The residential compound nearest the medical complex headquarters offers recreational services for all the NGHA compounds including a monthly schedule of short trips, including several day-long desert trips, first come/first served. Having intended to visit the US Embassy to check in and register my presence (though this doesn't appear to be required), I signed up for the Diplomatic Quarters trip scheduled yesterday morning from 8:30 - 12:00 noon. Incidentally, with some exceptions I have found that punctuality and observing schedules at least within the NGHA system is at least an aspiration if not always achieved.
In any case I took two shuttles, arrived at the departure point early and had time for a coffee before catching the bus. When I arrived at the appointed stop, my minority status became quite clear as I was the only male along with 20+ Filipino ladies, almost certainly all nurses. Fine with me having verified with the driver that the US embassy was on the itineray, the arrangement being that you are dropped off at the gate and call when you wished to be picked up. Mobile phones here are a survival tool not primarily a convenience and fashion accessory...
The Embassy Quarters is located just outside downtown Riyadh, adjacent to the King Saud International Conference Center and a Ritz Carlton that from the outside looks like the Palace of Versailles. As expected Embassy Row is gated and guarded conspicuously but no more so than our compound actually. So the driver winds his way through miles of intersecting service roads and I noted in passing the New Zealand, Nigerian, Brazilian, Pakistani, Egyptian and Yemeni embassies, all of which had only inconspicuous gate plates identifying the Embassy and a generic Arabic architecture.
As expected the first stop was the Filipino Embassy at which the majority of Filipino ladies departed the bus leaving me and 5 other ladies (to my surprise). Three of the latter got off at the Korean Embassy (!) Finally we reached what we were told was the US Embassy but no name plate and no building immediately in sight, just an aging guard (who couldn't have defended the premises against two preteens with paint guns). So my two Filipino fellow travellers asked the guard how to get to the Embassy. He patiently explained that it was behind the trees at the end of a service drive and we could walk there unescorted BUT it was closed for the holidays (!) After venting our collective frustrations I introduced myself to Ivy and Venice and inquired about their reasons for visting the US Embassy. Both have family in the States and were vistiting the Embassy to begin the arduous process of obtaining a US visa for travel in 2013 (!). Ivy's destination was Georgetown/northern VA and Venice was headed for Hawaii to visit her children (my guess would have been that she was in her mid-20s at most)... In the interim and having some sympathy for our plight, the guard suggested we go to the main gate to check the days/hours of the facility... which it turns out are very restricted, four days a week and 1:30 - 3:30 pm ONLY whereas the Diplomatic Quarters shuttle trips are all scheduled in the morning. Admittedy there are few US expats in the Kingdom overall but still ...!
Well, a young African-American guy at the Embassy entrance gave my companions some information about the visa process and unsolicited, pointedly recommended to them several times that their friend (me) accompany them on their next visit since that would "make it easier for them"... They tried to explain that we weren't family but then decided not to argue the point. In fact since I intended to return anyway - this time by an NGHA taxi - I offered to accompany them. The ladies explained to me that it is very difficult for Filipino women to obtain a guest visa to the US since there is an institutional suspicion that once in the US they will never leave and compete for jobs as illegals. However, the welcome mat is out for Filipino nurses applying for a work visa due to the chronic nursing shortage... So the three of us will attempt to access the castle again in several weeks.
What a learning experience this has been for one wide-eyed expat!
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