Final Deliverance
It might seem like our final deliverance was easy and I'm somehow exaggerating the barriers which lied in our path in the days before exit. But I don't think I'm exaggerating them at all. In reality, we were hit with two completely unexpected blockages: my final exit visa wouldn't issue and Saudi banned all flights (including our flight from Dammam to Dubai, connecting to Cebu) to the UAE. In a country like Saudi Arabia, one challenge might be enough to scupper all your plans, but having two really made it feel like we had a large mountain to move away. As soon as HR confirmed they couldn't issue my final exit visa and had no solutions of their own apart from my wife and son leaving immediately, I felt very, very anxious about the prospect of a lengthy delay to us reaching the Philippines. It's not like I could just fly them to UAE because that would mean being red listed for Philippine entry. Therefore, I suggested they issue me a standard re-entry visa to enab