I have another travel story for you, and it's better than the apartment hunting adventure I went on when first arriving in Jeddah...
After going through security at the airport in Jeddah to get on a flight back to Washington, D.C., my wife and I were waiting near the gate before boarding. It was an hour before the plane was scheduled to leave...
She was lying down (we had been up all night before heading to the airport) and I was sitting up just people watching.
I noticed two security officials come into the waiting area and they were looking for someone or something. It's easy to say now, but I knew right away they were coming to talk to me - I had that feeling in my gut.
Sure enough, they approached me and asked for our passports. I didn't think much of it at first, so I handed them over and waited for them to come back.
But then my mind started racing while waiting for them to come back. My wife was a bit uneasy as well. Why would they want our passports? Was it something I wrote on my blog? Did we do something wrong and not know about it? What are we missing here? I was recalling the time I was coming back from Iran and security at the Frankfurt airport took me aside to interview me and check all of my bags...
When the security guys came back I asked what the issue was. Their response was something to the effect of: "Washington, D.C./Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to check you guys before you board the flight. As of right now, you can't get on this plane."
What??? An hour before our flight and we can't get on the plane???
I went to talk to the security supervisor guy every 5-10 minutes to get updates. He was just as thrown off by this as we were. He couldn't figure out why two American citizens (with valid passports) would not be allowed to board a flight to the states. Tell me about it.
His response was the same every time: I'm talking to Washington, D.C. They want to clear you before you board the flight. It should just be a matter of time. I'll let you know.
Ugh, fine...
With about 30 minutes to spare, he came to let us know we were cleared to board. Phew!
I still don't know exactly what the issue was - I only know what the guy told me. For all I know, it was the Saudi authorities checking us before we left. Getting a visa to enter Saudi Arabia is hard enough - and you need an exit-re-entry visa to leave. Maybe there was an issue with that??
Either way, I'm back in the US of A for a few days before heading to Brazil for the World Cup!
It's good to be home.