Jakarta, Saturday, 1995-04-29 10:00 local (Z+7)
I went to Jeddah on the 24th, spent a day and one half on the ground, and returned to Jakarta on the 26th. Both legs were much better than my first leg. I really don't like the way they want the airplane flown from the top of descent to the final approach, but I'll get used to it. Both landings were smooth and on the runway centerline.
At Jeddah the check captain let me taxi all the way to the gate—probably wanted to see if I could do it, first officers at Tower don't normally do that. All went well, and it was almost like being back in the left seat for a few minutes.
Tower Air had a blanket prohibition against first officers taxiing, apparently put in place after a taxiing f.o. had caused a problem. Most of the captains observed the rule, though there were a few exceptions. When I finally upgraded to captain at Tower, I became one of the exceptions. My practice was that if it was the fist officer's leg, they could do the taxiing if they wanted. Most were appreciative of that, but there were a few who declined.
That was my first time off the airport at Jeddah. Stayed at the Sheraton right on the beach—the Red Sea. The Jeddah area is somewhat less restrictive than the Dhahran area Jean and I were in at Aramco. Most of the Saudi women were veiled, but I regularly saw unveiled women. They, of course, had the black abaya on, and the veil was there to be pulled across the face should the religious police show up.
We had to surrender our passports to the Saudi military. It was a typical Saudi operation: an officer with three stars on his epaulets (a general?) sat in an office surrounded by six other officers just lounging. You had to go in individually, sign an official looking paper, and leave your passport. The way out when we left was the same situation. They, of course, kept us waiting several minutes each time to impress on us the fact that they were in control.
Jakarta is an interesting mix of Muslim, Christian, Budhist, and Hindu cultures. It's Muslim in the sense that prayer call is broadcast the usual five times a day. However, it's much more tolerant than your typical Muslim society. I took a walk outside the hotel yesterday and was immediately hustled by a pimp wanting to know if I wanted a girl. He stuck with me for about thirty yards before giving up. Once you're away from the hotel, the propositioning stops, and it's never as bad as you get in Bangkok.
When I persisted in refusing his offer of a girl, he asked if I would like a boy. I politely declined that as well.
It's back to Jeddah again in another few hours, a little more than ten hours to get there, a little less than ten for the return trip. I'll possibly just do this one more round trip as the inbound portion of the Hajj ends on the 3rd. The airplanes will be taken to Singapore and Abu Dhabi for maintenance during the ten day break. I asked crew scheduling if I would be returning here for the outbound part. They seemed to think not since after IOE, I have to be put with a standards captain, and they didn't think they were going to put any standards captains over here. At this point I'm just taking things day by day, so I'm really not sweating where they put me. When you're this junior, your preferences are of no consideration.
Love to all...Terry