I’m standing in the passport line in Bangkok after a very long business trip in the asian wonderlands, and I’m striking a conversation with the guy in front of me boasting and showing off my latest visits to Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei and Bangkok. Suddenly this cool American 30 something guy kills me right there and then with his trip details! “ Well you see I’m here for as long as they allow me, How long do you think they will give me on a an airport tourist visa?” “ I guess you can get away with 30 days”” I wish I could stay for 6 weeks I have a lot to cover” So, one thing leads to another and the line is long and slow, it turns out this young man has just sold his shares in a major internet company in the US and is traveling the world for 2 years! He had covered every country from Australia & Japan to Thailand in the last 6 months or so. Thats what I call travel my friends.

As I was listening to this wonderful travel details in a nutshell, I couldn’t quite get over the feeling of a sad truth we have in our part of the universe, sorry planet( I was always a bad student in math :-p). In each country, the people or citizens of that country have a certain travel pattern they take every year. In the west there is no pattern, it is more of a discovery of our wonderful planet. Budgets are decent and well studied & planned early before the time to travel arrives. They would save and really stretch their travel Dollars or Euros to cover as much milage as possible. They are professional users of Expedia Travel and cheap tickets.com, They take advantage of their airline & credit card miles.

Now, enough of the good life. Let’s go to the ultra good life, ladies & gents I am about to reveal the naked truth on our unique, repeated, no brainer travel routes and destinations and everything in between.

First off, let’s start with the budget: There is no budget. Grab as much as you can, in whatever form of cash or credit cards, by hook or by crook, get that Money!

Financial Techniques used: One of the famous ways to get fast cash in the country was the quick        “ Buy a car on installments and sell transaction” Here the buyer is in no need of a car, he needs cash to travel. You need an escape goat to complete the transaction, by this I mean a very close friend that will endorse you at the bank or car company( by signing the complete installment documents in his name as a guarantor). After the purchase of the USD40,000- car, it is sold for USD35,000- on the spot with a small loss of only USD5000- in less than 3 hours!( who said I was going to pay anyway says the buyer!). Now let’s not go to the dark area where this close beloved 12 year old friend goes to jail for being an idiot to trust his only friend, we are talking about the journey here.

Clothes used during travel: VERSACE, POLO RALPH LAUREN, ARMANI SUITS( in summer for the pool), anything that looks exactly like the catalog, I swear I used to see them holding the catalog of this years fashion, and say proudly to the salesman” I will have one like this page, and one like that page, and give me another catalog I need more”. They would cost on average a trips worth to any normal human. Remember, he sold the car and is not paying for it( excuse my exaggeration, not all sell cars, other just ask for it or beg well in advance of summer).

Now the fun part, all the travel agencies in the country are fighting for 5 destinations for 80% of the population: Marbella, Cannes, Paris, London, Cairo/Beirut in that exact order. And here’s the funny part, when you ask them where they are going they try to misguide you. “ well you see I don’t want to be where there is too many Arabs, something far and new”. All of them end up kissing as if its a holiday gathering back home in the streets on the champs elyses and Edgware road. OK Oxford street and Porto Bunos.

The most important thing for these poor suckers is to be seen, not to discover and enjoy the wonderful destinations that this round thing called earth has to offer. Prestige is the most important end result. It is very important that when he gets back home, he can boast for the 18th time in 18 years he has been to Marbella,Cannes,Paris,London,Cairo/Beirut( Repeated intentionally) and met Ahmed and Mohammed and saw the girls from the last 15 years on the same streets and night clubs. He also had a few meals at the Entrée cottes in Paris, and had the famous cannes fresh fruit ice cream and danced at Jimmies in Monte Carlo. He also shopped for some pair of shoes on Oxford street and got ripped off again at Edgware road for the third time!

Fake, Dumb and numb is what I feel when I hear their stories every year. The other funny thing that I don’t get is the financial planing they do to appear richer than life.Let’s say the budget for a 30 day trip  like this costs around USD30-40,000- the trick is to actually raise the average spending per day by reducing the total days

on vacation. So if you reduce it to 2 weeks, you would be spending $2700 instead of $1600/ day. Imagine what these smart travelers can do with the extra cash? I can’t believe I said smart there, I meant masterminds.

Now the car thing seemed to fade away, so the Banks jumped in and started vacation loans, the country needs housing loans and we give away vacation loans and credit cards, since there is  demand I have no problem with marketing such no brainer loans to people that need the brains to think!

The aftermath: Home sweet home, isn’t really that anymore. “Now I have to start rejecting and giving busy signals to my best friend! I can’t believe he is sending me messages stating that the Bank is calling and he is asking if I defaulted 3 installments, the nerve of these people! what are friends for!?” says the rich traveller of Arabia.

For a change people, just once try something new, I swear its cool and rewarding.

I wonder what it would be like if all these people were denied travel visas to these destinations? would they stay home or make me hate the Far East? or Africa? or neighboring countries to France or Spain… I wonder?

Enjoy the Journey I say.

Mamdooh Al-Radadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

My city Jeddah is a beloved hot spot in Saudi Arabia. It lies on the red sea and is famous for many things to name a few: It is the gateway to both holy cities, It has the busiest yet not most efficient port in the country, it is the haven for our wonderful Aladdin like downtown  area, Al-Balad.

Now, the downtown area I am referring to is one of the most historical areas in our city and is being preserved and handled with extreme care. Its fishing location dates it back to more than 2000 years, Many caravans have travelled through the doors of Jeddah. The city grew into an important trading outpost as it was situated on the trading routes between Yemen and Europe. The city was fortified with limestone coral walls as early as 1000 AD, which was recorded by noted traveler, Nasir-I-Kusuro.

The earlier fortification had two gates, one facing the east towards Mecca and the other towards the sea. The fortification was strengthened in the 16th century to protect the city from the Portuguese attack with six watchtowers and gates. The gate Bab Makkah( Bab means door in Arabic) faces East, Bab Sharif faces South, Bab Al Bunt, Bab Sharaf and Bab Al Madinah face North, and Bab Al Magharibah face west. The King Abdul Aziz Historical Square, which is at the heart of the Balad, is where the people of Jeddah welcomed King Abdul Aziz and his army on the 23rd of September 1924.

That was a fast historical view of our wonderful city that never seems to stop growing northbound and in every direction I can imagine. Lets all come back to our present day.In the holy month of Ramadan people tend to celebrate and have more fun than the rest of year, in terms of religion it is the peak alongside Haj period, In terms of celebration it is the month which ends with our best festival called Eid which starts after morning prayers to announce its arrival and bid farewell to the holy month, and a time where people start to visit and meet with family and loved ones all around the muslim world.

During this month I personally enjoy going to Balad with my friends & Family sharing many laughs and buying some stuff just for the heck of it, the real joy is the experience. In a normal day you can get in and out of Balad in less than an hour, today you need 3 due to crowds flocking from all over town. As you leave the comfort of your car and the air conditioning you get slapped on the face with a bit of famous Jeddah( actually Jiddah) humidity. Another thing you can’t seem to not notice is the amount of people and sound pollution levels, very high!

The shoving and pushing and different walks of life are all part of the experience. People tend to go back in time to Alladin’s days, only he was in Baghdad, this is Jiddah. You see I love Balad for many things. My grandparents lived here in the very heart of the city, surrounded by the walls, they were children here, they grew up here, they had a family to run back to, they studied in al-Falah schools the very first, made possible by a famous merchant family that still enjoys Jiddah.

I assume my grandfather used to run around in the back alleys and jump in joy with his friends, who are long gone now. If you listen closely you can hear their innocent laughter and jokes, I miss them all. As I walk by the young boys and girls in the streets with my friends and brothers by my side, I can’t seem to get my mind off what this place holds in memories.

Until the 70’s and early 80’s Balad was it. If you wanted to be in business, that was the place. If you wanted to buy, that was the place. Head offices of the largest business families still have an address there, to prove my point. The place is so rich with history, so valuable, so priceless.

When i was young my father used to take me on his Balad visits, usually at the start of the month for shopping. We would walk for miles I think, then when he feels that I have had enough of walking, he makes us jump in to one of those old beaten down buses, for pennies, The nice thing was, I would get to sit in the front beside the crazy driver! nice memories.

Going back to the present day again, as you walk around Balad area your senses are on full alert, for good reason. The mixed aromas that fill the air are endless. Freshly grounded coffee, perfumes from around the world, spices heaped up in windows and original gum, just like the one my mother loves, new clothes, stinky clothes, food outlets cooking the night away. Do not forget the Kibdah( lets just say delicacy meat dishes) & Baleelah( Boiled hick peas in vinegar and red pickled carrot salad) places that seem to fill up the sidewalks and streets.

The sellers and buyers are actually having fun together.You can have 5 dollars in your pocket or five thousand, it does not matter, you will still have fun. Its not about the money, its about a mixture of old and new combined into one experience called “Al-Balad”.

What is truly striking when you sit down for your first round of food whatever that may be, you suddenly notice that you have been sold! someone out of the crowd grabbed you and started to tell you about his place that sells “ A product/service/food” and is hammering words into your head until you decide this is a nice guy, why not give it a try?

This salesman is a Saudi Salesman, not a foreigner, not a neighboring lebanese amazing salesman, he is a Saudi. And is doing great from the look of the full seats in his “ Territory”. What happened was like a classic example from a college textbook on sales.

This SSM( Saudi Salesman-Marketeer) was jumping in joy when he saw us and started joking and talking about his (Kibdah) you have to come its good for you, its the best, why go so far for another place when this is right here? its even good for growing hair he says, admiring my shaven head,”as If I care” I said jokingly. Im looking for “an aphrodisiac” I joked, “ Well I don’t know about that? but why not give it a try?” he signals to one of the food delivery boys and his job is done. That’s it, but who can forget his charm and Jiddah like hospitality with words we miss so much from the old days.

On a similar note, I happened to be in a BMW showroom a few weeks back checking out the new 7 series, my only problem was I was not in tip top shape, i was wearing my training suit after the gym. The salesmen in that place have been there too long and are used to a certain look and walk and design of people who might buy a car. They ignored me all the way to the door, not even a hello! I could have caused trouble only because the owner is one of our good friends, but why bother, maybe one day I will take this friend and visit Balad so he can send his sales force for a one day crash course in sales from the real Saudi pros!

There is a long road ahead of the Saudi sales forces out there, the car company is only one example, what about the hundreds of other outlets? We have what we need right here, all we need to do is polish the information and bring back our originality, the business people of yesterday had certain rules that are still being taught today in foreign lands, its a universal language, not a NASA project. Well maybe we need to put in as much work and effort on a nationwide sales mentality program, it could be more than a NASA project!

I end this note with 2 things: I have faith in our youth & I love Al-Balad moments.

Mamdooh Al-Radadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, Females and Males, whatever we call ourselves, this ones for you.

The events of this story are really Based on a True Story in a far away land called the United States of America or the US of A. The land that makes the greatest stories in cinema at a place called Hollywood, where we get to fly to fantasy land for an hour or so( could go up-to a whole day or weekend!). If you love the Movies, then your gonna love this:

In a recent note I posted called “Escalator Love”  I talked about a thought that always seemed to pop into my mind while traveling, about meeting a total stranger and running up to her and telling her “you are the one”, many people liked the idea and had shared their thoughts about the subject.

We all know the “The Secret”  and how it manifests things into your life without you knowing how, the only clue we have is that whatever you think about most of the time is somehow magnetically pulled towards you, in this instance: Strange Love.

Debbie is my new friend, we were posting comments on a mutual friends status. I couldn’t stop thinking about something she posted that day, so here goes a true magical fantasy story fit for a love story on the big screen.

You see Debbie lives in Chicago and was on a business trip in New York, as she comes out of a taxi a total stranger comes up to her and looks at her in total confidence and says the following words” You are going to be my wife and have my daughter” wow!

Those are Debbie’s exact words. Now I know many of you players out there know that this is a very cool, in-your-face kind of pick up line that men might use, similar to the famous lame 80’s one “ Hello, is it me your looking for?” after the great Lionel Richie hit single.

But let me repeat Debbie’s total stranger’s line one more time” You are going to be my wife and have my daughter” and another WOW!

“ Something in his eyes told me he was not joking and he was dead serious” recalls Debbie.

They met on a Tuesday and 3 days later she found him standing at her door, he moved in and two years later they got married, on a Tuesday.

One year later she leaves the hospital, on a Tuesday with her daughter. Their dog is named Tuesday, and with all that goes in marriage they are still together 7 years and 3 months later( knock on wood).

Let’s go over that one more time:

• He Was born in Baghdad,Iraq..
• She was born in Chicago, USA.
• They first met at the door of a Taxi in New York,USA.
• They knew they were meant to be that instance.
• Still married 7 years & 3 month’s later.
• They live in the highest rated divorce country in the world higher than Sweden as of today.
• His eyes were her only hunch he was the one, no one knows what his signs were,yet!
• Mamdooh & Debbie are new friends on Facebook.
• A guy living in Saudi Arabia writes what’s on his mind under “ Escalator love” which is finding someone in the strangest of places and knowing she or he is the one for you.
• This story took place in America!
• They have their little battles, just like couples do, and still celebrate a day in the week, yes you guessed it “ Happy Tuesday” even if they are not talking!

I thank Debbie for allowing me to share with you today her awesome mind boggling love affair encounter , that happened on a Tuesday! and guess what?

Debbie became my friend on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday people,

p.s. I know it Wednesday

Mamdooh Al-Radadi

me@mamdoohalradadi.com

One of the longest running ad campaigns in the world is the famous “Got Milk?” campaign encouraging the consumption of cow’s milk. The ad started back in October 1993 and has not stopped since. It was established by the ad agency Goodby silverstien & partners for the California milk processor board and then licensed for nationwide usage for other milk processors.

Needless to say they increased milk consumption around the USA and I’m sure around many places around the world who saw the ad. That is not the reason I am talking about the campaign.

I have been seeing this ad for many years and actually like the white mustache on the ads, the thing that hit me lately was why did we never witness any kind of colaboration in our part of the world? forget the country, lets just talk about a region, not even a region a city…ok I rest my case on the geographical part.

What we did witness was a price war between the Golaithes of the industry trying to crush each other out of the way, until neighbering countries started to complain about this crazy price war that was killing their sales. Then suddenly they stopped that and started giving us more milk for the same price, i think soon they will deliver cows for the freshest milk you can ever find, the cows will be leased ofcourse.

The benfits of such campaigns are endless. Forget the healthy ingredients a glass of milk has, even if it is only to a certain age. What about calcium and the number of females in our region with featherlight bones? Elderlies with stronger bones, Sleep benefits, helping with cavities, muscle rebuilding.

Forget all that. What about the lactose intolerance that many of the population suffer from and only complain about bloated stomaches? You think the milk producers did not know that? visit any  top end supermarket and watch how fast the boxes of lactose free milk disappear.

My message: Make money but at the same time pay something back or at least educate the community of the benefits and your bottom line will also increase. It cost the members of that californian dairy committee 3 cents per box only. No creativity whatsoever, nothing out of the box in this region except milk!