Wonder.Food.Travel

Did the title capture your attention? Part of this post is dedicated to sharing of my experience on the rig. It was my first time to a jack up rig (or any rig) and seeing the tools and equipment on board, in real, was an ambition of mine after graduation. When i saw images or videos of roughnecks working on the rig floor during my university days, i wondered if i would work as such (i didn't wish to because i'm not a big guy and the job looked rough). Well, that realized too, and i saw myself working through as a Roustabout (performing general labour), Floorman (a better name than Roughneck) and Derrickman (i enjoyed being the Derrickman the most). While i did work with tongs- it required some skills to latch them onto drill pipes, i befriended the iron roughneck. With just a press of the button or a twist of the knob, i watched the machine rolled to position and the drill pipes make up or break out. Almost everything on the rig weighs multiples of my own weight, so lifting...

At one of the rest-houses/petrol stations along the highway between Dhahran and Khafji. As-salamu'alaikum readers and thanks for stopping by! I'm not going to dwell about my training/work here; instead, i'm here to share with you my experience (the fun part, that is) being in the kingdom, in two parts. When i was told to go for training in Saudi Arabia, part of me was excited and i Google-d for more information. Frankly, i didn't know much about the country except that it's an oil-rich country. Unfortunately, there was not much i could gather. Still, it is a foreign land and i was sure there are lots to discover. At the back of my mind, i was expecting to see lots and lots of sand. Oh, my senior who went before mentioned the good food, in large portion! It was troublesome to apply for the visa. Of course, there is the formal form to fill. Then, i had to get my education certificate certified by the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Foreign Affai...