The Sand Blushes under the Sun’s Kiss

Visiting the Sand dunes in Saudi Arabia, during the middle of April is definitely not a good idea. Yet, our time in the Kingdom is limited. We are not sure to experience the good climate of the holy land again! Therefore we planned our trip to the ‘Red Sand’ along with the members in our NOMA family.

The so called Red sand is a location situated 40 Kms away from the city of Riyadh. It’s a well known place for weekend hangout among Saudi residents. The place is famous for desert walks, bike riding and the sheer joy of a picnic.

Considering the climate of Riyadh in the month of April, we scheduled our trip for early morning hours on a Friday. Our cars started in line from Hara around 5.30 am, when the sun was shining bright above us. My family got into the Appuetan’s car. The choice was worth! Appuetan (Real name-Thrivikraman) who lives in Riyadh for the past 25 years updated us about the desert valleys, hanging bridge, forts and other destinations in Riyadh.

Roadside Mountains

The interesting ride was made more enjoyable with the view of rock walls on both sides of the road. The steepest roads were earlier covered with mountains. Later the government gave contract to the Bin Laden group to construct the wide roads. The construction firm has done a remarkable work by breaking the roads amidst the dry mountains with dynamites and high tech machineries.

Riyadh Check Post

The sun was shining golden across the natural forts and mountains as we drove further. We crossed the Riyadh check post adorned with Arabic sculptures.  We couldn’t decipher the meaning of the art form and ourselves gave the conclusion that it is somehow related with valor and war.

Stalls of desert bikes started to appear in view as we neared the Red Sand area. The landscape looked so different from those we have seen inside the city or at the Edge of the world. The steep cliffs succeeded by dark mud grounds and later by the red sand! After one hour of drive, we reached our destination.

We were the first ones to reach our destination. We took a short desert safari while waiting for the others. Interestingly, this short safari was more fun that the one we had in Dubai.

As we parked our car, the men from the bike stalls started swarming around. Appuetan, who has got a knack for bargaining, started his attempts. He reduced the charge considerably. There were many types of desert bikes. The highly priced big bikes were meant to go up the sand dunes. Sreejith and Sudeep took the lowest priced bikes and started riding. They tried to get their bikes up the hill and had a tough time to get out of the sinking sands.

I started walking and soon found that it’s not easy to wade with my drowning feet in the sand.  Though it was early morning, the plain sand was already tampered with footprints and ride marks. The sand blushed with the first kiss of sun rays. The vibration of life was pulsing underneath the sand layers. The sand remained untouched away from the trodden paths. Among the red sand lonely bushes glowed proudly for their power to stand amidst the trying ambience. 

Continues in Wroom Wroom... It’s Desert Bikes

Hanging Cliffs and the Desert

Continues from The Enchanting Cliff!

I climbed back after the short time spent at the enchanting cliff. Everyone except Shehnaz, Munni and the kids has gone up the cliff. We waited with the kids for them to return. There was also an old lady from Germany who was also waiting for her daughter and son to return. We chatted for a while till Nadeer returned and took charge of the kids.

Most in our company were coming down as I and Shehnaz started to climb. However Sreejith had waited there for us with Bahr’s family. As usual my breath came short as we started the uphill journey. However this journey was a new one for me. Even when I was tired, I never had to remove my sweaters for once since the chilly wind did its job.

The view from the top of the hill was breathtaking. The vastness of desert stretched before us. The exotic feel and the opulence of the view bound us to the spot. Far away, we could spot the edge of another hanging cliff. However time was getting short and we left the idea of visiting that place.

Edge of the World

The view from the edge of the world was indeed a treat. Hanging cliffs and the vast stretch of desert lay hand in hand. Two minute figures at the edge of a faraway cliff reminded me of the perch of Akela in the Jungle Book.  

After some memorable time spent at the cliff, we climbed down. Again the stones became slippery under our feet and we had to take extremely cautious steps.

At the foothill the delicious and quick snacks packed by Didi chechi and friends were awaiting us. However one thing that we took care was to reduce the intake. There are no restrooms in the far stretched places and we should control our nature’s calls during this 10 hours journey. There weren’t even bushes apart from some thorny plants to make use of.

Soon, we drove back through the barren desert. At some points we had to take huge deviations due to the fissures formed in the middle of the desert. At a long stretched land, we stopped our vehicles. Since women were not allowed to drive in KSA, this was a stolen opportunity for women in the gang to get their hands on the vehicles. After the driving exertion, we don our Abhayas back to become the obedient women of KSA.

All through the way back, we saw groups of natives enjoying their weekend. They were very friendly and waved to us when our vehicles passed. The fresh air must have really kept their spirits in merry.

By 4p.m we stopped at the dam for evening snacks. The road on the way was so muddy and Mr.Shaji’s car was full bathed in mud water. The shawarmas and Doughnuts must have really rejuvenated everyone. It was then that Bakhr and his wife started a running competition from the bottom of the dam. I must really appreciate Mrs. Bakhr’s stamina. Bakhr had won only for the fraction of a moment. Watching them, even I wanted to try a running competition with Sreejith but left it because of inborn laziness.  All couples in the gang might have run a competition in their imagination.

Return from the desert

Soon after the evening snacks, we headed out of the desert. When we crossed the check post, a group of Westerners went in our opposite direction. They were heading to Edge of the world with camping equipments and a desert bike. It was then that I felt that what we had enjoyed at the edge of the world might not be the real spirit of the place. The true thrill that the place can provide might be much more. The place might take you to the real adventurous zone where you might even glimpse your Edge of the World!

The Enchanting Cliff!

Continued from The Beauty of the Mirage

Vehicles at the edge of the abyss

After a short break at the unknown place of nature’s wonder, we soon headed to our destination.  However Bahr’s and our car fell way behind them. Nadeer and Sreejith were sprinting around with their cameras and it was so difficult to get them back.  However it was worth a delay since we got a rare snapshot of parading vehicles at the edge of the abyss.

We treaded through the narrow and adventurous roads. We were so attentive to each twist and movement of the vehicle that we hardly realized as we reached at the edge of the world!

The hanging cliff stood before us as wonder from the nature. The road ended at the foot of it. There were only two more SUVs apart from our vehicles.

There was the cliff to climb up and an unbeaten path to move down. Bahr and his wife were the first to explore the downward path followed soon by Sreejith. I was getting impatient to follow them but stayed back because of Shreya. But, Shehnaz and Munni assured me to go ahead as Shreya was happy in the company of their kids. We removed our Abhayas for further exploration.

The steep path downward was not as easy as it looked from above. As the rolling stones started slipping under the feet, I thought of climbing back. However Sreejith was there to rejuvenate me with the description of the view at the end of the cliff. His words filled me with the feeling that I can do that.

I took cautious steps downward and could see Shreya as a spot above the path. (Later Shehnaz told me that the little one got angry for leaving her behind. She was actually throwing stones at me.) Two more steps I was at the edge. But the same moment my legs started feeling wobbly. The wind was so strong to hurl me out. The stones beneath the feet became more slippery. I stood there for some time then moved slowly. Then I was there at the edge!

At the Cliff

The clouded sun of winter shone above my head. I couldn’t comprehend anything for some time. Then, I sat there. As my eyes grew out of the fear one of the most magnificent views that I had in my life stretched before me. The desert in front of me expanded to the horizon. The dim sun shone above the slanting cliffs making them look like golden forts. For me it was a divine view indeed. I felt close to heaven and my mind felt unusually peaceful. This would be a view I would cherish in my memories forever.

Continues in Hanging Cliffs and Desert

The Beauty of the Mirage

 Continues from A Weekend Escape to the Edge of the world! 

On our way to the Edge of the world, we passed many of the native travelers who have come to rejuvenate themselves in the weekend at the desert. One specialty of these groups is the barbecue items that they had carried with them. We have noticed it at many times that whether in a park, or beach or any entertainment area, the natives might always carry the equipments for barbecue with them.  Another important accessory for their leisure period will always be the Hookahs. Here many of the men were sitting in a relaxed manner with the Hookahs under the trees. The meat for barbecue was tied safely and dangling safe from the branches of trees.

Natives enjoying their weekend

Our friend Nadeer was so excited to watch these scenes it seems. He kept on taking the snapshots. I and Shehnaz stopped our incessant chatter to admire these scenes. The women in the group were chatting and preparing barbecue. The women were all covered under the safety of their Abhayas.  It was so sunny outside and we wondered about these people sitting all clad in their religious attires. However our doubt got clarified very soon.

It was by 11a.m that we took our first break for refreshment. Thanks to our travel companions, we hadn’t realized that time passed so soon and we were actually feeling hungry. As we came out of the car, we felt the real climate in that sunny looking desert. The wind was so chilling!  Everyone soon gathered their sweaters and shawls before even looking around.

Soon, women formed their own chit chat group and men theirs. Mr. Shaji’s Wife whom everyone called didi chechi had brought the Kerala style Vellayappam with her.  Sarah chichi distributed sandwitches and Usha chechi had prepared homemade cake for everyone. The snacks soon finished out of the tray.  Shreya had her own gang of friends to run away from food and we mothers soon relaxed ourselves from the tiring duty of feeding them.

The hill across our parking area looked so huge with a block of mud rocks. The trees around the area were leafless. It was for the first time that I was seeing something like that-Trees without shades! 

We soon resumed our journey. There were no roads henceforth and we relied entirely on previous trails and on our whims. On the way we got glimpses of streams that were still glinted with a little water from the previous day’s rain. After passing the streams we got into the heart of deserts. It was worth a view to watch the clouds of dust aroused from the move of our vehicles in the not so trodden roads.

The Chasm before Edge of the World

We moved through the desert for a while before spotting an area resembling the one that we had seen in the pictures. All of us were so excited to see the wide gulf made in the desert. The gigantic chasm was really enchanting. The silver sand in the abyss resembled the sand in the beach.

However I was getting a little disappointed. I expected a little trekking in this journey and there was not much scope for it here. It was then that we realized our mistake. This is not the edge of the world but just scenery.  Though this was a mirage of our destination, it was worth spending our time out there.

Continues in The Enchanting Cliff