A Ramada Goodbye

After saying two goodbyes in Khafji (one to my polytechnic workplace and the other to the city), ejection came slightly early due Saudi’s unexpected and totally unjustified flight ban. My company transported my family and I to the city of Dammam, where we decided to stay for our final night in order to get a PCR test as a precaution for any unexpected demands during our journey to the Philippines. Alongside the test, we decided to throw caution to the wind and rent a two-bedroom suite at the Ramada Inn and eat at one of Dammam’s finest seafood restaurants. 

First stop was at a travellers PCR test centre, where we all got a 6-hour covid test for the princely sum of 320 SAR each. Whatever you think about the pandemic, anyone can see that global pharma struck gold the moment the WHO declared it so. For the first time in human history, healthy asymptomatic people require expensive tests just to move around and narratives have been swiftly changed to ensure the money keeps flowing in. Anyway, in today’s paranoid world it was a small price to pay for a potential showstopper. 

Next stop was far more emotional. We had to bid farewell to the company’s loyal driver Naser, whom I’d known for almost six years. He dropped us off at the Ramada, posed for a couple of selfie group portraits and said goodbye. I think we both knew it was the end of an era. Almost all the original native teachers had already left Khafji and hardly anyone was left apart from a few agency teachers and a couple of Saudi lifers. 

While Ramada made us wait 45 minutes for our apartment keys because we’d arrived before check-in time, it was well worth the wait. The two-bedroom suite was absolutely huge, super clean, comfortable and unbelievable value for money for just £75. Between late afternoon prayers, we headed to Bait Alrobyan for a wonderful final supper in the Kingdom the food, service and city view combined together perfectly.

After an exhausting and stressful previous few days, none of us had the energy for a long walk to Dammam’s corniche. Instead, after I’d picked up 3 negative covid tests, my son had a quick swim and then we all retired early ready for a 3am wake-up call and, hopefully, a stress-free three-flight final exit from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.