Pay to piss, please.

This pic was taken on our way back to the hotel. The commuter trains that you would use to go to any of the outlying suburbs have drink carts that come by every few minutes with (you guessed it) brewskis. Of course I had to buy one (or two) and say I've had a beer on a train in London. Awesome.

What wasn't so awesome was this bathroom at the train station. Notice the sign. You had to pay 2o pence (40 cents) to piss. What the fuck? And they even had change machines next to the bathroom. Amazing.

----------------
Now playing: My Chemical Romance - Teenagers
via FoxyTunes

Cook it at least 165 degrees F. What the hell is F?

Last I checked, all the stoves in this country use Celsius. So how the hell are you going to reheat your Applebees? Pull out your calculator and do the conversion, I guess. And oh yeah, don't forget the "FDA" recommendation.

At least I know my Applebees is still American, even way over here in the Middle East:)

Thank You For Your Custom

Well, I've brought with me Christmas, easter, thanksgiving, and proper driving techniques, amongst many other American customs. You, sign, are quite welcome.

Taken outside the liquor store last week.

In case of fire, use buckets

This photo was taken at a gas station, while my car was getting a fill-up. Which, by the way, I have yet to pump my own gas since I've been here. That's just a cultural no-no. Anyway, I took this photo at the same time I took the "take care about your car" pic. These buckets, filled with god-knows-what, are apparently the first (any maybe only) line of defense in case of a gas station blow up. Shit, might as well consider yourself a goner if that's all they have to save your ass--two Indians and 4 buckets of sand trying to put out a fireball seems like a lose-lose situation if you ask me.

Wait for the walk sign to cross the road... then only go halfway and press another button.

I'm not joking. That's exactly how this crosswalk works. You press a button to cross, then once the light changes you cross the first road (traffic going westbound), and stop in the median. THEN you have to press a button in the middle to get the eastbound traffic to stop, which takes at least 30 seconds. Why the fuck they couldn't stop both lanes at the same time like a normal crosswalk is beyond me. Sometimes--who am I kidding--many, many, many times I am amazed by the stupidity and lack of common sense in this country.

"Hey Yousef, let's build a crosswalk here."
"Good idea, Ahmed. This is a high pedestrian area, considering it's right next to the souq--a huge tourist spot."
"I think the best way to do this is to make people stop in the middle of the road to press another button, just in case they need a break to rest from the long 30 foot walk across the first road."
"You are a genius, Ahmed. Of course the people can't cross both roads at once. That is WAY too tiring. This shall be the best crosswalk on the island!"

Merry Christmas, here's your muffler

Snapped this one a while ago, but never posted it. This reminds me of something I'd see back in 'bula, not in the middle east. Made me laugh, I even had to drive by twice to get a good picture of it and still managed to get the fucking rear-view mirror in it (which by the way is still not fixed. GRRRRR)