Working for a company with a global footprint has a number of perks, business trips being at the top of the list and exotic experiences being a strong #2!
In 2009, I had the privilege to visit our petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. My role was to maintain operational simplification, manage the annual trade show, and produce weekly reports to support our sales team. I had been working with this team for a year and this trip was our chance to visit the plant and bond with our teammates.
Being the only female on the trip was an amazing experience! I was treated with extra care. For instance, dining in public, our group was able to eat in the family section. We were very lucky restaurants allowed us to dine in the family section as I wasn’t related or married to anyone in our group. The food was simple and delicious. People smoked sheesha from 4ft hookahs. Another example of special treatment, our local partners rented out space at a hotel so we could enjoy a meal near the pool. The prawns were the size of my hands! Aside from dining experience, the team made some special arrangements for our trip to the production plant in Yanbu. It was a multi-hour drive through the desert. Once we reached the plant, we had a tour and I had to use the bathroom. Since females were not working at the plant, part of the plant was evacuated just so I could use the bathroom. I ended up using the President’s personal office to relieve myself. Very memorable experience.
Another giant THANK YOU to the team for all their efforts to keep me safe and feel a part of the team!
#SaudiArabia #Travel #GlobalNomad #WorkTrip #Petrochemicals #PlantVisit
Thank you for the post, It sounds like a great experience. Saudi Arabia is a mother lend of hookah and shisha. smoking hookah is in their blood. I’ve been in Dubai and I must say that people love to smoking very much, you can buy a Dokha everywhere, and it’s so cheap. Your experience inspires me to maybe visit Saudi Arabia one day, they shisha smoking tradition, history, and culture impress me. Once again thank you for sharing your experience I really appreciate it.
I have so much love and good stories to share from my time in The Kingdom! Such warmth all around! I did not smoke shisha but understand that you are correct and it’s taken very seriously. Almost like an art!