Saudi Arabia travel

ron22

ron22

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A question for our world travelers here.
Is Saudi Arabia safe? Dammam to be specific.
I may have the opportunity to go there so an installation on a piece of equipment for a few days. The pay would be very good but is safe?
 
Can't answer that question, but coincidentally there are a couple of notorious local radio talk show hosts that expressed a desire to take a trip to Iraq. To that end, they asked one of their listeners, who is of Iraqi decent, to inquire about it to see if he could line something up and perhaps travel with them.

His family's response was "You want to travel back to Iraq with a couple of Westerners? There are less painful ways of committing suicide you know!"
 
I've spent time in the Kingdom. I never felt unsafe in Jeddah and Riyhad. Only flew thru Dammam, so no intel. Like all international travel, don't be an American jerk, be respectful of the local customs and culture and check with the front desk in your hotel if you have questions.
 
My brother spent 25 years in Saudi Arabia and the only time he was in any sort of danger was when Saddam was hurling Scuds in that direction. He invited me over there a couple of times but I never went. I wish now I had because it's not a place you can go visit without sponsorship and it would have been interesting.

I'd say yes, it's safe, without any actual knowledge other than it's a highly controlled Kingdom so not a lot of open crime or aggression, certainly less than Chicago or New York.
 
My father used to fly there frequently in the 1980s, and had interesting stories about the religious police doing things like spray painting the legs of western women who wore anything less than ankle length skirts, or being told to leave the pool no one else was swimming in because it was the women's day. He also said that quite a few passengers boarded the plane in traditional garb, entered the restroom, and came out in western clothes and ordered alcoholic drinks.
 
Yea, when you ask about bing "safe" I would suggest to definitely not get arrested for anything.
 
Silvaire said:
Yea, when you ask about bing "safe" I would suggest to definitely not get arrested for anything.
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I try not to get arrested in the USA:D
 
Definitely do your research on the culture and country. Check the world fact book on CIA.gov for information. They practice the Sharia, so have fun but not too much. Be respectful and humble.
 
One of my Ford reps is moving there for a couple years, you won't be in Kansas anymore! :mad2: He told me that they will have a car assigned to them, with a driver, neither he nor his wife will drive for the two years they are over there. :dunno: Of course they will live in a compound for foreign nationals, mostly English speaking folks, they will have their own schools, shopping etc. It doesn't sound like my idea of fun, but it would be an adventure! As others have said, it's no place to stand out for ANY reason, keep a low profile and don't talk to any females!!!
 
I don't think it's that bad. Like I said, my brother spent 25 years over there and although the laws are somewhat strict they all had souped up Land Rovers and Nissan Patrols that they would take on camping trips to the Shatt al Arab or what we call the empty quarter where there are some awfully big sand dunes.

Of course, all of that was pre 9/11 so maybe it's different now. I remember him telling me that you didn't do things like pull off the road and start taking pictures anywhere near a military base and I thought that was pretty absurd but heck, you can't really do that here nowadays. Things sure have changed a lot.
 
N747JB said:
He told me that they will have a car assigned to them, with a driver, neither he nor his wife will drive for the two years they are over there.
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The 'driver' does more than just driving you, he also makes sure that your car is still there after you return from whatever appointment you went to and to keep you out of trouble if you are outside of the expat enclaves. Seems odd at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
 
Yes, most foreigners live in compounds. Western rules apply in the compounds while local rules apply elsewhere. It has even been known that adult drinks can be found inside the walls. I stayed at hotels that were very nice, but were defiantly dry.

Women don't ever drive and are escorted at all times while in public. Men and women never use the swimming pool or the gym at the same times. there will be published times for men and women. Taking pictures requires a license and you would never take a picture of any military base, including a Saudi one.

There were beach compounds on the Red Sea where there was great diving. It made for a pleasant day. Because it was a compound, the girls wore normal bathing suits including bikinis.

There are religious police that enforce the local laws that include dress. Western women are required to wear an abaya. In most places, they are required to cover their heads, but not wear a niqab. Men also have a dress code an it's customary to wear long pants no matter how hot it is. No shorts. You don't address women directly in the street. In the hotel, if the elevator stops and there are women in it, men will be expected to not get in and take the next one. The key is maximum flexibility. Stores will close 5 times a day. There will be family sections in restaurants where single men will never be seated, even if the other areas are full. During Ramadan, everything will close during the daylight hours. It will be difficult to find any food during that time too, so plan accordingly. Most will sleep during the day and everything will be open at night.
 
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OK new question.
What kind of language barriers am I going to have? I am not talking abou tthe job beucase the technicians I will be dealing with speak english.
What about taxis, the Hotel, restaurants?
And yea I know do not order Baccon :(
 
ron22 said:
OK new question.
What kind of language barriers am I going to have? I am not talking abou tthe job beucase the technicians I will be dealing with speak english.
What about taxis, the Hotel, restaurants?
And yea I know do not order Baccon :(
Click to expand...

The bacon is either beef or turkey, so order it if you want. Generally I had few issues with language, but cabs were more difficult than restaurants and the hotel will be no problem. My solution is to arrange cabs thru the hotel, carry the business card for the hotel (it will have the address in Arabic and English) and ask the front desk to write your destination in the host language. I've gotten into cabs and then have gotten right out if I can't communicate.

If you have trouble over the phone, I'll go to the front desk of my hotel and have them translate. You won't have any issues with the Saudi nationals, any issue will be with lower class, less educated expats. There is a hierarchy in Saudi. The top are the Saudi nationals. They are for the most part untouchable. Below that, there are layers of expats. Highly skilled, educated expats are next. The next layer are the more educated expat managers, generally from Muslim countries. The lowest class are the grunt labor class.
 
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Some common terms


Allahu Akbar :
Translation: God is The Greatest.

As Salaamu Alaikum :
Translation: Peace be upon you

Wa’alaikum As salaam :
Translation: And peace be upon you

Marhaban - hi or hello
(response)= Ahlan -hi or hello

Goodbye-maa salaama


Shukran-thank you. Sounds like (shu kron) not shu kran

Jazeelan-very much.

Shukran Jazeelan - Thank you very much.

Afwan (answer to Shukran)-you're welcome

Naam-yes

Laa-no



Beef and turkey bacon is fine. Naam
Shukran Jazeelan :)

Also, never return a greeting with the same greeting. Each greeting has a proper response.
The most common is the first one, Assalamu ‘Alaikum.
Response-Wa’alaikum Assalam.
 
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