Day 11 (Wednesday)
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I wake up to find Phil and Daz have already gone.
Steve has put his new kettle on an element that you plug into a fag lighter, and it does the job.
The further we go, the hotter it gets, and soon it will be time to bring out the shorts*.
After driving for a few hours, I come across a few trucks stopped in the road. I pull out to overtake them, only to discover why they were on stop. I end up stuck in a Saudi military convoy. The military police aren’t happy, blocking us in and not letting us past. After a few hours of trying, we finally get past. We must have seen about 400 army trucks in total. Presumably, this has something to do with Bahrain.
In the late afternoon, we arrive at Dammam, where I have to tip.
Steve comes along too as it is going to be a quick tip, and then we continue to the Qatar border.
It’s late in the evening when we reach the Saudi exit border. It’s a lot easier getting out of the country, as all your details are logged into the computer. They just punch you in and off you pop. Normally!
Out of Saudi there’s 1km of no man’s land, and then we see a long queue of trucks.
Phil and Daz went through about 30 minutes before us, and successfully jumped it. If you’re empty, you can sometimes get away with it, but Steve’s loaded for Doha, so I put Steve in front and we attempt to jump the queue to get into the Qatar border. Steve gets through and I get stopped and told to go to the back. Steve gets parked-up by the weigh bridge man. The border police tell me the border is full, and it’s only after a bit of a chat and a cup of tea (and because I’m empty), that I’m allowed into the border parking area.
I drive in, Steve’s out of his truck and walking into the border to start his paperwork. There are trucks everywhere. I tell Steve to get his truck and follow me in. I get one truck to reverse out of my way, telling the driver that Steve and I are empty. He looks in my trailer and is happy to let us both go. He had been queuing for hours and there was still hours to go. Steve gets behind me and we go around the lot of them, and park outside the offices. We need to do our paperwork. Mine is completed quickly because I’m empty, but I still need to go into the inspection compound. I go and see the man on the gate, hoping he will let me in as soon as possible.
I wait for Steve to get his papers sorted and then we go and see the man, explaining that we have travelled all the way from the UK together, and asking whether we can both get controlled at the same time. He agrees. An hour later we are parked outside the border in Qatar. Job done!
*In the summer months the only trucks you see on the road around midday in Saudi are British, just creeping along at between 30kmph and 40kmph. Any faster and your tyres get hot and go ‘boom’. Most trucks park in the day and run at night when it’s cooler. So the saying “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun” is still true.