movie. There were tiger statues everywhere and the walls were painted in tiger orange. It is a converted apartment building, so it was functional and affordable, but certainly wouldn't make the 5 star rating. Day 1 we tanked up on Crepes at a local seaside eating locale and then headed to Muttrah (old Muscat) for some souk shopping and sight seeing. The ladies found their favorite vendors and purchased some souvenirs. Robert and his GPS brought us to different points of interest like the corniche, the kings home, and other unique nooks and crannies.
Day 2 we headed south to see some turtles in Ras al Jinz. We had plenty of time to make the journey, so we had planned to see some wadis (river beds that wind down from the mountains and deposit in the sea). They are very popular for the locals to go and relax. Unfortunately, it was Eid and all the country was celebrating, so it was very crowded. WE attempted to go to Wadi Sudayh, but as we travel up it in a land cruiser, it become impassable do to a rain storm that had hit the week before, so as we were trying to figure out what to do next, a tour guide offered to let us follow her to the next attraction - the Sink Hole by Tiwi.
This place is is just what it says it is, a big hole with fresh water in the bottom. We snapped a few photos and then followed our adopted guide to the next stop - Fins Beach. Here we snorkeled along the rocks and saw a fair variety of fish, although we had to be real careful of the sea urchins. After a few hours it was time to head further south to turtle land. We drove to the city of Sur and enjoyed a nice meal at the hotel where the Decoopmans stayed. Then we headed to our spot called Turtle island resort. Don't let the name fool you, a resort it wasn't. Our accommodations were a 4 walled, dirt floor bamboo hut with 3 bunk beds. After having a good laugh, we secured a local guide to take us to the turtles. We did this because the regular expedition was full and we needed a plan B.
They took us out at 9pm and we were able to see 1 mother turtle making her way back to sea after she had buried her eggs. The guide had a bucket of little turtles that he released and we got to watch them follow the moonlight out to the ocean. We felt a little cheated due to only seeing one turtle, but the guide said that the full moon makes the turtles hesitant to come ashore. I wasn't convinced about his story until the next morning when a overheard someone saying that they went to the "official" site and they didn't see any.
The next morning we headed back to Sur and visited the boat building factory. It was amazing to see these large fishing boat being built by hand the same way it's been done over the centuries. Rumour has it that this exact location played a part in Lehi's voyage.
On our way back north we stopped off at Wadi Sadwa. It was absolutely amazing! It was an hour hike filled with adventure at every turn. We saw palm oasis', standing pools of fresh water as well as grotto with a waterfall (you had to swim underwater to reach it). It was definitely the scenic high point of the trip. After several hours there, we returned back to the Tiger house for a good night sleep.
Our final (half) day there was spent exploring different sections of Muscat. We saw Shangri-la resort (VERY NICE), tried to go dolphin watching but it didn't work out, and of course visited the local mall (we didn't need a GPS for that, the ladies seemed to sniff it out by themselves).
All in all a great trip. The people were very friendly and positive. The country had a nice energy, immaculate surroundings and abayas were not necessary. We look forward to coming back soon.
VOLLEYBALL
First: Jayci's volleyball team had a great season. Their amazing coach (Krishna) was tasked with taking 20 girls of varying abilities and create 3 teams. The idea was to give all those who tried out an opportunity to play. She did a masterful job of organizing teams where the girls were matched up by ability thus creating a fun and competitive experience. There was an end of season tourney where only the "A" team would compete against 16 other teams from all over Saudi Arabia. Also, these teams had older and bigger girls on them. Our team's tallest girl was Jayci and collectively the 7 players were so scrawny that a good breeze would have knocked them all over. Needless to say, when they entered the gym, not only were the other teams not impressed, but they wanted to buy them lunch to help fill them out a little.
Long story short, the girls played amazing on the final day of the tournament and ended up winning it. So in a way, they are national champions and should feel very good about their performance. It is the first time that a team from Ras Tanura has won this title and people are very proud of them.
Emri also played on the Dhahran International high school team. They had two strong players, her and a Megan Johnston. They boarded a plan to a place on the red sea called Kaust. She and Danielle (her best friend) stayed with a host family and became good friends with their daughter, Megan Harris - from South Africa. After 2 days of competition, it became quite clear that Emri's team was the class of the field and had little problem with their matches. In the end they took home the gold. So, we have three national champions in the Haynie house. Once again, dad is looking like dead weight.
TRIPS:
On 10/27/11 we were fortunate enough to be picked (through a lottery) as a family to go to Shayba KSA. This is a company sponsored trip whereby they commissioned a company plane to take 100 people on a field trip. This is a very sought after experience because it is located in the empty quarter near the Oman border. SAco has several wells located there as well as a very nice compound for it's employees. The reason why people want to go is because of the indescribable sand dunes. These are the steep and massive mountain ranges of red dunes that you see on documentaries. They have to be experienced first hand to begin to fathom just how impressive these dunes are. We were treated to a great lunch and tutorial about Shayba and then spirited off to an incredible vantage point called the upper tent. From there we went sand surfing and trekking to explore one of the natural wonders of the world. After our foray into the endless sea of red sand, we came back to an incredible buffet. We sat on carpet and pillows, gorged on shrimp and heard amazing stories all while sitting under the vast Arabian sky.
YANBU & JEDDAH
10/27/11 Kris and I headed to the West Coast. We were fortunate enough to hitch a ride on the company jet for a double dip excursion to Yanbu and Jeddah.
People had told us that the Red Sea is the world's best diving area and that Yanbu held some spectacular dives. Kris and I are not certified, so we opted to snorkel instead. After some creative planning and a little luck, we were able to visit a spot that had been closed to the general public for several years (thanks to a very nice coast guard officer who made an exception for us).
Words cannot describe how beautiful the underwater scenery was. Between countless numbers and varieties of fish, coupled with a true victory garden of coral it really was mind blowing to try and assimilate all the sea life we saw. It truly was a world class snorkelingexperience! We had the whole ocean to ourselves and I felt like I was experiencing the red sea just as inhabitants had 1000s of years ago. The most exhilarating moment was when I came face to face with a moray eel. I swear it had the head of a pit bull and chuck full of teeth that compared to any shark mouth around. I quietly swam away and wished him well.
The next day we did some quick sight seeing and then boarded the second leg of our journey to Jeddah. It was the best and worst time to be there. I say that because we happened to be arriving at the same time around 3 million of the Islamic faithful were too. It was great to see Jeddah come alive with the Hajj (pilgrimage in full swing). We saw the dedicated Hajj terminal along with several Pilgrims dressed in their white robes.
On our first full day there we hitched a ride with a flight crew from Turkey airlines and stowed away on a private beach. It was nice, it had tiki huts and refreshment shacks So, when we weren't snorkeling around the perimeter, we kicked back on a lounge chair and cat napped. The snorkeling was good, but because we had been spoiled in Yanbu, it didn't have quite the same thrill factor.
Day 2 we hired a driver to take us around the city and we see saw a lot of very interesting places. Old town (balad) had some great original buildings and souks that kept us busy. We saw a fish market with every kind imaginable species still flopping around. The turn abouts had some really cools statues, including a 75 foot tall bicycle. We saw the famous floating mosque as well as a monument dedicated to Eve. I tried to get in and take pictures but the keepers wouldn't let me stay because I wasn't Muslim.
All in all it was a great trip and very affordable due to the generosity of Aramco and their private fleet.
OMAN 11/4/11
The Haynie family has become good friends with the Decoopmans, mainly due to Emri's pal-ing around with Danielle. They are a great family and we felt lucky that they chose to go to Oman with us. We originally got the idea travel there from Randy M. He showed us some pictures of the country one night and we were hooked. He loaned us a book and we spent many weeks planning out our agenda. There is so much you can do there and it takes many trips to see all the different sides of it. Luckily it is just a short flight away, so we expect to visit it often.
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Day 2 we headed south to see some turtles in Ras al Jinz. We had plenty of time to make the journey, so we had planned to see some wadis (river beds that wind down from the mountains and deposit in the sea). They are very popular for the locals to go and relax. Unfortunately, it was Eid and all the country was celebrating, so it was very crowded. WE attempted to go to Wadi Sudayh, but as we travel up it in a land cruiser, it become impassable do to a rain storm that had hit the week before, so as we were trying to figure out what to do next, a tour guide offered to let us follow her to the next attraction - the Sink Hole by Tiwi.
This place is is just what it says it is, a big hole with fresh water in the bottom. We snapped a few photos and then followed our adopted guide to the next stop - Fins Beach. Here we snorkeled along the rocks and saw a fair variety of fish, although we had to be real careful of the sea urchins. After a few hours it was time to head further south to turtle land. We drove to the city of Sur and enjoyed a nice meal at the hotel where the Decoopmans stayed. Then we headed to our spot called Turtle island resort. Don't let the name fool you, a resort it wasn't. Our accommodations were a 4 walled, dirt floor bamboo hut with 3 bunk beds. After having a good laugh, we secured a local guide to take us to the turtles. We did this because the regular expedition was full and we needed a plan B.
They took us out at 9pm and we were able to see 1 mother turtle making her way back to sea after she had buried her eggs. The guide had a bucket of little turtles that he released and we got to watch them follow the moonlight out to the ocean. We felt a little cheated due to only seeing one turtle, but the guide said that the full moon makes the turtles hesitant to come ashore. I wasn't convinced about his story until the next morning when a overheard someone saying that they went to the "official" site and they didn't see any.The next morning we headed back to Sur and visited the boat building factory. It was amazing to see these large fishing boat being built by hand the same way it's been done over the centuries. Rumour has it that this exact location played a part in Lehi's voyage.
Our final (half) day there was spent exploring different sections of Muscat. We saw Shangri-la resort (VERY NICE), tried to go dolphin watching but it didn't work out, and of course visited the local mall (we didn't need a GPS for that, the ladies seemed to sniff it out by themselves).
All in all a great trip. The people were very friendly and positive. The country had a nice energy, immaculate surroundings and abayas were not necessary. We look forward to coming back soon.
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