A Magic Carpet, er Ship ride to Arabia.

Pushka · May 13, 2023

Finally the bus came back and we went into modern Jeddah. Quite an interesting area and obs modern. Concerning was that the sea bed had been stripped of coral to make the buildings white.

The tallest flag in the world. It means the King is at his Palace. Apparently he was at the soccer match last night.

More modern shops.

The largest Hamburger chain.

Towards the corniche.

We stopped at the corniche and the sea breeze had kicked in.

Quickstatus · May 13, 2023

Pushka said:
WT

Permission obtained first?

Pushka · May 13, 2023

Quickstatus said:
I was going to say prawns on the barbie.

Really interested in those induction stoves

I was thinking of you when I saw them.

Pushka · May 13, 2023

Quickstatus said:
Permission obtained first?

Nup. Just walked up to him and did it. I think i gasped out loud at the sheer audacity.

Pushka · May 13, 2023

Views across to the Kings Palace and that giant flag. There is also the worlds largest water fountain here but only at night time.

Just general views of a crowd.

Quickstatus · May 13, 2023

Pushka said:
I was thinking of you when I saw them.

When able can you pls enquire re brand name

Pushka said:
sheer audacity.

OMG. Some people really don't have any insight

Pushka · May 13, 2023

Quickstatus said:
When able can you pls enquire re brand name

OMG. Some people really don't have any insight

I'll try tonight. We are in the next restaurant.

Pushka · May 14, 2023

Last Thing of note when we head back to the ship is the fabulous Ritz Carlton built on the Corniche. Sorry about window glare.

The new cruise terminal.

The grand plan.

And just stay out of the Suez Canal until we are through.

Pushka · May 14, 2023

Blloddy heck. It's 7.15pm, the bars are still dry coz we are late departing port because the refueling started late. And Saudi Arabia bans alcohol until we are 30 minutes out to sea. Our extremely difficult to book, wine pairing with degustation menu is looking doomed. Our neighbour has stocked up on booze but they ain't sharing. Theres a dry pool deck party happening. Ha. There will be lots of grumpy people as they charge $50 USD a day for alcohol package.

Pushka · May 14, 2023

Think it’s fair to say the passengers are revolting. Left the port almost 3 hours late because of refueling. No announcements at all yet. So much for all the parties planned. Everyone so peeved.

So they give us this at the degustation pairing. Oh. You can’t order this but thought you might like to see it. Are they taking the p or what.

At least we did see the fountain operating. The tallest in the world.

Our delightful dinner ambience. Love watching port operations. While having dinner.

. Such ambience.

A sad bar. 9.30pm and the call not through yet to open.

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bPeteb · May 14, 2023

Pushka said:
Better not be skippy. MrP forgot the Vegemite. Maybe they will have some and he can nick it. I was thinking Lamb Chops and if so will have the discussion on how to prepare and cook them, after the other night. And Pav. But lamingtons might be the go. Fairy bread.

Pav? That NZ dessert?

RooFlyer · May 14, 2023

Pushka said:
Views across to the Kings Palace

When I visited in 1994 (!!) we visited the consulate to get the local low-down. Told - "basically, don't photograph anything you might be inclined to bomb during a war" - Govt buildings, bridges, ports etc. King's palaces.

But of course the King's palace at Jeddah is pretty neat, so I saw an opportunity one day, in a park on the waterfront at Jeddah where there was a row of bushes close to the water's edge; behind them, I could get a clear shot, unobserved.. I was just stepping around the bushes about to get my (SLR type) camera out of my rucksack, when I came across - a grinning soldier at a large machine gun emplacement. He knew exactly what I was up to, but smiled, I smiled back and kept walking, hands in pockets ...

Pushka said:
A sad bar.

Think that's sad - I give you the sunken bar at the Intercon Jeddah

Pushka · May 14, 2023

RooFlyer said:
When I visited in 1994 (!!) we visited the consulate to get the local low-down. Told - "basically, don't photograph anything you might be inclined to bomb during a war" - Govt buildings, bridges, ports etc. King's palaces.

But of course the King's palace at Jeddah is pretty neat, so I saw an opportunity one day, in a park on the waterfront at Jeddah where there was a row of bushes close to the water's edge; behind them, I could get a clear shot, unobserved.. I was just stepping around the bushes about to get my (SLR type) camera out of my rucksack, when I came across - a grinning soldier at a large machine gun emplacement. He knew exactly what I was up to, but smiled, I smiled back and kept walking, hands in pockets ...

Think that's sad - I give you the sunken bar at the Intercon Jeddah

View attachment 328590

yeah. Viking told us that too. But the locals and our guide ignored it all. He pointed it out! I think there's a way to go before anyone would actually choose this as a destination. The mood around the ship last night was so flat. It's a sea day today and the stories of grim tours yesterday are already emerging. Will detail later.

Pushka · May 14, 2023

bpeteb said:
Pav? That NZ dessert?

Still in dispute.

. Besides most people onboard wouldn't even know they were different countries.

Anna · May 14, 2023

Pushka said:
I think there's a way to go before anyone would actually choose this as a destination

Among the many, many reasons I wouldn't choose it, they still carry out public executions! Imagine being out and about being a tourist and encountering a beheading

Although maybe that would be a drawcard for some ghouls.

Pushka · May 14, 2023

Yes. Viking added it. Not on the original itinerary . I expressed my concerns about going there at all when they advised us. Many Americans rightly refused to disembark..

Viking refunded those who bought the silver spirits package for one day.

Pushka · May 14, 2023

@Quickstatus I asked the Chef about the induction cooktop. Now, he didn’t really like me in the class tbh. But nobody is perfect. Anyway he said it was a bespoke set up when the ship was built - in Italy. It’s a granite slab and induction top integrated into the unit.

Pushka · May 16, 2023

Today was an early start. Up at 5am. For a long trip to Petra. We'd organised a private tour and ended up with 26 people in two minibuses. Half the price of Vikings offering which was sold out anyway.

We managed to convince Viking to let us off first, Jordan immigration was fast unlike Saudi Arabia which was ridiculous with photos and fingerprints just for a day.

The drive was fine, we stopped for a quick break about 90 minutes in. Then off to Petra. Land of the Nabateans and under the control of the Bedouins. And it was hot.

The usual souvenir places. I had dinars so could pay local. I ended up buying a scarf to keep the sun out without being enclosed in a short. 3 dinar.

Then began the walk down. I'd read that it was downhill on the way in and well, it seemed like a gentle slope. Ha.

Our guide was very passionate and kept stopping us, to be honest, too much. I had tuned out. I just wanted to keep moving as standing still in the hot sun isn't my thing. We'd also been to two presentations onboard and were familiar with the necessaries. It seemed to take forever and then we looked and the Viking excursion masses were right behind us. On the drive there he said he was taking shortcuts. Well, the Viking buses beat us even though we'd left earlier.

It's quite clear that in a flood this area would be treacherous.

Pushka · May 16, 2023

The colours of the rock were beautiful. Petra was a lost city for centuries which likely saved it from destruction.

Quote Wiki. Carved directly into vibrant red, white, pink, and sandstone cliff faces, the prehistoric Jordanian city of Petra was "lost" to the Western world for hundreds of years.

Located amid rugged desert canyons and mountains in what is now the southwestern corner of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was once a thriving trading center and the capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C. and A.D. 106.

The city sat empty and in near ruin for centuries. Only in the early 1800s did a European traveler disguise himself in Bedouin costume and infiltrate the mysterious locale.

In 1985, the Petra Archaeological Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 2007 it was named one of the new seven wonders of the world.