abtravels

Jeddah

I landed at Jeddah airport in the early hours of the morning. My impressions of public institutions in the KSA are that they could be a lot more improved with regards to signage and clear directions. I was unable to see any clear signs as to where to go and simply followed the crowds. Any signs that I did see had text that was too small for me to read without going right up to the sign. So they could make things a bit more clearer and make the signs a bit more larger but the second point is probably more for myself due to sight. 

Anyway I went to collect my hold luggage at first and I initially got a bit concerned because after about two rotations of the right belt I couldn’t find my luggage. I then began checking the luggage which had been taken off the belt and were placed on the ground. I remember my mum placed a blue plastic ribbon from a carrier bag around the handle so I could spot the luggage. After walking back and forth between the two sides of the conveyor belt I found my luggage with the padlock still on. Such a relief!

My next stop was border control. Again with limited clear signs, it was difficult to know which lines to join. There were two – one for KSA residents and another for non KSA residents. When I joined the queue there were about 6 passengers in front of me. When I say 6 passengers I dont mean 6 individual people but these were groups of 3-4 people who were travelling together. It’s still uncommon for solo pilgrims to do Umrah by themselves. Most people choose to go with friends/family. It took about 20 minutes before I was called up.

Border Control

Border control was meant to be relatively straight forward. I made sure to greet everyone with Assalamu-alliakum (Peace be upon you) but the guy at the desk didn’t reply or address me, he just stuck out his hand for my passport. He was wearing the traditional head covering in Saudi Arabia like a turban. 

On checking in at border control you don’t need your KSA visa which I showed the guy but he nodded his head to say it wasn’t required. After a few clicks on the computer he motioned towards a little device which was used to take fingerprints. I came to know/understand that fingerprints were a very common security control in Saudi Arabia not just at the airport. 

I initially placed my right thumb on the glass on the device. I did not press too hard at this point. It was soon after the guard made me switch fingers on my right hand whilst pressing down my fingers using a tissue over my hand. This went on for about 10 minutes and I could sense that he was struggling to get the machine to get my fingerprints. He then asked me to lift my fingers so he could check my finger tips. At this point he laughed a little and asked me to confirm whether I had any skin conditions as apparently I don’t have any fingerprints because the system is really struggling. 

After a few more attempts I assumed it finally worked and the guy was relieved a little and very quickly returned my passport and waved me through. On reflection, to be fair to him, I have had similar issues in the UK in various circumstances.

It was only a short walk to the exit of the airport out towards the parking areas and taxi’s. Before I left the building though I needed the toilet and as there were limited signs I didn’t know where the nearest ones were. I asked a guy wearing a lanyard so I think he worked there. He directed me more towards the front. Now I can’t see very well and I certainly couldn’t see where exactly he was pointing at but I just walked in the direction. 

I came around a corner to a half opened door, in which I could see some tiles on the floor so I assumed this was it. On opening the door a bit more to get in my luggage I immediately came across two women who had their voices raised to stop me from going any further. They had headscarves but no veil. 

I didn’t understand what they were trying to say at first but then I recognised the word “Ladies” so I went straight back out. As I looked back out I noticed the guy who had directed me and he was now pointing to the other side. When looking across this made a lot more sense as men were coming out. 

Toilets at Jeddah airport are pretty clean but the floors can be a bit wet so be careful on this. Also I would come to find out later that generally across Saudi Arabia squat toilets for men are much more common culturally but at the airport they were all sit down toilets which was much more convenient if you’re uncomfortable or unfamiliar in using squat toilets.

SIM Card Purchase

With Saudi Arabia being an international destination outside the EU, roaming charges will apply which are exceedingly expensive whatever network you’re on in the UK. I’m on GiffGaff and the inclusive minutes, texts and data you can buy as part of a rolling pay as you go credit, whilst they can be used as normal within the EU will not cover the KSA. 

Because of this, it’s always recommended to buy a SIM card when you land so that you can use data/minutes as required. I have some friends who did not purchase this as they were comfortable using the hotel wifi as and when needed but as I post on SnapChat quite frequently on travelling, as well  as navigation requirements, data is quite key for me when travelling. 

At Jeddah airport or any commercial places for that matter across Makkah/Madinah you will normally find SIM card operator stalls. This is quite a large commercial business in KSA from what I hear. These stalls were right before the exit and there were stalls for Zain, and Salam which are two big operators in the KSA. There is a queuing system and line for each stall so I can imagine it gets quite busy and there are a lot of travellers purchasing these sims when they land.

I asked for a SIM card and the guy at the desk who spoke English referred me to the leaflet on the desk with the Visitor deals. There’s a basic data package that gives you 4GB of data and then there were 3 other packages increasing in price as well as data, minutes and texts. 

I settled for the second package which was the Visitor 60 package which gives you 20GB of data, 150 inclusive minutes that can be used for international calls and some texts (I never used texts so can’t remember). 

Now to purchase a SIM card in Saudi Arabia, the security controls are much more stringent. On top of providing all your details they take your fingerprints as well. Once again they struggled to get mine. For a period of half an hour and switching fingers nothing seemed to be working. The guy at the desk requested help from a colleague of his but still no luck and he said the system doesn’t seem to be working even though I knew that it was a problem with taking my finger prints. 

In the end from what I can gather he cancelled the transaction and started anew using his own fingerprints and fake names. This was very kind of him to be fair as he was taking a little risk if I look at it from his shoes. He was also very helpful to put the sim into my phone by removing the SIM tray and inserting the SIM into the SIM card 2 tray on my Samsung Galaxy which is dual sim. 

Immediately I got the notifications and the SMS messages from the Zain network that everything was now connected and the Welcome to Saudi Arabia text. So all is good. It was a little more pricier than what I had found online but at the airport, the prices are generally a bit more steeper so keep this in mind. 

Security at Jeddah airport is quite standard to be honest. Actually it was much easier for me as I never got questioned like I do within Europe or put into a room for questioning as has happened a few times already! Initial impressions were that the staff were a bit unfriendly but to be honest, that’s not really fair. It was very early in the morning and security at airports with so many pilgrims is a big ask so I can understand why you wouldn’t be in a mood to welcome everyone. Security at Jeddah was pretty standard to be honest and nothing unusual.

Emaar Elite Hotel

On exiting the airport, there are many taxi drivers standing outside and a line of taxis in the car parks just in front. Immediately, you are bombarded by “Taxi? Taxi? Tourist?” I already had my transfers booked and from Whatsapp messages from the driver I understood he was already waiting outside. 

My driver’s name was Yousaf and I asked the drivers who were already waiting outside “Yousaf? Yousaf?” to which they still asked “Taxi? Taxi?” I informed them I already had a taxi booked at which point they shook their heads and said no and returned to looking at the exit for the next passenger. 

Yousaf messaged me on WhatsApp to say he was at parking area 4 which was just in front of me. There was a bus that was stopping in the road in front just before the parking lot and I couldn’t spot a driver or car. I tried repeatedly calling him on WhatsApp but it was really strange at first as the calls would ring and it seemed to get picked up but there was no sound, and next thing was a hang up sound. This happened repeatedly. 

After 5 minutes of walking around the parking lot I still couldn’t find him so I returned back to the entrance. A guy again asked me if I needed a taxi and I informed him that I had a taxi booked but I couldn’t find the driver. He seemed to understand this and asked for the driver’s number to which he typed on his phone and made a call. It was only a minute after this when he escorted me a very short distance to meet my driver Yousaf who was wearing a white shirt and trousers, more formal than what I was expecting. His car again was very close by in parking bay 4. It was just a few meters in from the exit to the airport so not right at the back. The car was a white Lexus automatic and at first I began putting my own luggage into the boot before Yousaf stopped me and motioned that he would do this, so that I could just enter the car.

Yousaf asked if I spoke Urdu to which I replied “Bengali”. Most taxi drivers speak Urdu whilst Bengali’s typically occupy roles such as Housekeepers or waiters I would discover. He offered me bottled water which I declined as I wasn’t going to drink on the drive. 

I adjusted my seat slightly to take it a bit back so as to give me more leg room. Beyond all this I didn’t speak much during the trip to Yousaf, but he did inform me that we had crossed into Makkah when we did. The total drive was about an hour and a half from Jeddah Airport to Emaar Elite Hotel in Makkah. I would have taken some pics out the window on the drive as I usually do on these trips but as it was dark this wasn’t really possible.