Having arrived by bus the previous night, I now wake in a safe country and have a day of planning ahead of me. I must try and procure flights out of here, departing tomorrow, attempting to get to my next scheduled destination. My busy layover in Riyadh Saudi Arabia is spent planning, spending moolah and walking the streets in search of food.
Credit Card
Before I can do anything, I have to get my credit card unblocked. When I was frantically trying to book things yesterday during the border crossing from Qatar, my card was flagged and blocked. I don’t have a Saudi phone number so can’t use my cell phone to make a call. I head to the front desk and ask if I can call from there.
The lady is so very kind and has me write the number I need to ring on a piece of paper. She then tells me to return to my room and she will transfer the call there. Long story short, I end up on the phone for just about 1.5 hours, transferred three times, and finally the fourth person is able to ask me a series of questions and unblock my card. Now I can spend money.
Booking Flights
You might imagine how difficult this process is, trying to procure flights that first have a seat even available for the next day, don’t connect back through countries currently involved in the war, and don’t cost an absolutely fortune.
It’s an arduous process that takes hours but I manage to find three legs to get me from Riyadh to my next destination. I will be travelling for two full days on various planes. Once I land, I’ll spend a night in the capital city and head by train the following day to my actual destination. So, three more days of travel. Ugggg.
Walks & Food
I had met a man on the bus ride yesterday and we decide to meet up to try and find a coffee. We hit the road and walk around the streets of Riyadh looking for anywhere that is open. It is the tail end of Ramadan and we are completely out of luck. We check the McDonalds thinking it might be open for take away, but the doors are chained shut.
The streets are very different than I remember and imagine. I see female beggars holding infants at a busy intersection. One at each set of lights so four in total. When the light is red, they approach the stopped vehicles and ask for money. I never would have imagined this in my wildest dreams for Saudi.
As I walk these almost deserted feeling streets, its small businesses that capture my attention. The corner fruit & vegetable shop is busy, the tailors and men’s clothing stores are all open but empty. We pop into a fancy bakery and chocolate store and the displays bring back memories. Things in Saudi are packaged so perfectly, almost immaculate. While I have a terribly sweet tooth, I just cannot stomach anything this sweet so we walk back out and explore more.
My new Canadian friend and I end up at a larger grocery store and purchase bananas and some bread products. I am not hungry, running purely on adrenaline. I had a cookie for dinner the night before, and another one for breakfast. My body is just not interested in food, its fight or flight mode full steam ahead. Back at the hotel we sit and eat what we can, which is barely anything. We part ways as I need to contact my children and check into flights leaving over the next 36 hours.
Running on Empty
Before I know it, the day is over and I need to get to bed. I set my alarm for 2am and leave for the airport at 3am. My brain is befuddled, I’m exhausted, there is so much going on inside my head. I’m worried about the first flight tomorrow as delays are regular these days from Riyadh. I only have a 1.5-hour connection in Jeddah and I need to catch that next flight or the whole plan falls like dominoes.
Wish me luck friends.
