#3 Acclimitization

Well I've see an olive tree or I suppose in proper vernacular; I have been extended an olive branch? As with my amazement when I first saw citrus growing in California or Florida, I was amazed to see an olive tree, in an olive grove (I had to look up the name of the place where olive trees grow). Actually not much different looking than a crab apple tree, same size, similar foliage, and same looking "fruit" (there are six natural types - thanks google). I discovered this treasure (truth be told I don't like olives - preferring my martinis with a lemon twist) while taking a walk this morning. Our compound is on the western edge of the city and in very close proximity to a valley that extends for some way. It must have been someones farm as I did pass a house and the trappings of farm life in the Middle East. The valley setting is important I am assuming as when it does rain here water will follow the path of least resistance (like electricity ironically enough) and that is downhill (for water that is). The whole valley was littered with channels and hoses to allow water to get to where it is needed. In addition to olives, there was what appeared to be a palm forest – though later was told it was a date farm (being a prairie boy what do I know about where/how dates grow?). I’m in love with the palm tree (a representation for me of somewhere hot) and the date farm looked like a perfect oasis to me! Another surprise on my walk was a small herd of cows grazing in lowest part of the valley field, on what skimpy vegetation they had to feed on. Who knew that in the land of the camel what I see first is a cow. Though I did some camels on my drive:

Speaking of water I was surprised to learn that it does rain here, sometimes quite fiercely. Despite the modern freeways and infrastructure they didn’t plan well for these few times it does rain (annual rainfall here is about four inches vs about 21 in Winnipeg) as few places have adequate drainage (if any). Freeway underpasses are quickly filled with water making them impassable, and desert sand becomes a mucky mess (I haven't seen the vast dunes of fine sand we see on tv). While annual rainfall is only 4in/year I get the impression it arrives in only a few quick bursts. I myself have yet to see any rain.

Next in my continued acclimatization with Riyahd is getting my wheels. As part of my contract here we are provided with vehicles (there is virtually no public transportation) to get to work, shop, and explore. For me I took Friday morning (our weekends are Friday/Saturday) to just drive and see if I could get lost in this vast city. Well, sort of get lost as all cars have a GPS with our home the first place marked. Here is another oddity I never thought of: a few days after I hopped in the car to get some groceries only to find the battery dead - what the hell? I didn't leave lights on (they are automatic) or anything else so what did I do?? Turns out like cold the oppressive heat reduces battery life significantly as others have had the same thing happen to them.

Good news story here is that the guy next to me on the flight from Frankfurt to Riyahd was to consult on the new metroline they are building here. It is currently the longest/largest public transportation system being built in the world with 176.5 kms of track, with 96 stations. Money is not an object in this oil rich economy so they are building everything at once to the tune of $22 billion. You see the spoils of oil wealth everywhere. Building cranes everywhere, new buildings and other infrastructure rising from the ground. We pass on our way to and from work the new Riyahd Financial District – a sprawling cluster of 34 towers of all shapes and sizes. Again it is not being built one at a time, but all at once. I am still amazed every time I pass by. The price tag? $8 billion.

First a few highlights about the driving culture here. First off they are fast, while speed limits are posted no one, it seems, adheres to what is posted. I have seen guys pass in a blur they are going so fast (and we are doing 110 – 120 kms/hr) and this is not uncommon. Religion plays a hand in the need for speed – Allah is looking after me, or the most common word (phonetic spelling) – Enchala = God willing.

Should you happen to find yourself in the fast lane, guys (remember women cannot drive in this country) will come up behind very close and flash their headlights until they get the desired response. Signals are hardly ever used, and people weave in and out of traffic, sometimes at great speeds, in a rush to get somewhere. Unlike Nigeria where most cars are old wrecks coughing out exhaust like mosquito foggers, people have money here and most cars are newer and some very expensive. Off the freeway it is not uncommon for people to turn left from the far right hand lane or vice verse, and horn use is liberal. I laugh ever time that in that instant when a light turns green there is someone honking their horn. In part because the traffic lights are mounted beside you vs overtop the intersection as we are used to, hence if you are at the front of the line, you must look out your side window to see when the light turns green. Thankfully my drive was uneventful in that there were no traffic incidents, but eventful in providing me some orientation as to the city layout. I drove for some three hours and about 190 kms before returning home. I got to several districts in the city and travelled a short way east out of the city limits where industrial facilities are located, and I saw, albeit quickly, as I passed at 120kms/hr a herd of camels (see picture above). You quickly acclimatize to the prevailing speed as I often heard the car beep at me (programmed to do so when exceeding 120kms/hr). With the exception of trucks the vast majority of people on the freeways, of which there are many, cruise at above 100kms/hr.

Now that I’m comfortable with getting around on my own I look forward to further exploration and experiences going forward, including finding some good ethnic restaurants, which includes many East Indian restaurants of which I am a big fan. I also want to find a place where the locals go to get one of the most common dishes of this country called kapsa. Kapsa is just a simple blend of spiced rice and either chicken or lamb either on top or sliced and mixed in with the rice. Traditionally it is, as a lot of food is, sitting cross legged on the floor with several platters of food in the middle where people reach in with their RIGHT hand or with a piece of fatir, the traditional flat bread, for stews and curries. Very important is you use ONLY your right hand. The left hand here is used only for bathroom duty and is an insult to any Saudi to offer your left hand for almost anything. This is evident in all the toilets I have visited, even in my villa. My villa has two bidets, and the downstairs bathroom has a nozzle thing (much like people have at home in the kitchen sink that extends out to rinse) that is hooked on the wall. While there is toilet paper I'm not sure how often the rinse function is used. I don't know how people function here if you are left handed?? Don't let out this secret but being right handed myself, clean up is also with my right hand. 

What I find peculiar about the culture here is the interaction of Saudi’s and expats (again this is based on men only – as I have not had an opportunity, nor will I probably have the opportunity to talk to any Saudi woman). Saudi’s in general I find very friendly, warm, inviting people – yet oddly it is rare to socialize with any Saudi’s outside of the workplace. English is widely spoken albeit with a heavy accent, so thankfully the language barrier is not too bad. Whether that is a religious or cultural thing I cannot say for sure, though I’m sure a mixture of both.

My other quest is to find a nice, traditional white thobe (minus the head gear) to wear to work. Why? A couple of reasons; one, it is easy and you don’t have to decide what to wear, and two, they are extremely comfortable as I know from buying one in Nigeria (it is called a kaftan their). Should you come knocking on my door at home you will usually find me in it as it has become a staple of my lounge wear at home. I was talking to a nice kid (Abdullah) in our office about these things – of course I ask the tough questions like “what do you wear underneath?” (Usually a pair of same color pants and T-shirt). When I asked if I would be offending anyone by wearing it he said – of course not – we wear jeans and shirts so why couldn’t you wear a thobe?

Let the quest begin. Until next time. . . .

A vast landscape of sun and sand
But never, ever with a beer in hand

#2 Beginning In the Kindom

February 2014

Well I'm here - in the land of the Qur'an and Sharia law. I've been here about a week and here are my initial impressions in the land of the golden sun. The picture above on the blog is of the Kindom Center which is a multi-use facility with shopping, apartments, and the Four Seasons Hotel - also the second largest building in the world with a 'hole' at the top. Locally referred to as the can opener.

First let me tell you about the "rules" in the Kingdom: there is no alcohol, no bars, clubs, movie theaters, etc. Women are second class citizens who cannot drive, or be alone in public (they will get the vote in 2015 and are ranked 130^th of 134 in gender parity). When you go to a restaurant (of which there are many including many western chains) there are two sections: one for men (singles), one for families. Even I, a western expat must respect the rules when in public such as no shorts (above the knee) despite the sizzling summer temperatures which can exceed 50 degrees Celsius. In February the temps are very comfortable during the day (21 - 25) and quite cool at night (12 – 15). Most expats live in compounds - not so much for security or danger but to keep us segregated from the general public. Some estimates put the expat community at around 30% of the population. With a city population of 5 million that puts about 1.5 million of us in Saudi Arabia’s largest city. Don't be fooled though as a large portion of these people are relegated to menial jobs (cleaning and service staff, construction workers and the like). They hail from the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, and Africa struggling to make a better way for themselves and family. What the percentage of those are higher paid consultants like myself I cannot comment on - however a quick google search indicated that population of North Americans and Europeans in Saudi is less than 300,000 in a country of 30 million (or 1%). A recent article in the Arab times indicates that within the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) expatriates are 30% in Saudi but an estimated 80% in the UAE (notably Dubai and Abu Dhabi). Most as noted above are low paying jobs. In these economies the local Saudi's, as those in the AUE, tend not to do the service jobs. Not unlike the problems in America with their crackdown on Mexican immigration (legal and otherwise) although it is only these people willing to do certain menial, service type jobs.

As for the compound I can't complain - as it was described to me: think of a condo you might rent in Florida: it has a swimming pool, tennis court, full gym, play structures for kids, and public areas. My 'villa' as they are called is huge - a two bedroom, three bath, two story place fully furnished including full kitchen (including dishwasher and washer/dryer). At approximately 2,200 sq ft it is well over twice the size of my home in Winnipeg of some 800 sq ft. The description turns out to be accurate - after getting past the armed checkpoints and walking down the street you wouldn't know if you were in Florida or Saudi Arabia.

The office is a cluster of brand new glass towers (some buildings are not yet complete) some 20kms drive down a busy freeway from the villa's where we all live. The five or so buildings are the new headquarter of the Saudi Electric Corporation. It also has a 1/2 built Hilton Hotel well underway in the same complex. 

While the buildings are brand new some things are not; elevators that ding all day long like a Vegas casino with no rhyme or reason as to which elevator might show up as each up and down lights take their turn dinging announcing the arrival (perhaps) to start the journey up or down. We think there is an express elevator (16 to ground) but nothing is marked. They are also very small by modern standards - and many times we will stop for passengers that no longer have capacity.  

Each floor has two 'pantry' stations where you can by snacks, drinks, but mostly for coffee serve by a very nice Indian man (Hassan) who brings your morning coffee on a little tray for you (with doily) - and only 1 SAR (approx. 30 cents). No water fountains, but Hassan can sell you water. Dress code still is hard to get used to:  as a very religious, indigenous culture all the Saudi men (I have yet to see a woman an in any part of the building) wear the traditional Saudi dress called the 'thobe'.  

As for women I still can’t get over seeing women completely covered in their Abaya's and Niqab (the face cover with only slits for the eyes). I was standing in line at the grocery store not unlike anywhere at home - but if I could only get a picture (it is prohibited to photograph women) of those around me - women covered head to toe, and men in their thobes with head dress. Only the Saudi's adopt this dress code. Abaya’s are only in black with jokes going around among us like the model T- you can have any color you want as long as it's black, or for men – check out that chick in the black!

Religion is a big part of everyday life in the kingdom. One thing for sure I would be a lazy Muslim, as adhering to the religion takes a lot of work. This includes the call to prayer 7 times/day (with the expectation you observe 5 of these). For example at the foyer into the elevator banks I noted a Sharpee mark on the carpet: a line and an arrow pointing to Kabba (south-west) - the centre of Islam's most sacred mosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Or for people previously ignorant, such as myself - the big black block that Muslims the world over try to get to at least once in their lives. Carpets are rolled out and prayer begins for 15 mins. In addition to the call to prayer over loudspeakers all over the city (yes even the middle of the night) the guys in the office also chant out load as they proceed with their prayer.  We went to the grocery store after work where the key is to get in before prayer time – while there is no service or check out you can continue your shop until prayers are done and then go to the check out. In fact our lives are controlled by two main factors: prayer time and traffic. This is a big, busy metropolis with modern infrastructure very much like any big American city - however good the freeways - they cannot handle the rapid growth. As a result we leave for work abound 6am to beat the traffic: instead of 20 mins it takes us, leave at 7 and the same commute could take an hour or more. We also leave early at the end of the day to beat one of the prayer times at around 3 pm (it changes with the moon phases). Most of us have an "app" for that (there are many including iPray) to plan what we do and when we do it (i.e. can we get to the grocery story before prayer time?). These nifty apps (there are many) informs you the prayer times, a compass to line you up properly to the Kabba, the nearest mosque, and other helpful info. Mosques as you can imagine are prominent all over the city - there are an estimated 2,000 mosques in this city alone, including the highest mosque in the world on the 77th floor of the Kingdom Tower.

As for groceries you can get any product here (and then some) that you could at home though local culture and tastes make for some local differences - my impression was that they don't do cheese as we do - with limited selections of shredded cheese, or cheese slices we use for burgers or grilled cheese. What they lack in those items they make up with all kinds of other creamy cheeses made from goat and dairy. Meat is much the same though chicken is a big favorite and there is no pork in the kingdom. So the bacon double cheese burger at the local mcdonalds is out as I don’t do turkey bacon. Overall I would say things are a little cheaper (and no tax) except for some items - for example only leaf lettuce is widely used. The few heads of iceberg lettuce I did see were very expensive - about 75 SAR or about $4/head.

So week one is done and 11 more to go with more adventures to follow. I finally got my drivers permit and car keys so that will enable me to get out and explore more and get a better orientation to this large city.

Such a strange and faraway city across the world I have flown
A village only yesterday, to a large city that has exponentially grown.

#1 Getting to the Kingdom

February 14/14

The Journey

Not since my October 2013 two week adventure to Abuja, Nigeria am I on the move again to start what is now my fourth international work assignment overseas. This time I  find myself smack down in the middle of the middle country in the voliltile Middle East: Riyahd, Saudi Arabia. It is a three month extendable assignmnet. According to Wikipedia a city of approximately 5 million souls. This is a modern petro-fueled city with good infrastructure and services. More on this city of contrasts in my next posting.

My journey begins early on February 12 at my home airport - Winnipeg (YWG). Unfortunately (and fortunately) it follows immediately after a wonderful week in Mexico. In fact my turnaround was only 12 hours from when I arrived back from Mexico to when I board yet another series of aircraft to take me to the other side of the world. From Winnipeg to Toronto where I meet my first international connection. I had an extended layover in Toronto which allowed me to visit with my Aunt and Uncle who live downtown. From there back to the airport to wait for my flight to Frankfurt, Germany. There are a few options available from Toronto: there is a direct Saudi Airline to Riyahd (RUH) or you can catch Turkish Air, Egypt Air or in my case Luftansa to their respective hubs of Istanbul, Cairo or Frankfurt. Now I'm not a big boozer but I'm sorry, I tried my best to avoid this direct fight because I'm fortunate enough to fly business class and I like champagne and Saudi Airlines is dry airline. Besides as a big fan of commercial aviation I like the idea of checking out other foriegn airports, and while never really seeing the city I can still say I was in Istanbul for example. Ironically as with Nigeria I found myself back at Frankfurt - where I felt strangely enough not like a stranger. Here is an overview of my journey, which took approximately 30 hours door to door.

Here are some impressions and the time line of my journey to my new temporary new life.

The journey starts with getting to the Winnipeg airport for my 07:45 flight to Toronto. After arriving home from Mexico at 18:00 I was back in a cab to the airport at 06:10 the next morning. From there a quick hop to Toronto (2.5hrs) where I had a long layover and a nice visit. I got the full deal in terms of transportation in Toronto getting downtown: the choice is cab/limo - about $60, airport express - $28, or transit - $2.70. As I determined the airport express wasn't close to my Aunt's place I decided on transit: an express bus to the subway, two subways, street car and I ended up right where I needed to be at the corner of St Clair and Avenue Rd.

From there my Aunt/Unlce were kind enough to arrange a limo back for me to the airport and then a few hours before the 7.5 hour flight to Frankfurt. I had a three hour delay in Frankfurt before the final flight (5.5hrs) to Riyahd. While I'm a big aviation fan after some 30 hours in or waiting for planes I was desperate to be done. Luftansa wasn't making any money on that last flight to Riyahd - of the 20 or so business class seats it was myselt and three others.

After all that I arrive safely, though tired, at 11 pm local time (9 hrs ahead of home in Winnipeg). Airport is a very nice, modern facility. Thankfully MHI contracts with a guy to aid in clearing customs who was waiting for me shortly after I exited the plane. My first and new best friend in Saudi: as we got close to the customs line I was taken aback in that there were 6 'booths' and 25 or 30 people deep. I was thinking that after all that flying I have to stand in line for 2 hours in an unfamiliar environment? Please kill me now! That is where my new best friend (Aboo) came to the rescue: around the crowd - interrupts the next guys waiting to see the agent and plops down my passport to process - after a finger print scan I was done. Much to the dismay (and I'm sure anger) of those others who were forced to wait in the que. Aboo it seems new every agent and made a point of stopping and interrupting each agent for a quick handshake and chat (despite the heavy work load waiting for them). After grabbing my luggage (all intact), through another security scan I was out where Dan our project manager was patiently waiting for me.

First impressions: people park anywhere and everywhere in the airport parkade as spots are few - even Dan has accostomed himself to this as he had parked on a concrete area, over the curb that was there to mark one lane from the other. Once out of the airport I quickly realized this is a modern metropolis - with nice freeways/roads and infrastructure. Like any big American city with the exception of all the traffic signs and store frontage in Arabic, though alot of stores have some English to get an idea of what type of store it might be. Oddly though, arguably the biggest American "Icons" had no English - but why bother when you have the golden arches to attract patrons. While I have not been yet I am told that while you can't get pork anywhere in the country you can still get bacon on your burger - albeit turkey bacon.

We arrived back at the compound, my new home for the next few month at 11:30pm after a long day. A quick tour of my 'villa' was impressive 2,300 sq ft of modern space on two floors: with two bedooms and baths up (plus living area) and another 1/2 bath down with modern kitchen (with dishwasher, washer/dryer etc). By contrast my home in Winnipeg is only 800 sq ft so almost three times the size I'm used to! The compound in general (other than the heavily armed entry points) seems like any condo/townhouse development in North America. Finally at 12:30am that night it was time for a welcomed 10 hour snooze to battle the jet lag.

And so the journey in Saudi Arabia begins
For this infidel and his host of sins