Camel riding with a cowboy hat in the Arabian desert

Camel riding with a cowboy hat in the Arabian desert, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

I am just coming to the end of my fourth visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in as many months, making good use of my six month visa.

This time I have been here at midsummer and it is very much hotter than it ahs been any other time, particularly here in Riyadh. The result is that I have stayed in my hotel almost all the time, just going out tghis evening after I had ti vacate my room. It was still 41 degrees at 8.30 pm and it felt like a furnace.

I got a Pakistani taxi driver to bring me to Badha where I went to my favourite restaurant in The Kingdom, a Yemeni fish restuarant, where again, I was treated like a king. A whole grilled fresh fish, served with rice, sauce, vegetables and soup and all very cheap. Great atmosphere there too.

I walked around afterwards looking for my Yemeni friend but he seems to have been well and truly deported which is a pity but at least he is with his family.

I also tried to find something to buy my uncle and aunty who I hope to see in London tomorrow but could not find anything worthwhile. Maybe at the airport later.

I fly at 2 to Istanbul, then change for a flight to London, where I stray a couple of days, returning home on Wednesday morning, in time for a quick trip to Dusseldorf on Friday.

I have had to work a lot this trip and basically do other people's work, while the auditors ignore us and add to the stress of meeting deadlines. It is not all joy and adventure coming to these places. Still, I mostly enjoy it and I feel as if I have a good job.

This was me from a couple of trips back when it was cool enough to visit the desert.