It's all true
About 5 year ago I drove alone through Saudi Arabia on a transit visa, taking the ferry from Sudan to Jeddah and then driving north into Jordan, and eventually Syria when I persuaded them that I wasn’t actually British (but that’s another story)

As some of you might know from my ‘Africa Bore’ posts, I’ve managed to get around in my subtly kitted out yellow Land Rover, and I’m pretty good at observing basic precautions when I’m in strange places where the locals aren’t used to the concept of ‘travellers’. Don’t get me wrong – people are hugely hospitable on the whole, and Islamic countries take the concept pretty seriously and were very welcoming if a little puzzled. Even so, I stuck to a routine when it came to stopping for the night regardless of where I found myself, and this night was no different.

A while before dusk I checked that there were no other vehicles anywhere on the straight, shiny tarmac road cutting through the desert. Easy to do as there was bugger all traffic, but even so I pulled over, climbed onto my roof and had a good scan – absolutely nothing.

Then I turned off the road and followed a track that I hoped might lead to either a village or possibly a bedou encampment – either way if you know the rules of hospitality this is the safest option. I kept the speed down so as not to raise dust, and as I lost sight of the road I again checked to make sure I hadn’t been seen. Then I drove for about 10km through barren desert until I came to a small plantation run by a friendly bloke for Bangladesh who welcomed me into his home. This was perfect – no mobile signal, phone lines (or power), and no technology like satphones, just a battery radio for entertainment. I was pretty sure I wasn’t likely to be bothered, and I had a friendly soul who I shared dinner and a nice cuppa with, although we only had half a dozen words in common. Come 8:30pm I’m tucked up in my roof tent above the Land Rover fast asleep.

I wake up to the sound of two 4x4s labouring up the track. It’s 11pm. Not good news. I threw on my clothing and boots and was trying to figure out whether to scarper, but the desert was criss-crossed with wadis, and I’d have had to use my lights to find a path, so I figured it better to stay put. Half a dozen blokes got out of the vehicles and after exchanging greetings one who spoke English asked me if I was in trouble. To cut a long story short, they offered me help; the offered to put me up in a hotel courtesy of the local Sheik, they even offered me money. It was only when I thanked them for their kind offers and explained that like the Bedou my home was my tent that the left me to spend a restless night imaging sounds in the desert (and let me tell you – deserts are soooo quiet)

So the point of the story? I’ve spent the last 5 years trying to figure out how the feck they knew where to find me, and I still have absolutely no idea.
(strongp, Wed 2 Sep 2009, 18:15, 4 replies)

An infra-red night vision device?
I don't know Saudi personally, so I'm probably wrong. But, I would expect wealthy hunters/smugglers/security in a place like that to have cheap IR night vision -- and you'd be lit up on that.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Wed 2 Sep 2009, 18:27, closed)

hmmm
Possibly - but this is in the middle of the desert; I've always though sattelite most liely - but that's a pretty spooky capability to track a single vehicle in the middle of nowhere...
(strongp, Wed 2 Sep 2009, 18:55, closed)

I would say they probably saw your tracks coming off the road, somewhere where that's unusual?

( morrybyte made a subtle namechange at, Thu 3 Sep 2009, 1:57, closed)

just cos you didn't see them doesn't mean
that they didn't see you!
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Thu 3 Sep 2009, 7:57, closed)