It's like the Amazing Race!

So Wednesday morning met my Boss for coffee and a meeting and as I was explaining my shock that no one from the business had been in Saudi since July he said "Lets go...... Tomorrow". Thinking he was kidding I continued and he pulled out his phone cancelled his appointments for the next two days- he was serious! On a side note- it's Second Eid here, like Christmas- only it's Muslim and it's when all of them go to Mecca which is in Saudi and we're talking 100,000 of people. Those not going to KSA, go to Dubai or Bahrain so they can drink and shop and be crazy so flights in and out of KSA were going to be tough.
My boss called me later in the afternoon to see if I had found flights and hotels for us and I felt like that scene in "The devil wears Prada" when Andrea is sitting in the office trying to get Miranda out when there is a hurricane- only my boss was like "it's not even that big of a holiday- there is no way all the flights are booked! Find us flights and email me my itinerary". (In my mind it cuts away to an image of Mecca at Hajj with the millions of people around the black stone). "Not a big holiday?" It's the be all End all of holidays for Muslims and KSA really is "the holy land". (attached a picture of Hajj so you get the idea- it happens like this everday for the entire Eid period!)
Not only that, but he wanted to go into Riyadh to see stores, and Dammam to see stores, and while we were at it- lets hope over to the Bahrain as see stores there too- "just figure it out" :-)
So of course- I'm a rock star and did it! So We left Thursday at 8am for Bahrain, saw the stores there, then took the causeway (bridge) that connects Bahrain to the main land which is the city of Dammam. We saw the stores there, stayed the night Thursday night in Dammam. Friday morning we got into a car and drove- DROVE- from Dammam to Riyadh- seriously get out a map and see the distance. But it was an adventure and who gets to drive across the desert? Huh? It was pretty cool and I saw real camels in their natural habitat, and sand dunes like those on Aladin. Also was good because we could do work in the car on the way over.
Got to Riyadh round 1:30pm, did lunch with the director of stores for Saudi at the Four Seasons, then visited stores till 6pm, then to the airport- then back to Dubai at 1am Saturday morning.
Whew, that was alot. 2- 16hr days, over 20 stores, we were in three different countries in 48 hrs, and we survived! I feel like I earned my paycheck this week :-)

Pictures of the desert, the sand is white when you're closer to the sea, then closer to Riyadh it gets to be that darker color. Me at the midpoint rest stop. I thought the bathrooms were bad in general- then I went there- I should have titled this blog post "In the land of the garden hose"! (inside joke- but I'll tell you all about it when I see you cause it's hilarious!)