Some say it hits them on the way to the airport. Others admit to a feeling of anxiety as they wait at the ticketing counter, while still others go as far as to numb themselves with medication for the trip home. But most agree that they feel they are leaving something different behind.

These feelings from various passengers including Saudis returning home from a holiday abroad have never been studied at great length by sociologists, a phenomenon in itself puzzling. But as stories and experiences vary from one passenger to the other, perhaps it would make an interesting study.

A case in point is a letter sent to me by my cousin Mahmood following his recent trip abroad. He writes. "Living a double standard-kind of life can be very damaging to most people and especially to women and children. To mothers more so because by virtue of being women, they are more prone to being questioned and judged for their actions most of the time.

"It all started during my recent trip to Paris. My wife and I were taking our beloved niece to the Disneyland resort where we were planning to spoil her for a week of fun and games. Just before we landed at Charles de Gaulle international airport, the most bizarre scenes transpired before our very eyes.

"I saw abayas and headscarves quickly removed and discarded, while the women swiftly unveiled, each trooping to the aircraft lavatory to adorn herself with make-up. While I had witnessed such activities on my flights to different destinations, I was not prepared for the determined manner in which each woman appeared to free herself of her perceived shackles."

"But perhaps the most unusual sight I observed was some of the conservative Saudi gentlemen on board going through similar rituals by shedding off their thobes and headgear and rapidly changing into suits just before landing. Some of these very men could be seen exhorting women in shopping malls and restaurants back home to adhere to strict rituals such as the covering of the face and likewise, and sometimes such admonitions are accompanied by varying degrees of severity.

"After we had checked in the Disneyland resort, I was in for a bigger surprise. Some of the conservative male passengers with me on the flight were casually strutting around the resort with Bermudas and loud shirts sporting a gala of bright prints and colors. Their wives, abayas and scarves long gone, were equally flashy, perhaps vying for 'the model of the year' awards in their latest haute couture.

"Puzzlingly enough, I noticed that some of my fellow passengers had gone to great lengths to trim their beards to non-threatening and acceptable European standards or shaved them off altogether. Their previous scowls and introverted character was now replaced by laughter and boisterous conduct.

"A week later, as we assembled at the boarding gate for the flight home, some of those very passengers were returning with me. And guess what? A reverse transformation had suddenly taken place! Speaking in hushed tones with their gathered family, all dutifully covered up, these men had once again adopted the scowl-and-glare manner. Now why is that so, Tariq? ...your cousin Mahmood."

A good question indeed! I have witnessed such transformations myself, and one does not have to travel as far as Paris to enjoy such spectacles. Just drive across the causeway to Bahrain if you are in the Eastern Province and you can understand what Mahmood is talking about. Or a trip to any of Dubai's malls during the holidays will provide enough sights of personality swings.

Is it something in the air or the water here, or something much deeper rooted in the core of our society that causes such a distinctive shift in the character of our people? Sad to report but Mahmood and I have not come up with the answers yet.