Looking through photos of the pre-pandemic travel days, I began to feel nostalgic for something unusual…or so I thought, until coming across news of Malaysians being able to order AirAsia meals at Kuala Lumpur malls. Then, in October 2020, I found out about Singapore Airlines catering economy and business class meals to private residences. Folks, […]
Middle East
Fun with Airline Route Maps
Let’s have some fun with airline route maps. With any luck — and memory — this will probably be a thread I’ll continually update, especially once I’m able to find the Delta inflight magazine that showed Kampuchea instead of Cambodia, or the one where Xian, China is listed as the more archaic Chang’an. Until those […]
Airport Supermarkets
As much as I personally love finding new foods to eat, I feel that much better when I can share some of the findings with family and friends. Though, it would be fair to say I don’t always remember to get to a city supermarket for some last-minute local food souvenir shopping. Enter: airport supermarkets. […]
Review: Mövenpick Hotel and Residences Riyadh
Earlier this year, I had to go to Riyadh for some delicious business, so I chose to stay at the Mövenpick Hotel and Residences Riyadh. It’s only about one year old, but it still looks like it’s a new property. Located near King Abdullah Financial District, the chief economic zone of the Saudi capital, undoubtedly […]
Review: Short-Haul Saudia Business + Riyadh Saudia Alfursan Lounge
Whereas the crux of this article will cover the Riyadh Saudia Alfursan Lounge, I will also cover some aspects of the Riyadh airport (RUH) experience, as well as Saudia business class from Riyadh to Dubai. From Check-in to the Lounge Riyadh airport is huge. However, Terminals 1-4 are interconnected; if you happen to be leaving […]
Dubai Emirates Business Lounge, Concourse B
The Dubai Emirates Business Lounge at Concourse B … oh, a good* airport lounge for once. (We’ll get to that asterisk later) However, getting to the lounge wasn’t so peachy. I was in Saudia business, coming into Dubai (DXB) Terminal 1, needing to get to Emirates’ hub over at Terminal 3. For those in a […]
Saudia Starting Flights to At Least Four Destinations in 2023
The SkyTeam airline alliance — of which Delta, KLM/Air France, and ITA Airways form a part — has my two favorite underrated airlines in the industry (thus far; I haven’t flown every airline in the world, not by a long shot). China Airlines is one of those carriers, and the other? Saudia. Since my first […]
Kabsa (كبسة), Saudi Arabia’s National Dish
While teaching in Jeddah, a couple of my students took particular interest in showing me around the region (which even included an impromptu trip to Mecca). One weekend – Friday and Saturday, mind you – we went gallivanting around the austere cliffs and valleys of Taif, viewing some spectacular landscapes. On the first night, they […]
