Ramadan in Riyadh :) Part I

Well it has been quite a while since I last posted, but it all became too difficult when I supposedly "upgraded" the windows live writer to the beta version, which I used to use for writing the blog - it freezes, it closes, it makes the spaces between paragraphs non-existent and it was taking far too long to edit then to top it all off after battling all this it won't post the blog - much too hard basket - shame to windows for producing such a bad and unworkable program in this modern computerized driven world! Now I have had my rant I will get on with what I hope is an interesting post :P

As I wrote last time, we arrived in Riyadh on the first or second day of Ramadan and stayed at an excellent hotel called the Mena, which Jesse assures me means Port in Arabic. The decor had a really Arabian feel to it, and for Ramadan they had erected a tent in the foyer from Arabic design fabric and this had the typical floor mattresses and arm rests and many made use of it for having their very light flavoured Arabic or Turkish coffee - Naturally of course as it was Ramadan it was after the sun went down.

(Hint - if you press on the photo it opens up into large picture)

After checking in - we were lucky with a great summer rate which included brekkie, and Iftar (which is Ramadan Breakfast - 6.30pm) it was a must to go to Jesse's favorite Lebanese restaurant Al Sayira and have our first evening meal, which true to form was way too much but delicious and not expensive :) That was enough for our first night, and the next day we headed out of Riyadh towards Mecca (Makah) as Jesse wanted to show me what he calls the "edge of the world" and it was a really worthwhile trip - this was taken on the dunes outside of Riyadh. As you drive out of the city, there is a major checkpoint and just past this the road declines sharply through a huge cutting to open out on these lovely red dunes and large rock formations - it is really the first time that I have felt that I was actually in the true desert.

We then drove virtually into the middle of nowhere (well I exaggerate as usual as there were small farm holdings and camel farms) to see a tall rock formation that Jesse had visited when he lived over here way back. He was most disappointed that the road to it had been sealed and as we drove closer it was fenced off with a guard post and several quarries had been put in - so we couldn't go all the way up to the base as in the "old days".

Our timing in arriving back at the hotel in time for the 6.30pm "Breakfast" was excellent, and we had worked up quite an appetite with all the dune climbing and running back down hehehehe.... The brekkie was pretty awesome as well - Arabic coffee, dates & dried apricots on all the tables to break the fast, although I passed on the Laban which is a yoghurty thickish drink that Jesse will drink by the gallon if it is there :( and then on to the buffet which was actually pretty impressive - we certainly didn't go hungry!

Ramadan in Riyadh ......... Part II

After our tummies were well and truly over-full, Jesse decided that it was off to the gold souks in an old part of town he knew, and there were so many over-the-top gold pieces that you just would never be able to wear. If you want to see gold this is the place for it. It is sold by weight not craftsmanship, and anything that takes your interest is immediately thrown on the scales and price is given - I must be the only female in the whole souk that was more interested in a shop selling really interesting and lovely mother of pearl and turquoise inlaid walking sticks than the jewellery :P must be showing my age.....hehehehe

Next day we lounged about until late afternoon again because during Ramadan the shops don't open until 8.30pm or 9ish and stay open until about 2-3am,so of course if you are going out late then you are coming home from shopping at about 2am so need your afternoon nanna nap. Jesse then wanted to go to look for Al Musmak the original clay mud castle in the old part of town where Abdul Aziz came and threw his spear into the door and overcame the residents by killing them and proclaimed himself as king of all of Arabia. He went on to unify all the tribes and this created what we now know as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

We wandered around behind Al Musmak and and were truly astounded at the very old gold souk and markets behind it – we thought the souk we had visited the night before was impressive but this one was totally unbelievable there are just so many shops with so many varieties of necklaces and bracelets and rings and beads that I just can’t choose – I become paralyzed and can’t decide…… although a lot of it is too ornate and heavy to wear - it must be for pure investment purposes. The pictures I have put in below are the investment pieces I am talking about – they also have lovely wearable gold as well and I do have my eyes on a few lovely pieces before I come home.

Did I mention that the jewellery shops here in the shopping centres are unbelievable? The gems and diamonds in rings and necklaces range from unbelievably beautiful to the grotesque in over-the-top bad taste in size and design. I have never seen such a huge range of watches and the same description applies to these as to the jewellery. Jesse bought me a beautiful diamond wedding ring and we have another ruby and diamond ring ordered – just waiting to pick it up :) It was then time to go back for our 6pm “Brekkie” then some driving around in Riyadh, then a fairly early night as we had to be up at 6am for the 3.5 hour drive back to Khobar for Jesse to go to work – Lucky for me I had another 2 days of rest :) :)

On yer bike then….

Cycling is something that I have greatly enjoyed over a number of years. At one stage I was really into it and it was nothing to go for a 6-7 hour ride on the wonderful bike trails of Melbourne and Mt. Dandenong fire access roads. I even did some of those multi-day rides all over Victoria. It got me very fit at the time. I developed something close to Jurrasic thighs and calves the size of a cow heart.

I have had some great high-tech bikes including a GT RTS3 which was one of the original dual suspension bikes introduced in the mid-90s. Darius is now exercising the custodianship over that machine. Almost a family hairloom.

So coming to Saudi I thought why not get a bike to re-kindle some of those great riding experiences. Ah but what to get? The choices and the technology are truly bewildering. But the answer was obvious. The prevalent bicyle type here is the quintessential Third World bike that is found by the hundreds of millions in India, China and Africa.

It’s the ultimate workhorse of the planet’s villages, farms and unpaved roads. It would also be an ultimate pose bike on the Boulevards and Corniches of the West. It's so retro it's beyond cool!

I had a choice of either a Hero or Atlas. Both are made in India and are a more-or-less identical in design. Built to take a trashing and ferry mind boggling loads. No precision engineering here. Lightweight components!! Gotta be kidding! These are tanks. Heavy steel tubing, tractor seats with spring suspension, push/pull rod brakes, cattle-horn handlebars, single speed, heavy steel stand, cargo rack.

But you know what? It’s gorgeous. Have a look!

I absolutely love the cheap decals and decorations. It also somewhat ambitiously and optimistically carries a “Export Quality” decal of somewhat dubious credibility. Where is Consumer Affairs when you need them to uphold the truth in marketing?

The high quality plastic ornament. Almost like a Mercedes-Benz

Here are some other details featuring the fine design and perhaps “not so precision” engineering. For example the tractor seat. Laugh if you will but it’s supremely comfortable.

The cockpit :

And what is the price of this fine machinery one may ask. It is all of 270 Riyals. That makes it AUD 82. Since the thing weighs about 17 kilos it makes it about $ 4.80 a kilo.

The added benefit is that it will make me much more suave and manly as can be seen from this marketing illustration where the female is irresistibly drawn towards the alpha male who is displaying his superior breeding qualities by the astute choice of his vehicle.

Oh and BTW I have not gone for a ride as yet. Too bloody hot!!!