Saying Goodbye

By the time this blog entry posts, I will have flown away, looking back and reflecting at my two year stint in the Magic Kingdom. Saudi Arabia, despite all that is said about it, is a mystical place to live in, with the strict religious adherence to Islam while at the same time many of its youth wanting to jump head first into all that is offered by the West and pictured on TVs and the internet...

When my French friend Eugenie left last June, she made a list of the things she loved in Saudi and the things she wouldn't miss about the country. I really enjoyed her idea and I'm just going to be completely unoriginal and use the same headings:

What I loved about Saudi Arabia

- getting to know the country, still very closed to tourism and tourists
- discovering the Arabian Desert, its rocky floors and its red sand dunes
- becoming a member of the Hash, the walking club
- sleeping under the starriest sky in the quietest desert ever
- seeing camels up close in their natural environment, free roaming in the desert
- eating Middle Eastern Food at any given time, with the best Arabic bread possible
-  meeting Saudis and finding out they are just like us!
- making friends with other expats and being able to talk, discuss, share common interests and talk about what we are missing from outside the Kingdom...
- finding out ways to make do without pork products and wine (although, that's not quite true, since there are ways around those lacunes)
- learning some words of Arabic and being able to greet people and receive a big smile in return
- roaming the souks and local markets, looking for rugs, scarves, Arabian knickknacks and having to haggle over everything
- listening to the many calls to prayer, giving a rhythm to life
- the access to the French grocery store Carrefour and its plethora of French products
- living on the compound in a spacious villa
- seeing behind the closed doors and high walls of Royal palaces
- taking the children to huge birthday parties where all a kid could dream of is available
- having Alex loose his first teeth biting into an apple here and hoping the tooth fairy would find him
- meeting like-minded people and knowing that, even if they were here in our lives only for two years, we have made friends for life...nothing better than sharing the same war trenches to never forget.
- going to the various embassies in the DQ and making acquaintances with familiar faces seen over and over again.
- shaking hands with ambassadors...I lost track after a while, but before moving here, I had only shook hand with one ambassador!
- visiting friends at Arizona compound and feeling like we were in the States, just for a few hours
- having Alex loose his first teeth biting into an apple here and hoping the tooth fairy would find him
- hearing Emma making huge progress in her fluency in French by blabbering with her little BFF...
- having the children understand that not all places in the world look like and behave like Louisiana or Belgium.  Having them become more world-aware and willing to see new things.


Who I will miss

- our work friends who, for some, turned out to be great friends
- the compound friends and neighbors
- the Hash group
- friends of friends, met by chance, but such great people
- the friends I made and who I am very sad to say goodbye to. I've told them that I hope we will see each other again and I do really mean it, Josh, Kristy, Claude, Nenita, Jay, Cheryl, Vinciane, Pierre...hopefully, one day, somewhere, we will meet up and catch up, Insh'Allah!

What I won't miss about the Magic Kingdom

- the division between men and women, not being allowed to interact
- wearing the abaya in the summer and in hot weather. In the winter it acts like a coat and keeps you warm while it 110F/45C temperature it's just an unbearable black oven.
- always being on the lookout for the mutawas because I did not wear the headscarf, standing out in the crowd sometimes by a head over the women around
- not being allowed to drive and having to depend on my husband or a driver to take me anywhere
- the closing of everything during prayer and having to plan to go to the store, bank or restaurant so that you're not caught by prayer
- the feeling of entitlement and superiority some Saudi have..but I guess that happens all over
- the way Filipinos, Bangladeshi and Indian workers are treated
- the censored magazines, with black markers and white stickers
- the filtered news in local newspapers
- seeing a sea of black abaya at the mall, never hair and rarely faces
- navigating a city where traffic signals are suggestions to stop, where street names have 4 different spellings and when you get misguided, you can't read the traffic signs as they are in Arabic!
- having to purchase an exit-re-entry visa to LEAVE the country for vacation
- the bureaucracy and convoluted ways to get anything accomplished
- the stamps, needed on everything, from store receipts to copies of paper to ads to put around the compound
- the butterfly in the stomach I felt everytime I was going through immigration, hoping that all my papers were in order and that I would be let in/out!  The final exit was a little stressful, but more will be written in a later post)


All in all, a great cultural experience that I won't regret having with my family.


Masalama Arabia!
Goodbye Saudi Arabia...

October 2009, right after our arrival in the Kingdom

Maybe we will meet again...Insh'Allah!


PS: We are moving to Malawi on August 1st and I will keep a blog of our new adventures in Africa.  Make sure you come visit it www.familyonthegeaux.blogspot.com

Banking experience

As the end of my work experience nears, it is time to tie up loose ends, one of them being the financial aspects, including the end of contract bonus and final months of salary.  So, after receiving my last checks, I went to the school's bank to cash them, to the ladies' bank to be more precise. 
Service is slow, the tellers are all smiling and professionally dressed and none are wearing the abaya, as this is a women only zone.  I hand them my checks and they tell me that the bank does not have enough cash for me to cash them...  It's ONE o'clock in the afternoon, I left work for just a little while and need to get back... I tell the ladies just that, that I don't have time to wait, that I can't go to another bank and that they need to cash my checks!  After making a phone call, somehow the money magically appears and they can process my checks.  
While I'm at the ladies branch, my husband is on the men's side, having the same conversation!  But for him not all the money appears....
As I'm sitting waiting for the ladies to finish processing it all, sipping on my tea, I see all the tellers get moving really fast, grabbing their abaya and their scarf and covering up everything except their faces.  I'm dumbfounded, can't figure out what is happening, even check my watch to see if there is supposed to be a prayer I forgot about (and there isn't)... 
Then, a MAN walks into the ladies side!!!  Eureka, that's why they were covering, to protect themselves from his prying eyes!  So, the male teller sits in front of me, produces my husband's checks and processes them, again out of that magically appeared money that wasn't there when I started this whole thing!  While he's doing all this, he doesn't say hi to any of hsi female coworkers,or  to me and never even looks up from his keyboard while he's typing...  It's actually the weirdest feeling, to not be acknowleged at all.  I guess I'm used to customer service and being greeted with a hint of courtosy!
In a way it does sum up a lot of the interactions between the sexes in the Kingdom, they live fullfilling lives each on their side but don't interact and none is the wiser!

King Abdullah Road is open!

After lenghty construction, the famed King Abdullah Road is finally open to traffic.  I believe construction took 3 to 4 years to complete, as tunnels had to be jack-hammered out of the desert rock. 

The result is fantastic:  traffic flows beautifully, the street lights have that retro/futuristic bluish look, palm trees and grass have been planted and will be watered often to remain green. 
So, you can now go from one end of town to the other rather quickly and avoid Aruba traffic, that runs parallel to King Abdullah.

I honestly didn't think we would see it open before we left, but THEY DID IT!  It's open and beautiful.  I really should go back and take some pictures...

Riyadh Road Project to Reduce Bottleneck!

Update: Mission Accomplished: we drove down and up King Abdullah Road and here are a few pictures of the finished project!

Inside the tunnels

A string of Lasts

The clock is ticking and it seems that the days until departure will be full of “lasts”! Yesterday was the last time we could see some of our French friends... The kids played together, hugged each other and now, my daughter is very sad as she lost the BFF (best friend forever) she had made on the compound. We hope the girls will see each other again, sometimes in the future...


Last night, I also went on my last shopping trip to the Souk. My goal was to either sell or exchange a pair of gold earrings I had and never once worn. It was rather easy to achieve, as all the stores in the gold souk trade gold and buy it by the gram. So, after deciding what I wanted and talking price, I traded my earrings for a gorgeous Saudi diamond pendant mounted on 24 carat gold on a delicate gold chain. I can’t wait to wear it on special occasions.


Since this was my last trip to the Souk, I did go in several carpet stores, just like I do everytime, always talking myself out of buying.  Yesterday I did buy a fabulous lambswool rug from Iran with some intricate patterns at a fraction of its regular price and well below what you would pay anywhere else in the world.  My last little souvenir from Saudi Arabia!
As I was with two male friends, it was different than usual, since I usually either went to the Souk alone, with one of the kids or/and with my husband. Having one being Arabic speake was even better, as he could haggle for us! I was, however, more careful about covering my hair, as I did not want to draw unnecessary attention to us, no explanation needed here.


The boys wanted to go to Batha Souk in old downtown Riyadh, that used to be (and probably still is to some extent) the main commercial artery in town, where a lot of the expat labourers and household staff still shop. You have not been to Riyadh until you drive through Batha after 10 PM!  It is thriving, people are all over shopping, carrying on business...  It reminded me so much of Khan El Khalili, the big Souk in downtown Cairo , even with the set of pedestrain bridges used to cross the street as the Souk is on both sides of it and the traffic is scary busy, to say the least.


We went to a shoe store, on 4 stories, selling mostly Caterpillar, Hush-Puppies, Merrel and Sebago brands...  All were new and all were at major discounts compared to what you would pay in a mall store, even on sale!  I bought 3 band name pairs of shoes, full leather for SAR 200, or about US$ 42...can't beat that!  Place your orders now!


So, three LASTS in one evening...and we still have 10 days to go!  We are putting this quote from Jonathan Huie to great use... as we “Celebrate endings – for they precede new beginnings.”

Women driving, really!

This is it!  The day has come for women to drive in the Magic Kingdom...Now, it's not official or anything and is only a grassroot movement that some Saudi women started on social networking sites, but it is a huge step forward in the right direction.  The news is all over the internet refering back to how this all started, when Manal Sharif, a woman in Jeddah, was arrested and jailed after filming herself driving and posting it on the web.  From there, The "Women2Drive 17th June," Facebook page was started, encouraging all Saudi women to drive on this day.  CNN article

We just came home from small grocery shopping and did not see any women driving.  We did see several police cars at intersections and they were visually checking inside cars...I guess trying to catch women driving.  It is time, in the 21st century, that women be allowed some more freedom of movement, able to travel alone and to drive themselves to work, to the store and not have to be dependent on the men of their family and hired drivers.

The great King Abdullah, the progressive Saudi monarch, is himself open to change and has been striving since his coronation in the mid 2000 to open the Kingdom to modern ideas, recently stated that "the day will come when women will be able to drive."  Soon or not, that remains to be seen!

Peacocks on the Prowl

In Riyadh two streets are especially known for their bumper to bumper traffic in the evenings and on the weekends: Taliah and Talatheen streets …not like there is no traffic anywhere else, but those two are really bad. If you had to compare them with other big cities, I would say easy comparisions can be made with the Champs Elysees in Paris and 5th Avenue in New York, both for the stores, restaurants and people watching.


All the en-vue restaurants somehow are located on those two streets, as well as the fancy bakeries, chocolate shops, flowers and luxury car dealerships… This makes for a guaranteed mix of people, and the young single Saudi boys know it. They cruise the streets up and down in their supped-up,tricked out vehicles, parading like peacocks, ruffling their feathers, in their case, revving their engines, until they are noticed by the ladies around.

I’ve even heard of, but never witnessed, the young men writing their phone numbers on pieces of paper and throwing them at passing cars occupied by ladies. What I have seen though is a carload of young men, with their windows all rolled down, shouting across traffic at the ladies seated in the car stopped next to them at a traffic light, follwing the car from light to light,     hoping to catch their attention, their looks and the most treasured phone number or BlackBerry Messenger code. I’ve even seen muscle cars with a huge sticker listing that driver’s BBM code for all to see and hopefully for some to use…

So, here in the Kingdom, “love” may emerge from a speed dating  meeting…on the roads or stuck in traffic….although, and don’t forget this, dating is not allowed here!

Over 10,000 hits

It's funny how I never thought that I would care this much about a number, but just a few days ago, the blog had its 10,000 hits - and that's only counting since May 2010, as somehow blogger did not keep automatic records until then.  In my mind, I had been secretly hoping the blog would reach 10,000 visitors before I was to leave....so, now, I can leave happy!
I'm now hoping it reaches 11,000 within the next 20 days...and at the rate it's going, it may be feasible. Just today, my husband showed the blog to his students as an example of a travel blog for an assignement...and we've had many more visitors today than usual...  so, students, if you are reading this, let us know and pass the word....  And other readers, share the address around as well...11,111 would be a cool number to reach by July 4th!

A Taste of Home at El Chico's

You know how it is, living abroad and craving some foods that you don’t have access to! Well, last night, one of those cravings was met! Up until 3 days ago Riyadh did not have a Tex-Mex restaurant worthy of the name! The lacune has been filled and you can now enjoy El Chico’s for lunch and dinner. It is located on Tahlia street, between Chili’s and the franchise store for the Riyadh soccer team.


My family met up with two other families, with a total of 7 adults and 8 children. We were seated around two big round tables, and received first class service, with a slew of waiters and lots of trainers present. To tell you the truth, the group was very Southern, with one family from Texas, one from Alabama and one from Louisiana. The El Chico trainers all hailed from the south as well, Texas and Alabama, so in a way, it was like a reunion of like minded people.

The menu is very extensive and offers exactely what you would expect from a Tex Mex place, with the exception of Alcoholic bevarages and pork dishes, of course! Even the chips and salsa were delicious and are directly imported from the US. The iced tea were served in large tall glasses with ice filled to the top and Sweet and Low and simple syrup on the side, never encountered experience in Riyadh. We almost felt back in Louisiana, enjoying dinner with the friends.

The children also had a grand time, while their parents were discussing the meal, the chips and the ice teas! The restaurant has built a children proof room, with 3 playstations, climbing toys, and games… Actually, we hardly saw them! Not even sure what they ate and drank among the orders of REAL corn dogs and mac and cheese!

Now, we are ready to face the days left in our contracts, bellies full of a taste of home!

Selling our vehicle

Another page is turned...this morning, we sold the trusty vehicle that took us around Riyadh and the region for the past two years.  After moving to Riyadh, we bought a 2 year old 2 wheel drive White GMC Envoy and that was a smart decision.  We had no major problem with the car, unlike many of our colleagues who bought well used and abused cars and had to replace many parts/motors/tires...over the two years. 
The only regret we had was not having a 4-wheel drive to go dune bashing in the desert... Thankfully several of our friends did and we got to dune bash in their cars!  So, if you want to spend a lot of time offroading  in the desert, get a 4-wheel drive.  Otherwise, for city and highway driving, it's not necessary and 2-wheel drive will be more than enough.
Selling the car was a pretty seamless process.  We advertized around at work and through our networt and expat.com, found  a buyer over a month ago who was willing to wait to get the car until June and willing to pay a good price.  My husband met up with the buyer at a car dealership, signed the papers there, paid a small fee (800 SAR split between buyer 600 SAR and seller 200 SAR) and walked out with a wad of cash for the sale of the car. 
The only thing left to do is going to the Insurance Agency, cancel the insurance and get some money back from them...but that is another story as dealing with insurance places sometimes takes a few trips!

Normal Life

As we are getting closer to our departure, our social life has been picking up!  That’s probably going to be my biggest regret about leaving Riyadh…  After almost two years here, we’ve made acquaintances and friends in various circles and now it seems that all those circles are intersecting!!!  We’ve been so busy lately, with parties, get togethers, barbecues, movie nights, Masalama parties and this weekend our last party at the American Embassy with a whole bunch of friends. 

Just last week I was talking with a Lebanese friend who’s lived all over the world and, after I was telling her my regret about leaving, she told me that it is the hardest part about moving on, but also that it’s hardest the first time!  I guess we acquire special skills at making friends.. 

So, if you are reading this before moving to Riyadh, it is totally possible to have a very busy social life…  Just make friends around your compound, join a hash group, attend social and cultural events at the embassies, and make friends at work…  If you stay at home, take part in the coffee mornings and the social activities on your compound.  Lots of expat women don’t work and are so busy while their kids are at school.  There are lots of things happening….it’s just a matter of finding a way to find out about them!

Men's Fashion

Everywhere you go in the Kingdom you will see Saudi men wearing the traditional Thawb and the head cover. I’ve always find them intriguing and like to observe the different ways of wearing the Shamag and the many cuts of the seemingly simple thawb. Here below is a very easy to understand description of the various components of the traditional Saudi dress for men, adapted from http://www.saudiembassy.or.jp/DiscoverSA/TC.htm

The Thawb is the full-length, loose garment with long sleeved made of cotton or a polyester mix. The color is usually white. However, in the winter, you can see some in darker colors such as brown, navy blue, black made out of wool for warmth.

The Taqiyah or Kufeya is a small white cotton hat worn directly over the hair. Wearing the taqiyah keeps the headscarf from slipping off the head.

The Ghutra is a square shaped cotton fabric, folded diagonally to form a triangular shape. When worn, the Gutrah is also folded from the front. Men wear their gutrah on the top of Kufeya. Some men wear theirs directly over the head.  The typical color of Gutrah is white.

The Shumagh is similar to the Ghutra, except that it is embroidered with white and red threads. . It is folded into a triangular shape and placed on the top of the head. 　

On top of the Ghutra or Shumag, a doubled black rope-like cord called igal is worn in order to hold ghutra in place. Igal is generally made of tightly woven black goat-hair and sheep's wool.

For special occasions like wedding, the men wear a bisht over the thawba.  It is usually made from cotton or camel/sheep wool and comes in many colors like black, brown, gray, and cream color. Bishts are trimmed with beautiful golden embroidery.

Every man is very particular when selecting their thawb.  Tailors all over town stock shelves after shelves of the similar looking white fabric used for the making of the thawb.  I cannot imagine having to select just ONE fabric as they all look and feel the same to me!  Same goes for the selection of the shumagh.  Stores sell them in nice boxes and although they all look the same, they are different in texture, thickness of the fabric, even designer as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and like are producing designer shumagh!

Once the different pieces of their wardrobe selected, it is time to put it all together.  And again, although it could look like a uniform, men have acquired their own style of folding their shumagh... just check out these three Saudi men, who were standing next o each other...all alike but all different!

Flying Saudia

Over the years, I’ve flown many airlines, but until I was IN Saudi, I had never flown Saudi Airline or Saudia like the local call it! In all honesty, I hadn’t heard much about it, except that it didn’t serve alcohol on any of its flights, domestic or international… You know that Saudi is a DRY country and so is their airline.


I’ve now traveled on Saudia several times and have had good service, not outstanding, but not bad. Flights were on time for the most part, no luggage was lost and food service still takes place on all flights, which really doesn’t happen on many airlines anymore. In Riyadh, there is an entire terminal for Saudi domestic flights which makes it quite convenient and painless.

You can now even check in online and print your boarding pass from home, for all domestic flights. That service is not available for international flights though. The whole boarding pass at home simplifies your travel, and being a woman, expedites security very much. Last time I flew, it took me less than 5 minutes from when the taxi dropped me in front of the airport to the gate, as women have to go inside a curtained room to be “wanded” for security away from prying eyes…and since way less women travel than guys, it is a rather fast process!

There is also another aspect of Saudia I have enjoyed…the first class lounge! To tell you the truth I don’t travel first class, always stuck in economy. However, at the Jeddah airport, as a Western woman, if you walk in the first class lounge like you belong there, the attendants don’t even bother asking for your boarding pass and you can enjoy the amenities.. food, juices, yogurt, cappuccino machine, PCs with internet access, TVs, magazines…Yeah, the only thing missing, you guessed it, are the libations…Oh well, can’t ask for everything in this world!  By the way, keep this a secret! 

Mary Poppins to the Rescue

Have you ever wanted to become the master at singing Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious and felt the need to call for Mary Poppins? Well, if you lived in Saudi Arabia, you very well may be able to find that special pearl. The majority of families with young (and not so young) children have a nanny, or several of them. We probably are among the minority here, living without a nanny or even a maid!


We see nannies daily, dropping and picking up students, shopping at the mall and the supermarket, at the doctor’s office, anywhere you may go as a family, nannies follow. I had been wondering how much those nannies are paid as they are living with their Saudi employer and are at their beck and call. Well, I finally mustered the courage and asked a Lebanese nanny…and I was shocked!

She broke it down for me into two categories of nannies: the Filipinos, who oftentimes have minimum qualifications beside a high school degree; the second group being the educated nannies heralding from Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria and Western countries, who usually have college degrees and may be multilingual.

According to my source, a Filipino nanny can pull about 1250 SR a month (or about 333 USD). Her job has her on call 24/7 for duty, living in a Royal Palace, all meals included and sometimes even includes exotic travel with the children and the family. Now, Mary Poppins would probably not approve of many of their appointments and their salaries, but for many of these Filipino ladies, that salary is way more than they could make back home in the Philippines and enables them to send a huge portion of their wages to their families/children back home.

In the case of this particular Lebanese nanny, her salary is 2000 USD a month and she has the same working conditions as the Filipinos. Because of her previous experiences as a nanny and her qualifications, she was able to negotiate her salary up. Now the way she was describing her job includes being on call all the time, having to be the best hairdresser and fashion consultant for the little girl she takes care of. She also mentioned offering services as a shrink and a nurse. Most of what she earns she saves, although she recognizes that taking a shower and washing her hair feels like she’s stealing time from her employer. Several times she told me that this job in Saudi was better than no job in Lebanon and the current state of the economy did not look promising for a job in Lebanon.

Now, without a doubt, such discrepancies in salary do not make her popular among the other nannies. At the function I met her she sat alone, did not speak with any other nanny, except one from Algeria. According to her, the maids and nannies don’t like her and will try to make life difficult for her, by telling the child in her care bad things and criticism of her work. She also appears to degrade the Filipino nannies and consider them lower than herself. The money may be good for her, but it seems to me like living in a viper’s nest! Mary Poppins would probably not be able to pull herself out of this one with a song!

Camel Crossing

Anytime you think of Saudi Arabia or the desert life here, you are bound to picture Bedouins, traveling with their camels across the vast expanses of the desert. Although times have changed and most of the Saudi population live in cities and towns, you still see camels roaming free, or apparently free, in the desert.

 But the desert itself has changed and is now crisscrossed with paved roads. At first, I kept on wondering why the highways were fenced… Could it be to prevent cars from free driving into the desert? I didn’t take me long to figure out the real reasons for those fences…. Everywhere and each time we’ve been in the desert, we’ve seen camels. They appear friendly and don’t shy away from moving vehicles… So, the fencing keeps them safely away from the roads.

However, some roads do not have fencing on either side and, it came as no surprise to me when we saw the famous “Camel Crossing” signs, which really are not just for show. Only yesterday we had to come to a complete stop twice to let a group of camels stop. It is almost comical, to see the biggest male of the herd standing in the middle of the four lane highway and watching around as the mama camels and baby camels are crossing. It’s such a cool sight: the camels are right there, in front of us, trotting across the road, not a care in the world. They truly are the most beautiful beasts of the desert, so elegant in their walk and so proud in their demeanor!

Ushaiger Village

A few months ago, on a flight back from Egypt, I picked up a magazine featuring Ushaiger, a traditional Saudi village having been restored to its former glory, as a way to preserve its heritage and displau relics and pieces from the village in their newly built museum. The photos were so appealing that I kept the article and just found it yesterday. So, since we are all off this week for Spring break, we decided to pack the car, bring our picnic and head to Ushaiger.

 A little internet research was necessary though, as we really had no clue where this beautiful spot was. Here are the coordinates 25°20′33″N 45°11′0″E. From Riyadh, count on over 200 kms each way of easy highway. Take Mekkah Road, pass the first checkpoint, go down the escarpment and turn right at the first exit, direction Shaqra (Highway 505). Drive on that highway for a good long while. When you reach the second town, at the roundabout, turn right and continue for 35 kms. At the next roundabout, go straight for 18 kms and, at km 18, you will see the new town of Ushaiger. Turn right on that road, drive to the end of it and you will be able to spot the old traditional village.

So, according to Wikipedia, “ Ushaiger is one of the oldest towns in the Saudi region of Najd and was a major stopping point for pilgrims coming from Kuwait, Iraq and Iran to perform Hajj or Umrah. It was originally known as A’ekel but the name was eventually changed to Ushaiger. It was changed because the town is bordered by a small mountain north of the Village. The mountain is red in color, yet locals said it was blonde simply because red and blonde were used interchangeably in the old days. Ushaiger means the “Small Blonde”, which is a description of that particular mountain. Historical Ushaiger belongs to the Tamim tribe although other tribes lived there as well. It is also the home land to many families in the Arabian Peninsula. Such families are Al-Elsheikh (The family of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab) and Al-Thani (Rulers of the State of Qatar) originated from Ushaiger.”

According to me, Ushaiger is what I thought Saudi Arabia would look like. Mud and straw houses, with narrow shaded alleyways, surrounded by defense walls and an oasis. What I was not expecting was the intricate irrigation and water collection systems, with a series of wells connected to each other and providing water for people, living and crops. In many ways, these desert folks knew how precious water was and had engineered a whole system to collect the water…if only today’s generations realized how wasteful their water usage is.

We were extremely welcomed in the village, being offered a private tour of the museum, the traditional cup of tea and Arabic coffee (that the boys drank seated in a cosy male only area, while the girls stood around and waited for the boys to be done). Our private guide, an elder whose grandfather used to have a farm in the village, took us around the restored alleys and houses, showed us many wells, his grandfather’s garden with a great irrigation system, still being harvested to this day. He took us to two of the schools in the village and two of the mosqs as well, one outdoors and one still in use.

After our tour of the village, we drove up the mountain and had a picnic in a secluded shaded area, overlooking the entire historical village, with its protecting walls, watchtowers and many palm trees. 

Our guide was very proud of his village and we were very complimentary of its renovation. The feel we had was like walking inside a history book. The only missing elements were the people who used to live in the village…. It was so peaceful and quiet, beautiful and serene, historical and humbling. What a great way to spend the day, going back 400 years in history…

 

another blog by another expat on same village

Cars of all shapes, colors and sizes

Saudi Arabia is probably one country with the most variety of cars: if you want it, you can buy it here!  All makes and models, from American Ford, GMC and Chevy to European Peugot, Audi, Mercedes, BMW to Asian Toyota, Hundya...  One thing I thought I wouldn't get used to are the Mazeratti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Marton, Bentley, Jaguar and Rolls that are all over the place...and although they still hold some mystique, we see them so often that they are loosing some of their myth!  Carpool time at school offers a pleasure for the eyes, with all the above brands well represented and just makes me want to get behind the wheel and take off!

But my favorites are the custom cars as they are one of the prefered ways to personalize your ride around here.  Again, imagine the best and worst you've seen and we have it.  I've seen bubble gum pink hummers, Orange Audi SUV with the racing stripe, bright purple limo, Hummer Stretch Limo...but to date, this is MY favorite... a GOLD BMW, parading around town...  Only in Saudi

Quad in the Red Sand Dunes

OMG!  We finally rode Quad bikes in the Red Sand Dunes and it was sooooo much fun!  This Thursday (our weekend, equivalent to Saturday) we left the compound early and rode in our friend Claude's brand new (to him) Nissan Patrol 4x4 to the desert, with the idea of renting quad bikes and enjoy the dunes. 
On our way to the Red Sands, we stopped at a gaz station/convenience store/garage/mosque/tire reseller.  It's always nice to see what there is to discover in those stores, as they are way more stocked than what you would expect to find in your typical Exxon/On the Run in the US.  This one was pretty cool:  we found all the camping gear, desert coats, head scarfs, camel bells and ropes, sheep lined sleeping bags, firewood, kettles, all kinds of dairy products, nuts..  for those in the Felicianas' think of a souped-up Saudi version of the F.S. Williams Store Saudi.  We really did not need anything, but ended up purchasing 3 head scarfs (a pair for me to make pants out of and one for the desert), gum and candy for the road.  The scarves did end up being used on the very same day!  More about that later!

So, as we finally reached our destination, we got caught in an mild sandstorm...not too bad, but enough to prevent us from leaving the comfort of the car and getting exposed on the quad bikes.  Instead, we decided to wait it out and go exploring in the dunes;  with a 4x4 vehicle, it's always more fun!  Once the wind calmed down, we went back and found several quad bikes rental places.  Don't expect rental cabins, with all the gimmics.  This is just us, pulling next to a few quads, a Saudi looking like what I would expect a bedouin to look like, tells us the price, in Arabic.  We haggle  a bit, he draws his final price in the sand and we say OK!  Deal is done, money is exchanged, quads are started. 

We all climb our vehicles and we are off.  No waiver to sign, no ID cards, no insurance, no tutorial on how to use the machine, or how to brake.  It's actualy quite scary, come to think of it, that the guy rents to us, doesn't really check that we can drive them, have my two kids take off without helmets..  I decide to take off my abaya in the car, before getting on the back.  Not sure if it was allowed, but I did it...  Couldn't have driven one of those with an abaya!  Actually, not even sure if I was allowed to drive the quad...but the guy didn't say a thing when he saw me get on the bike and go! 

We did, however, cover our hair and faces, as it was still windy and we had just purchased these beautiful scarves..  would have been a scame not to use them!  And man, did we look cool... 

The children thoroughly loved it.  We could hardly keep up with them and even thought we'd lost one for a while.  She wasn't too far, but nonetheless, it scared me.  The dunes looked all the same and it would have been easy to loose our bearings if we hadn't had a huge mesa helping us direct ourselves.    Both children were natural, taking to those bikes like they'd done it all their lives, when in truth it was their second time driving one, even if they've ridden with an adult a bunch of times in the Louisiana countryside! 

The Quad driving in the sand dunes, up and down, over and under, was just amazing!  I took many photos and even a little movie of what it actually felt like.  While in the desert, everybody should have that experience of driving on the sand dunes.  It's truly an unforgettable experience!  What a rush!  What beauty! 

Festival de la Francophonie

A l'occasion de la francophophonie, plusieurs ambassades ont organises des evenements culturels; ainsi nous sommmes alles a la residence de l'ambassadeur de Belgique pour la projection du film "Soeur Sourire" et a la residence de l'ambassadeur Suisse pour le film "petites vacances a Knokke Le Zoutte". C'est toujours agreable de participer a des evenements culturels, beaucoup plus calmes que certaines soirees dans Le quartier diplomatique, et tres relax. Hier soir, nous avons fait la rencontre d'un couple Suisse en voyage d'affaires de 3 jours a Riyad qui avait toutes les questions de nouveaux arrivants et beaucoup des prejudices et misconceptions de l'Arabie Saoudite. C'etait chouette de leur parler, je leur ai meme donne l'adresse du blog, pour qu'ils puissant lire un peu plus sur ce que c'est de vivre ici!
Un autre avantage de ces soirees sont les buffets. Nous avons eu droit a la traditionelle raclette du Valais Suisse. Je pense que la derniere fois que j'en ai mangee je devais avoir 12 ans, aux sports d'hiver a Leysin! Quel delice!
Comme quoi on ne s'ennuie pas au Royaume Magique! J'ai impatience d'aller au bazar de la francophonie Le weekend prochain!

What a sandstorm feels like...

One of the dangers of living in the desert is the sandstorm since we are completely surrounded by sand hundreds of miles around. However, since we’ve been in Riyadh, we have not been in a sandstorm of epic proportion, when you SEE the wall of sand moving forward and engulfing everything. Check out this video of a major sandstorm that hit downtown Riyadh in early 2009 in which you will see the wall moving forward from total visibility to nothing is distinguishable…Worst sandstorm in Riyadh


We have been caught in sandstorms; one was at the bottom of a wadi, driving back from the desert. We heard the wind coming, saw the lightning all around and soon we could hardly see in front of us. We knew the pillars of the bridge were close so we were looking for them, but only saw them when we were about 5 meters from them. Good thing we were hardly moving!

When a sandstorm blows through, expect sand all over. If you are outside, which I don’t recommend, cover your mouth and nose as quickly as possible, as the sand will get everywhere and get inside! My husband and two friends were playing golf last year when one hit suddenly. The three guys kept on playing…not the smartest move! When they came back to the compound, they had a thin layer of sand caked on their faces and their hair was blond, as sand has attached itself all over! For the next couple of months after that golf outing, all three were coughing and had respitory infections…since they did not cover their mouths and noses! So, my ad-vice is not to stay outside if you can avoid it.

When you are inside the safety of your house, listen to the wind and the sand hitting the windows. Expect sand to seep in under the doors, around the windows and be prepared to dust your house! You will see all furniture covered with a thin layer of “dust”, more sand than anything else. This is true on a daily basis. I could dust everywhere daily as it seems there is always sand deposit on the furniture.

When I vacuum or mop the floors, sand is what is mostly picked up. The bottom of the bucket is always full of sand, no matter that I vacuum the floors before washing them! So, yeah, living here you can’t forget that you are in the desert and that sand is all around.

For more information, read this article on How to Survive a Sandstorm

Thunderstorm in the desert

As my Facebook status today I posted “Thunderstorm in the Desert” and immediately was asked if I meant it figuratively? Yes, Isa, you get mentionned ;-)!   Although the atmosphere has been tense in the Middle East and this past weekend in Saudi Arabia, I really meant we were having a thunderstorm, with thunder, rain, lightning and the whole shebang!  The weather these past few days has been weird…  Thursday night we had a full blown sandstorm, with sands seeping all over the house and making it difficult to breath, followed with about enough raindrops to totally wreck the layer of sand on your car.  Friday (our Sunday) I took the kids to the pool and the sky was so overcast the sun could not peak through.  Perfect temperature and no sun meant it was not too hot, but no sunbathing.  Friday night we had a major hailstorm that must have lasted over 10-15 minutes and dropped hail about the size of small marbles.  Yesterday Monday, back at work, it was so hot and humid we turned on the AC in all the buildings and finished the afternoon with dark skies.  And today, we started with some grey sky and had intermittent showers throughout the day.  This evening, it’s raining again, rather steadily, making the streets of the compound wet and flooding our poorly irrigated yards.  Oh well, guess I’ll have to take my umbrella tomorrow…  and YES, I am still in the middle of the Arabian desert!

Camel Souk visit

This past Thursday we visited the Camel Souk, a huge market on the outskirts of Riyadh where merchants are offering camels of all shapes and sizes for sale. Obviously we were not in the market to purchase a new camel to add to our herd, but more to show the camel souk to my sister-in-law visiting us for a week. At first, the children were not too keen on going there, as they don't appreciate the pungent smell of camels, but they were good sports for their aunt and came along, not like they had much of a choice, as we were all going. Along for the ride came another family from the compound, with their three daughters, for whom it was the first time coming up close with camels. The children were fascinated by the camels, offering their hands to come closer to the enormous beasts.

The enclosures where the camels stand are higher than the dirt road. The only explanation I can gather would be after years and years, layers after layers of straw, sand and poos have accumulated, rising the bottom level and making the already pretty tall camels look even taller and more impressive. While my two chidlren were stand-offish, the three little girls were all into the camels: getting real close to them, touching them and giving them blades of grass growing around the enclosures.

As much as we were interested in the camels, the camel owners/workers were even more interested in us, as not many tourists come by the camel souk. All three women had covered their hair, in order to not attract even more attention with our flowing blondish locks and also by respect for the local customs. The workers there greeted us, in Arabic, as they didn’t seem to speak English. With gestures they made us understand it was OK to look at their camels or that we had to leave, as we were disturbing camel mothers and their offspring. One even offered to carry one of the children so she could get closer to the camels.

In moments like these, we get to see real Saudis, hardworking and living in less than humble adobes but they tolerated us, or at least didn’t chase us away. Some were curious as far as our nationalities were concerned… I could hear them say “Americana” but I was quick to say that we were from “Belgica”, which really was the truth as 8 out of 10 of us were Belgian passport holders. Funnily enough we used English to speak to each other, as my Dutch is a little rusty and my compound neighbors are Dutch speakers from the North of Belgium while I'm a French speaker from the South of the country.

So, our Camel souk visit was interesting. Each time I've seen a camel up close, I'm just fascinated by how beautiful they are. Machala, camels have the most amazing eyelashes! And they are so gracious when they move. They remind me of the Death Walkers from the Star Wars movies, as they always look like they're going to fall but they move steadily and sure-footed every time! Their coats come in a variety of colors: some are beige, brown, dark brown and even most surprisingly black. And their hair sometimes is curly or straighter, but I’ve yet to see a straight haired camel.   We had the best time observing one chewing his food, with his jaw going left to right and back the other way.  Imagine a cow chewing on grass, but with the mouth open.  That camel had to have the coolest teeth I've seen in a camel...

Guest Blogger 2: Groceries and Mall

Second Blog entry written by my sister in law, visiting us for a week... 
Yesterday was my first full day in Saudi Arabia. Worth, Chris, and the kids all had to go to school, so I was in the villa on my own. As I indicated in my comments yesterday, I decided to take the van to the mall to get an abaya rather than try to wear one with a giant hole in the back. So, at 9 o'clock, I went to catch the van provided by the compound for the women during the day. (Remember, women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.) I was told it was for "villa residents only, so I couldn't ride. Chris happened to call at just that moment, and I wasn't back in the villa for 3 minutes when I got a call from the Compound inviting me to come ride the bus. Go Chris! At that poing, I was really hoping that I'd meet a nice lady on the bus who'd take me under her wing. Sure enough, I did! Chris's friend Sarika from Thailand was also in the van that morning and agreed to let me tag along with her.

The drive itself was a bit harrowing (the lines in the road are apprently just a suggestion) and I was quite queasy by the time we got to the mall. Fortunately, that subsided quickly, and we wandered around a bit doing some window shopping. It was truly amazing to see the number of shops that catered to women. There was shop after shop after shop after shop of fancy-dress establishments, with gowns fit for the Oscars! Yet no one would ever see them but their husbands or other women. What a shame! I was also surprised by the number of women in veils. I expected the abayas (black robes) and the hijabs (head scarves), but was not expecting to see women's faces veiled, with only their eyes showing. I even saw one woman in a full burqa!

The mall does have a smaller number of shops selling nothing but abayas, though not nearly as many as sold fancy dresses. I was able to get one that fit (see blog #1 about the problems with borrowed abayas), though it's not particularly attractive. Some are very elaborate with gems and embroidery; mine is of a nice fabric, but it simply has some braided ribbon around the sleeves. Oh, but those sleeves are about 18-24 inches around, which is much nicer than the tight sleeves of the borrowed abaya. They're so dang hot. I'm hot natured normally. Just a few degrees above my comfort zone and I'm sweating like a pig. Anyway, I nearly caused a diplomatic incident when the male clerk told me to try it on. I asked "here?" He said yes. So I started to take off the abaya I was wearing to try on the new one, when both clerks & Sarika yelled "NO!" I was supposed to try it on *over* the Abaya. Oops. I guess I'm just too damned American. When we went to a different mall today, I noticed that in the ladies' restroom, there are dressing rooms. Apparently, you have to buy the clothes, take them to a dressing room, try them on, and either take them home or return them to the store. It's a really good thing Sarika was with me when I was buying my abaya; she's so nice and helpful, and I'm glad she was there. She talked them down from 400 SR to 200SR, and they hemmed it to length in the 10 minutes we had to wait. Sarika's a natural at haggling!

The other big experience that morning was going to the grocery store. But the mundane term "grocery store" doesn't do this place justice. It's called Danube, and it's probably equivalent to a Central Market in Texas, or maybe a Whole Foods. Not organic, necessarily, but beautiful and well kept. The bread section was at least 50 yards long. The fruits and vegetables were arranged with an artistic flair. There was a whole section--bigger than the fruit & veg section back home--devoted *entirely* to dates. Yep. Dates. Shrink-wrapped; dried; paste; suitable-for-gift-giving-tinned. If it's associated with dates, you name it, they had it in that corner. Worth said they produce something like 500 or 600 different varieties of dates in K.S.A. alone.

When in foregin grocery stores, I always love to look at the chips aisle. The flavors are usually ... well, ... different? In Japan, for example, there's shrimp-flavored chips. In Australia, they make chicken-flavored chips. The tempting flavor here was "French Cheese" Lay's. Judging by the picture, it's apparently Swiss cheese. But oh my, I have a new favorite flavor!!! Naturally, I bought a bag of something so unusually named. I also bought a couple cans of ginger ale to settle my tummy, and a bottle of water. Unfortunately, I had not picked up a basket, and this is what led to my "freak out" experience that I mentioned yesterday.

I had my arms full of stuff and a young man kept pointing to a basket that no one was using. I wouldn't take it b/c it had some stuff in there, but he just emptied it for me and gave it to me. So I put my stuff in, smiled, and said "thank you." Oops. Apparently, you're not supposed to smile at men here. I'm just too damned American, I guess. Anyway, I went about my business, went around the corner of an aisle, and there he was again. I thought that was kinda funny, & he was smiling, so I smiled and said "hey." Oops. Apparently, you're not supposed to say "hey" to men here. I'm just too damned American, I guess. A few minutes later, I ran into him again. By this time, I was feeling awkward, and in my typical way of dealing with an awkard situation, I smiled real big and said hey again. Oops again. (See oops #1 and oops #2.) At this point he walked past me, quite closely to me, actually, which I deliberately ignored. Then he passed behind me again, said "very beautiful" and grabbed my butt! ! ! ! I was floored! Gobsmacked! Stunned! BUT NOT speechless. I whipped around and yelled "Stop it! NO! NO!" with a very stern face and a finger waggle. Turned out that the first pass was a brush-by, not a siple accident due to lack of concern about personal space. I guess I'm just too damned American.

I had to self medicate after that. With two -- count 'em -- TWO scoops of ice cream. Kiwi and Passion fruit. 10:30 a.m. is not too early for ice cream after you've been practically assaulted, is it?

Guest Blogger: Sister in Law Elaine

My sister in law is spenidng a week in Riyadh, visiting us and the city.  Here are her first impressions...
Well, friends, I'm spending my quarter break in Saudi Arabia to visit my brother and his family. Lots of folks have asked me if it's wise to travel to the Middle East right now. I can only say that this has been planned since October, and I just had to see my little ones!!!

I set out Friday noonish for Houston. Only a five-and-a-half hour drive, but a heck of a lot cheaper than the $750 extra it would've cost to fly from Monroe to Intergalactic (including luggage fees, yikes!). Got a free reward night at a hotel right by the airport. Their shuttle picked me up a little after 9:30 am, and by 10 a.m, I was waiting at the gate. I tell you, a morning flight to Dubai is definitely the way to go. It's only about half full, which makes security move much faster. I finally had to go through one of those full-body scanners. I really wanted to flip the bird as it took the picture, but I didn't want to risk getting into trouble. bleah.

So, a 14-hour flight to Dubai on Emirates airlines isn't that bad. There's a really good amount of legroom, an amazing individual entertainment system, and good food. The service is GREAT! I admired the little hand puppets they handed out to the kids and asked to buy one for Emma & Alex, and she just gave me one... for each of them! I wish all had gone as smoothly, though, as I had the worst seatmates ever! Couple in their 40s, I think from Africa. She snored like a revving sports car, and sang to herself (outloud) when the ride got bumpy. He never learned to use his inside voice, so whenever he turned to talk to his wife, I felt like he was yelling at me. And apparently, he didn't like the headphones, or couldn't figure out how to adjust them, so he hung them around his neck, and turned up the sound *really loud*! Then, they both sang along with the music, while he conducted! I asked them to turn it down, I got earplugs, I moved to the seat across the aisle, and I could still hear it!

That flight reiterated something for me, though: I'm not as young (or as thin) as I used to be. Traveling is getting harder on this old body. When I landed in Dubai, I had a 6 hour layover, so I'd hoped to go into the City. By the time I had finalized the arrangements for the bus tour, they told me, "Oh, well, the bus won't be here until 3:00. [it was at that poing about 1:45] You won't have time to take the tour and get back for your flight." Huh. So I decided to stay put. Camped out in one of the chaises they have, I actually slept more in the airport than I did on the plane!

It's probably a good thing I didn't go into Dubai at that point though. I was feeling a bit ... overwhelmed? I've been thinking about this and can't quite pin-point my emotion. Was it just exhaustion? homesickness? culture shock? I'm not really sure. I've had 2 honest-to-goodness bouts of homesickness in my life: Japan, 1986; Wales, 1992. Not fun. So I don't think this was really homesickness, not yet anyway. I guess culture shock is the closest. Feeling like I haven't a clue what's going on and fear to step outside my comfort zone. It was strange, to say the least, to hear the call to prayer while listening to Sheryl Crow on the loudspeakers at the same time. And then when Cher came on a couple minutes later... well, you can imagine that blew my mind.

And then coming to Riyadh, worrying about having to wear an abaya, worrying about making it through customs & immigration... Well, surprisingly enough, customs and immigration was actually *easier* than coming back home to the States. The hard part was getting the visa. I guess once you've been approved, they don't worry too much about you. (and just as an aside here... gotta wonder how people can afford to take these flights to Saudi, when 1/3 of the luggage on the carousel was cardboard boxes tied up with rope.) My brother met me with an Abaya (one of  sister in law's). If any of you know her, you know she's tall, and thin, and beautiful. Imagine me trying to wrap that thing around my prodigous bosom. ha! They found one that fits me, borrowed from a friend who was pregnant when she wore it. You can imagine how that made me feel! It's official. I've GOTTA go on a diet. Anyway, the problem is, this one has a big hole in it from where she tried to iron it (it's made out of polyester).

So that means, today, while the paretns and the kids are at school, I've decided to take the compound's bus to the mall(they live in a lovely, very large villa in a western compound guarded by M-50 machine guns) to try to find an abaya to fit me. Talk about stepping outside your comfort zone! I'll be (essentially) by myself, in a country that doesn't particularly like independent single women, shopping for an abaya to cover up my "indecent" western clothes. I'm already chafing at the bit. ... or at the abaya as it were. God bless Chris, who gave me her cell phone for the day. Safety net!

I'm nervous, I'm not gonna lie. Theoretically, this shouldn't be any more difficult or scary than shopping in Japan or Sweden, or anywhere else I don't know the language. But it is. Much, much scarier. I'll let you know how it goes later.

Celebrating King Abdullah's return

Today, in honor of King Abdullah’s return after three months of absence for medical reasons, we were given the day off. Actually, not just us, but all governmental employees and all schools were closed. And we soooo enjoyed this unexpected day off.

King Abdullah flew back in Wednesday afternoon.  This morning, we went for a drive, to see the decorations and flags all over town, armed with my trusted camera. Already last Monday and Tuesday crews were decorating bridges and fences along the main highways around town. Official portraits of King Abdullah are all over town, on fences, over bridges and on buildings. The pictures really don’t do justice to what we saw… for some reason the luminosity was so bright that the photos are too light to my liking.

Businesses are showing their patriotism by displaying the king’s likeness as well as a message greeting his return. Some were of small size while others took the whole side of a multistory building. The building right above looks like the Arc the Triomphe in Paris is the Sabic building, a huge building you can see from far away. Its complete bay of windows were covered with pictures of the King, making him over 30 meters high!

All the messages were written in Arabic, whishing a happy welcome back to King Abdullah, I would guess. Not easy to know for sure when you can’t read Arabic.

Even McDonalds was all decorated and saluting the King

Flags were flying and with the wind today very beautifully, If I may add.

It does really give another meaning to the expression “Paint the town green”

Fundraiser

Earlier this week, Alex who is in Grade 3, came home from school and announced loud and clear that his grade was organizing a fundraiser for the Association of the Blind, as a way to give back to the community and that he was going to bring either homemade pizza or crepes. He pondered the pros and cons of bringing crepes vs. pizza and decided to go with crepes. Since the fundraiser was for all students on the K-3 campus, he needed to bring a lot and set his number to 100.


Of course, you can imagine who ended up making the actual one hundred crepes. So, after school yesterday Alex helped make the batter and started a few crepes. Interest quickly disappeared and within 15 minutes he was back outside playing with all the children in the compound…and I was left in the kitchen with the two crepe pans for a good while.

Alex was quite excited about bringing his crepes to school and sell them to the other students. However proud he was, he did not realize that most of the other students would probably be bringing bakery-made products and krispy kreme doughnuts. He packed some sugar and made some cinnamon sugar to accompany the crepes and was ready to sell!

At lunch time I brought a bunch of older students from the main campus to let them purchase goodies. You should have seen the spread: beautiful micro and macro cupcakes, gourmet cookies, popsicles, and of course the crepes. I’m always amazed at the amount of food that is brought to school on such occasions. The children and their nannies deliver the goods in the morning before the start of school so as not to interrupt the classes throughout the day. By the time the fundraiser time comes, the anticipation has built up all morning and the children are both eager to sell their goodies and eat them.

You should have seen Alex, with his stack of crepes, proudly displayed and selling for only 4 SR/1$ delicious homemade crepes sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon sugar. He was successful and sold over half of his stack. Around him were all the other students selling their contributions to the fundraiser. Their customers were holding their Saudi money, pointing at what they wanted and happily trading their cash for their preferred sugary sweet. The fundraiser was very successful and at first count, appeared to have generated over 3500 SR or around $1000, all for a good cause!

It’s fascinating to see the amount of food that gets eaten during such a fundraiser, as if these children were not exposed to sweets…but I guess kids will be kids, no matter where they live! Candies, cookies, cakes and sugary treats will always be their favorites…

Unless the fundraiser is based around the sale of shwarmas or burgers and it’s a whole different story! Maybe another time….

Overnight in the Desert

Yes!!! After 18 months in Saudi, we caved in and bought camping gear after hitting several camping stores (Olayan on Kurais road and Saco World at exit 5). We left with lighter wallets and a heavier truck, full of a tent, 4 cots, 4 sleeping bags, a Saudi desert carpet, 4 foldable chairs and even a collapsible toilet seat! This sudden purchase of camping gear was prompted by two things: a desire to overnight in the desert AND the fact that starting in August, we will be in Malawi and will be able to camp and do safari in the African Savannah.


It’s amazing all the stuff we could have bought. We did not buy everything we needed and will need to check out another camping store later this week.We are missing small rechargeable lights, a table, a small gas stove, better stakes for the tent, but we had plenty enough to have a good first experience and were fortunate to camp with six other families who were experienced campers and had all the equipment that they willingly shared.

We all met in the parking lot of a supermarket and, after discussing the route, we caravanned into the desert. It was quite a scenic drive, taking us down the plateau, by small escarpments and into never before seen corners of the Kingdom. Although we walk in the desert on a regular basis, it’s usually within one hour drive from Riyadh. This weekend, our destination was over 200 kms from town and really took us off the beaten paths and away from the crowds. The further away from Riyadh the less cars we crossed on the roads until we left the roads and went into the desert.

Our first stop was by an escarpment featuring a beautiful natural arch. This was the perfect spot to enjoy our picnic lunch and follow with a climb up all the way to the arch. In his haste to climb, Alex even forgot to change shoes and ended up climbing in his flip-flops!!! Not the smartest move of the day, but he pulled through and by the time I noticed the missing shoes, he was already on his way down. The view from up there was breathtaking of the surroundings up to 20 kms…

After that, we went to our camp site. All cars were 4x4, except for ours, which hadn’t posed a problem on rocky trails… Once we hit some sandy trails, it became obvious that a 4x4 vehicle would have been better suited. We used the Saudi trick and deflated our tires which enabled us to push on. Of course, one of the guys had an air pump, which we used on the way back to reinflate the tires before hitting the black top again.

In the desert, we encountered several herds of camels and their shepards in their trusty Toyota trucks. They all waved and wished us welcome to their desert. Later, after dark, we even had one who dropped by our campsite and extended an invitation to lunch, which we politely declined. This kind of hospitality is straight from the heart and is part of the Code of the Desert. Nowadays, it’s just an invitation, but years ago, desert Bedouins would take in traveling/stranded/lost desert roamers, feed them for a couple of days before wishing them a safe continuation. That was the only way to survive in this harsh desert!

We found the perfect place to camp, a sandy area, with small bushes all around between two escarpments that only called to be climbed. We set up the tents, beds and all camping gear before night fall. Each family had brought stuff to cook dinner, ranging from hot dog, burger, steak and chicken, as well as butternut squash and spicy lentil soups, spaghetti and even a pressure cooker lamb stew! I’m telling you, we were camping in style!

The best part for us parents was that we had 13 kids between the seven cars who all played super well together. They even helped dig a fire pit, find rocks to frame it and wood to feed the fire. They spent the evening running around the camp site, playing hide and seek, roasting marshmallows and just having plain old fun around the campfire!

The starlit sky was amazingly clear and beautiful and the setting of the camp was very peaceful. Not a sound, expect the ones we produced, could be heard. Move 500 meters from the site and you could truly enjoy the silence. The moon cast enough light to create shadows, outlining the desertscape with stunning shadows.

The sleeping quarters were very well appointed, with each of us on our own cot, in a sleeping bag and wrapped in big blankets for warmth, as desert nights at this time of year still can be chilly. We were awaken around 3:00 am by sudden gusts of winds that kept on until dawn, at which time we all were awake and ready to eat breakfast, ranging from croissant au chocolat, crepes, breakfast burritos and crepes.

Before leaving, a group of guys went up one of the tallest “peaks” of the area while a group of children went up another tall hill. They all did great and came back mostly unscathed. We folded the campsite and vacated it, leaving behind only footprints. Within 30 minutes of us hitting the blacktop road back to Riyadh, we were caught in a sandstorm which would have made it really difficult to get out of the desert. Good thing we did decide to head back when we did.

When can we go camping again? This was so much fun!