Hi BobandKim. I am a road warrier like you and just returned from China
where I had the same problem with my OptusNet. As for Saudi (I have
been there too!), internet services are monitored by the Government so
speed slows down and often your ISP server thinks you are time out.
There are a few things you can try.
I dont know what version of Outlook you are using, but suggest you
increase the server time-out by going to Tools>Email Accounts>View or
Change>Change>More Settings>Advanced>Server Timeouts. Increase this to
'long'. If this fails, you may have to use the web mail version
provided by your ISP. At least you can view and send your mail and
download it later.
If you are using a local ISP or an internet cafe, you can try changing
your SMTP settings to that of the local provider. Hope this helps.