Big bird.... 

Giraffe in Lion Park 

The Gabba....who would have thunk it. 

Tab Cola....it still exists...in SA anyway. 

Alot of rugby union was watched on the TV while I was in Joburg....remember Kobus Wiese...he has gotten bigger in retirement. 

Tim outside the Nokia office in Casablanca.  

Doug and Tory at French Jazz Restaurant 

Tired of tagine...at a french jazz restaurant 

Tim, my Nokia project team mate in Casablanca bought himself a Hukah so he could smoke shisha 

Tim less than impressed with another plate of olives... 

Tory at trational Moroccan restaurant.. 

Dancing in a bar in Casablanca 

Tory at La Corniche, the main beachside area in Casablanca  

Olives are in almost every meal in Morocco 

A spice vendor in the ancient medina 

Mural in the ancient medina... 

Rugs being aired in the ancient medina... 

The minnaret of the Hassan II mosque, the tallest in the world 

Hassan II Mosque - simply massive... 

The smell of the butchery in the hot midday sun was horrendous but the icing on the cake was the hanging camel heads... 

Doug with camel head in butchery of Habous, the new medina (market).. 

Tory outside the entrance to the Hassan Mosque  

In the public bath underneath the Hassan mosque  

In a beautiful garden restaurant near the Ancient Medina in Casablanca waiting for the World Cup Final to begin  

Something you won't see on the Autobahn. The latest Mercedes Benz D (Donkey) Class vehicle.  

More Rocco and Johanna's Burger

I am now back in Oxford after apporx 3 weeks abroad working in the Africa and the Middle East. The first two destinations were Casablanca in Morocco followed by Johannesburg in South Africa.

Nokia put Tim and I up in the Hotel Le Zenith which was basic but fit for the purpose and when not working with the nice people in the Casablanca office, we would enjoy a Casablanca beer while watching the last few matches of the World Cup.

It took quite some time to adjust to Morocco, perhaps the entire time I was there. It is a strange mix of exotic Arabic, French suarve infused with foul smelling body oder. The taxi drivers are extortionists and the roads are devoid of rules making the regular sight of a donkey and cart on the free way an appealing transport option.

My girlfriend Tory made an 11th hour detour on her flight to Dublin via Paris on Friday 6th to come to Casablanca and stay with me for the week. I was a bit stressed out about having her cruising around Morocco solo while I was at the office but after our first weekend of sightseeing we felt comfortable that she would be fine. She even made it as far as Marrakesh for a day trip which is a 45 degree celcius oven at this time of year.

Tory had her birthday on Friday the 14th and it would have been nice to have had the weekend together but sadly I could not avoid having to fly to Joburg via a marathon flight to Madrid on the 13th. Thus she also left for Dublin on the 13th and has been making steady progress settling in there since.

My time in Joburg was less pleasurable because I was alone in a guesthouse (named the 'House of Pharoahs' and yes I feel somewhat entombed there...) and my travel was restricted in Joburg which is still one the world's most dangerous cities. It came as a real eye opener to me. Thankfully friends of friends responded to the call and took me out during the week, first to a fundraiser for sky divers and then to an Irish Pub. I also made it out to a Lion Park on my last weekend in Joburg which was quite good fun.

Nokia offices in Joburg are in the Campus, a vast secure corporate compound in the suburbs (the CBD has been overrun by violent criminal gangs). It looks more like a secondary school or university campus than a business estate and the developer must have been a sports nut because each building is named after a famous Tennis, Cricket, Golf, Football or Rugby venue. Hence I can say that I was working in Roland Garros, adjacent to the Gabba.

The next leg after Joburg was Dubai but I will save that for my next update.

Cheers,
Doug.