Cultural Desert
It’s warm here. Very, very, very warm. This place is utterly unpleasant and culturally dead. Europe, oh Europe, where are you?
A lot of building is going on. To what purpose I do not know. Tallest building in the world! A zillion corridors with water coolers. Thousand bazaars offering cell phones and cell phone accessories.
Next to Claus in one of the many bumber car type water taxis among Bengalis, Arabs, Pakistanis, gazing at the hazy skyline with Rolex and HSBC written all over, the mind is overflowing with postcard visions of the good life in Gstaad.
Later driving down a dusty highway lined by detached houses in the style of desert forts. New York Dental Clinic. Manchester Clinic. American Dental Clinic. Carpe Diem Plastic Surgery. A mental lifeline is the thought of the sea nearby and Iran a ferry ride to the north. At the beach, one expected to see an American aircraft carrier passing through the Gulf. There were several – could just as well be oil tankers – in these times one resembles the other. It’s a question of what filter the mind is equipped with.
Still at the beach -- the sun drove us into the sea which turned out to be not only as warm as the air but also extremely salty and sticky. Claus’s bird frame made a couple of futile attempts to dive under. Feet, legs stubbornly clinging to the surface.
Out of the water a bit further up the beach, washing off the salt in a nice freshwater shower with 90 degrees hot water, then back in the nice sweaty black garments. I wonder whether the Congo will be like this. What’s Gstaad like in October?
Claus got the ferry ticket for Bandar Abbas. If it’s still Ramadan we have to be at the port Tuesday at 1 pm. If it’s no longer Ramadan it’s 3 pm. Clearing by authorities takes something like 6 hours. Ferry leaves in the evening. It reaches Iran in the morning Wednesday, Oct 25.
A lot of building is going on. To what purpose I do not know. Tallest building in the world! A zillion corridors with water coolers. Thousand bazaars offering cell phones and cell phone accessories.
Next to Claus in one of the many bumber car type water taxis among Bengalis, Arabs, Pakistanis, gazing at the hazy skyline with Rolex and HSBC written all over, the mind is overflowing with postcard visions of the good life in Gstaad.
Later driving down a dusty highway lined by detached houses in the style of desert forts. New York Dental Clinic. Manchester Clinic. American Dental Clinic. Carpe Diem Plastic Surgery. A mental lifeline is the thought of the sea nearby and Iran a ferry ride to the north. At the beach, one expected to see an American aircraft carrier passing through the Gulf. There were several – could just as well be oil tankers – in these times one resembles the other. It’s a question of what filter the mind is equipped with.
Still at the beach -- the sun drove us into the sea which turned out to be not only as warm as the air but also extremely salty and sticky. Claus’s bird frame made a couple of futile attempts to dive under. Feet, legs stubbornly clinging to the surface.
Out of the water a bit further up the beach, washing off the salt in a nice freshwater shower with 90 degrees hot water, then back in the nice sweaty black garments. I wonder whether the Congo will be like this. What’s Gstaad like in October?
Claus got the ferry ticket for Bandar Abbas. If it’s still Ramadan we have to be at the port Tuesday at 1 pm. If it’s no longer Ramadan it’s 3 pm. Clearing by authorities takes something like 6 hours. Ferry leaves in the evening. It reaches Iran in the morning Wednesday, Oct 25.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home