Survivor : Kish Island
My month long chance to land another job in Dubai ended up so easily and I failed miserably with something I thought I was good at. I did my best. But my best was rendered fruitless by the worst economic times. Standing at the most depressing yet embarrassing crossroad of my life, I was on an all lose situation. It was exponentially disturbing. I felt I was carrying the world on my shoulders. Negating all choices at hand, I agreed to endeavor the one with the least financial impact with little hope of making the best out of what's left.
With half of myself nearly buried below the ground, I decided to take a second exit to Kish. But unlike my first exit where I was bale to get back to Dubai in a day, this time I would have to wait for at least 30 days before I could get a new entry pass. That's what the new Dubai immigration law mandates and suffice to say, less the media coverage and fan's support, my 30 days survival adventure in Kish Island had just so begun.
The Cast Aways
The new immigration laws enacted by Dubai government towards the middle of 2008 has not only caused confusion but a more rigid and less friendly environment for visitors who wish to work permanently in Dubai. Aside from raised fees, the two months duration has been trimmed by half and in case one wants to extend, a 30 day "out of Dubai" policy is to be observed before a new renewal visa can be secured. During that period, one can go back to his originating country or exit somewhere else. Cost wise, it is advisable to just wait in Kish Island than go back to the Philipines.
Kish of an Island
Kish is an island resort in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Hormozgan province of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Due to its free trade zone status, it has become a tourists' paradise with numerous shopping malls, resort hotels and lots of tourist attractions. It is one of the few places where Filipinos preferred to make an exit to while waiting for their visa back to Dubai as the island is only 45 minutes away from Dubai by plane. It is also visa free for at least 14 days. Kish is just a small island with a estimated population of 20,000 residents.
The Challenge
Stay in the island for at least 30 days in case you are waiting for a renewal visa back to Dubai. If you are waiting for an employment visa, the duration could be shorter or even longer. But unlike all other reality series, the first to be sent home will probably sport the widest smile and the last to go will probably wish it could all but a bad long dream. There isn't too much to do there since it is an island so one has to battle more than anything else, boredom and homesickness. Nothing comes free on this island so be sure to arm yourself well enough for food, hotel, clothing, telephone and some minor vices such as cigarettes, games, shisha and paid watersports. Nothing comes fast and perfect, too. So please bear with the non-english speaking people, the patience grabbing internet connection, the limited water supply, the choppy celfone signals and oh! the passing of time!
There are television sets in each hotel rooms, however, only two channels can take away your boring time, Korea's global TV Arirang and another channel which features old English movies played repeatedly during the day. The food, for the choosy and discriminating, will be a displease. Where else on earth can you find a sinampalukang manok with no sampalok but tomatoes instead? Or a spaghetti whose sauce taste resembles that of a siarsiado sauce? There's no pork obviously. No beer. No hotdog. No condensed milk. No patis. Only salt and pepper to taste.
Wearing of short and sleeveless shirt is prohibited for guys while women should never show off any skin but their faces, hands and feet. Tight fitting and body hugging clothes are also discouraged. Pity those who brings only some pieces of clothes and they have to stay for more than a month. Imagine how frequent do they have to do the laundry or how frequent do they have to wear their clothes before it get washed. Now, that's a challenge!
But the real challenge of all is how to keep your self and sanity intact amidst all of these emotional blows: not having anyone to talk to, not used to sharing a room with a smelly foreigners, worrying when you visa is going to come out and just how to manage a day with so much time and too few things to do.
The Reward
One of the sweetest one could ever get, a visa back to Dubai! It's like redeeming yourself out of hell! An escape from a month of desolation, desperation and dehumanization. Getting a visa is like winning in a lottery, less the prize only the feeling. After days of spending time far from your loved ones and friends, after contending yourself with tasteless food and after almost questioning God why something like this has to happen, finally, the ticket to another shot at luck has arrived in our hands.
But setting aside all the inconvenient setbacks of being in the island, there are something beyond getting a visa that is worth cherishing - it's the experience. After you go back home and lying in the comforts of your own bed, undoubtedly, your first night will remember the new found friends that you made during your stay, your room mates, the people that you have met while fishing or while preparing meals underneath the trees. Surely, you'll devote some time to think of how you cued for hours just to renew your visa, or how you have been harassed by some locals or how you have found your girlfriend. Your thoughts will probably take you back when you let your beard an mustache grows uncut for a month, or how you have managed to take a bath without using any shampoo or how you have managed to lend your ears to hear somebody else stories and eventually shared yours. Certainly, you'll look back at how those manual exercise machines have kept your body fit, or how you have adjusted your liberated lifestyle to a more restrained culture, or how hundreds of other Filipinos, from all walks of life, have shared the same dream.
Before you close your eyes and move to another day in another place and time, you'll probably thank the Lord on how you have survived 30 days in Kish.
With half of myself nearly buried below the ground, I decided to take a second exit to Kish. But unlike my first exit where I was bale to get back to Dubai in a day, this time I would have to wait for at least 30 days before I could get a new entry pass. That's what the new Dubai immigration law mandates and suffice to say, less the media coverage and fan's support, my 30 days survival adventure in Kish Island had just so begun.
The Cast Aways
The new immigration laws enacted by Dubai government towards the middle of 2008 has not only caused confusion but a more rigid and less friendly environment for visitors who wish to work permanently in Dubai. Aside from raised fees, the two months duration has been trimmed by half and in case one wants to extend, a 30 day "out of Dubai" policy is to be observed before a new renewal visa can be secured. During that period, one can go back to his originating country or exit somewhere else. Cost wise, it is advisable to just wait in Kish Island than go back to the Philipines.
Kish of an Island
Kish is an island resort in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Hormozgan province of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Due to its free trade zone status, it has become a tourists' paradise with numerous shopping malls, resort hotels and lots of tourist attractions. It is one of the few places where Filipinos preferred to make an exit to while waiting for their visa back to Dubai as the island is only 45 minutes away from Dubai by plane. It is also visa free for at least 14 days. Kish is just a small island with a estimated population of 20,000 residents.
The Challenge
Stay in the island for at least 30 days in case you are waiting for a renewal visa back to Dubai. If you are waiting for an employment visa, the duration could be shorter or even longer. But unlike all other reality series, the first to be sent home will probably sport the widest smile and the last to go will probably wish it could all but a bad long dream. There isn't too much to do there since it is an island so one has to battle more than anything else, boredom and homesickness. Nothing comes free on this island so be sure to arm yourself well enough for food, hotel, clothing, telephone and some minor vices such as cigarettes, games, shisha and paid watersports. Nothing comes fast and perfect, too. So please bear with the non-english speaking people, the patience grabbing internet connection, the limited water supply, the choppy celfone signals and oh! the passing of time!
There are television sets in each hotel rooms, however, only two channels can take away your boring time, Korea's global TV Arirang and another channel which features old English movies played repeatedly during the day. The food, for the choosy and discriminating, will be a displease. Where else on earth can you find a sinampalukang manok with no sampalok but tomatoes instead? Or a spaghetti whose sauce taste resembles that of a siarsiado sauce? There's no pork obviously. No beer. No hotdog. No condensed milk. No patis. Only salt and pepper to taste.
Wearing of short and sleeveless shirt is prohibited for guys while women should never show off any skin but their faces, hands and feet. Tight fitting and body hugging clothes are also discouraged. Pity those who brings only some pieces of clothes and they have to stay for more than a month. Imagine how frequent do they have to do the laundry or how frequent do they have to wear their clothes before it get washed. Now, that's a challenge!
But the real challenge of all is how to keep your self and sanity intact amidst all of these emotional blows: not having anyone to talk to, not used to sharing a room with a smelly foreigners, worrying when you visa is going to come out and just how to manage a day with so much time and too few things to do.
The Reward
One of the sweetest one could ever get, a visa back to Dubai! It's like redeeming yourself out of hell! An escape from a month of desolation, desperation and dehumanization. Getting a visa is like winning in a lottery, less the prize only the feeling. After days of spending time far from your loved ones and friends, after contending yourself with tasteless food and after almost questioning God why something like this has to happen, finally, the ticket to another shot at luck has arrived in our hands.
But setting aside all the inconvenient setbacks of being in the island, there are something beyond getting a visa that is worth cherishing - it's the experience. After you go back home and lying in the comforts of your own bed, undoubtedly, your first night will remember the new found friends that you made during your stay, your room mates, the people that you have met while fishing or while preparing meals underneath the trees. Surely, you'll devote some time to think of how you cued for hours just to renew your visa, or how you have been harassed by some locals or how you have found your girlfriend. Your thoughts will probably take you back when you let your beard an mustache grows uncut for a month, or how you have managed to take a bath without using any shampoo or how you have managed to lend your ears to hear somebody else stories and eventually shared yours. Certainly, you'll look back at how those manual exercise machines have kept your body fit, or how you have adjusted your liberated lifestyle to a more restrained culture, or how hundreds of other Filipinos, from all walks of life, have shared the same dream.
Before you close your eyes and move to another day in another place and time, you'll probably thank the Lord on how you have survived 30 days in Kish.
3 comments:
Bro, paskil ka naman ng photo rito. o",)
Buti nakayanan mo... Ok ka na ba?
Kabayan i know it wasnt easy at all staying in kish, been there done that way back in 2004 you right once you see your name flashes in the small TV your like winning a lottery but less the price im preety sure...your heart still goes to our kabayan's that still there..
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