Marriott Riyadh

... at present but that wasn’t how it looked initially. Although it wasn’t too dirty, it was clear that it hadn’t been occupied for at least a month. In a desert nation, dust collects very quickly and in this case, it was thick almost like a carpet. The whole place smelled strongly of dust and the bin hadn’t been emptied either, nor had the fridge been cleaned. But at that moment, I was just happy to be here and I turned the A/C up the ‘High Cool ...

28th...bought an abaya in Dubai. The young woman at the shop showed me how to put on the sheelah (the head scarf)...an hour later i asked another nice young Saudi lady in the waiting area to show me again, because i took it off and couldn't get it back on properly...there is a knack to it. Met her family while waiting...really lovely people. Her mother said not to worry about putting on the ...

... passed through Mina and Muzdalifah, which if you're familiar with the annual Hajj rites, is where the large tent city is that the Hajjis stay in. Looking at the tent city, it is easy to see how perilous it could be if people try to have open fires, and while regretting the tent city fire a few years ago, one can only wonder that there haven't been more accidents. The scope of the public services necessary for accommodate the millions who come for ...

When you are entering Riyadh from the east, you pass a lot of agricultural spots -- date farms, dairy farms, fields with modern irrigation equipment. Leaving the city heading west it's as if you have come to the edge of a vast cliff and are now headed down into an enormous valley. Our ears ...

... entered the bachelors' entrance -- I had forgotten about the separate entrances thing. In the Emirates restaurants will often have private seating for families (like booths with taller dividers around them) if you choose to use them, but everyone has the same entrance and you can sit in private or in an open public room, your choice. In Saudi you don't have a choice, which I had forgotten, but the counter staff kindly redirected me. So out I went, around ...

Well, this time I thought I might write a little about the hospital that Im working at... I've finally begun work in recovery, after 3 long weeks of extensive orientation. It was tiring, as a lot of the stuff they covered wasn't all that relevant, but they did run workshops and lectures about settling into life in Saudi as well, which I found really helpful for easing my way into living and working here. The recovery is pretty big, has 16 bays for 11 theatres ...

... with Luke, and then head to Turkey for a week or so. Im already formulating tarvel plans in my head! The one rather large hurdle in all this is attempting to converse with the non-english-speaking arab patient... I think i'm doing alright with my arabic, learning new phrases every day - although im not sure my accent helps my cause all that much. It takes 3 times as long to ask a simple question because they cant understand me all that well, and if they give me a ...

... and around the pool area under these massive fans drinking cocktails... It was like being in a resort! Im fast realising how low standard our compound is in comparison to these! We had a good night there, saw heaps of people I knew from our hospital - it seems to be the place to be on a Wednesday night. I had an absolutely wonderful time at a BBQ I was invited to at another private compound over the weekend. I'm lucky to have found some really awesome friendly people here... Lots of ...

... a tour worth thousands of riyals beginning with our airport pickup at 1:00 A.M. that night in Cairo. After confirming with the ticket center that our tickets were indeed not valid, he assured us we were first in line on the waitlist and he would do his best to try and get us on). Worried, we waited at the counter as the time ticked by. 15 minutes. 20 minutes. Mrs. Sewilam, an Arabic teacher from school, was also on the flight (confirmed), waited with us as she ...

... through the high tech electronics and pet market (where dyed chicks are a favorite) you will come to the carpet & antique souq which houses some beautiful Beduin jewelry doors, and trunks. * Bathha Market place is next to the infamous square where capital punishment is carried out on Fridays at noon. Architecture The City of Riyadh, has spent millions of dollars modernizing the downtown core and they have done an incredible job. The ...