Pete's Log: bored...
Entry #1494, (Travel)(posted when I was 28 years old.)
Thursday is family day here. Single men are, as a rule, not allowed into stores and shopping malls, so that families can shop safe from the lecherous singles. Foreigners, however, are tolerated, so I braved Al Faisaliah shopping mall. There were many more women there than I've seen most places, all in burqas.
I found a Kodak store, and there bought a single use camera for 45 Riyal (9 euro), which is much more reasonable than the 220 Riyal the hotel gift shop was asking. I wanted to take some pictures, but it was already getting dark out.
Today is Friday, the holy day. Everything is shut down. There's nothing for us to do but stay in the hotel. I did want to get some pictures of the area, but there are many places around here where photography is prohibited. The best policy is to always ask before you take pictures, or you risk getting your camera confiscated. So I asked in the lobby if it's ok to take pictures around the hotel. Yes, they say, but don't leave the area around the hotel. So I got some pictures of the surroundings here. The streets are deserted in my pictures, because there are almost no cars out today. Usually the street in front of the hotel is packed.
I'm bored...