Suck it up and Deal With it!

After more than five years here in Saudi Arabia, transportation continues to be a major frustration for me.  As you all should know by now, women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.  Many women here have drivers but I have not been so fortunate.  I must rely on my husband to take me places – shopping, the doctor, to visit friends, classes, etc.  

When I lived in the states before moving here in my mid-50s, I always had my own car and always drove myself wherever I needed to go.  Getting places was never the logistical nightmare for me that it is here in Saudi Arabia - and it also never really required advance planning on my part.  Here in KSA I need to arrange to go with another woman who has a driver or I need to make sure that my husband is available to take me places before I can confirm that I am going.  Plus I need to give him advance notice - because he hates spur-of-the-moment, last-minute plans.  And despite the fact that I tell him ahead of time and remind him several times, the night before I need to go somewhere he usually acts like it’s the first time he’s ever heard of it! 

Traffic congestion in Jeddah

Because getting around in Jeddah is difficult due to road construction everywhere and poor street planning, traffic in this city is usually quite congested - and the drivers are crazy, reckless, and inconsiderate.  For these reasons and many more – chief among them, that women must depend on men to drive them places - women are oftentimes delayed and late for appointments.  

My husband/my driver is a stickler when it comes to being on time and always has been.  Yesterday morning when he took me to the silk painting class, I was the first one to arrive – a good 15 minutes early.  I told him the class would be over at 11am.  One woman was late, so the class started late.  At 10:45am, I called my husband to tell him not to pick me up for at least another hour.  He wasn’t happy about it.  I hurried to finish my project but even at that, I didn’t get to the car until 12:15pm.  

More traffic congestion in Jeddah

Turns out he was extra grumpy because the car air conditioner had just stopped working, and he had some errands to run and instead he had to just sit there in the car waiting for me – plus my being so late from the class only added to his frustration.  He was fuming mad!   He told me that he just wasted a whole hour of his life sitting there waiting on me when he had so many other things he could have been doing.  It took him all afternoon before he cooled down enough to speak to me.  

Well, you know what?  Too bad.  HE’s the one who brought me to live in the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.  Transportation was NEVER a problem for me in my life until moving to Saudi Arabia.  It wasn’t MY fault he had to sit in the hot car waiting for me.  I see it as his choice.  We are living here because HE wants to, not me.  He knew what life would be like once we moved here.  My husband needs to just suck it up and deal with it.  

Rant over... 

P.S. - And if anyone wants to leave a comment saying why don't I just leave Saudi Arabia if I hate it so much here, save your breath.  I don't hate living here - but I DO hate having to depend on men to drive me around when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself.  

Mad Traveler's Quick Look at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Toni Riethmaier, manager at the beautiful Il Villaggio Restaurant here in Jeddah, sent me this video which he had a hand in producing. 

It is a lovely short film shot around the city of Jeddah, showing the Corniche area which runs along the Red Sea coastline and the old part of Jeddah called Al Balad. 

The video also shows a few of the sculptures around Jeddah, which I have highlighted many times on my blogs. 

It's interesting to note that the guide of the video is a man dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts - acceptable attire for men here, while women must cover up everything but their faces and hands.

It's a great quick look at the city I live in. 

All Aboard!

This year many of the religious pilgrims performing Hajj are using the brand new Makkah Metro rail system. Although in this its inaugural year, only 170,000 pilgrims will be transported via the system, in the future it is expected to be able to transport 2 million pilgrims during Hajj, covering a distance totaling 18 km and traveling at speeds from 80 to 120 km per hour. This rail, also known as the Mashair Railway, will greatly alleviate traffic congestion and parking problems, in addition to minimizing pollution and reducing accidents. It is being hailed as a major improvement in the efficiency of the Hajj experience in convenience, safety, comfort, and time.

The rail links Makkah with three different Islamic holy sites in the area that play a major role in performing the rites of Hajj. The total cost is estimated to be 6.5 billion Saudi riyals ($1.73 billion in US dollars) and should be able to accommodate 72,000 pilgrims each hour as they complete the various required steps in the Hajj process. About 20 per cent of the passengers at full capacity will be able to sit while being transported, while the rest will stand. The railway system is expected to be completed and fully operational by the next Hajj season in 2011.



There have been some issues and controversies that have come up in the process of building this new railway system. A British firm is claiming that the plans for the Makkah Metro were designed by them and were subsequently stolen and used for the project by a Chinese firm that was awarded the construction contract. Several non-Muslim Chinese engineers were deported after being caught in the holy city of Makkah, renowned for being a place that only Muslims are allowed to enter. Criticism also comes from some Muslims who feel that the railway system takes away much of the personal effort that pilgrims used to be required to make to perform Hajj, that limiting its use this first year to only Arab Muslims (Saudis and other GCC countries only) is unfair and discriminatory, and also that the cost of the fare – 250 SR ($66 US) for the entire four days of Hajj – is a rip-off considering the short distances traveled on the rail.



A much bigger railway project, called the Haramain High Speed Rail (also referred to as the Western Railway), is also underway in Saudi Arabia and in the future it is expected to revolutionize travel between the two holiest cities of Islam – Makkah and Medina. The bustling seaport of Jeddah has always been the main point at which most pilgrims enter the country due to its close location to both Makkah and Medina. The Western Railway will also connect to Jeddah’s airport, tremendously easing the transportation of millions of religious pilgrims every year between the holy cities. The total distance to be covered by the project will be 444 km (276 miles) and will offer high speed electric trains traveling at 320 km an hour. It is projected to accommodate 3 million travelers each year, eliminating the need for the use of tens of thousands of busses and other vehicles that currently carry the pilgrims to and fro.



The new railway system, along with the construction this past year of the magnificent gigantic Makkah Clock Tower and the development of many new high-rise luxury hotels and apartments which have sprung up surrounding the famous Kaaba Stone, ushers in a new era of comfort, lavishness, and effortlessness for Muslims fulfilling their religious obligation of performing Hajj at least once in their lifetime. Never before have Muslims had such a wide spectrum of modern options and conveniences available to them which might make their Hajj encounter more comparable to the atmosphere of a trip to Disneyland rather than the somber and physically grueling religious rituals of centuries past.


Here are some related articles to the Makkah Metro and Hajj:
1. Mecca Makeover: How the Hajj Has Become Big Business for Saudi Arabia
2. Mashair Railway Set For Historic Opening
3. Test Ride on Makkah Metro on Aug. 1
4. Pilgrim transportation geared like well-oiled machine: Prince Khaled
5. Returning Hajis find Makkah a city transformed
6. Makkah Metro Carries 66,000 Pilgrims on First Day