Holiday Inn Al Khobar

... the bus was keeping on at an average speed, so where exactly were we? Strained my neck to catch the nearest milestone, and when I caught sight of the nearest one, shocked was an understatement: it said Jeddah 775 Km. I had to frantically call Manoj ( my host at Jeddah) and say: dont expect me too soon.<br><br>As I sat back observing, I saw that we were about to bypass a small town. And as I took in the picture of a small Saudi desert town, I couldnt help wondering: Are there ...

17/10<br>Time to be honest. We're heading home.<br>The last country is a stop-over in Bahrain (for 2 hours) as we fly through the night back to England<br>We wanted to surprise a few folks so have sneaked home quietly.<br><br>Never the less, Bahrain International Airport looked very nice at midnight, all lit up. This small island state lies in the Persion Gulf alongside saudi ...

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>

... and also not having any male family members with us [women are not allowed to cross solo, nor are they allowed to drive in Saudi!], we didn't even bother to attempt to cross the real border to go into Damman [although I wanted to..], so Saudi exploration will have to wait until I'm married :P [I have no brothers and my dad would much rather go anywhere else but a hot desert!]<br>

... being Ramadan pretty much everything was shut! And it was roasting hot, if cooler than Dubai would be, so I grabbed a few provisions from the supermarket and retreated to the hotel room!<br><br>We might go explore the restaurants later tonight [will probably end up in Hard Rock Cafe.. when it comes to Arabic food we're not the most adventurous!] and we'll see what happens tomorrow! Leaving tomorrow night though.. It's a nice little country though. If a bit small and empty :)<br>

... The security situation was deteriorating in Yemen and all Western nations advised against all unnecessary travel there.  There had been some small attacks and minor shelling of the U.S. Embassy and surrounding areas in Sana'a, an attack on a busload or Spanish tourists, a suicide bombing of 4 South Koreans and their guide in the exact spot of one of the places I was going to be, increased kidnappings in/around Sana'a normally safe, in addition to the normal kidnappings of Westerners ...

... I guess I better pick up a 16-year-old! Wow&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;..<br> <br>After the mall, we walked around surrounding areas with little shops/markets. It was 8PM and again prayer time, so everything was closed. We hung out in an indoor strip mall to cool off from the humidity and window-shopped at the few stores waiting for prayer to be over. We found a store selling sandals (which I hoped to pick up to better fit in during travels) and ...

... been hoping for some authentic Saudi food, but was at least relieved to know we wouldn&#8217;t be eating bland Italian (sorry, Mom---know you like it). The project purchasing person, Menon (a loud talking Pakistani), was joining us too and, considering none of us were Saudi, it&#8217;s no surprise we ended up at an Asian/Middle Eastern restaurant (Menon&#8217;s vegetarian, so was the real reason for the choice).<br><br>Dinner was good---good wontons, hummus ...

... up to them about &#8220;letting others play,&#8221; and they came out to discuss giving up the court. They offered the court in a &#8220;we can leave if you want us to&#8221; way, which after a bit of back and forth, elicited a more complicit &#8220;it&#8217;s ok---we can find another court&#8221; from the softer-spoken and more metered Saad, while Farhad was more clearly in the &#8220;yes, we&#8217;ll take it camp&#8221;, but seemingly deferred to Saad. Saad ...

... like cattle and finally, hours later, you will be put up in a stinking flea bag after your passport has been confiscated. for a mere $30, you may opt for a five-star hotel with private limousine courtesy of gulf air. what the heck. you only go around once. go for it. the airport is a zoo but the duty free shops there have the lowest ...