Richard Yeomans

I have been on stand by in the Hotel for the last 2 days and I must admit I am enjoying relaxing a little.  The only problem is I’m not getting enough sleep, I seem to be staying up quite late and then I have to get up for breakfast. The hotel is very nice and the food is great.  Last night we had a the best seafood buffet I have ever seen.  Everything served last night had to be shipped in from all around the world and it was all so fresh, it seemed a little wrong.

The weather is as you would expect, hot and sunny, reaching about 35 degrees at the hottest time of the day.  We went for a walk to look at the shops, there was nothing I really wanted to buy.  Lisa the flight attendant, had to dress up as you can see in the photo.  I did find it hard not to laugh. 

I was struck by the alien culture, it is just so very different to anything I have come across before.  There just are so few women about, it really is unusual to see them in the street and hardly any of them work. Women are not allowed to drive and there are some complex rules about going out unattended that I have yet to grasp. I was expecting the infrastructure in Jeddah to be better than it is.  Many of the buildings are in disrepair and there is poverty in the streets.  Mostly the poor seem to be non Saudi nationals but it wasn’t what I was expecting.  I have met a few Saudis in the hotel and they seem very warm and welcoming and they all seem to speak good English.  I felt safe walking the streets and that is more than you can say for Luton!