Al Nimran Al Khobar

... it was then that I realized: I loved the desert (deep down inside), why then did I not think of making this trip before?! The bus began to accelerate and we were soon on the Riyadh highway. It was all night, and I could see cars zipping ahead. We went on for abot 200 Kms and the driver decided to make a stop at a highway restaurant. All got down, some to stretch their legs, others to grab a bit/a cool drink, or simply to take a walk around.<br><br>Soon, we were back on the ...

... to the west and Qatar to the east. We didn't know where it was until we were due to fly home via the island. It's interesting to note the road bridge (King Fahd Causeway) which links the two countries and is 17 miles long. Soon to be surpassed by the Bahrain to Qatar 'Friendship Bridge' currently under construction at 25 miles - it will be the longest bridge in the world.

Not much - just waiting at the airport for the flight! Bahrain was both nicer and more boring than I thought, the weather is a lot more forgiving but it's not worth more than about 3 days exploration tops.. Unless you like to get really nittygritty :P<br>

Apparently the Bahrain-Saudi border is on a little island [not sure if it has an official name], which hosts a rest point on either side of the border, complete with matching observation towers. The whole road, which is 45km long, is called the King Fahad Causeway on the Bahraini side, with a different Saudi name.. Interesting stuff! :) Due to it being Ramadan and us not being ...

... of Dubai. There were two interesting buildings - the World Trading Centre, which has 3 wind turbines in the middle of it that produce its power, and a pair of buildings I dont remember the name of that's shaped like two quarter-pikes [skate ramps]!<br><br>Our driver then took us to some random palace grounds thingy - basically, it's where the king keeps all of his camels. And there were LOADS of the buggers! We got to go in and stroke one of the baby camels, who at 3 ...

... The airline reps seemed pretty confused about me not having a ticket number, but a nice young girl was helpful in figuring things out.  She had surprisingly good English and was Islamic Arabian, not an Indian like those I normally dealt with.  My bags were checked all the way to Seiyun, but I'd have to get my ticket from Sana'a to Seiyun in Sana'a.  No problem---I had a 6 hour layover.<br><br>Had a lot of time before my flight, so I tried calling and booking a hotel in Seiyun ...

... to him I may have provided some weekday excitement (as a male friend), and maybe an exposure to someone who has not adapted to the local culture. We went &#8220;downtown&#8217; to one of the malls frequented by Philippinos (seriously it was al most ALL Philippinos). Edwin bought me a Teriyaki chicken dinner at the food court (he wouldn&#8217;t let me pay again), which was really good. At the table next to us was a group of Asians ...

... his brother, now living in Canada, has been trying for years to move to the U.S.).<br><br>Back at the hotel around 7:30PM---a little time to get off my feet before dinner--got picked up by Saad and Ziad (separate car) at about 8:20. I got an earful about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from a very passionate Palestinian perspective of course. Saad asked my opinion---I tried to explain my more practical, moderate perspective, but the normally very open ...

... t-shirt over a &#8220;University of Wisconsin&#8221; one since it seemed more discrete and less American, the logic being that &#8220;Minnesota&#8221; would be less easily identifiable (could be Scandinavian or any number of things)---who knows if true. Picked up by Saad at the correct time.<br><br>We got to the club and parked fairly randomly where we could, just as others had parked (the club was packed, which I guess was because of the kids having ...

... mass in stark terror with no clue on what to do. I took a minute or two and told them they HAD to join in or they would be standing where they were for the rest of their lives. As I loaded the shuttle, and looked back through the window, they were still there, with sweaty brow. They may still be there. In Jiddah I was taken to an open air bazzar - while the urinal path right through the middle was a VERY new experience, all the rest are still quite the ...