more on Saudi, this time not so favourable

I am travelling to Saudi later this month. now that's something you don't want to be saying too often.
for all I know, my experience in Saudi may be an enriching one but something tells me that it is not likely. for, of all the places in the world that r said to be retrograde, Saudi is at the top (or very near to it) of each list. now, I have nothing personal against the Saudis. the few that I have met have come across as very decent and even possessing, very counter-intuitively, a sense of humour (I'd always imagined Saudis to a bearded, fierce looking Arabs, ready to take offence at the slightest hint of humour). but the Saudis that I have met are Europe/America educated and sophisticated with good jobs in multi-national companies, earning in one month as much as I earn in a good year...in short, as un-saudi as one can get. well...listed below are some facts (not statistics) about saudi that make me less than enthusiastic about going there.
1. In Saudi, women are not allowed to work with men, which effectively means that they are not allowed to work.
2. women are not allowed to drive. i do not know the rationale behind this. the only thing i can think of is that since women are not allowed to work with men, if women have to be taught to drive, they will have to be taught by women instructors. which means that there will have to be a separate infrastructure for women and thats too much work, ain't it!
3. all women, irrespective of religion have to cover their heads in public.
4. it goes without saying that everyone has to dress modestly...and 'modestly' not in the western sense of the word.
5. alcohol is 'haraam'. no alcohol is available or allowed in saudi. thats why u finds hordes of saudis making a beeline for bahrain, where they get to booze and womanise. as an aside, it is a fact that the highest consumption of 'Johnny Walker' is in saudi. also, throat syrups and gargles do huge business in saudi...why?? of course, because they contain alcohol.
6. images, idols (islamic of otherwise) are not permitted inside saudi
7. mobile phones with cameras are not permitted in saudi because the wise men at the top think this will prevent men from taking photos of women on the sly.
8. in general, all creative and performing arts are discouraged because in ultra-orthodox islam, it is 'haraam' to try to copy Allah's creation. there are no cinemas and theatres in saudi.
9. there is significant discrimination against non-muslims. it starts from the time u get ur work permit...muslims have green work permits and non-muslims have red.
10. too much power is given to the religious police (mutaween). there is an infamous incident where a girls school was burning down in mecca and the mutaween prevented the rescuers from going in to save the girls because the rescuers were male. the girls were not wearing 'abayas' or headscarves and the mutaween decided that it is better that the girls burn to death rather than face the ignominy of being touched by males.
11. this is true of all gulf countries...there is general ill-treatment and exploitation of indians and other south asians.
12. saudi follows the shariah in its original archaic form. therefore, public stoning to death for serious offences, cutting off hands and flogging of thieves is not unheard of there.
13. saudi does not allow tourism. either u go there to work on on a brief business visit. if u r muslim, u can also go for the hajj or umrah.