My First Bahrain Trip!

Living in Saudi Arabia isn’t all bad for an expat wife, you have to have hobbies though as there is only so much pool time you can handle.  Luckily for me I’m pretty arts and crafty so its not really a problem for me, I can also spend several hours here writing blogs, looking at pictures on the hard drive (over 10,000, yes I’m a snap happy person!).  There does come a time however when the need to walk around without your Abaya, eat and drink whatever you like etc comes, for the husband, BEER!!   That time was a few weekends ago now, just got round to writing about it.

Our drive from our home in Jubail, Saudi Arabia to Bahrain can take anywhere from 1 and a half hours upwards.  It all depends on how busy the causeway is, some people have said they have been stuck on the causeway for as long as 5 or 6 hours!

The King Fahd Causeway links Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.  Its 16 miles long.  Construction began in 1981 and was completed in 1986.

We were fortunate that we left at around 5am and only took 20 minutes to get through immigration.  We needed a visa to leave/re-enter Saudi, a Visa to say we had permission to take our car, pay to enter the causeway and pay for insurance for the car whist in Bahrain.  Crazy!

On arrival in Bahrain our first port of call was breakfast.  We stopped at Ric’s Kountry Kitchen.  They serve traditional American food.  I had breakfast omelettes with both bacon and sausage and Texas toast.  Yummy!  Gareth had Biscuits and gravy with sausage.  A favourite of his from when we are in America on holiday.  Thats one thing about living in Saudi, you can’t get pork sausage or bacon etc.  It’s not a huge thing for us but it’s nice to have every now and again.

Check in at our hotel wasn’t until 3pm so we deceived to go look about Bahrain, the only thing is that like Saudi, things close for most of the day on a Friday.  We ended up going to the Bahrain International Circuit for a look.  Luckily for us petrol heads there was a car and bike open track day on so we were able to walk around the pit area and stands and watch them for a bit in the baking heat.  Looked like a lot of fun and we will certainly go back and go on the go cart track they have there, Gareth has been on it before last year and said it was worth going back to.  I have never been on a go cart and considering I’m not able to drive or ride a motorbike here I’m more than keen to go on it!

   

A stop to see Bahrain World Trade Centre which is the first skyscraper in the world where they incorporated wind turbines into the design.  They say that the turbines provide around 11-15% of the towers power.

 

The hotel we were staying in on this trip was a “not every time we are in Bahrain” hotel, haha.  The ART Rotana Hotel and Resort, a five star hotel with private beach and all rooms have a view of the bay.  Gorgeous.

View from hotel front

View of one of the pools at night

Charlie Bear loving the view

Dancing Music Fountain at night

There is a lovely area near the hotel, walking distance actually called The Lagoon, full of restaurants to choose from however, they seemed not to serve any alcohol so the decision was taken to go to the city centre.  We were approximatley 100BD on a taxi to the city centre at night to go for dinner in the Hard Rock.  Definitely worth it though, a really nice meal, entertainment, no complaints.  We then found a little place that had Sheesha for Gareth, I am tempted to try it but a lot of them have tobacco in them and considering I’ve never smoked in my life, never tried to, I don’t really plan on trying that kind of thing now that has it in it.  Maybe a bit Irish then saying I want to try the Sheesha thing mind you but hey.

         

 

The next day we spent the morning at the hotel beach.  Amazing.  Sheltered, safe for the kids, loads of choice on where to lie in the sun.  Loungers, little cubicles with curtains, little sheltered loungers.  The attendants with for where you are sitting and bring you a towel etc and anything else that you need, drinks etc (non alcoholic at the beach).  We would definitely return back to this hotel, book it a bit more in advance and get a good price on a couple of nights.

 

             

                  

 

Our afternoon took us to City Centre Mall, one word, huge! Loads of coffee shops to get refreshments and some restaurants too.  It also has a water park called Wahoo that you access in the mall.  You could easily spend the day here.  After wards we went to Harley Davidson Bahrain.  A really nice dealership and Hog area.

Our trip back across the causeway took a little longer this time, about an hour or so.  Got to see the crazy (ish) side of it!  People will always want to get somewhere quicker if they can, this can mean physically pushing their way through resulting in many a bash here and there, many a temper thrown about and plenty of horns being pushed resulting in a fairly stressful experience for some.  We were advised to stick to a particular lane which we did and it went not too bad.

We have just booked to go back to Bahrain, breaking up the next little while before we go home to Scotland for a few weeks soon.

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment or/and follow my blog!

 

 

 

 

 

Life in Saudi….. A month in.

February 2015 saw me finally move to Saudi to join my husband after nearly 1 year apart.  In this time I travelled to Saudi once and Texas twice (see previous posts).  Some people would say how lucky I was to be travelling here, there and everywhere and of course I was very lucky in some ways but not in others.

Being apart from my husband for so long was hard. real hard.  Luckily we have a strong relationship and work together to solve issues as they arise even from so far apart.  Oh boy did we come across some issues in the past year.  Every hurdle cleared resulted in another 2 in our way.

Here we are though, March 2015 and I’ve been in the Kingdom officially longer than my visit in June 2014.  Where we live now is very different from where the hubby lived last year before his Texas training trip.  We are around 30 minutes to the closest decent supermarket/shops etc which makes food shopping a pain if I wait till a week night to go, by the time Gareth gets home, unless we go straight away to the shops then prayer times start to affect our options.  Currently evening prayer times are around 6pm and again and around 7.30pm.  Shops here tend to close approximately 10-20 mins before prayer time.  Some allow you to continue shopping during these times although you can’t check out until prayer is over, some will ask you to leave the shop.  So, being as I mentioned approx 30 mins away from the supermarket, you need to really time things good.

The main hospital and Corniche (bit like a beach promenade in the UK) are around 40 minutes away.  Just seems to take forever to get anywhere and we have to be vigilant of prayer times, which I have also mentioned, take place 4 times during our waking day.

                

At this time of the year it is warm (ish), maybe the same as a really good summers day in Scotland.  I went in the pool the other day, it was soooo cold, its just not staying warm enough at night yet to keep the temperature and our pool doesn’t have a heater yet, seemingly on order, fingers crossed it comes soon.  It’s bearable, as long as you keep swimming!  Certainly not for lying in on a lilo or something.

One thing I certainly looked forward to trying when I got here was planting seeds and growing my own salad vegetables since I’d be eating a lot of that in the hot summer months.  So far so good!  I have Cantaloupe Melon, Basil, Tomato, Spring Onion and Zucchini from seed oh and strawberries.  Can’t find Lettuce or Cucumber seeds yet but I’ll keep hunting.

                                    

I am learning quick that if you find something you like here, you stock up on it!  Often if a shop has something in, its highly unlikely that it will return, or return anytime soon.

Our apartment here is nice, we have a 2 bedroom, (big enough for a large king size bed and furniture!) 2 bathrooms, 1 with a walk in shower, the other with a shower over a bath, kitchen and living area and a storage type room.  Just a nice size to keep clean and tidy by myself, big enough to do my kettle bell workouts in front of my tv and have a dining table to eat dinner from.  We have a pool view out back and a long landing area out front thats open like a balcony, we share it only with one other apartment so have a big area for my plants and for a little table and chair if we wanted too.

           

I managing to fill my days so far, cleaning, writing, out with friends or tending to my plants.  A different way of life from home for definite and I do miss certain aspects of home.  It rained today, I don’t so far miss the rain.  I do miss being able to go into a shop i.e. Tesco or Asda etc and be able to find what I want easily.  I miss being able to go outside on my own for a good walk somewhere, somewhat spoiled at home to have a woodland path area across the road from me where you could go for peace and quiet.  Here you just wouldn’t leave the compound to go for a walk around it for example, there is also a lot of building going on around our area so not so peaceful but not real bad.  I miss my kitty cat waking me up in the morning or just generally being around for “company”.  He will hopefully join us in a few months time.  Better mention here that I do miss family too but not perhaps as much as Gareth yet as I have only been away a month now, give me another month and I might feel a bit different.  Gareth has been back here since early January so not seeing family since then and us not being able to really go home until end May is a long time so I do feel for him.

On the flip side of the ‘I Miss” things, what I am liking here is the ability to be with my husband every day (an obvious one).  Being able to cook for him again and try new recipes – as much as there are some things I can’t get from home here there are loads of different things along with a lot of American produce.  I enjoy the ability to relax, to write, to exercise more (once I get my head back into it) quality time with the hubby at weekends and to discover new things.  We can only see how our time here unfolds and I will see how I feel again next month when I write month 2.

Thanks for reading!

 

Desert Rose Digging!

A common trip to do here I have found is digging in the desert for Desert Roses or also know as Sand Roses.  They are formations of crystal clusters that look a lot like roses although they can be in many a size or shape.

We live around an hour and half away from the site that we went to dig for the roses although after a few trips since into the desert with my husband and some friends I have started to spot areas where they form a little closer to us too.  Maybe need to start looking for more! On our trip we went with some friends and made a day of it, we travelled the hour down to where they live and left from there, staying on the dig area we were taken to for an hour or 2 and then onto El Chico in Dhahran for some lunch.  I say dig area but to be honest its a big open flat area of sand, nothing signposted or anything so remember to take plenty water or refreshments.   Also take a shovel and if possible extra water to wash off the excess sand to see what the roses look like underneath it.

A really fun morning out although best to go early in the year or late in the year to save yourself from being out digging in the hot hot weather!!

We were fortunate enough to know friends who were going and could book a car to take them and we were invited along, the drivers know the places that are safe to take us to dig.  I haven’t described the areas in depth in this post due to safety for the people who will continue to go and experience this.

 

The below are the Desert Roses I took home and now decorate my balcony garden area thats starting to take shape, more about that in my first month round up post coming up soon.

Thanks for reading, not much to really write in this one, more pictures than anything else.  Thank you also to Sandy for some of the pictures taken here, a wonderful photographer!

Its Finally Here! My Proper Saudi Adventure

Nearly a year after my husband left our home to start our new adventure, I am finally here in Saudi beside him, in our little apartment.

Its been a crazy year full of its ups and downs, definitely more downs!  The year should have really went as follows:

March 8th Leave for Saudi

Approx April/May leave Saudi for Texas

Approx October return to Saudi

Approx November I join him in Saudi

Instead the actual journey till now went like this:

March 8th Leave for Saudi

August 18th leave for Texas

December 21st return to Saudi

February 20th Joined him in Saudi

It’s day 6 here and I still wonder if I’m settling in yet or if it will just happen and I won’t realise that I’m settled.  One positive so far however and this may seem a bit random but before I left for Saudi I bought myself a “Fitbit’ fitness tracker with my aim to take this opportunity to get myself fitter and healthier and shed a bit of weight.  The Fitbit I bought tracks everything from steps to your heart rate.  Over the past week of being here, my resting heart rate has dropped somewhat and they say it is good to have a lower resting heart rate, means your hearts not having to work so hard when your at rest.

In this first week of arriving here, I have had my medical for my residents permit known as an Iqama. The medical itself, for me anyway, involved my blood pressure taken, blood taken, check of my sight, ears and mouth looked in. Oh and a chest X-ray.  Ill pick up the results soon and they will be taken my the hubby to put in for my Iqama.  During this time I’m pretty much stuck here as my passport is taken to arrange it all.

Everything is attached to your Iqama, its your Resident Identification to be here.  Your Visa gets you in to the country and then you apply for the Iqama.  I’m looking at it a bit like the green card in America although I am sponsored to be here by my husbands company and not permitted to work.  It is renewed I believe every year.

I have also visited this week the local Supermarket called Hyper Panda, a home furnishing shop called Home Centre, McDonalds where I was amused (easily) to find a Chicken Big Mac (lol) and the Fanateer Area which is a beautiful part of Jubail right next to the sea.  We are going to go back there this weekend (weekend currently for Gareth and I is Friday and Saturday).  Last weekend when we first went, the weather was not so great.  A few days of Sandstorms meant a lot of sand in the air and very poor visibility.  We instead had a Starbucks coffee and lunch at Chili’s (yummy!!)

The below picture shows the Sunday weather on the right and the Tuesday weather on the left.

Being here feels very strange, I was in Saudi last year and knew that when I returned I wouldn’t be back in the same place as last time.  Gareth was living in Khobar last year which is a little further down the coast.  It was certainly a nice place, especially the compound, a long established place with lots of character, palm trees and greenery etc.  Felt like a little holiday village.  It was however an hour and a bit trip to work everyday for the hubby on a bus down a crazy road.  We are now only 20 minutes from work for him and we also now have a car.  Our compound is fairly new.  Still to get its character and things are still being done about it. The mini market is now open, the salon to open within a month or so I think and the gym to get a bit of a revamp, again within a few months, Inshallah.

Inshallah, God willing or if Allah wills, is a common term here that we are all very used to.  Often heard in our experience when something is getting done and they are setting a time for its completion.  I’m sure it is used in many other contexts but this is how we commonly hear it.

Hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll start getting settled a bit more and into a routine, start going out with others on the bus to places for coffee etc but for now I’m ok here in the peace of the apartment with a little trip out with Gareth and a wander about the compound visiting familiar faces.

Below: Sunsetting, perfect round image of the sun.

 

Below: My view while writing this blog.

 

Below: An awful first picture in my Abaya with my ice cream.  Its freezing!!

 

 

 

Texas September 2014

Today my plan is to catch up with my blogs that I have drafted on my mobile app but I always like to retype them on the main web page before publishing, perhaps a little long winded but never mind.

Todays catch up trip is Texas (Round 1 – September 2014)

Hubby’s new job is taking him to Texas for his on job training, more specifically Lake Jackson where he is staying and Freeport where his training site is located.  Its about an hour south of Houston.  He will be here for 4 months, should have been 6  but we won’t complain too much about that as it means that he will be back in Saudi Arabia quicker and able to get my paperwork processed to join him there.  Just to live under the same roof as him again would be amazing!

So again, seems to be a trend for me now, I write most of this from my seat on the plane there.  I find that when I start writing the time just flies by, especially good when your excited and just want to be somewhere.

First leg is Edinburgh to Amsterdam with KLM, smooth as normal, found KLM to be pretty reliable so far, 2nd leg is Amsterdam direct to Houston.  Building a few “Flying Blue Miles” now, maybe one day I’ll be able to upgrade my seat for free.  Wishful thinking that its some time soon although i am planning to be in Texas again around thanksgiving time so that will give me a few more miles under the Flying Blue belt.

After a 2 hour delay in Amsterdam I’m on my way and arrive in Houston to be greeted by my husband and a bottle of my favourite high sugar american drink – Grape Fanta! Love it.  The journey to Lake Jackson is a very boring straight drive with nothing for miles and miles.  We get in and go to bed, luckily we have arrived at the start of the weekend so have time with the hubby before the week begins again.

On this trip to Texas we plan to stay in and around Texas, which isn’t hard really, the state is HUGE!! Taking 3 hours to go from Lake Jackson to either San Antonio, Dallas or Austin.  We visited all 3 on our time here this trip.  I planned my time here to allow me to have 3 weekends with Gareth.

When planning this trip I had a look about the internet to see what I really wanted to see and do while there. I love hummingbirds and hadn’t even thought that I’d ever be able to see one up close one day until now!  Little did I know that during September, Hummingbirds migrate south for Winter to the warmer climes of Mexico. When having a look through social media to see what was going on around Lake Jackson I came across the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory (www.gcbo.org) where they advertised their Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza! Well this got my really excited.  The said that they catch the birds and you can adopt one for $20, get a certificate, watch it being banded to be tracked etc. Luckily for me, it takes place the first weekend that I’m here and literally across the road from Gareths’ apartment.  I.Have.To.Do.This.

The day has came and went to see the Hummingbirds, it was amazing! They catch the birds by tempting them in with feeders then pull down the mesh to trap them, they are then popped into soft little muslin bags and then taken to be weighed, their health checked and rough age recorded.  My little dude was classed as a hatchling year, he was teeny, he was a Ruby Throated Hummingbird and he didn’t have any of his coloured feathers through yet on his underside.  The lady actually told me to put my hands out and then placed him in them, we held him and then when I opened them he flew off.  When you register for the adoption, which really pays for the materials to track them etc, they take a few details including your email.  If on future captures, shall we say, your adopted bird is caught then they email you to give you an update in him.  Being realistic I know the chances of that are probably pretty slim, but it was still a pretty cool thing to see and do none the less.

Saudi life will see me live a quite obviously different way of life and Texas sees me doing pretty much what I will do there, except the ability to get in a car when I want to go somewhere or get something of course.  Gym, swim, housework, dinner.  The only good thing about this is that I won’t be able to go a random drive and have a Sonic (an American fast-food outlet that sells amazing slushes) or other naughty foods when I’m feeling the “need” for something sweet or being lazy.

The first weekend took us on to San Antonio after the Hummingbird visit.

We took the long route through the countryside to get to San Antonio and saw another side to Texas.  We stayed not far from the centre of San Antonio and visited the Alamo and the riverwalk, unfortunately at night it rained pretty much the whole evening so we decided to have a quiet dinner and head to bed.  We didn’t see much of San Antonio due to the weather but may return some day to see more of what it has to offer.

The following weekend we decided to head to Dallas.  We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express at Fair Park, Dallas. Really nice and clean and fairly central.  We would certainly recommend it and stayed there 2 nights. On day 1 of our visit here we went to see the JFK memorial and museum. The museum itself is actually the building in which the man who shot JFK took the shots from. It was really interesting if not a bit eerie to be standing in the place where John F Kennedy was killed, especially when they had an “X” marking the spots on the grassy knoll where he was shot and people standing on them having their pictures taken, one man actually pointing to the parts that he was shot at each spot.  It was a glorious day and Dallas I found was a very beautiful city, one I would happily go back to see more.  At night we visited Stackhouse, a restaurant partly owned by ex MotoGP racer Ben Spies, whom I loved through his motorcycle career.

The next again day visited the set of Gas Monkey Garage and the visitor shop.  Unfortunately the actual garage itself was closed to visitors due to filming in progress!  We didn’t see the main man but saw a few others floating about who gave a wave.  We then went along to the Gas Monkey Bar and Grill for some late lunch.  It was really nice and quick service, had to wait 5 minutes or so for a table but thats nothing really.

Dallas was a 3 hour drive away from Lake Jackson, plenty of clean restrooms to stop at on the way, the best were Buccees which my husband often took the mickey out of me for becoming a bit of a fan of. Haha.  My reasons for it though were simple, clean restrooms as said above and cheap enough drinks etc. (44oz drinks, around 1.3litres for $1.59, around £1.00.  With the weather still being hot in Texas at this time of the year these were a welcome break.

I was lucky during my time in Texas that my husband hired me a car to get around while he was at work.  My first car was an F150 Ford pick up, one he has wanted to own, he generally loves any American Muscle or American branded cars.  Hence the 2nd car he hired, a red Camaro.  Im not one for sitting about the pool all day, especially when I get to Saudi and all I’ll probably see is the pool to get outside and stay cool.  40 to 50 degree summers there! I took this opportunity to explore a little and often found myself down at the beach, “Surfside Beach”.  Big long beaches to walk aimlessly along in peace perfect peace with my feet in the warmish waters, sun beating down.  Bliss.

My last weekend here saw us go to watch a proper American Football game in Austin, Texas Longhorns v Baylor.  Friends which made in Saudi in the June kindly had them sent to us in Texas from a relative who still lived there.  The Longhorns unfortunately didn’t win but the day was still amazing all the same with approximately 100,000 people turning out to see it!  Have never seen so may people at an event, the closest was probably Valencia Motogp a few years ago.  The teams are played into the stadium from the bus in true hero fashion with a band and everything.  We then went to our seats and are amazed by the signing and cheering that went on, everyone knew the songs, all family friendly.  We left the game and managed to get out of Austin fairly easily and headed back to Lake Jackson as I flew home the following day.

Another state off of my hit list, some cities I’d love to see again and more of, namely Dallas and go back and see Houston properly.  Lake Jackson was a lovely place but very far away from things to see and do in my opinion, not a place I’d live for that reason.  Maybe thats just because in Scotland everything is not far away from each other.  It doesn’t take too long to get anywhere.

Round 2 will be November time, we have already said we will go to Louisiana and Tennessee on that trip.

Thanks for reading, please feel free to leave a comment or like and follow.

Common Queries Surrounding Saudi Arabia

When the idea of G getting a job out here in Saudi Arabia came around I was at the time a bit taken aback by it all.  I didn’t know much about Saudi Arabia but what I did know is that if he got the job it would mean a whole different life for us.

Going to other counties in general I find really exciting, I love to visit new places and explore what they have to offer and have been fortunate enough to visit many places others wouldn’t have been lucky enough to see.  As anyone else would probably do when the prospect of a big change looms you take to the internet highway and start hunting for information, however when looking up Saudi Arabia you are faced with different things than you would maybe think, some of the things I came across were:

1. Women don’t drive.

2. Women wear something called an Abaya when outside in public.

3. Women do not laugh, have fun.

4. No public displays of affection, i.e. no hand holding, kissing in public, hugging.

5. Women have to walk so many steps behind their husbands.

Scary huh!!  Why on earth would someone who rides motorbikes and drives a nice car, enjoys walking hand in hand with her husband, next to her husband, like to laugh out loud, feels the heat (!!) want to move to a country like this!  Then I thought I can’t keep scouring the internet for answers, we will just need to see what happens.

Other random things:

6. The public toilets are nothing like you are used to back home, or other countries I have visited.

7. Women’s Abaya’s and scarves – do they have to be black?

8. Do you have to cover your head?

9. Women sit in one area to eat, men in others.

So lets answer some of these from my experiences so far.

1. No women do not drive here.  There is alot going on around this, protests etc but at this moment in time this is still a firm no, to be honest, you wouldn’t want to.  The roads are mental!  A one lane road quickly can become 2 or 3 lanes, this lane is for turning left, oh, no this person wants to turn left and has created a new lane for himself and thinks he has the right to barge in.  Hard shoulder isn’t for over taking, it is now.  Points on your licence for speeding, nope just a small fine and thats you.

2. Yes women wear an Abaya, western women don’t necessarily have to but you don’t see many about that don’t wear it.  Western women should minimum have their shoulders and ankles covered.  I wear my Abaya when out and a scarf around my neck.  It helps you to blend into the crowd, i still get looks every now and again but nothing bad.  The Abaya is fab when your heading out and don’t know what to wear, my one fastens up the front from the knee up and I wear a pair of loose bottoms and a light vest top under it, some ladies wear gym type shorts like the keep cool ones, some wear nothing but their bra and pants haha (they have over the head, non fastening ones).  I wear my scarf around my neck as on a hot day it absorbs any sweatiness (haha) and so keeps your hair nice.

3. Women do laugh and have fun, I have seen many groups of women together in restaurants, along the Corniche and in malls all talking and eating, laughing, taking pictures of each other.

4. You don’t see many holding hands or kissing etc in public.  The most I have seen is people, men and women, women and women, men and men, linking arms and walking like that.

5. Ahaha! Not even maybe!  Women walk next to their husbands chatting and laughing, certainly not so many steps behind.

6. DO NOT USE A PUBLIC TOILET!! Take this as a friendly warning.  The toilets here are crazy, I have been lucky enough not to need the toilet when out except after a meal in Chillis.  The ladies toilet there was a normal toilet in a cubicle with toilet paper however you may notice the extra item there, a small shower head.  People use this hear to wash themselves down after visiting the toilet, as in your bottom area.  A few friends here have talked to me about their visits to some toilets where there wasn’t even a cubicle, just a hole in the floor where you have to lift up all your clothing and basically no polite way of putting this but squat.  The good thing is that it is often so hot outside that you cant really spend much time outside and therefore can hold it till you get back to your home.

7. From what I have seen, women’s Abaya’s are generally black, but are adorned with crystals are stones all patterned around the sleeves and hems.  Some very colourful and fancy.  Scarves again from what I have seen can be all sorts of patterns and colours.  Many are black though and match the Abaya’s design. 

8. Being a western girl woman you don’t really have to cover your head, just best practice to carry a scarf with you just incase.

9. There are some shops that are families only, a family classed as a man and woman or a woman only.  Mostly underwear shops (yes the local malls have La Senza, Marks and Spencer Lingerie and Beauty to name a few).  There are family only and men only sections in all restaurants and then you have men queues and family queues.  To be honest, if I was a single woman out for lunch on my own, I would much prefer to sit with families or other groups of women than sit amongst groups of men, even with other girl friends you would feel much safer.

So there it is, my run down of things that I queried before I came here and my thoughts on them from my experiences so far.  Hope they help you and your thoughts on Saudi Arabia, a country easily talked about for all the negative things when there are some really positive things going on here.

Sarah xx

 

 

My Miniature Saudi Adventure – Days 7 to 11

So there were no more bus breakdowns last week, apart from the Air Conditioning on the bus breaking down.  Most of the men were telling the driver to just keep going and bear with the heat on the bus, luckily at 5.30 in the evening it is starting to cool down, by cool down I mean to around 30 degrees or so!  Many just wanted to get home to their families on time rather than have to wait on yet another bus to come and swap over.

I write this today from the comfort of my air conditioned apartment where I plan on staying most of the day today feeling somewhat sorry for myself after thinking that lying on a floaty in the pool yesterday and not topping up my sun tan lotion was a good idea, hence me looking slightly lobster ish still and putting on a tonne of after sun and moisturiser all day today.  I was relieved to spend last night in the Mall where there was lovely air conditioning also, meant wearing my Abaya wasn’t too bad.

Day 7 –  Lady of Leisure day 7 and another exciting day at the pool and watching movies on TV, jokes aside though I am enjoying the relaxing laid back days right now, no driving, no cooking, get up when I want but I can see myself getting bored with it so going to need to think of other things to do.  Keeping my eyes open in the malls to see what they sell hobbies wise other than that I’ll be packing loads of stuff to bring over to keep me amused.  Tonight we went to the Al Rashid Mall and went to a place called Fuddruckers for dinner.  It was really nice and prices were decent, most places here do free refills on drinks, you need to watch how much you drink though when your out a and about which I’ll explain in my next post.  The mall itself is a bit crazy.  I had heard other women on the compound talking about it and saying that they hated it but wasn’t sure why.  I wouldn’t say I hated it but it was a bit like you would be thinking, ok, if I keep going right Ill end up back at the place I started, No! You end up elsewhere miles away from where you wanted to be.  Want to go back to a shop you seen something in, no chance! Haha, glad we really only went there for the food.

Day 8 – Its Friday!!  Well technically, it’s Thursday but the weekend here is Friday and Saturday.  Tonight’s plan is to go for tea at the Dhahran Mall and a donder about.  Our internet was changed yesterday and the router decided to pack in only hours after installed, as I don’t have a Saudi Sim card yet (you can only get this if you have your Iquama, I’ll explain more later) I kind of rely on the WiFi in the apartment to keep connoted with the outside world without costing me a fortune.  Luckily the staff here are great and after a trip to reception and reported the issue, they sent the guy over and we were back up and running.  

The Dhahran mall is lovely and so so busy all the time it seems.  We went to Popeyes Chicken for dinner, (reminds me of being in the states so much this country) and then I bought me a floaty for the pool so I can lie back and chill but stay cool in the water.  One of the things I have noticed here is that on the front of things where it is a woman on the picture, either the face is blurred out or if they are showing more skin, i.e. bikini etc it is covered with tape.  I bought my floaty from a place called Saco, http://saco-ksa.com/English/Home.  Its a crazy big shop that sells everything!!  Gym equipment, dining and entertaining, electricals, maybe a bit like Argos back home.

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Day 9 – Ahhh the weekend and time with my husband!  A little long lie and a trip to stock up on the essentials at Panda.  When we got to the checkout today a guy came up to us as we were offloading our trolley and took over and started putting all our items up on the belt and then went to the end and packed all our bags for us.  They don’t like you doing anything you don’t have to in this country.  G says he normally gives him a few SAR tip and he’s more than happy.  A few SAR say about 3 SAR is about 50p.  After freshening up we headed to the Corniche for a walk and dinner.  We went to Chilis for dinner, another Stateside special!  I had combo chicken and beef Quesadilla’s and they were amazing!!  Teamed with Iced Tea that came unsweetened and you could just add your own amount of sweetener out a little tea pot. Mmmmmm. So so good.  Highly recommended!

After dinner we wandered along the Corniche, its all lit up at night and is really really busy.  A group of guys paling cricket in one section, families playing in a big play park in another.  Other families dotted about with picnics, they come prepared here, cool boxes, meals in takeaway type tubs, folding tables and chairs.  Its a really nice atmosphere, no groups of people drinking and causing scenes or fighting, no intimidating groups.  Kids are running about laughing and playing on bikes and skates.  A lot of the paths are lined with palm trees all lit up.

We could even see Bahrain tonight lit up and the causeway that links Saudi Arabia to Bahrain also.  Its about 30 miles away from us here.  A full moon too, the last full moon on Friday the 13th for another 30 years so they say.  You can see just to the right of the moon in the below panoramic picture the lights.  They were a lot brighter to the naked eye.

Day 10 – A chilling out day by the pool.  Some breakfast of Pancakes and syrup for me and Waffles for G at Los Olivios in the morning (the compounds restaurant) and then time to test out my floaty.  Its fab! It has a mesh bottom so easier to get on and then most of your body is in the water so keeps you cool too.  Only issue, I didn’t top up my lotion and ended up super burnt!!  Lobster red arms and legs and any aftersun was just soaking right in and had to put on more right away.  Next time it will be factor 50 applied regularly.  Until then it will be air con and indoors for a day to let my poor arms stop stinging!!  G said it was like central heating sleeping next me that night!

Dinner tonight was another one out!  We visited Bamboo, a Chinese restaurant in the Dhahran Mall (again, lol) and met a few guys who work with G but are staying in the single men compound up nearer the work site.  Really nice guys and all have families who will hopefully be coming over here to stay with them once back from OJT (on job training).  Its going to be really good once we are all there together, many of the guys have kids and hopefully we will have a little one soon enough, one thing about Saudi is that they are all geared up for kids and their families here, I have learned from staying here that all the families get together and help each other out, when the women are on their own during the day they all help out to look after the kids and give each other some me time, you won’t be alone if you don’t want to be.  

Day 11 – Nearly half way through my stay here.  A day of blog writing and staying indoors and feeling sorry for myself thanks to my lobsterness.

I love being here with G, its so nice to be here when he gets home after a tough day at work.  It will be even better once he doesn’t have the crazy hour and a half trip to work and the same home every day.  The weather is fab, sometimes a little too hot, admittedly but if you plan your day right its ok.  It weird not having to look out the window in the morning to see what the weather is like. I do it every morning still and every time I do it I think to myself why am I doing this.  Turn the air con off for 5 minutes and you know right away what its like out there, hot. 

Thats all for now, going to write up a post on recommendation’s and do’s and dont’s soon.

Sarah xx

My Miniature Saudi Adventure – Days 1 to 6

I posted my blog yesterday about my trip to visit my husband in Saudi which I wrote on the plane but couldn’t post as no internet.  So here I am writing the follow up and a little bit about my time here so far, now on day 6 of a 23 day trip (including travel days).

Day 1 – So my journey here was fairly smooth and after landing in Dammam, I managed to get off the plane pretty quick, I was fortunate to be not far away from the door in row 10.  I made my way out onto the tunnel into the airport (for those worried about stairs onto or off of the plane, I didn’t have to go up or down any, every flight was the tunnel straight out from the terminal to the plane) and I was met by 2 security people who asked to see my passport, they looked, welcomed me to Saudi Arabia and off I went to join the queue at New Arrivals.  As you come round the corner into the Arrivals area it is like a huge hall, several queues were already formed and I joined the back of one, the far right was for citizens of KSA, then you had multi entry visa holders and so on to the left hand side with all New Arrival booths.  After standing for 10 or 15 minutes a security man was walking along the queue, got to me and said “new arrival?”, “yes I am” I replied, “come with me” and then took me to the start of a new queue! “You go next” he said.  My wait had been cut right down to 20 minutes including my wait in the other queue.

They then as thought, took my picture, finger prints of both hands, stamped my Visa and sent me on my way.  As Gareth described, down the stairs or escalator, round to luggage where I spotted my suitcase on the carousel and I was done.

Walking into the hall where I was to meet G was probably one of the daunting parts of arriving in the airport, it was a sea of faces all looking for their friends or family walking out.  Luckily G was at the start and shouted “Sarah!” in a way as if to say you look scared but I’m here!  G got my suitcase from me and took me outside to the car park area where he called his driver he uses and asked him to come for us.  A few minutes later a large 4×4 type car pulled in and the driver jumped out and put my bags in the car and we were off.

It was strange arriving in the dark, you got to see people having BBQ’s out in the Desert!  Its cooler at night obviously (around 30 ish degrees c) so many people do this at this time instead, so all you saw every so often was a glow from the Desert.  Technically I had arrived on their Friday night, the start of their weekend.

We arrived at the compound where I got the guided tour of G’s apartment and met a few colleagues, soon it was time for bed (1am and travelling since 8am).

Day 2 – So I woke first pretty early on day 2, the sun rises not much after 4am here and its very bright very early.  After dozing off for a little longer we got up and went a walk around the compound, should maybe call it a village, it is called a garden village in its title after all, sounds a bit more homely.  ID pass got and G took me to visit a family staying here with their 2 kids.  Such welcoming people everywhere here, I’ve only met this family an hour and the mum (makes her sound so much older than she really is!) has made the girls lunch and has extra so feeds us all!  It was in a way nice to hear that everyone has had their own issues with the whole relocation here, whether it be Visa, Work, Housing, everyone can relate to issues that you may have had in some way, shape or form.  its nice to be able to share stories and hear others, reassuring in a funny way.  Next stop, back to the apartment and changed ready for to get picked up to go to the Corniche – my first proper outing in the daylight wearing my Abaya.  As my Abaya fastens up the front with the bottom part open I had to wear something under it to cover my legs to my ankles.  I was going to wear leggings then found a pair of loose bottoms that I would normally wear to bed, i opted to try them out and see how I got on, teamed with a vest top and I was done.

The Corniche is a bit like a beachfront parade.

Many people come here to walk, have picnics, meet friends.  We saw people out jogging, families playing together, couples laughing and taking pictures.  So for my first experience of being around Saudi people I didn’t feel threatened in anyway.  A few looks here and there, but nothing that made me feel uncomfortable.

We also went to Starbucks while we were there, the Corniche has many a restaurant or cafe, even a Taco Bell!!  Gareth got me to order our drinks and food and I did, easily, no issues, handed the money over, got our change and went and sat down, Gareth was happy as we were in the family section.  Yes restaurants and some shops are segregated into women/family and singles only etc.  So you may think hearing this to begin with “what the h***!!” but think about the times that you have perhaps been out and about, not just restaurants and a group of men are near you and you’ve perhaps felt a little awkward or threatened etc, this makes it so nice to go and just chill.

A few hours of being at the Corniche and the driver G uses came back for us and took us to

It’s got to be the biggest mall I have ever seen!!  With I don’t know how many Gate entrances, we got to Gate 12 but there were more which ill see when we go back and spend a little more time there (hehe).  The shop’s there include: New Look, Debenhams, Zara, Zara Home, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn, F&F London (you and I know it as Florence and Fred Tesco haha) to name but a few.

We went for dinner at a place called Papa’s I think it was, really nice and we all got to sit in the family section.  We were a little worried as we met some of G’s work colleagues for dinner so there were like 4 guys and me for dinner and wasn’t sure how it would work.

Dinner had, a little wonder about and time for home.

Day 3 – Got up and went to the pool today, the pool was empty when we got there at 10 ish.  I’m such a water baby, could just sit it the pool all day, you never get cold in it here.  Hours slipped away and G suggested we order some lunch from the restaurant on site.  My order was a Chicken Taco Salad, we eat by the pool at table and chairs there and it was so so nice, even in the shade it was still hot enough to not have to add any layers.  We stayed a little longer and then headed out of the peak day sun.  

 

At night when the sun had went down, G took me to the local Hyper Panda.  A big supermarket a bit like a big Tesco or Asda.  Inside the foyer area was a few different shops, a Popeyes Chicken (you’ll know this if you’ve been to the states) a Claire’s Accessories a handbag shop, mobile phone cover shop, shoe shops, the list goes on.

The actual Hyper Panda itself was great.  Fruit, Veg and Salad stuff all fresh as can be and relatively cheap in comparison to home.  A bottle of water is like 20p. You get several import items from the states and home too, they are a little more expensive than other items here but still cheaper than home.

Day 4 – Sunday, technically here this is their Monday.  My first day with G being at work and me being alone.  A little lie in and a trip to the Pool haha.  I had it to myself for about an hour and then met a few really nice women.  Swam about and lounged about for about 3 hours!  but then my stomach was shouting feed me and decided to try the delivery service at the restaurant.  Ordered another Chicken Taco Salad, mmmmmmmmmm, and went pack to the apartment where I got changed etc, poured a drink and my lunch arrived.  No hanging about in a wet-ish swim suit and dress for lunch, order, go, eat. Fab!! 

At night we went to the gym (well I did, G went and played Squash with a guy from work) and then an early bed with a film.

Day 5 – I decided to stay in this morning and up my post from the plane journey here but by lunch time I wanted to go to the pool, really should have went to the pool earlier and then wrote but hey.  it topped out at 47 degrees today and stayed like this until the sun went down.  No amazing lunch today, we were supposed to head to the Al Rashid Mall for dinner but then the guys work bus broke down on the way home, followed by traffic fused by an accident so the normal half 5 quarter to 6 bus became quarter to 7.  A take away however from the restaurant for dinner, ordered then walked home and put our feet up while dinner got delivered, a pizza roll (bit like a big calzone) and Texas Fries (the biggest portion ever!) came to around £8 i think and easily fed us both to the gunnels.  After a long day for G and the upsetting news of on job training being delayed until September(!!) it was time for the rest of last nights film and bed.

Day 6 – Here I am typing up this post, its half past mid-day, its 47 degrees out and I’m inside on my laptop in the air conditioning. Haha.  It really does get too hot to sit out at times, it can be really ghost town ish during these hours outside.  Thinking a trip to the Gym later could be in order and then a shower before meeting G from the bus and then maybe tonight we will get out for dinner.  Fingers crossed for no broken down buses!!

If there’s anything anyone would like me to write about here or find out, just let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

Sarah x

 

 

 

My Miniature Saudi Adventure…….

So here we are, the 5th of June and today I find myself travelling on my own to visit G out in Saudi eventually!  

After finishing up with my work around a week ago now, the past week seems to have flew in visiting friends and family and just generally being a typical woman and pondering over what to take with me.  

Number 1 on the checklist is, an Abaya.  This for those who aren’t sure what it is, is the black outfit that people often associate Saudi women with having to wear, although you do not have to wear it as I have learned with being a Westerner, as long as you have your shoulders and ankles covered.  I have however chosen to wear it as I feel I may be more comfortable walking around in public with it on, won’t stand out took much.  You can get a decent cheap one from eBay for £20 including a scarf.

Anytime I have flown anywhere in the past it has always been with someone else, mainly G, so to be in an airport flying by myself is a bit strange, especially when my slight to Saudi Arabia sees me taking a flight to Amsterdam and then out to Saudi Arabia.  It doesn’t worry me as such but a bit nervous about arriving in Amsterdam and getting to my next flight on time, with only a 50 minute connection!  

My nerves are shot a little waiting on boarding to be announced, 15 minutes late to board already and eating into my connection time!  Finally we start boarding and we are off, my seat in Economy Comfort is superb, seat 10a next to the window and plenty of leg room, you do pay a little extra normally for this seat, KLM do Economy, Economy Comfort and then your into Business Class etc.

The flight to Saudi takes approx. 5-6 hours from Amsterdam, we made a stop in Kuwait on the way there, where people got off and people boarded, people travelling to Saudi just stay on the plane.  The plane refuelled and new passengers on board and we were off again, after a stop of approx. 1 hour.  

The new passengers gave me an idea of what to expect in KSA to a degree as the women who barded were all in Abayas, many had their full heads covered with just their eyes showing, did you know that this is all the choice of the Husband?!  They decide how much is to be exposed when it comes to the Abaya, Hiljab etc.  Many of the women I saw here have the most wonderful eye make up, handbags and some Abayas are adorned with gems, crystals and patterns, all very pretty indeed.

It is all a little daunting, still feeling a little taken aback after landing in Amsterdam where before landing the screens in the plane showed connecting flights and their gate numbers etc except for Dammam (Saudi) and Dubai where there were no gate numbers and only “Contact Ground Staff'”.  The first person I spoke to was of no help and a little rude when I repeated my question after not quite understanding him and he said “as I just said to you” and repeated what he had said.  So off I went in search of a board to tell me what to do and came across a KLM desk where I looked at the woman there and said “I’m Lost!!”  She was great, showed me where to go and 5 minutes later I’m at the gate.

G had booked my flights for me and only asked me if I wanted a window seat or aisle, always window!  What a seat he picked me, the row behind business class, seat 10a.  Again hundreds of room, and the man sitting next to me was given the option to move because it was such a quiet flight.  When I first went to sit down however, the man stood up and asked if I would like a hand putting my little case above in the overhead box, what a gentleman, the man, from Iran and can’t quite remember his name, was trailing home to his family, hoping that the chocolate he bought does not melt.

The rest of the flight went smoothly, with a really nice meal of chicken curry, rice, bread roll, profiteroles and cream, crackers and cheese salad and topped off with tea or coffee. Also the option of soft drinks or wine (until just before Kuwait) all included in my flight price.  I have been on many a flight where we have had to pay for drinks and what a price they were for not even an ordinary can of juice so this made such difference.  The man behind me was clearly making the most of the free wine, he must have had at least 7 or 8, he would put his call button on and the stewardess would come along and be like “another white wine sir”.  Made me chuckle.

So G has given me the advice and run down of what will happen when I land in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.  Be prepared to get off the plane as quick as I can if it is busy.  Many people know how bust the queue can be at Immigration and so they often push their way through to get there quicker.  I have then to make my way to the queue labelled “New Arrivals”, this is where they take your picture and fingerprints and also check and stamp my Visa.  Sounds a bit like when we fly to the states so surely can’t be as scary as when you get to Immigration and their are guards standing about with guns fully loaded ready to rock.  I have also put my Abaya on when we landed at Kuwait and my scarf round my neck so hoping that dressing respectfully will help and that they will be kind to me.

After New Arrivals (this part can take up to an hour or so depending on how busy it is) G has told me that I go straight down the escalator and there are a few luggage carousels, many bags on the floor too.  My bag could be one already on the floor depending on how long I have been at Immigration for.  Then finally after getting my suitcase I go through into the arrivals area and find my husband waiting on me.  “Remember”, he says, “we can’t cuddle or kiss like we did when I came home at Edinburgh Airport!”.  This is the part of the culture I’m a bit funny about, will take some getting used to but need to keep thinking I’d rather be there with him more than anything else.

I’ll write more on my actual experiences and first impressions and thoughts soon.

Sarah x

  

Saudi Adventure is now in Full Swing!

So here we are, now the 4th of May!!  G has been away since the 8th March so we are now going into week 9!!

In this time he has flew out to Saudi and stayed for the first 2 weeks in a hotel in Al Khobar before moving into an apartment on a compound near by called Las Dunas.  From the pictures it looks like a holiday resort!!  His apartment he claims is like the size of our 2 bedroom home here in Scotland!  

The first few weeks were really difficult, it has been the first time that we have been away from each other for longer than a few days at a time so trying to adapt to an almost single lifestyle has been really strange and I have been trying to throw myself into losing weight and up my exercise to pass time.

So G has now obtained his Iquama which means that he is now a resident of Saudi Arabia and will in the next few days have his interview for the hopefully last part of his US Visa.  Keeping everything crossed for a quick turn around on this so he can get out to his on job training in Texas.

Hints, Tips and TImescales

Around 4 to 12 weeks for Iquama.  (Make sure you have this all fully filled out and that your correct occupation has been put on this, people close by have had slightly wrong titles on their Iquama and this has delayed a lot of things which I will talk about next).

After you have gained your Iquama you can then go and get your bank account set up.  The company set a temporary account up for you and then G picked the SAAB bank (HSBC equivalent).  Took his money from the temporary account, went to the SAAB where he took his letter from employer and Iquama etc.  They will give you a bank card within a few hours and then you pop it into the atm machine and choose your pin.  This is done normally all in one day.  

After setting up the bank account, take your details back to headquarters and give the details to payroll so that your wages can be paid directly to it.

US Visa Interview comes next, G had to go to the bank to pay his Interview fee.  He then got a reference number and then had to wait around 48 hours before he could then go online and book his appointment.  A very frustrating time as he knew that as soon as this was booked there was a chance he could get his pre on job training holidays and get home to see us.  Eventually the appointment was booked and the request was in for his leave.

A few days after the request was in it was approved by his training people and the exit visa put into HR.  This was issues within the day and the flights were booked!!  G came home for the week and it was fab!!  He browns so easily and arrived home in pale clothes that just brought out his tan!! (I have the pastiest white pale skin, gutted lol). 

G is now away back to Saudi and we are already looking into me going over to him soon.  I am quite fortunate that I finish from my work on 31st May under Voluntary Redundancy!  The offer was put out to me and my work colleagues in November and we had to decide by end of January.  Everything seemed just to happen so quick and around the same time, even though some of it was a slog to get to where we needed and wanted to be!  

I shall put up a post on the Visitor Visa process as soon as we have it sorted for all you ladies who may be in our position in the future and want to go see Saudi for yourselves before moving there and see your husbands!!

So that’s the last 8 weeks in a quick round up. Kinda neglected my blog so gonna try write more soon.  

Sarah x