Finally Arrived in Qatar S06 EP.72 | MIDDLE EAST MOTORCYCLE TOUR
Where do we need to go now? I'm taking all my documents with me. Assalam Alekum Everyone and Welcome Back to the Channel from Aqaba Jordan. Just got here a little while ago. I needed to pick some stuff after crossing the Eilat - Aqabah border. That has been taken care of and the luggage is setup on the motorcycle.
It was just some of my luggage that I didn't take with me when I went to Palestine. So I left it here. I have set that up on my motorcycle. Time to leave now. I'll take a couple of days rest after reaching the next destination and then will sort the whole luggage.
I'm leaving for Saudi Arabia today. We'll cross the Durra border crossing between Aqaba and Haql. And then we'll spend our night in Tabuk. Tabuk is almost 275 km from here. Other than the border crossing it's a 3.5 to 3.75 hour long ride.
It may be 10 or 11 in the night before we get there. It's very hot here at the moment. That's why I'm trying to avoid the day ride.
We can easily reach if we start the ride in the evening. According to the internet, this border crossing stays open for 24 hours. I don't know if it's true. We'll find out when we go there. Lets leave now so that we can show you the next border crossing. Thank you.
Saudi Arabia He's a YouTuber. He's from Bangladesh. Thank you dear.
Welcome to Jordan Thank you very much. Bismillah... In the name of Allah *Prayer for the journey* We pray to Allah for a problem free and memorable ride today. Hope this border crossing will be very smooth for us. And no harm comes to the punctured tire that we fixed.
The sun is facing us and it's too bright. You may not be able to see clearly because of that. Soon we'll take a right turn. Hopefully, it will get better then. This is the industrial area of Aqaba port.
I think Aqaba port is a free trade zone. There are too many garment companies here. Especially, by Pakistani, Indian and Bengali people. There's an agreement with the US that says that any 'Made in Jordan' item doesn't need to pay customs duty. That makes this a lucrative port.
There could be other trade items as well. But I mainly know about the clothing market. I know that through a couple of Pakistanis who have their companies here.
I came here to an Indian factory. One of my friends sent some stuff for me from Amman through this Indian guy. That I picked from here.
It may take up to an hour to get to the border from here. I think it would be less than an hour. Possibly 45 minutes or so. I'll try not to enter the city. So we'll stay on the highway outside the city.
We have already seen the city. Going into the city means another 90 minutes or so. Anyway, we may have to come back here if the border is closed.
In that case, we'll have to spend the night here in Aqaba. Many of you may be wondering why am I going back to Saudia. Especially when I have already made so many videos there and covered so many areas.
But I have my reasons. I haven't been to Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and UAE, yet. I wanted to cover these countries when the weather is a little better.
So, the plan is to go to Tabuk first. Then I'll see if I can ship my motorcycle from there. By ship, I mean cargo the motorcycle to Riyadh. That can be a good option. And from Riyadh, I can just ride to Oman. There is a beautiful desert in that region.
But we'll finalize these decisions once we are there. Let's just get out of Aqaba for now and head to the border crossing. We've reached a check post. But the guys there were just sitting peacefully. I think it's good that they were relaxing.
The check post guys can be really annoying, especially the ones in Jordan. That's the Aqaba port. This is Jordan's only port as they don't have any other access point to the sea. Even this used to be a part of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis gave this port to Jordan. In exchange, Jordan gave some desert areas to Saudi Arabia. Otherwise, Jordan did not have any other way to access the sea. It's a very small area. Just a ride of 30-40 km from Eilat will get you to the next border. There are few more cities here like this.
There's Nuwaiseeb in Egypt. In Jordan, it's Aqaba. And then there's Eilat. Also, Haql in Saudi Arabia. All of them are very close to each other. My Israeli SIM card is still working over here.
It's a good thing actually that I can still use the internet. We are very close to the border now. Hardly another 3 to 4 km left.
I can see the fencing now. I didn't notice that I'm a little short on fuel. It just skipped my mind. There was so much on my mind already. I did put an extra 1 liter of fuel in the motorcycle.
Still can't see that in the fuel meter. I hope it will take us to the next petrol station. It would be best if we can find some petrol station near the border.
I can see more check posts here. We have reached the border crossing now. I came from this side the last time I was here. That's the road for people who are coming here. I hope all is well. That's the first time I'm receiving such a welcome at any border.
Assalam Alekum Assalam Alekum Thank you See... I just met a Saudi and how welcoming he is. So... The Jordanians took no time to clear us. Hardly took 30 minutes. Didn't have to pay any departure tax as I'm leaving on the same day I entered.
Otherwise, that's another 15 dollars to pay. Assalam Alekum That's No Man's Land. We are now gradually heading towards the Saudi border. I just checked and found out that there is a petrol station about 5 km from here.
That will cover us I guess. The Saudi border is in sight now. Normally....
I have crossed it twice already I think... I mean both arrival and departure. These Saudi borders were the fastest in processing. They don't bother you much. They don't cause any problems for you.
They just check your visa and carnet and then immediately give you the processed document. Hopefully it will be the same today as well. Let's see what God has in store for us. Anyways, I have all the required documents. So, let's see. It's almost sunset here. You can see the Sinai mountains from Egypt far into the horizon.
The holy mountain of Toor is also here. Somewhere in this region. Since nobody is here so we are heading straight to the vehicle section. Where do we need to go now? I'm taking all my documents with me.
Only if all the border crossings are like this... They take no time to clear you. Such an efficient system. I think we need to go that way now. I was on the wrong side. Need to go there... Vehicle Clearance Entrance.
Assalam Alekum Is he gonna return that...?? Welcome to Saudi Arabia Their border crossing and friendly attitude of people is making me fall in love with them. The way they talk to the tourists and the amount of respect they give you... I have hardly seen that anywhere else. Well... I was treated rather kindly in Kuwait as well. Many people say that Kuwaitis are a bit harsh but that's not the case.
Anyways, let's focus on Saudia Arabia for now. It has been a great experience. That was just half an hour.
I went to them with my passport. Parked the motorcycle aside and showed them my passport. The guy was really nice and he asked me for the visa. I told him that I have got an online visa that I obtained a year ago. So he checked the online status... Because I didn't have the hard copy.
And I couldn't get the soft copy because I didn't have the internet. So he checked online instantly, found it to be okay and then stamped it. Then came the vehicle section. He just took 15 minutes and cleared the motorcycle. There is no entrance or departure tax on this side of the border.
Let me just get out of the border area. Can't stop here... Although I'm very thirsty. But I want to keep going. A petrol station is coming up soon. We'll take a short break there. We are riding along Red sea now.
It's not too windy here today. It's good for our smooth ride. The last time I was here, it was just too windy.
We still have some shekels and some Jordanian currency. We'll get it converted if we get a chance. However, we don't have enough Riyals and that's what we need right now. Lets see if they accept card here. I've told them that they will be in the video.
So we have captured them in the video. We'll see about that later. We have got a full tank of fuel now. I managed to produce around 25 Riyals and they were enough to get the tank full. You can compare the fuel prices. I have been paying 2.5 dollars for a liter.
But over here... It's not even a dollar per liter. 2.4 Riyals per liter. Approximately 70 cents a liter. We'll now get the money from ATM when we reach the city. Here, they didn't accept card as the mode of payment.
At least our motorcycle has a tank full of fuel now. One thing less to worry about now. My credit card works in Saudi Arabia. So we can use it in any ATM to get the money. We can also stay here in Haql tonight.
But going straight to Tabuk is still a better idea. Because it's gonna be really hot in the day once again. I can now see the lights of Haql city. Hardly a ride of 5 km or so will take you to the city. That's it.
This is also a beautiful city. But I don't think there is any tourism here. Overall the city has a very beautiful entrance. There is a park for walking. Ample lighting There's something written on the mountains as well ... Although we can't see that right now.
The Saudi government is putting a lot of effort to improve tourism in this area. I'm still amazed at having done a border crossing around sunset for the first time. There's always a first time.
We may get to experience the same thing some time in the future. So, it is good that this border remains open. You can go to the border any time you like.
24 Hours was mentioned there but still no idea if it's actually always open. Lets keep an eye out for ATM. O there's one. That's a bank. Let's park right here.
Turning off the camera. There's no way I'm showing you my ATM pin. Not even my card number for that matter. So, we have 500 Saudi Riyals now. I think that's enough for us.
500 Saudi Riyals approximate to 130 - 140 dollars. This is the road to Tabuk. According to navigation, it's 227 km from here. So... We can reach there by 11.30 pm at max. Hopefully, it won't get any more late.
Depending upon the breaks that we take. I think we have reached the Tabuk check post. This could be 10-15 km from the city. But it's encouraging to know that we are this close to the city now. I can see the city lights now. Most of the big cities here have their check posts around 15-20 km from the city.
Right now, we are almost ... can't really call it city center ... But at least it's one of the main areas.
Because many shops are still open. It's a pleasant surprise to see the shops open at 11 pm. That's what I mean when I say that a border crossing changes everything.
In countries like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine... Everywhere shops won't be open after 7 pm or so. But here, it's still business hours. Cross a border and you'll find yourself in a totally different world.
This whole region is an Arabic speaking region. Except for Israel. But everything else is vastly different.
In those areas, hardly any shop is open at this time; even most of the restaurants are closed. Around 11 pm I mean. I think now we are in the city center area.
I can now see big shopping chains. All are open. Almost there now.
I don't have internet right now. All I know is that I have marked a location on my maps. Just following that location. Need to take a turn from here. So... here comes.... Lahore Hotel That's where we wanted to reach.
This was the motivation behind coming all this way... I was really hungry and I could have eaten anywhere along the way. But I knew that I'll not get such delicious Pakistani food anywhere else. I've already tried their food before and wanted to eat here again. Here we have Haleem.
And here's some Chicken Karrahi. Is it chicken or mutton...? Let me check. It's chicken. And fresh from the kitchen roti. That's our dinner for the night. It's actually more than I can eat.
Anyway.... Lets start with the name of Allah I'm trying Pakistani food after almost 2 months. Pakistani food has absolutely no comparison. Finally I have reached Doha, Qatar. And I'm very excited. Because of Football World Cup here.
And for a football fan like me, being able to watch even one Football World Cup match is a big thing. Hopefully this time I'm definitely gonna get this wish fulfilled. I'll not only have this experience but also share it with you all. Well... not just this event... But no other country has seen so much development as Qatar did in the last decade. I'm really excited.
Very excited to share this experience with you all. I'm sure that the way I'm happy and excited... and what I have been seeing here... You are gonna appreciate it when I'll share that with you. The Qatari government has done so much in the last decade for this World Cup event.
Hopefully this event is really gonna be a success. This is the first time an Arab nation is hosting such an event. Let me tell you that I did not come to Doha from Tabuk on a motorcycle.
Right now I don't have my motorcycle. The motorcycle is being transported to Riyadh. I'll try to get it here from Riyadh in coming days.
You'll find out more about that in coming vlogs. That's all for today. If you liked this video, don't hesitate to hit Like, Share and Subscribe. Remember me in your prayers. See you in the next one. Allah Hafiz
2022-11-21 06:15
