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Saudi Arabia - Been there, done that on a family vacation sponsored by my brother who was posted to the US Embassy. It was a unique experience! My wife had to w
by jbuzbee 11y ago
Saudi Arabia - Been there, done that on a family vacation sponsored by my brother who was posted to the US Embassy. It was a unique experience! My wife had to wear the head-to-toe covering, was not allowed to drive, had to eat in restaurants behind a curtain etc. I have lots of stories. Here's one: We try and pick up artwork in very country we visit but were initially thwarted in Saudi by the "Religious Police". The heavily-armed police saw us coming as my blue-eyed, blond daughter stood out like a sore thumb. They cut us off and told us that we would not be allowed to enter the gallery we were attempting to visit because the owner had tried to allow men and women inside for a show at the same time. They had positioned large curtains around the shop and said that my wife could enter by herself if she desired. We declined.
- irix 11y agoI've been there on business 3 times in the 2010-2011 timeframe. It is fairly straightforward to get in on a business visa if you have an invitation letter from a company in the Kingdom - in my case one of the local telecom companies.
- jpatokal 11y agoThe one quirk about KSA business visas is that they require not just an invitation letter (which is pretty standard), but Chamber of Commerce approval for said letter, which usually takes forever... which is why the usual approach is to go via an agent, who can magically get the approval in a day or two in exchange for a "facilitation fee" of several hundred dollars. Which was a handy preview of how a country can be both filthy rich (at least if you're in the 1% that has "al Saud" in the family name) and still thoroughly corrupt.