Round the World Writer: Video Updates Beginning in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Video Updates Beginning in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

DH reporting here.

During our 2018 World Cruise we found that places seemed to run together which is why RTWW decided to do the blog. In 2018 I put together a photo montage of each location after we came home, but I found that it was very difficult to remember each place. So when we were discussing the most recent World Cruise I committed to capturing all of our photos, and doing a montage/slideshow of pictures for each port of call. This required me to be able to access YouTube so that I could upload the montage once it was created.

When we boarded the Viking Star on January 10 the speed of the ship's Wifi network and the access to the internet was really good. In the beginning I was able to upload the videos easily. However the satellite that the Viking Star used is in the Northern Hemisphere, and as we traveled further south access to the internet slowed.

Then something happened to one of the ship's antennae, and internet access slowed to a crawl. Our cruise director sent out recommended guidelines for internet use to try to ease the pain of the slow internet speed. These guidelines included no access to YouTube.

We were told that as we headed north the speed would improve, and that the antennae would be fixed once we got to Portugal. However even after they fixed the problems, the speed of the Wifi and internet access just continued to degrade. Finally when we reached the Suez Canal I could no longer access my YouTube account, and there was no way to upload my videos. My last update to YouTube was when I set up a "hotspot" with my phone in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However after that the speed degraded significantly.

I still collected all of our photos each day, and put together slideshows. Working locally everything was fine, but anytime I needed to access the internet (like to find music for the slideshows) it was painful. I decided that when I got home I would upload all of my videos.

I am finding that this might be a blessing in disguise. We saw so many wonderful things on our trip, and we are still trying to process them all. This is a way to remember each of the stops, and relive the memories of each place.

As pictures go, these are pretty standard home movie types, but I hope that some of these locations pique your interest so that you watch the videos.

On March 27 we cruised south through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. We had two overnight stops in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah and Yanbu. One of the basic pillars of Islam is "hospitality", and we found the people of Saudi Arabia to be very welcoming, warm and friendly.

I'm sure you recall RTWW's story about our adventures on Bus 10! (Watch for these links to the original posting for each day!) What was a disaster that day, turned into one of the fondest memories of our trip. It even turned into a joke throughout the rest of the cruise. All anyone would have to do is mention "Bus 10", and everyone would know exactly what they meant. I even got to ride a camel that day! Despite all the trials and tribulations of the night, the people at the Bedouin camp were delighted to see us, and heaped my plate with delicious and exotic foods.

Here is a short video documenting my camel ride.

The next day, we took the included walking tour of the Old City. It was a fascinating look into the Arab culture, and see an working market that supplied the local population. Our guide was so glad to have us visit, and made us feel very welcome as he showed us around his home town.