100 Thing You Must Know About Saudi Arabia

Moreover, during my stay here in Kingdom, I noticed some very peculiar among Saudis. These are enumerated as follows:
54. Women and men should not be seen together inside the elevator or else you'll be grounds for automatic interrogations from the mutaweens.
55. Apart from the National Guard or the police, I feared most the mutaween because of their very strict implementation of Islamic policies, rules and codes.
56. Men here are proud to have thick beards and mustaches.
57. The most common food here is the kabsa, a combination of rice flavored with raisins, nuts and some spices.
58. Diesel is much cheaper than water, you can buy 1 liter of bottled water for about $1 while a liter of diesel will just cost you amazingly 50 cents only.
59. According to some OFW here who spend more than 5 years already, when you are taken by the police to put in jail, better "bring oil", the reason behind this that I do not know!
60. All security guards in banks don't carry any gun. They don't need it anyway because if you caught from stealing money or anything, the least you'll land will be mutilation i.e. cutting your hands or arms. So why would they need a gun, huh?
61. Gold is sold here as if you are selling fancy jewelries. There are no security guards in any jewelry shop I've been to. No alarm devices and sometimes gold is left unwatched. Why would anybody steal anyway? Read No. 59.
62. Men are strictly forbidden to enter in any beauty parlor, why Islam forbids the mingling of men and women in public places.
63. Taxis and cabs have meters to measure how much you fare would be, but you can bargain how much it would cost you for a certain distance. In short, these meters are just accessories.
64. No man is allowed to speak or chat with any female in public except in hospitals.
65. Some friends of mine told me that when you are accused of something, you'll be taken directly to jail with no initial investigations or whatsoever, you can only be freed once they proved your innocent.
66. In Balad, Jeddah you can regularly see the scene of a man being beheaded in public. They do this not to make any showdown but rather to warn those criminals and watching citizens that if they do some crimes against Islam or against their fellow men, mostly they would land in the same fate. Why would you do a crime then if you're being the next one to be losing your head right?
67. Crime rate is very low here because if this strong imposition of Sharia Law.
68. Five times daily, Muslims closed everything and stop anything they are doing.
69. All commercial establishments and public place halt their activities during these instances where they do "salah". Salah is the Arabic word for prayer so Salah times prayer times.
70. It is a normal thing when you see someone praying along the road.
71. Unlike in some countries, pay day is only once in a month in the Kingdom.
72. This is the part I like the most, NO INCOME TAX IS DEDUCTED FROM YOUR EARNINGS.
73. There is also no other taxes like VAT or value-added taxes are imposed when you buy a particular good or something.
74. For foreigners, you must carry at all times your work permit or else you'll undergo tremendous questioning and police interrogations once caught.
75. The work permit is known as "iqama" this is the only identification you'll have so better carry it always just in case.
76. You're passport is being held and kept away from your reach by your sponsor or employer. During your vacation time, you can only have your passport minutes before your scheduled flight.
77. If you happen to see an accident and a dying victim, NEVER help! I mean never ever dare to help let the victim die if he must. You shall not intervene in anybody's business. In this case, you just watch the victim die and wait for the police or any authority to come. You are only allowed to help if you are a medical practitioner like a physician or a nurse.
78. Baldness is common here because water is very hot during the summer and extreme cold during the winter.
79. The week starts in Saturdays and ends in Wednesdays. Unlike other countries, Thursdays and Fridays is the official weekends here.
80. They used Hijira Calendar not Gregorian calendar. In their calendar, their present year is 1429 unlike the rest of the world which is 2008. They lag by more than five hundred years.
81. You can bargain goods even inside the malls.
82. Because of tremendous heat and extreme temperatures, all household have air conditioning units even in toilets and kitchens.
83. The way of writing is from right to the left whereas we learned to write from left to right.
84. Sadik is the Arabic counterpart of the word FRIEND. Everyone calls anybody by this. Even if you're not actually friends or have just seen once another instantly.
85. Women when travelling in their cars should not be seated parallel to the driver or in the front seat especially if the driver is not her husband.
86. I never have seen any single women commute or travel using the public transportations available here.
87. Body parts showing legs, arms, or the entire face of a woman is colored by black ink. These are not allowed to be shown in public also.
88. The workforce here is mostly made up of Filipinos, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. There are also from other neighboring Arab countries but their numbers is mostly dominated by these mentioned earlier.
89. Saudi Arabia belongs to the Richest Countries in World because of its vast oil reserves.
90. When you are driving or in a public transport cabs or taxis, the usual speed it not lower than 140kph. When you are into a road accident situation, most of my friends told me, you are always wrong. Why? Because they believed that if you did not go in their country, you might not have been in the scene in the first place. This is just according to some sources I have asked before, I am not saying that this is true but true or not, I am not wishing I myself would experience it.
91. Kaliwali is the Arabic translation of the expression "I don't care".
92. The exchange rate of US dollars to Saudi Riyals is fixed to the ratio of 3.75 riyals to a dollar.
93. I have never seen any single dog roaming around the streets of Saudi. I asked my friends why, they said Saudis might have hated dogs.
94. If there are no dogs straying in the streets, you'll see plenty of cats roaming around and scavenging.
95. Saudi Arabia has the world's most number of beautiful and luxurious cars and vehicles. This is not only available for the rich but rather to the average families or persons also.
96. Shepherds are riding in their Pajeros, Suburvan, Nissan Patrol or Toyota Hilux to go to their pastures. This is a clear explanation of the expression "from camel to Cadillac". I don't wonder why, they are rich aren't they?
97. Since there is no value added taxes on goods and merchandises, the price of consumer electronics devices is very very attractive. You can easily loose you monthly salary if you don't keep an eye on your spending hehe!
98. People here don't care about the spelling of their English Words. If they don't care, why would I care also hehe. Kaliwali!
99. Pork is strictly forbidden here that's why no one is selling it either.
And the last thing you should know about Saudi Arabia is,
Don't you ever talk about their religion in an argumentative manner, if you value your life, do not criticize their traditions and their practices and never ever mock their prophet (pbuh) and Allan for surely you will be in 100% jeopardy!

That's all folks!