From the Desert to the Sea Coast, on a Day! (A travel to Jizan, Farasan Island and Abha)

Eid holidays in Riyadh are filled with travel and sightseeing over the past three years. We are not sure whether we would be there to experience one more Eid vacation in the country. Therefore, our journey during this Eid vacation (2011) held much significance to us.

We started our journey on 03/11/11. After the hectic packing and preparations, we started our journey by 10a.m. We should not have hit the center of Al-Kharj since there was a short route from Riyadh road to Wadi al Dawasir, our first destination point on the route to Abha.

At Al-Kharj, the men put the odometer to zero to calculate the distance. The hours went swiftly in the company of our friends Nadeer and Shehnaz. The traffic was a little heavy and the truck drivers were not as friendly as were in Dubai-Riyadh route. We stopped by 1p.m for lunch at a petrol station.  The restaurants in the surrounding constituted of Saudi cuisine and we were happy to devour our homemade food.

All of us were in a sleepy mood during the post-lunch drive. However the kids were more alert and getting restless. I and Shehnaz had all our eyes on them and didn’t even look out to see the changing sceneries. 

Najd Mountains

By evening, the kids were almost settled. By that time we had reached the borders of Wadi  al Dawasir. The setting sun had spread its golden blanket on the rocky mountains of Najd valley. The scene was so beautiful and refreshing in the long journey. As we entered the huge gates into Wadi al dawasir, we never knew that we were entering the city of a tribe who had a major role in the construction of many cities in the Middle East.  The city that apparently seemed smaller and crowded was behind the birth of major cities. The tribe also either gave birth or helped the growth of cities like Dammam, Khobar, Al Ahsa, al Zubara, Al Faw, Kuwait, Baharin etc. 

We stopped for refreshments and tea at a petrol station in Wadi  al Dawasir.The evening was young and spirited and even the usually tasteless tea seemed to be better in that evening. 

Continues in A Night Journey among the Asir Mountains

Pyramids Tell a Glittering Tale...

Continues from Egypt-The First Glimpse of the Magical Land

Our short nap in the hotel room didn’t for extend more than an hour. We were so excited to watch the Pyramids, the world famous monuments. We waited for little Shreya to wake up from her sleep to go out.

Shreya must have shared our excitement and she woke up soon in enthusiasm to go out.

As we got into the car, I was expecting to reach some deserted desert area that houses the Pyramids. Our car stopped in front of a gate in the middle of the city. All of a sudden, we realized that we are at the gates of the Pyramids grounds.

The Great Pyramids of Giza/Pyramid of Khufu/Pyramid of Cheops stand in the middle of the desert surrounded but the bustling city of Cairo. We took tickets for the light and sound show at 6.30 pm. There were two other shows at 7.30pm and 8.30pm in Spanish and Arabic language.

We were soon ushered to the ground with theater style seats. We took seats in the third row from the front for a better view. The dusk was dark adorned by the starry sky. Except Shreya, both of us were not prepared for the chilly wind in total contrast to the Egyptian hotness in the day. However, all through these, we were very excited to see world’s one of the eminent wonders.

The First Glimpse of Pyramids

As the initiation for the show, the outlines of the three Pyramids appeared in green floodlight. The crowd was uttering the ‘Wow’ in whispers. Our first view of the giants! There they stood as the grand royals over the centuries. We were truly humbled by that unique view.

 The impressive voice of the commentator lead the audience through the short history of Egypt, its culture, dynasty and unique stories. The commentary was made more interesting with the still images projected on the wall of the temple.  The Pyramids started to get flooded with colored lights and the image of the people on a Felucca over the Nile hooked into my mind.

We had earlier guessed that the three Pyramids are those of the King, the Queen and their Son. But it turned out that they are the Pyramids of King Khufu (tallest one), his son King Khafre (who was humble to build his pyramid smaller than his father) and King Menkaure (King Khafre’s son who was also humble to build his pyramid smaller than his ancestors). Though the smallest, King Menkaure’s Pyramid, seemed to have possessed more riches than his ancestors. Also, Egyptians still respect King Menkaure more than his forefathers.

 After some time, the show started to get drag. It was made more tedious for us with little Shreya’s cranky cries.  Sreejith took her our when all our pacification failed. The narrative started to go through the legends and secrets of ancient Egyptian history. Finally, the Sphinx came to live in the colorful light and the powerful voice. 

Sphinx

“For 5,000 years I’ve seen all the Suns that man can remember, come up in the sky. I’ve seen the history of Egypt in its best glow. As of tomorrow, I’ll see the east dawning with a new flame. Through the ages, I received many names through the people who came to me in adoration. Generations bowed before me and I’ll be here watching over you!”

I was captured by this poised dialogue and the majestic view. In my mind, I uttered “I too bow before thee.” I don’t know how the last word came to my mind in Shakespearean language. But, I believe that when we see great things in life our mind can get minimally influenced by them.

We couldn’t get any good images of the show due to darkness. But, still we were happy. We soon headed to a duty free shop to buy something that we had missed in Riyadh.

Continues in A Night at Cairo!

Egypt-The First Glimpse of the Magical Land

The exotic culture of Egypt, a land with 5,000 years of history, innumerable tales, wondrous architectures, exotic landscapes, large museums and beauty etched with its name would entice anyone who has got a travel bug. Well, the situation has changed recently owing to its political scenario. However, we were lucky to visit the land of Nile in 2009 during the pre-winter period of September.

 After months of planning, two hours travel from Riyadh, co-ordinated tour package and itinerary for the eight days vacation; we were in complete excitement as we reached the Cairo Airport. As scheduled, our tour co-ordinator Mr. Ameer was waiting for us at the Airport. Immigration, customs and conversion of money made easy with his assistance. The sun was hot as we came out of the Airport.  Soon we started towards hotel Nile where our accommodation was arranged for the day.

Our car started to inch through the dense traffic on Cairo roads. We were surely away from the Bangalore traffic blocks for some time and got used to the flowing traffic in the wide roads of Riyadh. After a while, I started to get impatient to reach our destination. Ameer smiled patiently at my impatience and explained that Cairo is the largest city in the African continent with 16^th place in the most populated metropolitan area in the world.  I kept listened to Ameer’s descriptions and relieved of the traffic jams.

First Glimpse of Nile

It was noon as we checked into Hotel Nile. Our lunch was not included in the package and Ameer left us with suggestions of some good local restaurants. We got into our nicely furnished room with the unique view of Nile. Fresh fruits were arranged in a vase with Egyptian artistry.  The bed was decorated with Egyptian paintings on its head. The paintings, cupboards, drawers and even the curtains had a touch of Egyptian scenes on it. Well, sitting in this room and looking across the Nile that glitters under the hot sun will give you the feel of the place that you are in.

We were so tempted to stay indoors than exploring the city in the hot noon. Bout our time was less and the city was so enticing. After getting fresh, we came out by 2pm. As we started to walk, the charm started to wear off a little. The roads were dirty and smelling like local Indian roads. 

As we passed some local people greeted us once or twice. We wished back but didn’t stop to talk to them. We felt that people are so friendly and cheerful in Egypt. On the way, an old man joined us to show us the restaurant. But after a while he insisted us visiting his antique shop before going to the restaurant. We suddenly sensed the Egyptian marketing technique and got rid of him. He showed a face and left us.

Cairo & Nile-another View

After an hour’s walk, we came back to the hotel and decided to have their buffet. Our appetite had gone down considerably by the walk. As we sat and watched the aristocratic decorations in the restaurant, we never knew what all to expect in the menu. Luckily the food turned out to be flavorsome for us.

As we waited for the bill, I looked at the group sitting across our table. Four middle aged ladies on a vacation. On overhearing a bit of their conversation, I could make out that they were long lost friends reunited once again, away from their families. I then thought of five of us-Poonam, Priya, Anurupa, I and Sharon-in that age. Will we have the same bond of friendship to reunite again in that age, away from the families? As of now, I cannot anything without Shreya and Sreejith. But may be in that age, who knows? After all, we were together when we were single and shared a bond.  That friendship had strengthened us in our present relationships. Though in distance and busy in own lives, our bond lies underneath. Surely, we’ll have a reunion of some sort at least in old age.

My contemplation was broken with the arrival of dessert. Soon, we retrieved to our room for a short nap.

Continues in Pyramids Tell a Glittering Tale...

Trace the Trails...

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

The sand on the other side of the hill was untouched. We started to go up the sand dunes. The wind had formed the sketch of waves on the untouched morning sand. As I climbed, I turned back. My foot prints were also there in a trail. It was then I realized that I can find out many trails in this self repairing soil.

It was then an attempt to trace the trails. I detected the trace of ants and an unknown trail. However, as our gang started exploring the area, the only trail that became available was those of footprints. The little ones in the gang started to slide down the sand dunes and to climb up again. We removed our Abhayas and relaxed for a while.

Three Expressions of nature

The fort across the desert looked so majestic in the glazing rays of sun.  The swift wind started to blow hot air and we started to melt. Among all these, the view along the desert kept on making us forget about the hot climate. After the vast stretch of desert, laid the green fields, succeeded by rock mountains. The three expressions of nature in the same platform was a rare scene of art.

Trails...

In between Sarath and Sreejith had gone uphill. They were busy with their photography expeditions as we started to come down. As they came back, Sreejith told me about the many trails that they had traced uphill. One trail definitely captured my attention-the trail that looked like a snake’s.

Camel field

The sand was turning into a hot bed as we returned. The wind started to become searing for those who face it. Our footprints will soon be repaired  by this hot wind. In the evening, it will welcome the new visitors with the freshness that had greeted us. As we passed the camel field, I thought -many of us may not set our foot prints again in that soil. But who cares? The passed moments are quite memorable and you cannot step on the same sand again, right?

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

Localizer Mall

Localizer mall in the capital of Kingdom is a hub of elite lifestyle. If you are in look out for expensive T-shirts, extravagant outfits, posh vehicles, diamonds etc. you are in the right mall here. Attributing to our third world lifestyle, we had never ventured the mall till previous night.

We were in the move of exploring the food courts of Riyadh and ended up parking our car in the spacious parking lot of Localizer mall. It was around 10p.m on a Monday night and the mall was comparatively deserted. For the first 15 minutes of our exploration in the mall, we couldn’t see any woman at all. Young men roamed around in groups. I started to get a weird feeling owing to my uncovered head and Indian looks.

We had not planned to purchase anything from the mall and after the initial wandering, headed straight to the food court. There were stalls for European, Arabian, Chinese and Italian dishes. Interestingly, only the Italian stall named Pastalitia had customers in front of it. We went there and soon found the reason behind the crowd. 

As we approached the stall, delicious smell of pastas wafted the air. After a quick look at the menu, we finalized for Chicken and shrimp pastas. The man at the food stall took the order and arranged the ingredients into the pan according to our taste preferences.  Soon our pan was in the queue to the kitchen fire along others' pans. 

Chicken & Shrimp Pasta

The wait to receive our pasta was quite a test with the tempting smell floating around. The cook was managing two pans together and ours was the sixth in the queue. After fifteen minutes of waiting, we soon had our tray accompanied by salads, garlic breads and colas. We went into the family eat out section adorned in the model of a green house. The pasta tasted so delicious and we decided that if for nothing else, we have to visit this place again for this unique taste.

Shreya in front of new car model

As we got out after the dinner, the crowd at the Mercedes Benz showroom attracted us. It was the launch of a new car model and people were marvelling the vehicle. The car was in limelight! Even Saudi women in pardas were edging to take the snapshot of the new vehicle. We also joined the crowd. Though I am almost illiterate about automobiles, I couldn’t resist gawking at the style of the new vehicle. Also, the mini models of the cars displayed in the counter were worth to watch for once.

As we came out of the Benz showroom, a pre-adolescent Saudi Prince passed us. The slim teenager with the baby face and two body guards of the same age was easily distinguishable with his Bisht¹ over the thawb². I resisted the temptation to photograph him in fear of the Saudi law³ that ban public photography.

We came out of the mall with a filled stomach and fulfilled mind. There are much more that we have to do in Saudi Arabia.

1.       Bisht: It’s a cloak for royal men worn on special occasions for prestige.

2.       Thawb: Literally the word means ‘garment. It’s a white robe with long sleeves worn by ritualistic Saudi men.

3.     Saudi law on Photography:  Public photography is not permitted in Saudi Arabia. It is concerned about the security of the place, local sensitivities and women’s privacy.

The Carpets of the Kingdom

When I’d first entered our rented apartment in Riyadh, I was surprised to step into the soft material that pampered my feet.  I marveled by the beautiful designs of the soft carpet that stretched to the four walls of the room in. I was yet to learn that carpets have a significant role in the interior decoration of Riyadh homes.

Though, carpet shopping hold a core role in home furnishing at Riyadh, I never had to go for the same. My home was already furnished with neat carpets that required cleaning once in a while. Therefore, I had no idea on the selection of carpets as we set out for our first shopping for carpets in Riyadh. 

We started around 6p.m to the carpet shops in the area of Exit 9. The hot summer sun was shining as if the time has moved just into the evening. However, cool air of air conditioners welcomed us as we entered one of the carpet galleries in the area.

Colorful carpets in splendid designs adorned the walls and floors of the shop. I felt like entering into an art gallery with masterful paintings. Indeed, it was aesthetic owing to the talent behind the carpet weaving. Apart from the Kingdom, most of the carpets came from Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. It seems, there is a history for some exquisite carpets!

At first, we started to check out for the woven rugs. Since we were buying them for furnishing our home at India, we didn’t wait to check for the wall to wall carpets.  We were confused on which one to choose as we flapped through imaginative designs in rich colors. Finally we settled for one that suited our taste and budget.

It was then that I spotted the tufted carpets. They looked very comfy and plush. They were definitely destined for a cosy feeling in the bedrooms. We selected one polyester tufted rug in black and red shades for our master bedroom.  After getting it into our home our little Shreya is having a fun time on that!

After closing down our account in the first shop, we went to the neighbor showroom. Here, we were planning to get a rug for Shreya’s room. We finalized three carpets with the designs of Winnie the Pooh, Minnie Mouse and Speed Car for Shreya and her cousins. Our friends were happy to get the carpets with holy Makkah and Madinah designed on them. The deal was fixed for SR 100 per each carpet. However before we’d finished our shopping, the call for Salah came and we had to wait outside the shop.

We spent twenty minutes of the prayer time by watching the traffic on the roads.  Darkness was setting a blue shade on the leaves of Date Palms. The same happened as we returned to the shop after the Salah. The price of the carpets had increased to SR 150 per each one during the last twenty minutes. We lost our trust in the shop and came out without the rugs.

The time was around 9p.m as we reached back from shopping. When I got fresh up and hit the bed I thought of those people who had told that life at Riyadh is so dry. Life is definitely entertaining for us in this land with new discoveries and shopping experiences!

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