After our less than wonderful flight to Texas we stayed in the Hotel Indigo in Galleria, Houston for the 1st 2 days to do some HR stuff and orientation. On Tuesday we spent the day doing paperwork followed by dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy in Galleria which was superb, following that we were free to do as we chose so we sampled a few bars before heading off to catch up on some sleep. Seeing as we left Houston on the Wednesday I don't feel qualified to put much about the place so I'll leave it until I've spent more time there. Wednesday was another full day checking out of the hotel and travelling the 60 or so miles South West to Lake Jackson, checking into our apartments, sorting out a hire car and mobile phones.
Home for the next 6 months is a gated community (not sure why they're called compounds in KSA and gated communities in the US) called The Residence at Lake Jackson where I'm sharing an apartment with Cockney John who's training to do the same job as me, there's a gym and a small outdoor pool and it's very comfortable but doesn't have anthing like the same amenities of Las Dunas. I think we were spoiled a little bit there.
What I've seen of Texas isn't what I'd imagined, I thought the landscape would be closer to that of Saudi in that it would be dry and barren but it's quite the opposite, it's more like the UK with lots of trees and greenery but flat, very very flat. It's also huge, if I set off driving from here and head North West to the State Border just past Amarillo it would take about 20 hours, head west to El Paso which would take about 16 hours, heading East is something I plan to do as about 4 hours gets you to Louisiana and New Orleans.
Lake Jackson is quite strange in that it's classed as a city but only has a population of about 27,000 which is about same as a small town at home but it's spread over a massive area, nothing is close together. Supermarkets and shops are in abundance and with the Brazos Mall there is everything you need. Restaurants and eateries are plentiful and there's every type of food on offer except a curry shop, I miss a good curry. It was a struggle to find a jar of curry sauce in the supermarket so I shouldn't have been surprised. Another oddity is that there are very few bars, apart from The Wayside and Ricochets Billiards Bar where you can go for a beer and game of of pool there are no other pubs/bars , 2 bars in the whole town, and no taxi's!!!!
Things I've noticed about Texas
- They love fishing, the fishing tackle sections in Walmart and the local sport store are massive.
- They love Pick-up trucks even more!!! I read somewhere a few years ago that the most popular vehicle in the world was the Ford P150 Pick-up, after being in Texas for a week I can say that it is without doubt the most popular vehicle, Pick-ups probably account for 30-40% of all the traffic!!
- You can go into the Sports Academy and buy shorts, t-shirt, trainers and a shot gun or an assualt rifle or a hand gun or a crossbow. The right to bear arms is something most Americans protect fiercely.
Speaking of traffic it's nice to be back in a country where people drive sensibly and courteously, traffic signals and speed limits are obeyed and the sound of horns beeping is a distant memory, for now.
Apparently the next town from here, Clute, is the mosquito capital of the world, they even have a mosquito festival each year. I can understand why there are so many as the land here is very flat with plenty of rivers, lakes & swamps for them to breed and the climate is ideal, mosquito season starts in about a month, I'll let you know how it goes.
I've spent the last week doing induction exams, health & safety, permit to work, confined space entry and other site specific stuff as well as hurricane training which is a new one for me. Had another medical which is my 4th in the last 6 months, all things that are required before I get my site pass onto the plant next week which is when my training really starts so that's something to look forward to.
Till the next time..........
Till the next time..........
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