Just a little over a decade ago, I was a hopeful lady on her mid-20's who flew away from the callcenter life in Manila. I resigned from my work at CVG and got my way to Dubai where both of my brothers work.
Unlike my elder siblings, it wasn't easy for me to find a job. I entered UAE in 2007, month of October, with a two-month tourist visa. I've had two exits in the then famous, exit capital of OFW hopefuls in UAE: KISH ISLAND
WHERE IS KISH?
Kish Island is located in the Persian Gulf in the Southern Coast of Iran.
WHY VISIT KISH?
For most expats, particularly Filipinos, we see Kish Island not as a tourist destination but just a mere exit point when the UAE tourist visa needs to be renewed. During that time, I don't like to go there because it just means additional expense of finding a job. I was blessed that both of my brothers supported me when I first set foot in UAE.
I decided to do this blog about Kish to reminisce the last time I did my exit. We used to have some brethren then who were residents of Kish so I didn't have to pay for my hotel during my stay but only bring some Pinoy goodies which aren't available in that island.
I don't have memories of Farabi Hotel, the famous hotel amongst Pinoy where most of horror stories of Kish emerged. The only memory I had of Farabi was when I needed to run after we were dropped off by the taxi in front of the hotel lobby. Why run? We were told that we might get caught by the police because as tourists we must check in in a hotel. Until this time I don't even know if it's true.
Before we got our UAE visas, we decided to have a tour of the island:
Sweetcorn Vendor in Kish Island with some of my friends:
One of the stall vendors:
Some of the locals in the store:
This is the house where we stayed during our exit:
We had so much to remember about Kish that I cannot share right now but if I can dig some other pictures, I'd definitely Steem them here.
Currently, exits to Kish had been stopped so it isn't as popular now as it was before.
Tchau,
@plumandrain