Hello there,
I've already spent almost two months here in riyadh. Even though i do went out a lot to the nearby attraction, dad decided to bring us family out of the states. This is my first ever trip out of riyadh since i've been here last two months.
A fact ; Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
We started our journey to Dammam on Thursday evening which took us almost 4 hours. Throughout the journey, what amazed me was the highway, A COMPLETELY NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ME who have been living in Malaysia for 19 years. In Malaysia, we are served with lush green views along the highway. But it was the other way round here. It was covered with sand and there are a few areas full of camels.
I didnt manage to take a decent picture of it since the car was moving --' but here's one. Comel kan?
I tell you what, the urge to stop the car and take photos among the sands are real!!! But we are not allowed to enter the area :(
Look at how lovely the view is T____T the sands looks so sooffftt!!!
Thursday night, we checked in into Boudl Corniche Apartment&Hotel, a modern apartment hotel located just opposite the sea. I completely forgot to snap the picture of the hotels which i dont even know why T__T But, each room is equipped with typical needs; a fridge, lcd tv, living room, two rooms, a bathroom and a mini kitchen area.
We went out for dinner after unpacking our stuff at the nearest shopping mall. Food price range are quite expensive as there are a lot of foreigners settling here. So, we end up having fast food for dinner. Its a fast food cafe called Canton.
As u may have guessed, they specialised in chinese cuisine. This is legit my first ever try eating chinese food. But u may get tomyam and other asian food here as well. I would rate it 6.5/10.
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| credit : tripadvisor |
Nothing much on the first day because its already late by the time we had our dinner. Back to the hotel for a comfy sleep after a long tiring day ^^
The next morning, we started our day with simple breakfast; danish cookies and mineral water. We head out to our first destination, Khobar ((i dont really know how do i spelled it in roman)). To be very honest, its not really a good move to come here during summer because it was blazing hot. Plus we wore black from head to toe which trap the heats....... but alhamdulillah we survived hehe. Spent only 10 minutes there because we wont wait until one of us fainted from dehydration. and there's nothing much to do there aside from fishing.
i would like to give this man an award for his sabar-ness. fishing is one thing, but fishing under a 40degrees hot sun is on another level!
For us Malaysians, these kind of place might just be something ordinary but not for the people here. Especially those who lived at the centre of Saudi where you can only enjoy the sea view after almost 5-6 hours of driving. Indeed, the more we travel, the more grateful we are. There are a lot of things that makes me miss my home especially the tropical temperature but its a once in a lifetime chances. Do not ever complaint when the temperature is dry and hot in Malaysia because its nothing compared to what the people of Saudi had been experiencing for centuries.
I was told by my father that the highest temperature during the month of ramadhan is 50 degrees. *gulp*
There was actually a park beside the seas which comes along with a few fast food restaurants and playground for kids. But the rules here, most of the restaurant are open only after the Jumaat Prayers until late night, 2AM.
As you can see, the housing is extremely luxury. But it is nice to see the greens, i feel like im back in Malaysia :p
Friday afternoon, we went to the seaside. I have no idea what is the name of the place but yeap, its the Persian Gulf sea. They provide a few family resting area along the seaside, i had a pleasant time with my fam there. The breeze and smell of the sea ease my mind. Compared to the previous beach, this place is better as you can see itself, we are allowed to swim plus the water is much clearer. If you were to come here one day, do bring along some foods and drinks because its A PERFECT PICNIC SPOT.
Moving on to our next spot, we moved back to Dammam after Jumaat Prayer. It was an hour drive. These breathtaking and peaceful place is called Dammam Corniche. Its a top frequent visited placed for families to have a picnic. They literally brought along their own tent to enjoy the greens and the sea.
and just to share, i really admire their culture of performing salah everywhere. there are a few mans brought along extra sejadah and share it with the public. and yeap, they performed their maghrib prayer in the middle of the park. SALUTE!
CLEARLY THEY WROTE MALAYSIAN CUISINE ON THE WALL. We were expecting a nasi goreng or maybe bihun sup but nooopppeee there's nothing, not even close :( All of the menu are literally arabic and indian cuisine. what a sad lyfe
On the bright side, they offered quite a variety of food; all sorts of tandoori&briyani but everything was written in arabic so whichever sounds familiar to us is our dinner lol. but honestly I was quite upset.... i have no idea where to find a malaysian restaurant here T___T IM CRAVING FOR MALAYSIAN FOOD!!!!
Overall; food rate : 9.6/10.
We finished off our weekend getaway the next day to the King Abdullah Park. Its our second last stop before departing back home :-) Planned to go there early in the morning but i guess everyone was so worn out the day before, we woke up a lil bit late than usual. So by the time we arrived at the park, its almost 10 anddddd again, temperature is very high.
I feel like jumping into the pool.
It was actually a park full of bright flowers but as i said, we came during the wrong season. 40 degrees isnt a favourable temperature for it to bloom as it supposed to. The place looked quite dull and boring but actually there are a lot of things to do there.
- cycling
- picnic with families
- have lunch by the beach
- or just as simple as strolling along the coast
We refuel ourself with McDonalds as lunch. My new favourite burger; Spicy McChicken. It tastes like mcchicken, but spicy hehe and we dont have it in Malaysia, so yeap ^^ plus, ice creams are a mandatory order here in saudi. and believe it or not dearies, the price for sundae and mcflurry are THE SAME. YESSS THE SAME, 5 riyal = RM5.77 tambah tolak gst and service charge bagai, RM7.00.
Before we waved goodbye to Dammam, we headed to Danoob, a shopping centre that have thousandsss of imported items be it from asia, europe or the uk. I dont think i'm allowed to take photos inside but i did :p
My heart is weak for these cute little rainbow packaging.
Spent for an hour here because mum was shopping for pinggan, mangkuk and periuk to be used for the upcoming raya celebration :-)
and that sums up my short getaway in Dammam! As you can expect, i had a veryyy pleasant holiday here despite the hot temperature. a weather does change my feelings towards the place but i enjoy it :-)
please look forward for more travel blog in future! thank you for reading <3
regards,
sara.
