Saudi Arabia, Part One - What I've Learned In 36 Hours

Yep, it's been a while. I'm sure we'll backtrack to what's gone on since the last (real) post at some point, but not tonight.

I was fortunate enough to travel to Bahrain in early November for business for about a week. 2 months later to the day, I traveled to Saudi Arabia for the same purpose.

When asked what Bahrain was like, I often said "It's like Las Vegas lite." I mean, you could drink, there were prostitutes, there were lots of flashy cars, and everything looked pretty at night, but kinda dusty and dirty in the daytime.

Saudi Arabia is definitely different. First, it's pretty difficult to get in. You need a sponsor in the country to "sponsor" your visa application. Once that's handled, you're off. So let's go a few items I found noteworthy since leaving Dubai for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

- The plane I was on was a Boeing 777. Great plane, but MASSIVE overkill for this short 1,000 mile flight. And it was probably only 20% full. Turns out they have 23 (!) of them. Thoughts on this another time.

- Around 25 minutes before landing in Jeddah, several gentlemen who were making the Umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca OUTSIDE of Hajj) began chanting fairly loudly. It was a 15 second long chant, and they repeated it until the plane landed. It wasn't bothersome (indeed, it was somewhat lulling), but I'm curious as to what it was, and if it was something they just DID, or if it was part of the Umrah (perhaps they needed to say it as they arrive in Jeddah).

- By the time I landed, went through customs, and retrieved my rental car, it was nearly midnight. I finally wound my way to the Corniche (beachside road, pictured above) around 12:15, and was AMAZED at the traffic. It was after midnight and the beach/road was PACKED. Not with just young people, but with families, children, etc. This was Thursday night/Friday morning, and Friday is a holiday. Most amazing? Everyone was having fun sans alcohol, as (you probably know) alcohol is strictly forbidden in Saudi Arabia.

- In Bahrain, I rarely heard the Adhan (Muslim call to prayer), except one memorable time in the mall there. Everyone seemed to ignore it. Here........no ignoring it. People stop what they are doing (not immediately, but they finish it up if it's finishable) and go to pray. Yesterday, while trying to buy a Saudi SIM card that would work in my iPhone (no luck), the 6:30 (ish, it's not always the same time) Adhan happened. ALL of the shops in the little mall we were in turned off the lights, the keepers either left the door open (in a restaurant, for instance, so patrons could finish) or locked it up (if they had shooed everyone one). It's pretty amazing that everything just stops. Yes, cars still drive along, it isn't like in Truman Show, but it's a definite pause in life to pray. Interesting to watch

That's enough for now, today was a super long day, and I'm beat. But I will close with this: everyone has been super nice. My spidey sense has not gone off since arriving, and I actually feel very much like an ugly American for not speaking a word of Arabic. Trying to learn some in the next day or two.

If you have a question, ask in the comments, I'll answer if I can.

Lee