Easter Sunday Weather Delay in Ha'il

Rain during the night may have cleared in the air Ha'il but it did not help the conditions in Al Ahsa.  When we awoke Al Ahsa was IFR moving to LIFR with forecast conditions to not improve until later tonight.  First we delayed our flight by 3 hours and then our decision was made for us when we discovered that the airport would close before we could arrive.  So we now had a day in Ha'il.  A late and comfortable breakfast was followed by some housekeeping a people viewing.  Our hotel room is situated above the family dining area (a large outdoor patio balcony).  Only women and children are allowed in this area.  All the women wear the traditional black burqa and eat by pulling there face covering away, fascinating to watch but definitely not attractive.  Peter also had to look after his stomach with some Imodium, so the timing was probably fortuitous.

Because we were having trouble getingt hold of Saudi Ground Services (SGS), we took a cab to the airport.  The cost of SR50 (approx $15) had to be sourced from an ATM as the driver would not accept dollars.  Finding SGS involved knocking on a few doors and asking the Airport manager who was kind enough to help us.  SGS could be found through a door signed Immigration.  After three or four cups of tea we managed to sort out our arrangements with SGS and head back towards the hotel.

Instead of gong straight back to the hotel we popped into the Ha'il mall.  Clearly we were there at the wrong time as it was empty and half of the shops were closed.  While trying to find a coffee shop we nearly made a big faux pas and walked into a women's only coffee shop.  Luckily a gentleman spotted us and explained that we were not allowed in there.  Not finding any coffee we bought some new socks and a towel for our journeys.  People are obviously not used to seeing westerners in the Mall as many people kept on staring at us.  One individual seemed to be following us around as we kept bumping into him, In the end he served us at the cash till in the place were we bought our socks, but again later he turned up in the Hotel; I wonder?

We were advised of a place to eat and grabbed a taxi, Al Asala الأصالة للمثلوثة is a local Saudi restaurant were you sit on the floor and eat your food with your hands. I had bar barque chicken on skewers and Peter a whole chicken and rice, total cost SR50, ($15).  Good value for good food.  Again they clearly were not used to westerners and spoke no English, no problems we got by.

All fed and happy because Man Utd beat Chelsea off to bed early for a big flight to Al Ahsa tomorrow.  The forecast looks better, but we will need to check when we awake.

Happy Easter to all