This is an occasional Blog about my time in the Middle East. I went to Jubail and Al-Khobar to meet with a potential client. I am writing this in the Dammam airport waiting to return to Doha.
I am concluding three days in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or KSA.
It is my first time in KSA since visiting the Port of Jeddah as a young sailor on a US Navy warship 30 years ago.
Thought I would memorialize a few observations.
Entry Card and Passport Control:
When I arrived on Saturday, I had to fill out the “Entry Card”. At the top of the card in Bold RED letters “Immediate Execution to Drug Smugglers”. That’ll make you pause. I hope they look kindly on my maintenance drugs.
The card also asked your religion. We’ll this isn’t a country known for tolerance. In case you are wondering I wrote down Christian, I wonder if non-Muslim would have been OK.
Passport control was interesting in that the local gendarme worked the lines shifting people around. I really didn’t know what was going on until I talked to a colleague later. He’s an Indian. He told me when he goes to KSA he is moved around in line until he is the last one from the plane processed. The story goes like this “Hey Indian, you belong in this line”, and he moves, only to be moved again. After he gets to the agent – the agent doesn’t want to process him. I hope I never stop cringing when I hear stories like that.
At the passport control check point the agent finger prints and photographs you before letting you pass.
In the car to the hotel we were on a highway going 120KM/hr, about 70 miles an hour, in the fast lane. We were passed several times by cars on the shoulder of the road.
There was a check point along the highway and we had to slow down for the soldier to look in the car. What was he looking for, I asked. With a snicker the driver said “Who knows”.
At the hotel under the car was inspected by mirror, while a gun toting Kevlar vest wearing dude watched. Allowed to enter the hotel grounds my bags were collected by the bell hop and I entered the hotel. Emptied my pockets and went through a metal detector and was wanded while my bags were being x-rayed.
Very welcoming country.
We toured a couple of facilities in what is known as Jubail Industrial City. By King’s decree two cities were built – Jubail and Yanbu. The petrochemical business is big in Saudi and significant investment has been made in manufacturing products from that raw material, except for gas and diesel. There is only one refinery. As a country sitting on 20% of the world’s crude oil they are a net importer of gas and diesel. They ship crude around the world, and buy gas at the market price. Even with that they generate $1B a day in income for the King and his royal family.
Saudi’s have a 50% unemployment rate.
It wasn’t all bad. The people were friendly and the projects are interesting. There is a real sense of who does what and like a good union (tribal) environment they don’t cross the line into someone else’s work, nor do they criticize the work of others.
The New Jubail City was very modern and has a beautiful hotel on the sea. We had lunch there one day and I found it very delightful.
We went to Al-Khobar for one night. The city is very modern with lots of traffic. Our hotel was modern and had a nice restaurant. Much nicer than the hotel in Jubail.
Random observations:
Women – In the outdoors women must be covered in an abaya (long black robe and head cover - hijab)westerner or Arab, it doesn’t matter. Inside it is up to the establishment. Most places allow the removal of the hijab, only western women will go without it indoors.
Cars – unlike the rest of the GCC where Toyota seems to rule the day, in Saudi it is American Cars, notably Ford and GM and the bigger the better. The hotel car was a Mercury Grand Marquis (one of my personal favorites) if you needed more than three seats you got a “GMC Yukon”.
Young Saudi man – I had a chance to talk to a young Saudi during the site visits. He was 22 and had just graduated in May from TCU in Texas. When asked to describe Saudi, he made two comments. One, Saudi lacks customer service – you get no customer service and you pay a premium, unlike America… Secondly, in America people smile all the time, in Saudi there are no smiles.
I can’t wait for my next visit. I will be in the capital city of Riyadh.
