Traveling for 10 days to Saudi Arabia

Dear SL friends and associates,

<*** Note: Travel log starts below on the 12th reply to this thread ***>

Just an FYI that I will be temporarily absent from SL for the next 10 days (as of May 14th). I will be on a business trip out of the country.

I have been contracted to re-develop an enterprise class website for Saudi Arabia's premiere hospital and research center (their equivalent to Stanford Medical or Johns Hopkins), and I am going over to do the initial interviews and research.

I know I will miss a lot of things that will happen over the next couple weeks, so if you don't mind leaving a brief message here to let me know what cool things I missed while away, that would be appreciated.

I'll be in-world tonight for a little while, but Wednesday I get on the plane.

I will have Internet access once I get there (Saturday), and I should be able to get some sightseeing in (prpbably not given the current events), so I'll try and provide a mini-travelog here each day of what it is like if anyone is interested.

All the best. See you in-world when I return. Maybe I'll hold my first 'Event' when I get back and do a slide-show of pics I taken on my trip.

( edited title to reflect trip departure and current events)

Mickey Roark
Roark's Marina & Yacht Club
Freelon 220, 220 (aprox.)

لدى رحلة جيّدة

Ok? Translation please!

I'm just a Canuck, living in Calif. and traveling to Saudi Arabia. I don't speak the language, and definately can't read Arabic. I hope that is a greeting or something similar. Fortunately for me my clients speak excellent English, and my liason at the hospital is an American.



Mickey

basically said, 'have a good trip'


stay safe!

Yes, and لدى رحلة جيّدة from me too. Next time read it from right to left.

Well, its been postponed one week My visa did not get issued today, it will be issued tomorrow but that was my scheduled departure. So now I'll be leaving a week from tomorrow.

Mickey

Awww Mickey! Well at least you are still going, hehe. This was just fate intervening for some reason. ^.~

dont let them steal your goat.....

Well my client is gonna be out of the country next week, so... Now I'm going on the 14th of May! Oh well, that just means I can be in SL for the next two weeks, yeah!

Mickey

Well, its on! Call me crazy, given the events of 48 hours ago (the terrorist bombings of housing compounds in Riyadh), but I am off tomorrow afternoon to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. I will try to do a daily travel log here for those who are interested. I won't be back in world (after tonight) till the weekend of the 24th.

Wish me luck, and I'll keep my head down!

- Mickey

Good luck, Mickey! Stay safe, have a good time, and definitely do keep us posted!

#!

I'm going to try to do a daily travel log of my journey into the middle east. The airported car comes to get me in the next half hour. I fly from San Francisco via British Airways (business class, whoo hoo), have a 1/2 day & night stopover in London, and then onto Riyadh via Frankfurt.

So if you have questions or suggestions for my travel log please post them here.

- Mickey

Just FYI, British Airways business class has Highspeed internet in a few 747's (if that is what you are taking), so, if you have a laptop that can run SL, bring it

Travel Log #1

The flight from SF to London was uneventful and very restfull. The seats in Business class recline to a flat bed, making it very easy to get a good sleep. If you ever fly overseas, business class is the way to go! If you can afford it (or get the client to pay, as in my case). (James- the 747 I was on did not have the high-speed internet service, and it would not be possible over the Atlantic anyway).

I got a few raised eyebrows when asked where I was traveling to, especially from the Customs guy at Heathrow, hehe. 'Better you than me', he said.

It now 3:30pm on Thursday in London, got into the Marriott hotel near the airport about 30 minutes ago via taxi. The British taxis (and drivers) are great! The taxi was spotless, and the driver very friendly and very knowledgeable. I saw a PBS program a few years back about the training that London cabbies go through to be able to be a cabby. It takes a good 2 years if I remember correctly, and like going to college. You don't find anything like that in the states.

It was great to find that high speed Internet access was conveniently installed in the room (hence this update, hehe). BTW, don't change currency at the hotels, the markup is absurd!

I am off to try and see some of the city, not much time left in the day. It is overcast and cool, otherwise pleasant. I had hoped to get the flight that would have landed at 10am instead of 1:30pm but it was full.

Tomorrow morning is the flight to Riyadh via Frankfurt on Lufthansa.

More updates later.

- Mickey

I checked the BA.com site, and, it appears that they only did the highspeed internet on two 747's, and they only fly them on the NY-London route. Oh well


Glad you had a great flight, enjoy London!
I went once, its really nice there.

Go visit Nada

heh yeah mickey, you want my phone number, or are you out of here already?

I'm here in Riyadh. I'm safe. This is the end of the first day of work (Saturday) and the first chance I have had since arriving to get to email (no access til now, and even this is borrowed). I expect I will have my own access as of tomorrow morning. Things went well today. The heat is up there (105?) but bearable, a dry heat. There was a sand storm when I arrived, believe it or not, but they tell me this is NOT normal here, especially this time of year.

The trip from England was 'different' to say the least. Instead of a flight from London to Frankfurt to Riyadh... It was, London to Frankfurt to Cairo to Jeddah to Riyadh!! I did not get into Riyadh until 2am (should have been 9pm). The reason is that they (Lufthansa) changed their staging of flight crews from Riyadh to Cairo (safety issues).

Anyway, I'm here now, the people have been great, their hospitality is excellent, and there are security forces (police and others) everywhere. Police checkpoints at many major thoroughfares and even on expressways. At my host's compound where I stayed last night, were 2 police cars posted at the front gate 24/7 and checked his car completely (and my luggage) before we could enter.

So the Saudi's are taking everything very seriously and if the visible show of force is any indication, I think they will find these guys.

I got checked into the Marriott Hotel today (very posh), and lunch there was incredible. a buffet of several dozen different dishes to choose from and deserts that I had never seen before. All very good and beautifully presented. The restaurant was mostly empty (most hotels were already very empty because of the war, and now last week's terror attacks in Riyadh has made their situation much worse).

My meetings with the various staff at the hospital went well. I hope to be able to do some 'sight seeing' before I go.

Speaking of sightseeing... I didn't get to London city center while I was there. The round trip cost from my hotel to the train into the city and back would have been around $100. I'm not stingey, but that was a bit over the top for the 2-3 hours that I could have spent there.

Til next time...

- Mickey

We had another sand storm today, the locals claim that this 'never happens', that they may only get one a year in the winter. They've had three in the last week now.

The sand storm is pretty 'bland', its not like the movies, but it does cause rain, so you get dust then water, which makes muck everywhere. The sands blow thru the city, and the sun is gone from the sky, you'd think it was dark dirty clouds, but it is sand. The sky is kind of a brown/grey. All this AND 100 degree plus temperatures.

I get from the hotel to the hospital via a hired car (alternate form of taxi where I could get the same driver each day, but at taxi rates), its only about 5km but today it took 45 minutes! Traffic is the worst, and the drivers are maniacs! Worst drivers I have ever encountered in any country. Drivers in Rome are down right civil compared to the Saudi drivers (but they are not all Saudis, over 30% of the work force is imported labor from India, Africa, and some European countries).

Most of the buildings in Riyadh are 2-6 stories, downtown may have a dozen or so small buisness towers in the 20 floor range. There are two significant buildings, both 'skyscrapers', that are in the 30-40 floor range, but are very unique in look and design. I'm going to get a few pics of them before I leave. My host is going to take me into one of them to the observation deck which is a huge sphere in the sky in a tall thin pyramid shaped building. You can see it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/744046.stm and here: http://www.skyscrapers.com/re/en/wm/bu/125879/

The other one can be seen here: http://www.skyscrapers.com/re/en/wm/bu/100934/ This is a drawing and model, but it is built now and looks just like this.

Food here is varied and the Marriott hotel has this theme night kick going, so its a different nationality food each night. Last night was Mexican, tonight Asian, tomorrow Italian, and so on. This morning I had chicken sausage, veal bacon, boiled eggs (bad version of poached eggs), and OJ and croissants. Service is impecable.

A big deal is happening at the hospital tomorrow, the King, King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud is visiting the hospital on some form of visit (formal or medical is not known), so security has been expanded exponentially there. There are now mini tanks and Hummers with 50cal machineguns on them, positioned around the place.

I hope I wont have a problem getting into the hospital in the morning!

Til next time.

- Mickey

Mickey -- I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post your travel logs. I'm really enjoying reading them.

Maybe when you get back you could make a little "SLaudi Arabia" in world for us =)

Another day filled with events and surprises.

I was very lucky to be invited to visit the American Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and his wife, last night at their compound. It was a small going away party for Mrs. Jordan to say goodbye to her friends here in the Kingdom. She and other embassy staff were leaving later last night back to the states.

The interesting thing about the security at the compound is that it was Saudi and not American. I guess the Marines are only attached to the Embassy itself and not the Ambassador's residence. In any case there were two cement shicane (sp?) barracades to slow all traffic and three check points, all with 50 cal machine gun equiped Hummers.

I was the only 'outsider' in that this evening's get together was of about 8 couples that frequently go camping together with Mrs. Jordan and family. So it was an honor to be included with a group of friends who have known each other for years.

They welcomed me into the group, and I was able to talk with all of them (as one of them said 'I was fresh blood, with new stories' hehe). The Ambassador was present (as can be with his schedule of late), and we spoke briefly. Most of the people were friends of his wife.

My hosts and I stayed for about one and a half hours, and had a very pleasant evening. I have pictures that I can show when I return.

So, so far in this half week, I have met the CEO of the Hospital (a rare event as he is rarely here) who is an advisor to the Crown Prince. I have had a meeting with the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Riyadh, I have met the American Ambassador and his wife, the King is here in the hospital (for cateract surgery) while I am here, and I have interviewed a dozen people in the hospital and met with reps from 3 Saudi media production companies. What's next?

On the somber side, there is news this morning quoting the Saudi Ambassador to the US as saying that there is new credible information that additional terrorist attacks are being planned in the Kingdom and possibly the US. I'm always 'looking at my 6' while keeping my eyes on the work. But with the exception of the news reports, I feel safe, and I have been treated very well by all I have encountered.

I have today and tomorrow here and then it is back to the states. I will probably only get one maybe two more travel logs posted before I return state-side with a wrap-up.

Tomorrow I will be able to do a little sightseeing at the two towers I talked about in my last travel log.

Till next time,

- Mickey

Hi Mick! Fascinating reading your travel logs! Thanks so much. Stay safe =0)

Another day down, and today is my last day here.

My return flight got moved up slightly. It now takes off at midnight tonight, rather that 1:30 Thursday morn.. It is no longer a direct flight to London, it has one stop. I assume that this is because they have moved their flight crews to Cairo for security reasons as with Lufthansa on the way out here. So we will be stopping somewhere first (prolly Cairo) before going on to London. This makes the flight 2 hours longer than originally planned. Still plenty of time between that and my connecting flight
to SF. Unfortunately, the Cairo stop would be in the dark (as when arriving), so I won't be able to see the pyramids as we arrive or leave.

I gave a presentation to a sub group of the hospital's exec staff (MCO) which did include the 3 key admin execs, at the
end of the day yesterday. It was to let them know what observations, issues, and early recommendations that I had. It was for an hour and went well I think. They did ask a number of good questions at the end, but the Saudis are hard to 'read'. My host here at the hospital said that he believed that I hit the mark.

He and I went to the Cigar Lounge in the Globe last evening (the tall skyscraper with the sphere at the top that I linked to in an earlier travel log). We had a very nice light meal, excellent converation about future opportunities for he and I when he returns to the states in July, all against the backdrop of the Riyadh skyline at night. Unlike viewing the skylines of many metropolitan cities from the top of a skyscraper, in Riyadh you can see to the horizon in all directions, this is because the vast majority of buildings are no higher that 10-15 stories. The two skyscrapers here are the only tall buildings piercing the sky, which makes the view (from both the ground and 60 flights up) that much more impressive. The two buildings can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.

BTW, there was no one smoking cigars in the Cigar Lounge, even thought they are available. If your not aware, drinking alcohol is illegal in Saudi Arabia. Beer is acceptable (in your home), but you can't get served any at restaurants or lounges, or hotels, etc. So... the Cigar Lounge at the top of this skyscraper (inside the glass sphere), has a menu of 'Mocktails' and drinks made from all types of fruit and vegitable juices, flavorings, coffees, sodas, etc. All with fancy names and some of the 'concoctions' had very interesting combinations of ingredients. I had a Jamaican Coffee which consisted of Expresso, Coffee, Praline surup, and whipped cream. served warm. Very tasty!

Well this may be the last travel log from here, not sure. I will be going back to the hotel this eve and checking out when I depart for the airport at 9pm. So, I may still have Internet access while I am packing. The hospital has arranged for one of their poeple to collect me at the hotel and take me to the airport.

I am a bit sad to leave, I've had a great time here, inspite of the 'high tensions' and extreme security (my computer bag was inspected when I returned to the hotel last night). I wish I had the time to stay over their weekend (Thursday, Friday), to go out of the city, or to visit the 'old' center of the city.

But I will save that for next time. It is quite possible, even probable, that I will return within the year for more business with the hospital and maybe some other projects that come from my making new contact here.

Til next time...

- Mickey

One word... WOW!

Well, I'm back safe and sound. Wednesday, my last day there was less eventfull, but none the less successful. I already miss being there. Even thou the daily temps were in the 105-115 degrees, and the security was everywhere (but not oppressive), I had a great time, and will remember it always. There was so much that I never expected to see or have happen. I picked (by accident) a good time to go, and got the benefit of seeing the Saudis at their best under their worst situation.

The bombings were their wake up call, and they have overwhelmingly rallied against and denounced those who committed the crimes. And what I witnessed for the week I was there (just after the attacks), proves to me that they are serious AND are doing things about it. I just heard as I got back that they had picked up 4 more suspects (now totaling 7) in relation to the events of last week.

As I expect you know now, several embassies have closed for at least the rest of the week. Now I know why Ambassador Jordan looked as thou he had not slept in days! He probably hadn't, and was planning and managing all the issues of our presence there (diplomatic presence), and getting ready to deal with whatever still might occur.

I just completed 26 hours of flight and layover time. Fortunately it was only two planes (British Air) and in Business class. Thank you BA for the flat bed seats! I feel pretty good, but will probably crash soon. I hope to get back on west coast time over the long weekend.

I've been going thru withdrawl from SL for the last week and look forward to seeing what is new and changed in world! I think I will have my first open house soon, so I'll let everyone know when that is comming up.

See ya all in SL, stop by for a chat.

- Mickey

These were all terrific and very interesting to read. Thank you for sharing with us, Mickey. Glad you're home in one piece!