February 25, Riyadh, Saudi ar

 Day 1 — or Day 1.5 kind of...

We were caught in a snowstorm in the Northeast, and all flights were grounded. Bizarrely, our airline kept pushing the timeline back, so we would be arriving in Saudi Arabia in March. We rebooked with another airline, only to have that cancel, and then another, and another, as they too were pushed forward. Strangely, every one of them disabled the “Cancel” button.

We spent the morning of February 23 canceling those that got pushed — phones, online chats — and with all the onslaught of AI ability to respond to an emergency, it seems to have only gotten worse. Why disable the Cancel button? It could save hours and hours. The snow lasted for 12 hours, and by noon on the 23rd, it was all done, and even the roads around us were cleared.

Royal Jordanian came through, and we took off on the 24th. The crew was really lovely and hospitable — it kind of felt like a family affair. My favorite thing about planes: the meals :) For dinner, they served bread and butter and cheese, then phyllo cups with preserves and brie, and after the main dish, a cheese plate with generous cuts of blue, brie, and some harder cheese, among other things. Say "Cheese" :) The adventure begins :)

During our brief layover at the airport in Amman, we saw the pilgrims to Mecca — men dressed in white rubber sandals and wrapped in a white cloth, holding plastic bags, reminiscent of someone getting ready for a bath. Non-local women at the airport were generally dressed in Western style. A large group of Filipino women workers got on our flight to Riyadh.

A different animal lineup on the merry-go-round

Arriving in the evening of the 25th, the remaining goal for the day was going to Diriyah & Bujairi Terrace. We met a woman from Rhode Island with a daughter — she said her husband is involved in a massive buildout underway there. She also mentioned that a kind of huge theme park is in the works, too, in the area. Saudi Arabia is diversifying into tourism and entertainment. Excited to see what’s in town.

P.S. Will write more about Diriyah tomorrow. The city is huge and very modern. 

Diriyah

Cranes

Camel's bone marrow

Victoria Secret Ramadan Lineup