Saudi Arabia. Tough to visit as the visa categories include: Diplomatic, Government, Business, Accompanying someone on Diplomacy, Government or Business; Hajj Pilgrimage and Umrah Pilgrimage (similar to Hajj but at a different time). Note the absence of a coming to take a look and dawdle around visa. There are plans to introduce a tourist visa so watch this space. While tourism is restricted, there is still a significant expat community, especially from West and South East Asia.

Jeddah is a good place to start, as it has been Saudi Arabia’s commercial center as a Red Sea port since medieval times and there are a few things to see before heading on. It also has the world’s highest fountain, that you can view from the seafront.

Jeddah is now mostly sprawley functional low-rise buildings; until Saudi Arabia developed it’s oil industry post WW2 it was hard to maintain a large population (and the attendant sea water desalinization plants) so the growth is quite recent. However, the al-Balad district downtown still shows a slice of pre-growth Jeddah and is a good place to wander around.

The souk is a good place to detour, not so much for nasty Chinese plastic goods, but the dates are going to be fresh from the farm and if you are missing a keffiyeh or an abaya in your wardrobe this is the place to haggle for one. Head for Suq al-Alawi and look from there.

Al-Balad is a live neighborhood with some preserved historical buildings such as the Matbouli and Nassif Houses, and others that merge traditional features with modern additions.

Foodwise the traditional Saudi restaurants offer varieties of roasted meat and rice although barbecued fish is another local specialty. Lebanese and Indian restaurants are plentiful and another good option.

Visits to the supermarket will show a poor (non-alcoholic) beer selection but plenty of fruit juice varieties.

Rumor has it that the re-sealable swing tops on the glass fruit juice bottles allow introduction of yeast and sugar to make it a more interesting beverage. When the company switched to non-resealable crown tops, sales plummeted, allegedly.

Logistics. Jeddah Airport is rather outdated at present and there is limited public transit, although the new Terminal 1 is planned to have a light rail connection downtown. Taxis at the airport will try and rip you off – a trip into the central area of Jeddah should run about 50 Saudi Riyals in a taxi (~US$15) but they will start the bidding at 200. Depending on which if the two existing and separated (North and South) terminals you arrive at, Uber may have a long wait time. You should set up the Careem app, which is a regional version of Uber that works quite well. Uber and Careem are otherwise efficient to get around and the taxis are better value around town.

Women visiting Saudi Arabia should acquire an abaya before getting off the plane to cover up, although visitors don’t appear to need a headscarf (while the locals do).

Restaurants and coffee shops are divided into male and family sections – if you are in mixed company you can use the family section.