Emma and Sara's Excellent Freediving Adventures...

[SurfnSpear]

Squirrels!

[Kars]

Nice to hear and see you galls had such a good time together.
It seems like you both do value your independance, very understandeble
Just out of curiosity, is it harder to keep the bachelors at bay in the middle east? I'm sure you can have al the admiration you would ever whish for with your long blond hair, your curves and your inteligent independent mind.

Anyway keep enjoying, exploring and reporting, I always love en enjoy to see others having a good time!

Love Peace and water,

Kars

[island_sands]

The Emirati guys are very discreet and careful about approaching foreigners. Dating Muslims is not really allowed... although they all do it.

Emma and I were invited to dinner the other night by some top dog in the government (can't disclose). So we decided to dress very prim and proper, hair severly tied back in a pony tail, high cut blouse etc etc. , prepared notes and things of our plans, and off we went.

We were correct in our assessment... the guy had seen our article and photos in the EDA magazine, thought "cor i'd like a bit of that" - and got a dinner with us set up. It seemed initially had his eyes on Emma (as she is famous superstar freediver and good looking, so more of a catch ) and when she stood up in the hotel reception, she towered over him by about 4 feet

He stammered and said "oh! you didn't look so tall in your photo"

He then decided to turn his attentions towards me as i was more his height It was plainly OBVIOUS that his original intention was not of a business venture at all!

Oh well, free meal in an Argentinian restuarant, we put the briefcase of ideas away as it seemed that we would not get anywhere with them, ate, chatted and went home

As soon as we got outside of ears reach after the dinner we burst into giggles and realised that the whole idea of the dinner was almost like "magazine dating"

Back also to the topic. Some of our students requested that we wear hoods and gloves, so that they didn't have to touch our skin during training. (Not allowed). Emma sweated profusely in the pool training with all this gear on, but we respected local custom and beliefs. However, those beliefs were not reciprocated as the guys were staring pointedly at us in our bikinis, particularly we thought at me for obvious larger reasons - it got very uncomfortable in the end and we discussed it together at length. We didnt walk around in bikinis, it was just in the communal outside showers where everyone took off their wetsuits. There was no other place to go.

Our conclusion was, fine, we will wear what ever we need to, to conduct dive training close up to people, however, kindly do not look at us... EVER!!! (we didnt actually say that though)

[Marwan]

i dont think the person who invented the bikini (god bless him) didnt intend for pople to look the other way when they see a woman in one

[Marwan]

especially if shes good looking

[island_sands]

Here are some photos...
Ahmed from Kuwait
The Killer's Me (deeperblue)
adolphin (deeperblue)
island_sands

[island_sands]

and some more...
Emma's new Riffe mask
the dive boat
Cos (one of the Sri Lankan boat captains)
the Oceanic Hotel (next to the dive centre)

[island_sands]

and some more... spot the black tip shark

[adolphin]

As soon as we got outside of ears reach after the dinner we burst into giggles and realised that the whole idea of the dinner was almost like "magazine dating"

Sorry for the disappointment sands, yes this happens alot, although it doesn't make difference in which country or what culture, it seems many men do have such a tendency (pushing sex right into every matter, well some women do as well .. ) .. but he could at least gave some effort for the reason why you came for, for ethical purposes !!

The Emirati guys are very discreet and careful about approaching foreigners. Dating Muslims is not really allowed... although they all do it.

Come on sands! you know that most Emirati guys are very bold, ok when it comes to highly positioned people they do have lots of discreet and care, but again it applies for all men of such positions in all countries, then regarding dating being not allowed for Muslims, that applies for Sunni Muslims, not the case with Shi'at as you might know (if you ever heard of the temporary marriage term, which could be diffinately used for dating purposes).

Back also to the topic. Some of our students requested that we wear hoods and gloves, so that they didn't have to touch our skin during training. (Not allowed). Emma sweated profusely in the pool training with all this gear on, but we respected local custom and beliefs. However, those beliefs were not reciprocated as the guys were staring pointedly at us in our bikinis, particularly we thought at me for obvious larger reasons - it got very uncomfortable in the end and we discussed it together at length. We didnt walk around in bikinis, it was just in the communal outside showers where everyone took off their wetsuits. There was no other place to go.

Again, I believe this has a lot to do with applying of rules, once you understand the package of rules that applies for a muslim of certain sect, you then could judge for your-self if there are any contradictions involved in his/her practises or not .. Hey! I can give you a brief session on that (the rules for different sects of Muslims) for free ofcourse .. .. it could help you in dealing with some situations that otherwise would feel realy weired

Back to the top dog !

we put the briefcase of ideas away as it seemed that we would not get anywhere with them, ate, chatted and went home

If you didn't try hard to reach somewhere with what you originaly came for, then I think you should have done it, push him to the corner, it might have worked out, so you come back home with full stomach and empty briefcase .. .. coming back with both full is tiresome I geuss ..

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by adolphin

S

Come on sands! you know that most Emirati guys are very bold, ok when it comes to highly positioned people they do have lots of discreet and care, but again it applies for all men of such positions in all countries, then regarding dating being not allowed for Muslims, that applies for Sunni Muslims, not the case with Shi'at as you might know (if you ever heard of the temporary marriage term, which could be diffinately used for dating purposes).

I was told that foreigners/or any girls in the emirates were not allowed to date (i.e. have a physical relationship) with a local guy unless they are married. Not all Emirati guys are bold. Most of them keep their distance from me and treat me with respect. A lot of it boils down to how much you allow people to misbehave with you.

Again, I believe this has a lot to do with applying of rules, once you understand the package of rules that applies for a muslim of certain sect, you then could judge for your-self if there are any contradictions involved in his/her practises or not .. Hey! I can give you a brief session on that (the rules for different sects of Muslims) for free ofcourse .. .. it could help you in dealing with some situations that otherwise would feel realy weired

Yes, and those rules should apply EQUALLY to both parties. You cannot impose a rule on someone, ask them to cover up so you cannot touch them, and then have a double standard, by not respecting that person yourself and staring pointedly at their breasts.

If you didn't try hard to reach somewhere with what you originaly came for, then I think you should have done it, push him to the corner, it might have worked out, so you come back home with full stomach and empty briefcase .. .. coming back with both full is tiresome I geuss ..

No need to push him into a corner, I am quite aware of what's worthwhile doing and in what moment and what time. It was not the right moment or situation. There is a time and place for everything. And when it comes to business and professionalism with Arabs I do not use sex, partying, or any other way to gain attention. If the ambience had been set at a formal pace then possibly some ideas could have been discussed. It was obvious from the start that it was not.

I am not a fool, so don't believe for a second that I am unaware of a lot of things in this country. I have been living in Islamic countries (Maldives, UAE, Iran, and Muslim areas in South Africa) for over 10 years and I am well aware of the culture. I might be very friendly, smile a lot and laugh a lot, but I am more aware of what is going on around me than is apparent.

I will leave this conversation right here as it's not a discussion for this forum.

See you for the next dives,

Cheers
Sara

[joe123321]

cool pictures, glad you had fun

[SpeerO]

Sara and Emma, thanx for everything... it sure was a great time. Sorry for humping the whale shark and making him bolt.. i owe u one At least u got to touch the seal if u know wot i mean.. Ow Ow Ouuw

Sara ill see u again in Fujaira for finishing up my dive.
Emma.. ill see u in Greece


Zane...

[Kars]

Well Sara, I think it's just natural to get a stare at your beautifull curves, especially when the guy has seen next to nothing that inspires his sexuality.

Not so long ago in Europe it was the same here, when ladies where indecent to show her enkles, that's why it's proper custom to acent the stairs in front of a lady.

Like many have noticed, people invent 'rational' tricks to get around dogma imposed by priest and the likes. Nothing new here either

Have fun diving, and have a good laugh viewing the situation and all the people who're so inventive to 'outsmart' the current dogma/culture/system, in a way it's encouraging, daring, sweet and tender

Perhabs returning to a more ontopic with these questions:

Have you had any funny, beautifull, extraordinairy, dives?
How deep do you usually go?
What is diving like over there?

Love, peace and water,

Kars

[samdive]

know exactly what you mean Sara from spending so much time in Egypt... mind you the guys back home aren't a whole lot better ; )

and as with anything there are plenty of exceptions to the rules, met more than a handful of very respectful, fun (rather than scary) Egyptian guys in the last few years

S

[Kars]

What's wrong with a bit of playfull flirting Samanta?

It seems to me that all parties enjoy it and engage in it
Anyone can join or retread from this nice dance. And this tread rocks because it's playfull and light in nature

And as you noticed correctly, people have more in common than some expect, so this tread can also been seen as an educational one LOL.

Hopefully see your around!

Kars