My First Time In Saudi Arabia (Part 1)

After a month of planning and preparations, my scheduled seminar / workshop in our Head Office in Saudi Arabia have finally pushed through, and it would be my first time in Saudi Arabia.

A month ago, it was postponed due to unavailability of a qualified trainer. And it was actually a blessing in disguise as our visa would have not been ready should the original schedule had push through.

I have been hearing about Saudi Arabia a lot of things, on the positive side as well as the negative side of it. But on my “second-hand” information, mostly are on the negative side. February 6, 2010 would be the day that I would be able to judge it myself.

My colleagues and friends who have been to Saudi Arabia are in chorus swearing that given a choice they will never go back to Saudi Arabia. The one and only reason in going back to the Islamic Country is obviously the economic benefit one can reap.

Stories of rampant arrogance, discrimination and backwardness of the locals are intolerable. If any chance that you find yourself in a police station, whatever the reasons, likely will be your fault, not the locals.

If a car, driven by a local, hit you on the road. Most likely it would be your fault, simply because if you did not come to their country you wouldn’t be run-over by them.

You will earn for yourself a trip, “Go To Jail”, simply by staring a woman or talking to a woman. I read an article about a woman who was jailed because she was caught by the religious police talking to a man, not related to her, over lunch in a public restaurant. Though, the reason for the encounter was to close a business deal over lunch in a “Public” restaurant. Obviously no malice whatsoever was intended, but then the two were jailed.

A camel is more valuable than an expat. To prove this, try to run-over a camel.

No such thing as rape. They called it seduction, so it is the fault of the woman not the man, as the word suggests. How can you argue about it? Unless the woman can bring four male witnesses that she was raped. Thus gives you an idea if “gang-rape” exists in this part of the world.

Stories about males being raped. Stories had it that when in police custody, rapes happen. If it happen to males, what more to a woman? Tell it to the marines.

Blaring calls for prayer is quite usual and the country stand still during this time. Shop is close, office works stops, streets are emptied, and so on…

If caught by the religious police roaming around during prayer time, you will be asked to join in prayer in the mosque or get jailed. Isn’t the religious police should be praying during prayer time? I wonder how he catches somebody roaming around during prayer time.

I was told that they actual search your luggage even it passes through the x-ray machine. I asked myself what’s the use of the x-ray machine after all.

I was also told that taking pictures in public, especially when capturing women in abaya, is prohibited. Abaya, by the way, is the women’s black dress designed to cover a woman and to conceal the woman’s feminine figure in order not to solicit lustful stares from men.

My expectations in Saudi Arabia, putting aside my principal purpose on visiting the desert country, are as follow;

1. I am expecting a desert / rural environment.

2. Strict Islamic Culture

3. Backward mentality

4. Unaccommodating and arrogant Saudis

5. Not seeing a woman for the next seven days

Curious and nervous I am ready to embark and discover what really lies within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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For The Seventh Time

It has been more than two years since I started securing a driving license here in Doha.

Yesterday was my seventh try. Yes, you read it right. For seventh time.

As it was been my previous tests, I started having butterflies on my stomach the day before I took each and every time I have my driving test.

All I have to do now is to pass the road test, the last part of the series of test in order to have that elusive license. The bummer would be, you cannot move on to the next stage if you fail the first stage and if you fail, you need to wait at least 30 days before you can try again.

It begins with the test on Traffic Signs. The test start at 5:00am as it shows from your schedule. Everyone is queuing to the small window by the office of the test committee. Inside the room is the examiner sitting by his table with a chart of all the traffic signs on it. Then he will start pointing on the chart and you are supposed to answer what does the sign means as quickly as possible. Just a few signs, five the most, and it’s done. I passed this the first try.

Then the L-parking, where you turn to your left and up the ramp and park. The car must not move backward or the engine turns off when you start your car forward further up the ramp then reversing it back down the ramp to your right. I failed this once and passed on the second try.

Then the notorious Pocket Parking, 90% who failed must have failed at this stage. Some says, if you pass the Pocket Parking, is as good as having your license already. It was actually a reverse parallel parking, where the parking lot was just enough to fit the car. I failed this twice and made it on my third try.

Then the last part and is supposed to be the easiest, the road test. I failed 3 times prior to my seventh try. The fist time I failed the road test was that I did not notice the road hump and it was too late to put on the brakes, screeeeetchh, the traffic police is shaking his head. The second time was that I was the last person for the road test, that means I need to bring the car back to the school, the longer I drive, the more opportunity the traffic police find fault on my driving. The third time I failed the road test is that, the person I was next to, park on an uneven inclined road shoulder, when I released the hand brake, the car rolled back, and the traffic police was not happy.

Yesterday was my seventh try and fourth on the road test. I get in the car. Adjust my seat. Check the side view mirrors and the rear view mirror. Put on my seatbelt. Turn on the signal light. Shifted to first gear. Released the hand brake. Check on oncoming vehicles then drive. I was quite happy the car went on smoothly, I shifted to second gear without any jerking. I was asked to turn right. Signal on, then turn. Then I was asked to park. Signal on. Stop. Hand Brake. Hazard. Finished without a glitch.

But before me, there was this Arab guy, who at first gear the engine turns off twice. He drives with his left wheel on the road center line. When he turns left, he cut two lanes toward his left.

Now guess who passed……

The Arab guy passed and I failed. Incredible…..It’s a feat….Manny Pacquiao and me has now something in common. He holds the record of having seven title in as many divisions in boxing while I hold the record of failing a driving test for the seventh time.

Now my dream of driving my dream car remains just a dream………

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