IAH to Dubai and Dammam

We’re sitting in Emirates Airline’s Marhaba Lounge in Dubai between flights.

Our flight from IAH to Dubai was long (14 hr) but nice.  The aircraft was state-of-the art, even in economy.  The ICE inflight entertainment system at each seat is awesome.  In addition to 1000 channels of movies/music, it also included USB and power hookups for your iPod or computer and forward and downward video from the aircraft, so you could watch take-off and landing. Another nice touch: cabin ceiling lighting that changed to simulate sunrise, sunset and a starry night sky to help you adjust to your destination’s time.

Immigration at Dammam, Saudi Arabia was an absolute farce.  After standing in line for 1.5 hours, not a single person had made it through the visitors’ line.  I finally had to go to the bathroom and ventured into the women’s room off the immigration hall.  To my surprise, it was full of men...peeing all over the place!  There was no place for me to use the restroom!  It took about 2 hours to get out of immigration.  We never did figure out the hold up. Some of us were being photographed and fingerprinted, others not.  ??? At one point, the official working our line, left for tea.  That accounted for about 15 minutes of the wait.  (We have since been told that, while it’s always bad, it is usually not THAT bad.  Many Aramcons fly into Bahrain and enter the country across the causeway to avoid the fiasco.)

We all piled onto a bus and were dropped off at our respective hotels.  Extra security measures are everywhere.  All of our bags had to be put through an x-ray machine in the lobby before we could take them up to our rooms.  Armed Saudi military are stationed at the security gate to the hotel, and a large, camouflaged carport in the drive hides a machine gun truck that has been backed in and is ready to go.  A little unnerving.  

Trip SNAFU #1:  Marie has her mother’s keys (house and car) in her carry on bag.  OOPS!

Trip SNAFU #2:  Khobar is not 110V, and neither of us brought an adapter.  That would have been a good detail to know before we packed.