Riyadh

My first impression of Saudi Arabia can be summed up with three words: traffic, trash, and cats.

I spent three days in Riyadh after arriving in the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) staying in an "interesting" hotel that reeked of cigarettes. At least it had a bidet. As Crocodile Dundee informed us, "It's for washing your backside!" The first day (Wednesday the 31st) I got medical tests done to prove that I do not have any nasty diseases. These were the same tests I had done in the US to get my employment visa- Hey! Thursday and Friday were the weekend, and then Saturday I moved on to Al-Khobar.

I had a hard time figuring out what to eat. Some Sudanese men employed by the same company and staying at the same hotel took me to eat Sudanese food. This was very interesting but as I gather quite common in the middle East: you break off pieces of pita bread and scoop out from a community plate of "dip." It was tasty. I also had a similar meal at an Egyptian place- there was an egg-tomato dip among others. I also had a pizza at a Turkish bakery. Unable to figure out how to get the toppings I wanted I ended up with a combination of mushrooms, olives, and tomatoes. Precisely what I would not want on an American pizza! I was hungry and ate it anyway. I still haven't solved the food riddle. Most places don't seem to have posted menus or prices which scares me off.

From my hotel window I could see an interesting building in the distance so I hiked over to it one evening. This was the Kingdom Tower.

Riyadh was warm in the daytime and cool in the evening- I found it to be quite pleasant. And there was no humidity! The hotel TV had a station featuring American movies with Arabic subtitles. I watched the Dikes of Hazzard, one which I had avoided in the past. It had its moments but I lost it on this jail scene: