Riyadh Intercontinental

... away safely or just thanking the pilot (and Allah) for getting everyone home in one piece! Anyhow, it's a nice touch for the end of a long, arduous journey in the skies. Why not applaud the crew who have worked hard to making your flight as comfortable as possible?<br><br>The immigration line in Riyadh is sooo long. We were in for a long wait because many airlines arrived at the same time, it's nearly Hajj season, and there were no officers on post ...

... 020 ft). It is also host to the highest mosque in the world. The Tower Contains a total of 43 floors excluding the 4 levels of basement. The Kingdom Centre is owned by Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a prince of the Saudi royal family. It is also the headquarters of his holding company: Kingdom Holding Company. The total cost of the project was US$ 1 billion and the contract was taken by Saudi Arabian Al-Saif and The Italian Impregilo.<br>

... 7am and when I awoke I noticed that the electricity wasn&#8217;t on. I checked the fuse-board and there didn&#8217;t seem to be a problem. I remembered Syria where electricity could be turned off during the day for several hours so I didn&#8217;t worry too much about it. I decided to sleep a little bit more and then went out exploring again at about 10am. While I was out, I texted Aidan my new number and told him about the electricity issue. By the time he received it, it ...

... correctly, just draping it loosely over my head would be ok, which is just as well because a week later with plenty of opportunity to practice, i still can't do it properly.<br><br>Arrived Riyadh airport around 7pm in the evening along with a couple of other flights. Glenn had organised a fast track service available for businessmen, so we were able to by pass the lines, which was good as i ...

... to repeat it several times. After visiting the "watercloset" we went to the abutions area to perform wudu'. My 4 year old daughter sat and played in the water and gave a constant commentary ("Mommy, this water is hot! Why is the water hose pink? What is that in the drain? Can I put soap on my nose? Can I clean the drain? Yuck, this soap tastes terrible!") while I finished my ablutions, and when I turned I saw that there was an entire half-circle of ...

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 ...

... small barrier to the families' entrance, and back in again. I shared a small chuckle with the staff as they were the same people, they had just shifted down the counter a bit. I was also the only customer in the store, on either side. <br><br>Large mocha chip Frappucino in hand I felt ready to face the next ten hours or so of drive time. We drove quickly along the city highway, not much traffic but still considerable winds and a lot of sand blowing around.

... their quarters. One room for the patient, with a lovely ensuite, then a separate room for the "sitter" (more about them in a sec) and then a separate kitchenette! All decked out with gold plating and marble... its like a luxury hotel. They often have their own private nurses in tow, and awaiting one the other day was these gigantic platters of exotic chocolate... Amazing. Then you have the "sitters". A sitter is a relative of the patient who is paid by the ...

... quite a few that sound really interesting, especially the trips to the gold, perfume, and camel souks, and the national gallery. I've been shopping at Carrefour Mall, and Al Shola Mall, which was very different to the market that I went to the other day. These were like any major shopping malls back home - but late night shopping here is all the go apparently! Every night it is packed, and the exterior of Carrefour especially was something you could picture being a part of vegas ...

... signs in white rock (like you would see in BC) with swords and words. I found out later they were the start of the Qurun (there is no God but Allah and Mohammed (pbuh - Priase Be Unto Him) is his prophet). We saw a couple of these and then were into an area exactly like Wadi Rum. The Bedouin guide was right! Finally we came to Tabuk, got our bearings, and headed south toward Madinah. It was a long drive. We stopped at a restaurant run by an Afghani and had chicken, then drove ...