working overseas 2

[purdue87]

has anyone done this? how much of a premium do you normally see for pay between middle east jobs and the equivalent us job?
thanks.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[KENAT]

BigInch, I take it you're not a big fan of England then. Funny, I found LAX airport security etc. far more hassle than the UK, at least after 911.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[BigInch]

Yes. And LAX is almost as bad as the UK.

On my recent trip I had picked up a piece of coal (I'm kind of a rockhound) and I had carried it around in my suitcase for a couple of days before I said, hey its just coal and threw it away. Being an olive oil gormet, I had also managed to spill some on my briefcase, which I thought I had cleaned well. Apparently the explosive sniffers at Gatwick pick up very minute traces of hydrocarbons, any hydrocarbon. They turned both of them inside out, but didn't find anything. That was after I managed to get on a non-express train to Gatwick and into a security line that was running at less than 1/2 speed compared to the next line. I got to stay in the hotel that night.

BTW helpfull hint: Vodka spilled on your passport oblitherates visa stamps ... handy in case you ever need to extend your vacation.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[KENAT]

Funny, I had the old false explosives find in the US but not UK. Same suitcase, same trip (visit from US to GB), weak or so apart.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[stanier]

BigInch,

We need some solutions:-

1) When you arrive in town try and meet the chief of police. Get his business card and keep in in your wallet next to the picture of wife and kids. Do the same with the mayor, head of the armed forces, minster of secret police or anyone who is in power. NB keep and eye on the local news as your new found friend may be public enemy number one tomorrow.

2) Buy the biggest bottles of water Evian or equal from the hotel and stash it somewhere where the maid cannot steal it.

3) Always carry torch

4) Always have two passports but never, ever show the two at the same time. They will think youa re a drug mule. Never use the same passport for srael as you do an Islamic country.

5) If asked about drugs pretend you are deaf. Do not get into any conversation about the subject. If pushed respond with thanks I have to take my heart attack pills now. Even bent customs/police/immigration officers dont want a body on their hands.

6) give up drinking. its probably more healthy any how.

 

[BigInch]

Stanier, ya thats not bad.

I meet public enemy #1 in an English kabeb house. We're cool. They always ask me about drugs, because of all the Colombian stamps in one passport, so I do usually show the other, or at US Customs I can easily divert them with an Iranian prayer rug and a box of Cuban cigars. In the UK, a spent 9MM short cartridge works equally as well. Yes, the police chief is usually the one that sells the booze. I did give up booze, because I'm too cheap to pay $150/bottle. If in a capital city, see the Venezuelan commercial attache. If you ask, Israel will stamp your entry visa on another piece of paper. Same with Cuba and Libya. Technical update: Portable osmosis unit eliminates water bottles and a starscope is much better than a torch. Cost 125 £ in Reading. I wonder why they sell those in Reading?
----------------
A body bag makes a great place to disappear quickly. Used one even better.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[purdue87]

ok u got me...... why is a "starscope" better (much) than a torch (flashlight?)....



Thanks,
Scott

 

[BigInch]

They can't see where YOU are.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[BigInch]

TIA concreting work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT96kKoc7MA

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[Crompto29]

"Starscope", I'll remember that one.

 

[csd72]

How much you get paid is only one end of the story, you need to look at how much it costs to live there!

My sister chose a different country in the middle east purely based on the cost of living.

 

[BigInch]

No house cost, NO local axes, no car cost, CHEAP gasoline, air tickets for vacation paid, electricity paid, or very cheap, house water utility paid. Basically you only have to pay for groceries and long distance telephone calls, but now even Skype works there. Basically, relatively speaking it costs no money to live there. The only real cost is what it does to your life in terms other than economic costs and benefits.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[rtmote]

Hilarious stories!

I was blackmailed by Japanese admin guy into bringing porno back to Bahrain. I decided not to in the end. When I came back police were waiting for me and pulled me out. They found brown envelope but nothing interesting. So easy to get set up.

I agreed with all the descriptions. I loved the Bahraini driving test.All you had to do was to prove you could stop the car in 60 feet at a certain speed. The inspector is standing just behind the line you are supposed to stop at, watching you! Nuts! But true all accidents, trouble etc are expats fault even if you had nothing to do with it. A welding inspector joining us on the project left the pub 15 minutes later than me. There was trouble in the street and he was arrested and spent three days in jail before the company found him and got him released.

Biginch, did you get any scams run on you?

Robert Mote

http://www.motagg.com

 

[stanier]

Have you heard of the motorbike driving test in the UK. The inspectors used to jump out in front of you, hand up, expecting you to stop in the distance. Until, that is, an inspector mistook the bike in question with another. He was flattened and they dont do this any longer.

 

[BigInch]

Just the one that my X was trying to run.

She turned out to be a real piece of work. Getting canned hams through her friends with local PX access then selling them on to non-US expats. Then I caught her bringing in those little bottles of booze they'd serve on BA flights, just 'cause she thought it would be fun. I had her shipped out after I caught her at that and another thing that was shaping up with the company's housing manager! The biggest scam was the one the two US lawyers were running during the divorce. I was wondering why my lawyer never contested anything my X or the other lawyer said. Then it bacame just a little too obvious, even to me, that all 3 were in it together. I think I can probly include the judge too. Yes, make that 4. I term that moment, "My great awakening". I must have looked like the infamous Thanksgiving turkey up to then.

The Saudi driving test was reading the eye chart. It had one character, a tractor. The scarey bit is realizing that an accident would have been your fault even if you were hit by a 12 yr old kid making a U-turn on his red light. And you have to realize that, since they were timing the lights so that only one direction could move at any given time, that U-turn would be first across than into oncoming traffic. But I suppose there wasn't much chance of that, since it could technically only happen, if they were actually stopped for red light to begin with. I saw one old Cadillac running at about 150 mph go off the road and hit a light pole. Pushed the engine all the way back to the trunk. With no movie theaters, good auto crashes were a big form of entertainment there for the LIPs. I remember them crossing the road holding their kid's hands so everyone could get a real close up view.

We thought you guys living in Bahrain were the lucky ones and used to go there to catch up on all the movies we were missing. We spent many a weekend hardly ever leaving the theater, except to have a $10.00 beer once in awhile. I could have done that in Oslo. I'm still catching up on some of those old movies and the Friends and Cheers episodes I missed. Its a bit like having intermitant amnesia.


**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[BigInch]

One thing I didn't mention.

The hardest part can be going back home.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[mauricestoker]

In Germany, the official position, as a judge told me in court with a cheering audience, is something like "Ausslander bezahlen", the foreigner pays. My X got hit by a drunk driver going the wrong way down a one way street. Of course, she was drunk, too.

Driver's license is easy in most places: pay your $3 for an international license and there is no test.

Israel had the worst and most scams I've encountered, generally low quality blackmail schemes. Seems like they would have benefited from a few Nigerian consultants.

Prague had the funniest, from Johnny Stalker red to people selling chickens out of a brief case in the alley, to people selling counterfiet US bills they made off an office copier.

BigInch,

I had to ship my X, also. The scams she tried to run and chronic public intoxication went beyond just embarrassing. I ran into the same problems with dirtbag lawyers; had to stay on a 31 hour flight to make it to court on time for custody fight. The dueling dirtbags were agreeing that my dirtbag would throw the case. He didn't recognize me, so I asked a couple people to listen to the discussion, we had a closed door meeting with the judge, dirtbag disbarment followed, and I have custody. After 10 years, the X still tries to run low life scams.

 

[BigInch]

Ditto. They would get together to schedule a hearing then tell me 1 day in advance. Where I was I couldn't get anywhere in 24 hours. Those Russian mini-727's were either full or broken.

Excellent work. Good on you! If I had been smarter before that happened, I would have known to leave things alone until she got 20 lashes and deported.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[Wareagl487]

Boy - That's one of the best reads i have had on ANY forum in a while - Thanks Expats....