8th - 9th November 2003

An early start from Kuwait City in order to meet our guides at the Regai border at 10.30 am. We had promised them that we would be working to British time!

An easy 100 mile run out to the border; leaving Kuwait took a mere 15 minutes and we were on the Saudi side of the border by 10.45. No sign of our guides, but not a problem as we had crossed at the Regai border in January and the border officials had been notified of our return. What caused the confusion was the length of time we had apparently stayed in Kuwait - and they still couldn't find 'British Registered Vehicle' on their computer system! Then of course we were advised that it was forbidden for me to drive the car in Saudi - which followed by much hysterical laughter when we pointed out to them that it would be difficult for me to drive as I had no steering wheel in front of me. Gets them every time!

Just as Richard was having an in depth discussion about the contents of the trailer and the video camera mounted on the dashboard (was this falconry equipment?) Abdullah appeared to speed things along, followed by the head of customs, Abu Hamed, with whom we had drunk copious amounts of tea and coffee on our last visit - being Ramadan, stopping for tea was out of the question so instead Abu Hamed insisted on paying our insurance costs!

We had two days to cross Saudi, a distance of over 1000 miles and certainly no time for sight seeing or photography. The first 400 or so miles was along a pipeline road running parallel to the Iraqi border crossing flat, uninspiring desert and passing through equally uninspiring, dusty towns full of garages and mechanic's workshops. By sunset we were nearing our turn off down to Sekaka where we planned to spend the night - but first we had to stop for prayers and to break the Ramadan fast with tea, dates and cakes. Ramadan is not quite as strict as one would imagine - those who are ill, elderly, very young, pregnant or travelling do not have to fast, but we were careful not to be too obvious about eating during the day!

Heading towards Sekaka we suddenly ran into the most incredible sandstorm that I have ever experienced. Conditions were blizzard like and visibility almost zero - we could barely see the lights of Abdullah's car a few feet in front of us. The road disappeared completely and our only option was to pull over and sit out the storm - which could have taken anything from a few minutes to several hours! The wind howled around us, forcing fine sand through every gap in the vehicle's bodywork (and being a Range Rover, there are plenty of gaps!). And as we sat and waited all we could think of was the large lorry that we had passed ten miles before and which was currently hurtling towards us... Fifteen minutes later the visibility had improved enough for us to make a cautious start and after another couple of miles the skies were totally clear. However, we then ran into the most extraordinary tropical storm and an incredible display of lightning that continued for the next two hours. Appalling weather conditions combined with the fact that the highway had been dug up and replaced with a rough dirt track somewhat hampered our progress and we eventually arrived in Sekaka at midnight, by which point my feet were like balloons and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep. But no! First we had to visit a friend of the other guide travelling with Abdullah. My protests fell on deaf ears, and anyway it is never a good idea to turn down hospitality, no matter what the time of day or in our case night! It turned out that the friend's wife is an English teacher and she particularly wanted to speak to me - of course, being a Saudi house the men and women are segregated, although it is fine for me to see with the men. So I had a brief chat in the women's section, before eating a delicious and well-needed supper (at 1 am!). It then turned out that the husband just so happened to own a pregnancy clothes shop which we had to visit so he could give me some gifts. Shopping at 1.30 in the morning? Quite normal, in fact the town was wide awake and full of shoppers - I will never get used to the hours they keep! Eventually I crawled into bed at 2.30...

We were back on the road by 11.00, ready for another long drive to the Red Sea coast and the Haql border, chosen because of its close proximity to Aqaba. None of the extreme weather of the previous day and, partly as a show of courtesy and partly in response to the previous night's car bombs on Riyadh we had a 500 mile police escort, complete with blue flashing lights! Certainly made checkpoints an easy task! The highlight of the day was certainly the the sunset drive through the mountainous area close to the coast - an extension of the Wadi Rum area and really beautiful countryside.

Arriving at the border at 7.00 pm we made a quick exit and were greeted by much 'welcome to Jordan' followed by the usual 'how can you have driven in Saudi?' from the Jordanian border guards. By 8.00 we were back on the beach, eating a delicious supper cooked by Rakad and gearing up for a few days R & R. For once the wind in Aqaba was absent - and we enjoyed it while it lasted!