guest user
3/17/2001 23:25 EST
" 1. The cats present two problems. The first is that, because there are thousands and thousands of cats in Riyadh (hardly any dogs, because they are Haram to Muslims), the Customs officers will wonder why anyone would bring more of them here. Hopefully, someone with actual experience of bringing cats to Riyadh (if anyone has) will see your question and advise - I do not know anyone who has done so. The second, and more serious, problem is that the next country you travel to will insist on quarantine for the cats before admission. This I do know about, as two of my friends recently moved to Australia from Riyadh, taking cats with them. Before they could be admitted into Australia, the wife had to reside in Bahrain for 6 months while the cats were quarantined there. During this period, the husband continued to reside and work in Riyadh. After the 6 months, they went on to Australia. I understand that there are vets in Riyadh, but not many. 2. The laptops, as Ms. Diede says, should present no problem if in carry-on. However, you will find that there are different rules for first-time arrivals than for ""experienced"" expats. All luggage of first-time arrivals is usually examined more rigorously than repeaters. Remove, hide, or otherwise conceal any files of sexual, pornographic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or other ""possibly"" inflammatory material (including ""Western"" dancing). 3. The dance videos present another problem. They still have one of ours, and all it had on it was a dance lesson from an old Oprah Winfrey show. We do have ballroom dance classes and dances in Riyadh (lots of them in fact, including black-tie affairs), but we don''t dance where they can observe, and we don''t allow locals in our dances. I occasionally do a gig as a DJ. This spring they are tightening the screws a little, and the Muttawa (representatives of the Office of Call and (moral) Guidance) have disrupted our ""bazaars"" in Riyadh, although ""Faure''s Requiem"" was presented last night (it was excellent). Muttawa pressure ebbs and flows like the tides. If you can, postpone importing the tapes until a later trip, when you will be a repeater. 4. There are, I believe, 38 licensed ISP''s in Saudi, and most operate everywhere in the Kingdom. I pay SR (Saudi Riyals) 190 per month for unlimited usage (about Cdn $73, or US$ 50). Lower charges are available for users who require less time. Unfortunately, bandwidth is not as available as in North America, so slow transmission is a problem. 5. I am a Canadian Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant, working for an agency of the Saudi government, and I love it here (after 10 years of being here). You can''t count the activities you can participate in and enjoy here, and most expats suffer because they build walls in their mind that would not otherwise exist. Ms. Westwood (whoever she is) and my wife have not enjoyed it here. If your attitude is wrong, you''ll suffer. If you want to learn about other cultures, societies, religions, and temperaments, this is the greatest place in the world. If you have an open mind, you will find Saudi logic much different from ours, but there is an underlying logic that can be found if you try. Personally, I find the logic of the Brits and Americans here just as difficult to live with as that of the Saudis. Life is what you make it. Name any place in the world where that rule doesn''t apply. 6. Rule #1 for ""getting by"" in Saudi is ""It''s easier to obtain forgiveness than permission"". "
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