What do cardamom and pre-flight prayers to Allah have in common? You guessed it! Saudi Arabia.
When I booked my flight to Thailand with two layovers in Saudi Arabia, I didn’t realize what a cool experience it would be. I was able to get an amazing deal flying business class on Saudia Airlines with a fully reclining seat on all legs of the trip.
The 12 hour flight started off with a lively prayer to Allah led by a man with a deep, baritone voice on the the TV. Next, the attendant brought me a glass of their “antioxidant green boost juice,” which tasted like sugar sprinkled on some grass. It was….. interesting.
After that they served a Saudi coffee, which was absolutely delicious! It’s made with cardamom, and it’s not too sweet… how do I convince Starbucks to start carrying it?! It came in a cute little cup accompanied by a single date that the attendant told me is best to eat while drinking the coffee.
The rest of the flight was pretty seamless, although much more turbulence than I expected. In the morning, I ordered a larger cup of Saudi coffee and it was served with a wonderful breakfast spread. I especially liked the chia seed oatmeal mixed with mango chunks and topped with blueberries, papaya, and cream.
Once I landed in Riyadh, I was informed I needed to get a tourist visa since my next flight was a domestic flight to Jeddah before flying to Thailand. So after spending $100 on a visa, going through customs, taking a shuttle 15 minutes to the domestic terminal, and going back through security, I made it to the Saudia Airlines lounge all ready to board the next leg of my flight in 4 hours.
And what do you think is the first thing I did when I got to the lounge? Well, got myself a giant cup of Saudi coffee of course!
Woohoo! Sounds like a great start to your trip. We’re looking forward to following along. It seems like your airline coffee was a hit… someone we know refuses to drink airline coffee, maybe this will change there mind 🙂
Hope you’re last flight goes well and enjoy your first day in Thailand!
🤨