The White House press corps touched down in Saudi Arabia just before 10 a.m. local, which was 2 a.m. back on the east coast.

President Bush just touched down in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. He will spend less than five hours there before heading to Riyadh himself--only a pool of seven reporters and six camera crew are accompanying him to Dubai.

One detail to clue you in on the environment here in Saudi Arabia -- the civilian flight crew on the United Airlines plane carrying the press corps has been told that its female members should not leave their hotel rooms for the two days they are here.

Embassy personnel, who are not allowed to drive their own vehicles in part due to security concerns, are stationed here for only a year at a time, because of the "psychological toll" of living in Saudi Arabia, said a foreign service source.

One other detail of interest: French President Nicolas Sarkozy is still here -- he leaves for Quatar in a few hours.

-- Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times