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.
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