Reading threads like these I always wonder why the hell people go anywhere near the place at all, surely the money can't be that good? Aren't there other things more important?
Reading threads like these I always wonder why the hell people go anywhere near the place at all, surely the money can’t be that good?
Money is a powerful motivator. Not to mention possible career ramifications of refusing to go. Saying that, I won't be going anywhere near the region for the rest of my life.
The people I really can't understand are the ones who choose to spend their own money to go on holiday anywhere in the Middle East.
As someone who has lived there I can only assume they are monumentally stupid and/or ignorant, or just really like gambling with their freedom.
Russia was not because of the chance of being ‘banged up’ but because of the constant bribery required and the living/hotel/accomodation was dire.
Ever worked in Nigeria?
I thought Russia was a holiday camp compared to Nigeria.
Ukraine on the other hand, hated the place....
Reading threads like these I always wonder why the hell people go anywhere near the place at all, surely the money can’t be that good?
I guess it depends. If you're working out there for long stints you normally get something like 2x the salary for the same job back home, which can make a big difference (you also won't spend any money out there, living in compounds etc).
I used to just visit random customers for a day or two all over the world and occasionally you'd go somewhere shite, but only for a day or two. No salary uplift at all as I was based in the UK. I quite enjoyed it, although going into Saudi etc carrying SSRIs was a bit scary as there was a 1 in 500 chance you might spend the next 10 years in prison there. You sort of didn't think too much about it and being male, white and in a suit, unlikely to be stopped esp if you're very polite.
Reading threads like these I always wonder why the hell people go anywhere near the place at all, surely the money can’t be that good?
Especially when you can go to Japan for double the salary instead and have a whale of a time as I did for a decade or so 🙂
(TBF you can get locked up there pretty easily too if you get involved in any altercation with a local. But I think the risk/reward seems a lot better than Saudi.)
Jeez. Sounds like a really happy place to be!
Probably because they have an all powerful royal family.
The people I really can’t understand are the ones who choose to spend their own money to go on holiday anywhere in the Middle East.
I worked out in Qatar for a bit on secondment. When out there they tried the "we want you to stay" chat. On a big room one of the directors talked about the financial incentives and ended by saying it was as much about the lifestyle.
I laughed out loud at that point. As far as I could work out the lifestyle consisted of being fat, ignorant and alcoholic with a strong gammony after taste. Absolute shit hole.
My uncle did several stints out there (and various other similarly delightful places) through from late 70's through to early 90's, mostly commissioning/buying/selling O&G equipment/rigs/pipelines and what have you.
Used to spend the entirety of his stay either in a secure compound, office building, work site or a chauffeur driven merc (sometimes with armed security detail).
His wife hated it, his kids hated it (and once they had the option they went to very expensive boarding schools in the UK, paid for by the company).
But, he was banking around £100k a year.
Think what broke him was having to spend 2 years doing the same job in the southern USA/Gulf of Mexico. 1/3rd the money still 2/3rds of the hassle. So he took a board position that meant he never had to go anywhere, just London and Kent.
Final update; she is in Greece waiting for the next flight on to Belgium 🙂
Whilst the regime there is awful, she found all the people she was having meetings with to be fine. They just wanted to do business, and being a western woman was no barrier.
I might get a proper nights sleep tonight...
Agreed. Bit of an anticlimax though. 😀
YUp
apologies is we added to your anxiety over this
Oooh, the jeopardy! Glad she's on her way home safe and sound. 👍
Having experianced two contract terms in KSA my reflections are it a vile place with social contradictions at every turn.
Having my very descrete gold chain and with a tiny (yes tiny) cross on it ripped of my neck when I arrived in Riyad airport set the standard of expectation.
Being in Al Hofuf as I did twice a month over a two year period and being whipped in the street by the Muṭawwa (State Religious Police) for not going to prayers reinforced my view that this is backward, vile county that executes people on a weekley basis.
Please dont take anything in with you that has not been approved by the KSA Embassy in London with a piece of paper with an official stamp (oh boy do they love official stamps)
Even then expect some learing power craved nutter at customs to take it off you anyway.
I'll never step back in the place again.
The people I really can’t understand are the ones who choose to spend their own money to go on holiday anywhere in the Middle East.
I went to Saudi a couple of years ago for a short break. its a really interesting place, with massive changes and disparity in how conservative different areas of the country are. I'd reccomend it for someone who wants to understand a different culture rather than just judge it from the outside
I too amd glad she's out without incident. When you stated (on a public forum) she had entered the country and chosen not to declare it (walking through customs is not the same) I did worry... but obviously didn't get noticed so all ok in the end.
Only just seen this, but I wouldn't have been allowed to go by my company in that scenario. We were advised to carry nothing in that could cause issues and then purchase any required medication in country if needed.
Glad to hear she's out ok, I suggest she raises it as a near miss with her company though.
Wouldn't do it. I've been held for a couple of hours by border control just with hypertension medication and other medicine to counter the side effects of that.
I've been given injections containing morphine for tennis elbow, and not warned before I drove home. I remember only just making it, then sliding out onto the ground when I opened my car door to get out. Biggest pleasure I ever had in the kingdom 🤣
Paperwork, stamped, online, whatever, I helped train Jawazat and I wouldn't trust my trainees to act with commons sense the way we'd expect. They were generally high school grads who didn't have tribal connections to get them into the police. Had a fetish for sleep, guns, Playstation, Fifa, and control.
...don't forget the captagon...
Russia was not because of the chance of being ‘banged up’ but because of the constant bribery required and the living/hotel/accommodation was dire.
One of my ex-employers had to explain to the tax man why there were multiple payments to unidentified persons while they were setting up shop in Moscow.
Then once they were established, there was a regular order for dealer stock that would always, always go missing...
I laughed out loud at that point. As far as I could work out the lifestyle consisted of being fat, ignorant and alcoholic with a strong gammony after taste. Absolute shit hole.
My colleagues in Qatar were none of those things. They claimed that one of the benefits (apart from $$$) was that Qatar was a good hub to explore other countries e.g. quick hop to Kathmandu. In reality they spent their weekends shopping in glitzy malls and watching TV.
I went to Saudi a couple of years ago for a short break. its a really interesting place, with massive changes and disparity in how conservative different areas of the country are. I’d reccomend it for someone who wants to understand a different culture rather than just judge it from the outside
Same. I went there a few times for translating work on a SAR rail project in Riyadh. Had a (native) friend there and a proper locals tour. Eye opening. Last time was in August - that was absolutely not recommended.
Less fun was that some wag in my cycling Whatsapp group - knowing where I was - thought it would be funny to send a load of gay pr0n gifs to the group.
Imagine my surprise when I checked my messages on hotel wifi :/
Whilst the regime there is awful, she found all the people she was having meetings with to be fine. They just wanted to do business, and being a western woman was no barrier.
Interesting. MrsDoris caused a right kerfuffle (here in the UK) when a client from Saudia Airlines was visiting the office. MrsDoris stood up to say hello and shake his hand, and he recoiled in disgust and left the room! She was affronted at the time, she was even more hacked off when the company had to apologise to him for her impudence...
⬆️ bloody hell!
Many moons ago my father was offered a contract to design electricity turbines for a dam project for Qaddafi It was according to dad a blank cheque scenario where he could decide his own salary and I remember the discussions at the time about 5 years work would end with him retiring 20 years early, but we'd need to go and live in Libya
Parents decided not to do it, and one of the problems he said was the contract was in Arabic, which he would have to sign blindly.
I’d reccomend it for someone who wants to understand a different culture rather than just judge it from the outside
Are you suggesting that you understand Saudi society from the inside because you went for a short break to one of the most repressive countries on earth? 🤔
I’d reccomend it for someone who wants to understand a different culture rather than just judge it from the outside
If you want to understand any country I'd recommend going and living there for a while. Which I wouldn't recommend anyone do anywhere in the Middle East. The reason I say that is because I lived there for several years.
