I think I might have the local driving rules sorted.
- Turning left – 1 to 2 toots on the horn
- Turning right – 1 to 2 toots on the horn
- Stopped at red traffic lights – Toot as frequently as the mood takes you.
- When in the outside lane (of 4) feel free to cut across the other 3 lanes if your exit is very close.
- Weaving through traffic at speed is acceptable.
- When the nose of your vehicle is only just in front of adjacent vehicles you are allowed to toot twice and turn across their path.
- Never use your indicators as it allows other drivers to block you in or cut you out
- Only give way to Saudi drivers because in the event of an accident with a foreigner they are never in the wrong!
- Feel free to cut across asian or indian drivers as they are the bottom of the pecking order.
Easy once you know the rules!
I’m getting heartily sick of kebarbs for dinner. This evening I splashed out and ordered a kerbarb with a side dish of lawnmower clippings and damp bird seed. Sad to say I ate it all. I haven’t seen butter since I arrived! But then I’ve no means of cooking in the apartment.
Most people know to only change money at the airport if desperate. I decided to change 100GBP in the departure hall at Heathrow and got a cr@p exchange rate. They were prepared to change all my pounds for Saudi Rials but I was wise to them. The exchange left me with approximately 560 Rials and I now have 167Rials left. So it has cost approximately 80GBP (food, laundry, tips, etc) over the last 10 days. Accommodation is being paid by my employer. Of course my cost of living would increase significantly if I decided to eat western food. Whilst in the Panda supermarket last Saturday I looked at Kelloggs cereals <ouch!>. When I’m able to make my own breakfast it might be toast, or even carry on eating the date filled biscuits. Dinner might be Texas strawberries :-)
There was a slight “win” today when I managed to get ‘Manuel’ (Fawlty Towers) to clean the room. I’ve been grumbling about the dirty room and linen. Apparently I have to ASK to have the room cleaned. I arrived to find Manuel pushing the dirt on the floor into the corners and behind the wardrobe. He proudly showed me the sheets had been replaced and <amazing> the pillows now have pillow cases! He was hovering around the door obviously wanting a tip for doing his job <be kind to your mother>!
Here are a few photos I managed to take going to the site of the workshop this morning.
Just in case you didn’t know how to write M&S in arabic
The ‘Bottle opener’ through the dust storm in the distance. It’s one of the two landmarks on the Riyadh skyline.
The other high building has the captured ball.
The sign in the bottom right of the photo indicates the maximum road speed. The squashed zero means 5 and the dot means zero. Speed limit is 50kmh!
I noticed this building through the traffic and thought it looked rather unusual. Notice the vehicle in front has removed his indicator bulbs just in case he forgot….. and used them :-)
The site of the workshop
Last job for the evening was to clean my shoes. they were covered in dust and dirt from walking around the site. I needed something to clean them on and all I had was the prayer mat. If you see a local walking around with a black mark on his forehead then he probably used this room after me! Actually I haven’t made the great mistake like one other expat. He used the stainless steel urinal trough only to discover it was the foot wash basin used by the locals before attending prayers. <oops!>
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