Comments on: Video Update: Why Visit Saudi Arabia?

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:07:09 +0000

@Abdul,

Thanks so much for your kind feedback. As mentioned, I wish you well, and I understand that other people may enjoy Saudi more than me.

I wrote about the near-deportation experience in an article a few days before this one, called “Getting to Saudi Arabia.”

By: Abdul Alzaid

Abdul Alzaid — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 07:53:46 +0000

Hello Chris,

Thank you for your honest post. I am a Saudi and have been living in Riyadh practically all my life. A shame you suffered to get the visa and then had such a bad experience. Judging from what you said about your limited time and experience in the country, I understand why you did not like it there. I am disappointed, but not offended because it would be naive to assume everyone who visits must enjoy it. You did not however shed light on why you were going to be deported, which left me wondering! There are over 8 million expats here including roughly 50,000 Americans who enter and leave the country without a hitch?

I am not saying the country is an ideal tourist attraction for westerners because it is not. In fact, I have a lot of issues with how things are run here and such, but I agree with the other comments that there is more to Saudi if you try to see what is beneath the surface. Ultimately, everywhere you go you will find the good and the bad, and I know this because my extensive traveling experience can corroborate such assertion.

At this time of globalization where every country is trying to transform its big cities into replicas of the ‘ideal’ westernized metropolitan city, it is refreshing to experience a place that is unique in many ways.

I know you are not coming back, but if you know anyone who is planning to visit in the future, let me know so I could ensure they rank it better than you did in their marathon run, or in layman’s terms, get their money’s worth.

Cheers

By: ieishah

ieishah — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:38:30 +0000

i don’t have anything smart to add to this conversation except to say that in the paragraph before the ‘your thoughts?’ header, i thought you were going to launch into the ‘facts of life’ theme song. my 20 days, 7 cities tour is over as well, and i’m back at home in new york for the next two months… for the first time in 2 years. somehow, it doesn’t feel like mile 3.

By: jen

jen — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:01:26 +0000

I love the metaphor – Saudi Arabia – mile 22.

By: Louis

Louis — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:33:48 +0000

Hi Chris, for me, it’s not the final third of the marathon that is exhausting…. I felt exhausted at the final third of all runs, regardless of the distance.

Anyway, it is great to find your blog and be part of your army.

It is amazing how internet have brought people from different parts of the world together. By the way, I’m from Singapore.

Enjoy your weekend!

By: Leigh

Leigh — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:39:59 +0000

I love that analogy! For me, just the first 10 are ‘fun.’ Beyond that it has to be for something – training for a goal, running a marathon, etc. And although a lot of runners told me to ‘have fun’ with my first marathon, the only actual enjoyable parts were the start and the finish.
Congrats on your Saudi FINISH.

By: Darren Alff

Darren Alff — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:29:43 +0000

I personally find that traveling to those difficult places (or doing those difficult things), while they may not be fun at the moment, are often times the moments you remember most once the experience is over. The easy places to go and the easy things to do are often times not worth remembering… or talking about. It is the hard things to do and the difficult places to travel that are, in the end, going to be the most memorable… and therefore the most rewarding.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:05:15 +0000

@Bram: One of my Saudi colleagues, who lives in Jeddah, told me similar things about it, and I promised him that next time I would go there, unfortunately I no longer work for that company any more and didn’t make it back. Like you I am Jewish and had no problems (although I did leave my religion blank on the visa application!). Fortunately I didn’t have any Israeli stamps in my newish passport.

@Chris: certainly am in awe of your courage in going without a visa! I was nervous as hell with a visa, although I had no problems. It seems that if you don’t have a business purpose in going it will always be difficult to get into Saudi, and of course, you must be male as well. In fact the main reason I ended up going was because my colleague in London, who had more to do with our Saudi operation than I, is female, and was thus unable to go herself.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:22:48 +0000

@Rebecca,

No problem with disagreeing. In the context of the video I was referring more to big goals (marathons and travel, for example) – I’ve yet to find a big goal that’s truly fulfilling without requiring some sacrifice.

Breathing and telling people I appreciate them are also important, but don’t really fall in the same context.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:53:19 +0000

“In other words, nothing worth doing is ever easy.”

Do you REALLY believe that, Chris?

I love your stuff. (And not just the free stuff either; I’m a delighted customer!) AND I have to respectfully disagree with you here because I find that pretty much everything I truly love doing can be effortless.

I just took a breath. It was really easy and very much worth doing. I just told a member of my family “I love you.” That, too, was really easy. I just felt the most overwhelming sense of gratitude for a series of amazingly wonderful experiences I had today. Easy as pie.

Sometimes I think that EVERYTHING that is REALLY worth doing is effortless, easy, flowing, free of struggle. And at the risk of sounding totally “woowoo,” whether or not anything feels easy or difficult does seem to come down to my attitude toward it in the moment.

blessings,
Rebecca