Leaving the UK to work in Saudi Arabia - a three month update.

February 2015

So, after a few months in Saudi Arabia I thought I’d add a ’part 2’ to my blog, mainly to answer some of the additional questions that I’ve been asked by folks back home. Not surprisingly, banking has been a subject people seem to be interested in. Well, although apprehensive about setting up a Saudi bank account, my experience has been positive. I chose an account with Alinma Bank based on recommendations from lads already here. I think their advice was sound in that a friend and I managed to open an account quickly with no hassle. In the branch, staff administered the account and made it ‘live’ immediately. I was able to choose my PIN in the branch and then was given my bank ATM card there and then (they could print it on the premises). This contrasts with the UK in that I’m sure I’d have to wait a fortnight for my card. Over the next few months, my account has worked with no issues – from receiving my salary, transferring it to the UK as well as drawing cash from ATM’s. One of the things I feel that some of the UK banks could learn from is that in Saudi, you are alerted by text whenever there is a transaction on your account. So for example, if you take cash out an alert arrives via your phone. This gives you an element of safety as if it is fraudulent, you can do something about it immediately. Also, if you log into your account online, there are multiple layers of protection including being sent a code by text in order to continue the login process. So, if your account was hacked, the criminals would also need your phone or at least the number as well I suppose.

In my first blog post, I mentioned how disappointed I was when I visited a hospital to get a prescription medicine. The visit was unsatisfactory as I was passed from one receptionist to another. I managed to see a doctor as I think his personal nurse kind of felt sorry for me after seeing me looking bewildered. However, although the doctor was sympathetic, he couldn’t help and sent me back down the corridor to throw myself on the mercy of the receptionists again. After a while, I gave up and chalked it down to one of those bad experiences. Anyway, spin forward six weeks or so, I realised my mistake. A friend of mine on a separate visit to the hospital (The Royal Commission Hospital in Jubail) established what you were supposed to do. You needed to attend the hospital and register (and present your private medical cover details to them) before you could be taken on as a patient. I did just that and was immediately given a patient number (by text) and also asked if I wanted to make an appointment.  So, in fairness to them, it was my fault that I simply turned up previously expecting to be seen, when in fact I hadn’t made an appointment. This probably explains the hostile receptionists!

The weather has been at times really cold! This has proved to be quite surprising as I was under the impression that this country was sunny and hot! However, many days in December and January have been ‘mild’ or actually quite cold. Very thick fog in the morning is common which makes the roads (I’ll come to them in a moment) vastly more dangerous. It has rained a lot more than I was expecting which in one way is good as it serves to clear the air by bringing down suspended particles. One day at the beginning of January, there was a proper dust storm. Visibility went down to a few metres and the dust blew everywhere covering all surfaces. Movement outside was difficult as the dust got into your eyes making them sting. I tried to wear a dust mask to help prevent breathing in the yellow dust as fine as talcum. The masks only helped to a point – my throat and chest didn’t feel quite right later and unpleasantly, I was coughing up some of the desert for a few days afterwards. I’d hate to be in a really big sand storm as one can imagine the trouble it would cause in terms of health and in matters such as disruption to driving and aircraft flights. I guess this is just one of the hazards to be expected here.

 

 

Driving here is unlike anything I have seen. The level of road sense, driving ability and plain stupidity is remarkable - no wonder there is on average several thousand deaths a year on Saudi roads. Some say that the average Saudi man is a fatalist in that if it is his time to die then so be it - after all, it is Gods will. I think it’s more likely to simply be that drivers here are of a certain mind-set in that they want to get from A to B in the minimum time possible and so they put their foot down and blast along the roads without a care in the world. I’ve heard that as this country is very conservative, driving fast is one of the few sources of excitement that people can enjoy. They think nothing of tailgating at literally a metre from the car in front or undertaking / overtaking at high speed, swerving in a crazy manner. Also, they will use their car horn at the slightest thing. In fact, as soon as one man beeps the horn, it seems to trigger an automatic response causing everyone in the area to start sounding their horn enthusiastically. The other day, the bus driver even decided to drive the opposite way down a one way street, oncoming cars simply had to get out of the way. There is a joke here that as Saudi’s drive on the hard shoulder so much, this is called the ‘Saudi lane’. Honestly, I have never seen such dangerous and disgraceful driving in any single country around the world that I’ve been in. Whatever the reason for this behaviour, it has put me off driving here in that I just think it makes more sense to rely on taxi’s or buses and not get involved in the wacky races that pass for driving in this country. One of my other concerns here is that if you are involved in an accident, you cannot leave the country until all of the legal paperwork is completed. I’ve heard of instances of this taking several months (at great expense) for a relatively minor bump. So, I don’t really fancy being prevented from getting on a flight out of here because of some outstanding paperwork.  Apart from driving on-site at work, I don’t imagine that I shall take a car out here unless I have to.

In January, there was a long weekend here in the kingdom which many of the ex-pats took advantage of by going on a trip to the island of Bahrain. This is a separate kingdom to Saudi Arabia and as such has a very western feel to it – hence the attractiveness of it as a fun destination. From where I live, it takes about two hour’s drive to get there after having to navigate through a series of checkpoints over a 15 mile causeway. This road bridge over the sea is a very impressive feat of engineering. However, it is very congested and waiting in line to get through the passport checks can be frustrating. It is quite remarkable the contrast between Bahrain and KSA, and that is an understatement! The place is very modern with an impressive skyline. At night, when the hotels are lit up, it is not dissimilar to Las Vegas (albeit on a small scale). There is obviously money here judging by the shops, hotels and cars. This is perfectly illustrated by having a walk around the ‘City Centre Mall’ which is a magnificent edifice to consumerism. The shops here are varied and predominantly western (especially British and American brands). One of the things you notice here immediately is that there is a mixture of traditional Arab and Western culture which seems to sit side by side easily. One of the most striking things is that you will see groups of women covered head to toe in the traditional Abaya, including face veil in the same shops and restaurants as western women in jeans and tops. No one seemed to take any notice of this at all. From my point of view, it was refreshing to see people going about their business and having a relaxing time without wondering if any offence was going to be caused by their clothes or if they had strayed into a ‘men only’ or ‘family only’ zone. In the evening, a great time was had by all and the next day I woke up feeling very strange indeed – I was hung-over! You see, if you didn’t know already, you can get any type of alcohol in Bahrain in hotel bars and clubs. I was drinking Guinness followed by Gin and it was lovely! Without doubt, the reason western ex-pats come to this island is to have a drink as it is not allowed in KSA. It made a great change having a pint and watch a band - just one of the things you miss working in Saudi Arabia. The other is that I enjoyed a cooked breakfast which included bacon! Again, this would be unremarkable in most other parts of the world but pork is specifically banned in Saudi Arabia on religious grounds. I don’t have a problem with this at all, however, it was nice to be able to have the choice to eat what I wanted.

 

Just arrived in Bahrain..where's the nearest bar..

 

 

 

Security concerns. In my previous blog entry, I wrote about a couple of attacks that had taken place on westerners. Another attack occurred on January 30^th involving two US citizens being shot and injured not far away from here in a place called Hofuf Al-Hasa. At the time of writing, the details of what happened are not transparent. However, we were advised to remain vigilant and keep away from this area. After this and other incidents, the security measures at our compound were enhanced. This means that cars and buses entering the compound are subject to inspection by the security guys. Although these inspections are better than previous, I am not filled with a great deal of confidence that they would stop even a moderately determined attacker. Still, when I’m out and about running along the coastline, I’ve not felt frightened or concerned and so have decided to ‘be alert’ and not worry unduly. Overall, as I’ve mentioned before, I still feel that there is far less trouble here than back home (or at least 'visible' trouble). You could be stabbed, beaten-up or even shot in the UK - I read the UK papers online every day and without doubt, there is a lot of nasty incidents (particularly drunken incidents) in the UK. After a while, when at home I kind of become anesthetised to it and so don't notice incidents as much. I take no pleasure in writing this, however, I don’t think places like Saudi can be condemned as necessarily worse than other countries. I genuinely love my country and everything it offers, but I don’t think anyone should fall into the trap of  thinking that it somehow adheres to a higher standard of behaviour than elsewhere.

All the best!

Jimmy