A 4.00amstart to the day as I needed to get to the border before the morning rush. The decision to renew my visa a week early had been made by my boss. It seemed a logical decision otherwise I’d need to return to Dammam the following week just for the visa.
So my driver collected me from the hotel whilst the sparrows were yawning and we headed south down empty roads. When we reached the four lane motorway (freeway) there was only one car ahead of us. We were following him at 120kmh when I noticed he was drifting into the lanes on either side. My driver noticed the same thing and pulled forward beside the car. The sole occupant had his chin on his chest and his eyes shut. He was ‘micro-sleeping’ at 120kmh. My driver also recognised the danger and accelerated forward before sounding his horn. This woke up the driver of the other vehicle…… But for how long! We stayed ahead of him from this point until reaching the causeway road.
At the border it was the usual routine of passing through Customs and the Immigration. Something was said at Immigration (my Arabic wasn’t good enough to understand). Instead of doing the usual hard left turn and cutting down the alleyway to reach the inward side we headed towards Bahrain. My driver explained that the Saudi immigration officer had told him I had to go to Bahrain and get a Bahraini entry and exit stamp in my visa.
I noticed the Saudi immigration booth had a sign on it stating “Ladies Only”. Now females can’t drive, so why would there be booths set aside for ladies? I asked my driver. He pointed out that we had actually gone to a booth on the passenger side of the car and females are required to show their face for identification purposes. The question that immediately when through my mind was “How can some veiled females in the west claim their human rights are being abused if they are required to show their face. Yet in probably to most conservative islamic country on earth they must show their faces when required?
On reaching Bahrain Immigration I had to pay 50 Riyals for a visa. Then we did the hard left turn on the Bahrain side reaching Bahrain exit to get an exit stamp in my passport. So I now have both an entry and exit stamp from Bahrain. It was then a case of going back across the Saudi border. I’m not that worried about paying for the visa as it is a refundable business expense. Neither did it take much longer to complete the border crossing to Bahrain. All I can think of is that the Bahrain economy is suffering and the Saudi Immigration department has decided to assist them! 
I was back at Dammam airport by 7.45am and with plenty of spare time decided to look for something to eat for breakfast.
Slightly blurred….. Would you eat a “Smashburger”? Or would you ear at “Chicken Dorking”?
I opted to try the airport cafe for a hot chocolate (I don’t drink coffee). Despite the signage “Sorry… no hot chocolate”! I went to the other cafe “Sorry… no hot chocolate!” “Bugger!” It was going to be a thirsty morning.
The aircraft for the flight back to Riyadh was an Airbus. More leg room… Hurrah! The problem occurred at the Riyadh terminal. I couldn’t find my driver. Imagine you have gone to the beach and there are thousands of white seagulls walking on the beach. That’s what the arrival area at the airport looked like. All the Saudi males dressed in a white thobe and wearing a read & white checked cloth on their head. I couldn’t see my seagull in the flock! I tried phoning his mobile and whilst I did make contact he only speaks Arabic and mine is very limited. Well after 45 minutes we did finally meet and he took me back to my apartment. I was feeling more than a little tired. But the kitchen and bathroom needed cleaning. The hall and foyer needed to be mopped. Then the laundry had to be done and the shirts ironed for next week. Somehow I even found the time to bake another banana cake! It didn’t fail to the same extent as my previous efforts so I guess I’m improving.
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