Updates

So my blog quickly went the way of Patrick's. It's not my fault! partly. I was transferred to another and city and on day 2 they sent me out into the wild to find my own place. The best I could do in a hurry meant no internet. And I cannot get it until after I get my worker residence visa, "iqama," which might take as long as two months. I have the internet at work but time is short. I just discovered an internet cafe within 10 minutes of my apartment so I will be out of excuses soon.Good ones that it is. I am always full of bad ones. I have some great pictures on my laptop to transfer over for the blog.

Chris

On transportation

I could never drive here. When I speed, I drive just above the speed limit (when I'm feeling randy on the interstate I might push it to 9 over). I also stay in my lane, brake early, and rarely use the horn. I also like to let people merge and do not make sudden lane changes. Oh, and I always wear my seat belt! I would be a menace on these roads. Therefore I am reliant upon others.

Taxis- 15 SAR (Saudi Arabian Riyals)
For about four bucks, I can catch the taxi, almost from door to door. Because of the roads here, I have to get across a major street from my hotel- which is quite a production because there is a huge pedestrian barrier in the middle of the road. A brisk five minute walk and a hair-raising sprint across the street to get over. The drivers do not normally run the meter, I have been advised to just give them 15 SAR. One driver ran the meter and it came to 16.80 or something like that. I gave him 20 and he gave me 5 in change. 15 it is!

Some drivers are better than others. One driver was driving like a madman and I swear he clipped the car in front of us. He pulled along side the other car, rolled down the window, and started yelling at the other driver. The other passenger later told me he didn't actually hit the other car and was yelling at him because his brake lights were out. Once I jumped in with a Saudi driver. Even though it was a straight shot to my destination, we went for a tour. Lesson learned.

Some taxis are better than others. Last night's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride found me desperate to buckle up. I had a belt but no latch so I looped the belt over my right shoulder, held it with my GI Joe Kung Fu grip, and stared at the seat in front of me, thinking happy thoughts. Five minutes later we were safely at the hotel but my blood pressure was ten points higher than usual.

Shared rides- 3 SAR
For less than a buck, I can get a ride down the street headed in one direction. This can be a shared taxi (this morning one picked me- I became the fourth passenger in this little taxi) or a private driver (the first morning I attempted to get to work by myself an extremely beat-up minivan picked me up). However, if I request somewhere crazy, like take me to work, they will want more money. This morning I got the ride to the DHL building where I got off. A wild sprint across a busy road and then a 15-minute hike down a dusty, sand covered road. I walked in to work all sweaty (everybody is excited that it is November and now "cool"- I disagree).

Bus- 2 SAR
Cheap fare, but there is one bus that cruises the main drag between Khobar and Damman, but only from about 2 pm on. I've been told one comes by every 15 minutes but I have only seen it one time. Sure enough, it stopped to get me the other night. Well, it didn't quite stop. It doesn't stop. People were yelling at me to jump on as it was still rolling. Did I say it doesn't stop? I went too far past my hotel because yelling at the driver was not enough; I had to get into the "danger zone" to signal my intentions. I jumped off the bus and did a commando roll along the sidewalk. I leaped to my feet and took a bow toward the bus as the Bengali passengers clapped in my honor. At least that's how I remember it. Maybe it was more like a stumbling wipe out followed by laughter. Nope, I like the first version better.

Al-Khobar

I flew in on the morning of Saturday the 3rd. Khobar is a lot like Riyadh- traffic, trash, and cats. Only it seems to be warmer here and since we are on the Arabian/Persian Gulf it is very humid. I have been told that the presence of Saudi Aramco and the bridge to Bahrain has made this a fairly liberal city by Saudi standards. I have seen a handful of men wearing shorts around.

I am staying in a much nicer hotel and from my hotel I can see the Gulf in the distance:

There are mosques all over. In the middle of the picture is a minaret. This guy wakes me up around 4:30 every morning:

I was very excited to discover a universal power outlet in my room. (I neglected to bring any kind of adapter for my laptop and in Riyadh I wore out my battery trying to connect to the Internet. The cord I bought in Riyadh that should have worked from a sketchy store that of course did not work.) Now I was able to recharge my computer and reconnect to the world! I got a phone call from work: take the afternoon and we will come get you in the early evening. So I wandered around, stopped for lunch, and went back to the hotel to get into professional attire. I waited and waited and waited some more and no one came to get me. I have read that punctuality has a different meaning over here so I was patient. After a few hours, I figured out how to call in. They forgot all about me! We'll come get you in the morning.