Another view of the skyline

Its been almost a month since the last post and another trip has gone by, into fag end of first week in next trip. Only thing that is at a premium all these days is time. Have not had time to work on blog. Have been using what little time I have in writing prose but thats another stuff for another day.

In this trip we checked into Marriot Executive Apartments, away from the center of Olaya and still not that far. This one is a new property and no, i am not going to review it...what am enjoying right now is the view of the city's skyline right from the roof next to a small pool. This view of the city from Al Maathar street is different from the one I get when we see the city from 23rd floor office in Kingdom Towers, in one of the visits for meetings.

From here it appears that this city never sleeps, whatever the time you see traffic, lights of cars streaming though all night. And right in front a few Kms away I see the Al Fasiliya Tower. Givenits symmetric shape its equally beautiful from all sides, while Kingdom tower from this angle gives a very different feel. There are lights on everywhere and its just 11:00 PM. Its too early for this city to sleep, where the bazaars stay open till midnight. At this hour also am reluctant to open the window, even though am almost at 15th floor...for i dont want the peace here to be disturbed by the sounds of engines and tyres on road. This view from within the glass enclosure looks so quite and peacefull. I will just let peace remain, soak in a bit of silence, before I head back to my room and sleep.

A Bird next to window

A bird next to window would not have been subject of any blog piece in India or many other places, but Riyadh then is different you rarely see anything except cats here but last week was different, saw a bird flying across our 23rd Floor office. A solitary small black bird and by the time we realized what we saw, it had disappeared. Guess the bird wanted to tell us, yes am not out due to extreme heat, but i do exist. A day later in one of the hypermart saw two caged feathered species. Not a great way to keep animals, but then many would not survive the extreme's outside.

Its been over 20 days that am writing this , inspite of being out of about 5 days. Have been really busy and just in no shape to be able to take time out to gather my thoughts. Not that things have changed, except weather, which is getting cooler during nights. 

Sunset that used to be visible from my room in last trip is still visible from my current room and on a clear day like yesterday the view is spell bounding. I just kept looking at the horizon, till the last of views of sun was visible. The hues and  changes to it kept me hooked to it and it was brighter than other days....probably because there was no dust in air. 

In these days have seen so many new places and areas. Tried so may different foods that can now write a food blog on Indian food in Riyadh. Not that I am too much persistent on Indian meals, but some folks around me are less adventurous. 

Another thing I have realized is the amount of bargaining you can do in streets of Riyadh. This is no different from by-lanes of Chandni Chowk where the best of the shops bargain...may be like there, bargaining is a favorite pass-time here as well and not just in shops, it starts with Taxi's as well. You can never know if you paid the right amount.

Hara City in Riyadh

This is a weird start of the week on a Saturday with Sunday being off. Daily routine continues nothing changes except for the fact that yes, Sunday is an off.

Given the extended weekend with just 1 day of holiday...lot of folks were off. Given a bit relaxed time, we left office on time and decided to checkout on  Executive  Apartments in one of the leading hotel chains. Some of the folks here in team want to cook themselves and wanted a different kind of room experience. We went over, where another member of team had booked in, rooms were decent but I was more interesting to explore the area about a Kilometer away from that names Hara, famous in this part for its confluence of cultures from Sub-continent, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. 


On reaching Hara one thing we realized, this was so unlike Riyadh that we have seen so far. It was another place may be from some backlanes of Kolkata or further Dhaka, but I have not seen Dhaka so cannot say. The boards are not just in Arabic and Hindi, shops have boards mostly in Bengali. Some rare shops have it in Malayalam, but its Bengali which predominates in this area. People are roaming in the region like some chaal on outskirts of Mumbai. Cars parked just like that, vegetable vendors extending shops like they do in sub continent and am sure a local resident from Saudi will feel like a foreigner in this place. Long unwinding lane of gridlock traffic and a herd of human bodies jostling for space, this when its not even a weekend. Eateries dishing out Sub continental fare (finding anything else was difficult)...this place was overcrowding and over flowing with masses everywhere and small nukad groups at every corner. We were not even sure if they all were legal immigrants. Some good food, but lack of choices if you are vegetarianian in the region.


We headed back to the serviced hotel room of the friend shortly and after a coffee back to our hotel. Roads as on other days later in the night packed, but more so today as tomorrow its Saudi National day. People and kids on car tops, sitting on doors waiving Saudi flag and shouting all along the route. Driving even for a distance of 6-7 Kms is not easy. We reached hotel and were off. We know tomorrow evening we can watch spectacular crowds on streets, particularly Thahiliya, Olaya etc and have booked a table in a road side cafe to watch this. Staying in central Riyadh just a few steps away from Olaya street allows us to experience this luxury. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

A Sad Sun and Champagne

A sad sun is not a spelling mistake, but I will come to that latter. Its been another week since I spoke about Riyadh. Time has just flown and alas another weekend gone, but none the less, we have a rare Sunday off in this part of the world.  Its a national day and a government holiday, so no meetings. Not really sure on what it means cause the weekly off on Friday's is nothing less than a national holiday situation in capital or even more. Shops and malls do not open till afternoon prayers, roads which are generally jammed do not have a vehicle in sight and not a person on streets...it will be closer to a curfew situation than anything.

Well there were days apart from Friday as well and they were good. Dinner is not just a means of food consumption, its a key part of days entertainment and elongated discussions, just that these are over food. In this week we were taken through some nice food experiences which we wouldn't have known had it not been for our Partner from the region suggesting items to us.

Off all things we liked Saudi Champagne the most...well a Champagne in Saudi...don't read too much into the name, its non alcoholic, but none the less good. Its a cocktail of juices, made from Apple and Orange Juice along with Sparkling water. It tastes good and is a decent drink. 

Another thing we did try was Arabic coffee. They make it differently here but its fantastic, off-course if the Arabs had not shown us the beans they use world would have been without its favorite drink.

Now apart from the drinks we tried some unheard of Indian dishes in this far away land. One made from eggplant was amazing at Awadh's at Thahiliya street. Now Thahiliya  is the place in region and newer part of town for its eateries. We liked Koshi Bashi last time for its Turkish delights and now this. This was a good change on Wednesday night from our mandane week. 

Now its almost end of Friday and I have been watching one of the most beautiful sights I have seen yet again. One that I get to experience only during weekends from the high rise hotel room window...the setting sun against the desert background. But alas today the color scheme is not the same. The sun is not setting in horizon but in distant dust clouds before that. May be its a sand storm passing from far away...and today the sun with this color scheme appeared sad...a sad sun that is. but the sight that lead to that was still equally breath taking and one which will make me wait for it...this time not till another weekend, but just 2 more days for Sunday...Cheers all.

Riyadh Skyline

On a late Friday evening, as I peep outside the window of my hotel room, I see an enthralling skyline of a city which it seems is so quiet on its day of prayers. The usually bristling King Fahd road and bumper to bumper traffic on any weekday it seems has been replaced by a road which is letting traffic zip past at speed. Such a contrast to any weekday. The only time I see such traffic in Delhi is only on national holidays, not on weekends.

One thing that has not changed in the weekend is the magnificent skyline and how it appears at night. The lights on distant roads and  atop buildings all in a straight line, some white some yellow and some flickering on high rises. On other side I still see construction, that's one thing you see a lot as you walk down the streets of this city. Buildings and big buildings. 

Walks on the street, that's on thing I miss which I am able to do in most cities that I have traveled so far. For one crossing roads is not easy and second carrying passport everywhere is a pain and lastly, only time you can be out is early mornings or late evenings. Things are hot even during early evenings that you cannot venture out. Malls and Markets are bristling with people primarily after the last prayer of the day, that's usually between 8:00 PM to Midnight. But what every time you are on road, you see cars of every type, though its rare to see smaller cars. Most common SUVs are from GMC and Chevrolet, some of the size bigger than Tata 407. Well there is one thing we got to know during a discussion with someone in office, you need to have a family in Riyadh to be able to buy a SUV, singles would be restricted to sedans. But then kind of Sedans you see on the road are also the best from the world...rare to see a small car, though in the last 1 week, I have seen 1 alto...yes, just 1, no Indica / Indigo on this trip yet, when last trip I saw 1, and couple of Accents. Among cars with some number, you see Toyota's Yaris and Corolla as smaller cars here. Rest everything just keeps getting bigger and better. 

But yes, now back from the view of the road to the skyline and yes, the distant lights on roads and streets look so enthralling and captivating, have been gazing them for sometime now before heading out for the last of this weekend's dinner. Its a bit early for me but then the foodie in me wants to experiment and try something different today :).

Sunset over Riyadh

Am writing this blog as I see the sun about to set over the distant horizon. Have been on my hotel room window overlooking a hospital followed by a barren land and then some construction far far away.

Its rare to get such a clear view of sunset in our cities right till it just vanishes in the horizon. Being a weekend this is one of the rare luxuries I can afford to have for the day. Its been breathtaking and I have been gazing at this for last couple of hours, the color of sand and change in shades of the sky. On a clear day in a desert land this is breath taking, that too when there is little wind and no moisture in air. Sigh, this breathtaking view is being taken away from me for another day. As I now write this line, half the sun is only visible and rest half is below the horizon. So bad I don't have my camera, this would have been one of the rare shots I would have taken in this country, where photography is not encouraged. Sigh...what a sight just went by.
 

Now that I have been in Riyadh on this trip for 6 days now and have had various new and varied experiences. Some good, some a reminder of sorts yes things here are meant to be different and each an experience of its own. The climate is very hot and dry, not possible to walk beyond a few hundred meters for souls like us who are not used to this kind of dry heat. Takes time to get used to it. In this heat one thing i have been relishing is food. Riyadh would be a gastronomical delight. Its a melting pot of all Arabic cuisines and has good number of Persian outlets and to top that there is no dearth of eateries dishing out Indian cuisine.

I have been lately relishing Persian cuisine a lot and all veg at that. off course Shewarma / Kabab's here in Arabic and  Persian cuisines are thing to go for, but there is no dearth of things for the vegetarians. Have been feasting on a regular basis on Hummus (made from Chickpeas), Matabul (Brinjal base), Tabula (coriander base), Fatoosh (veg Salad base preparation) among many other things. Unleavened Persian bread is also so like the ones we have in India. Just amazing.

Another thing we figured out is that food outlets in Riyadh catering to wide variety of economic class people. You can have a meal in Central Riyadh in as low as 8 Riyal (less than 100 Rs) to as high as your pocket permits. This is true for not just local food, even Indian. Also variety of sandwiches is awesome.

Ah, the foodie in me is back to talk about food. Well the only thing that has been troubling me is the need to carry passport as soon as you step out of the hotel. You need to have an id with you everytime, even when you are just stepping out for dinner. Have been told of some good Indian cuisine areas like Haara and Batha. Haara am told is fine but batha is best avoided, On Friday's its akin to Bhagirath palace on a weekday with just people and people, some who have overstayed their duration. Offcourse this is hearsay no way to validate it. Will try Haara some day, have time on side. 

In these 6 days, right from the airport, there are signs of change even if i compare it to what was the situation 6 months back on the last trip. Though gradual, things appear to be more open. Not sure how it will be in next month in runup to Hajj. Well I would need to ensure tickets are done early, as in Hajj period getting tickets is difficult. No, people dont land up in Riyadh, they end up going to Jeddah, but connections into the hubs in gulf are full. 

Anyways, its almost quarter past 6, let me head to the gym today, since pool is closed for some pool side party. Untill next time, take care.

Another Trip

It was a hectic travel day yesterday. Not hectic in sense of tiring, but yeah could have been better, but given the flight schedules. This time even had a stop over at Doha. Of all things I ended up doing what I hate the most, getting up early, on what was supposed to be the first of the weekend days...err first of the weekdays, depending on where you are, so another lost weekend. 

Having reached airport and surprisingly was through check-in,  immigration and security in flat 25 mins. Now that is very quick for Delhi Airport, but that was how it was so what was to follow was an agonizing two and half hour wait, with some time for breakfast. This was the first time was flying by Qatar and would rate it better than many of the airlines flying out of Gulf region, but alas, even though my boarding card clearly had my food option listed, the staff told me they don't have in their list, but then he arranged it. 

Landing in Doha was again different, they had color coded jackets for boarding cards to ensure you are on the right terminal for transits or exits, but surprisingly even when Doha is being used as a transit terminal, it had no aerobridges. All Boarding and de-boarding was using buses et all. Was informed that new airport under construction, and probably one of the reasons that Bahrain, just next to it, with an airport which lacks space gets more traffic. 

Now onto Doha appears to be a city in rush to grow and develop. It is more cosmo than most cities in Gulf, but yes, not yet Dubai. The way its going, it will get there, sooner rather than later. Dint have much time in Doha between the stuff to be done, lunch squeezed in and all. Lunch in Doha was good, some of the best halloumi I have tasted yet. 


Well post lunch back to the airport for an intragulf flight to Riyadh. Problem with intra gulf flights is lack of choice of food even to preorder, but given the flight was only 1.5 hours it is manageable. The crowd surprisingly was far better than what we had from Bahrain, i was seated with a local Qatar citizen and had some interesting conversation. 

Riyadh Airport this time was a surprise, with immigration queues were based on visa type and only separate section for GCC citizens as they get express processing. One person from Europe, standing behind me not used to this, tried to talk to Immigration officer to get his done first, was sternly told to wait for his turn in queue. Another thing was a foreigner entering Riyadh immigration in a 3/4th which was another surprise. Clearing all the formalities and getting baggage scanned was out in the limo. I had hit the road right before office peak hours and by the time we were just 2-3 Kms from our hotel, traffic was crawling, it took us 40 mins to do those last couple of Kms. The chauffeur told me, it can crawl like this for hours. Traffic is notorious here, with most of the drivers and taxi folks from subcontinent. (The person driving my limo was from Faisalabad, Punjab Pakistan). What this traffic did was to let me the kind of cars (some I would say were trucks, not cars) that people drive on the roads. Majority of them SUVs or high-end luxury sedans but you do find cars of every make on the road. I could see an Alto, though just 1 on the entire trip and an Accent too.

Anyways' checkin as always was smooth, a quick dash to the mobile operator to get a new sim, some cash from ATM and all set for dinner and thats one thing you will find good in Riyadh...food, amazing variety and quality. I just wanted to finish food, be back and hit the slack. In a day when all 3 meals were done in 3 different countries (not in flights).

Anyways, its Sunday morning now and need to headout in a few mins for some meetings. Yes, work day 2 of the week. Now that I will start to head out and explore the place in evening.

Riyadh Diary: Day 11 and 12 (Desert Rain)

Alas, I missed to add Day 11. Not deliberate, had no time to add an entry as had to fly back in later half. Anyways, the label Desert Rain is not inspired by Desert rose, this one is literal. It did rain in Riyadh on Day 12. Rain is a rare  phenomena in this part, but low pressure conditions due to Sand Storm in the region with some western wind flow led to rain on our way back to airport. Not sure how city will cope with this. Am not sure if they have anything for rain water drainage, saw no evidence. Anyways back to Riyadh.


In these 12 odd days what impression has Riyadh left on me. Whats my take on the city. For one I would reiterate, its a Business only city for expats from outside Gulf. There is no means of entertainment that we know off, exists. So spending time on weekends remains an issue. In-spite of laws and harsher punishment there are instances of petty crimes with expats as could make out from the newspapers 

This brings me to the question on news reporting. Saudi Arabia is not a democracy, its a Kingdom and guess that should say it all. State issues and those related to royal family and their schemes dominate the news. Same is true on international issues. News related to Gulf region and those of Islamic dominated areas is in Focus. For instance there was an image on one of the days, regarding some unease in a part of Kashmir following death of a youth following a truck accident, right on front page. Syria issue dominates the news, Bahrain unrest is on the sides and inside pages if any. Mention of Iran in reports is different if you read similar reports in India and US/UK. Well every place is entitled to have their own perspective on things. Guess its not a matter of whats right or wrong, its what you have lived and heard throughout that you related more to. 


Moving on, life for expats and women specially is different, where not only have you got to behave in a certain way, you also need to dress up in a Abaya. Separate office spaces, eating areas, no driving allowed are less of hassles when you know even venturing out alone is not a norm. Islam is the state religion and only religion that can be practiced. Same goes with food options. Even the airlines Saudia only offers local food cuisines and no specific options for Vegetarianians. May not be a norm for airlines worldwide, but in a state where things are not modeled based on other places' practices, this is not an exception.


Well this is one of the few states, which has cultural police apart from police for law and order. No, am not referring to the self proclaimed custodians a la some weird organizations in India et all who impose their beliefs on others. This one is official. And given what i have said till date their task is cut out. Anyways, they or the police does not trouble people unnecessarily. Its all about what moral behavior is expected and how you adhere to that.


Riyadh to me represents a contrast, Its growing and Infrastructure is developing rapidly. On the way from airport to the City, it appears that City is under construction. Large parts of land where construction is on and that includes a women university. There is a debate to let women drive et all. The contrast on the other side that Riyadh represents is the way folks live. Participation of women in workforce. 

Off course all this I write is based on my perspective, which has been shaped by what i have learned is right and wrong, appropriate or not, fair or unfair. In no way i can be an absolute judge of this. May be from another perspective, our way is inappropriate.

Anyways, as we drive past the city back to the airport, its drizzling, rare rains in this part of the world. Riyadh it seems wanted me to see all its sides and shades, no matter how rare they are. This has been an altogether different experience to me, enriching as well to see how different life a city just few thousand miles away can be. We may be sharing one earth, but it has so many worlds in it. So many view points and I guess our earth has space for all those. As long as we can learn to respect the others view point. 

Until next time, when another business brings be to Riyadh, its time to bid farewell both to the city and this blog. Cheers and take care.

Riyadh Diary: Day 10 (Food and Food)

Well almost at the fag end of Day 11 and now writing about Day 10. Anyways I had begun writing this blog for 10 days and then trip got extended, else would have been on a flight somewhere between Manama and Delhi at this time.

Anyways, its my 10th day and apart from an odd reference here and there on what am eating, there is not much I have talked about food in this part of the world. Well this is a surprise for me as well. For a foodie like me to not write about food. Is it that food here is not that great to write about or there is not enough variety. Well the answer is none. In all these days, have been stuck with the contrast this city offers to what I have seen and lived through till date that of all things food took a backseat. Now am finally on my favorite topic in any travel, food.

Am not going to talk about Arabic coffee, that everyone knows about. But Arabic food, particularly if you are no vegetarian is delicious. The amount of variety you get on the plate is enormous and can be a delight for a food buff. 
I have eaten at a local Arabic restaurant twice till date. In between have tried cuisines from across the world, from Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, British, Mexican and Italian. Offcourse should not exclude, the wonderful local Kababs, Shewarma and appetizers. 


Food is usually served with bread as in India, but the way food is prepared is very different. This is not as spicy as Indian or Mexican but not bland either. I have been in love with their sandwich/wraps and off-course appetizers. I have been regular with this stuff and find similar food in Persian, Lebanese cuisines as well.


Well today for Dinner had gone to a Turkish Restaurant, Koshi Bashi which our Partner took us in. Magnificant food and some of the best appetizers. Also, eating out like this is a common form of entertainment in this part. Okay, the section for singles (read males) is different but at times, the food and ambiance compensates for all else.

Riyadh Diary: Day 9(Chill and Storm)

Its second half of March and temperature in last few days have been around the early 30's but today s different. There is a freezing chill about the air today and it windy. The wind too is pretty strong. Temperature must be in high single digit number, but wind chill is there and it feels close to freezing. Folks in Delhi/NCR who know me would know that I rarely wear woolens in Delhi. Here I was in Neck Tie, Blazer and could feel the wind chill.

All this could mean just one thing, a sand storm is on the way. From what I get these storms can be pretty Nasty. They can last from a few hour to a few days at times, reducing visibility, making particulate matter in atmosphere rise. Folks have difficulty in breathing during this time. By afternoon, we had strict instructions both from Office and Hotel, not to leave the buildings without face masks.

We were in office for a meeting at that time and our executive brought masks for everyone, in meantime the situation with sand was becoming worse. Visibility had become low and it difficult to breathe outside without taking large quantities of sand. Thankfully this was a passing one and did not hold up, things had started to get better after a few hours, but would still take over a day for all the dust to settle down.

Anyways, that is one thing you can only feel in arid desert land. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

Riyadh Diary: Day 8 (Cost of Living)

Ah, Its time for Saturday Morning Blues, but the cozy hotel pool is a delight to fix all this. Morning swim and then a nice breakfast and ready to go to office. The wind is a bit stronger than usual. The forecast is for low temperatures and some wind for next couple of days. Lets see what the weather has in store for us in this desert land.

In office had some casual discussions with a few folks who had taken up jobs in IBM Saudi Arabia. Everyone agreed on trade-offs and compromises they make. But everyone was unanimous. The cost of living overall is low. Groceries and other stuff is pretty cheap. Expats even from US et all come here because of money they can make here without paying any taxes.

Another factor that I have noticed is lack of buses. Public transport is primarily taxis and that is not very costly too. When fuel prices for 91 Octane Gasoline are less than INR6.3 or just 45 Hala or .13 US$ taxis too do not cost much and the drive is usually very high speed. When we were being driven from Airport to hotel, our guy was topping 180 Kmph, but have seen cars driving even faster at night. The only time our chauffeur had slowed was when there was a police patrol on the way. 

At these prices, I can drive any SUV in here and its running cost will be comparable to Esteem's in India, Phew. Another factor that makes cost of living cheap is lack of taxes. Most items are without tax. You do not need to search for Duty Free shops. Every shop is a virtual Duty Free store. Inspite of this some essential items are costlier compared to other stuff, starting with Water.


Water is a scarce in this region. You get desalinated water available. Bottled water of half a litre costs around INR 28 or close to 60 Cents. The country in-spite of its size and expanse has no rivers and no lakes. With just sand around, water would be a costly affair. 


Anyways with temperatures running low, is there an indicator for a Sand Storm. You never know, but forecast does not say that. Lets see whats in store for next few days.

Riyadh Diary : Day 7 (Compounds)

Its Friday and weekly prayer day here. Post the daily routine of swim and breakfast, back to the hotel room. The markets are closed early in the day to let people visit mosques. We decided to visit a local mall to buy some munching stuff, well almost all shops including bakery were closed. We could find one general merchant store open, shopped and back to hotel. There were hardly any cars on road and parkings deserted.

Riyadh would be one of the few cities that can be classified as "Business Only". I said this yesterday and would repeat again. There is hardly any form of entertainment that we know and do. The definition of entertainment is very very different than what expats are used to. But then there are a lot of expats working in here. Lure of higher money is one prime reason with no taxes to pay. So how do these folks cope with it.

Here comes something called compound. No we are not talking about chemical compounds, but areas marked with walls and fences, kind of gated colonies where the expats live. At times these have their own schools, hospitals and shopping complexes inside. No locals live here. Its here within the four walls of compounds that's folks do not have restrictions on dresses and other stuff. Liquor is still not allowed. You cannot have it while in this country. If you need to step out of the compound you need to adhere to all rules of morality as defined in this society. 

As expected getting into a compound needs invitation and getting a apartment has a huge waiting list. Its pretty expensive as well. But at-least there is an option. Even if within the four walled, gated, barbed compounds. Well you don't have regimented life inside. Some Compounds are said to ferment their own wine, but then I have not seen this nor can testify if this is correct or not. 

we did see a compound close to newer commercial establishment in Riyadh, pretty massive at that but this one did not have a shopping complex of its own. There was one across the road from the compound and the females had to wear Abaya to enter it. That takes me to the mall at kingdom center and a notice at the entry. "This mall is under surveillance. Please abide by all expected behaviours of morality" or something like this. This will give you an idea of expectation from people in this part of the world.

Anyways, malls do open later in the day on Friday and we decided again to out. That being the only source of entertainment for us. I needed to buy some chocoloates and stuff to carry back. Some more shopping by colleagues and we were done for the day. Back in hotel and an early sleep. Tomorrow is Saturday and work week starts. Dont want to have Saturday morning blues particularly when I have get into a meeting early.

Riyadh Diary: Day 6 (Shopping)

Its day 6, Thursday and start of weekend here. I missed the last weekend cause I flew at start of India weekend and landed here, it was start of a business week. All said and done, what do you expect from a weekend in Riyadh. You dont have Theatres or Musicals here. You dont see concerts here, then what.

Well for starters a book fare is on at this point in Riyadh. Given my lack of knowledge of Arabic, that's ruled out. What else, shopping, well this is the only weekend I have here, so better go and shop. So after a good swim, heavy brunch, some mails and calls, we head out. What do we see as we are out, all shops are closed and its not even time for prayers. We think its just a specific markets weekly off, we enter another shopping complex and alas! even that is closed. We try to check with the guard, he tells us to come at 4:00 evening, thats when the shops will open. In this part given the extreme heat during after noon, shops close for most of the period between 11:30 to 4:00, and the remain open till 11:00 PM / Midnight. Offcourse baring prayer times.

In between from the hotel room could see glimpses of what could have been a sand storm, but there was no forecast of that. It was just a heavy wind which carried some sand across to the city. The sand had filled the air so much that sun was reduced to a status of moon. No light was there, scattered but there, but you could stare at the sun, without worrying about the glare.

So now we are back in hotel, some more mails and calls, and then we head out at 5:00 PM local time still getting the sand in nose and mouth. Shortly, we reach a mall, some shopping and shops start closing again, prayer time. We wait, walk out to our next destination and in between we see Cultural police patrols. Cultural police ensures that people follow local traditions, respect prayer time etc, but seldom say things to foreigners. Only 1 instance I know off, when they asked a expat women to cover head.

Now we had walked enough to reach the next super store, an waited outside for shutters to open. Few minutes and we all were in, scouting for laptops, which a colleague of mine wanted to have. Checked and decided to move to a hypermart. Called a taxi and reached the place in 20 mins. This hypermart looked as if a place for expats only. Very few locals, mostly expats and primarily form Asia and Subcontinent. You could find everything of your need here, right from all Indian brands to local ones as well. 

Folks with me brought two laptops, and few toys. Remember we are in a country where there is no Duty. So you do not need to go to a specific duty free store. All stores are Duty Free. There are reasons beyond this that this part of the world is still not a preferred shopping destination. Back to shopping, all women here, even though expats were wearing an Abaya, thats mandatory. Some did not have heads covered, guess more to do with who is around.


Got late in shopping, headed to food court in complex, had food, took a taxi back and here we were back in hotel. Ready to sleep. Well in last few days I have been asked why no photographs. Well thats on advice of a friend and some other inputs. You are not supposed to click random photos in public places. Particularly not of Religious places or women. Now even if you are clicking a building and there are women pacing by and they get in frame (or someone feels, they get in frame) you could be in trouble. May be this is a bit exaggerated, but given the way laws are here, would like to stay out of trouble as much as possible. Lets see what Day 7 brings.

Riyadh Diary : Day 5 (Music or lack of it)

So its Wednesday and already day 5 of the working week. Well...well don't wonder, weekend definition is different in different countries. Folks in west have weekend around Sunday, cause that's the day to go to church and attend prayers. For Muslims that day is Friday, so should be no surprise that an Islamic Kingdom has weekend around Friday. But then its not uniform across all countries in region. For instance, Saudi Arabia's working week is from Saturday to Wednesday while in UAE this is Sunday to Thursday. This may beg another question, why does a "Secular" India have a office work week from Monday to Friday (am excluding local markets which work differently) excpet that its a continued legacy of our colonial past.

Anyways moving away from discussion on days of the week, start to the day was usual, reaching office and starting meeting, minutes etc. But around noon I see a female sitting in office area for the first time...Not that it should be a surprise in other parts of the world but this is different. I then figure out that there is a separate section where "men" cannot go for females and it has a separate female only entrance as well. No wonder we could not even see a connecting entrance from inside. This was very similar to the door seen yesterday for one of the big fours. 

Today's lunch in food court that I had was a mix of Cantonese Noodles and Persian style potatoes. Well for those who know me would also know how much i love "potatoes". Post lunch explored the mall further bit for a few minutes and what do I see, we cannot enter the 3rd level of the mall. Its a ladies only section, with Jewellery stores, beauty clinic etc etc. 

Back to desk, out for evening tea and one of our colleague tells us that he needs to shop today as tomorrow he expects its a "family day" and singles (read single men) would not be allowed. Now we knew about family days in festivals and fairs, but in malls for groccery shopping and other stuff. Wanted to be sure, so checked with an English speaking shop keeper and he clarified nothing in malls. It was only for a local festival. Phew, thats a life savor, this was the closest food court as its connected to the office building else would have had to look for another place for lunch. Not that I planned to be in office, but then it was just couple of mins walk from the hotel too. 

Back to the hotel and changed. We decide to walk to a farther market today to have some good food. While the walk to the restaurant was uneventful, on return we hear some sports bikes zipping through the traffic, lot of convertibles out on the road and for the first time a car playing music.

Well, this is one thing that was conspicuous by its absence so far. No Music in lifts or malls, no music even in restaurants or any other public place. I was told by a local only time they hear some music is during festivals that too vocal accompanied by some drums and its also an exception. Again it goes to their religious tradition. But yes I heard music in Riyadh for the first time in 5 days. Super.


Now the problem is where to go next 2 days. Well will figure out tomorrow, backpackers like me do not need to think much.
 

Riyadh Diary: Day 4 (The Energy Guzzlers)

Poof its already day 4 and am yet to explore any part of the city except the road from office to Hotel to Restaurant. But even in that this city presents a stark picture. So similar and yet so different than any other I have been to till date. 

From Infrastructure perspective it can compete with the best of the world, but then its a "Business Only" City, with limited to no forms of entertainment to the outside world. Oh yes I do get a few channels on TV in hotel, but nothing else. Guess what locals would end up doing is calling friends and relatives, that as a form of entertainment. But then traveling may be an issue. Hardly see any public transport expect taxis. May be I am wrong.

This is one city where gas/petrol or Diesel is cheaper and Carbonated drinks costlier. That is evident from the number of energy guzzling SUVs evident on the road. If we remove taxis from the count, the number of SUVs on road will outnumber cars. And some of the most masculine of all. A couple of mins walk from hotel to Office and we see more number of Hummers, GMC, and those of Ford, Mitsubishi etc parked in office parking than cars. Some can be mistaken for mini trucks both from their size and noise. Guess when fuel is dirt cheap, who cares about mileage. Another factor of increase of cars, that our cab driver told in evening was the monthly installment schemes launched a few months back. With no interest rates to worry as per Islamic traditions its too easy to buy on EMIs.

Among the site of cars, another myth that was thrown out was women sitting in front seats of the car. Well, yes they are still not allowed to drive, but guess now they are allowed to atleast sit in the other front seat. Saw a few cases like this. Saw an Indian couple also driving down, Husband had come to drop her wife to office (not that she could not drive, but in here, she could not). Anyways, a few things other things noticed, every one including foreigners are to wear Abaya (Hijab). Well a local would not even remove it while eating. Well don't try to imagine how they eat, and off course i cannot photograph that but that's the time foreigners will remove it from there face. The only once you see with heads not covered inside malls would be expatriates not locals.


Well lunch time today was the Persian fare of Tabula (a mix of Coriander and bit of other leafy vegetables with Tomoto and Vinegar) and Hommos (a paste made from chickpeas and few other items) with Persian bread. Dinner was planned a few Kms away this time in Sulemania Talateen (33) in an Indian Restaurant. Good Food, back in hotel and time to sleep.

Riyadh Diary : Day 3 (Smokers Paradise)

At fag end of day 4 am writing about Day 3. That unfair, but yeah been pretty tied uptoday. First real day with some action for which I had landed here. Anyways back to what am doing here...writing about day 3.

Well start for the day was same as end of last day, call from the same number as yesterday, right at 05:00 AM local time. This time refused to pick up the phone and that was the last of his calls. Any ways, that done, got up a bit early post that, and headed to the pool. Not Olympic size but decent and water appeared heated. Not sure if it was really heated or it was an impact of the fact that pool was indoor. Irrespective it was nice and warm and I enjoyed it.

From last posts you would have figured out that there was definitely no question of females anywhere in the fitness area, be it the Gym, Steam/Sauna, Jacuzzi or the pool. Anyways was alone in the pool and had a decent swim, before getting ready and heading for breakfast. Anyways all done, reached office. We share the floor (offcourse different sections) with 2 other Organizations, one of them is from the Big four and another an IT security firm. Now thats where I saw something which I never expected. The Big Four firm had a door which was labeled, females only entry. Segregation goes far, though had thought not to talk about this after yesterday's post this incident was worth mentioning.

Another factor that I observed was a supplement in today's paper in Filipino. Now was curious for the reason, it was later I figured out that apart form South Asian's Filipino's are huge in number. Did use to see a few folks from the region employed at food court etc, but never figured that they all were from same country.

During lunch, where had some Mexican Burritos (Mexican food in Riyadh that is) discussion was on availability customs and places where Alcohol is banned. We have some states in India which fall in that category and the (in)famous dry days. But what we also found was the immense crazy in men here to smoke. There is no public place restriction to smoke, except when you are in shops etc. Folks do smoke inside malls and food courts (though there is a smoking section in food courts). Smoking appears heavy here, guess people compensate with Tobacco for lack of alcohol. For me both are immaterial. 

Well left office  little late for dinner and by the time was back, just did some work and hit the slack. Hoping tomorrow will get some more action to do. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

Riyadh Diary: Day 2 (The Segregation)

Okay now 2 days gone and third day starting. But before proceeding onto Day 2, let me clarify about the image in Yesterday's post. That image was not taken by me or from the office. The building in focus is Kingdom Center/Tower, in Riyadh where our office is located. More about that here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Centre.

Let me just tell you that this place is amongst the most progressive areas of Riyadh right in center of Business District.

Now onto Day 2. Well would say another uneventful day, but it was a Sunday and we all were heading for a meeting. Meeting on a Sunday!!. Well, in this part of the world, work week is Saturday to Wednesday and Thursday - Friday constitutes the weekend and for obvious reasons.  


Anyways, the time we entered the Country till now, one thing was clear role for both genders is very different. No Females on the front desk or hotel support staff, cafe or restaurant floors. But does that mean that hotel does not employ females. No, that is not the case, when I did room reservations the calls then were answered by female staff. 

Well females again not allowed in Public Swimming pools and Gyms. Am sure there will be segregated spaces for these for females as well. Onto office for meetings and time to take some prints. Well Outside the work room, "Male work room". Its required to be segregated per the writ of the land. Same happens in food court, segregated areas for Singles (read males) and families. Well females cannot be single (meaning alone) unless foreign. All others have to be accompanied.


Well had read an article in the morning focuses on notices to close shops selling lingerie if all the staff is not female. And it also had a deadline to have all female staff in store selling other female stuff like Make up etc etc has to be female before end of July. In mall all such shops were clearly labeled "Families only". Well atleast this generates employment on shop floor for which has been missing till now.


Well now back to the other stuff, few of the folks from India have been here for a few days, couple vegetarian and desperate for some Indian food, so lot of R&D on where to find decent Indian food. One person specifically wanted South Indian food. Well this was not possible in lunch but the search was early so that they can find a place before Dinner. Lunch was in the food court in the building. Atleast here there is no dearth of options, particularly if you do not mind Non-Veg. The foods available here included, Mexican, Persian, Chinese, Indian, Arabic, Sandwiches and Juicies  apart from the standard fare of McDonalds, KFCs, Star bucks etc etc. (The Indian was typical north indian fare and primarily Non Veg and the reason for the search mentioned above). 

Moving on, post lunch couple of discussions and return to hotel post meetings to change. Later it was time for dinner and our friends had found a place some 1.5 Kms apart. That is not that far. We all decided to walk, about 8 of us. Again in a food court with cusines from Arabic, Chinese, rolls/sandwiches, Pizza's and Indian (south Indian Included). The Indian guy had Dosa's, Biryani et all. Most preferred Indian, except the 2 of us. I went for arabic and another person for Chinese, rest for Indian. What we realized after food was that this place had prices which were almost 1/3rd of what we were paying near our office/hotel. Well just 1.5 Kms from the main district and on a side lane, the mall housing these had less foot fall and so much price difference. Good for all I guess.


Returning back we took the inner lanes and found a bank with door heading "Ladies Branch" so you guessed it for the ladies only, no male allowed. It was same for another office of a telecom company but then by now we were getting used to this. 


End of the day, some calls to my local cell number here from a person who was probably speaking Arabic and we just could not communicate. He called a few times. But then you cannot communicate on phone when you cannot speak the same language. Lets see whats in store on Day 3.

Riyadh Diary : Day1 (Shop closing 5 times a day for Prayers)

Its always last minute rush surprises on things when you have to make a business trip with limited notice. Finally had my visa for a short business trip to Riyadh by 5:30 PM on 9th March and had to take the flight out in next 12 hours. Well this time had more time after my visa than my last trip to France. There had 4 hours to reach airport after I got to know that the travel agent has got the passport from embassy.


Was flying with Gulf Air this time via Manama, Bahrain and thankfully uneventful trip till Bahrain, except that could not get sleep through the way. Next flight was little over 2 hours later and the airport was well...less cleaner and much smaller for the crowd capacity compared to Delhi. Well of all things, there was a queue even at the washroom. They had just 2 seats in one of them, one being Western and other Indian style given the large number of migrants from sub continent taking connections to elsewhere in the region. 


Well the next flight was for just over an hour, but majority of folks in the flight were migrant laborers flying into Riyadh for various jobs. How did I get to know this? well was requested to fill a lot of Immigrant forms before de boarding and majority of passports I got saw were Bangladeshi but did see a couple of Indian and Pakistani's as well. Upon landing there was some arbitrary segregation of folks in queue's as well and primarily driven by what the guy there felt what these folks were. Most Folks from sub continent land here for menial jobs which locals do not prefer. But said that, if you are in your business suits and depending on your visa type the guy may not put you in same row.


Out of the airport, the limo guy hotel sent to pick us up was again from - you guessed it Sub continent, a Bangladesh National, who has been here since 2001. Drive to the hotel was fast and zippy. Pretty good roads, not just by Indian standards but even compared to large parts of Europe. 


Checkin was smooth but at over 300US$/night (Rooms in this part are in short supply and very very expensive, compared to similar rooms in other parts of the world) the room was "Just Okay". Freshned up and reached office, just a couple of minutes walk from the hotel.

We are on 23rd floor and get a birds eye view of the City. Offcourse if you want to go to the top level, there is a decent fee. Will plan it later.


Malls and other stuff is close by, but took time to figure out an ATM where could use AMEX card to withdraw cash. Amex link showed the nearest place at over 9 Kms while an enterprising colleague figured one in walking distance. Post cash in hand, time to get on local mobile network but alas shop closed at 4:00 in evening and then you see even the superstore next to it downing shutters and entire mall closed. Its Prayers time and during this period everything stops. Wait for prayers to be over and folks to be back. We had the same experience before ordering dinner and waited for the folks to be back. Well am told it difficult to get food in day during Ramazan (Ramadan). Well should expect that when you are in a country where the official religion is Islam and no other religion can be practiced.  


Here again folks as in Hotel, Mall Floor or Food Court had a good mix of Sub Continent population. Getting to talk to folks is difficult in English but not Hindi or Urdu as they call it. Well most cabs you see are driven by the same section and most of them do not know decent amount of Arabic either. That said, may be am jumping the gun very fast. Lets wait and see few more days.