Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “747”

Jeddah and all its airports. Final KSA Chapter for now. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia


I really have enjoyed my time in Saudi and find the people so pleasant but nothing surprises me here and that is the key to enjoying the country. This morning I was picked up at 6 am for a taxi ride to the airport. Simple. The first question was establishing which Jeddah airport. There are three all within a proximity. The first one would have been for Saudi Arabian Airlines flights which was 12 km, the second was for only the Saudi Royal family, this was about 25 km away and finally the last , third, and final airport which was for all foreign airlines 35 km away. 

I was fully prepared for plentiful discussions and debate with passport control and border agency equivalent staff at Jeddah, as that was my recollection from my last visit in 2008. Establishing beyond doubt that I did want to leave, that I had not and did not intend to commit any crime in KSA and to enquire as to exactly what I had been doing for the few days of my stay. My paranoia was misplaced. My interview with passport control was over in 5 seconds and the stamp provided and no-one else expressed any interest in what I was doing in Saudi Arabia. 

As I sit here in the lounge watching the sun rise higher in the sky and trying to look out of the windows ( not so easy as they are all covered in sand and dust), it does seem that KSA has changed for the better over the last 4 years and I would really look forward to the opportunity to return here one day not too soon.

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