by "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
Published 04/18/2017 at 18:27
by "Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
Published 04/18/2017 at 18:27
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Working in Uzbekistan, we met these two ethnic Russian civil engineers. Nationality-wise, our group was French, Italian, and alcoholic, so these two quickly fell in with our nightly post dinner binge-drinking chain-smoking session that would usually last from 7 to midnight.
One of these guys, who was pretty quiet and didn’t speak English, was an amazing guitarist. He’d get out his guitar and take requests. The guy knew a ton of songs, but he could also play by ear like crazy, so if he didn’t know a song, we could just play it and he’d follow stupidly close.
So, being an asshole, at some point I choose this song, knowing that around 2 minutes in it has a slide guitar solo. He gets to the slide guitar part, literally misses a beat when it gets to the solo, then grabs a fucking glass off of the table and follows along.
I really liked those guys, even though one of them stole my cigarettes from me and told me American cigarettes were contraband.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 18:36, STARS: 2
Sometimes I wonder why all of my stories involve drinking, but then I remember it’s because I drink a lot.
"Svend" (svend)
04/18/2017 at 18:40, STARS: 2
No mate, you don’t drink a lot. Your a social drinker, just happens your very social. Lol.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 18:43, STARS: 2
Ha, that is true. The vast majority of my vacations involve going to a bar and finding people to hang out with.
"Svend" (svend)
04/18/2017 at 18:43, STARS: 4
We had some great experiences out in Saudi.
Brits, Canadians, Americans, Australians and New Zealanders (the Anglosphere or Five Eyes if you will) all on one base south of Riyadh making illegal alcohol and the shenanigans that come with it.
Got to say, any religion that bans alcohol and bacon is not for me.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 18:50, STARS: 1
That must have been a blast.
Most of my traveling in Muslim countries have been in former SSRs, where there’s a very different attitude to drinking.
I remember once being out on a farm in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Bukhara and being invited to lunch by a farmer and his son. They were both Muslims and said prayers before eating, then immediately afterwards pulled out a bottle of vodka (and then another). There’s a special sort of awful that comes from being out in the sun in 44C+ temperatures after you’ve had half a bottle of vodka.
"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
04/18/2017 at 19:00, STARS: 1
I’ve always heard that Russians love American cigarettes.
"Svend" (svend)
04/18/2017 at 19:22, STARS: 1
Ye’, Saudi was an experience.
The police were okay-ish but the religious police (mutaween) were very strict.
If caught you’d lose some of your wages, risk losing your job or getting sent home.
It kept life interesting. More so when the Yemenese started throwing bombs about the place. Lol.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 19:24, STARS: 3
I’m 100% sure that they just wanted to steal my cigarettes and used the “contraband” thing as a cover.
I can’t blame them.
These are Uzbek cigarettes that one chain-smoking Frenchman named Thierry gave me, saying “I can’t smoke this. They hurt.” They cost about $0.50 a pack and genuinely taste like death and wood shavings.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 19:29, STARS: 1
I wish I could remember the story better, but I have a friend who was in the Navy and stationed in Saudi who got arrested after taking a Jeep(?) off base and going joy-riding through the desert. If I recall corrrectly, the mutaween were most unimpressed when they discovered his female companion was driving.
"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
04/18/2017 at 19:30, STARS: 1
And they wonder why all their women want to come here and only smoke Marlboros or Parliaments.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 19:36, STARS: 0
Oh man, there were these Uzbek Pall Malls that we’d buy by the case, because they were something like $7 a carton. They made actual Pall Malls seem good.
"Svend" (svend)
04/18/2017 at 19:38, STARS: 1
Saudi in reality is more relaxed now on women drivers, it’s still illegal but as long as they don’t break other traffic laws many turn a blind eye.
We used to go around in a fleet of blue Toyota Land Cruisers, we went out east of Riyadh into the desert where there is a large sand stone rock (think Ayers Rocks but a lot smaller”. At the base is a stoned praying area we decorated with Christmas decorations and then a British convertible comes along with a woman in the passenger seat in a two piece bikini. The mutaween would of probably shot us for it.
"interstate366, now In The Industry" (interstate366)
04/18/2017 at 19:38, STARS: 1
That’s saying a lot.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/18/2017 at 19:39, STARS: 1
That’s amazing.