Ah, the Saudi who goes on vacation abroad is so often the subject of ridicule for his or her tendency toward seeking out the comforts of home instead of enjoying the foreign culture at best, and at worst engaging in bad behavior that reflects poorly on all Saudis.
Saudis in London are more likely to be found in a mall than in a museum. They’re more likely to be found smoking sheesha and eating hummus in Paris than exploring all the food that the city has to offer.
Now that school has started, most Saudis that have spent the summer on vacation abroad are back home. So many of them may have had a difficult time returning thanks to ineffective planning. So many Saudis think they can play the same games abroad that they play at home: pulling strings at the last minute to get what they need.
We Saudis rarely act like the rest of the human race living outside the borders of the Middle East, where planning ahead and foreseeing obstacles are anathemas to Arab behavior in general and something that is quintessential to the Saudi character.
Addressing the issues of Arabs and tourism, I would like to make a few remarks after spending my short vacation in London. Saudis seem particularly interested in what tourism has to offer in terms of showing off and bragging about places they have visited.
Saudis seem to relish traveling to chic and expensive places not because of what they have to offer in cultural and culinary experience, but they simply want something they can boast about on their return.
They jet off to London or Paris and squeeze their families into tiny accommodations (if they can’t afford larger ones).
Once in Paris or London they don’t go to the museums that make these destinations most visited cities in the world; they rush off to go shopping. They buy clothes they could buy for less inside their own country. What is important to these tourists is the applause they will receive when they get home.
Saudis are notorious for seeking out Arab food when they travel abroad. After shopping in London’s Knightsbridge district they’ll head of to Edgeware Road for the sheesha and mezze. Never mind London’s superb Indian cuisine or the Tate Modern Art Gallery!
Well, at least they’re walking the streets ... in order to be seen by other Saudis walking the streets; something for which to gossip about back home.
Why can’t more Saudis be curious, intrepid tourists? On top of all of the wrongness about traveling just to gratify egos, material desire and reputation, it’s also expensive to uphold these reputations. Traveling doesn’t need to make you financially bankrupt.
The sad thing is it seems that our traveling habits are merely a symptom of our upbringing.
I know many a spinster who refuses to marry “an ordinary Saudi”. She wants a man with first-class tastes and a bank account to match. She wants a man who treats her like a princess — just like what daddy used to do.
It’s about time that we stop this silliness.
