It's been sort of slow lately, with Christmas holidays, and now Hajj going on. Therefore, it's been hard to keep the word count up (as Erik Trinidad of my favorite BootsnAll blog, The Global Trip 2004 (http://blogs.bootsnall.com/theglobaltrip/) might say...I highly recommend you check it out, after you read this blog, of course). We're going to have a break next week after Hajj is over (Eid al Adha), so I'll probably be doing some traveling then. With our current threat level, we can't drive anywhere, so our overland plans to go to UAE are nixed. Instead, I think we're going to Oman. I probably won't ever have another chance (at least not one that's so easy), so it seems like a good place to go.

I was up in Dammam last week where I met the guy with the poisonous snakes in his pocket (see previous entry). It was a good trip, with some rewarding training that got accomplished and the added opportunity to relax. The Saudis work until around noon prayer call, so once the Muezzin started in with the "Allaaaaaaaaahu Akhbar! Allaaaaaaaaaahu Akhbar!" it was time to knock off, grab lunch, and go home. Basically, I just did a lot of exercising, and reading, which was nice.

On the way up, we drove at a mind-numbingly slow 110 kph. The normal speed that everyone drives on the roads around here is somewhere around 130-150 kph. And, it's not uncommon at all to see folks cruising by you at close to 200kph. Usually, those are the shiny BMWs or Mercedes. Finally, after a stop because the guy in front of me was hitting himself in the head repeatedly to stay awake (he'd just gotten back from some vacation back in the US), we picked up the pace.

On the way back, after spending a couple of hours in minor sandstorm, that same guy looked down at his gas tank (not 5 minutes after we'd come out of a station where he neglected to fill up) and realized he was about to run out of gas. We were getting close to Riyadh but had no idea whether he'd make it or not, so, at the first station we found (on the other side of the highway), we pulled over to see if they had a gas can. While the third guy with us watched our vehicles, we'd get some gas.

He and I waited for a clear space, and then, like the old video game "Frogger," we ran across the 3 lanes of 100+ mph traffic, hopped over the guardrail in the median, and then "Froggered" it across the other side to the gas station. A typical Saudi truck stop, it had the usual gas pumps and a mechanic on site, but also a quasi-convenience store and the ubiquitous mosque. We call them, "Pump and Prays."

We walked in, past the two black lumps by the door that were women begging, and wandered up and down the aisles looking for a gas can. Figuring that we couldn't have been the first idiots to have run out of gas, we figured there should be one, at least. Nothing. Zip, Zero, Nada (as Rush would say). So, he opted for the next best thing...an orange Igloo-type cooler. About a gallon in size, we figured it would be enough to fill his tank enough to get a station.

While he paid, I bought a couple of bottles of water and juices. After the purchase, I split them into 2 bags, and stuck a 20 riyal note inside, and then, without making any sort of eye contact or conversation with the lumps, sat them next to them, and walked off...Women here have an interesting lot in life...I'll leave it at that. Figured I could do something to help a bit.

Once the cooler was filled up with unleaded, we dodged our way across traffic again, cut the end off of a water bottle, and funneled the gas into the tank. With about half the cooler in, we started up, drove off, and got about 2 miles down the road before the truck died completely. Despite draining the rest of the cooler of gas into the tank, it just wouldn't start.

I'd gone onto the next exit, and couldn't get back to them, so I stopped and waited outside a neighborhood just up the road. Having been here for a while, now, I'm pretty used to the way things are. Still, sitting there, out in the open, just felt sort of risky. It probably wasn't, but everyone is so paranoid around here, that you just are always on "yellow" alert at a minimum. The 15 minutes felt a bit longer. I'm pretty sure I wasn't in any danger. But, you know, it's not paranoia if someone's really out to get you.

Finally, I saw the two trucks coming up the access road, one towed closely behind the other. We pulled into a gas station across the highway, and with some Bangladeshi guys pushed the truck up to the pump, and gilled it up. Once it had gas, it started with no problem.

Finally, after giving those gas guys a hefty tip, we were able to get back on the way home. Not 30 seconds into the final leg, our phones started ringing, giving the "It looked full when we stopped for gas 400 km ago so I didn't think I needed to fill up"-guy a hard time. First his buddies, then his boss...it didn't stop for days.

Other than that, we had a chili-cook off for the tsunami relief, and one of my guys made the hottest chili I think I've ever had. I had a bowl of his first, and tried tasting all the other entries, but couldn't because the taste buds were overloaded. We raised about $250 for UNICEF that way...Sacrificing many taste buds for a good cause.

Hopefully, the next few weeks will have a few more entertaining entries. The Lovely Wife is off on a cruise, and is incommunicado for a while (blogwise, anyhow), so I'll try to take up the slack.

By the way, we've heard from a few of our old friends and some new ones by way of the comments...How many of you are actually checking in from time to time? Also, if you've got some burning question about Saudi Arabia or Japan that you just don't have time to plug into Google, feel free to ask it here! We'd love to hear from you! Plus, it gives us incentive to post more often!