Day 5

So you remember how I said that I was planning on waking up at 10:15, to pack? Well, I didn’t wake up until 11:15 am. I basically had to throw my clothes into my suitcase, and then pack up everything in a half hour, and get ready. We were supposed to be at the lobby at 11:45 am to check out, and then depart for the airport for our flight to Dammam. I literally got to the lobby at 11:49 am. Didn’t really matter, because the last member of our delegation didn’t get to the lobby until 12:25, at which time we loaded the SUVs, and rode out. Pretty much none of us had time to actually eat a thing, and I was already really hungry. Didn’t help that the hotel had set up this huge buffet in the lobby for an incoming party of really important Saudi’s that was arriving at 1:00 pm. It looked absolutely delicious, and made me even hungrier.
We arrived at the hotel around 1:00 pm, and waited in a private waiting area with some really comfortable couches. We all asked about the possibility of obtaining some food, but weren’t given the chance. Our flight was at 2:40 pm, and yet we had to just sit around and entertain ourselves. Unfortunately I had finished my book the previous night, and didn’t really have much to do but listen to my music. You guys know how much I can’t stand doing nothing. No need to go into details.
Once we were allowed to actually get into the main level airport, we didn’t have enough time to get any food. Most of you know that I get “hangry.” That is when someone gets hungry, they also become a total grouch. That was already happening to pretty much the entire delegation, and it didn’t get that much prettier. The flight to Dammam was only an hour long, so we barely had time to get drinks before we were already descending into the city. After arriving, we had a bus waiting just for us to take us to our hotel, which was about an hour away from the airport. The Dammam airport is actually in the middle of scenic nowhere, about an hour from the actual city of Dammam, and 35 minutes at the minimum from Al-Khober, the city we’re actually staying in.
After arriving in the hotel, we had to wait for almost an hour before our rooms were ready. This was our first sign that our hotel was going to be less than the Four Seasons. Let’s set the record straight right here: I called it in one of my first blog posts that the Four Seasons’ hotel was going to destroy me for all other hotels afterwards. And it’s already begun. I’m not going to go into details, because I’m trying to stay positive about the fact that we’re here for free and that we have an exciting schedule ahead of us. That being said, the food here isn’t that good, and most of our meals are served at the hotel. Based on how well none of us handled being hungry and interacting with each other, this leg of the trip will definitely be interesting.
I SAW A CAMEL!!!!! On the flight to Dammam, as we were descending there were definitely camel herds in the barren desert, and I was able to see a couple herds. I don’t really have any good photos of the camels, but I will definitely try to find them at some point before I go home.
Soon after arriving at our hotel, most of the group went to an antique shop that had some really cool traditional Arab things. Not much of it was actually made in Saudi Arabia, but as the saying goes “the only thing made in Saudi Arabia is sand.” Of course that isn’t completely true: they do make camels here.
So I know I’m behind in posting, but once this is posted up, I will actually be on the correct day. However, we have to be in the lobby by 8:00 am tomorrow morning, because we have a full day ahead of us, and then are flying to Jeddah in the evening. I can’t wait to go to Jeddah, because that is where I’m going to get my thobe, the traditional dress shirt of the Saudi’s. I’ll try and post tonight, so that I don’t fall behind or anything.