Merry Christmas Everyone!

Greetings! I just wanna wish everyone a wonderful and Merry Christmas! Can't believe another year has gone past but here's to an amazing 2009! Anyway, I won't say much today. I'll leave you with some pictures I took yesterday that surprisingly managed to capture the magical spirit and feeling of Christmas. Enjoy!

launch the lunch lunge

December is usually my favorite month of the year. But not this year. I've had a non-existent birthday. I crashed the car. Work has been really tough and I'm gonna spend Christmas alone in a country that bans Christmas. Yippee.

Well after a particularly tough day, I told my staff that I had enough of this shit and we should all go out and get some lunch. Bring me somewhere with good food I said. So they did. It was a lebanese place that specialised in lebanese cuisine and fresh fruit juice. Sounds pretty good I thought, until I saw the menu.


Sheep balls? What in the world? But the next page gets worse....


Yes I'll have a dish of brain please, but I can't decide which will go better with sheep balls, tongue or tongue fatta? No of course I did not order any of that. Its easy to be miserable in Saudi Arabia without the help of a lebanese chef. Just the chicken kebab and lamb BBQ for me thanks.

Go Honda!

I never thought the day would come when I would be saying this, but Honda is simply the future. Introducing the Honda FCX clarity. Sure its not exactly a Gallardo, 430 Scuderia or even an M3. Both in looks and in performance, the FCX is like a beached whale compared to the raging bull or prancing stallion.


But you know what? I'll take one anytime. You see, the FCX is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. In essence, that means all you need to do is put hydrogen into the fuel tank and the fuel cell will combine the hydrogen with oxygen to produce electricity. This electricity then runs the electric motors that drive the car.

Unlike current electric cars that need to be plugged in for their batteries to be recharged, this one just needs filling up like how we fill up with petrol at the pumps. Now before you write it off for having an electric motor, Honda has done a decent job coz the FCX has 140 bhp. Acceptable performance, and the only exhaust it has is H2O. Water!

So besides saving the environment, you also eliminate the reliance on petrol. Well its about BLOODY TIME I say. Currently, this car is only available in select states in America. Thats because only these select states have hydrogen pump stations. What are they waiting for? Roll them out and lets do this worldwide! And C'mon Honda! make more of the FCX and lets get all the other car makers in on it too! (Audi are you reading this??) Its time we said goodbye to oil and kick the oil producing nations back into the dark ages and their flying carpets.

Where are you sleeping tonight

As I lay in my bed last night, I could not sleep. I felt uncomfortable. It probably wasn't the bed. I've got a king sized bed here and I also have with me my luxurious micro-fibre pillow and bolster. The air-conditioning is set just right and the room is dark and quiet. The perfect conditions for a good night's rest.

But I could not fall asleep.

The discomfort I felt was familiar though. I've felt it before. Its the same feeling of despair and misery I felt as I lay on the floor of the tent that was pitched on uneven ground during a Boys' Brigade field expedition in Primary school. Its that same feeling of discomfort I felt as I tried to sleep on the ground sheet at my secondary school's leaders camp. The very same feeling of displacement as I tried to sleep on a concrete slab at the running track during my polytechnic's orientation camp, and then again when I went for the Orientation group leaders' camp.

In fact, as I lay there, I felt lost and my morale was low. Exactly the way I felt when I was sleeping in the bunks during my army days' basic military training phase. Not forgetting the many miserable nights during field camps. It felt exactly like that. Its probably how Frodo felt as he slept at the gates of Mordor while on his way to destroy the ring.

So, I guess I'm out of my element. Not in my comfort zone. I'm out here, in the wild. But I've been thinking about it, I've survived each and every one of those uncomfortable situations. In fact, I always come out a stronger and better person. I also look back at those challenges with fond memories. They were personal accomplishments that made me feel like I could take on life with renewed passion and tenacity.

I'll get through this. I have to. And one day I will leave this place and laugh in the face of the desert that could not claim me. Just another one of life's funny plans for me. At least I have a big comfy bed this time.

The ride home after a long day

Thursday, 11th day of December in the year 2008. A really bad day in the office. Too many morons at work. It drains me. And my car is still in the workshop after all this time. Of course it is, this is Saudi Arabia.

I've had to resort to depending on one of my staff to drive me to work and back home again. So dropping myself into the passenger seat tonight, my staff was still wary of the fury I unleashed at the whole team earlier on. He cranked the car to life and we began the journey home.

"You want get something to eat boss?" Ayman asked, "Nah, I'm tired, I'll just go home thanks." Ayman then turned up the radio in his car that was tuned in to some "hip" station that played the trendiest arabic music. Everything sounded like crap to me. Some ludicrous arabic techno started blaring out the speakers. "oohhh, this is nice song" Ayman remarked. "are you kidding? I'd rather listen to sheep getting slaughtered." "You don't like?" he asked. "no".

At that very moment, a car overtook us at what felt like 2000km/h and as he passed, you could see that his boot was opened and there was a sheep in it. A sheep! "hey look at that, a sheep in that car boot." I said and Ayman proceeded to explain that the car was probably heading to Mecca for some sacrificial ceremony. Poor thing. As if the mad car ride in the boot wasn't enough to kill it.

"WATCH OUT FOR THE CAMEL!" I yelled as Ayman swerved the car and narrowly missed a camel that was walking at the side of the road.

Soon i reached my compound and Ayman dropped me off. "Goodnight Ayman, thanks for the ride." "No problem boss. Everything ok?"

Yeah, everything's fine except for this zoo of a country that I'm working in, I thought to myself. "Ya I'm good. See you tomorrow."

29 years and counting

Phew! I've been around for 29 years now. 29 years, imagine that. God's been so good to me. As some of you might know, I almost did not make it to 29. For the first time in my 12 years of driving, I crashed my car. Fortunately no one was injured. In fact no other car was damaged. It was just me versus a concrete block.

It all started when I decided to head to a mall after work. Usually I do my shopping in the daytime and keep driving at night to a minimal. I should've stuck to my resolution. While trying to get onto the main road from a service road, I drove onto the filter lane and glanced over to check that there was no traffic. The next thing I knew, there in the middle of the filter lane was a concrete block the size of a washing machine! The road was dimly lit. There were no warning lights. The concrete block wasn't even brightly colored. By the time the honda's pissy headlights illuminated the concrete block it was too late. I had like an 18 word long expletive in my mind but as I slammed the brakes, I could only yell out "Wha.....". This was followed by a loud crash and the sickening crunching sound of car getting smashed up.

The impact felt like all my organs were pushing against my skin, almost bursting out. I also instinctively braced myself for the airbag to deploy but of course, my car did not have any airbags. Just as well I guess. The seat belts worked and left a nice deep bruise and abrasion on my shoulder and chest. The car stopped. I could taste blood in my mouth. Somehow, I managed to bite on my lower lip so hard it bled.

I was alive.

I got out of the car to inspect the damage. The bumper was cracked and twisted. The radiator was smashed up and there was radiator fluid all over the ground. The bonnet was bent and my fenders were pushed against the tyres. WHAT A STUPID PLACE TO PUT A CONCRETE BLOCK! I can't help but think that if I did not hit the brakes, and drove against the block (which did not move and inch) at full speed, I wouldn't be here typing now.

So here I am, car's in the workshop for at least the next 10 days I'm told. Not a good situation to be in but thank God I'm ok. 29 years old and still going strong.

poem

I cannot believe I'm back in this hell hole

I'd rather be stuck in a toilet bowl

My leave went by in a flash

So much for my great singapore bash

My brain is numb, i've become dumb and I cannot think of anything else that rhymes to complete my poem.

Another day, another dollar

Wow! The weather is actually bearable now! It does not feel like I'm living in an oven anymore. I could get used to this. Walking out onto the uneven tarmac to get to the staff car-park after work today, I actually felt a cool breeze gently blowing by. There's still sand all around but I guess thats normal since I'm in the middle of a desert.

The birds that used to hide under cars are out and about now, doing what they do best. Flying around and shitting on the parked cars. Great. Turning towards my car, I catch a glimpse of the setting sun. Its a big orange ball thats slowly sinking into the horizon. Reminds me that I'm still connected to the same solar system as my family and friends. Its still beautiful, even when seen from such a harsh land.


Somehow, the distant sunset that turns everything else into a silhouette has a calming effect on me. It makes me feel that all my worries are sinking away and its time to unwind and relax. Call it a day you know what I mean? So as I get into my car and crank up the engine, a smile usually breaks out on my face. Put the car in gear and ease off the clutch, I slowly pull out of the car-park. The crunching sound of rubber against gravel, sand and tarmac resonates through the cabin signifying the beginning of the end of a long day.

And then as I leave, the palm trees bow down and respectfully bid me farewell.....wait, the trees WHAT??



The smile on my face disappears and a look of disbelief and puzzlement takes its place. Even the palm trees have called it a day on Saudi Arabia and decided to die. As I drive off into the sunset, I'm muttering to myself, "Only in Saudi Arabia....."

Desert Rain

What the hell is going on? In the week that just went by, it rained 3 times in Jeddah! In this land devoid of clouds and moisture, it actually rained! And not some pissy drizzle or tiny droplets that evaporate before hitting the ground. It was pouring cats and dogs and camels and baboons.

And obviously this place wasn't made with rain in mind. There is absolutely no drainage system. The pavements are made of the wrong materials. The F1 style saudi drivers suddenly forget how to drive. I'm serious. You can literally see the dumbfounded drivers with their eyes wide open and mouth gaping behind their steering wheels. They don't understand why their car is veering to the left when they are speeding through a giant puddle on the road. They wonder why they can't really see out of their windscreens. They cannot comprehend why their cars are skidding out of control and nothing seems to be responding.

ALL the roads get flooded and you might as well be driving a boat. And it does not help that the wipers on my car have been nicely baked and sundried to a crispy strip of tasteless jerky. All they do is splash the rain around my windscreen instead of wiping it off. Bugger.

And obviously, being in the middle of the desert, I don't own an umbrella. So getting caught in the rain while walking from the staff carpark to the airport terminal wasn't fun. Especially when the pavement tiles becomes more slippery than an ice cube coated in olive oil. Yup, I had a really spectacular fall. While running to get out of the rain, I slipped the moment I stepped on the pavement tiles. What happened after that would have been applauded by even the gold medal winning olympic gymnast. Hell I don't even think I've executed such a move while snowboarding before. In slo-mo my legs went over my head and I landed on my left shoulder. I was drenched, and very embarrassed as this all happened in front of a group of indian laborers seeking shelter at a shed not too far away. but most of all it hurt. I am now nursing a bruised shoulder, hip and left bum.

I normally don't mind rain. But this is Saudi Arabia, and nothing is normal here. So, no more rain please. Life here is crazy enough without the floods and the mud and the chaos.

Read all about it!

Reading the newspapers these days really makes you feel depressed. I used to read the newspapers for their information and entertainment value. It kept me up to date with the latest around the world. It opened my eyes (though it wasn't always necessary the truth) to the outside of the shell that was home.

But now, more often than not, its telling you who's going bankrupt, who's dying from bombs or earthquakes and what you cannot eat. And that basically sums up the entire content.

China. What is going on there? How did it happen that this "up and coming super power" would stoop so low and wreck so much havoc in the food industry. With all the food scandals going on, I take longer to do my supermarket shopping now, making sure that I do not buy anything that is made in China. The milk and dairy thing was ridiculous but now I read in today's paper that eggs are no good too? The milk and eggs alone already make up 2/3 of my breakfast menu. I'll only be eating spoonfuls of strawberry jam for breakfast pretty soon if they found something wrong with the bread too. That is if they don't discover that the jam was actually a concoction of red paint and sugar first.

The financial crisis. So we're in another recession huh? Hell, I don't even know whats going on anymore. Who's going down. Who's paying who. Who wants their money back. Who got cheated. Who bought a house and couldn't afford the mortgage.

I don't read the papers anymore. I merely glance through them and then I chuck it into the corner and wait for the recycling guy to come pick them up.

The world has gone bonkers. And we only have ourselves to blame. Humans are really a virus that has infected the earth. Shitheads.

Another day, another conundrum

Ahhhhhhhh, nothing like a nice hot cup of earl grey tea to help you unwind after a long day at work. Of course, in Saudi Arabia, to fully enjoy hot tea without feeling like you're ingesting molten lava while sitting in the earth's core, I had to turn the air-conditioning down to about 15 degrees. I also had to take off my shirt. In fact, it was a necessity to take off my pants as well and sit down wearing only my boxers. And now, I come to realise that I have unwittingly revealed that I am sitting here in my underwear, typing this blog entry. Poo.

Well no matter, coz that can't be anywhere as weird as what happened at work today. Picture this; Its the tail-end of the check-in process. Only 2 passengers are in the check-in area, each served by a counter. The other counters are empty, as was my dedicated business class counter. This random guy (turns out he was a passenger traveling on Garuda) walks over to the business class counter and stops about 4 feet away from the check-in agent. He looks untidy and he's got some funky head gear on. Not quite a turban, but not the saudi head-scarf either. Lets call him Scrappy.

Scrappy then proceeds to tug at my business class carpet! He pulls it about 2 meters away and lays it at an angle. He then gets on it and starts to pray! WHAT THE HELL? I was dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. Gobsmacked. What is this nincompoop doing?? Well obviously he's praying... but on my check-in carpet?!?! I walked over, and I could see the ground staff supervisor walking over as well.

Darren: "Excuse me sir, please get off my carpet"
Scrappy: "No, is my. sha allah I pray"
Darren: "not on my carpet you're not"
Scrappy: "Where you carpet? no yours is my"

I calmly bent forward and pointed to the "business class" font, next to the familiar golden bird. "what do you think this says?"


At which he looked up at me, eyes wider than the dinner plates I have at home. Hell, it looked like alla himself had reached out and grabbed scrappy's balls. The ground staff supervisor then grunted something to scrappy in arabic and scrappy walked off looking defeated. "sorry boss, sometimes these people dunno." Abdullah said to me. "Oh boss I will be on leave from November to December. Going to sell samosa. ok?"

"uh.....ok.....?" I replied. Walking over to my check-in staff, I muttered, "Shit I'm going nuts, I thought I heard Abdullah telling me that he was taking leave to go sell samosas"

"oh yes, he opens a shop by the road for pilgrims to buy samosa when they go for hajj" he replied. By now, I had no expression on my face. There was just too much weirdness going on. "you're shitting me!" I said. "oh sorry boss, maybe its from the hummus and beans I ate a lot for lunch". At this point, I just walked off to seek solace in my office.

Going up!

Sorry if I've kept you waiting (Yes, all 3 of you who read my blog), but its been quite a hectic week for me. Well I'm here now so, here we go.

Moving on through the corridor by the dining area, you'll pass by a toilet, a closet and a store room.


Now, I would like to pause here for a moment and talk about God's sense of humor. See, back in MEL when I was holed up in that piegon hole of an apartment, I used to complain about how bad the design was coz there was practically no storage space. What that docklands apartment had were little holes placed randomly to keep your stuff in. And the lame excuse for a wardrobe didn't even fit my shirts coz it was too shallow! Whoever designed that apartment must've had hobbits with very little belongings in mind. I also used to lament about how having more than 1 toilet would be great for the days when Celine was taking a shower and I really needed to do a number 2.

So fast forward to Jeddah and guess what? My prayers were answered! In this house, I have 4 toilets, 3 of them equipped with showers. I have 2 giant wardrobes in the bedrooms and a walk-in wardrobe in the master. There are 2 store rooms which I don't use coz I dump all my stuff in the maid's room and heaps of shelves around the house for storing things. You ask for a wave and God gives you a tsunami.

Righto, heading up the stairs, you'll arrive at the landing that links the 3 bedrooms.The 2 smaller bedrooms are on the left, the master bedroom is on the right and we've got a bathroom right there in the center. So for my guests, whom I'll never get since there are no tourists allowed in SA, there are 2 bedrooms to choose from. Both equipped with a single bed, built-in robe and shelves. Finally, we then arrive at the master bedroom. Its got a king sized bed which is good since I like to sleep spread eagle, and pretty much everything you need to be comfortable.

So thats pretty much what I come home to everyday. Its comfy. No complaints here. Though it does get lonely and "empty" at times. Oh well... I should just be glad that I have food on my plate, roof over my head and a big comfy bed.

I'll leave you with a picture taken from the window of my bedroom. Till the next time...

Out of this world!

Greetings and salutations!

Ok so I promised that I'll bring you upstairs in the next post. But before that, so many people have been asking me, what is Jeddah like? So my bedroom will have to wait till the next time as I set out to tackle this burning question.

First off, lets get the location right. Jeddah is one of the major cities of Saudi Arabia. Some even call it the commercial capital of the country. Located on the western coastline of Saudi Arabia, its a thriving port city. Having been here for a month now, I can say that this place is out of this world. And it is.


Located about 1.17899 billion kilometers away from earth when the entire solar system is lined up in a straight row, Saudi Arabia boasts a culture and lifestyle you'd never imagine was possible. And if you think thats a lot to contend with, there's always the landscape and surroundings.

True to its alienic persona, you feel like you're landing on mars when you look out of the aircraft window before touch-down. But in fact, as my diagram above has shown , you're further from mars than you think you are. Interplanetary travel on a boeing. Imagine that.


Here's the view from my hotel room during my initial days here. The breathtaking view brought tears to my eyes. Mainly because the breath I was taking was full of sand and obviously some of it got into my eye.


Of course I've already mentioned some of the adjustments to my lifestyle in my previous entries and chats I've had with friends.
- No ice cold beer to enjoy after work (Man I miss my crown lager)
- No socialising with members of the opposite sex unless its a spouse. Which makes me wonder, how did you meet your spouse in the first place?
- gotta time your shopping to make sure that it does not coincide with the prayer timings.
- All women are covered up. All you see are men, whom sometimes, I wish were covered up too.
- Various public places are segregated into 2 sections. One for single men, the other for families.
- The mad driving style on the road. Its like a warzone out there.

Even the birds do things a little differently here. Usually, you'd think that under a car would be the last place you'd wanna be. But here, they stay there to survive.

When I'm out and about, I marvel at the vast amounts of space rock and sand. Its everywhere. Granted you see the occasional palm tree here and there. But why does this place look like the inhabitants of zargon 4 invaded recently? It looks like a warzone! There's rubble and shells of destroyed buildings everywhere. As for the roads, lets just say the surface of the moon would feel like the backside of a new born baby when compared to the road surfaces here.


But you know what? Despite everything, I'm laughing most of the time. Not only at the insanity of this place, but also at the amazing experience and opportunity I've been given. Just the other night, as I was walking to my car after a long day at work, I found myself looking upwards to the night sky. There was a gentle breeze blowing, accompanied by the sound of the palm trees rustling in rhythm with the distant roar of an aircraft billowing down a runway. I could see the stars. The same stars that you'd probably see if you look up at night on earth. As I stood there on the warm desert floor, I took a deep breath and I thought to myself, wow, I'm in Saudi Arabia.

Week 3 gone by

Time sure flies! Feels like I just landed in Saudi Arabia not too long ago. At the same time I feel like I've been here for ages. This place messes with your mind. At least I still have a mind to mess with, I'm surprised I haven't lost it! Anyhow, many have been asking about the kind of accommodation I live in here. Well, the majority of expats here live in what is known as a compound. Its like a community within walls and each entrance/exit is guarded. Security is pretty good in these compounds and the people living within don't have to worry so much about the restrictions that are in place everywhere else. So women can walk around in shorts and T shirts and a man can talk to a woman even if they're not married. Wow! How about that?

Anyhow, photos of the security aren't allowed in these parts so I secretly snapped one while I was driving home the other day. Here you can check out one of three machine gun installations that guard the entrances and exits.


First time I saw it I was thinking to myself "Holy cow! Is that for real?" What kind of crazy people do they have here to warrant that kind of setup? Quite worrying. And its not like the pissy rifle that I handled during my NS days. Its more like a full-on Rambo badda badda (Celine's sound) machine gun.

Ok, so moving on, after you reach the guard house and let them inspect your resident's label on your car, resident's card from your wallet, recite the secret resident's pass phrase and finally give them the secret resident's handshake and wave, you go through and then pull up into the driveway of your unit. They call it a "villa" but I think its too posh a word. Villa stimulates thoughts of a luxurious establishment by the beach adorned with high-end fixtures with german brands that cannot be pronounced without sounding like you're clearing your throat. A villa is something that will feature in tatler magazine or the latest Architect's digest. What I have here, is a box from the 80's with bits of wood nailed to it.


And yes, thats my amazing grey Honda Civic 1.6 with ABS. No, not Assisted Braking System. Its Air-Bags Short. Once you're parked and through the front door, you see the kitchen.


Its pretty good sized and has all the basic components of a kitchen. No complaints here. There's even a water dispenser thingo coz apparently, if you drink the water from the tap, you'll be filled with so much metals that it'll react in your guts and make you a walking time-bomb. So don't drink from the tap unless you wanna commit suicide (bombing). Now, if you look behind, you'll see the maid's room (which I have decided to use as a store room since I don't have a live-in maid) and next to it is the laundry area.


So walk past the kitchen and you'll find yourself in the dining area. The unit comes with a full sized dining table and huge cabinet to display all your wares. Pretty useless since I live alone and don't have huge meals. But its pretty good for having my morning cereal and reading the newspaper sprawled across the whole table.


So from the dining area, we then transit to the living area. I converted one end into my "work" area. Got my trusty mac setup there. All my music, entertainment and most importantly, the link to the real world is here. The other end has got the sofa set and TV with cable. I haven't sat on the sofa since I got here. Its green. It'll be like seating in a sea of moss.


Phew! This blog post is getting a bit longer than I expected! Tell you what, I'll leave you with a shot of my back patio and that'll conclude the tour of the ground floor. I'll take you guys upstairs in my next post! Hope you enjoyed the guided tour!

Puff the orange loofah

Asalaam mualaikum!

Hey, in Rome, do as the Romans do right? Now everyone who reads this has to say mualaikum salaam back to me. Come to think of it, are people living in Rome still called Romans? Or are they just collectively called Italians now?

Anyhow, Its been 2 weeks since I arrived in Saudi Arabia and honestly, I haven't had a decent shower. Ok before you guys go EEEEWWWW, I bathe twice a day ok! Sometimes even 3. Its just that, I never feel like my shower is complete without a loofah. You know? You gotta have that good scrub down after going out and exposing yourself to the grossness of the outdoors. Especially so in Saudi Arabia. I don't know why but it always feels so yucky and grimy outside. Doesn't help that its hot and humid here too. Much like Singapore but with an oven strapped to your backside.

One of the things I kicked myself about was not getting a Loofah from the bodyshop in Singapore before I came here. That simple scrounged up ball of fabric makes a huge difference for me. Therapeutic even. You see, after a good scrub down, you feel like all the grime and dirt and sand is washed away, along with your troubles and worries. You come out of the shower feeling clean and refreshed. You can almost feel yourself glowing. Thats what a real bathe is about. Some like to soak in the bathtub and come out looking like an oversized raisin. Some just want to jump in and hose themselves down and thats it. I like a thorough scrub down.

So I couldn't take it anymore. I deserve a decent shower! Especially when I've been robbed of other pleasures in life, SA isn't gonna take away this one. After work I ventured into a mall that was relatively near the airport. First time being in a mall in SA and man! It was HUGE! Gigantic. But more about that in another post. I walked around hoping to find some kind of bath/shower shop or home essentials shop. Anything! Shop after shop I looked and there was everything except a Loofah. I wasn't ready to stop a saudi and ask him where to buy a Loofah. Do they even call it a Loofah? That might be an arabic word saying that your mom looks like a boiled camel for all I know.

So after the 10th head scarf shop and countless outlets selling shoes, bags, watches, fashion, sports, carpets, camel saddles etc etc... I was ready to give up. I was starting to worry that I'd forget how to get back to the entrance to the carpark where I parked my car. I thought to myself, GOD! if only bodyshop would open here!

I turned around to the left and BAM! THE BODY SHOP!!! They DID open in SA. Praise the Lord! I must've been the happiest asian guy in Saudi Arabia to see a bodyshop outlet. So I hurried in and true to the foundation of the bodyshop, there were many brightly colored Loofah balls arranged by color and placed in different sections of the shop. I was ecstatic.

So here I am now, feeling cleaned and refreshed, typing about how you can never take things for granted. Not even a simple bodyshop Loofah. Nothing like a tough station to teach you about the little things in life eh?

Its exactly like in the movies!

Saudi Arabia I mean. You know how you watch movies and the country is portrayed as run down buildings, crazy roads and heaps and heaps of sand? Thats it! Before I came here, I googled Saudi Arabia just to have a look what I was in for and the pictures looked alright. Nice modern buildings by the red sea and all that. I wish I could meet the fabricating spin doctor who put those pictures up as a welcoming introduction to SA and pound him into the sand of the beaches at the red sea.

Oh, for those who do not know, I've been posted to Saudi Arabia and yes I haven't blogged in 283365 days but who cares? How's everyone by the way? Hope all is well.

Its been slightly more than a week since I got here and I'm still learning my way around.

Saudi Arabia is a shocking country. Jeddah is supposed to be the most open of the cities in SA, however, its still a culture shock for me. Firstly, all the women are covered up! As a mate of mine would put it, all you see is the letter box slot. Every woman must also be accompanied by their husband or some relative and if they are stopped by the religious police, they gotta produce documents to prove that they are related. So most of the time, I only see MEN. I go to the shops, MEN. In the airport, MEN. When I eat in the restaurants, MEN. There are seperate sections for restaurants, one for single men and the other for families. I shudder to think what would happen to you if you walked through the wrong door. You'd probably be pelted to death by stale bread or something.

Oh and they hold public beheadings in the city square every friday. Also, if you're caught stealing, your hands get chopped off at these sessions as well. Someone offered to bring me to one to have a look but I politely declined.

The heat here is shocking as well. on a good day, its 38 degrees outside. I guess its normal since i'm in the middle of a desert. And this place looks like a desert too. Sand everywhere! And for some reason, it also looks like a warzone. There's always some rubble or demolished building wherever you look. the small roads are in a shocking state while the main roads are barely acceptable. And driving! Thats a whole different adventure in itself. Road rules don't seem to exist here. The Saudis do not follow speed limits or road markings. They swerve and go wherever they want. And they all think they're F1 racers. I can cruise along at 120-130 km/h here without worrying about getting stopped by the traffic police. They don't stop you for road hogging you see. Besides, the saudis will just horn you and then overtake you at 200km/h. I've even seen 2 cars come to a screeching halt in the middle of the freeway just to wind down their windows to talk to each other. They still think they're riding camels out here. Shocking. Doesn't help that I gotta get used to driving on the other side of the road (left hand drive here) and my 1.6 litre Honda civic is a manual with NO AIRBAGS. oh but petrol is about $0.20 a litre here. even water's not that cheap.

Things like food and general shopping here is quite cheap. I can survive on quite little if I wanted to. I hear that sales are really good too. However, I've been warned that counterfeit stuff are pretty common here. even in the so called boutiques and departmental stores. (I've already seen some counterfeit items in the duty free area of the airport) Oh! and if you are shopping in a mall or supermarket during any one of the 5 prayer times during the day, be prepared to be locked in the shop for about 20 mins while the prayers are going on. Sometimes they even turn off the lights so you're just stuck there in the dark contemplating how it is that your life turned out the way it did.

Its really a different world out here. I'm still coming to terms with it but I know that at the end of the day, it'll be a good experience that not many can have. I wonder if I can buy an oil field here?