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.
Leave a Reply