Over the Causeway into Saudi

Sheesh! This is where my meltdown began (I'll explain more later).

The AM we were to meet a Saudi taxi driver to take us from our hotel in Bahrain over the Causeway (a long bridge) into Saudi. My mom and I were dressed in abayas and hijabs (black cloak-y things) because it was suggested, and we wanted to test the overall climate for Saudi protocol before really making an American mess of things.

First off, I don't care much for long, tall bridges going over a lot of water, but then mix crazy Arab driving into that, and I was starting to sweat. Traffic halts about a half mile before the Passports line... right over the water, of course. Boy, most of the world really makes use of the car horn. They honk at just about every move around them.

At the Passport kiosk, we were instructed to pull over and go into a little building to get photographed and finger printed. Our cab driver seemed keen on holding our passports himself and walking around to different buildings, which made me very uncomfortable. I watched him like a neurotic hawk! Passport office was dark and dingy full of angry looking Saudis in green uniforms with guns. Nice. Surprisingly, they let my mom and I jump to the front of the line. Fingerprints... photos... (in our abayas mind you)... then a Frogger-style maneuver across traffic back into our car. Luggage still there. Phew. I firmly insisted we hold our own passports. I've seen too many movies.

Next was the Customs line. When living there, I remember having our suitcases torn apart in search of prohibited substances and materials. A-ha! So THIS is why they say entering the Kingdom through the Causeway is better than going through the Dammam airport! The guard popped the trunk, glanced up at us, then let us go on our merry way. I asked the cab driver, "Hallas?" as we got back into the car. He nodded, meaning yes, we're done.

Yippee. Not too bad and it only took us 2 hours. I've heard stories of it taking up to 7 hours to cross.

Fun fact: A lot of Saudis go to Bahrain becuase unlike Saudi, Bahrain allows alcohol and is overall much more liberal.