BASRA, Iraq - For $50 a night, you can't expect much in the way of maid service.
That's why St. Petersburg Times photographer Kinfay Moroti is upstairs scrubbing the bathtub and I've just finished with the kitchen sink.
After 10 days in Baghdad, we've moved to this city in southern Iraq not far from the Kuwaiti border. Even by Iraqi standards, Basra is desperately poor; Saddam Hussein pretty much left the place to rot because thousands here staged an unsuccessful uprising against him after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
When I visited Basra three years ago, the only thing resembling a decent hotel was the riverfront Sheraton. But it was looted and burned last month after the Iraqi army fled and before the British troops moved in. We had heard accommodations were so limited that some journalists were sleeping on the roof of a hospital.
"I hope we don't have to spend the night in the car," Kinfay said, looking around our small Nissan taxi jammed with four adults, luggage, computer gear and enough food and bottled water to last a week.
But no sooner had we rolled into town than a man walked up to us and said he had an entire house for rent. We decided to take a look.
From the outside, it didn't seem too promising. The street, like most in Basra, was lined with trash. But beyond the privacy wall and heavy iron gate we found a two-story building that seems to have served both as a residence and a corporate headquarters. (Of what, we don't know).
I've claimed the smaller ground-floor office, which has two ceiling fans, a window air conditioner, a big desk and several massive chairs and sofas in a garish floral print.
Kinfay is across the hall in the executive suite, complete with conference table. Our translator and driver share the reception room.
The house met our No. 1 requirement: It has electricity, meaning we can plug in our laptop computers and charge our satellite phones. But the upstairs bathroom was filthy and the sink drained directly onto the floor. The downstairs bathroom and kitchen were only marginally cleaner.
The owner promised to have everything in order by the time we moved in Thursday evening. Alas, the place didn't look much different when we returned, so it was off to the store for some cleaner, bleach, two bars of soap and a steel scrubbing pad.
But at $50, the price is certainly right. That even includes a guard, who is 55 but looks 70 and patrols the gated courtyard with what appears to be a wooden broom handle.
It's odd to think that just an hour's drive away is Kuwait City, with a Ritz-Carlton and several other luxury hotels. Actually, we don't want to think about that too much.
Even in its current ravaged state, there are many things to like about Iraq.
The people have been friendly and hospitable, even to Americans. While Iraqis have mixed feelings about the war and the Bush administration, we haven't encountered a single person who refused to talk to us or didn't try to be helpful in any way they could.
The weather has been wonderful, with clear, starry nights and a balmy daytime breeze that makes you forget that blast-furnace heat is just around the corner.
The palm trees are exquisite. Millions have been planted in thick stands that call to mind the lushest of oases.
And then there are the really simple pleasures, like Jadriah chips and the dental floss plant.
Named for the area of Baghdad in which they are made, Jadriah chips are thin potato chips that are just greasy and salty enough to be addictive. They come in several flavors including chicken, pepper and shawirma, named after a lamb dish.
Jadriah chips can be purchased by weight. Shopkeepers scoop them into a plastic bag and plop them on the scale. But most people buy them prepackaged in enormous bags about 2 feet tall. Cost? Around $2.
Then there is the haba hilwa plant, a fixture in Iraqi restaurants.
Grown in abundance, the plant produces flowers that dry into the shape of miniature brooms. The individual "straws" can be used to clean between the teeth, just like dental floss. Restaurants usually keep a bowl of haba hilwas on the checkout counter.
The haba hilwa has another benefit. Mixed into tea, the tiny seeds are said to be good for treating flu and stomachaches.
Years of war and economic sanctions have left many Iraqis so poor they can't afford doctor visits or regular dental care. The humble haba hilwa plant is nature's gift to them.
