It couldn't happen again could it? Surely not!!!!
It bloody well did.
After a final night out in Texas with a few friends we'd met there and a few lads who's just arrived to start their training I woke up feeling slightly worse for wear, finished my packing and went to meet the minibus that was taking us to the airport at 10:30 on Saturday 23rd August. I left Houston, slightly delayed by 45 minutes, at 16:35 as the plane suffered a puncture on landing that needed to be repaired however the pilot made this time up during the flight and landed as scheduled at 08:35 Sunday 24th August in Frankfurt. With just over 5 hours to kill before our flight to Dammam I had some breakfast, had a shower and put some clean clothes on (I can recommend this to anyone travelling long haul, clean underwear and a clean t-shirt felt like winning the Lottery), had a wander round duty free before heading to the gate ready for my flight.
So far so good, as you've probably guessed it goes a bit pear shaped now!!
We were told that the flight from Frankfurt to Dammam was overbooked!!!! how do you overbook a flight where you know exactly how many seats you've got, it's not like you can just add a couple or get a few people to stand up. We were told our options:
- Take our chances and board the flight however if we didn't get on we'd be put up in a hotel and fly the next day
- Change our flight and go via Doha on Qatar Airways guaranteeing our arrival in Dammam.
The 1st option wasn't an option as we had to report to work at 07:30 on Tuesday 26th to start various site induction processes, any delay there would have a knock on impact on the holidays I plan to take in September to bring Lindsey and Tilly to KSA. Option 2 it was then, this meant a further delay in Frankfurt as we wouldn't be leaving until 15:30 so I did the only thing I could do, went for a beer!!! 7 hours in an airport is enough to drive any man to drink.
Option 2 meant landing in Doha at 22:30 some 25 minutes after I should have landed in Dammam and with another stopover of 2.5 hours before the onward flight. It has to be noted that the new International airport in Doha is a stunning piece of architecture, built specifically for the World Cup in 2022 it's all shiney and new with excellent shopping if you've got very deep pockets (Harrods, Bulgari, Rolex and Burberry to name a few all have shops in the terminal). I boarded the flight for the short hop to Dammam at 00:40 landing at 01:40 on Monday 25th. Bonus points here go to Saudi passport control at King Fahd airport, arriving there with an Iqama and a re-entry visa is a piece of cake, I was through customs with my bags in hand 45 minutes later although I was still stood waiting for Chris and Jordan another 45 minutes later. They weren't so lucky, of the 4 suitcases they put on the plane in Houston only 2 made it Dammam, Chris had a massive panic on as 1 of his cases contained his life possessions the other contained his guitar, he was like a kid at Christmas when his clothes arrived and not his guitar. We did our good deed for the day as another lad who'd flown in from the UK that day had said on Facebook that his bike never arrived, whilst stood waiting for our luggage I noticed his bike flight case so collected it for him.
We met our taxi and set off at around 03:45 for the drive to Jubail. I arrived at my new home, Jubail Views, at 5am to be told the keys for my villa weren't there so the security guard started ringing around trying to locate the compound manager, who eventually turned up at 05:30, showed me to my new home and left me to it.
Ok, so it wasn't as bad as when I flew out to the US but it still took some 35 hours door to door starting on Saturday morning and finishing on Monday morning. One thing that's for certain is that I won't be heading back to the US any time soon, I've spent 75 hours of my life travelling there and back, that's more than 3 days of my life lost in the ether that is Lufthansa long haul!!!!
With just over 24 hours before I had to report to work I collapsed in a heap!!!!
It's been a while......
Today officially marks the end of my training in Texas, my flight leaves on Saturday.
I don't quite know how to look back on my time here as I've got mixed emotions. There have been times where I've hated it, equally there have been times where I've enjoyed it. I don't think I'll look back negatively as some real good has been achieved, not so much with training on PMDI but with the relationships forged between the other lads here. The barriers that exist when you bring UK expats, Indians, Saudis and Filipinos to work together would have taken an awful lot longer to break down and friendships to form had it not been for this environment. Learning about others cultures, what they personally consider to be funny/offensive, what interests them and generally conversing on the same level has been the real positive. Yes the training has been an important factor as ultimately that's what we came here for but the interaction has been just as important.
I think that perhaps I got myself off onto the wrong foot as going to KSA was a new job, new adventure, new life and that training in Texas was seen as a hurdle I had to get over before moving back to Saudi and having my family back with me. I was also first told when I was offered the job that my training would be in Germany which I was really looking forward to and, it suited my situation better as it would have meant being to spend time with my family more frequently, when I found out I was coming to Texas I kind of resented it a bit without even giving it a chance!!
So what do I think of Lake Jackson/Freeport? As I've said before it's probably not somewhere I'd choose to live, there's an awful lot of heavy industry but I'm going to get that wherever I live in the world because of what I do. That said there can't be many places in the world where the humidity is so oppressive and the mosquitoes so bloody vicious!!! During one round on Freeport Golf Course I was bitten on my legs no less than 27 times and during another round on the Wilderness I couldn't concentrate on what I was trying to hit as sweat was running into my eyes and dripping off my nose. That said, the people here are, for the most part, really friendly and there's everything you need here. Notable mentions go Kristi, Byron and Jim our trainers at Dow, to Dave, Dyllon and Pate, Chonno and his staff at Ricochets, the couple who run Sista Whites cafe (the best pulled pork and hot sauce sandwiches in the world).
I've got some good memories to take away with me, visiting San Antonio and Orlando with Lindsey and Tilly, a golf trip with Johan that was great fun, deep sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico (I caught MahiMahi and Kingfish among others), NHRA drag racing at Baytown, Jordan busting his moves in Kicks (you had to be there to appreciate it), fishing for catfish at L.D's, drinks round the pool watching Jordan trying to tackle sunloungers and drown himself!!!! we didn't let him obviously but it was funny watching him try.
As I've said before the living arrangements here have been less than ideal, it's not that me and John don't get on, I've just found it quite challenging sharing an apartment with someone I wouldn't choose to live with.
Which leads me onto 'so what's next?'
Well, my flight leaves Houston at 15:00 on Saturday and arrives in Saudi at 22:05 on Sunday with a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt crossing 8 time zones on the way. A 1 hour taxi ride up to Jubail and I should be in our new home at around midnight. After living in a hotels, Las Dunas compound and The Residence at Lake Jackson over the last 6 months I am looking forward to having somewhere to call home again where i can properly unpack and settle in knowing this is it for the foreseeable future. Home will be a compound called Jubail Views that has 40 villas and 64 apartments, I already know there will be 4 other lads with their families that I used to work with at Growhow.
Also once I get back to Saudi I can start the process of obtaining my 'yellow slip' which is the last hurdle to complete to get Lindsey and Tilly there, that should be done by mid September all being well.
All that remains is to close this chapter of my journey, for anyone who I haven't bored to death already I'll more than likely start a new blog to chronicle the 'What happens next' and what it's like to work and live as a family in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
Thanks for reading!!
