Blogs from Saudi Arabia, Middle East - page 4

That turnaround was the worst ever in my whole career. Hard to manage timing, night departure and noon arrival, very difficult passengers profile. Well, that job is not always about nice and easy flights with pleasant layovers. Hope to never experiance that again. / Ten turnaround był najgorszym lotem w mojej dotychczasowej karierze. Począwszy od trudnej do pracy pory, nocny wylot i powrót w południe, kończąc na bardzo ciężkim typie pasażerów. Cóż, ta praca to nie tylko łatwe i przyjemne loty z fajnymi layoverami. Mam nadzieje nie powtórzyć tego doświadczenia nigdy więcej.... read more

It was only turnaround flight but opportunity to interact with full a380 of Muslim pilgrims in ihrams (traditional pilgrim clothes), whole families from infants to grand grand parents, was priceless. All of them with extra heavy bags, no english, and all of them swapping seats to be close to each families, but anyway it was nice surprise, because i had really good time with those people. They need really not a lot to be happy, and whole flight were calling me per sister :) / Był to tylko lot turnaround, jednak sposobność interakcji z pełnym a380 Muzułmańskich pielgrzymów w ihramach (tradycyjna pielgrzymkowa odzież), całe rodziny od niemowlaków po pra pra dziadków, była bezcenna. Wszyscy obładowani ekstra ciężkimi bagażami, nikt nie mówił po angielsku i wszyscy zmieniali miejsca, żeby siedzieć blisko ze swoimi rodzinami, mimo to lot ... read more

In urma cu doua saptamani am facut o vizita in Al Jouf, o provincie aproape de granita cu Iordania. La ora 4 dimineata eram in aeroport, si la 7,30 dimineata am aterizat in Al Jouf. "Intr-o lume unde culturile se schimba datorita revolutiei din technologie, pentru a-ti descoperi originea trebuie sa calatoresti in trecut" - spunea ghidul turistic primit la intrarea in hotel. Intr-adevar, Al Jouf iti ofera o astfel de calatorie in trecut. Unele locuri vizitate sunt din perioada paleolitica, iar favoritul meu a fost Al Rajajil, o mostenire misterioasa a unui popor antic necunoscut. Mai multe grupuri de pilari din piatra, asezate intr-o oarecare forma circulara, m-au incarcat de o energie misterioasa. Mi-am facut si eu pentru prima data un selfie, rezemata de un astfel de pilar, vechi ca si sufletul meu. Castelul Qasr ... read more

As soon as Davis and I arrived home we turned on my laptop and looked at the map. It was easy to tell where we had been driving as there were only a few roads crossing in the middle of the desert. Two cell towers also helped by making perfect landmarks. The road we needed to take was the only road we hadn't tried off of the badly damaged tank road. Early morning the next day we again set off full of high hopes and absolute certainty that we would see our destination. We make it to the familiar tank road and turn onto the correct road. Total time to make it further than we did the day before, less than twenty minutes. We drive on, enjoying the scenery and confident in our route. After an ... read more

All barbers in Saudi are men, as are almost all workers. These workers are not Arabs, but foreigners. Mostly Indian and Filipinos but some other nationalities to fill the equal employment code no doubt. These men do not hold certificates from beauty academies or a license of any kind. They appear to learn by doing, which can be a bit unnerving when he first puts a straight razor to your throat, but I am getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the outside. A Saudi barbershop looks like any other Saudi building. A tan strip of run down little shops next to a petrol station with a heavy sliding gate that indicates if the shop is open or not, which is needed since they do not keep hours but open when they feel like it. ... read more