Work rest and return….. (The Finale)

After I left the office, I decided Subway sounded good for lunch. The short walk just increased my appetite so I was ready when I walked through the door. I ordered my normal and sat down to feast. It was close to 2:30 by this time and I felt like already the day was coming to a close. The time went by quickly and I was through. I walked a block to the hotel and put my things aside. I pondered what to do for the rest of the day and decided to go down and sit by the pool and read for awhile. It was very pleasant outside somewhere in the mid 70’s and a cool breeze was blowing. As I sat and read I noticed a Saudi swimming and laughing out loud. As I watched him from time to time, he looked like he was swimming and talking to himself and giggling now and then. I tried to concentrate on my book but it became comical as he swirled around making noises so I started watching him a little closer. Slowly he moved to my side of the pool and apparently his friend was sitting close by and he started saying something to him in Arabic. His speech sounded a little slurred so I figured he had been drinking a little too much. Well his friend gets up and brings him a glass of something over and he starts sipping it and laughing again. He was all over the place with his body movement so I knew he was drunk. He paddled away and started swimming in circles again and then he was back for another drink.Over on the other side of the pool the lifeguard had been watching all of this and he finally got up and walked over to the pool edge. He bent down and started talking to the two of them and it looked like he was telling the guy he needed to get out of the pool. This went on for quite some time with no success so he went to the phone and made a call. About 5 minutes later two guys in suits came out headed over to the two of them and started talking. Eventually they pulled him out of the pool and took him to one of the loungers and he passed out, I knew it was time for me to leave.

It just so happened, a God thing that my son-in law was flying in from Iraq that afternoon. I had sent him a message the day before and told him I would like to meet and take him to dinner. He agreed and told me he would call when he got to the hotel. During the day I had chatted with a friend on his project and he told me where he was staying. So I tried calling the hotel two or three times and never got an answer. So the easiest thing to do was jump in a taxi and head over. The first one I caught had no idea where the hotel was, so I got out of his cab and into the next one. He took me and dropped me off supposedly behind the hotel. I paid him and went in the direction he said. Well of course I couldn’t find it so I walked a few blocks and went inside another hotel and asked for directions (yes men do ask for directions). I went the way they said and again I could not find it. I spotted a coffee shop and went in and again asked for directions. This time the guy knew where it was and pointed me in the right direction. I went that way and believe it or not it lead me right back to where I started from 15 blocks or so before. If I had just turned left instead of right I would have been there 30 minutes earlier.

Well frustrated but glad to be there I went inside and found the House phones. I dialed Jeremy’s room and he answered. He said he had been trying to call me but every phone he used would not let him call out of the hotel. I told him not to worry I was in the lobby. He said, "let me put my shoes on and I will be right down." So we went back to the street and found a cab so I could take him to a really good Steakhouse I knew about from previous experience. We chatted on the ride over and then arrived at Billy Blue’s. We went in and ordered and then just got caught up. We had a really good conversation and then I noticed it was getting late so I paid the bill and we left. We drove back to his hotel and I dropped him off, said goodbye and to have a safe flight home and went back to my hotel. It was late by the time I got back so I hit the bed and fell sound asleep. Sunday morning I got up at the usual time, showered, dressed and grabbed breakfast. I still hadn’t heard anything about my Visa so I continued on with work as usual. My backup had already flown back to London so there were definitely things to take care of. The morning flew by and after lunch I called the GRO and asked what the status was of my Visa. He said he was on the way to the office and would call me in an hour. Well as usual I didn’t hear back from him so I was planning on extending my stay. I finished up the day around 4, chatted with Diane for awhile and then headed back to the hotel around 5’ish. When I got back I was deciding on where to go eat when my cell phone rang. It was the GRO and he was at the office looking for me, he had my Visa. Well of course all kinds of alarms and whistles went off because I didn’t want to have to go back to the office so I told him to leave it with one of the guys there. I got off the phone and hooked up my Laptop and stated searching for flights. It was unbelievable the difference in price so I chose the least of which was Saudi Airlines. The flight was scheduled to leave at 11:50 the next day so I knew I would have plenty of time to go to the office, pack up my stuff, and then get to the airport with time to spare…. Ya right. Off to bed.

Monday morning came quickly and the night before I had packed as much as I could and finished packing after my shower. I left everything ready to go so all I would have to do is get my bags, get a taxi and go. So I walked to the office, made coffee, chatted with Diane and the staff started showing up. I retrieved my Passport with my new Visa in it and we chatted awhile about how the trip had gone and how they could help me if I needed anything when I got back. So with plenty or time I headed back to the hotel. I called down and had a bell boy come get my bags while I checked out. He got me a taxi, loaded my bags and we were off. It took about 15 minutes to get to the airport and it was just 9:45 so I knew I was good. When I got in the airport it was a little hard finding where the airline counter was so I walked around and finally found someone who could tell me. I got in the line and waited for about 10 minutes. Finally I got to check in and she said my bags were over the limit. Well no surprise there after the debacle in Amsterdam. So I got my baggage ticket and went in search of the cashier. I finally found it after being re-routed by three other cashiers, and there were 10 people in line. So I got in the “queue” and waited my turn. It was now 10:15 so I was still good. I waited for nearly 30 minutes before they finally got to me, and of course I had no UAE Dirhams left so I asked if they would take Saudi money. He figured out the conversion and said yes so I paid him and headed to the gates. Again I went through Passport control, then through X-ray and once again was on my way. It was now about 11 and I still had about 30 minutes so I thought and started my long walk. I had just gotten on the escalator when I heard a message on the intercom. “Attention, Passenger Mr. Stan Young flying on Saudi Airlines flight 569, please report to gate number 110 immediately for boarding”. Great what in the world, the flight doesn’t leave till 11:50 and it is just now 11. Well I knew I had to move so I got on the moving walkways and ran all the way down the tunnel. When I got to the other end I was out of breath and had to go up two flights of escalators.

I got on the first and then I heard it again, “Attention, Passenger Mr. Stan Young flying on Saudi Airlines flight 569, please report to gate number 110 immediately for boarding, you are holding the flight up. Please make your way to the gate or we will begin unloading your baggage from the plane”. Great I was going as fast as I could and still was about 10 gates away. I hit the floor running once again and got to the gate just as they were getting ready to make the last announcement. I explained about the Extra baggage line and they said no problem please board. So I went down the Jet way and into the plane, found my seat and buckled in. Apparently from when I made my reservation and that morning they had rescheduled the flight and I had no idea. The flight was a short 50 minute flight, they served lunch and were just cleaning up when we made our descent. Well unknown to me the rest of the fun was just about to begin. We landed and parked at the gate. I grabbed my things and headed for Passport Control. Of course the lines were long and I got in the shortest I could find which was about 20 people. An officer came over and said if I had a Residence Visa I could go to the end line where only two people were standing, yes finally something good... NOT! So I moved my things and stood in line and about 5 minutes later I was handing him my Passport. He looked it up in the system and then said something in Arabic to me and I said I don’t understand? He wrote something down and handed it to me and then again said something and pointed. He realized I still didn’t understand so he found someone who could speak English. The guy explained to me that I was missing some number and I needed to go upstairs to the main office and they would help me. So I grabbed my things once again and walked up three flights of stairs. Again out of breath after hauling all of it up, I got to the office. The guy was on the phone so I patiently waited. Another 15 minutes goes by and still on the phone. Finally another guy saw me standing there and asked what I needed and I explained. He took my Passport and walked off. So I waited another 20 minutes and finally he came back and said, "ok". I took my Passport, thanked him and headed back down to baggage claim.

So finally after about an hour or so I was getting my bags off the conveyor and headed to x-ray. As my bags came out he said, "what is in that box"? I told him they were Lanyards for my company. He looked at his x-ray screen and studied it for awhile and then looked at me again. He said, "explain", so I showed him how the Lanyard went around my neck and held a badge. He finally put his stamp on the box and said, "ok". I loaded all my bags on the cart and headed to arrivals. My driver was waiting for me and while I made a pit stop, he headed for the door with my cart. We rode downstairs and he left me standing there to get the car. He pulled around to the walkway, put my things in the trunk, climbed in and once again we were on our way. The ride was 45 minutes where he dropped me off at my room and left. I sent a message to the site to have someone pick me up, so while I waited I unpacked as much as I could. Finally I had made it back to the Sandbox and reality had set in. About 20 minutes later the driver showed up, we loaded up things I need to take to the site, 20 minutes later I was in my office and the door hasn’t darkened since I got here.

So you are all caught up of my wonderful travel experience. Hope you had as much fun as I did and now it is just 13 more weeks and I can do it all over again. Stay tuned for the next update when I have something good to tell you.