Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

My experience in Saudi Arabia began about 5:00 a.m. When I went down for breakfast on our small ship which was cruising the Red Sea, there were Saudi soldiers with machine guns locking up the liquor on board! I had been a little apprehensive about visiting a country with so many restrictions against women, but I was very excited about actually seeing Saudi Arabia which had always sounded so exotic to me. When we boarded our bus, this mysterious man who always wore sun glasses boarded the bus as well. Everywhere we stopped, he took photos of everyone in our group. At some point, I asked him why he was taking photos. He replied that they were for the tourism website for the town of Tabuk. As soon as I got home, I checked the web, and there is no such website! So, am I now in the permanent files of the Government of Saudi Arabia as a suspicious person? I couldn't resist taking his photo since he was so intent on taking all of ours!