4/5 Cal H. 1 year ago on Google
First
the
good:
Omer,
Abdulamen
and
Mohammed
were
the
drivers
and
Omer
the
guide.
Omer
speaks
great
English
as
does
Mohammed.
Omer
is
a
terrific
driver,
you
will
need
this
as
the
roads
are
worthy
of
a
good
4x4
with
good
shocks
and
wide
range
steering
+
skills.
Omer
is
responsive
to
text
within
the
hour
and
once
you
sign
on
he's
communicative
back
within
minutes.
I
signed
on
for
a
private
tour
through
my
hotel
the
Mandarin
Oriental.
I
did
not
get
that.
It
ended
up
being
a
group
with
3
other
people.
My
driver
guide
was
40
minutes
late.
This
was
probably
the
fault
of
the
hotel
concierge
more
than
Ghazi
Tours.
Now,
why
the
4
stars,
actually
for
my
driver
guide
it
would
be
1
star
(1
for
just
being
present):
While
I
appreciated
the
additional
cars,
aka
a
small
caravan,
for
safety,
I
didn't
appreciate
the
lack
of
1:1
care.
After
all,
the
pricing
was
for
1:1.
Again,
this
could
be
the
hotel
or
Ghazi.
It
turned
out
my
driver/guide
worked
for
Ghazi,
and
directly
under
Omer.
As
part
of
the
pack
now,
we
trooped
through
for
photo
ops,
and
listened
as
one
would
at
a
flag
waving
group
schpeel.
Not
really
what
I
paid
for.
And
I
was
treated
as
leftover
bread
as
I
was
through
the
hotel
and
not
direct
with
Ghazi.
The
car
I
got
lacked
a
good
driver,
Omer
was
not
my
driver.
At
one
point
the
car
I
was
in
slid
back
and
tilted
precariously
to
one
side.
Omer
had
to
jump
in
to
get
the
car
up
the
hill.
While
I
appreciated
the
friendliness
of
my
driver,
I
didn't
appreciate
the
fact
he
spoke
little
English,
didn't
know
anything
about
anything
not
even
the
ability
to
translate
"Mashallah".
I
also
didn't
appreciate
my
driver/guide's
lack
of
awareness
and
inexperience.
For
example,
water
and
juices
are
stuffed
to
the
side
of
the
car
so
you
get
hot
orange
juice.
Inability
to
tell
you
where
the
bathroom
is,
and
the
fact
to
forewarn
you
that
the
bathrooms
lack
toilet
paper.
At
the
tour
sites,
my
driver/guide
stuffed
his
hands
in
his
pockets
and
wandered
off.
Then
telling
me
it's
his
first
time
at
this
one
place
too!
Totally
lack
of
any
service.
And,
Ghazi/Omer
wasn't
responsible
for
me
directly,
even
though
my
driver/guide
worked
for
Omer.
At
a
local
touristy
restaurant,
my
driver
guide
sat
without
uttering
a
word.
He
left
to
get
the
car
without
telling
me
leaving
me
to
wonder
whether
I
should
get
an
Uber.
No
communication.
At
the
end,
Omer
had
an
emergency
left,
and
his
guest,
the
other
person,
climbed
into
my
car,
and
was
told
to
be
dropped
off
first.
Again,
I
was
treated
as
yesterday's
stale
bread.
The
car
after
the
restaurant
was
filthy
for
some
odd
reasons.
Empty
bottles
of
water
and
orange
juices
strewn
all
about.
Sticky
mess
in
the
back.
Then
my
driver
guide
dropped
me
off
at
the
wrong
hotel.
He
dropped
me
at
the
namesake
office
building
across
the
way.
I
made
my
own
way
back.
I
gave
Omer
$50
USD
tip
(even
though
I
wasn't
his
prime
guest)
+
$50
USD
tip
for
my
lazy,
incompetent
driver/guide.
Why?
Because
as
an
American,
I
want
them
to
appreciate
we
aren't
all
jerks
and
hopefully
they
will
improve
their
service.
I
left
my
phone
cable
in
my
driver
guide's
car.
Omer
dropped
his
own
for
me
the
next
day
at
8:30am.
I
very
much
appreciated
that,
although
I
just
wanted
my
own
back
but
I
appreciated
I
got
a
phone
cable.
I
paid
$1500SAR
through
the
hotel
for
what
was
to
be
a
private
tour
which
wasn't.
I
will
bring
that
up
with
the
Mandarin
but
doubt
it
will
have
any
impact.
Omer
has
his
own
rates.
So
advice
go
to
him
Ghazi
Tour
direct.
More
advice,
whatever
you
end
up
doing
it
will
end
up
as
a
group
tour
with
Ghazi.
That's
not
so
bad,
and
in
fact
I
enjoyed
the
small
group.
Just
don't
pay
for
a
private
and
expect
a
private
tour
AND
demand
a
car
with
good
shocks,
good
tires
and
competent
driver
and
guide.
Don't
get
the
driver/guide
and
car
that
I
had,
you
might
as
well
just
ride
with
Omer.
Your
back
with
thank
you,
your
tail
bone
will
thank
you,
and
you
will
get
back
to
your
own
hotel.
Last,
bring
a
packet
of
tissue
paper,
and
make
sure
your
guide
knows
something
about
the
sites.
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