Back in the UK

[Guest Low Roller]

Well I made it back in one piece after an extended three week stay in Saudi Arabia, and I must say that I loved the experience.

Saudi Arabia is a very conservative country, so don't expect to drink any alcohol, see any women out of their veils, or pretty much have any fun whatsoever. On the flipside I loved being immersed into the culture, and I loved the architecture of most of the villas. Every house looked completely different from the last which is a welcome change of pace from the row housing hell that I'm used to. The most striking architectural features were the mosques who were amazingly simple yet of pure beauty. I was very impressed. However due to the aforementioned no-booze and no-chicks, I could never live there.

Eventually the hotel to work to hotel routine got very tiresome. I lived on a very secure compound with constant security checks. Better safe than dead I suppose, but it ended up feeling like a jail. And there were only two restaurants on the compound, so the food ended up becoming very repetitive.

To escape the monotony I took of to Bahrain for the week-end (Thursday and Friday in the Middle East), where booze and chicks are fair game. I met up with the head of sales for SGI in the Middle East who invited me for the week-end as a favour for staying an additional week on site while the next shift was dealing with visa problems.

Bahrain is a beautiful island next to Saudi Arabia. I ate at an excellent sushi restaurant, saw a salsa band with an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous lead singer, and chilled out at a tourist resort right on the Persian Gulf. I never thought that I would ever swim in the Persian Gulf, but I did, and it was awesome. The water was so warm that I could stay in the water forever. I can't believe I was being paid to do this!

I was even offered a job in Dubai while I was there! The head of sales at SGI is looking for a pre-sales technical person to prepare presentations for clients and develop leads for future business. Having seen the area, I have to admit that I am considering the offer.

Overall I felt safe at all times, and the only fear I felt was the fear I brought with me. There is no real reason to worry over there. You're more likely to find trouble walking late at night in London instead of walking late at night in Khobar.

Well that's my story, but not the end of my travels, that's for sure. I may be going to Buenos Aires in a week or so to oversee an installation of one of our products, then I'm in Canada for two weeks in mid-August, then I'm probably heading back out to Khobar to oversee the final stages of the installation.

[bradm]

I'm glad to hear you're back, safe and sound, and had a good time. Are things like guided tours (e.g., of the more spectacular mosques) available for foreigners/tourists? And how did the locals react to your presence (if you interacted with them much)?

Aloha,

Brad

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Glad to hear it was such a positive experience, moments of boredom aside. I'd heard good things about Bahrain, so it's nice to hear it lived up to it. What do you do with all that jetlag?

[Guest Low Roller]

I didn't hear of any guided tours, and really doubt that are any. The country is closed to tourists and only business visitors are permitted to get visas.

As far as visiting mosques goes, that is strictly forbidden for non-muslims. I wanted to go see one when a friend went in for one of his 5 daily prayers, but I was told I had to wait in the car because I couldn't go in. It gets even more severe around Mecca, as non-muslims aren't even allowed into the city!

The locals reacted as can be expected. How do we react when we see a muslim in a mostly white area? It's the same situation, roles reversed. I got a fair amount of smiles, but also a fair amount of jeers. White people don't exactly have a squeeky clean image there right now, especially if you sound remotely american.

The jetlag will probably take away many years of my life, and make me into a narcoleptic. But I'm willing to take the risk if it means I get to travel the world on my company's money.

[meggo]

cool, roller! thanks for sharin.

GO TO BUENOS AIRES!! :cool: