We are living in Al-Khobar in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom. Anyone familiar with the Kingdom is often excited because we are only 45 minutes away from Bahrain - thanks to the causeway (a really big bridge) that links the two Kingdoms. Typically, expats living in Khobar are lucky because we would be able to drive over to Bahrain for the weekend and indulge in the luxury of alcholol, pork, and religious tolerance. However, with the recent unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, the causeway is currently one of the most dangerous bridges around. As a precaution, most companies (including R's) have a travel ban on using the causeway. This means our weekends are spent in the Kingdom (with no alcohol or pork).
Here in the Kingdom, everyone is Muslim, the call to prayer is heard 5 times a day, and during those times the stores and restaurants are closed. It is imperative to know the prayer times before going anywhere because you wouldn't want to get kicked out of an establishment. Luckily, where our villa is situated within the compound, the call to prayer is faint sound in the background and hardly noticable during the day.
Because of the situation in Bahrain, we had to fly into Dammam which is the capital of the Eastern Province and has an airport that serves much of the region. We were lucky enough to rearrange all of our flights at the last minute since our flight to Bahrain was cancelled. We flew from New York to Doha to Dammam on the beautiful and luxurious Qatar Airways. I have to say, I am always impressed with foreign airlines, they all put the American airlines to shame. The business class cabin felt more like a lounge, and when we were ready to sleep, our wonderful air hostess put a pillowtop mattress on our fully reclining twin size bed seats. It's always the little things that impress me so I was most excited about drinking the lemon mint water. It's an Arab specialty with just the right combination of sweet and tart to make it wonderfully refreshing for this climate.
In Doha, we had a short layover where we took the time to browse through duty-free, freshen up and gear up for a quick flight over to the Kingdom. The one nice aspect about traveling to the Middle East is that there is no shortage of Indian folks around. It's comforting to hear Hindi being spoken wherever you are - whether it's the announcer at JFK airport, the ladies fixing their saris in the restrooms in Doha, or the man helping us with our luggage in Dammam.
Our flight to Dammam was only about 45 minutes and I was in the first class cabin while R was slumming it in economy. It was at this point that I was pretty terrified. I was still wearing yoga pants and an oversized tee whereas the plane was filled with men in thobes and fully-veiled women. There was an Arab lady sitting in front of me in Western wear so I decided I would see what she did and follow suit. A man came and sat next to me and perhaps either sensed my nerves or was genuinely kind. I was gripping my passport for dear life with my abaya scrunched up beside me. From what I have read about Saudi men, I was afraid. But this man asked me a few simple questions and we had a nice conversation. He seemed to be impressed with my banker past and even gave me his business card and offered me a job! Wow! This was turning out to be better than I had hoped. The flight was so quick that as soon as we received a beverage, it was time to land. At this point the lady in front of me put on her abaya, so I slipped mine on as well. I got off the plane and waited for R.
We followed the crowd down to immigration. This is wear it was completely nutty! We stood in the line for foreign citizens. Though, you really couldn't tell which line was which because there were so many people and so few immigration officers. The forming of a single file queue is completely unheard of. There are just masses of people forcing their way to the front trying to get through. Saudis get preferential treatment and are quickly ushered to the front while the rest of us just have to wait, and wait, and wait some more. After nearly two hours of waiting in line, we made it through immigration in 5 minutes where R did the talking and I did the fingerprinting. At baggage claim, the carousel from our flight had already stopped and only our 4 pieces of luggage were left. We had a nice Indian man help us gather our luggage and take it through the luggage scanner (he was tipped for his services, as is everyone). Our pre-arranged cab driver met us afterwards and let us to the giant SUV they needed to send in order to fit all of our luggage. Off we went to our "home".
After a 40 minute drive we arrived at the first check point to get into our compound. This one was Saudi military. The next check point is private security, and finally there is security to take us into our gated compound. R says I will get used to having machine guns pointed at me at all times. I'm not so sure about that.
Upon entering the compound, I was immediately drawn to the landscaping. Now, at the compound, I don't have to wear an abaya, I can curse like a sailor and interact with whomever I'd like. Check out the picture of the landscaping - rows of giant shrubs dressed to show off their manliness. No doubt that I am now living in a male-dominated society!
Cheers!
M
Here in the Kingdom, everyone is Muslim, the call to prayer is heard 5 times a day, and during those times the stores and restaurants are closed. It is imperative to know the prayer times before going anywhere because you wouldn't want to get kicked out of an establishment. Luckily, where our villa is situated within the compound, the call to prayer is faint sound in the background and hardly noticable during the day.
Because of the situation in Bahrain, we had to fly into Dammam which is the capital of the Eastern Province and has an airport that serves much of the region. We were lucky enough to rearrange all of our flights at the last minute since our flight to Bahrain was cancelled. We flew from New York to Doha to Dammam on the beautiful and luxurious Qatar Airways. I have to say, I am always impressed with foreign airlines, they all put the American airlines to shame. The business class cabin felt more like a lounge, and when we were ready to sleep, our wonderful air hostess put a pillowtop mattress on our fully reclining twin size bed seats. It's always the little things that impress me so I was most excited about drinking the lemon mint water. It's an Arab specialty with just the right combination of sweet and tart to make it wonderfully refreshing for this climate.
In Doha, we had a short layover where we took the time to browse through duty-free, freshen up and gear up for a quick flight over to the Kingdom. The one nice aspect about traveling to the Middle East is that there is no shortage of Indian folks around. It's comforting to hear Hindi being spoken wherever you are - whether it's the announcer at JFK airport, the ladies fixing their saris in the restrooms in Doha, or the man helping us with our luggage in Dammam.
Our flight to Dammam was only about 45 minutes and I was in the first class cabin while R was slumming it in economy. It was at this point that I was pretty terrified. I was still wearing yoga pants and an oversized tee whereas the plane was filled with men in thobes and fully-veiled women. There was an Arab lady sitting in front of me in Western wear so I decided I would see what she did and follow suit. A man came and sat next to me and perhaps either sensed my nerves or was genuinely kind. I was gripping my passport for dear life with my abaya scrunched up beside me. From what I have read about Saudi men, I was afraid. But this man asked me a few simple questions and we had a nice conversation. He seemed to be impressed with my banker past and even gave me his business card and offered me a job! Wow! This was turning out to be better than I had hoped. The flight was so quick that as soon as we received a beverage, it was time to land. At this point the lady in front of me put on her abaya, so I slipped mine on as well. I got off the plane and waited for R.
We followed the crowd down to immigration. This is wear it was completely nutty! We stood in the line for foreign citizens. Though, you really couldn't tell which line was which because there were so many people and so few immigration officers. The forming of a single file queue is completely unheard of. There are just masses of people forcing their way to the front trying to get through. Saudis get preferential treatment and are quickly ushered to the front while the rest of us just have to wait, and wait, and wait some more. After nearly two hours of waiting in line, we made it through immigration in 5 minutes where R did the talking and I did the fingerprinting. At baggage claim, the carousel from our flight had already stopped and only our 4 pieces of luggage were left. We had a nice Indian man help us gather our luggage and take it through the luggage scanner (he was tipped for his services, as is everyone). Our pre-arranged cab driver met us afterwards and let us to the giant SUV they needed to send in order to fit all of our luggage. Off we went to our "home".
After a 40 minute drive we arrived at the first check point to get into our compound. This one was Saudi military. The next check point is private security, and finally there is security to take us into our gated compound. R says I will get used to having machine guns pointed at me at all times. I'm not so sure about that.
Upon entering the compound, I was immediately drawn to the landscaping. Now, at the compound, I don't have to wear an abaya, I can curse like a sailor and interact with whomever I'd like. Check out the picture of the landscaping - rows of giant shrubs dressed to show off their manliness. No doubt that I am now living in a male-dominated society!
Cheers!
M
I really found it very funny when you said machines guns are pointing at you all the time..thats hilarious!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't forget qatar air business gives you PJs to sleep in. Great post
ReplyDeleteLove ,
R