Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

... and it's kinda weird on my sinuses.

Spent the weekend at the Dead Sea on the Jordan side--the lowest place on earth, I am told.

Not sure if it's the "depth" or the nasty haze (not sure what that is) that obscures the mountains across the sea, or the constant second-hand smoke from all these Middle Easterners, but my skull is in a tender place.

Flew overnight Friday out of JFK after the SES talk in Northern VA (FDIC center), finishing Chapter 3 in the Royal Jordanian lounge there. Flight over was as much reading as I could manage before passing out. RJ's biz class chairs go virtually horizontal, so I actually made some sleep happen.

Arrived Amman around 5pm, changed some money, got the visa, and found the driver who takes me to the hotel resort. It's huge (Kempinski) and I have to ride in a golf cart for about five minutes to get to my duplex villa overlooking the sea. Bit o' Star TV and then collapse for ten hours.

Up early, I finish a column I'd been working on, then register for the conference I'm attending on Steve DeAngelis' behalf (U.S.-Middle East and North Africa Trade & Investment Conference co-hosted by trio of international biz associations and co-sponsored by Enterra, among many other companies), then notice I've got about an hour to kill, so I take a swim. The water is cold, but not bad. Still, it's weird--the thickness of it. I know the bit about being able to float in it effortlessly because it's so super-salted, but here's the weird up/downside: you have to work a lot harder to swim in it, like it takes a lot more effort to move your limbs in its density. Maybe I just imagined all that, but I don't think so.

Anyway, lunch was interesting, with me sitting with a cluster of Israeli diplomats/foreign ministry seniors, plus several of high-tech industry execs. Very interesting discussion.

Then two panel sessions where I realize the Enterra brief I've brought along is too vanilla and generic, so I reach back to HQ and get something more specific.

Near the end of the sessions, one of which includes U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, I feel the migraine coming on, so I medicate and take a short nap during the regional break-outs, mustering myself for the cocktail hour at the end of the day, where I make some good connections, to include a potentially useful Amman-based software company. Gutierrez and Jordan's PM speak.

Then it's off to a dinner, where I dutifully work the room, explaining Enterra to anyone who will listen. I enjoy doing that, and I've gotten to the point where I do a seriously credible job of it.

Waking up Monday morn, I hit the gym, work the brief, and then sit through two panels til mine's up at 11am. I've got only ten minutes, but I make a good impression, judging by the follow-ups since then. It was the first time I did a purely Enterra presentation to an international investment audience, and it was a lot of fun.

Rest of day just like the previous. Tuesday I'm up and out on a RJ flight back to JFK, then Delta home.

Quick, tiring jaunt, but important to cover this base for Enterra, despite my heavy writing sked right now. I used the break to get a couple of external writing assignments done, so you adjust as you must to cover all the relevant bases.

All in all, pretty interesting conference, with tons of networking time with businessmen and investors from all over MENA, plus a huge primer on all things Jordanian.

Last bit: driver on way to airport offers the classic souvenir stop. I have done this drill in ten minutes or less in so many towns, I have down to a science. As always, I'm only interested in the item that's only available there, and since the Dead Sea is so weirdly unique, that was pretty easy.

Still, can't complain: finished 9k chapter of book, did 720w column, and drafted 6k article on China. Not bad given the constant migrainey pain from the nasty haze over the sea.