My Saudi Journey: Where's The Sand?

At one of the rest-houses/petrol stations along the highway between Dhahran and Khafji.

As-salamu'alaikum readers and thanks for stopping by!

I'm not going to dwell about my training/work here; instead, i'm here to share with you my experience (the fun part, that is) being in the kingdom, in two parts. When i was told to go for training in Saudi Arabia, part of me was excited and i Google-d for more information. Frankly, i didn't know much about the country except that it's an oil-rich country. Unfortunately, there was not much i could gather. Still, it is a foreign land and i was sure there are lots to discover. At the back of my mind, i was expecting to see lots and lots of sand. Oh, my senior who went before mentioned the good food, in large portion!

It was troublesome to apply for the visa. Of course, there is the formal form to fill. Then, i had to get my education certificate certified by the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Putrajaya. Along with other supporting documents by the company, i got my visit visa weeks after. I thought i wouldn't be able to spend Christmas back home but it got delayed, so i missed this year's Chinese New Year. The local currency is Saudi Riyal (RM 1 is about 1.15 Saudi Riyal, so there isn't much difference when converting prices). Language used here is Arabic- i'm slowly picking up a few useful words. I can recite and recognize numbers 1 to 10 in Arabic too. As for English, the F-word is widely used. The phrase 'too much' can be used as superlative such as 'too much hot' for very hot, 'too much wind' for windy, 'too much s***' for dirty and 'too much heavy' for too heavy. Photography is challenging here- that's why you'll notice most photographs are either with me in it or no one. Clothing for guys, non local, is rather lenient as long as it is appropriate. Local males often wear their traditional outfit known as 'thawb' ('dishdasha'),  white robe with a headgear. Female dressings, on the other hand, are strict. As for work, there was no need to wear nice- i was in coverall; the clothes were marked and stained with my batch number or room number after sending to laundry, down to the underwear.

I was greeted welcome by cold weather (10 degree Celsius) and goodbye from the heat (46 degree Celsius- and it is still increasing). During winter, it was dark early. In summer, the sun is up by 5 am. My body clock needs to be tuned as i had varied schedules here: at the rig i was on 6 am to 6pm and noon to midnight shifts, and at base i was awake by 5 or 6 am til 10 pm. Plus, weekend here is Friday and Saturday so i had to schedule my timing right for emails. It is also 5 hours behind Malaysian time. Driving, on the other side compared to Malaysia, here was aggressive and dangerous- and to cross the road i had to make sure i was looking at the right direction. I also saw a kid, no older than my youngest brother, behind the wheel- it was surely a shocking sight to me. I was in the car at a petrol station; then a car came and stopped. His father left the car and i saw the car moved. Curious to know who drove, i saw, probably, it was his child driving off. He must be imagining a real life Need for Speed.

*****

I arrived at Base A in the wee hours of the morning- no sand saw. I thought i was to be assigned on a land rig (and be surrounded by sand) but i was informed that i was going offshore. So, no sand for sure. I spent nearly 2 weeks, preparing to go offshore by attending training like HUET (it felt like i was back in Malaysia at the training center with mostly Malaysian instructors), blood test and H2S (it's a toxic gas and we should learn to don the 30-minute and 15-minute Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, SCBA).

The base was simple, gated with high walls and barbed wires for security, and off the main road. The conducive learning environment at the training center in the base reminded me much of my university days. There were facilities like a recreational TV room, gym and a futsal court- however, i had never seen the court being utilized. We played ping pong though (ping pong seems to be a game of the oil and gas industry?). Perhaps, it was the weather.

Clockwise from top right: i flew by Emirates Airlines and they served tasty mains and sides. I had McArabia in McD at Dubai Airport while waiting for my transit flight. For lunch and dinner at the base, the menu varied from local to Western, and I had pancakes for breakfast- i didn't know having pancakes with sunny side up eggs are delicious. To be honest, i didn't have much local food at the base but i enjoyed their desserts: kanafeh (imagine fried, crispy mi fun covered in sweet syrup), mahalabia (Arabic milk pudding), and gajar halwa (grated carrot in sweet, milky pudding). It was surely unique to see how the mi fun (my mom cooks delicious fried mi fun for mains) became dessert.

I find this socket cute and hilarious- when i look at it, i imagine two people gasped! On a different note, an international adapter is one handy kit any traveler must have (i was amused by this because it is different than the ones in Malaysia).

So my quest to find sand (as in stretches and stretches of sand) was rather unsuccessful while at the base. I left to the rig via Base B, again in the early morning. Fast-forward a few weeks, i returned to Base A and this time, i found sand!

My local friends were not available to take me around so i dared myself to travel to the city, alone. I got a taxi and rode to my first destination, Al- Rashid Mall in Khobar. I was there around noon, hoping to find good lunch but i learned it was bad timing. My suggestion: choose a later time, say 3-ish, because while i was there, most shops were just opening, or closed for prayer times for about 20 minutes. The Mall is big, comprising of a few floors of international brands, indoor family theme park and at the lower ground is a heritage-like section, called Qaysaria, which reminds me of Sunway Pyramid's Marrakesh. One of the ads i noticed was censored at the faces of the male and female models. When i walked around or into shops, i had to make sure i was at the 'single' section (and not the 'family' section). This Mall is also connected to Carrefour so i decided to do some grocery shopping and to check out what local or different items i could buy.

Clockwise from top right: it was quiet and empty during the day, more so during the prayer time break. I thought i was Paul Blart in Mall Cop, patrolling around the Mall. Prayer was also played on loudspeaker throughout the Mall. Me in the Qaysaria. View of a little water fountain- there was no water at first but when i walked around the next time, i saw water cascading down and shooting up.

In my quest for local food, the Mall was not the ideal choice. After window shopping, i bought a Caramel Frap and relaxed at Starbucks (notice the news on the missing Malaysian Airlines plane on the paper? Many people asked me if i knew where the plane was, being a Malaysian). My rather disappointing lunch at Tikka in the food court (top left). At the food court, i found mostly burgers- McD, KFC, Hardee's (Carl's Junior's sibling), Burger King, and others like Kudu, Grill and Chill. There was a Chinese stall but it wasn't very Chinese to me. For dinner, i had no choice but to settle for an Arabic taste of KFC (not in the Mall).

Overall, i find the Mall a pleasant place to be, to escape the heat outside and to spend time in the evening with family.

From the Mall, i went to Al-Khobar Corniche in the evening and the waterfront was pretty. I liked how it was well maintained. There were people jogging, exercising, family picnicking, children amusing themselves at playgrounds and also a train to bring from one end to the other- it's a long waterfront and although i was tempted to hop on (with a fee), i continued walking to enjoy the breeze.

A scenic panorama view of the waterfront. 

From one end to the other; see the water tower on the top picture? I was walking, approaching that building. Along the way, the trees make for pretty sight.

I didn't see anyone near me to ask to help take my photo- so i took selfies. See the cute, blue train? The Corniche is a great place to spend the evening. Malaysia should improve and maintain their waterfronts as it will be tourist attraction sites too. Done with the waterfront, just across the road are few franchise restaurants (i had my KFC dinner there) and several smaller malls.

It was almost rush hour and traffic became heavy.

My one-day escape to the city was memorable. I got to experience their shopping culture and visited one of the most popular sites this city offer. Also, i was alone and it really got me to be courageous enough to explore. Surely, i had to keep myself alert of my surrounding too- while it was relatively safe, better safe than sorry.

On the road leading to King Fahd International Airport- i got to admit, the road was scenic with the trees at the center. It is the largest airport in terms of land area. However, in terms of the facility and infrastructure, i prefer KLIA- my home destination. My route was KLIA to Dubai International Airport then this airport in Dammam. The total flight, minus transit time, is about 8 and a half hours.

So i did see sand eventually. And i even experienced a sandstorm.

My Saudi Journey: Where's The Sand?
My Saudi Journey: See Me Work Those Tongs!



* this post also celebrates the 100th post for this blog. Thank you for your support and readership!